ambimoon - Tumblr blog

[ambimoon]

[ambimoon]

elves don't sleep. (they trance).

wake👏tf👏up👏Gale👏

based on this post

[ambimoon]

They should invent a way to tell if a drawing is done

[ambimoon]

comission for a dear friend

[ambimoon]

I LOVE DU drow and I love your art style! I also really like how you draw Astarion's hair, it looks flowy but still with his trademark curls.

Can you give any advice on drawing Astarion's hair? I find it a nightmare to draw. Whenever I free hand it, it just doesn't have the amount of curliness I want, and when I try to use a reference it ends up looking rather stiff.

Take care and thanks for the art 😊

THANK YOU though to be honest I'm shocked to find this ask in my inbox because every time I draw Astarion a war is waged between me and his hairdo. But sure, lets give this a shot!

First of all I feel like its a good idea not to be too attached to his in-game model hair when drawing unless your style is very realistic. The only reason why that dry-noodle helmet looks so regal and bouncy is because of the high-detailed graphics. Like you mentioned yourself and many of us have experienced, if you try and stick to it too closely in most art-styles it just ends up looking terribly stiff.

Instead, I suggest just keeping growth-direction and shape in mind and applying as much movement as you want to it when you draw it. Here's some things to remember that might help you with that:

-I employ the liquify tool a lot when sketching his hair because I never get it big enough on the first try, lol. This can also aid you with "distorting" more curliness into your lines if you aren't used to doing that right off the bat, just try not to become too reliant on it!

-I usually leave the areas around the ears and back alone but imply a lot of movement with the top and front of the hair, taking as many liberties as I want even if it's not entirely faithful to the model. I feel like the impression of curliness comes entirely from the silhouette of the hair and little fly-ways that I add, and everything else I just try to do without overthinking it too much for a more natural look.

In truth, I feel like a lot of times we get stuck on things like parting-placement, right amount of curl, which brush we're using yada-yada when in reality we are neglecting what actually makes a character's hair recognizable: Hairline, growth pattern, and shape. If you get these three things right I feel like everything else is entirely just stylistic choice. It's worth pulling away for a moment and checking on these things if you feel like you're continually unhappy with your outcome!

-Astarion has a hairline capable making most men over 30 cry. It's very low on the forehead and tight on the temples with the slightest hint of a widow's peak. As someone who drew a lot of big-foreheaded characters with receding hairlines prior, this was a STRUGGLE for me to get used to and a big reason why I felt like I couldn't get his hair to look "right" for the longest time.

-His hair swoops to the right side of his face in a fanning kind of shape and is the longest at the front and top. You can imply a strong part if you want, you can split it into sections, you can have it falling over his forehead or not at all - as long as it's going in the right direction you will probably be fine.

-A mistake I would catch myself making often was getting the shape totally wrong - making it too slick at the top and putting all the volume in the back when that's pretty much the exact opposite of what his hair does. IT'S ALL AT THE FRONT AND TOP, REPEAT IT TO YOURSELF LIKE IT'S A MANTRA: IT'S ALL AT THE FRONT AND TOP.

And lastly, if you absolutely hate how his hair looks or hate to draw it, you can forego all of this and just do whatever you want. These tips are only worth something if you like how I draw his hair specifically.

Hopefully this was helpful at all!

[ambimoon]

Wouldst thou ever consider publishing a video box record of thine artistic algorithm so that a lowly mortal may learn?

Many people ask about speedpaints and content like this. Right now we're not making videos (yet!), but we publish such step-by-steps of some illustrations each month on our P@tre0n. Not only gif format, but also each stage separately + PSD versions of our files. Plus, sometimes small tutorials about the drawing process

Recordings will be coming soon. This is in our plans. Just our drawing process is a bit wild and a lot of things change in the process, even in the final.. especially with effects :’)

Our work usually always starts with a few sketches, with or without color (depends on how complex the piece is), and then a lineart > rendering parts > adding details > finalizing

Here you can see how Astarion's face changes throughout the process… We didn't like something all the time

[ambimoon]

I showed my bf the painting I'm working on of Astarion a Hello Kitty plushie and he was so shocked... in a good way, but like... i guess i forgot to tell him i was drawing that so he giggled a bit when he saw it 😂 definitely bc of the pure absurdity.

[ambimoon]

I'm trying to think of the best way to sell and ship my prints. I stubbornly make them at home to give myself more control over the process, but it leaves me to figure out the best way to consistently ship them in a way where they are almost guaranteed to arrive perfectly intact. I shipped these two fastened to hard cardboard, but i don't have consistent access to that cardboard. If any other artists have tips on the best ways to ship prints from home, please let me know!

[ambimoon]

thank u @ambimoon for the stickers!!!!!

[ambimoon]

"this song is about this" "this song is about that" "this person wrote this song about this person" wrong all songs are about ocs ive made and ocs that have not yet come to pass

[ambimoon]

[ambimoon]

[ambimoon]

i don’t know how to tell people that deriving pleasure - sexual pleasure included! - from art* is good actually, and that creating specific kind of art “just” because you find it hot or whatever is just as good a reason as any, and you don’t actually need some “deep and meaningful” reason to create art about things. pleasure - sexual pleasure included - is not the devil, it is not Bad and shameful, and it’s not any less valid of a reason to create something than because you want to, idk, explore the depths of the human consciousness or something

* art here includes writing

[ambimoon]

WIP sketch of Eva Green cause i love her face ✨️ It's kind of a study?????? Idk

[ambimoon]

For how long have you been making art? Is there a schedule you have? (Like drawing at least 1 hour a day, etc.)

If you work fulltime (40h+/week) somewhere else and art is your hobby, is there any advice you have? I feel like time is running from my hands...

We don't really have a special schedule or anything, we just draw almost every day from 6 to 14 hours a day, depending on how we're feeling, work plans, deadlines, and inspiration. Drawing isn't just something we do, it’s literally our main job and pretty much our life, like non stop habit. So that's our advice... Just draw. Draw a lot and as often as you can. And you just get used to doing it all the time ✨

[ambimoon]

You won't reach a point where you don't need references anymore 😭

Even artists who freedraw regularly still do studies, refer to their past work, keep character sheets at hand, etc

Please don't impose that expectation on yourself just because of a live demo, tiktok, or timelapses especially

[ambimoon]