Links for Story Posts, Memes, Pics, and FAQ all below the cut~!
Alex is an aloof, sarcastic, moody, surly, and sometimes a downright ass of a teenager. He just wants to be left alone, but the universe doesn't seem to get the message. He's come to Paldea on a Student Exchange, his family hoping the time abroad helps him find what he needs.
Max is the polar opposite, an energetic, happy, wholesome young teen with a love for grass type Pokémon and sports. Nailing a sponsorship from the Kalos Tourism Board and then an endorsement from Galar's own Champion to boot, Max has eagerly come to Galar to pursue all his interests at once in the League Challenge.
If you're looking for one specific kiddo, all posts for Alex are tagged with 'AJKS' while everything Max is tagged as 'CMAX'.
OP's BlueSky Account
Notorious for lurking, but once in a blue moon WIPs will get dropped here, among other things~!
Div.Paths Illustration Calendar
Links to all pics themed on holidays, fun days, art prompts, etc, are located in this handy list~
Memes
Old Man Meme
Staaaairs (Kung Fu Panda 2)
No, This is Patrick
Misc Pics
Main Cast Chibis
Terastallized Axel
Tera Raid NPCs
Pkmn Sleep Friend Codes
The Poison Dance
Asks
Max Asks: OPEN
Max Answers #1: Pokemon at Home
Max Answers #2: Uniform Number
Max Answers #3: If Max was a Pokemon…
Max Answers #4: Congrats on Badge!
Alex Asks: OPEN
Alex Answers #1: Pokemon at Home
Alex Answers #2: Food at Home
Alex Answers #3: If Alex was a Pokemon…
Valentines '24 ♡ Val. #2 ♡ White Day '24
Alex Answers #4: Ride Speed
Alex Answers #5: Honorary Rock Type?
Both Asked #1: Choose Between...
Both Asked #2: Hisui Lesson
Both Asked #3: In-Game Avatars
Both Asked #4: Dating Prefs
Both Asked #5: Fave Legends
OP Answers #1: ALEX SUCKS
OP Answers #2: Master Post
OP Answers #3: Other Stories?
OP Answers #4: Foxy Grandpa
OP Answers #5: Family Ties
OP Answers #6: Aurora School Culture
Lato Asks???
Lato Ask #1 -- Lato Ask #2
About the Players:
Pokémon Violet is being played by one-half of a dynamic duo (Taz/Trina of tazsaintsart) while Pokémon Sword is being played by the other half (Hope/Husbando, aka gleaming_hope). Since our respective games were new to us, and we wanted to share our thoughts and quips and feelings on these games through the eyes of our youngest characters, Alex and Max.
Additionally, we have the support of our friends Dia (@diamondphantom), Alyss (@calicowitchling), and Soli (@red-bulbasaur) who are assisting Taz with filling in character tones on story posts~!
FAQ:
Q: Will you include the DLC?
A: Eventually! Gotta' finish the main story first!
Q: Is there a set posting schedule?
A: Hell no. Making a schedule and deadlines is the quickest way to destroy my motivation to draw. The pressure turns into anxiety which turns into guilt which turns into shame and then nobody gets anything fun anymore.
Q: Sword's old! Why would you include it?
A: Because it's new to Hope (OP's husbando) and he has his own quirky sense of humour worth sharing too. Besides, it means more story posts for you and I feel it's a great counterbalance to the story of Violet.
Q: Is it just me, or is the scaling/heights between characters a bit wonky?
A: It's not you! The in-game player charas skewed my perception so it took me a while to figure out character heights that I could use consistently, so Alex might seem shorter than he should be in earlier posts, while Max was a bit bigger than he was meant to be.
Q: What's this 'Lato' thing I keep seeing mentioned?
A: Lato is a fan region based on Poland, created by this blog's art assistant @diamondphantom~ In Alex's canon/backstory, he had a particularly lengthy school trip through the region four years prior to Paldea. It doesn't really affect the current story beyond showing that Alex has had a significant mood shift in the four years since the school trip.
