Movin' Right Along....

Happy Holidays :)

Just here to say I'm moving everything over to my art tumblr.
adkstudios.tumblr.com

this just doesn't feel pro enough, or accessible enough.  I'm going to leave character information here and use it as a sort of utility site, maybe direct people here for "stuff for trades" and whatnot.

I'm pretty excited about this change, tbh.  I finally figured out what I wanna do. I had wanted to do themed posts but I honestly don't need to and they made me feel anxious when I missed days and eventually just stopped.

Thanks for following over the years and again, character info and refs will still be here (for those w/o a nabyn or for refs that are just too adult :x)

Merri's New Ref // Plans....

Plans first, since the new ref is highly NSFW.

I'm going to give this thing a revamp if it kills me.  Just read a very nice guide on how to make a not-ugly-blog and it's kind of pointing a big finger at me saying "just redo it already!"

Problem is, I can't really decide what theme to go with next.  I'd like to keep it a little dark, but, I don't know.  I also would like to keep the purple in place, but I want it to be tasteful, not *too* searing, and readable.  Is this readable?

The header HAS to go, thinking I may take some of the photo paper I use sometimes and make a header out of that.  

In other news I finally wrote up the specs for the zine I want to do, it's still open participation, still encouraging queer contributors/content, still haunted-themed.  I just need to make sure the other person helping put it together agrees with the guidelines, and I'll post it.  I'm still looking for a cover.  May do the whole photo paper thing again, paint a ghost on...I'm not sure.  I'll think on that for a while.  May also ask a friend who paints cool ghosts who was planning to contribute if she'd like to make or otherwise provide a piece for a cover.

We shall see!

I still want to do all the things I've been doing or well...trying to do.  that is, the inspirational sunday, feature friday.  I want to start doing some fashion posts too.  I realized recently that just because my high school scared me away from my body and made me think I was awkward and therefore unsuitable for being a photography model for *anything* or doing any hobby acting...doesn't mean it's at all true.  I'd like to start getting into photographing outfits I coordinate again, as I did this for a little while to cheer myself up last fall on a fairly regular basis.  I put a lot into myself and my appearance and shouldn't cut myself short.  May also post the occasional thing about living with an autistic spectrum disorder/condition as I've had to make some choices about my diet lately in order to cope better with my symptoms.  Not enough people, I've seen, come out of the woodwork casually and speak about having autism like it's not some sort of awful curse unless it's an autistic-specific blog, website, etc. and that's kind of sad.  I could provide my own insight as people like me are probably out there wishing more artists and cool people were opening up about coping and day-to-day life.

Now onto Merri's new ref.

Warning: Nudity and adult content under the cut!

9/16/12: Cover Work & Ref for a Friend

Cover for a short story.  A lot of WIP stuff, basically....

So here's the original paper, exposed photo paper with ink over it.  

Original colors on the left, B/W on the right.

And with art added.  Filtered the B/W differently here, different values, cooler grey.

And linework.  Forgot his side strands of his bangs, trying to decide if that bothers me....

And here we go, a reference for a friend of mine who used to be online; her fursona (slightly redesigned/finalized) :)

The design is all her, I provided a bit of input but she made all the calls and the base is completely hers, without my input.

In person the ref will be over two pieces of paper, one for the standard base colors (the cream/red) the other for her alternative color scheme.  Previously the stripes on the blue design had been yellow too but we decided to tone it down and stick with a three-color-scheme for each design.  

I hope she likes it, she hasn't seen it finished yet.

9/8/12: A few sketches

It's been a while.  I scanned a few sketches, a werewolf concept and an adult picture of Merri I'm rather pleased with.

Concept for the were form for Merri's new dom (and later boyfriend--Carlos is still his future spouse) Luke who is a pretty cool guy.  More on him later, whenever I next draw him.

I like skinny werewolves better than muscly ones personally but the muscled ones are cool too.  Werewolves are really hard for me to draw.  I used to draw them all the time in middle school, so it's been, I dunno, eight or ten years since I've drawn one?

Warning: Adult content under the cut.

7/23/12: Badges...and a LOT of Darkmoon!

 

 Left: My half of an art part of an art-and-items trade for angryprncess <3 Right: One of two badges for Punkrock-shefox, fancy badge!

Badge for Antique of Yum*Pop, for part of a commission payment.  This badge is done, except for puffy stickers.  I want to scan it when the stickers are on it, but those will only be added after I laminate it since to do so before hand would be certain death for the badge.  It's really cute...y'all will see it soon. :)
It's not scanned yet because I need to wait until I have enough to laminate so I'm not wasting the sheet with only two things on it and a ton of empty space.

