#artoftt

Ch 1: For this chapter cover, I wanted to do my best to replicate the eerie, sickly vibe of Level Zero. And that resulted me in really playing around with the lighting and shadows in a way that I hadn't before. I also wanted to give it a bit of wonky perspective and feel a bit like an illusion-house.

Ch 2: Lookit this cheeky fucker. Totally isn't a Tower of Terror employee luring you into a false sense of security. 😁 My initial idea for this illustration was to make it look as if the Manager's cuttlefish head was really morphing & bowing out from within the wallpaper. I tried a couple drafts where I attempted to line up his tentacles and facial patterns with the wallpaper patterns. And idk, it just didn't end up looking as cool as it did in my head. (Also hallelujiah for Clip pattern brushes, they helped me make the trim around the elevator.)

Ch 3: Fun fact: This chapter was originally going to be the second half of my hotel chapter. But I'm glad it became its own thing, cause otherwise it would've robbed me of the chance to draw Rags acting like a supervillain in a construction helmet and flannel 👍

also Clip Studio Assets are a godsend, they prevent me from having to draw out an entire freakin warehouse floorplan. I did color it all myself though.

Ch 4: I remember this drawing taking me longer than I would've liked.Then again I've always struggled to draw somewhat realistic-looking water. The shadow off-shooting below the smaller cube pool into the deeper water was actually a complete accident.

And in case anyone was wanting to see a close-up of Lionfish Rags:

And again, Spike and Drake are temporary names for the sake of this AU setting until I think of actual names (for if and when I ever get around to making a Mer-Nautica AU like I've been wanting to). The silhouettes show how big they were when I first saw them in my dreams:

Ch 5: I had visuals in mind for a group of Wanderers/ Survivors since before I wrote this chapter, and grew even more attached to them as I wrote them. I was originally going to just have them depicted here, but I also couldn't get the stupid image of Rags and his megaphone out of my head and decided it needed to be shared 👌

Ch 6: When I tell yall that it was a struggle to get through drawing this. And not because of genuine art struggles; No, because of the pure Lee Panik that gripped my soul when having to zoom in close on Rags' sadistic unhinged Ler face hhhhhhfdhdfjgkfghl-

This was one of the chapters I was most looking forward to writing. It's still one of my favs in terms of pure unbridled ruthless gang-tickling, the culmination of my pred/prey/chasing fantasies revolving around laughter-hungry monsters, along with some good ol Mad Scientist roleplay.

...Oh and the first official introduction of the final antagonist, there's that too 😛

Ch 7: Yall have no idea the absolute childlike glee I felt when discovering that there's a freaking Bouncehouse/McDonalds Playplace level of the Backrooms. But holy hell, drawing the Toon Monsters was more of a challenge than I thought. There's a surprising amount of finesse in depicting that wacky, slightly-unnerving/uncanny toony charm. (Ballpit brush is best brush, change mymind)

Ch 8: Since this chapter was more or less meant to be a sort of mid-series Climax, a hint of what the battle with the Keymaster would be like, I really wanted to push myself with making this chapter cover truly stand out. It was fun to come up with a full-body design for the Court Jester (based on his Wiki interpretation of course), and it was fun to experiment with the ideas I had in mind for his magic visuals.

Once again, Clip Studio assets are a lifesaver, you can catch me actually attempting to draw a rollercoaster or carousel when I'm six feet under 👌

Ch 9: I was both excited about, and dreading, the chance to play around with various different light colors & sources. I wasn't sure how I was going to make neon blues, purples and magentas work in contrast to Rags' color palette, but I'm very happy with what I came up with.

The Dark Sovereign was also a chance for me to play around with chiaroscuro, an art technique that I've always admired (and actually really liked to do with chalk & pastel back in college). As much as I'm a slut for bright colors, I love stark contrasting black & white.

Ch 10: I went through about three iterations of sketches for this chapter cover. I felt like I just couldn't figure out how to angle the perspective of the treeline in comparison to the Giant. I'm still not even sure if I thoroughly pulled off the proper perspective of the greenhouse in the far distance. But once I added all the pretty, spooky fog effects, I became much happier with it.

Unfortunately I do not have a standalone drawing of Naga!Rags. It will definitely happen one of these days.

Ch 11: For this chapter, I wanted to draw a very cramped, stark, foreboding stretch of environment: Basically, a quintessential scene that one would see in the Backrooms if they were wandering through them alone. This is meant to be a much more down-to-earth chapter than the rest, with an air of melancholy and uncertainty. Turns out it actually lined up quite well with some of my own mental and emotional struggles that I was going through at the time.

