#but i don't really grasp what i'm drawing (the anatomy etc)

[xxplastic-cubexx]

Hey! Alway me🫣🤭.

I need to ask cause you draw so well.

I really like the poses and bodies you do, so I was wondering: Do you have any tips for learning how to draw bodies, hands, faces, etc. well?

Hello again!! Thank you so much for enjoyin my work !!!!

I didn't think I'd type up much in response to this, but. Oops!!!!!! So I have all of my notes below the cut :]

With regards to drawing anatomy and the sort, the shortest way I can say it is to study exactly what you're looking to draw: it's easy to generally say 'just study' or 'study everything' when it comes to art, but if you don't know exactly what you want to improve on, you're not going to make as much progress as you may want. You'll need a starting point, and identifying things like bodies/muscles, faces, hands and the like of what you want to focus on drawing is a great start!

For starters, I for sure recommend looking into muscle anatomy charts and models- something like these:

Color blocked diagrams like this can help identify the shapes of muscles, and generally once you understand the shapes of them and how they fit together, drawing anatomy as a whole starts to come easier: once you've made sense of the muscles of the body, you better understand where they belong and how they'll move, and therefore you can plan/visualize them better.

You know how sometimes people have to disassemble an engine and then reassemble it to better understand it? Think of it that way: you deconstruct your subject, study it, and- with a better understanding of it- put it back together!

Moreover, once you know the rules of anatomy, you can start to bend it when working with perspectives. make sure to look at plenty of photo references to understand this!

Perspective's a different subject I'm gonna pivot to really quick: it seems scary at first, but you just need time to study and play around with it, like with anything you're studying.

Generally speaking, the closer something is to the camera, the bigger it'll be. When we try to draw these extreme perspectives in mind- I, at least- get worried about it looking inaccurate or 'wrong'. But it's good to embrace that exaggeration at times! It helps add emphasis to your piece (especially if there's movement or action!), and it's why we learn these rules of anatomy and perspective: to harness them and break them when necessary. If you feel as though something looks off though, don't be afraid to look for reference images.

I don't use them much nowadays, but 'art dolls' can help you out with posing and perspectives at the start! You don't need a physical doll either: my personal favorite site was justsketch.me. It's totally free, and you can add multiple figures to a 'set' if you need to. Play around with it for a bit: it's pretty fun just posing the dolls!

Back to muscles though...

Obviously, you don't have to map out muscles like this every time. Just doing this a couple times once in a while as an exercise helps you get associated with the shapes of the muscles, especially when applying it to poses you're looking to draw.

*Quick note: the forearm's bone- the ulna- twists when bent as shown in this reference, hence the 'twisting' shape of the lime greens!

As for hands, I hope this quick little chart can help! again, a big help- for me- is understanding the shapes and how they all connect, and how parts of the hand move and work. Like I said before, looking at references will help a lot.

With hands and poses alike, I honestly recommend tracing your pose/reference of interest first, if you have one. Doing this lets you get a 'feel' of how to draw what you'd like, plus it allows you to become more familiar with the details of what you're drawing. After you get a grasp for that, free-handing poses will come easier. If you're able- whether that's taking pictures or looking at a mirror- yourself can be a good reference for your drawings too! You'll know exactly what you're looking for, and you don't have to worry about hunting for The Perfect Reference.

As for faces, part of that is based on style- BUT I hope how my approach to drawing faces can help!

If I May Provide A Quick Demo on how I go about learning to draw new characters: I do a fair amount of studying whenever drawing real people (as I do with my movie!x-men art), so I hope looking at my process can help you see my thinking in action.

Michael Fassbender probably has one of my favorite faces to draw since it's so distinct in shapes and therefore pretty easy to understand and draw, so I'm gonna borrow him for this:

I always have a set of reference images of the person/character I'm drawing off to the side. For this demo, I'm just going to use these few

When I first start to get to know a person's face, I start off with generic shapes. Almost like I have to carve the rest of their features out of this 2D marble slab, I guess is a way I can put it. While drawing Michael/Erik, I always think of how 'square' or boxy his face is as a starting point. Thereafter, I look closer at the details of his face and gradually start 'grinding' the 'marble' to be more specific to his face shape.