 Darkmoon, supplementary for her ref to show her body hair (armpits, crotch, inner thighs, navel) which is very thick and very dark.  Also a vent piece about societal pressures to shave that due to my texture issues (mostly mild except when concerning this) are just impossible for me to give into.  The texture of my own shaved skin is repulsive and appalling to me and shaving is emotionally draining and takes forever due to exactly how thick the hair is.  Most of the time it doesn't deter me from wearing shorts without tights or leggings and mostly others don't critique me anymore, but I've been told I couldn't go on school trips, been teased, singled out etc. by both teachers and peers in school so it's hard for me to shake off paranoia about it.  Also I'm the only one of my friends who doesn't shave and it's galling for me to have to listen to others talk about shaving during the summer.  So, yeah, there's my rant.  Felt good to draw Darkmoon again.
I temporarily had a desk position at work that was really tedious and repetitive so I did some sketching...this, the badges above, and the work below...the whole post....basically was done at a desk during my lunch breaks and other times when I needed to get away from the task without actually doing anything too engrossing.

So you may remember my Feature Friday about theeverydaygoth, talking about her inspiring me to do a wardrobe cleansing.  I also got back into wearing gothy stuff-I had given up since I felt it didn't look good on me--but then I realized I was being ridiculous and had the right to feel pretty, so I went through my wardrobe and cleaned out a lot of things and resolved to wear my other clothes again.  When I went to see Rasputina in April I got all dressed up for the first time in ages and felt really good and looked really good--that reassured me that I look pretty good in elegant black stuff too.
Supplemental to Dark's ref, these are all outfits I own.
First sketch was the bottom left, by far my favorite.  Put this together for AC.  Hand-dyed pettipants!  Little cute goaty horns are from DMB.
The top left one shows a shirt that my mom and I are pretty sure she made years ago, gave to a thrift store, and I bought it. No joke. XD  Hair clips from the awesome Miss Monster.
Top right shows me in the only short-sleeve blouse I still own, haha.  Put that together for work in the office since I realized I didn't have to wear jeans and tees every day and looked grungy compared to others around me. :I
Bottom right one was the last and I ran out of room and it's my least favorite.  But the caplet is cute.  The bustle skirt is poorly made and the material is cheap and I'm trying to replace it with something better-made.
So a few notes: I layer a lot, wear mostly black, grey, and white, also ivory, also burgundy/wine sometimes, and some purple.  My use of blue is usually muted and rather limited but I have a few blue tops.  I layer a lot, hence the camis and transparent tops.
The crow skull necklace is from Skullery, it's another optional necklace for Darkmoon, but I also have an ankh and a circular chain mail necklace, so in addition to the two on her reference sheet, these are also all daily optionals.  I/she typically wear(s) two at once but one can be worn too.
I'll be making other cute goth sketches in the future as I update my wardrobe and will hopefully be doing fairy kei, lolita, and punk ones.

Warning: Nudity under the cut

This is ALSO supplemental to a ref, but Felix's ref only.  He can have Baphomet features--horns, bat wings, halo, visible chakras, etc.  The wings and horns are transparent/ghostly.  The sigil of Baphomet and inverted crosses aren't part of the form exclusively, rather, some of his many optional tattoos.  Also wax fetish.
Also super inspired by tons of Black Tape For A Blue Girl.

Martha Celestine Betourne

One of my oldest characters, well, kind of.  After 7+ years of inactivity I brought her back with a new name, design, back story, group of friends, personal style...new everything.  Except the species and coloring.

Mostly a kink character but also a librarian, good friend of Carlos, a seamstress for Sugar Sweet, and a lifestyle lolita and goth.

