Jack's Art Jamboree

If you're looking to sell your product, you can rely on Gold Ship to give you the push you need~ Also a lesson to always look at the fine print, but at least it was only temporary!

First upload of the year being a preview from months ago that I expanded upon, oops. >.> I'd like to thank those that have been patient and stuck around for updates! I took on a little more than I expected and I kept on debating how I wanted to make this kind of comic because I've done a lot in a vertical format, and was curious to see if I could make it work horizontally. I wanted to see how well it works so going into the future, other ideas and suggestions can be able to see what works and what is preferred.

The story continues as the rescue team comes in! They've come prepared to take on the new dangers…however, so did the cockatrice. Time will tell if a new team can save them from this fate or not.

In some universe, this would be a tactic for a Pokémon speedrun. In most cases, I think this leaves a cold shoulder response.

I've done frosty ice and I've expressed my interest in expanding in ice material, and I thought what better time to break the ice with LexASFR than about a month back. They were kind enough to let me know how well I'm getting an effect to look and getting the faded iris look, while I add my tiny spin to it. I love clear see-through ice but I have fondness for some sort of color saturation as well, shows a thorough encasement while adding an extra layer of "cold" to it. At some point, clearer ice will be seen but this will be a good starting point going in that direction.

Also a good time to jump back into a frequent franchise, one part thanks to LexASFR's inspiration and Pokémon does have a lot of cute characters in it, some I know and some where I was out of the franchise around the time of X and Y being out, but got to venture back into those game worlds. I'd like this to be something I visit every 2 or 3 months, but I like to have every character to have their unique scenario/peril. Maybe it'll be a single character spotlight, maybe it'll be a cast like this with 3 or more characters, but it's a chance to make a lot of them stand out in a way I like.

I had a lot of fun building a main ice pillar and small erupting ones around the base, adding some shine effects all around, and having each gym leader have a unique response to their status. I have a bit more to learn about this type of ice effect, but I'm really happy with how it came out! There was also an early ending I had with Dawn saying something about Glaciate's hit percentage being high for a reason, but I felt I did that type of joke better in the Fire Emblem: SS comic and this Pokémon deposit was a more in-universe response I thought was both funnier and cuter lol.

In the midst of a dark forest: Keira: It's not much farther, Silvinia! The poster said around this area of tree stumps, the creature is said to be lurking around here! Silvinia: Keira, we're pretty deep into these woods. The sun doesn't penetrate through these trees very well and it's only getting darker... Keira: Don't worry, the townsfolk said this creature shouldn't be taller than 3 feet. With that height, sounds like you only have to worry about their speed. Silvinia: Y-yeah, no problem, but you really can't see that well in this area. This deep in the forest, there might be other creatures that never got witnessed and we might not know about them! It's not even what we're looking for, we don't know if there's some other threat that'll come out of nowhere. Keira: You got me, Silvinia, we're a team. We also have our weapons if it gets out of control. I got your back, you've got mine. Silvinia: ...You're right, I get ahead of myself sometimes. I really appreciate those words. Keira: Besides, this poster says there's a great reward if we can find out anything more about it. I don't know how much they mean by anything, I guess more about its appearance? We could stick around to see what it eats or if it has a nest for eggs. I know you don't want to be here too long, but let's get a chance to know a little more about it. ...It seems like there's only so much to learn about it, this outline only shows what looks like a chicken. Silvinia: Keira...speaking of getting ahead, I forgot to mention...there was only one poster. Keira: Wait, that explains why we have two papers...did you rip it in half? Silvinia: Sorry! I saw this poster asking for more details about a creature, and I wanted to show you it but the crowd of people was too much. I had to get in and get out! I fell from the bulletin board with a section of the paper to share it with you, but then I found you were also in the crowd with the other half in hand. You told me "Silvinia, we gotta check out this chicken!" and we made a mad dash over here. I forgot to mention it in the rush and a small glance at my half once we got into this forest didn't reveal anything to me at first. But looking at it again now, maybe there is more to this creature. Keira: Nah, I got too much into a sense of adventure, I really wanted to see what makes this chicken so unique in this area. I'm very sorry, you know how much I let the rush to get me. Let's check this out together! Silvinia: Keira, you really can be too kind at times...okay, let me fully roll this back out.

Keira: Okay, seeing the whole picture...ooh, this chicken has what looks like a dragon tail! Or maybe that's more like a snake, but those sections of wing shout dragon to me. Silvinia, the allure of this creature just got more exciting! Silvinia: I feel like I heard of such a creature...chimera? No, that wasn't it, maybe something more like- Keira: Wait, Silvinia, hold my part of the flyer! Around that fallen branch...I see it. It has those wings and the tail! It sure likes to jump around a lot...wait, I think it noticed us, it's looking this way and starting to narrow its eyes. Silvinia: CO-COCKATRICE! KEIRA, DON'T LOOK INTO ITS-

SHING!

Silence. Two heroines fall as two sculptures stand in their place. Days pass. Days become weeks. Sections of hair and clothing have been weakened by the petrification, chunks of them fall as frequently as the tree leaves do. But news emerges of two enthusiastic girls going into a forest and not returning. A searcher has been made aware of such a situation. A lone wanderer? Or can they arrive with more company? The story may one day continue...

--------

And now entering the world of Hololive, video game, and anime ASFR, I welcome OC ASFR into the fray! I had a chance to answer some questions regarding a few of kreuzfarer125's characters. I enjoyed hearing about a world where despite having advanced technology existing in a sci-fi setting, it's still just as simple to be susceptible to petrification and other types of suspended animation via magic or mythical creatures. It's been a fascinating thing I thought about where it's good to be protected against dragons and goblins, but what about things that just need you to look at it like a cockatrice? Seems like something that'd be easy for many to not consider, and that type of idea got my attention.