In this case, although I can 'summarize' his face with a square, I also acknowledge it's not perfectly square and that he has a rounded jawline, chin, and forehead. Still: I ask myself why I think his face is so 'square', and a part of it's because of how pronounced his features are: they give him a sharper look.

That 'sharper' look is displayed best at his cheeks/cheekbones, so I highlight it, as I feel it's a distinguishing feature of his face I want to capture.

So I have his general shapes down- but I also know Michael has very distinguished expressions as well! So I go look at my sources and no this wasn't an excuse to rewatch First Class I sweaarrr <-lying to see how his face moves depending on what he's expressing or even how he talks. When I understand how his face moves, then I can start to draw expressions I feel are more 'natural' or 'accurate'. The rest of his face just falls into place after that.

Once I have my notes, then I just do some rough sketches and I put what I learnt into practice. And then uh... yeah! That's how I do that.

Evidently, this way of study doesn't work if you're drawing a character with no real-life model. Moreover, some styles are a lot more simple than what I have going on here, and some subjects may be better suited for a different art style all together: it ultimately depends on what you find the most fun and what you think feels right to you!

I'm not sure I have any other tips off the top of my head, but if you have any please feel free to ask! Drawing takes time to get the hang of and to figure out what you like, so I hope you have fun on your artistic journey!

Happy drawing!

[einsatzzz]

Ein's Art Log #1

@lixenn!! Here's the timelapse I recorded for my rarepair week submission! I'm just gonna start this log series because I wanna study art more and take notes of it here in this blog. And maybe it will help people with their drawings? I'm putting my notes below ↓↓↓

Draft & Lineart

First, for this art, I used a base made by Ging (깅). Using bases like these are always useful for a lot of things and it also forces me to draw things (like poses, hands, etc) I wouldn't normally draw by myself (if its up to just my hand with zero braincell input, I would just draw the characters facing 3/4 to the left over and over). Also a lot of them are just so *chef kiss*, god bless Korean artists. They're so good, especially with how they do the figures and anatomy!

I just adjusted the base a bit to match the characters' heights, since Kurumi is taller than Chrome by like 6cm.

Then when making the drawing a draft layer over the base, I usually use bright colors like green, red or blue (most often green). I usually don't think about the draft too much even if it turns out ugly, I think it's actually better that it turns out ugly and messy.

Otherwise, if the draft looks slightly more decent than expected, then I'd become too lazy to draw a more proper lineart. Whenever I remember to do so, I also use a gray-colored background so it's easier on my eyes, especially since I drew this after work.

For the "lineart", I used a brush called 촉펜 (MTL says it's "Touch Pen" in English; Content ID: 2050169). I recently started using this for doodles/sketches, it feels nice. It was free when I downloaded it, but it costs 10 Clippy now.

Anyway, I used a little bit more braincells for the "lineart" now after the draft, but then I didn't really try that hard to make it look clean, since I'm rushing to finish it as fast as I can. I just made sure that the outside lines are connected just enough for easier selection & coloring later.

Coloring & Shading

The coloring is where my experiment actually started! I usually go ahead and color them one-by-one per each color and part, but to be quicker, I used the Magic Wand selection tool to select the area outside the background, then inverting it so now the selection is at the characters *except* the background.

I then used the the bucket tool to fill the selection with the color I use as the base skin color. I still keep the selection there for further coloring purposes.

Just from here, I added another layer on top for the shading of the skin! For the shading, I used a brush called Yuri Watercolor (Content ID: 1889385). This one's really a paid brush, but I liked it a lot so I got it hahaha.

I do plan on replicating on doing this on IbisPaint one of these days! My plan so far is to use the free watercolor brush there, lower the brush opacity to around 60-70% and then draw the shading on a clipping layer set to the Multiply layer effect.

After shading, it looks like this now! I didn't mind the colors bleeding through the non-skin parts (except for two parts: the neck shading that would bleed to the face and thigh shading that would bleed to the skirt). I also used this brush to color Chrome's eye. Huhu I can't remember how I did it, helpskjfbjsbf

Then for the coloring of the hair and clothes, I just used the soft airbrush! I tried using the Yuri Watercolor brush for it too, but I couldn't quite grasp it yet on how to use it for coloring/shading those parts. I guess I know what to study next hahaha

When coloring the hair (and clothes), I did color the middle parts but didn't really full-on color till the edges to make that fading effect at the edge.