Full Name: Martha Celestine Betourne
Nicknames: Puppy, Mouse, Good Girl, Sweetling (various pet/sub names)
Birthday: December 19, 1987
Height: 5’0”
Weight: 300 lbs
Body Type: Stocky, hourglass, voluptuous, obese.
Occupation: Clerk at Sugar Sweet Boutique, library sciences student specializing in Baroque manuscripts.
Ethnicity/Species: French Canadian, Papillon and small fraction of parrot (green coloration and bright eyes only possible by mixed bird x mammal ancestry).
Faith: Raised Catholic, now a Unitarian Universalist
Sexuality: Lesbian
Partner: Single, but has both sexual and nonsexual relationships with several dommes.
Siblings: Ray, 6 years older.
Music: The Deadfly Ensemble, Azure Ray, Current 93, Amanda Palmer, The Dresden Dolls, 8in8, Death In June, The Jezabels, Extra Life, Larkin Grimm, Rasputina, White Ring, Parenthetical Girls, Sam Mickens, The Ditty Bops, The Pipettes, The Antlers, This Mortal Coil, Vermillion Lies, Deerhoof, Poe, CocoRosie, Kate Bush, Clan of Xymox, Bauhaus, Rozz Williams, Cocteau Twins, Angels Of Light, Johannes Sebastian Bach, Hungry Lucy, PJ Harvey, Swans, Kyary, Skinny Puppy, Δaimon, Scarling, Black Tape For A Blue Girl, Jacqueline Du Pré, Throbbing Gristle, Faith & The Muse, This Immortal Coil, oOoOO.  Goth, acoustic, experimental, classical (string especially), electronic, witch house, industrial, dream pop, no wave, freak folk, some pop.
Fashion: Lifestyle Lolita, enjoys classic, country, EGL, and sailor styles.  Favorite brands are Mary Magdalene, Victorian Maiden, and Sugar Sweet’s classic and EGL lines.  Has to sew or re-construct almost all of her clothes due to her size.  Floral prints, tartan, gingham, vertical stripes, prints with vintage animals, blues and navy, neutral/forest greens, black, greys, browns, dusty pink, pale yellow, wine.  No sweet colors or pastels in general.  Classic sweet is acceptable but OTT or typical sweet is not.  Typically coordinates with shrugs, prefers to be modest and not show her chest and shoulders (or arms if she can help it).  Fond of bows and headdresses, hair ribbons, rosaries, pearl and flower accessories, and bird cage charms.  Does not over-accessorize ever.  Not as fond of lace, often avoids lacy dresses and accessories.  Wears neutral-tone maryjanes and Victorian-style boots.  Often braids her hair in various styles (French braid, herringbone braid, etc).
Personality: Incredibly introverted, very shy and soft-spoken.  She is rather private but not withholding with those she trusts.  She was raised by her controlling grandmother, who tried long after she was too old to treat her as a young child.  Martha was never allowed the luxury of privacy even in her room, and as a result is rather secretive and leads somewhat of a double life.  Her grandmother is prying and spies on her, so keeping her sexuality and interests apart means living them away from her home and family completely.  Hence, her sub life—despite being owned by several dommes—is not as involved as she would like.  She has poor self-advocacy and trouble communicating with others and often finds it easier to simply not try to make friends, go to parties, etc. or be a wallflower when she does show up (at concerts she often goes alone and talks to no one, except the band if possible).  Binge eater and anxious eater, was told by relatives and classmates her whole life to watch her figure, which only made it harder for her to do so.  Martha’s attempts to come out of her shell and not deny herself are challenging and hard to cover up but the amount of risk makes them more enjoyable.  She still lives at home and doesn’t feel comfortable having an actual girlfriend, but has been used, trained, and (without the romantic elements present) collared by several dommes.  Carlos, her friend and coworker, has largely helped her gain the confidence to explore more meets than she would have otherwise, and has helped her keep her confidence up regarding fashion.  Being heavier than most Lolitas, she has to sew or alter much of her wardrobe to fit her and is employed at Sugar Sweet as a seamstress.  Although her grandmother annoys and even frightens her, she still somewhat shamefully enjoys being cared for, controlled, and treated as one would a dog or child (puppy and regression fetishist primarily, age 4-5, no trainers or diapers), given little to consider (also has fun misbehaving, something she never does to her grandmother or other authority figure out of play situations). She also has an interest in various aspects of S/M, notably needle play (nonsexually with Carlos), spanking, and caning.  She doesn’t enjoy rope bondage and full-body extreme restraint, but does like being leashed, put in harnesses, made to wear chastity belts, being muzzled, and sometimes hobbled.  Also a food fetishist (rubbing soft, sweet foods, ex. pudding or tiramisu on someone, being made to eat said foods from another’s chest, etc).  Big on music, plays viola quite well—her grandmother pushed her to do well in that area.  Well-read and prone to being slightly snobbish about books, art, and music.  Writer, enjoys poetry especially and wants to be a performance poet despite her hatred of being the center of attention.  Largely into goth culture.  Hardly ever goes to Lolita meet ups or goth events besides concerts.  Although she has a hard time making friends and has very few, Martha largely enjoys her own company and is never without a book or note pad on hand.
Drugs: -
Likes: Books (texture, smell, etc), reading, Renaissance and Baroque artwork, the International style (early Renaissance), school and learning, sleeping, cooking, flowers, lolita fashion, European history, pet play, food play, regression, d/s, needle play, flogging, restraint, her ever-growing collar collection, soft and muted colors, being alone, concerts and goth clubs, dancing (when no one can see/no one cares to notice), shopping, surrealism, romanticism, sewing, designing clothes, museums, PBS, classical music, string instruments especially viola, decorative house items, crafts and craft shows, darkroom photography, quiet, writing stories essays and poetry, horror films and stories, Stephen Gammell,  fish tanks, performance poetry and performance art in general, winter, coffee, David Lynch, Neil Gaiman, Charlotte Bronte, Renaissance fairs, Salvatore Dali, sweets and baked goods—especially puddings,  mousses (any kind/flavor), chocolate, crème brulee, tiramisu, fruit tarts, angel food cake, and éclairs.
Dislikes: Being the center of attention, being spied upon, her figure, having strangers read her writing, energy drinks, sandwiches, cold hands, being startled, amusement parks, pop culture, mainstream media, metal, hip-hop, country, bluegrass, and most pop, waking up too early, loud things, being dirty/getting her clothes dirty, sports, being approached by strangers, anti-lbgtqpia, memes, pastel grunge, hipster fashion, being in crowds, racism/sexism/body type hate.
Movies: Rabbits, Elephant Man, Pan’s Labyrinth, Being John Malkovitch, Black Swan, The Hours, V for Vendetta, The Red Violin, The Wizard of Oz, Orlando, Girl With A Pearl Earring, Lolita, Elizabeth, Blue Velvet, The Secret of Kells, Red Riding triology, Hearts in Atlantis, The Merchant of Venice, Lady Jane, Mirrormask, Secretary, Nosferatu, Bela Lugosi’s Dracula, Shutter Island, Fight Club.  Surrealism, horror, period, drama, mystery.  She doesn’t watch movies often and prefers period pieces on television such as Downton Abbey, The Borgias, Tudors, etc. especially those in the Baroque and Elizabethan era, but certainly some others as well.  Also surreal shorts are always good.

