#I still hate coloring in procreate though

[xenocorner]

Soft disaster men SOBS

[ninelivesart]

Part 5 of Drawing My Reads 2024 was Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

[the-real-couchrat]

Posting some mini art tutorials while I work on some bigger projects.

First we have Darceus Alamastern, created by @toothpastecanyon in Unto Dust

And last (but not least) we have Nxlar the Antithetical, made by @gnomewithalaptop in Transcendence AU dash simulator and also appeared in The Comfort of Agony chapter 8

[aouceli]

Uses sai, doesn’t know any better so I’m happy -> switches to procreate and misses sai’s blending system -> switches to csp and misses procreate’s dynamic brush system -> repeat probably

[pluralthey]

As far as I remember, or like years ago, you’ve used sai right? Sai or sai2(man the brush engines better and Binary brushes feel smoother..) but I also saw you used procreate at some point for that one Jessie draw- which digital programs have you used that you enjoy the most for different things, or which kind of traditional medium for example also, is interesting and/or satisfying? Have been doing lots of ref and tutorial searching and looking at art inspiration for the direction I wanna take my stuff and I was curious about your preferred setup; I just like to hear people’s workflow and what they use to create what they do. I think it’s neat. Also if this is too long sorry 😅

I use sai 2. I switched to sai once oekaki became more and more inoperable. The binary style aspect ended up sticking. Oekaki has limited layer capabilities and this rewarded a simpler pixel style that was more easily edited. I still miss the ease of using pixelated screen tones in oekaki. There are other programs that can make them, but not how oekaki did. But I prefer sai 2 most now.

I use clip studio for larger scale images like print pages for its more versatile and expensive selection of brushes. It has unique settings that still allow me to turn these brushes into pixelated work without anti-aliasing artifacts. There is a setting for level of anti-aliasing, but this is often not enough for more complex brushes using spraying patterns. Using the "replace alpha" blending mode forces many brushes into a binary color mode because drawn on top of a solid color the brush's color can only be 100% opaque. The binary layer color mode also allows you to do this. Both of the latter options often only let you do this with black and white. I usually do this to be able to transfer it back to sai 2 where it's more comfortable to work in. I also use it for its ability to produce text in multiple sizes without anti-aliasing. Sai 2's text tool is fairly primitive.

I use Aseprite for animating. It is mostly for pixel art. It reminds me of an animation program I used to use a long time ago called easytoon due to its simplicity though...

For traditional I prefer paint pens (I mostly use poscas). Gel pens are okay but very small and cheaply made. I really wish someone would make paint pen versions of gel pens. I also had a big black and white plain ink and hatching phase a long time ago. Generally I gravitate towards opaque materials that make the process feel straightforward. The ability to "erase" or white out mistakes for correction is one of the most important qualities in a medium to me.

Less opaque, more time-consuming layered media yield more textured and nuanced results, but I hate few things as much as ruining a piece of art irrecoverably over a relatively small mistake be that accidentally pilling the paper or drawing a line wrong or splashing watercolor the wrong way. Mixed media was fun, but I just prefer having more purpose to what I'm doing. When I'm too preoccupied with the aesthetics I waste a ton of time on useless tweaking or experimenting that never goes anywhere.

[kiennilove]

ART TAG

this is a new one!! let’s gooo! thanks to @deathclassic for tagging me <333 it’s gonna be fun >:)

Have you always been interested in creating art?

i don’t know… sometimes yes, sometimes no. recently i’ve been going through a phase when i wanted to quit everything i do, so i’d say no :/ art is just the only thing i’m good at

What's your favourite medium to use? If digital, what programs do you like?

digital!! i’ve tried almost every program there is, both on pc and mobile, but landed on procreate and i’ve been drawing there since 2019

Do you create outside of fandom?

only when i was in art school(s)

Share something you haven't finished and/or never got around to posting.

i don’t know why i did it 😭😭😭

Favourite piece you've made?

even though it’s for my ex, i still love it :)

Draw your icon in a minute or less.

no eyes

An underrated piece you've made in your opinion.

this !!!

Do you do art in a professional setting?

no, and probably never would x) i want to keep art and every branch of it as a hobby

A piece you don't like but did really well on social media.

i don’t have these, i only post the ones i not just like, but love, so yeah xD all the hate stays in the app

Post an old piece and compare it to your most recent, what are the similarites?

2022/2024

the eyes, the noses, smiles, coloring… style is the same, only the skill is higher!! first is ace attorney btw hehe.