For the shading, I added clipping layers above and used the watercolor brush again!

For the hair highlights, I used the soft airbrush again. I just used a white color on a Soft Light layer effect to add a faint highlight on their hair (showed on picture on the left). Afterwards, I added another layer above with the Add/Glow effect and turned down the opacity to around 50%, to put more shine to it (showed on picture on the right).

Additionally, I also added a paper texture layer at the bottom! I also grouped up all the lineart and color layers into one folder and set the layer effect to Linear Burn.

Finally, after a bit color corrections/adjustments, blur filters (post-processing stuff, maybe for a different post?) and adding some decorations, the drawing is finally done! KuruKuro my beloved 💖

That's the process I'm playing around with so far, but I think I can still improve on it. I'm also planning on making a page on my wiki to compile my resources, references and such (maybe some free to use assets too). But anyway, that's all for now!

[vallikesgivinghugs]

Ooh sounds fun let's do it!

Under read more because y'know don't want people to have to scroll through all of that if they don't care.

1. IbisPaintX, honestly it was my first art program I ever actually used but now I'm FireAlpaca's bitch.

2.Oooh I personally really enjoy/have an easier time drawing front facing characters, profiles are so darn difficult.

3. Big bright and noticeable eyeshines i guess! Always been a thing for me, so my characters always have extra bright eyes. Or i guess eyes in general are a thing I kept from my kiddie days.

4. Crystaline stuff and MAGIC. I love them both so much but god can I not draw them for the life of me. And hair! But hair i'm starting to figure out!

5. Now that I think about it's pretty darn close id I do say so myself! Like 40 to 45% i post online (mostly on discord) and then 55 to 60% i keep to myself!

6. When I draw cats it's a lot of inspo from different warrior cats fandom big names but in general anime is my big inspo!

7.Traditional painting! I tried painting and it's just not for me but I love the way it looks and how many thing people can do with it!

8. God the amount of stories and characters that I've just left as wips in immense. I have adhd, can't finish stuff for shit.

9. Usually if it's one character it's 'character name' and then you add a number or a descriptor (aka smile or smth). Otherwise it's just like 2 or 3 words of what the drawing is. And then I group those in like 'finished art' 'wips' etc!

10.Ooh tough one. I do enjoy drawing poofy sleeved shirts or like long flowy dresses/skirts.

11.Ranges from romance music playlists to true crime and everything in between! I just need a background noise honestly. Doesn't really matter what the noise is.

12. Face. I draw floating heads on the regular.

13. Junji Ito. His style is just so freakin' interesting and his grasp on anatomy is just amazing! But, personally I'm not the biggest horror/gore fan so I don't actually read his stuff. I just find his art nifty when I see it.

14.Polkadots or stripes. Love that stuff.

15.In my room personally but I used to go out to parks and draw there when I was younger.

16.Lineart. everyone is always sayin' stuff like 'Wow your lines are so nice and clean' and while I do agree that it's one of my strengths personally my lineart always looks rigid and wrong to me. I tend to prefer my sketches and nowadays I usally clean those up and use 'em as the lineart.

17.Nope. i completely forget that my body has bodily functions when i draw. I get invested X3

18.Not many! Honestly it's less that I break them on purpose and more that I'm clumsy and drop stuff all the time but on the regular I try my best not to break stuff.

19.Flowers and bushes!

20. Armor of any kind, love me some shiny metals and belts and buckles.

21. I really like the disney style (both 2d and 3d) and I'm really a big fan of 3d animation in anime (studio orange with Trigun Stampede and Land of the Lustrous have my heart)

22.none I live on the edge. (Don't do this, please stretch your hands I'm just a dumbass)

23.I use so many layers and so many of them are multiply and add it's not even funny.

24.Yes. stock images are really good for poses and stuff. I often makes collages of multiple of them to get what I want exactly.

25. Hmmm, i dunno if that's happened to me actually.

26.Nothing comes to mind but i'm sure it's happened!

27.I draw a bunch of circles. And sometimes doodle like different body parts or sonas of mine loosely.

