this is madness, this is glory

Nick Barlow, Clusterfuck/Keep It Together, 2022

Zuko, freshly scarred: I had a dream that Uncle and I were clinging to a piece of driftwood for weeks before we ended up at a lovely spa and tended to and all my injuries were healed up

#I think there are explanations other than prophetic dreams but this is funnier#like for example him looking in the mirror and seeing air nomad tattoos is probably#just a manifestation of his anxiety around helping aang and what that means about him#but considering Zuko's grandfather is a former avatar and he later joins aang#that is a very funny dream for him to have#I vote Zuko has been having prophetic dreams this whole time but they involve a lot of symbolism#and he Does NOT do symbolism#so he's just like hm. yeah that was weird#and then when life poetically mirrors his prophetic dreams he doesn't even notice#This never comes up during his life time but some historian eventually uncovers his dream journal and finds it pretty blatantly#predicts every major event from his lifetime and beyond#and it ignites massive debate about how this foreknowledge was affecting his decisions as a head of state#hint: it wasn't (@an-android-in-a-tutu)

#listen not to read too much into the one line about love among the dragons#but zuko definitely knows about poetic symbolism but he doesn't believe in prophetic dreams due to thinking it's old man stuff for his uncle (@rogha)

#zuko thinks the curtains are blue and nothing else#prince ‘…which could mean nothing’ zuko (@averagemrfox)

#apollo throws the dodgeball and it just bounces off zuko @noccolibroccoli)

#Zuko being the spirit’s favored Normal Human (along w Sokka)#and him doing absolutely nothing with it#bc it never strikes him as relevant#(as opposed to Sokka who knows about the spirits but actively chooses to ignore them)#(out of spite and non-belief) (@seaglassdinosaur)

#sokka who had Multiple close encounters with spirits. still thinks they’re total bs#🫱🏽‍🫲🏼#zuko who has prophetic vision and thinks they’re total bs (@aneclecticmoonchild)

#zuko 🤝 sokka#yes I've had encounters with the supernatural no I don't believe in it (@emkini)

#he's that guy#the one who has prophetic visions but also impostor syndrome so he's like 'ugh it's just weird dreams'#'prince zuko have you considered maybe you have a gift--'#'there's only one gifted child in this family and she's a massive pain and also better than me at everything actually' (@aethersea)

So far I've only mixed up the main batch of colors, but I'll split them up and create a palatte of tints and shades once I have access to a scale again.

I don't have any fancy tools and have been blending the fiber by hand, so it's probably best I have a forced break for the sake of my fingers. Once I'm done I should have a very useful set of 57 2g swatches to play with! (Plus 5 more for a set of grayscale swatches)

The ratios are presented in the same order as the wool swatches in the photo above it. I didn't simplify any of the ratios so you'll have to deal with 2:2s instead of 1:1s, oops.

hi! no i cannot

LMAO sorry i only recently started testing out this style and i really cant explain it better than just. doing oilpainting digitally. as in, i start with the most bare-bones sketch, add base colours and then. render.

like, the process is literally:

but sorry im done ragebaiting. genuinely, though, these two images are one layer-toggle apart. 😭😭 I started practicing this style because i wanted to do something similar to oilpainting but digitally, so this whole drawing consists of 3 layers and some extra lighting

the basic process was: 1. draw out the general shape of the pose/clothing

2. colour base colours over the sketch

3. put the sketch back on top of the flats on a low opacity

and 4. colourselect the colours under the sketchlines to act as shadows and sculpt out the forms in that way (the more opaque you made the lineart layer, the heavier the shadows). i like this style cause it helps me practice my shapelanguage too.

then 5. (optional) i added an extra lighting layer and some blush to give him a bit more life

but yes this is all done on very minimal layers since when i traditionally paint i also dont have any layers to work with lol (for full transparency, details like the skirt, tights and the tshirt design were drawn on new layers, but then merged down)

i also have this same technique for other pieces. i did this piece on stream

this one consists of a background gradient layer, invisible sketch layer, flats layer, copied lower opacity sketch layer, render, extra lighting layer, and a gradient map to make the values a bit more distinct.

if i turn the rendering layer off, this is what it looks like lol.

anyways i'm sorry for the disappointing answer of just. fuck around and find out. if you'd like me to go into detail about carving out shapes, then i'm happy to talk about the process of learning to do that. It's something i personally struggled with, which is why i challenged myself to start painting in this way. I over-relied on lineart to do everything, so it's been a bit freeing trying to make the same pieces i'd normally make, but instead by handpicking out every colour with minimal blending modes and by carving out every shape by hand instead of just using lineart and a multiply layer.

1. The FBI's Famous Cases & Criminals archive (fbi.gov/history/famous-cases) has detailed breakdowns of real fraud cases, Ponzi schemes, and confidence operations. The language they use is clinical and precise, which is perfect for getting the procedural details right.

2. The FTC Consumer Sentinel Network publishes annual reports on the most common fraud tactics in the US. Great for understanding how modern scams actually work and what makes people fall for them.

3. The Smithsonian's American Art Museum has a free digital collection of forgery case studies. If your character forges documents or art, this is gold.

4. Court Listener (courtlistener.com) is a free legal database where you can read actual court transcripts from fraud trials. Want to know how a real con artist talks under oath? This is where you find out.

5. The Internet Archive's collection of old newspaper crime sections. Search for "confidence man" or "swindle" in papers from the 1920s through 1960s and you'll find incredible real stories that would feel too dramatic for fiction.

Bonus: The Psychology of Fraud section on the Association for Psychological Science website has accessible articles about why people trust, how deception works cognitively, and what makes someone a convincing liar. Essential reading if you want your con artist characters to feel psychologically real.

💥 ZINE PREVIEW 💥

Featuring our 10th ranked hero, Ahu by apolocya and kosho! INERTIA: A To Be Hero X Zine preorders open until June 30.

Preview for my piece! :D This project is SO COOL! Definitely so many talented artists~ Please check it out! Pre-orders are now open <3