Life OST: Songs to get quarantined to

Hello, sweethearts!

We all know 2020 is incredibly shitty year. Fires, riots, escalation of racism and queerphobia... And, on top of that, raging pandemic. Despite the last thing, Polish government (and not only they, I've heard United States' one wants to do the same) decided to open schools in September. It's obvious that in this case ensuring safety is impossible and we will probably end with another lockdown. So, why not make it a little bit more bearable with appropriate music?

To make things a little bit more interesting, I decided to not include songs made during pandemic about pandemic. Enjoy!


鬱P feat. 鏡音リン "コロナ"

Okay, I know this song has nothing to do with the pandemic except the name and that jokes about it have already been done hundreds times, but damn, I still find listening to it now quite funny. Also, it is actually very pleasant to listen. It's dynamic, heavy and Rin's voice is rendered really well. 鬱P in his finest.

Sub Zero Project "Patient Zero"

I think we have a 2020 anthem. And I should stop joking right now. I found this song by accident, while browsing electronic music on Spotify and fell in love immediately. I love the bass and hard, delicious drops. This piece has also very catchy melody, ideal for humming.

To be honest, I felt quite jealous watching the music video. I want to go to a concert...

Chamaeleon "Suppression"

Actually, it's a very personal choice for this list. During pandemic I have only on-line classes and professors give much more homework than usually. I always listen to music while working and lately I've been really into aggrotech. Surprisingly, it helps me focus. And this song is one of my favourites, I can listen to it all the time.

Kill The Sleeper "What If"

Another aggrotech masterpiece I discovered by accident on Spotify and listen to a lot while working (and not only then). The catchy melody and amazing harsh vocals are so beautiful I sometimes play it more than one time. Generally, it's one of my most favourite songs ever.

Keiichi Okabe "Possessed by a Disease" from "NieR: Automata"

If Coronavirus had a boss theme, it will be this one. No more jokes, I promise.
I think "NieR: Automata" has one of the best soundtracks in whole computer games' history (generally, it's one of the best games in whole history and don't try changing my mind, because it's impossible) and any time is good for listening it. "Possessed by a Disease" is one of my favourite pieces. It's epic and very energetic, perfect choice when you are stuck at home and need to make your chores a little bit interesting. And it has a very appropriate title. I'm sorry.

Terence Blanchard "End Credits [Chapter 4]" from "Perry Mason"

If someone follows me on Twitter (which I encourage – look for @kikihakanate), they know for last several weeks I was watching newest HBO crime series. I'll be honest, is there better time to catch up with various series and movies than quarantine? "Perry Mason" is great and I really recommend it. And while I didn't enjoy its OST that much (it mostly consists of jazz and I hate jazz), I fell in love with this particular piece immediately. It's eerie and beautiful.

Creep-P feat. Ruby "TV"

Speaking about watching TV, it's perfect time to bring up this gem. All works by Creep-P are amazing, but this one is my absolute favourite. It has catchy melody, nice instrumental and just sounds fantastic. Also, I love the lyrics. And the message (which is very, very, VERY actual now). And everything.

Sweet Revenge feat. 巡音ルカ "Dirty Duty"

With so much shit going on, it's hard not to feel like in a movie. So, why not ramp it up with a fitting song? "Dirty Duty" has a nice apocalyptic vibe, perfect to listen when you are sitting at home, wondering what next months will bring. And à propos apocalypse...

Lord of the Lost "Doomsday Disco"

...why not dance a little to another fittingly apocalyptic piece? Lord of the Lost made an amazing song about having fun during the end of the world we know, very rhythmic and catchy. I love it.

The Crüxshadows "Indivisible"

Because things got a little too dark, let's listen to something uplifting! A song about unity and overcoming hardships, brought to us by one of the best bands ever – The Crüxshadows. Catchy melody, pleasant electronic instrumental and Rogue's angelic vocal make a perfect song to lighten up mood during these hard times.


I think it's enough. Actually, if I listed everything I've been listening to during pandemic, this post would be horribly long. And, in your opinion, which songs match quarantine?

Stay safe, sweethearts! Take care!

Do goths dream about electric waifus?

Hello, sweethearts!

As you have probably noticed, I'm quite keen on drawing. And is there better topic for drawings than my favourite character from my favourite game?

Of course no, she is the best!

Because in "NieR: Automata" it's common to run into waterfalls, I decided to draw Binnie (yeah, I gave 2B an affectionate nickname) washing herself in one. I wanted to picture clash of her two characteristics: sexiness and innocence. For me, she is the most attractive character in the world of game characters (and rivalry here is strong!). In the same time she is also very sweet and innocent. Remember the part of the prologue when 2B observes birds? Or, later, is astonished by the rockets? Or every time when the game is left idle and she starts to stretch? Then you know what I'm talking about.

But this post isn't mean to boast I drew something... Okay, not only. I actually want to show whole drawing process!

