skyfarerdraws

[skyfarerdraws]

[skyfarerdraws]

[skyfarerdraws]

For my followers on Twitter

As with most things I post, it began as a humble scribble.

The eyes were the only thing I kept from my first draft. Mostly because I screwed them up after that, and couldn't figure out where I'd gone wrong. I've found that it's often easier to start over than to try to fix something that has a less obvious problem.

Draw, redraw, digitize in ArtRage, edit some things, then dissolve the sketch layer to reduce (in)accuracies, and colour over it with transparency before drawing final lines over the colour layer.

Not sure if that's how it should be done; I'm far from learned in the field of art, let alone digital art, which I have very limited exposure to. I was pretty handy with GIMP in highschool, but from what I read about it online, it's one of the least used programs for painting and illustrations. I guess that's why dedicated art programs like ArtRage survive; they serve a purpose.

I've actually never used ArtRage 6 before, and the last time I used it at all was windows XP, IIRC. This was a learning experience, but the program is pretty straight forward, mostly because the UI is well laid out. Unfortunately, there's a lot of finicky design choices, at least when you don't have keyboard shortcuts on hand.

Partial video from the digital process (only because ArtRage hates me):

Worth mentioning that I'm drawing on a pen display from xp-pen, while sitting on the couch, so I have no other input devices; just the pen on the screen. Hardly ideal, but I don't have space for a proper setup at the moment.

I'm actually waiting on a stylus for a windows tablet that I bought recently, so that's gonna liberate me as much as a pen and paper can, but with the full horsepower of clip studio, or whatever else I end up downloading. Looking forward to trying it, hopefully it's a comfortable experience.

Final:

Other scribbles from earlier today:

I should actually do more studies and practice pages like above. I actually really enjoy starting the same picture over a few times in a row - it gave me the chance to avoid mistakes I'd made previously, rather than just trying to edit them out. Builds better habits, I think.

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Stared too much at this picture over the weekend to not draw her.

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When you're just not feeling it, but you wanna be able to say you drew something today.

I sat back and belly laughed afterwards. It's genuinely good advice to draw every day no matter what it is, because how I felt after even just THAT, it makes me want to keep going.

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Trying to get back into the swing of things, rebuild the habit. Gonna reference a lot, and finish very little- but that's okay; my ideas can come later.

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Hugely alpha sketch, I barely started before getting called away. Plan to return to this and change it a lot, just wanted to post as proof of having sketched at least /something/ today.

(testing the post to Twitter feature.. again, because I forget what exactly it does LOL)

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Here, I backspaced 3 paragraphs of excuses and explanations. Just know this: I feel better after having had a pencil in my hand, no matter what it drew.

It doesn't matter if I feel like I'm starting from scratch; no one cares as much as I do, so therefore I care too much. Draw more, darn it.

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Love yourself this Valentine's Day. And if you can't, then just act like someone you could. Self respect comes after discipline, but you can trick yourself into it by starting off just pretending. If I pretend to be an artist for long enough, eventually I will be. And I have a huge amount of respect (and envy) for artists.

50 weeks ago I picked up a pencil with the intent of never setting it down. Life, of course, got in the way. I always express understanding and forgiveness for artists who say they're doing it tough, taking a long hiatus, and not putting out anything new. I don't mind, because I'm in it for them, not just their art. I should afford myself the same, and not hold my absence against myself.

And with that, I'm back. At least for this tiny scribble. 😅

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Ended up in hospital, yay. Been really sick, but I'm still alive, I swear!

Not COVID; I guess I still have that to look forward to?

I haven't been drawing much, recently. Haven't been getting much of anything done, honestly; just recovering and trying to keep up with life.

I'm posting more frequently on Twitter if you want to hear from me more (not necessarily more art, or even personal updates; I'm just more active over there, despite this just being my pony alias).

By no means giving up; I can't imagine a future without drawing, and creating things in general. Ponies, too, I guess; I'm more involved in the community than I ever have been, and it's amazing. I don't want that to ever change.

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🙃

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HEY! I never got around to posting the completion of my collab contribution; the diamond dogs. If you're following me on Twitter (@SkyfarerDraws, naturally), you probably already saw this, but I owe Tumblr this post. I'd love to go back and finish the shading; they didn't really want much for the collab, as pictures would likely be inconsistently lit. I might even revisit the entire picture, and do a proper "dark" take on the characters. Hmmm!

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Oh, boy. As promised, I'm posting /everything/.

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Continuing ink-only for Inktober.

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All the mistakes, in ALL their glory! Ink is so humbling to me; room for improvement glaring from the first stroke. I know I can do better with enough time on the right tools, but I also need to acknowledge my weaknesses, swallow pride, and press post.