Q: Will you draw '_____'?
A: Maybe, maybe not! Aside from a set motivation for the boys, posts will just be whatever we feel like sharing.
Q: Can I suggest ideas, or submit my own work to this blog?
A: The Ask and Submissions boxes are open for this very reason! If you would like to share a moment where our paths cross, you're very welcome to! We only ask that you keep it SFW and don't post major spoilers for either game; you can see where the boys are at via the badge counts in the blog header.
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When creating the comic pages, do you draw the characters first then background, or backgrounds then the characters?
it's a bit of a mix, depending on what i need to accomplish, but for DP specifically, I've been drafting my pages with a rough sketch placement of any needed background, and that's usually about all that's present when i do the lineart and then hand it off for tones.
i'll sometimes expand on said BG sketch around when i'm starting the character lines if i need clearer features, characters are interacting with certain elements (ie, leaning on something), or better definition of an angle, but otherwise it's usually entirely separate as i don't want to burden my assistants with complex work that'd only serve to frustrate and burn them out.
were the work in colour, i'd be doing bgs before shading, in order to keep the overall page rendering consistent, but since shading's something i actively chose to cut out for the most part in DP, my order's a bit different.
this method can and does sometimes lead to wonky angles, but it also allows me to recycle parts, which means faster output - and at the end of the day, 'finished, not perfect' is the mantra i need to apply to. i'm very easily sucked into the trap of going a bit overboard on unneeded bg art, so it's an art goal now to get better at choosing which panels would be better served with patterns instead of bg art. :'D
with the month of July now behind us, and four weeks of art summarised over here, it's finally time to share the wonderful art other people spent their valuable time and effort on for me~! <33
like i did with the prior summary, i'll link directly to the posts on ArtFight, but also give a proper shout-out/tag for the tumblr users in this post too, make sure you give them some love! <3
without further ado, in the order they were receiveddddd~
Pic 1: 'Attack no.2' - Link here
Pic 2: 'After the Chase' - Link here
Pic 3: 'dot' - Link here
Pic 4: 'Closing Time' - Link here
Pic 5: 'Maharaja Dharmika' - Link here
Pic 6: 'White-Haired Protagonist!!!' - Link here and also @silverops
Pic 7: 'Academy Students' - Link here and also @brewedfiction
Pic 8: 'Sillie Alex and Friends' - Link here
Pic 9: 'Alex REVENGEEEE' - Link here
Pic 10: 'Trina' - Link here
Pic 11: 'Heavy Is The Crown' - Link here
Pic 12: 'Attack 19' - Link here
Pic 13: Antoine Valentine'' - Link here
Pic 14: 'Trina' - Link here
Pic 15: 'Mr Naples' - Link here
This one was a two-parter! Not only did the artist do a wanted poster with a news article, but they also included ma boi in a mass attack down the line, AF link here, YT link here! :3
Pic 16: 'Smiling Prince' - Link here
Pic 17: 'Study Night' - Link here
Pic 18: 'Max and Marigold' - Link here, and here! and also @kayspaceprinceart
Pic 19: 'Glorious Ponytail' - Link here
Pic 20: 'Alex + Max' - Link here
Pic 21: 'Attack 1' - Link here
i love, love, LOVE every single piece i received this month - i'm so thankful to everyone who spent time thinking of me and my OCs and putting effort into drawing them - i saw an incredible mix of styles across everything i received, digital, traditional, and even trad. craft! everyone's pics are so creative, and i just love seeing what attracts people to my ocs, through who they pick and how they draw them~
i think this has to have been my fave AF year yet, it felt so much more active and fun, and there were more revenges to do than attacking first, which really made my day every time it happened <33333
if there's anything to regret, it's that a couple of attacks came in so close to the end that i didn't have time to return the favour, but rest assured, you'll be the first ones i attack next year, mwehehehee >:3c
What would be the requirements to be a tone person?
