I'm just gonna say that I ADORE that idea you have of merging a few prompts!!! I can't wait to swim in all of that creativeness

chimera #1
well-intended, but misguided
NURTURING, SQUARE GLASSES, CONFUNDO



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The first random draw is always the most nerve wrecking and looking at my spinner after adding all 150 prompts to it was both a delight because of all the possibilities...but also a little scary and overwhelming because...of all the possibilities My first word was 'nurturing', which immediately pulled up imagery of my two rugrats watering the plants on the balcony and getting excited whenever there were new buds or sprouts appearing. Next was 'square glasses', which put my in the direction of drawing an OC wearing glasses and watering a plant. Then I got to 'Confundo' and...well...you can sort of see some of my scribblings underneath my markers, but I played with a few concepts. All of them kept plants in some form (hugging a pot, hugging the Whomping Willow, watering one, etc). I had thought of drawing an OC getting smacked over the head by a magical plant and their glasses being knocked sideways while just barely hanging on to their nose...but then I had this glimpse of one of my first year characters (Anna Walles) and an encounter (perhaps her first) with mandrakes. The poor crying things clearly just need a hug and some additional comfort (like say...a teddy bear) and those tears will surely dry right up, right? Maybe at least the next time she attempts such a thing she will not neglect her earmuffs. And please ignore that I wrote the incantation on my paper and not the spell name. Ink is an unforgiving mistress and I was working on autopilot

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

I'm just gonna say that I ADORE that idea you have of merging a few prompts!!! I can't wait to swim in all of that creativeness

Thank you, Alicia. The idea was suggested to me by Felix initially when I was debating doing a couple of three color challenges (draw random three markers and away you go). The idea kept rolling around in my head a bit and hitting a few conceptual walls along the way, but this morning I woke up inspired and away we went.

Omg this is so flipping cute. I love your style of drawing characters, especially your use of markers, and Anna is adorable. I can definitely see her doing this too. Also love this concept! I like doing challenges like this too and I'm eager to see what else you come up with!

The mandrake is SO CUTE. Like I want a little stuffed one just like that to hug for comfort instead of the teddy bear. I love how this turned out, and the challenge of melding several prompts together is going to be so FUN to watch.

Also, the freckles. They're killing me.

I love the concept you’re running with this year, Kath. You always take your seektober thread and elevate it to new creative depths. I’m so excited to see how this unfolds, but already I am so blown away by your first round. The teddy bear wearing the square glasses? *CHEFSKISS* The mandrakes expression is also especially tugging on my heartstrings.

chimera #2
the home tree touch
PREJUDGED | KINDNESS | DITTANY



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One prompt I would have never picked on my own was the prejudged/underestimated prompt...and wouldn't you know it, that was the first one that was pulled from the app on this second round. Go figure. Thankfully the despair of artist block did not have time to set in with 'kindness' and 'dittany' as follow ups. With two Hufflepuff inspired prompts...there was one idea that came to mind and no my brain would not be accepting other pitches at the time. Almost immediately, the moment where second year Derfael adopted the rescued bowtruckle that he named Picketta came to mind. Him lowering his hand and asking her if she would like to be his companion and her little bowtruckle tendril fingers coiled around his to solidify their bond. Picketta was (...is...) and extremely judgmental little thing who distrusted all humans because of the illegal means of which her and her then bowtruckle family's Home Tree was chopped down and harvested from. Once her she formed a bond with Derf, that softened for HIM...but then everyone else he ever interacted with she had her issues with. Scratching, biting, ~gently mauling~, and so on...until she learned to trust. Picketta also taught Derf responsibility and patience, being assertive about his own wants and not letting people walk all over him or the words of other influence how he ought to behave and act. So, like dittany, they healed one another's bruises and scars. Also, there is something poetic about how there were two Hufflepuff prompts and one Ravenclaw one since Derf was a near hatstall (and originally intended to be a Ravenclaw but Hufflepuff inched its way in).

The effect on this one is much softer than my previous one. On top of the color palate being softer in general, I also colored first and then did line art after - and even then, the line art is not as sharp and full. It gives off a real sweet and innocent tone, I think, which fits the inspiration quite nicely.