28.I participated in the artfight of 2023! It was a good time.

29.live action tv shows and just non-animated movies/stuff in general! I can write fanfic wips for days but drawing them? Nah.

30.hmmm can't think of any? I probably have one or two that I wish got more attention but usually the attention my art gets is pretty on par with what I' expecting!

Weirdly Specific Artist Ask Game

Didn't see a lot of artist ask games, wanted to make a silly one.

(I wrote this while sick out of my mind last year and it's been collecting dust in my drafts, I might as well let it run free) 1. Art programs you have but don't use

2. Is it easier to draw someone facing left or right (or forward even)

3. What ideas come from when you were little

4. Fav character/subject that's a bitch to draw

5. Estimate of how much of your art you post online vs. the art you keep for yourself

6. Anything that might inspire you subconsciously (i.e. this horse wasn't supposed to look like the Last Unicorn but I see it)

7. A medium of art you don't work in but appreciate

8. What's an old project idea that you've lost interest in

9. What are your file name conventions

10. Favorite piece of clothing to draw

11. Do you listen to anything while drawing? If so, what

12. Easiest part of body to draw

13. A creator who you admire but whose work isn't your thing

14. Any favorite motifs

15. *Where* do you draw (don't drop your ip address this just means do you doodle at a park or smth)

16. Something you are good at but don't really have fun doing

17. Do you eat/drink when drawing? if so, what

18. An estimate of how much art supplies you've broken

19. Favorite inanimate objects to draw (food, nature, etc.)

20. Something everyone else finds hard to draw but you enjoy

21. Art styles nothing like your own but you like anyways

22. What physical exercises do you do before drawing, if any

23. Do you use different layer modes

24. Do your references include stock images

25. Something your art has been compared to that you were NOT inspired by

26. What's a piece that got a wildly different interpretation from what you intended

27. Do you warm up before getting to the good stuff? If so, what is it you draw to warm up with

28. Any art events you have participated in the past (like zines)

29. Media you love, but doesn't inspire you artistically

30. What piece of yours do you think is underrated

[m4trrrix]

sometime early last year i created an alien original character to cartoonize how i view the world. venty rambling mad man style under the cut

with autism, my experience feels almost subhuman. as though i wasn't given the handbook to how to human properly. i've always connected with characters that didn't really understand humanity that well. werewolves, vampires, angels, aliens, etc.

with how much i enjoy the stereotypical little green/gray alien you'd think i'd be much into space. when i was younger my school would take us on a field trip to a planetarium nearly ever year. maybe it was because other students didnt seem to grasp the concepts that well i don't know. but i would learn pretty fast. so i grew bored of repetition and eventually grew to find astronomy boring.

that unfortunately happens to me a lot. i find myself interested in so many things but when i seek them out in an educational setting, i grow bored and frustrated. i dont understand human ways of educating. i can't stand it.

thats not the topic of this blurb though. i had gotten better at my charade. people didn't find me weird or disturbing anymore. i still think back sometimes to irl friends saying they're terrified of me. and i can tell now that i am too much for some of my colleagues to handle.

i go through trial and error for how i must act. and it is almost.. tiring.

so i guess i draw this guy to cope. he's come back in my mind in the past few weeks because i recently dyed my hair green. a friend mentioned that when she sees the color she thinks of me. and all of my green stuff. my airpod case is an alien. i bought a green phone case to match (though i havent used it yet because this one isnt completely broken yet. but its close) i have 2 inflatable green aliens of various sizes. its become my brand to be seen as this.. unearthly thing. i guess i cannot complain when i see myself as just an imposter in human skin.

this character doesn't technically have a name. i imagine his species doesn't have them. or maybe its just in a language we do not understand. but i called him joshua when he's disguised. i wanted just some plain name. though i think i want to change it to neo. i think he would like the matrix a lot. understanding feeling different. i think he would like neo a lot.

