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shadowfals
I remember life in the '80s and '90s. It wasn't simpler times. Anyhow, I'm now mostly doing pixel art and illustrations. My 2025 goal is to create a fantasy visual novel for ages 17+ (or only for me, depending how the real world develops).

— he / they —

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Joined on 12/11/18

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shadowfals's News

Posted by shadowfals - 3 days ago


Newgrounds Events I'm Interested In


Writer's Jam 2025 by jamriot

https://shadowfals.newgrounds.com/news/post/1548327

tag: writers-jam-2025

my story: "Rounds"


Tutorial Competition by NOLNIR

https://nolnir.newgrounds.com/news/post/1545231

tag: tutorial-jam-2025-ng

draft topics: ways to draw pixel art



This like any of my news posts or art uploads may be revised at any time up until its deletion. (Everything ends eventully.) That's been the case for as long as I've been registered on this site. When I change something enough that it might significantly have different meaning from what was intended, I'll attempt to tell anyone's whose comments might also change meaning.


If you want something to keep indefinitely, ask me or it. Closed DMs mean "no" or "not here."


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Posted by shadowfals - 3 days ago




Winds howled across the high walkway on the fortress’s north side. Nighttime chill had saturated the stone path and short walls that now emanated cold toward the person determined to push through it in the late morning. A gust yanked the hood of a threadbare parka off the person’s head to free thick braids that whipped around, thumping against one numb cheek and a padded shoulder.


Ulye turned away from the strongest push of wind to secure his braids under the hood again before continuing on down the path. His next target was in sight. From halfway across the walkway to midway up the part of the fortress’s exterior wall visible on this level was painted knotwork. On inspection, the thick weave of spell words were missing its edges, eroding their intention. Swathes of the spell had deteriorated in the relentless onslaught that went unwitnessed on this side since the last round of checks.


If not for the redundancy in the overlapping spells along the exterior wall, this one would have left a gaping hole in the fortress’s defenses. Ulre set down his ink bucket, shifted the heavy pack on his shoulders to rest higher on his back, and knelt on the hard stones to begin repairs.


~ * ~


Sun glare illuminated layers of smog overhead and approaching dusk storm. Lighting added a display of bright color into the dull tones of the dust. Ulye reflexively ran a thumb along his face mask where a seal had once failed then turned to his last task on this level.


Done with the spell repairs on this exterior wall, there were only checks of their rainwater intake left. With a kick to reset the heavy pipe that had tilted away as usual, he started looking for signs of unexpected wear or contamination. Rust was eating away at the rim of a crude filter but would not be a problem to solve for a while longer, unless it took a hit from large storm debris that made its way up the fortress.


Unneeded tools in his pack, saving energy for the lower levels.


~ * ~


Deeper into the fortress, the howls he could hear were different, mechanical and another type of hollow. The attack weapons were sourced close to the ground, so that’s where they were loudest. Ulye couldn’t remember when they flew high enough to attack directly from above. It didn’t matter anymore. He of course continued to write their protective spells to guard against all angles.


The manufactured natural threats had never ceased. At the top were high winds and twisting storms, hail and lightning and debris pulled out of the struggling woods around abandoned towns, and smokey dust dropping out of the sky when it was too heavy to carry in its determination to reconnect with the poisonous earth.


At this lower level Ulye had no name for, the invasion followed a program of deliberate hostility.


The attack sounds here reverberated painfully against his ear protection. At least he could relieve himself of the googles that protected his eyes above. He kept his respirator over his nose and mouth to process out the stifling stench of stale air over rusting metals shoved into neglected corners.


This was an uncomfortable routine. Ulye hurried between the knotwork designs, slowing only to peer closely in the dim light glowing from the chest straps of his supplies pack. The erosion of these spells tended to be consistent, and that’s what he found on this round.


He touched up the spells with his ink as he went.


~ * ~


Even deeper, water dripped like from a torture device. Their most important filtration systems were in this area, but Ulye hating returning to them. Blood from Ililyris’s accident stained broken furniture that had not been repurposed into firewood, but Ulye avoided going near it. Other signs of casualties were covered by indomitable life. Slime molds spread out at the base of the compost system. Vines for food crops grew from splintered beams over blast holes in the stone. Rows of grain-producing plants in raised beds stretched out down a long hall like a scene from old spaceship dramas. Human corpses and the resulting grief of the past had long ago been dealt with and weren’t a distraction.


Ulye was extra careful with his spells here. Fewer lines of words made up the intricate curls. He reviewed his work twice after any changes.


He took off his respirator and wash off dust before continuing on.


~ * ~


The area of the fortress with the most meaningful name was home. This was where the walls were colorful from paintings swirling in a joyfully defiant riot around the protective spells. The supplies in Ulye’s arms felt heavier as he trudged past fragrantly flowering trees and boxes of herbs and small grains, some growing fresh and some dried, and any number of crafts accumulated over the years. He rushed to deposit them out of the way so his arms were available for better things.


Ililyris greeted him with a smile from beneath a new painting. Propped up by one and a half surviving legs, Ulye’s partner raised a brush in one scarred hand, waiting to demonstrate a new concept of imagination.


This was why the spells mattered: the beating heart within the ancient fortress.




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Posted by shadowfals - 2 weeks ago


iu_1416654_7180697.webp


I started this drawing in 2024. The characters are vaguely representative of the human and dragon couple in a short story published online years ago.