Ch 12: For the final hurrah, I really wanted to push myself as a digital artist for this piece. (Though that doesn't mean I was about to draw all those goddamn keys from scratch, lmaoo you can thank Clip Assets for that key ring.) I wanted to try and find a way to make the Keymaster the more imposing figure in the piece, despite the fact that Rags is fully powered-up and closest to the viewer. I'm not sure if I entirely succeeded, since my end solution for making him stand out more was "MOAR GLOWY KEYS!!!"

But it was still fun, and very rewarding to get it completed.

Name: Laurence

Alias: Laurie, Laffy Taffy (or just Taffy). He dislikes Larry and will purposely ignore it.

Race: Human

Age: 28

Pronouns: He/They

Height: 7'0"

Sexuality: Pansexual, gynesexual (a preference for women and/or feminine-leaning) - is very respectful of trans and NB peeps who do not want to be perceived as female.

Personality: Overall he's a gentle giant. Outside of costume, he's quiet, soft-spoken, and keeps to himself. He seems low-energy and a little melancholy. His playful, fun-loving demeanor comes out more when he's having fun at arcades, movies, amusement parks etc. but he's still more energetic in costume, where he allows himself to be goofy and theatrical, and feels like he can be more true to himself. A bit of a cheeky prankster. Very protective & paternal towards his friends.

Likes: Performing, clowns & circuses, making people laugh, partying, amusement parks, arcades, sweets (especially taffy), tickling, making children happy, animated media (mostly adult animated comedies), cute clown ladies & big boobs

Dislikes: Horror (especially 'evil clown' stereotypes), overly-controlling parents, being alone, circuses that still practice animal performing. Very nervous in front of crowds when he's not in costume.

As a Ler: Devilishly playful, will pry someone to reveal their ticklish spots. He's typically gentle, but can be more intense if his partner wishes. He likes to go for unconventional spots (back, palms, ankles, cheeks, etc). He's very good at faking out his partner and keeping them guessing. He always has a good amount of tickle tools packed away in his duffels & suitcases, and in his jumpsuit pockets.

As a lee: He's very shy about being tickled, since he's usually the Ler, but he thinks it feels very nice and he enjoys the attention. But expect him to take revenge~ If you tie him up, chances are he'll find a way to slip free.

Ticklish spots: His feet, knees, ears & jawline are his worst spots. Loves belly tickles even though it's not super ticklish, because he likes positive affirmations about his belly pudge.

Other:

• Very skilled at improv comedy

• He's amazing at slight-of-hand and lock-picking. People sometimes wonder why he's a clown and not a magician.

• Good at playing piano and accordion

• Outside of costume he often wears eyeshadow, nail polish, and minimalistic clowncore clothes.

• He's very charismatic and observant. He likes to learn as much as he can about people and is excellent at networking.

• He occasionally makes & dyes his own jumpsuits. He always uses costume contacts and temporary hair dyes or wigs for his acts.

Some alternate outfits:

• Despite being very dexterous with his hands, he's a klutz that tends to trip over nothing or run into everything because of his height. He's jealous of, and has a lot of respect for, acrobats.

• He has a goofy Seth Rogen-ish laugh that he's self-conscious of unless in costume.

• He has belly pudge from his many years of eating sweets & getting munchies. It's just not noticeable under his baggy jumpsuits.

• He's friends with drag queens & dresses in drag himself from time to time.

• He gets high/drunk frequently, but he doesn't do it alone, and is very conscientious of not going overboard.

• He gets very shy and flustered around cute clown girls.

• He has a wide, toothy smile that is considered unnerving & intimidating by many. Very effective as a Ler smile~

Background:

Laurence always loved theater & performing, especially at circuses. He was in theater classes for the majority of his middle and high school years. He eventually insisted to his mom that he would like to be a circus performer, or at least a party clown to start with, and she more or less laughed him off. She and his teachers all insisted he use his skills in networking and coordinating for something more "useful" or lucrative, like a manager or director. She even partially hoped he would keep performing as a hobby and pursue other careers. This caused a rift to form between them, and made him feel like he had to hide his true passions and personality. But in spite of their discouragement, he got a degree in performing arts and started landing circus gigs.

Over the years, he began to realize he had a tickle kink. He adored peoples' laughter, and got a rush out of tickling & being tickled. In his early twenties, he browsed dating sites, servers, forums, etc seeking out other knismos - especially people who had an affinity for clowns. Using this knowledge, as well as his knack for networking and lock-picking, he began to seek the thrill of tracking down people who are interested in sessions, essentially becoming a serial tickler. He doesn't do much to hide this 'hobby', he just asks his partners to keep his real name & identity under wraps. But encourages them to spread rumors about the infamous Tickle Clown so that he can reach out to more potential playmates~