names have always been a weird thing to me. a word we rely on and relate to deeply. i relate to mine, in some ways. at one point it served me quite a lot of joy. but in the past year or two i've gone through so many extra names that also felt, at the time, relatable. they're just titles i don't care for now. the one i use now is just one i've decided to keep out of some reason i can't quite place. i like neo as well i think. a lot of people who don't know me well call me neo because they don't care enough to look deeper into me. i believe it fits the tiring human persona i put on for people

i honestly dont know what im talking about at this point. i was finishing another piece that ended up ugly and at some point i just took the markers and just went ham. my brain started monologuing and i was like fuck, if i dont get this out of my brain i will surely die. it wont stop talking if i dont get it out somewhere. so i quickly drew the doodles up top and called it a day.

point is, green green green...,.,, i couldve been such a scientist if i was human! i'm hugely into anatomy and biology but i grew up in the south so my educational system was, and is, fucked! i cannot enjoy biology anymore because my teacher in high school was mega christian and did not enjoy teaching half of the subjects!!!! i cant stand anatomy because my CLASSMATES WRRE ALL MORONS THEY JUST DIDNT WANT TO TAKE PHYSICS I WANTED TO BE THERE I WANTED TO DISSECT THE FUCKING HEART . but i was paired with girls who were too scared.

when my tablet is charged enough i'll draw the alien in a much better setting. and color him. and draw his girlfriend he has a girlfriend. i need to figure out why i keep giving me characters women partners when im mostly attracted to masculine figures but thats a discussion for a different day

enjoy my descent into madness ill return tomorrow

[obsidiancypher]

ARTIST ASK GAME!

1. what medium do you use most (if applicable, what software)?

Digital art, pretty much exclusively Procreate on an iPad. Though, it's been months since I was even brave enough to even pick up the pen. Also rather depressingly, I'm not sure when or if I ever will again :/

2. most popular piece?

I don't really have a unified place where all my art is posted, but this is probably the most popular one, and mostly just because it was a meme. Still, I had a lot of fun with it.

3. your favorite piece(s)?

I really had a lot of fun with this one. I actually did some sort of background. Took me way too long, but I think I learned a lot.

4. piece you wish got more love?

To be honest, I don't really care for the popularity of the art I make. I mostly just draw for my own entertainment and practice. If people like it, then they'll like it. Though, I won't pretend that it doesn't feel good when people respond well to it.

5. how would you describe your art style?

If I had to describe it, probably just "anime". If we're getting MORE specific, I do try to emulate Studio TRIGGER's art style, what with the bright colors and forced perspective. I'm a big fan of eye-catching action shots.

6. favorite thing to draw?

There's a lot of things I like to draw! Almost exclusively character art (Though I wish I was better at background/interior art).

When I'm drawing the character themselves, it's really hard to pick a favorite part anatomically. I love the challenge of drawing hands, and I absolutely cannot resist drawing legs.

Hands are so... expressive, and you can so easily put across an emotion or a personality based solely on the posing. Is your character a gentle person? Is your character consumed by crushing rage? Is your character literally grasping at the air in anticipation? So much can be said with just the angle and positing of those five fingers.

With legs, they're not inherently complex. Just shapes really. But they're what ground the character and position them in the world, what makes them real. Is your character firmly rooted the ground? Are they twisting through the air? They're the longest limbs too, which can naturally pull the viewer's eyes along the length of the pose, guiding them to what you want them to see. Which, if I'm being honest, for me, is often the legs themselves. They're just shapes, but they are very nice looking shapes!

For props/accessories, I find myself drawn to mechanical stuff like weapons, machines, armor, and prostheses. I wish I was better in this area, but I know that's literally all just technical skill. It's hard, but I try to practice a lot on these. And going off of this, I wish I was better with technical background art: buildings, appliances, technology, gadgets, etc.

And I'm endlessly envious of people who can convincingly create interesting materials for clothing, like leather, silk, vinyl, rubber, latex, polyester, cotton, etc. Something about the way it catches the light and you're able to instantly envision the texture of it, with minimal details. How thick is the material? How rough or smooth? Is it soft or hard? Rigid or flowing? The material themselves (as a part of the fashion of the character) can say so much about the character's personality.

7. easiest thing for you to draw?

For me, it's probably hands. Not because I think I'm particularly good at it. But mostly because I'm highly motivated when drawing them. Everything I draw takes so long to get as "good enough", but with hands, it's not a slog. I have fun trying to get it right.

8. thing you struggle to draw?