Before I start, I want to set some things. Yes, there will be a little bit of nudity in this fan art (who takes bath in clothes?), but only a little bit. No, I have nothing against very sexy fan arts as long as they are kept tasteful. And no, I don't mind fanservice at all if it's done fair. What do I mean by "fair fanservice"? Well, for example, if male characters in the game have "normal" clothes, armours and so on, and females have only very revealing ones, that expose most of their bodies, then it's not fair. If there are characters who are only meant to be an eye candy, without any personality, then it's not fair too. Actually, a prime example of fair fanservice is in "NieR: Automata". Characters not only look amazing, but they also have deep personalities and different, complex motives. Player can blow up 2B's skirt... But there is no problem with blowing up 9S' pants and admiring his legs. And if someone prefers sexy, not-always-dressed men, then there are Adam and Eve.

Waiter, there are shirtless bishounen in my game!

 Tl;dr: Yoko Taro is a genius fair fanservice is when everyone are treated equally. And Yoko Taro is a genius.

Okay, enough for the start, let's get down to drawing.

The picture itself is digital, but I still started with a traditional sketch. Reason is simple: it's much easier for me, especially, when the drawing is more complicated.

As you can see, I always start with a head. I don't know if it's a proper way of drawing, but damn, I've been doing it for years and it's worked. After drawing the head's silhouette I proceed down...

...and down...

By the way, while drawing this I realised I can't draw boobs. Well, fuck.

...and after I'm done with the rest of the body (this time it was only waist, the rest would not be visible) I go back to the head. I draw face...

Eyes must be big and innocent!

...and hair.

After I finish the sketch, I scan it and transfer to my laptop.

I used to do the line art with fineliner, but after I changed my pencils it's not necessary.

Then I can proceed with drawing the digital version. Now, I use three programs: MyPaint 1.0, Krita 4.1.5 and GIMP 2.8. This time the last one wasn't used except adding the copyright note before uploading the picture to my DeviantArt account (old habit).

My main workplace.

I usually do the line art with PenBrush. I don't change the default brush settings, they're okay

The fact I can rotate the picture while drawing makes it much easier.

After I finish line art of the body, I upload it to Krita...

Person who invented OpenRaster extention is my hero.

...and colour it. I used to do the colouring in MyPaint, but, sadly, it lacks the filling tool and colouring with brushes would take ages.

Because Krita allows filling lines on other layer than I use, I always do that out of convenience. I also set the tool to add two pixels of filling under the line art. MyPaint's PenBrush doen't have sharp edges and I don't want any half-transparent pixels in my drawing.

The layer with filling looks like that.

Then I start doing the face.

Problem with eyebrows' colour is inevitable...

Doesn't matter, how hard I try, eyes never have the same size. Never.

Then I do the hair.

They are wet so they are a little bit darker.

I could finish with just one colour, many artists do something like that... But not me. Hair must look like hair, not a colourful stain.

But I must admit, drawing every fucking hair separately is annoying...

I mostly use three colours: one for the "hair base" and two for hair strands. Because I always end beyond the "hair base", I need to clean it up and erase the addictional pixels.

It's even more annoying...

A little checkup how Binnie looks with her face and hair...

My precious darling.

And I can take care of the water. Because I drew more body than will be visible, I had to cover it with addictional layers so it wouldn't look odd after I draw the background (erasing it would be too risky, I didn't want to touch the already finished layers).

I also added some water dropping from 2B's hair.

And, last but not least, the background (or "being pissed because I suck at drawing water").

After swithing off the colour layer I could position the waterfall more easily.

For waterfall I used two brushes: a half-transparent drawing one and a smearing one.

Because falling water was visible behing the foam, I had to make it a little bit transparent.

And a thicker foam.

Then I did the waves. I painted them on two layers, one behind 2B and one in front of her. I used the similar brushes to the waterfall ones.

Then I had to export the file, frame it and...

...it's done! Then I added the copyright note and uploaded the piece on my DeviantArt account. If you want to, you can download it there.

To be honest, I'm quite proud of this drawing. I think I captured Binnie's personality pretty well. Not to mention how much time it took me. Drawing isn't easy, especially the digital one...

PS Answering the question in the title: yes, they do. You have no idea how many times I have dreamt about "NieR: Automata" and its characters, especially my sweet Binnie. But I don't mind...




Image sources:
My beloved Binnie: https://www.polygon.com/2018/7/9/17549578/nier-automata-long-story-short-novel-release-date
Adam and Eve: https://nierautomata.wiki.fextralife.com/file/Nier-Automata/Adam_And_Eve.jpg?v=1516112364869

Introduction

Hello!

Welcome to my blog! This is my first post, so it's a great opportunity to introduce myself: I'm Kiki Hakanate, Goth & Automata's author, but you can call me Kiki (or Kiki-chan). I live and study in Poland. Blogging has always been one of my biggest interests and, after many years, I managed to start my own blog.

You may ask, why it is called Goth & Automata. Well, the "goth" part is quite simple – I'm a goth. But why "automata"?

"Automata" is plural form of the word "automaton" – "robot". Robots are associated with technological progress and technological progress – with future. I just wanted to emphasize my love towards new technologies and my hope for future progress...

Dammit, I just ADORE "NieR: Automata", absolutely love 2B (come on, she's awesome!) and wanted to show it in the title. That's all.

No, really. That's all.

So awesome.

Coming back to blog itself, I hope you will like my blog and find something interesting here.
Cheers!




Image sources:
My beloved 2B: http://nier.wikia.com/wiki/YoRHa_No.2_Type_B?file=YoRHa_No._2_Type_B_SS2.png