just a spark

“I know you.” -Blue (The River Spirit), Wayward Son by @rainbowrowell

I feel like I need to say a thing or two about this one. I went through a number of iterations that included the whole squad before I realized I wanted the picture to capture the moment of recognition that happens exclusively between Blue and Simon. Every time I added Penny, Baz, and Shepard, it pulled away from the intimacy of it, so I drew the moment she first touches him and framed them from above when Simon is in the air.

(Also, I studied a boatload of water images to see if I could capture The River Spirit the way she appeared in my mind as I read it: luminescent; commanding yet graceful; gentle, yet dominating the space.)

I’m proud of how this one came out. I hope you like it too. 🌊

EDIT: Did y’all know that Procreate can do timelapse videos?!?

Cora, from @seananmcguire ‘s Beneath the Sugar Sky.

Han and Ben

people who read fangirl and knew carry on was about snowbaz:

I think of the golden bridle, about the future the stars predicted. “I don’t know how to break the curse,” I say, all the tears haven’t shed welling up in my eyes.

This was so hard! I’ve been tracking and reading LGBTQA+ books for 10 years and picking 3 for each was tough! There are so many more I love so if you have specific ones you are looking for, or want more in these sub-genres you can totally ask me for recs. I’ll do my best.

fanart credit: @ace-artemis-fanartist

Below undercut is the Goodreads links to these books:

Note: THIS ART IS NOT A WS SPOILER. 😁

Inktober begins in a few hours, so I’m kicking it off with some Copic markers and Prismacolor pencils!

I hope you’ll forgive the somewhat compromised quality of these photographs—I took them in Nashville, which is where I was when I completed this set! It’s a belated gift for @carryonsimoncarryonbaz featuring text from her wonderful post-Carry On AU fic, “Never Tear Us Apart” (which is a gorgeous read especially if, like me, you needed a bandaid over your heart after reading Wayward Son). The lettering was accomplished by the talented and lovely @penpanoply, and it was just so cool to be in the same room finishing this strip together while CSCB watched (and cried). ❤️

For those interested in seeing the process of creating this set, I’ve put the production shots under the cut:

I know I keep saying it, but @vkelleyart is a wizard, and it was an honor to get to work on these with her. I was sweating bullets lettering on them—ctrl+z is a bit harder on paper, and I didn’t want to smudge something with my sweaty hands. (Nashville was sooooooo warm—how do people even live there.)

One last set for 2018. A retrospective of sorts with a promise of wonderful things to come in 2019. :)

Last January, I never could have dreamed that the year would end this way - with new friends, a new fandom, and a seemingly endless impulse to create. I can’t overstate how grateful I am for all of it, and all of you.

Thank you so much for being here. To my fellow artists and writers, thank you for sharing your gifts and inspiring me to be better. And to @rainbowrowell, thank you for being a lightworker and bringing stories into the world that fill us up with magic.

I actually loved X:Men Dark Phoenix.

Sophie and Jessica were amazing, the plot was super fucking interesting & fun (don’t get the critics who said it was boring tbh??? I thought it was pretty upbeat), it stayed closer to the comics than TLS, the Jean/Scott moments were sweet af , the Dazzler cameo was amazing, the soundtrack was BEAUTIFUL & haunting, it was super cinematic, and I just really enjoyed it???