Have you ever collaborated with another artist/s?

i did! it was with my best friend :)

2022, ace attorney again. i did the girl on the left :3

What piece has the most notes? Are you surprised?

this one xD not surprised at all lol

Who/What is your favourite subject matter?

characters and other artists, so nothing special xD

Show us something not from fandom you've made.

friend from the past asked me to help her in assembling all the info she had gathered for a project into a brochure. something about skin care routine for different ages i think

Where do you like to create?

i’m always in bed so… here :3

Do you have a tag that you use to group your creations? Tell us so people can follow it.

i just use “my art <3” but i mostly have everything in my top posts, i’m not used to some special tags

Give yourself a shoutout, where can we commission/buy/follow you for more pieces?

nowhere, only here :P but i’m always open for collaborations and requests here though!

tags below the line :3

@konaiiro @gallapiech @doshiart @spookygingerr @heymrspatel

and everybody else who wants to share their art! you can tag me back if you weren’t tagged by someone already hehe

[glassedplanets]

art summary for 2024! (template)

jan | feb | mar | apr may | jun | jul | aug sep | oct | nov | dec

i said this in my year-in-review post for fic, but 2024 was absolutely terrible to me and i'm surprised i managed anything at all. i did, though! in spite of so many things being really awful for a really long time, i still drew and wrote. i'm happy that i drew something for every month, and honestly, the only reason that december has just a sketch is that it was a very good-busy month for me.

this year was also interesting art-wise because i switched from a surface laptop to an ipad, and i'm still feeling the learning curve. to be completely honest, i really don't like procreate in general, but i've been doing my sketches and lines in procreate because the 6B pencil tool is just fantastic -- afterwards, i export to CSP for everything else (which i've been using for years and have a love/hate thing with). my current trial-and-error struggle is finding a canvas resolution that is like, functional, but doesn't make CSP -- the most poorly optimized program on the planet -- scream and die and explode on this hardware. (it had been screaming and dying and exploding on my surface, which i just... dealt with.)

some art goals for the coming year:

more dynamic colors: i feel like i got somewhere earlier in the year, and then later in the year that somewhere went nowhere. oh well. onwards. my art from the start of the year also feels "sharper" than later, but that might be this resolution/dpi thing i'm messing with.

more dynamic poses: the perennial goal.

more sketching: also a perennial goal.

go back to doing photo studies!

here's to a better 2025. boy i drew a lot of sanjis this year.

[sceebybeeby]

Love your art dude! Was wondering what program you used? (and also how you get that painted look in your art? Some of your digital pieces look like paintings to me sometimes and it’s so cool, but I totally get if explaining it would take too long or if it’s complicated to explain 😅)

THANK YOU !!!!

i use procreate for the ipad for my drawings (it's an apple exclusive and it costs money though 👎) i will always reccomend ibis as an alternative

short answer for the painting question; it's mostly just a mix of brushes and never soft shading

long answer; Procreate's brush software is different than most art programs. instead of blending their colors together, the colors layer on top, unless you want to use the smudge tool. base program brushes from procreate, medibang, and ibis for example

[ID: A showcase of blending brushes from the art programs Procreate, Medibang, and Ibis paint. Under Procreate it's showing off acrylic, wet acrylic, hard blend, and larapuna. Under Medibang it's showing off watercolor, watercolor wet, and acrylic. There's a bullet point under acrylic that says "important to note, acrylic isn't set as a blending brush. it's a texture brush. Under Ibis it's showing off watercolor (wet), fade watercolor (wet), and oil pen (soft.) Procreate is shown again with smudge tool added to their brushes. End ID.]

the thing is, i hate procreate's smudge tool and for some reason their actual blending brushes blend with the background, even if it's on a separate layer (you can see that in hard blend). it's ugly and i hate it. so, i never use their blending brushes or smudge tool

I only use 2 brushes when shading. flat brush and tinderbox. if you look closely at some of my pieces you can see that most of my shading edges are hard and kinda messy. that's those 2 brushes

[ID: Four close-ups of digital illustrations. One a face. The other a chest. The third of hair. and the final of a hand. End ID.]

this technique is common in both traditional and digital paintings. it makes things be less muddy for me and i mostly was inspired by artists that use acrylic. sometimes instead of battling time and blending with paints that are actively drying, they'll wait and just block in colors instead, leaving hard edges. (thats what i did before a switched to gouache LMAOO) i really like that look so i used it for my digital paintings. along with some hatching, it creates the illusion of softness when you look from afar.

it's all mostly just experimentation. but i'll bring out ol reliable for how my process usually goes