Quote:

Originally Posted by emjay

Omg this is so flipping cute. I love your style of drawing characters, especially your use of markers, and Anna is adorable. I can definitely see her doing this too. Also love this concept! I like doing challenges like this too and I'm eager to see what else you come up with!

I do love me some chibi style Her hair was both the most stressful and most fun to shade - I think there are three different browns used from the Ohuhu skin tone collection in there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassirin

The mandrake is SO CUTE. Like I want a little stuffed one just like that to hug for comfort instead of the teddy bear. I love how this turned out, and the challenge of melding several prompts together is going to be so FUN to watch.

Also, the freckles. They're killing me.

A plushie mandrake like that would be so cute, omg. There are places online that turn children's art into stuffed animals... they really are missing out on potted mandrake plant plushies!

If you can believe it, when I started drawing this I made a big ol' note to NOT forget her freckles - because I don't have many characters with them and I haven't drawn them before either...and then I went and forgot them and honestly, the audacity that is me because Anna's FC has the cutest freckly face.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArianaBlack

I love the concept you’re running with this year, Kath. You always take your seektober thread and elevate it to new creative depths. I’m so excited to see how this unfolds, but already I am so blown away by your first round. The teddy bear wearing the square glasses? *CHEFSKISS* The mandrakes expression is also especially tugging on my heartstrings.

thank you, Ariana the mandrake's face and the teddy bear were the quickest bits of this piece to draw too the glasses really suit it too.

I'm definitely loving the way in which you're putting three prompts together into one piece, Kath! The explanation you offer for each too, is so clear to understand! Loved both pieces but my heart's stuck on Picketta's

Look at sweet little Picketta! I would take a plushie of her too. Maybe I only want plant plushies in my life from now on, since I kill real ones. Do you suppose Picketta just puts up with Chloe and Bria, or are they part of her home tree now too?

N'aww Picketta, so cute! I love the coloring on her especially. And her expression just looks like she is so happy to have found Derf and have that mutual acceptance.

ahhh I do love seeing what you do with those nifty markers, and I was pleased to see you go with the combined prompts idea. all the different expressions in play in chimera #1 are I also really love how you blend those markers (something I have not... attempted yet) and especially in little picketta's ... skin?? bark??? surface... area (I'm having an existential crisis over the skin of a bowtruckle)

it IS very soft and ugh. her little face. uGh. cutest.

I'm very much enjoying the background blurbs for each of these too. more please. give me more chimaeras

These are absolutely epic, Kath. I'm especially digging your first one. You are the GOAT with those markers. They're tricky to use!!

chimaera #3
this is fine
OILY | LEGILMENCY | HERBOLOGY



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With double Slytherin prompt inspiration (specifically 'oily'), I thought for sure I would be going with Eiji Rasting making a mess in his DIY alchemy lab or some shady corner in Knockturn Alley during an exchange. But then I got to actually putting my pencil to the paper to sketch and he was over my shoulder muttering about how insulting it was that he cause any sort of explosion given how far he has finessed his techniques...and things took a U-turn pretty fast. 'oil/oily' immediately made me think of bubotuber pus and its petrol-smelling self...which lent quite well to the Herbology prompt and then all that was left was Legilmency. This then pushed me in the direction of one Benjee Marchbanks since he is a Legilmens...but that either felt too on the nose or like I needed to scrap the whole bubotuber pus explosion idea that I was now in love with...so it was back to the drawing board. Literally. The face of someone being furious/frustrated/embarrassed by the mess came to mind...and then Legimency turned away from the magical trait and skill to more a certain transparency with emotions and gathering a certain sense of what someone is thinking/feeling without having to read their thoughts. Cue Atlas Flamsteed and his inability to show his resentment/disgust/upset/embarrassment when it strikes. Rather than on his sleeve, Atlas tends to wear his emotions on his ears and cheeks and is rather poor at hiding how he feels when its an extreme feeling - basically the sort to keep the lid on a boiling cauldron until the pressure is just too much that is KABOOMs. And he is very poor at Herbology - though not without making honest effort to be better! 0 Gryffindor prompts, but Atlas was almost a Slytherin so...it works.

