Let’s get weird
Hello! Welcome to MonsterBrainSoup. I’m Lukas, and this is my corner of the internet to talk about things that matter to me and share my art and creations.
I want to use this space to talk about alternative identities, self-expression, and ways to live in this world happily and healthily while still finding ways to be who you really want to be, even while that changes and evolves with you.…
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Happy Holidays! Free Dragon Art to Recolor/Edit
To honor the spirit of giving, here is a completely free piece of art that you can use and modify however you wish. Use it as an original character’s reference image, use it to practice coloring, use it as a base to design clothing or accessories, go nuts.…
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Free Online Color Palette Tools
Let’s talk about color! I don’t have a lot of color intuition, and as an artist, I tend to work in black-and-white first without much consideration for colors. I definitely rely on setting a palette to help guide myself. Here are my favorite free, web-based tools for creating color palettes for my art and designs.…
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Favorite Gen 4 Pokémon
Continuing my highlighting of favorite Pokémon from Generation 3, let’s take a look at my favorite Pokémon designs from Generation 4, Diamond/Pearl/Platinum.
Cricketune
I love that this dapper little bug simultaneously looks like a musical instrument and an orchestra conductor.…
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Reinvigorating Classic Monsters
I, for one, am not pleased with the modern focus on pop-culture and cartoon characters and raunchy jokes as Halloween costumes. Celtic Samhain, from which many modern Halloween traditions and the date are derived, marked the initiation into the “darker half” of the year – when the fae folk (NOT the Tinkerbell variety) and spirits have more power.…
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Webcomic Launch – Fear of Flying
Today marks the launch of my webcomic project, Fear of Flying! To put it REALLY simply, Fear of Flying is about people who turn into dragons and then fight ghosts, werewolves, the government, social injustice, and crippling social anxiety.
Come check out the prologue, see if you like the style, it’s more of an illustrated story than a true comic.…
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Monstober 2019 – 31 Monster Design Prompts
It’s here. It’s October. There are lots of great design and art prompts that circulate through social media during this month, like the famous Inktober which prompts you to draw 31 inked pieces, one each day.
I would like to present to you MonsterBrainSoup’s Monstober, 31 monster design prompts that can be “filled” in any way you desire – a written design description, a short story, artwork, a Pinterest aesthetic inspiration board, an edit/repaint of a figurine, or, really, any other form of creative expression.…
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Monster Categorization
The Halloween season is officially upon us, and I am just rip-roaring excited to collect this year’s completely unnecessary spooky merchandise.
In honor of this, the most fantastic holiday season, let’s talk about monsters a little more in-depth.…
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The Weirdest Dragons in Media
Listen, I love dragons. I love all interpretations of dragons. I love tiny fuzzy dragons and enormous blob dragons, beautiful and elegant dragons and ugly wretch dragons. Part of the fun of the concept of dragons is that it’s so open-ended, and there’s no real-world basis for criticism or limits on what a dragon can be.…
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A Review of HTTYD Dragon Species
The How to Train Your Dragon franchise is just behind Game of Thrones for public media recognition of the word “dragon”. It’s exciting to see an entire world based around the existence of dragons of all shapes and sizes. Let’s take a look at some noteworthy dragon designs!
Night Fury
Might as well start with this series’ mascot, the Pikachu of HTTYD.…
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Favorite “Flight Rising” Familiars
I’ve already reviewed the dragon species of the Flight Rising world, so let’s take a look at the familiars, the non-dragon companion critters (okay, let’s be real, they’re petpets). These vary greatly from fairly-normal animals to intelligent, sentient, clothing-wearing fantasy peoples.…
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