first off, i'm really glad there's some interest right away like this. thank you~! <3
as for doing tones here with DP, you'd need any digital art program that can open and save in PSD format, enough familiarity with your program to understand clipped layers and filling in areas with colour/tone cleanly, and lastly, be available to tone at least one page a month.
all contact on page work is done through discord, so that's a must-have as well.
pretty much everything else can be taught/looked up as you go along, as i don't like tossing anyone in the deep end. i do expect to get back files that don't require me to go back and clean up the work, since, after all, the whole point of this is to lessen the workload i have lol but otherwise, it's pretty chill as assistant work goes.
if this sounds like something you're up for, you can message the inbox off-anon (i won't publish personal asks like that) with contact details, or the tumblr chat function should be on currently as well.
Hi! Silly question but, what does filling in tones mean?
not a silly question~! there's a lot of different ways people can refer to different stages of art these days, and i tend to use my own shorthand a lot lol
this post HERE breaks down how i put together pages, and the volunteer names you see in the commentary with the pages (ie, "chara tones on this post done by ......") are crediting the work done to fill in the characters like this.
you'd be surprised how fiddly some of the character detailing can be (esp. with pokémon, some of those patterns can be crazy), so having someone able to take some of the workload off my hands is incredibly helpful and allows me to invest time in other areas, such as the backgrounds, or drafting more pages~
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more questions came in whilst i was busy with the final days of artfight, so here we are with some more answers ~!
and for a slight change of pace, it was mostly things i could answer with prior art, which makes for a nice look back at things~ :3
with regards to the lato rework, like i said in the post, it's gonna be a while as i just don't have the time/hands to complete it in a timely manner as things currently stand, but should anyone be interested in helping out with filling in tones for either lato or DP, please feel free to message me if you'd like to get involved <3
While the blog's on slow mode for AF, I thought that this year, it might be nice to post the art I've been doing over on AF for those who mightn't have an account to follow there. :3
So without further ado~
Week One~!
In order of completion, we haveeeee....
Pic 1: 'Salesman Supreme' - Link Here
Pic 2: 'Koi Kitty' - Link here
Pic 3: 'Pastel Moonlight' - Link here
Pic 4: 'Eyes on You' - Link here
Pic 5: 'Pony Sticker Sheet' - Link here
Pic 6: 'Ocean Goddess' - Link here
Pic 7: 'Angel Face' - Link here
All links are directed to the matching post on AF, which contains the correct links and credits for the OCs drawn in the info section under each pic. <3
I'm suuuuper happy with how pics 6 & 7 turned out, but I love all the pics I've down so far~ Events like AF always give me a chance to experiment and try new ideas/styles, or to practise things I'm not so confident in, as well as just getting to see how incredibly creative other people are.
I always feel like I come away from these events with new ideas and a fresh mindset which just improves my work all the more~
w o w that went fast! but so far i've managed to keep up the momentum and create at least one pic a day~! receiving attacks/revenges goes a long way to keeping the motivation up, as does seeing every giftee scream when they've seen my attacks hehee~
without further ado though, here's the second week of art!
Pic 1: 'Sweet Dreams' - Link Here
Pic 2: 'Fly High' - Link Here
Pic 3: 'A Nervous Grin' - Link Here
Pic 4: 'Puppy Playdate' - Link Here
Pic 5: 'So Tasty~!' - Link Here
Pic 6: 'DIVINITY' - Link Here
Pic 7: 'Good Cheer~!' - Link Here
Pic 8: 'Pawprints in the Stars' - Link Here
As with last week's post/prior reblog, all links are directed to the matching post on AF, which contains the correct links and credits for the OCs drawn in the info section under each pic. <3
As it's probably easier to see now with a second week visible, my interests go all over the place, and i really do enjoy experimenting with all kinds of ideas - sometimes i'll go practise a style, such as the sanrio-looking pics 1 & 8, or i'll try working on techniques i'm not entirely comfy with, such as the backlight rendering present on pic 6, and sometimes it's just making sure a pose or expression is nailed.