My favorite part is how the pus turned out. I've played around with the colorless blender marker to mimic transparency many a time since receiving my Ohuhu markers with varying results. The trick, as I learned, is to put some of the colorless blender down first and then lightly brush over that while it is still wet with the base color and then one more time with the colorless blender. Let that dry and then add another layer of colorless blender to activate the markers again and start to build your overlay color - I used two shade of green/yellow-green for the pus and then some white gel pen for the shine. And here is a version in sketch phase because I just really liked how it looked and I was afraid line art and coloring would ruin it.

And Atlas would like to point out that even in chibi form he still has his nice square jaw.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

I'm definitely loving the way in which you're putting three prompts together into one piece, Kath! The explanation you offer for each too, is so clear to understand! Loved both pieces but my heart's stuck on Picketta's

Very glad bowtruckles have very long lifespans, let me tell you Her little tendrils are my absolute favorite - and nice that she is being to delicate in this piece because most of my memories with her are her being vicious.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassirin

Look at sweet little Picketta! I would take a plushie of her too. Maybe I only want plant plushies in my life from now on, since I kill real ones. Do you suppose Picketta just puts up with Chloe and Bria, or are they part of her home tree now too?

There are some really cute plant plushies out there and your bed clearly needs to be covered in them - though I suspect Remus would turn them into chew toys. Possibly. Picketta has long since accepted she just cannot make Chloe go away and is absolutely part of her Home Tree now too...even if maybe a branch she somewhat visits reluctantly, sometimes. Sometimes gladly too. Bria is and never will be in danger of her petty jealousy though, so at least there is that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by emjay

N'aww Picketta, so cute! I love the coloring on her especially. And her expression just looks like she is so happy to have found Derf and have that mutual acceptance.

I thought I had botched it up by going so pale at first, but I really like the softness and it really gives that sapling feel to it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Felixir

ahhh I do love seeing what you do with those nifty markers, and I was pleased to see you go with the combined prompts idea. all the different expressions in play in chimera #1 are I also really love how you blend those markers (something I have not... attempted yet) and especially in little picketta's ... skin?? bark??? surface... area (I'm having an existential crisis over the skin of a bowtruckle)

it IS very soft and ugh. her little face. uGh. cutest.

I'm very much enjoying the background blurbs for each of these too. more please. give me more chimaeras

oh hey

it is really SO MUCH FUN to blend and my first practice was literally just blending good ol' ROYGBIV, so I suggest starting there you won't even need colorless blender for that - just make sure the ink is still nice and wet and juicy on your paper for easiest and cleanest results.

Harry Potter WOULD throw an extra 'a' in there at me...I'm so good with words with all these 'a's in them

Quote:

Originally Posted by BanaBatGirl

These are absolutely epic, Kath. I'm especially digging your first one. You are the GOAT with those markers. They're tricky to use!!

you are too kind. There is certainly a learning curve with them but I love them so much ;____; for sure my most favorite art supply I have ever purchased.

I just all starry eyed here because I cannot get over how CUTE this mashup is! I LOVE the expression on his face My fave thing though, is the little plant. I adore the colouring :3

Don't you think Bria probably just assumes Picketta is her sister?

Anyway, poor lil Flamsteed. It seems just the sort of mess he'd get into, doesn't it?

AWWWWWW STOOOOOOP. Atlas’ expression is perfect, love him. Your art style is still, as always, an inspiration and really makes me want to get creative and I love the Anna one!! I recognised her immediately, hehe.

Oh this is the perfect mashup of these three prompts! I love this so much from his precious angery expression to the blending of the bubotuber pus. And just the way it lays on his head lolol. I'm going to try out your blending method.

chimaera #4
fly high
TIGHT BUN | EARMUFFS | WINGED KEYS



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Another concept that came to me almost instantly...but I almost scrapped entirely upon completing coloring because I messed UP because her left leg is not supposed to be behind the broom but in front of it and I should have erased the lines more diligently in the sketch phase and I had a real moment when I realized the little oopsie. But, channeling some Bob Ross, I kept the happy accident and tried not to stare at the glaring mistake for too long.

Anyway.