[ID: A step by step guide on my shading process using a pink circle. The text says "Step one 1: Get your base. Step 2: Find your light source and block in colors (I use flat brush.) Step 3: Darken edges and add some desaturation in the dark (mimics color reflection.) Step 4: Refine and add texture and fun bits (I use tinderbox.) Step 5: Color balance and TADAA you have a 3D object. kinda." End ID.]

although this is the technique i do, i recommend using references and better drawing tutorials that explain things in much more detail than this one photo. (and references don't just have to be lighting references, you can look at other painters and try to mimic that digitally.) there's so much nuance with lighting that this one picture is barely scratching the surface. i've been doing this for a decade and i'm still learning and deciding what i want to "do." maybe next year i'll only be into cell shading with purple multiply. play around with brushes and layer modes to see what sticks. that's the fun part of experimentation.

if you made it this far, thank you for listening to my ramblings and mini procreate brush software rant. happy drawing !!!!

[venusmage]

FAQ Post!

I've gotten a good amount of repeat questions the past few years and thought I'd make an FAQ. No need to RB or anything, this is going to go in my pinned post!

I still always happily will take questions, this is just for folks who might want to just find the answer without going through the extra effort. These are mostly about art and TTRPGs :)

ART STUFF

What brushes/programs/hardware do you use?

Almost all of my regularly used brushes come from either Retro Supply or True Grit Texture Supply! I'm not sponsored or affiliated, just really like the quality of their products. They have sales fairly frequently and I've never had any complaints. I also use quite a few products by Ittai Manero.

Right now I primarily work in Procreate on an iPad Pro. Procreate is my favorite art program and I'm quietly hoping they eventually make a desktop version.

I very recently also got an XPPen Deco 01 V2. Partially because there's some art programs on desktop I want to learn (Aseprite, Blender) or programs that have superior desktop versions as compared to mobile (ClipStudio). I'm also teaching some grade-schoolers digital art and wanted to have the same kind of tablet as them (I haven't used a screenless tablet for over half a decade). As of right now I'm very happy with it! For the price it's an easy recommendation.

I mainly use ClipStudio in this instance, and the brushes linked above both also support the program (aside from Manero). However there's a huge user-base that upload free assets constantly that makes ClipStudio so great. I especially like painting in it for some reason!

What's your opinion on AI art?

I don't like it, obviously, but I get how people who lack the context and education on why it's bad wouldn't get it. I also think that some other artists fearmonger a little too hard regarding it and it has the unintended effect of making the situation and it's nuances even harder to understand. I talked about it here.

Did you go to art school? Would you recommend it?

I did, I have a BFA in illustration and graduated from CCAD in 2018. Every art school is unique and my experience with art school and the benefit it gave me is VERY different from how I believe it may be for others. As of right now I think there's a lot of good cheaper online resources than private art education in general. I did have a wonderful time there though, and it's availability helped me eventually escape a domestic abuse situation - so my feelings are a bit complicated.

Do you have a dream art job?

I'd love to be a college-level art teacher. Funny I know, considering I just said art school isn't always worth it. I just deeply enjoy the craft and discussion surrounding art in general. I'm tempted to make art videos one day to scratch that itch.

What's your favorite/least favorite part of the drawing process?

I hate sitting down and getting the sketch started (hello ADHD...) And flatting. Linework/sketch cleanup and finishing details for color are where it's at for me.

What made you interested in art?

My grandfather was a painter, sculptor, and stained glass maker. He will always be one of my biggest inspirations. In terms of media, there's a ton - but I started internalizing art as a skill after seeing the Shivering Isles DLC concept art by Adam Adamowicz. I started appreciating how art can be weird and beautiful and whatever you want after reading Evan Dahm's Rice Boy (and the rest of his work). I also had a particularly beautiful book cover for A Wrinkle in Time by Leo and Diane Dillon when I was little and their art rewired my brain chemistry. At the time I said Adamowicz was my most impactful inspiration but on reflection I really do think it's the Dillons. I talked a little about it here.

(2023-24) Commissions haven't been updated in a while. Can I get some more information as to why?

I have a post here about it! If you're one of my clients, please feel free to reach out to me if you have any further issues. I apologize for the delay and am more than happy to work out something with you if you're unhappy with the wait. I'd advise messaging me here or on discord - the latter of which is linked in the post.

TTRPG/DND STUFF

What system is your DnD game running?

I'm running my game using a modified 5e ruleset. 5e happened to just be the first TTRPG system I learned and I also really enjoy Forgotten Realms as a setting - though I take extensive liberties with both. I'll probably be moving away from WoTC's products and the system after this campaign, though. I already change lore so much the setting has a lot of differences.

What materials do you use in your DnD game? Do you play online or in person?