A special shoutout also goes to the artists featured in pics 3 & 5, as those were both revenge pics for long-time DP fans, @silverops and @brewedfiction ~! it really did make my day to see some familiar names appear alongside your pics, so thank you once again! <33
this week of AF was a bit less active in terms of posting, buuuuuuttttttt i ended up doing a few pieces that were more involved and took twice as long, so it even outs imo~ :3
Pic 1: 'My Reflection' - Link Here
Pic 2: 'Magic in Vogue' - Link Here
Pic 3: 'Ready to Battle!' - Link Here
Pic 4: 'Cat Pose!' - Link Here
Pic 5: 'Danse sans fin' - Link Here
As always, all links are directed to the matching post on AF, which contains the correct links and credits for the OCs drawn in the info section under each pic. <3
as you can see, i went harder on the rendering this week, in one pic, a reflection that wasn't simply a copy-paste, another i worked on gradients, and then a watercolour-esque look down the line. this week in particular, i stumbled on new methods of detailing that i am absolutely taking into DP, and i just love it when i can figure out new stuff like this. AF gives back to you in many ways, if you're open to it~
going into the final 'week' (it's 11 days if i counted correctly lmao), i think i'd like to focus on less experimenting and more simple chibi-style pics, get back up to at least one pic a day, as well as hopefully not pressure anyone to revenge in the frantic finale of the event ~
As AF draws to a close (there's less than hour left at time of writing), I think it's a good time to get my next summary up and out there~!
Pic 1: 'Put On A Brave Face...' - Link Here
Pic 2: 'Watch Your Back' - Link Here
Pic 3: 'Sword Training' - Link Here
Pic 4: 'Ahoy There!' - Link Here
Pic 5: 'Intruder Alert!' - Link Here
Pic 6: 'Save The Last Dance' - Link Here
Pic 7: 'Song Of The Sky' - Link Here
As with all the reblogs in this chain, all links are directed to the matching post on AF, which contains the correct links and credits for the OCs drawn in the info section under each pic. <3
a much longer 'week' at 11 days, i did start out with just the chibi attacks as promised, before moving into more detailed works to get in some final stage revenges <3
on the whole, i feel like i' learned a good deal've gained a lot in this year's AF, and towards the end, i felt like something else started to shift as well. it's a bit hard to put into words, other than feeling like i'm starting to let go of a problem or two i've had with my work.
on top of that, i've come away with some better direction and art goals for myself to work on, so while i'm tired from the rush of art, i'm definitely happy and satisfied, and i hope everyone who partook in AF, or received art from me is happy too ~ <3
While the blog's on slow mode for AF, I thought that this year, it might be nice to post the art I've been doing over on AF for those who mightn't have an account to follow there. :3
So without further ado~
Week One~!
In order of completion, we haveeeee....
Pic 1: 'Salesman Supreme' - Link Here
Pic 2: 'Koi Kitty' - Link here
Pic 3: 'Pastel Moonlight' - Link here
Pic 4: 'Eyes on You' - Link here
Pic 5: 'Pony Sticker Sheet' - Link here
Pic 6: 'Ocean Goddess' - Link here
Pic 7: 'Angel Face' - Link here
All links are directed to the matching post on AF, which contains the correct links and credits for the OCs drawn in the info section under each pic. <3
I'm suuuuper happy with how pics 6 & 7 turned out, but I love all the pics I've down so far~ Events like AF always give me a chance to experiment and try new ideas/styles, or to practise things I'm not so confident in, as well as just getting to see how incredibly creative other people are.
I always feel like I come away from these events with new ideas and a fresh mindset which just improves my work all the more~
w o w that went fast! but so far i've managed to keep up the momentum and create at least one pic a day~! receiving attacks/revenges goes a long way to keeping the motivation up, as does seeing every giftee scream when they've seen my attacks hehee~
without further ado though, here's the second week of art!
