#I figured out how to edit the brushes in procreate so I can actually do lineart with them :D

[bambeptin]

I am a bit jealous of the way you paint. Do you have some tutorials or ways to improve? I love paint, I try my best, but my colors end up always muddy 🥲

here's a bunch of miscellaneous thoughts... I hope this helps!!! I've never really written tutorials before so it's a bunch of different tips collected together

whenever you see something that inspires you, save it somewhere! then look at all your inspirations every once in a while and analyze what made you like them - like certain techniques or colour usage or something. then when drawing, try to incorporate it! (i've saved finished pieces, sketches, half-done stuff, speedpaints, lots of different things as inspiration)

using more saturated midtones for shading could help in making things not look muddy (like this tutorial). of course having more desaturated colours could also be a vibe you're going for

don't be afraid to use desaturated or bolder colours!

I love underpainting (tutorial on it)

I also love using the lasso fill tool. I don't do lineart so whenever I need to plop down a big bunch of colour (like for people) it's lasso fill time! on procreate it'd be select -> freehand -> color fill

some people will be like don't overuse blending tools and soft brushes and! while I do think it's super important to learn how to rawdog just blend things, eventually you'll find that reintroducing them into your workflow could be useful! I guess it's more of an advanced tool?

granted I just use hard brushes to blend everything anyways. if you feel like you're overusing blending/soft brushes then try using a harder textured brush, or the good ol round brush with opacity and size being controlled by pressure. or alternate between the two

my painting workflow is changing refined sketch layer to a multiply layer + making it a different colour -> underpainting colour -> lasso fill in shapes (with the underpainting) -> laying colours down at a lower opacity or with a textured brush -> sometimes using a multiply layer for quickly putting in shadows -> some minor painting under the sketch lines -> painting over everything (sometimes I merge a bunch of layers together). here's a video of a wip!

I don't know how to describe this... colour constancy... so, colours look different in different lighting conditions but the brain still recognizes them as the same local colour. one thing I had to really figure out was how to choose colours under different lighting conditions (instead of using a multiply layer for everything)(I still use multiply layers for some things though) bc I found that outright picking them made things more interesting? since style is all about your own choices. like in the above video Paradox's skin is actually a dark grey-purple and his labcoat is dark grey-blue but the brain recognizes that's a white guy with a white labcoat in a different lighting condition. uh. Color and Light by James Gurney has better explanations of this

thumbnailing colours are useful. also don't be afraid to restart your colours over and over if they don't feel right - kinda like a warmup

I like having a brush with minor colour jitter on stroke (like 3%) I can switch to for some colour variation

change your pen's overall sensitivity to be something like this so you don't have to press as hard to get to the ~100% range

get funky and experimental with it! break the rules once you've learned them!

tutorials I liked:

the book Color and Light by James Gurney

importance of values and contrast (pics)

mini rendering tutorials (pics)

underpainting (pics)

colour tips (pdf but the sample tutorials are already helpful)

anatomy quick tips: skin (video)

how i paint skin/light by niro (video)

the fastest way to learn to draw color & light (video)

3 techniques for incredibly realistic portraits (video)

I also find speedpaint videos to be super useful to get a sense of other people's workflow!

brushes I'm using

verkomy's fun marker for sketching + textured painting

moss' sketchy sketch for some sketching

an edit of a default round brush to have a uniformed glaze rendering mode, and variable size (40%), opacity (50%), and flow (max) based on pressure. I think there's other edits too?

default soft brush for quick soft brush needs, like putting down some colours for tinting something with an overlay layer

a square-ish textured brush with 3% stroke color jitter. copied it from a CSP brush that I use (PX paint)

[runawaymun]

Hi! I have a bit of a strange question haha, hope you don't mind! I love your art but I've always wondered what device/program you use? I assumed an ipad but I watched your lives and it looks like you use a computer program. I've never seen anyone use a computer program and their art look as good a yours! I'm assuming you use the mouse (or a drawing tablet maybe?) but as someone who has dabbled in digital art I'm just so impressed if you do use a computer!