As much as I'd adore to get to play IRL with my friends at some point, our game is currently online. For our current campaign I recently made the switch from Roll20 to Foundry VTT. If you're an online exclusive DM and have the money to buy the one time license, I would recommend it!

A list of what I use to run my current game:

Foundry VTT

Discord (A custom server for Voice Chatting/Private DMs/Memes and art sharing/Scheduling)

Epic Isometric (On Patreon. Digital isometric maps and tokens. Have been using them since at least 2020 if not earlier. Will be making tutorial videos soon!)

The Dungeon Sketcher (Also on Patreon. Also isometric maps and tokens. The artist frequents Epic Isometric's discord server where we all share custom assets we've made, too. His stuff blends in pretty seamlessly with EpicIso)

Vile Tiles by Gabriel Pickard (Found on the Roll20 marketplace, but you can use the assets in any VTT. For theater of the mind and RP backgrounds)

Artstation (Our game is not streamed, so I tend to use backgrounds I source from concept artists for RP backgrounds. If you stream a game, obviously always ask the creators of your assets if you can use them.)

Procreate/An art program (I draw the PC/NPC portraits for our game myself)

Milanote/Any note-taking method (Milanote is just what I use to plan the game, since I already use it for other hobbies and commissions as well.)

Do you stream your game? Is there someplace I can find out more about it? Are you looking for players?

I am not looking for players! Our game is also not recorded or streamed - mostly because I'd get some serious DM stage-fright. I also like it being a relaxing experience for myself and my friends where we're performing for ourselves, instead of with the pressure of a potential audience.

However, I do have a toyhou.se world where information on the game is available - including session recaps! If I ever get the time I also want to draw fun comics and little animations of what happens because my friends are very inspiring to me and DMing has quickly become a favorite hobby.

You can also search the words "Seven Asunder" on this blog and you'll find relevant posts here.

Can I use your art/assets/ideas in my own game?

I can't really stop you. If it's not recorded, streamed or monetized and you're not saying you created anything I made yourself, I legitimately don't care! This even includes using character art I've made. I just would like to politely request you don't post any of it publicly to avoid confusion and to respect my players - many of the NPCs in my games are also characters they create and I cannot give permission for them (obviously). It also would kind of suck to see one of my own beloved characters supposedly "belonging" to someone else.

Essentially, I understand taking inspiration and having "placeholder" images/artwork for characters in a game. Not all of us have time or resources to have custom art! Just don't take one of my or my players' OC's designs and start saying they're yours publicly , pretty please :)

Once commissions are over and I find the spare time, I intend to release free-to-use (personally and for streaming) art packs for folks' games. I also highly recommend the patreons I linked above.

[petorahs]

Hi! Hope you're doing well. I really like the way your art looks, and wanted to ask if you have any advice on how to stop the endless ctrl+Zing that happens when you're doing lineart? (Was gonna post a gif showing it but it won't let me send links in asks) -- Have a good one o/

hey! i'm very glad to hear you like my art and even more that you'd ask for my advice! :D

me and lineart go waaay back... that is to say i liked doing it more than any other thing in the art process. i hate coloring and still do. lineart my beloved... but also, these days as my art evolved i stopped doing actual ""Clean"" lineart anymore. what you see in my more recent works are essentially the first and only "line draft" or sketch layer so to speak? i just spend a lot of time refining it. and this is how i do that:

duplicate + merge layers to achieve your desired lineweight and erase as needed!

also important to note is as much as i talk about drawing/lining/sketching on a single layer... if the drawing isnt working i will just do it the "traditional" way and make a whole new layer and start from there :0 if that is your preferred way then set the sketch to 10-15% opacity max... makes it so the finished lineart wont look "worse than the sketch"...!!

what else... hm i feel like my lineart game changed when i found a brush i liked. i currently use derwent, a default procreate brush under 'pencils' i think? to get that sketchy yet yummy thin at the end look. but i also change my brushes every time i feel like im in a 'slump'. experimentation is key! get curious and curiouser on what u can achieve with different mediums.

additionally, if you're looking for advice on achieving "line confidence" (like lack of ctrl+z-ing your problems away) then thats a whole other thing. what i find to have best helped me is essentially just doing what this video tells u to and profitting!! i realized ive been doing it for years as a kid just emulating my fav fanarts and yeah. ofc there's more i can say but this is getting long enough, feel free to shoot another ask and i can expand!

as always with art though, feel free to also break these rules as you see fit! :D have fun

[beej-hunnicutt]

First drawing of 2024‼️ 🥳

This coloring/drawing style is just ripped from like one of my favorite Courtney's (wuntrum on here) drawings!! I didn't at ALL come close to capturing it. Need to either draw smaller or have my brushes bigger. And tbf I don't think I picked the best time to try it outfit wise. But oh well, I still really liked how this turned out, regardless!!