Pic 1: 'Sweet Dreams' - Link Here
Pic 2: 'Fly High' - Link Here
Pic 3: 'A Nervous Grin' - Link Here
Pic 4: 'Puppy Playdate' - Link Here
Pic 5: 'So Tasty~!' - Link Here
Pic 6: 'DIVINITY' - Link Here
Pic 7: 'Good Cheer~!' - Link Here
Pic 8: 'Pawprints in the Stars' - Link Here
As with last week's post/prior reblog, all links are directed to the matching post on AF, which contains the correct links and credits for the OCs drawn in the info section under each pic. <3
As it's probably easier to see now with a second week visible, my interests go all over the place, and i really do enjoy experimenting with all kinds of ideas - sometimes i'll go practise a style, such as the sanrio-looking pics 1 & 8, or i'll try working on techniques i'm not entirely comfy with, such as the backlight rendering present on pic 6, and sometimes it's just making sure a pose or expression is nailed.
A special shoutout also goes to the artists featured in pics 3 & 5, as those were both revenge pics for long-time DP fans, @silverops and @brewedfiction ~! it really did make my day to see some familiar names appear alongside your pics, so thank you once again! <33
this week of AF was a bit less active in terms of posting, buuuuuuttttttt i ended up doing a few pieces that were more involved and took twice as long, so it even outs imo~ :3
Pic 1: 'My Reflection' - Link Here
Pic 2: 'Magic in Vogue' - Link Here
Pic 3: 'Ready to Battle!' - Link Here
Pic 4: 'Cat Pose!' - Link Here
Pic 5: 'Danse sans fin' - Link Here
As always, all links are directed to the matching post on AF, which contains the correct links and credits for the OCs drawn in the info section under each pic. <3
as you can see, i went harder on the rendering this week, in one pic, a reflection that wasn't simply a copy-paste, another i worked on gradients, and then a watercolour-esque look down the line. this week in particular, i stumbled on new methods of detailing that i am absolutely taking into DP, and i just love it when i can figure out new stuff like this. AF gives back to you in many ways, if you're open to it~
going into the final 'week' (it's 11 days if i counted correctly lmao), i think i'd like to focus on less experimenting and more simple chibi-style pics, get back up to at least one pic a day, as well as hopefully not pressure anyone to revenge in the frantic finale of the event ~
While the blog's on slow mode for AF, I thought that this year, it might be nice to post the art I've been doing over on AF for those who mightn't have an account to follow there. :3
So without further ado~
Week One~!
In order of completion, we haveeeee....
Pic 1: 'Salesman Supreme' - Link Here
Pic 2: 'Koi Kitty' - Link here
Pic 3: 'Pastel Moonlight' - Link here
Pic 4: 'Eyes on You' - Link here
Pic 5: 'Pony Sticker Sheet' - Link here
Pic 6: 'Ocean Goddess' - Link here
Pic 7: 'Angel Face' - Link here
All links are directed to the matching post on AF, which contains the correct links and credits for the OCs drawn in the info section under each pic. <3
I'm suuuuper happy with how pics 6 & 7 turned out, but I love all the pics I've down so far~ Events like AF always give me a chance to experiment and try new ideas/styles, or to practise things I'm not so confident in, as well as just getting to see how incredibly creative other people are.
I always feel like I come away from these events with new ideas and a fresh mindset which just improves my work all the more~
w o w that went fast! but so far i've managed to keep up the momentum and create at least one pic a day~! receiving attacks/revenges goes a long way to keeping the motivation up, as does seeing every giftee scream when they've seen my attacks hehee~
without further ado though, here's the second week of art!