Not a strange question at all! I don't own any kind of ipad-type tablet. I use a Huion Kamvas 13, which is basically the same exact thing as a Cintiq of the same size and quality but like, literally half the price. It's very comfortable and high quality. It took a minute to figure out how to plug it into my computer and it's a bit fussy with the cables so it's not as portable as I'd like it to be, but that's my only complaint. It draws beautifully. Eventually when I have space and money I'd love to purchase a bigger display.

I use Clip Studio Paint Pro as my drawing program. It's extremely powerful, supports animation if you want to do that, and the brush packs etc you can find on the community page are nearly limitless. I do wish it wasn't so annoying about working offline (they don't like you to do it, or to switch devices too much), so for that reason I'm thinking about switching to Procreate (also because so many people seem to use it), or finding a decent free option.

But yeah, the computer runs the program but the Huion tablet is what I actually draw on. It's a pen display so there's no fussing with looking at my monitor, but drawing on a screenless drawing tablet --- and I have no use for an ipad or any other tablet type product other than art, so the Huion was the best choice for me since I can just plug it into my already really powerful PC.

A fair warning that if your computer isn't as powerful as mine (it's a gaming PC that my brother built), you may experience pen lag. I had that issue when plugging the tablet into a more portable laptop when I'm out and about. It's not awful but it does take some getting used to.

This sounds like a Huion ad lmao but I really cannot recommend their products enough. IMO they're the best thing on the market for the price point if you have a working PC to hook it up to.

EDIT: one thing I forgot to mention is that you can hook the Huion pen display up to your phone, even. I haven't tried it but I've seen a lot of people do that so I assume the pen lag isn't bad there, but I can't testify to it myself.

[jon-mcbrine-author]

The work that goes into producing a full-length fiction novel is enough for a full-time staff with at least a forty-hour work week. For many indie authors, including myself, it is typically a one-person operation. There are authors with teams, helpers, and roped-in family members, but even for multi-person scribe-squads, the workload can be daunting. The tasks run from the actual writing/typing, editing, marketing, and, among other things, designing the art. When it came to my debut young adult sci-go superhero novel, Unsecret Identity: Eric Icarus - Book One, I ultimately ended up tackling these assignments solo.

Simply because I wear many hats when it comes to creating this particular story does not necessarily entitle me to any special treatment or extra credit. As previously mentioned, there are numerous writers who bear the work weight on their shoulders with not much assistance. My journey so far has seen numerous learning curve-balls thrown my way as I figure out this whole author thing on the fly. I still have miles to go before I can go around boasting about my writing skill—the biggest lesson so far is that you never stop learning. Trends change, tastes differ, and technology advances. As I continue to develop my techniques, I roll with more punches than I hand out hits.

Speaking of technology, my experience as a graphic designer has proved to be greatly beneficial when creating cover art. Utilizing software programs like Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign, I am able to format the manuscripts as well as include interior art. As of this writing, Unsecret Identity is nearing its completion in transitioning from being only available as an ebook to a printed paperback edition. I was prepared to cross the finish line when I decided to insert more illustrations as part of the book. It’s an exciting concept that could help set the novel apart and further express my vision of the characters and settings, but… it also means more delay.

This is where tech comes back into play. I’ve been drawing my entire life, but as pencillers know, the sketching process can be time-consuming. Digital drawing has changed the game for me: using the Apple Pencil on an iPad while running the Procreate drawing program has drastically improved my illustration process. Don’t get me wrong, I believe I will always prefer the traditional method, but using a stylus on a smooth screen not only allows me to zoom in for meticulous detail (along with an overwhelming amount of brush choices), but the slick glass surface is much more preferable for me. I’m not sure why exactly, but I've always had a sensitivity to the feel of paper. So, naturally my greatest interests are writing and drawing—two paper-based hobbies. Thanks to the digital age, the only limit is my imagination (and battery life).