I knew the moment I had a prompt that even alluded to brooms that my girl Zinnia Shacklebolt was going to come into play. Ironically, it was the 'tight bun' that came up first and had me immediately thinking of her and the extremely tight ponytails she oh-so-often would wear her hair in. 'Winged keys' sealed the deal and brought in the broom element (also a KEY to this character's happiness) with 'earmuffs' rounding it all out as a wintery piece. Due to her strict upbringing, few things in life could make Zinnia truly smile and feel her most free but quidditch and flying were and still remain to this day her sanctuary. Combining her aerialist (silks specifically) skills with flying was also a means for her to reclaim a bit of agency in her life since learning this skill had also been something controlled by her grandmother to be performed in beauty pageants and high society pureblood parties as an eye-catching selling point for matchmaking. Drawing Zinnia with such a BIG smile was a pretty big treat for me, not gonna lie, and it is probably the sort of smile she only wears in secret while taking her broom out for a spin.

I just wish I had colored the broom and her left leg properly.

This one was really fun and a challenge to play around with my darker Ohuhu markers and rediscover the variety of shade I have with my browns and yellows. I think I am most proud of the way her face came out and particularly the hairline. There IS a reason why a lot of my chibis have sweeping bangs or a lot of hair over the forehead and that's because I find it easier to do than 'bare' foreheads and hairlines. But hers came out so cute and dainty and you would never know her tendency to rub it so viciously while irritated Giving Ravenclaw it's bronze (no silver here) was also nice and there are probably three different lighter shades of brown in use there. The earmuffs almost vanished because of her dark hair and the purple was not standing out all that well, so I pulled from my shelf some very fine tip POSCA pens and one of my pale purples to give it a bit more dimension and texture.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

I just all starry eyed here because I cannot get over how CUTE this mashup is! I LOVE the expression on his face My fave thing though, is the little plant. I adore the colouring :3

It is a VERY weird looking plant. The perfect yellow dots were created with a POSCA pen and really brought it all together for me working with BLACK is always hard because it is so unforgiving at times. The pot though I used some colorless blender on it after setting down the base layer and it really came out nice.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassirin

Don't you think Bria probably just assumes Picketta is her sister?

Anyway, poor lil Flamsteed. It seems just the sort of mess he'd get into, doesn't it?

I can see that no questions asked. Probably shared a cot for a bit too. Picketta would just love tangling herself up in those curls.

It really...truly does. Poor June Flamsteed surely had her share of heart attacks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emzily

AWWWWWW STOOOOOOP. Atlas’ expression is perfect, love him. Your art style is still, as always, an inspiration and really makes me want to get creative and I love the Anna one!! I recognised her immediately, hehe.

you are so sweet (Atlas and Anna appreciate it, very much) hope to see you have a thread one of these days!

Quote:

Originally Posted by emjay

Oh this is the perfect mashup of these three prompts! I love this so much from his precious angery expression to the blending of the bubotuber pus. And just the way it lays on his head lolol. I'm going to try out your blending method.

The colorless blender is so intimidating to me but...maybe 3 years later I finally have it sort of figured out. Thank you, MJ

I can't get over how freakin' ADORABLE these are. And you're right, that pus is amazing. Wow, that's a sentence I never thought I'd type. And the shading on the pot. And those super cute earmuffs. And the Ravenclaw sweater.

I want this to be a comic book series.

The hairline turned out great, and those earmuffs are legit FLUFFY. I'm obsessed with the fluffy. I like how fast these all fit together like puzzle pieces for you to come up with a concept, because it looks like you're having fun and experimenting with the medium in a very cool way. How many markers do you have?

Omg. I love this concept so much! I think chimera is my fav so far. I love them all! Stop with all the talent you make me jealous! SO CUTE!

Ahh it's Zinnia! You did a lovely job with this one too. Really love the blending and vibrant colors, and especially appreciate the blue and bronze. The detail on the sweater is amazing. I don't know what you mean by messing up because this is clearly Zinnia just about to hop onto her broom while it's in mid-air. She is that skilled.

chimaera #5
cookie girl
GREY | TRANSFIGURATION | HALF-BLOOD PRINCE



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Drawing 'grey' first made me immediately jump to Charles Hollingberry since he is quite literally a greying man. Transfiguration solidified this idea, while also giving me feelings about drawing a chibi old man, since he is a Metamorphmagus...but 'half-blood prince' threw me a little for a look because he is a pureblood and I was not really drawing clear and easy connections between the title and Snape's reasons for it. So I back peddled a bit and with 'grey' being associated with old...my thoughts jumped to my oldest and first ever RP character, and the daughter of Charles Hollingberry, Kurumi.