Opaque black heart tattoos on each hand and one at base of tail.
Big & fluffy tail, white underside, black tip, green on top does not meet the black.
Fur is peachfuzz except in areas where feathering is present—her pink skin shows through on her stomach, shoulders, and legs especially.  Back is more thickly furred.  Any scarring and bruising from play shows through—can have bruises and marks from caning, spanking, flogging.
Dark green ears, tail, and forehead marking, darker hair.
Fur just under tail is the same green as her tail.
Full, soft lips.
Optional reading glasses.
Collars: she has many in different colors, some plain, others more embellished, mostly for play.  Her “good girl” collar is her primary puppy collar, for example.  Heart collar is her only every day collar, but it’s used for play too.  Her other collars are never worn unless for play or attending a related event.  Several are from different dommes and bear their signatures to show ownership, but Martha’s involvement in any D/S relationship is usually sexual and/or platonic only due to her desire to remain single and need to hide her lifestyle at this point in her life.
Can wear chastity belts as attachments to her harness, which are attached at the (again optional) tail restraint.
Muzzle—shown here—can be worn with regular clothes to munches etc.
Long blue-green hair can be braided, curled, put in buns, etc. enjoys Regency and Victorian hairstyles.
Eyes & forehead large, muzzle short & low.
Although there is parrot in her ancestry Martha has NO bird features, just her unusual coloration.
Small hands and toes.
Heavy and voluptuous.
Skin is very pink. Any scarring from play is very light and most fades away in a few months, so it doesn’t show up on her skin very much, but initially her thin fur ensures anything on her front or legs especially will show right through her fur—can be drawn with bruises and marks from caning and flogging.
Ears are not pointy, but rather soft and rounded with massive amounts of fringing fur.

Feature Friday 2: < Epic

I've been working on a four-page black and white comic over the past week or so (you'll see sketches etc soon!).  Although I'm writing a big comic project, I'm now making smaller ones to get used to making comics.

Working on this one made me think of The Less-Than-Epic Adventures of TJ & Amal (warning: NSFW), which is one of my favorite webcomics of all time.  I follow few since I'm really picky about my comics....but this one really catches you.

Not from the comic itself...Didn't wanna spoil anything!

It's human art, not furry or fantasy.  While some of it is adult the story itself is not explicit porn or anything, rather, a tasteful play-by-play account of two perfect strangers traversing America over the span of a week.
And that's all I'm giving away.  The artwork is AMAZING and full of so much feeling and detail...I'm constantly amazed.  The storyline itself and the writing are excellent....life-like, touching, and dare I say it?  Pretty hot, sometimes!

If you haven't read it, check it out.  Even if you don't think < Epic is your thing...well...it probably is and you don't know it yet.  The sidebars are full of gay erotica and while this isn't really my genre of choice, TJ & Amal is NOT straight-up adult...it's so much more than that.

If you like it, you should check out the gift shop, get a few prints and stickers and maybe a book....you know, support E.K. Weaver (who WRITES AND ILLUSTRATES THIS HERSELF, with a full-time job, updating weekly.  That's mad skills) and her ability to give us this terrific comic.