I really tried to let myself stay loose, even a little wonky (though her nose is still a lil too wonky, I may tweak it lol)! And I am really happy with it!!

Here's the Courtney art!!!!! Genuinely SOOOOOOOOOO good, would love to try again sometime because I just love the style SO much.

This is like hashtag nonspons, BUT genuinely, if you use procreate and feel a little stumped with detailing, I HIGHLY recommend getting courtney's procreate brush pack if you have a couple of bucks!!!!!!!!! I didn't even use procreate like ever, it's been on my iPad since 9th grade and just never used it until August of 2023.

I was using CSP when I made the official switch from my drawing tablet to my iPad after my surgery, but kept getting stumped when it came to detailing. I just couldn't get it to flow well with my process. But then I decided to buy their brushes and give procreate another try and honestly it rlly clicked!!! Since August, everything with color has been done on procreate with only their brushes!!!!!!!

I still use medibang to sketch, as it's the best for me!! I hate actually drawing on procreate (doesn't feel good to me, can never find the right brush and what not), if I do sketch it's veryyy loose there (minus one Donnie sketch!). But it had been still a lot of work trying to get use to fully detailing and whatnot again, but now it's fun!! And I genuinely feel excited and satisfied with some of the work I am able to produce!!

I really hope this year I can continue to work and play and use textures to my advantage and explore it. But as you see, I always end up keeping it flat, I don't know why sksksksk

[steeklover]

You guys sleep on their friendship too much 😔

Time-laspe (I tried to download the video and attach it to this post but I think it was too big and my computer is tired because it won't download. That is the link, you can watch it if you'd like too, I know I like to watch art time-laspes. It is around fifteen minutes though, I didn't know how to make it any faster so there's your warning)

(Okay so I'm just now realizing that the part of the video where I used actually colors got cut off 😐And I can't even fix it because I've already deleted the clip off my computer and emptied my recycle bin. I'm so upset now, I'm sorry 😭😭I'm not a tech savy person at all)

You don't have to read this if you don't want to, it's more of an artist's note to myself. If you want to know more of my thought process while doing this then you can read it though.

First, I just want to give credit to the base I used!

Second, I used Krita to draw and Canva to put the video together. I've never really used another drawing app/software thing before (I've used Procreate a few times on my sister's IPad but it's not like I'm going to draw anything South Park on there) so I don't really have anything to compare it too. It's free though so... how much better can you get. The only thing I don't like about it so far is that the fill tool kind of sucks but it's not too bad, you just have to go over the edges to get a solid color (at least from my experience). And I've been using Canva for a while now, I've put together a few videos before but not in a while so I was a little rusty. The only thing I don't like about that is that I have to pay for an upgrade if I want to download a long video.

I started trying to draw seriously in April and now it's July so it's been like two months (?). I haven't posted anything since May I think but I've still been drawing a lot, I just haven't finished anything worth posting up until today.

I started out drawing this thinking it was going to be bad. Then about halfway through I thought it might actually turn out alright. Then I finished it and I kind of hate it. I think it would be much better if I practiced shading and textures but I'm too lazy for that, at least for now.

I hardly know anything about art, whether it be digital or traditional. I don't know anatomy, color theory, perspective, none of it. You can see on the time-lapse that I basically traced the base I used, did the faces and clothes and then colored it and that took me ALL DAY! Granted I had breaks like when I made my lunch and ran over to my grandma's house but other than that, I've been working on this piece (along with Stan but I did most of Stan yesterday, I just colored him this morning).

I have mad respect for every single artist out there because this is so hard... but for some reason I want to keep doing it. I know it's going to be super satisfying to look back on my art work from two years ago and see how much I've improved (hopefully I've improved, please tell me I'll improved)

As you can probably tell, I didn't get everything in the time-laspe. Recording the process was so hard, I tried to do it with Stan yesterday but I barely knew what I was doing and I kept getting called by my mom to do stuff so I had to keep pausing and un-pausing so I gave up and tried again today. I think my computer is worn out by working all day because not only have I been drawing on it all day but I have also been editing the video all day. I really like when artists post time-laspes though because it gives me an idea of their process and it's really nice to watch.