Well, there is at least one other limit - my time. Similar to other self-publishing authors, my writing time is usually whenever I can carve out a short period throughout a typical day. As quick and convenient as tablet drawing can be, it’s still a matter of how exhausted I am after tending to “real life” commitments. This leads to the reason I do not simply outsource the jobs: cheap labor! I don’t consider myself a control freak, though saying that, it is a bit of a point of pride to be able to complete these mounting tasks myself. The entire book-making process is a gauntlet but it’s something I can use all talents for (opinions on the end result may have some questioning the extent of this talent, but, hey, like I said, it’s cheap labor!). 

As if performing all these duties with a lack of downtime wasn’t enough of a challenge, I intend on recording the audiobook version of Unsecret Identity myself. I am not sure if I’m a jack of all trades or a glutton for punishment, but regardless, I’m ready to DIY.

Stay in the loop for more details by following Jonfcition Blog on Substack and be sure to check out jonmcbrine.com for more info about this and all my books.

Unsecret Identity: Eric Icarus - Book One is available now from the Amazon Kindle store.

https://a.co/2XAtxvH

[crabbbage]

stuff on art programs in my personal opinion, extremely biased by my experience in them

sai: great for brushes, not for much else. if you’re solely an artist it’s great, but any editing and it fails completely. i use sai primarily and i think i’ve had it crash like once, and i’m not even using the official version

photoshop: OBVIOUSLY the standard for photo editing, painting is also very good, however very hard to pirate and the actual software itself can be slow and is prone to crashing and needing constant restarts. probably not great if you’re working on a small laptop or something. takes some time to learn how to fully use but a lot of it is intuitive if you’re used to art programs and there are millions of tutorials on how to do absolutely everything online!

firealpaca: a very good free medium between art and editing! i use this for almost all of my basic meme editing stuff and also most of my painty photoshop stuff, because sai falls apart with that and photoshop takes longer. i’ve never used it for heavy lineart, but if you’re scared of pirating things absolutely try this first. runs the fastest of any art program i use except like, ms paint

krita: free, good for pixel art. have not used it enough to comment on other art uses, but has the basics. HAS lagged out/crashed on me before despite me only using it for very low workload pixel editing??

clip studio paint: god of comics/manga & lineart work, also extreme hard to pirate like photoshop but SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper. never painted in it though

gimp: i fucking hate gimp bc people constantly say it’s as good as photoshop if you know how to USEEE it i’m not going to spend 6 months figuring out how to make it work like photoshop it sucks out of the box. however if you want to, it’s free

IPAD STUFF

medibang: i’ve only ever used the ipad version of medibang but i believe it’s also on desktop? but it’s free and it’s good for comics. i used it as a younger teen so i don’t think i ever fully used it, but it’s not super intuitive. if you want a free program for ipad though, absolutely start with medibang before anything else it will save you so much stress

procreate: probably THE standard for art apps, when i bought it it was like $12 i think? which, compared to most desktop software, is extremely good. only art program ive ever paid for bc i was not about to jailbreak an ipad, lmao. there are some issues with blending (that may have been fixed?) but if you want to do serious art on an ipad it’s essential imo. also there are lots of free brushes online (jingsketch brushes are a good place to start if you wanna look into that)

[vkelleyart]

Damn you’re so impressive to being a working parent on top of being an amazing artist!

You are so kind, @poprocksromance. Thanks so much for being a cheerleader, because I’ll be honest: I don’t feel impressive. 

I feel… really tired. lol 

I actually put off answering this ask because when it comes to being a working parent and artist, I have SO MANY THOUGHTS. This month’s been excessively hard because I wear too many hats in my life and my neutral state is putting out fires before I can skive off and draw, usually at the expense of sleep.

Take this past Tuesday for instance:

6 AM: Husband is already out the door to work, but both kids crawl into my bed to doze until it’s time for them to be up. There is now hot, humid air in my ear and a small, sharp knee in my back. I am not dozing. I am thinking about drawing.

7 AM: Breakfast. Kids pull the covers off of me and whinge about being hungry. Spend next hour feeding kids, breaking up fights over legos, making lunches, and getting them ready for school. Inexplicably, no one has clean pants.