The reference model for the guy on the left was a Barbie(TM) doll. The result was uncomfortably stiff. I've since looked through magazines and felt around my own head.


Today, I realized the ear, eye, and hair made a difference in feeling plastic versus organic.


This version is better.


Update, July 3rd: Help me. I can't tell if anything at this stage is good.


iu_1423975_7180697.webp


Update, July 4th: Now it's better again.


iu_1424633_7180697.webp


I'm going to take clearer photos tomorrow.


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Posted by shadowfals - 2 weeks ago


I was given a gift card. Amazing. When I tried to use it to buy novels from a major chain store, I couldn't. Not until I changed the location from Florida could I even view my books in the "cart".


Why? Apparently, because the store listed the books as adult-rated.


Among all the other censorship pushed onto Floridians (and the rest of the country who's had the misfortune of dealing with the dick state's anti-knowledge movements) are now restrictions on online book sales?


More than before, I distrust Floridian who make excuses for the "Don't Say Gay" governor and his conservative goons.


My books already arrived. I changed my locations in the system. It's still infuriating, especially after I was kicked off a video site for being a suspected Floridian. That was another level of messed up....


How long until Newgrounders in that state—or in Utah, or in South Carolina— can't access this site without going full on with infosec?


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Posted by shadowfals - 3 weeks ago


I regularly read how-to books for the mental composting only, skipping over the exercises. But when someone here on Newgrounds recommended Marc Brunet's "How to Draw in 30 Days!" video, I for whatever reason felt like following along, more or less in my own way.


I've so far done the first twelve days. The instructions were to draw:


  1. Sphere cut in half.
  2. Overlapping spheres.
  3. Row of spheres in perspective.
  4. Sphere with light and shadow.
  5. Cylinders.
  6. Complex Shape(s).
  7. Floating cubes.
  8. Eyeballs.
  9. Pyramid of cylinders and cubes.
  10. Full to half volumes.
  11. Two rows of spheres to a vanishing point.
  12. Bent or wiggling cylinders.


These exercises can be boring to look over. So I want to show off this filter from my image editing app.


iu_1416115_7180697.webp


My cheap scanner doesn't copy all the graphite, which is even harder to see when correcting for uneven lighting. This negative filter helps brings out more of the lines and shading from the scan. Isn't it neat? This view seems useful in identifying areas that don't come across as well as they could.


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Posted by shadowfals - 1 month ago


iu_1412745_7180697.png

https://falsfiction.itch.io/earthy-products-pixel-art-tiles (Rating: E for everyone but the stories on the account aren't.)


Free download. Please get the files at itch.io. If you really want to pay something, there's Ko-fi (/shadowfals).


A note about references for my own conscience: I missed a couple in the included About file. For "Lover's Stones", a photograph I downloaded (from a site that afterward leaned into AI crap) to use on an older project helped me loosen up. The book 101 Textures in Colored Pencil by Denise J. Howard was my primary reference for the rusted steel.


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Posted by shadowfals - 1 month ago


What if Mario (or Luigi) from a remake of Super Mario Bros. and later media had to find the captured prince?


iu_1411088_7180697.pngiu_1411105_7180697.pngiu_1411087_7180697.webp


Edited to add context: I drew both of these in the same night after getting fired up from someone for calling LGBTQ characters unnecessarily "distracting" and using "gay Mario" rescuing his "gay platonic friend" as an example of bad representation.


If this is you I'm quoting— thanks for the inspiration. Look, the character doesn't even need to change much to fit into the intersection of players who'd pretend the screen said "princess" as expected and the players who'd be excited for the genderswap.


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Posted by shadowfals - May 31st, 2025


iu_1405629_7180697.png (large in BBS)


I wish I could more often get real food to people who are hungrier than me.


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Posted by shadowfals - May 24th, 2025


iu_1402543_7180697.png draft


The project is a small collection of merdudes who don't get enough representation within this theme.


There's a seahorseman, blobfishman, eelman, and this classic style of fish.


I'm angling to finish them by June 1st.


Edit: Done early. So I guess I can focus on how bad the political situation with civil rights, humanitarian aid, environmental conversation and recovery, food safety, drug (medicine) availability, public health in general,....


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Posted by shadowfals - May 22nd, 2025


iu_1401741_7180697.pngiu_1401742_7180697.pngiu_1401743_7180697.png


When I published my work in progress in my gallery (because computer glitches were making me nervous), I said the page could have been in a blog post. Here's that post with my drafts. This time, I added two photo I'd referenced for the setting.


Timeline: The pictures above are from last week, Sunday the 18th, and Tuesday the 20th. When I uploaded that last one here, my goal was still to finish the background, clean up the water, then animate the whole drawing.


That last goal has been dropped indefinitely. Animating is too much for what else I need to focus on for the last week of May. No surprise.


My references included photos from an old beach trip. Yeah, the real beach was prettier. I didn't want to distract from Lady. (The finished version is in my gallery.)


Some Newgrounders weren't alive yet when I took the photographs. Back then, I used actual film that was developed at camera shops. (Do you remember one-hour labs?) I took a quick photo of them with my phone, and because I didn't feel like taking them out of the plastic of their photo album, they look even older than they are.


iu_1401744_7180697.webp


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