But anyway, I ended up giving Jason eyeliner because one) he's metro, two) I headcanon him wearing eyeliner (same thing with Tweek) and three) he needed a little something MORE to him, if that makes sense. I orginally wasn't going to give him eyeliner because I was afraid he would look too much like Tweek but once the picture was done, I decided they wouldn't look too similar. I also gave Tweek and Jason both freckles because for Jason, it's canon and for Tweek, it's my headcanon for him. You probably can't tell that Tweek has freckles because I made them really faint (on purpose) and I like to think he'd only have a few on his cheeks and nose. I gave Jason a lot though because I'm pretty sure that's how it is in the show. Lastly I forgot to color Jason's shirt in so that's everything that's not on the video.

I think the hardest thing for me was the eyes and the clothes. I have a love-hate relationship drawing eyes. I love looking at how different people draw their eyes but when it comes to drawing my own eyes... yikes 😬Also I think it's the facial proportions that might make this seem off, I think I have a bad habit of making the eyes too big but that's what I've been doing ever since I was a little kid so now if I make the eyes small, it just looks off. And again, I didn't do anything shading so it probably makes the picture look flat. Plus I have no idea what I'm doing.

I also usually have a hard time drawing hair but today I had a pretty easy time doing it. I was really surprised. Also another headcanon of mine for Tweek is that he has platinum blonde hair. I love platinum blonde hair and just blonde hair in general and his hair is SO YELLOW, I feel like if he was older than he'd dye it. Also they are both teens in this picture.

Tweek looks really pasty here, I tried to give him pale skin but I didn't mean for it to be THAT pale.

I think that's all I have to say. If you read this and have any tips for me, I'd love to hear them. I'd love to redraw this in a few months or maybe in a year if I decide to keep drawing, I know there's defiently room for improvement.

Despite all the complaining I just did, I don't HATE this picture per say. I really like my art style, it's simple but cute (imo of course). I feel like if I learned more about shading and learn how to draw faces and clothes better than I'd do a lot better. I think Stan was a lot cuter but this is cute too.

Lastly, ignore the two random dots if you find them, I'm too tired to fix this.

Anyway, if you read all of this, I really appreciate you! Have a great day/night! ❤️❤️

[jessi-arts]

It's funny to me, I saw this post at the beginning of highschool and I was like "Omg!! I'm starting highschool so I'll use a pic from begining of Jr. High lol!" And I'm finally a senior in highschool now, officially able to do this correctly and oh boy is there improvement

This was the drawing from the middle school one. Done on Paint shop Pro because I was too scared to download an actual art program or spend money on one. I didn't have a tablet at the time and my sister gave me her hold Wacom drawing pad. Btw, the Psp version I used was literally from the 80's. My mom had it installed and told me that it was the Same as photoshop. Shading is horrible, I used the smudge tool but did not blend it out properly lol, and it also smudged the lineart because I couldn't comprehend layers (´°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥ω°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥｀). Hand is like.. huh??? And anatomy is questionable at best lol. I'm actually surprised I used a different sized pen in this though, I used to hell-bent on using only one size of pen, but I went WAYYY to small and the facial details are so pixelated with the small brush. I also didn't know how to draw backgrounds, so it was again, poorly smudged colors next to eachother.

This was the drawing I made my freshman year. Certainly a little better!!! I learned how to draw smooth lines at least lol. Anatomy's a little better too, and I learned how to somewhat draw hands. However, I did not know proper size proportions and the feet are uneven and the hands are so small. No sense of posing, I used to just wing it back then lol, no references, all from my head. I think the eye style here is pretty interesting, they look upside down!!! Meaningless shading, still. And the shading overall just looks bad, I used the eyedropper tool and desaturated the color, then proceeded to use the smudge tool everywhere. I also only used thin lines because I hated how thick lines looked at the time. I heard so many people talk about line weight and depth and I just refused to listen, telling myself that you could only use one size of pen, and all the lines have to stay consistent in size. Oh! I also had a tablet at this point and used Autodesk sketchbook because it was free lol. I actually kind of started grasping backgrounds?? Most of the time it was just clouds but it was better than nothing lol.

And finally, my art now. There's uh.. definitely a huge difference. Learned line depth and absolutely adore using thick lines lol. Switched programs again !! I now use procreate. I actually learned how to draw hands somewhat, sometimes hands just don't wanna hand, but I can at least make them look decent. I know how to pose characters and use references all the time now. I've also started drawing backgrounds and settings rather than just standalone characters with no personality or depth.

[fandomartdumpblog]

Your Kent Parson work is incredible!! How do you paint something like that??

Thank you, Anon!! It look me like nine hours to finish it - I’m very proud.

If you’re asking about my actual process, I typically rely on a few reference photograph images for the actual pose bc I’m a cheater and life is short. I outline the overall location and angles of the body parts using the reference photographs, but ofc end up making a million changes to fit the face/hairstyle/body type for the character.