I learned some characteristics and got to write up the above story prompt to showcase some interactions and get a setting in place. I also wanted to do it as it's been a few months since I did a background proper, so wanted to refresh myself with a setting I wanted to mess with more, grassy forest. A lot of light layering since I wanted a fairly dark forest, but wanted enough light to still showcase the statues and mess with colors that didn't seem too muddy. Still plenty to learn, but I'm content with the background, especially had fun drawing characters (indefinitely? >.>) frozen in shock.

It's fine to be ambitious and shine among the crowd, but there's merit in natural beauty as well!

Gold Bind has no association with Gold Bond, pls don't sue lol

--------

Hey, glad to be back again, big apologies on the wait for this. This was something that really should have been finished during June or the first week of July at the latest.

But it's been a mix of two things, one is looking to (re)learn textures so I can reliably be able to put together art ideas at a more consistent pace. I've learned ways to do stone texture and I wanted to do this gold texture again since it's been two years that I've colored it, but I like to set myself a gold standard (heh) on areas I want to set for years to come. Hopefully, the next instance of this should come out faster since I found a color layer set for it that I enjoy.

I have a few other textures I want to learn, one is a quick-dry cement texture and a few selections of ice (block, frost, a see-through coating, quite a variety to choose from!) that'll be coming up in a future set of ideas. There will be more, but these will be the main focus for most (or rest) of this year. I'm looking to increase my output closer to a pace of 3-5 weeks and not, uh, 3ish months >.> Since I'm still learning a few new things that I want to look its best, this pace will take a while for it to come to fruition, but I look forward to being able to reach that point.

The second thing is I got blindsided with Cover releasing a fourth HololiveEN wave called Justice, and I've been taking time to watch streams to gauge their personality and cadence of speaking to plan out funny comic scenarios. And for those that enjoyed the Advent idea, given Justice is meant to be a counter to that group, look forward to where I'm leaning to go with them (hmmmmm just ice...). I still have that schedule I'm following in my recent status update, but if I build up that Justice idea enough, I might splice it in. If I do, I'll do another update to let everyone know.

Word circulated around Orario about a new monster appearing in the beginner levels of the Dungeon. Fearing another event like Bell's fight with the minotaur happening to another unprepared adventurer, high alert notices were placed all around the Guild. Precautions were put into place to explore the tunnels with care and only when led by those with knowledge of that particular dungeon floor until further notice.

Ais and Ryuu were one such party, being among those in the Level 6+ groups who would be able to take on anything that came their way. Lefiya, although being a Level 4, also tagged along. Maybe wanting to ensure she could be able to support Ais on her own without needing support from their usual Loki Familia party, maybe knowing the weight of seeing a friend slain in battle with your own eyes is not one she'd wish even on her worst enemies, she insisted on her invitation and the two agreed. The trio ventured forth without a hitch, slaying monsters well into the Middle Floors. As they thought nearing Floor 20 was a good break point for the day and to relay the area is clear to the Guild, they headed back to the entrance. They were mere meters away from it as they rounded a corner and then...

The three saw the entrance was surrounded by a fair amount of creatures, largely consisting of bugbears and a few orcs. A strange collection of monsters for sure, but nothing they haven't dealt with prior. Ais and Ryuu readied their stance, Lefiya let out a quick heal to give them one more burst of energy to take out this group and make their return. And yet...Ais sensed something was off. Just like that minotaur who found that white-haired boy that fateful day, there was something not meant to be on this level. The mob let out a huge roar, blowing the trio a tad off balance but making their hair whip in the vortex. Ais still felt uneasy, noticing the roaring creatures changed stance, creating one large gap in their formation.

"A new tactic?" Ais thought, thinking the roaring was a distraction as the opening would allow for a monster to charge forth or shoot out a projectile. But as the dust kicked up in the roar, she could only spot a pair of bright yellow snake-like eyes. The wind was still kicking up, Ryuu blocked out enough dust blowing into her eyes to catch another such set of eyes on a body crawling on the wall. Lefiya was nervous but held her own ground, being ready for their next course of action and not wanting to desert the team. But the horde was about to put a full stop to that concern.

Ryuu called out "It's here! Retreat back around the-" but in mid-sentence, the two entities readied their gaze and, within a flash cast from their lustrous eyes, blinded the area around the trio. As the light faded, three statues were left in the wake. The petrification was so swift to the point that the trio couldn't even react quickly enough to everything from skin to fabric being converted into stone. Consciousness immediately left their body along with shards of armor not being able to hold the conversion and weight of its new stone form.

Several days pass, Ais's party hasn't checked in. A few members of Loki Familia formed a party in search of them and made their way down the spiraling passages. Immediately on entry to the 19th floor, they saw her motionless likeness in the dust. Closer inspection quickly made the elation shift into shock, as what was thought to be a strangely-placed sculpture of Ais turned out to BE her, with Ryuu and Lefiya nearby succumbing to the same effect. These floors being desolate and damp as they are, the limited time that passed was enough for moss to grow on the statues and deterioration to worsen with stone hair plummeting to the ground. This party had questions as to why these creatures, capable of freezing Level 6+ adventurers with no issue, would leave them as they were and not shatter them completely.

A teasing show of mercy to try and restore them back for a second try? A twisted statue garden for their own pleasure? A declaration that they could emerge to the surface if Ais's party wasn't an obstacle to them? And with the most recent Guild news being the creature had yellow snake-like eyes and learning now it can do something like this, did they even know if it was a gorgon or a basilisk? A new creature altogether?

An art piece donated to one of Manon's establishments by a mysterious artisan, an inscription on the side reads:

Hestia remains Bestia. And if this was good enough for Evelyn to do once, it's good enough to do twice! Now with better form, better lighting, and better composition.