Pic 1: 'Sweet Dreams' - Link Here
Pic 2: 'Fly High' - Link Here
Pic 3: 'A Nervous Grin' - Link Here
Pic 4: 'Puppy Playdate' - Link Here
Pic 5: 'So Tasty~!' - Link Here
Pic 6: 'DIVINITY' - Link Here
Pic 7: 'Good Cheer~!' - Link Here
Pic 8: 'Pawprints in the Stars' - Link Here
As with last week's post/prior reblog, all links are directed to the matching post on AF, which contains the correct links and credits for the OCs drawn in the info section under each pic. <3
As it's probably easier to see now with a second week visible, my interests go all over the place, and i really do enjoy experimenting with all kinds of ideas - sometimes i'll go practise a style, such as the sanrio-looking pics 1 & 8, or i'll try working on techniques i'm not entirely comfy with, such as the backlight rendering present on pic 6, and sometimes it's just making sure a pose or expression is nailed.
A special shoutout also goes to the artists featured in pics 3 & 5, as those were both revenge pics for long-time DP fans, @silverops and @brewedfiction ~! it really did make my day to see some familiar names appear alongside your pics, so thank you once again! <33
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
While the blog's on slow mode for AF, I thought that this year, it might be nice to post the art I've been doing over on AF for those who mightn't have an account to follow there. :3
So without further ado~
Week One~!
In order of completion, we haveeeee....
Pic 1: 'Salesman Supreme' - Link Here
Pic 2: 'Koi Kitty' - Link here
Pic 3: 'Pastel Moonlight' - Link here
Pic 4: 'Eyes on You' - Link here
Pic 5: 'Pony Sticker Sheet' - Link here
Pic 6: 'Ocean Goddess' - Link here
Pic 7: 'Angel Face' - Link here
All links are directed to the matching post on AF, which contains the correct links and credits for the OCs drawn in the info section under each pic. <3
I'm suuuuper happy with how pics 6 & 7 turned out, but I love all the pics I've down so far~ Events like AF always give me a chance to experiment and try new ideas/styles, or to practise things I'm not so confident in, as well as just getting to see how incredibly creative other people are.
I always feel like I come away from these events with new ideas and a fresh mindset which just improves my work all the more~
here's some more answers to asks we've received over the last wee while ~! :3
in regards to random one-off background ocs, i usually try to do people that don't always look completely like generic mobs, and some of them also get more interesting designs such as tutor lady here, mostly because i prefer the idea of the world looking like it's full of people who could all be the main character in their own stories. that said, i don't try to think too deeply about backstories or making every single person interconnected, because if i did, i'd never ever ever EVER get anything done lol
OP/tazsaints on ArtFight~
Taz's Sniping List for those interested~!
Less than a week to go at the time of posting, so this is just a quick post to remind people that the blog will be slow during the month of July as OP/Taz participates ~ And if anyone reading the blog also participates, don't be shy in saying hi -- I'm also a running a variant on the usual HitLists you see around the site, for people who might have/know of an AF friendo in need of some love.
And before we finish up, I have a confession to make.
I caved. :')
After two years of being asked every so often if I'd put Alex and Max up on ArtFight, they're finally there! Anyhow, see you around~!
hehe seem the new babs name piqued the curiosity of a couple of people~! this name is defo a super nerdy one, and tbf i would have been surprised if anyone got it since you don't see chemical formulas made into names like this all that often ~
as for the montageeeeggggghHHAHGHGHHHHH OUGH
i love them for the story, it's so fun to show parallels or similarities occurring like that, and to move time along in a way that doesn't drag, but they are so. MUCH. WORK. and i am a lazy housecat weeeeeh
As Alex's school life is progressing well (for a change lol), Max seems to be in a bit of a slump........
And on a side note...... :D this page marks the first part of the transition into the winter break arc, I can't believe it took so long but I'm still stoked I managed to get here at all~! That's a milestone for me :D
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
In my defense, humans from the Pokemon world are built different. I’m 90% sure that even the regular joe in that world has a higher endurance than us. And Pokemon legends Arceus + ZA are strong evidences of my theory.
So even though Max is a teenager, he could absolutely punt me to the dumpster Kobe style
one of these two has thrown hands in the main story and it's not max lmao