From there, I draw out the features - sometimes pulling from reference photographs, more often by hand (Kent was by hand, though the expression was definitely inspired by the pose model lol). Transform tool and layers are definitely your friends here.

Then the important next step is to lay down a whole lot of block colors to establish where bone structure/facial angles will reflect light in different ways. I use a LOT of photograph references from different angles for color blocking because I’d have to be a master artist to do that shit from memory lmao.

Once I’m happy with my blocking and the general feel of the character, I’m finally ready to paint. I don’t like obvious outline lines in my digital paintings and tend to prefer using color to create the features instead. So I usually mute my outline real low and go WAAAAY too deep down the rabbithole of recreating the effect of lines and definition for each feature. It takes FOR-EV-ER, but I love the effect:

(Sorry for the crappy jpg lol - this is actually the slightly blurred mastered version bc I always forget to duplicate my raw layers before mastering them 🤦‍♀️)

I hate drawing hair with every fiber of my being, but it’s generally the same process. I luckily have a good brush to save me some time. Thank god.

I usually try to create clothing using a similar process, but I got lazy on Kent’s drawing bc I was already 8 hours in. So I just pulled a photograph of a hockey player wearing a white jersey and literally trace-colored the jersey. Hence the weird hyperrealistic effect on that element of the work. I’m cringing just looking at it 😅😅

Last step of painting is to use the transform tool to make any edits to the features of the piece, if something seems weird when looking at the overall effect. Embarrassed to say there’s usually a LOT of transform tool use at this stage.

To master, I apply a blur effect to mask any weird pixelation resulting from Procreate Whimsy™ - it makes the piece look a little better and more “painted”. Then I usually throw the work through an Adobe Lightroom filter to help with any weird coloring issues.

…and that’s about it! It’s definitely a technique native to digital art - there is no undo button or transform tool on paper - and I still see a million mistakes with every work I do. But it’s certainly a fun hobby!!

[kinosansart]

My personal views on art software as a hobby artist

So lol the next art post is text based.

But considering this is my art account and art related I figured that this post should go on this art blog.

But aware these are my own views and other artist views may vary.

Ok I swear I'll try to upload some art on this blog soon!

So what I look for in a art program (free or paid) when I draw stuff

For colored illustrations

Be able to draw straight into the program or process lineart from tranditional media well

To be able to fill color with the bucket tool on different layers with ease

To be easily blend/render coloring

For manga/comic panels

Make panels easily

Apply tone easily

Have a lot of free use/references/assets (ie backgrounds) to be able to be used

Have a good text insert tool

General

Be able to transfer illustrations back and forth easily (ie from ipad to laptop)

Have a good basis of tools, ie brushes, line tool.

Bonus points if they have a good intergrated soical media platform.

So I was going to go through some art software (free and paid) that I currently use for my illustrations, go through some postives and negatives.

Before that..

Software I am not mentioning

Photoshop (because I think it's too difficult to render plus I mostly use it to alter image sizes)

Gimp (never used)

Krita (Never used)

Sketchbook (hardly used)

Many other programs I don't mention

Medibang Paint (Mobile + Desktop, Free + paid)

I feel like this program does'nt really get a lot of attention. It's free and always requires so many "updates" but it's a program I use a lot currently. Mostly on ipad I use this program.

Positives

Really easy to draw on and simple to color on

Bucket tool is the best in this program works on every layer

The text tool IS AMAZING to use (I use it currently for my fancomics)

My artwork looks really bright and colorful when I finish coloring on this app

Negatives

The uploading on to their soical media platfrom is bad

Cloud upload is a little slow/glitchy

Text tool needs online/internet to work

The desktop version is not as good as ipad version

Not good for drawing manga/comics

When online, ads are really annoying

Color blending/rendering is not really good apart from using the watercolor brush

Even though there's so many things I don't like about this software. I USE THIS PROGRAM A LOT. I think it's been 3-5 years snice I've used this program up to this day. Still very under-rated this program is.

IbisPaint X (mostly mobile but there is desktop, free + paid)

The "alternative" to procreate for android users. I don't see many users talk about this program neither.

Positives

AMAZING for manga/comic drawing. It's my current default program to draw my fancomics right now

Screentone layer is amazing

Really good bucket tool, works on different layers

Good resources/assets for manga/comic creation

Negatives

A pain to transfer files back and fourth, snice this program is mobile exculsive (unless you pay for desktop)

It's not really good to do colored illustrations on (no good blending tools, no dual colors can be used)

Text tool is not good.