There's so much I need to get better at, backgrounds most obviously. But in terms of things I actually draw somewhat occasionally: feet. Not so much the anatomy of feet (which I am absolutely terrible with), because often my characters are wearing shoes, but I'm bad with giving my characters weight and connecting them to the ground, which is often shown through the feet/shoes.

9. whats something you always come back to when drawing?

Robotic prostheses. Why have regular arms when you can have metal arms?

10. how do you deal with artblock?

I usually don't, to be honest. But looking at cool art is a great way to get me itching to draw. I find my artblock moments often stem from me NOT looking at enough art.

11. do you listen to anything while drawing?

Music, usually. Whatever capture the mood of the drawing I'm trying to do. If its from a game or anime or something, usually listening to the soundtrack is a good way to motivate me.

12. describe your process while drawing

I'm useless without blocking out the outline first. I have to literally work with really rough stick figures, blocks, and shapes just to get the posing right. From there, I usually start with a messy messy sketch just to get the "ideas" of the drawing out there. I usually do the most experimenting at this stage, figuring out what I want to do. Then from there, I usually do a "clean" sketch which more closely gets to what I want it to look like ultimately. Then, I either clean up the sketch or do lines.

If I do lines, I gotta do flat colors, which is easy because I like my lines super clean and self-contained.

Then shading.

Then highlighting.

Then any effects of filtering.

13. talk about a wip you like!

I have so many. But I really liked one I did for FLCL, that I will literally never finish.

14. whats your favorite thing about drawing?

Capturing the emotion or mood or theme or character that I wanted to capture. I draw because I have an idea in my head, and finally getting it out there is my favorite part.

15. least favorite thing about drawing?

Probably just finding the time and freedom to do it. I'm easily distracted and frequently called upon to do other shit, so... it can be hard to sit down and focus on drawing for any significant amount of time.

Plus, sitting around and just "drawing" isn't really being "productive", and I incredibly anxious when I am not being "productive".

16. how do you motivate yourself to draw?

Just finding cool artists and looking at their galleries. Browsing through instagram, art station, or pixiv. Seeing unique or new art styles or concepts is the best way to get the creative juices flowing.

17. what is something youre confident about in your art?

I really push to "finish" my art. I really hate leaving a piece incomplete. It feels like wasted time. So usually (usually) I have enough patience to really grind through it.

18. something you feel like you need to work on?

Backgrounds. I have a lot of characters just floating in empty space.

19. where do you find inspiration?

Other artists, for sure. Especially more creative and unique art styles.

20. is your workspace, digital or not, organized (not neat, organized)?

For the most part, yeah. It's all digital, so really its just how I organize my layers. I do a lot of grouping.

21. what do you think your artstyle would taste like?

I have no idea how to answer this question.

22. do you have a favorite color palette to work with?

Dark colors with splashes of REALLY bright (literally glowing) colors. I'm a sucker for high contrast.

23. how many artstyles can you work in confidently?

Just my own, I think. Whatever my art "style" is. It's just kind of a mish-mash of everything.

24. whats a compliment about your art that has always stuck with you?

A couple times people have asked me if they can repost my art somewhere else! That was nice of them. Not just to ask (which I do appreciate), but that they were interested in showing it off elsewhere.

One of the people who asked to do this was like... one of my idols at the time. It was crazy that they randomly acknowledged me at all. I'm still riding that high.

25. what size canvas/paper do you use?

Uhh... big. I always make things way too big. I really like my lines to be ~ * C R I S P * ~

26. what do you physically draw with (pencil and paper, tablet, etc)?

An iPad Pro with an Apple Pen 2.

27. do you ever have multiple wips going at once?

I try not, but yeah. If I don't finish a piece fast enough and the next inspiration hits, the old one will die.

28. whats a piece you would like to redraw at some point?

I don't have one! Once I am done, I am done.

29. do you use a lot of references while drawing?

I use some. Aside from the usual character reference art (if its fanart), sometimes I'll get pose references that I loosely base things off.

30. whats something youre proud of about your artstyle?

I guess I'm not afraid to use bright colors. I do like that.

31. which fandom have you drawn the most for?

Over the years, probably Gurren Lagann, but I am all over the place.

32. have you done a lot of collabs?