8 AM: Holler at everyone that we are late and I’m about to lose my mind because instead of putting on shoes, my kids are still arguing over who gets the red lego piece. More thoughts about art trickle in: “Man, I really hope I can carve out some time for drawing today because this sh*t is bananas.”

8:30 AM: Zoom across town to drop off children. Kiss heads. Wave goodbye. Try not to rear-end other, larger vehicles being driven by people who don’t understand how the drop-off line works.

9 AM: Back home. Time for Morning Pages. This is the daily act of emptying my head into a journal at the beginning of the day for 30 minutes just so I can plow into the chaos without having a panic attack. Each entry mostly consists of me pep-talking myself into doing my day job because food, shelter, college education savings, blah, blah, blah. Then it’s planning and email checking. I promise myself that, if I can just finish this next video edit task, I can reward myself with drawing artwork.

10 AM: My Video editing software update has made all the PNG files turn pink. I assume it’s for no earthly reason than to delay my progress and piss me off. I promise myself I will figure out the glitch in the next hour so I can earn myself time to draw.

1 PM: I have updated my operating system, reinstalled my drivers, troubleshooted with Adobe and Apple. The fucking files are still pink.

2 PM: I convert all PNGs to JPGs. Videoediting software now refuses to read .MOV files recorded after I updated my operating system. I mutter all the expletives and stare longingly at my tablet. This is gonna be a while.

3 PM: Rush out the door to pick up kids. Kid is complaining of a tummy ache. Come home with kid, put on the tea kettle, and read Kevin Keller together until tea is ready. Am screaming internally about video editing conundrum the entire time.

4 PM: Hubs is home. I run back to the computer. There is no way to uninstall most recent version of video editing software. Find and install Handbrake to convert every .MOV file I am using into .MP4 as a workaround until I can figure out what the everloving hell is wrong with my project. I tell myself I will draw after dinner if I can just figure this out.

5 PM: Praise Crowley for leftovers.

6 PM: Video editing issue is still going, but I’ve identified the workaround and am slowly piecing my project back together. My sketchbook is next to my desk. I do not touch it.

7 PM: Husband is coming down with something. Asks if I can single parent while he lies down for a bit. I agree (because he did it for me last week when I was down for the count). I ask the kids if they want to draw with me. They do not. They want to run around outside like one of them didn’t just complain about a stomachache three hours ago. I tell myself I will draw after they go to sleep.

8 PM: Bedtime. Clean kids. Pick up toys. Brush teeth. Read books. Sing songs. Hold hands until the littlest goes to sleep. Snoring (hopefully) at 9.

9 PM: Take shower. Try to reset. No more video editing tonight. I will draw instead! *nods defiantly*

9:30 PM: Husband wants to share about his stressful week. He’s got freshman this semester. Problematic ones. And too many; 28 in his class alone, and he’s the department head, so he needs to do all the fixing. I sit with him and listen.

10 PM: Youngest kid is coughing. Wakes oldest kid.

10:30 PM: Kids sleeping. Husband downstairs working. I’m in bed, iPad in my lap, Procreate open. Tonight’s work in progress: Simon and Baz holding hands.

I stare at it. Make a couple of adjustments to the line art. Then I put it away and turn off the light. I have nothing left––no energy, no vision––to give to it.

11 PM: The lights are out. My eyes are open. They don’t close until sometime after midnight.

Because I am thinking about drawing.

This is not a rare day in my life. This is tame compared to some days. To get through it, I tell myself this is all temporary. That one day I’ll be able to live off my artwork and I won’t be a slave to Adobe Premiere or the government or the myriad infectious illnesses my kids bring home. I also have to actively talk myself out of feeling jealous or furious at other, younger creators who don’t have to support a family, who talk about playing video games all day when they’ve got artist block, who complain about being bored, and who have the luxury of putting off whatever it is they don’t feel like doing so they can draw. My struggle is no one’s business or fault but mine and probably also Capitalism, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t sting that people are out there living the dream and taking it for granted.

Anyway, this is a very long way to say, thank you for your compliments. I am trying––every single day of my life––to make something beautiful. Sometimes, that’s fanart or my comic. Most times, though, it’s the life I’m trying to give my family.