So, cue a little homage to first year Kurumi and her cookie (and alleged part house elf) legacy.

Kurumi is halfblood, born to a muggle mother and pureblood father. Her upbringing is quite the opposite of Snape in that she was closer to her father and neglected by her mother on the basis that she was magical and her mother harbored a deep resentment towards the magical world because Charles' fanatical pureblood family and a ~certain incident~ when they found out he was in love with and had married a muggle in secret. However, Kurumi shared in that Snape-like ambition to rise above the prejudices and neglect and had to learn to embrace her heritages during her time at Hogwarts, including her inherited Metamorphmagus abilities that kept her eyes violet. I've been watching a whole lot of House of the Dragon and once again going down the spiral of THE PRINCE THAT WAS PROMISED and how in High Valyrian the word for prince is a gender neutral term and here we have an afterthought of a crossover.

It's a little doodle that brings back the stubby hands and feet. Huzzah.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BanaBatGirl

I can't get over how freakin' ADORABLE these are. And you're right, that pus is amazing. Wow, that's a sentence I never thought I'd type. And the shading on the pot. And those super cute earmuffs. And the Ravenclaw sweater.

I want this to be a comic book series.

I've tried to write a comic so many times but... I lack the consistency still to actually accomplish such a thing. Maybe I just need to figure out a more simplistic style to get through it and not keep my brain wrapped around full blown mangaka

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassirin

The hairline turned out great, and those earmuffs are legit FLUFFY. I'm obsessed with the fluffy. I like how fast these all fit together like puzzle pieces for you to come up with a concept, because it looks like you're having fun and experimenting with the medium in a very cool way. How many markers do you have?

Thank you, Ern and...uh...I have THIS MANY. Several are pretty dried out and need replaced.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Suziella

Omg. I love this concept so much! I think chimera is my fav so far. I love them all! Stop with all the talent you make me jealous! SO CUTE!

thank you, Suzy

Quote:

Originally Posted by emjay

Ahh it's Zinnia! You did a lovely job with this one too. Really love the blending and vibrant colors, and especially appreciate the blue and bronze. The detail on the sweater is amazing. I don't know what you mean by messing up because this is clearly Zinnia just about to hop onto her broom while it's in mid-air. She is that skilled.

Long live the blue and BROZE. Just...cannot forgive Warner Brothers for that. Ever. The sweater was looking a real mess until I drew the lines down them with my brown liner - then it finally looked like a sweater because my shading was just not doing it.

I like your take. Yes. She agrees.

Ugh, Kath, these are all amazing! I LOVE the colors you've used for your creations! And the expressions you're able to capture on their adorable little faces never cease to bring me joy! The color blending in the chips on Kurumi's cookie too *chefs kiss*

shhh no it's fine I think chimera/chimaera is a dual-spelling thing depending on where u are

okay first off you need to know I recognised that as atlas INSTANTLY. it's the jigglypuff face for me. the association of the prompts to the piece is we love a hero's journey. I love the blending on his hair, so subtle but so effective, and also in the pot of the bubotuber. AND in the pus. ugh. witchcraft.

i looooove all the little details you managed to get into your zinnia piece - how big are these pieces roughly? are you diving up pages of your ohuhu sketchbook again? anywaY, the texture in the broom bristles and allll the blending and shading here has such a good effect, and I think you did great on the hairline too, I wouldn't have thought it was something you usually struggle with. anyway x2. yes. love a smiling zinnia. team blue-and-silver-is-valid

it's kurumiiiiii. what a journey for this prompt, and her eyes are amazing here, and you know i am in love with the richard-of-york-gave-battle-in-vain cookie... things. chips? you know what i'm saying. this one looks so soft to me and yet not soft but yes soft but ??? it's very striking. I love the contrast between the dark of her hair and robes and the bright eyes and cookie Roy G. Bivs

more please