A new program I came across and I honestly was SO IMPRESSED with the manga tools that I bought the ad free version. I honestly recommend this program for manga/comic creation over clip studio paint.

Procreate (paid and on ipad only)

Speaking about Procreate I have it! I also don't use it as much as Medibang + Ibispaint lol. I honestly think procreate is over-rated.

Positives

Animation is the most simple and easy to use (I did my own test animations on them)

Good customisation with brushes

Good blending tool

I like the timelaspe function

Amazing color palette creation

Negative

THE AUTOFILL/BUCKET SUCKS BAD (the main reason I hate drawing on this app, every drawing I do I have to color in manually like a 5 year old and it takes me ages to finish a drawing on this app)

For some reason every drawing I do on this app my colors are dull and washed out compared to medibang

Transfering files back and forth is a pain as well

I mostly don't use procreate because for me the bucket tool NEVER works on my lineart (even setting reference on the layer) which results on me keeping the drawing simple because I have to manually color every section myself. I don't understand why it's so popular. I rather use medibang than procreate for my drawings.

In my view apart from it's animation features it's not really worth the price. Considering I bought it and hardly use it.

Paper by WeTransfer (Free + paid, on ipad only)

I BARELY see any artists use this app, I think I might be the only person who uses this app lol. It's got good/bad features and I still use this app for rough ideas/doodles

Positives

AMAZING organisation of art (can make unlimited journals with pages to add to them)

Can hold unlimited art pieces, don't have to name files.

Good color mixing/color picking

Takes little space on your device so I hold all of my doodles in here

Negatives

Barely/never updates

Outdated/limited tools

BAD AT MAKING FINISHED COLOR PIECES OR EVEN COMICS

NO LAYERS

Color palette is REALLY BAD

washed out/dull look when doodles are finished

So because I DRAW A LOT, I use this app to draw rough doodles/ideas. I mostly use it as a art reference for my OC designs or dumb doodles like the one above. But yeah I understand why it's not popular, no layers is like art mode HARD. But I enjoy drawing on it.

Clip studio paint (mobile and desktop ,paid + limited free?)

I recently got this program because I heard so much about it from soical media. So..I acutally think this program is over-rated lol!

Positives

AMAZING for colour illustrations, bucket tool is great, color picker good, great blender/render

MASSIVE online/asset resources the most I've seen so far

My finished drawings look bright and colorful and just as good as medibang

Negatives

You have to pay monthly for ipad version/ newer version (which I don't have)

I don't think this program is good for manga/comic drawing (restricted screentone layer, limited material layer, bad text tool)

I am disapointed with the manga creator, I think it's BAD! I can't FIGURE how to add panel or even draw on a manga page, I had an headache trying to figure out the way screentone works. I personally think Ibispaint is WAY more simple and better program to create manga than CSP.

But I understand why it's good and worth paying for. The blending tools are amazing as well as resources/assets. I have yet to test the animation feature.

Programs I don't use much/anymore

Paint Tool Sai (paid, desktop only)

A program that existed before procreate or clip studio got popular

Positives

Working Bucket tool

Good blending tools

Amazing color palette creation

Negatives

limited assets/resources

only good for colored illustrations

I honestly did use paint tool sai for a number of years before moving on to medibang. I think this program is good, but it felt outdated as I moved on to other art software.

Overall

I just wanted to say this is my own view and so please don't get angry lol. I mean every artist is different and have their own program they like to use. This is from my own view.

I am not saying to use medibang more and use procreate less. It's just in my view sometimes I don't see why certain programs are more popular than others.

Don't take this as advice on what art program to use either. I don't know just use the one you like.

[patbwaifs]

I draw really fast, so this time, (even though I need to do some more work) I'm taking my time with the lineart.

with everything i do, I feel like I need to speedrun the life out of it. While I was in Kentucky, I was spent some time tinkering with the procreate default brushes to create a set of brushes that felt really good to sketch, ink, and color with - and I think I have the perfect inking pen for me.

Syrup, Thylacine - inking, sketching

Larapuna has been pretty nice for coloring. I'm still tinkering with the settings. I've gotten Quoll into a nice spot, but not really in love with it per se.

This drawing of Connor is my favorite out of my pen-xperimentation.

I'm still shocked that I'm so okay with some of these lines being so clean. (I want a bit more texture but it's nice that I can)

The stalemate with this though is that Vivid Light as a layer effect is really nice - yet really finicky. I'm most comfortable drawing on one layer, but Vivid Light does some weird things if you're trying to get dark and neutral tones. I'll get it eventually though.

well here's where I got before i entered "art is a scam i hate art" mode.

lineart could be better, then i got frustrated trying to grayscale

gwehh