Some, but not that many. Maybe like... 3 or 4 individual artists, MAYBE like 10 times ever (probably less). And really only once or twice in any serious manner. A lot of doodles though.

33. have you taken a lot of classes for art?

I took a few in college, but I was mostly surrounded by engineers who were just trying to get their "Humanities" credits out of the way. They were basically intro art classes, and only a handful of my peers were serious about learning or pushing themselves. So I don't think I learned much "artistically".

But I did learn some cool technical skills using 3D modeling and animation software.

34. whats something you still like from your old art?

Probably the same things I like about my more recent art. Bright glowing colors on contrasting backgrounds.

35. if you had one piece of advice to give your younger artist self, what would it be?

I was going to write something like "Don't be afraid to experiment!", but honestly...

Surround yourself with people who build you up. People who make you want to create more art. People who want you to express yourself fully and openly. For your own sake. The positive energy will be so motivating, that you'll be practicing consistently and frequently. And through that, you will grow at your own pace.

Avoid the negativity.

[kashuan]

Hi I love your art style! Especially how dynamic your poses and how distinct and expressive your faces are.

For somebody currently struggling with their own style, do you mind sharing how you got to where you got? Probably lots of studies, right? 😅

Did you focus on realism and built your more stylized take on that? I'm mostly a digital artist but I have heard that practicing a lot with pencil and paper may help, do you have any experiences with that?

I'd love to hear if you have any advice <3

Hey! First of all, thanks so much! ♥

In terms of stylization, aiming for and sticking to a single style is something I've heard that some people do, but was never something I really thought about too much myself. I started by just copying the artists I liked, so in the beginning I was just mimicking another's style 1:1 for the most part. After doing that with several artists, the styles naturally started to blend together, until I was eventually able to develop a more conscious sensibility of what I did/didn't want to include, which just comes through a lot of the practice. Over the years my style has been really all over the place, from Extremely anime influenced, to western comic book style and cartoonish, to fairly strict realism, to where I am now which I think is something like stylized realism. It's inevitable that you'll go through a few styles as you grow as an artist, even if you're only sticking to one genre, and I believe it's important to allow that to happen, rather than trying to strictly force yourself to stick to one in specific. I don't draw in the styles I used to, but I think little touches of it still remain in my current one, which I think helps give it a little bit of uniqueness. In regard to my current style though, yes, I do studies from life almost every day to help me keep a strong grasp on realistic anatomy as well as to continue to grow my understanding of it. I use references too with almost all my drawings, but then I add stylization on top of it, which is something I wasn't able to do with much success until I had been practicing for years, so don't be discouraged if this is a struggle. I will say though as soon as I began to do studies regularly, my improvement went like 500% faster than it had before; just about the only thing I wish I'd done differently on my journey with art would have been to start doing studies from life sooner. So if stylized realism is a style you're interested in, I can't recommend that enough! And even for more cartoonish styles, the better your understanding of forms and anatomy, the easier time you'll have exaggerating it confidently, tbh. Re: digital versus pen and paper, this isn't so much related to style specifically, but even as a primarily digital artist myself, I highly recommend getting in some practice with real media too. It forces you to be more deliberate and decisive with your mark making, especially if you're using something like pen-- once the line is made, you can't erase it-- and that skill carries over to how you draw your lines digitally. I still try to do pen studies at least once a month and I think it definitely influences the confidence of my digital lines. Lastly, I'd also say keeping some sort of inspiration board is a great tool. I have a side blog for saving pieces that I see which I would like to incorporate elements of into my own style, whether because I liked the way the figure was posed, the expressions, the artist's mark making, the composition, the interaction between the subjects, etc. There's so much like that which all goes into influencing an artist's specific style and it's really interesting to think about when you consider what you want from your own! Whenever I'm feeling a little dry on inspiration I look through my dash over there or in the folder of inspiration I've saved and it almost always helps get some new ideas flowing. Like I said, I don't think it's necessarily a good idea to focus in on just one specific style and constrain yourself that way, but to instead consider how you'd like to use bits and pieces of many styles can be very helpful to growing your own. There's a whole lot more than can be said on this subject, but I hope this much is of some help to you ♥♥

[f33itan]

Hi hello I just finished the demon slayer manga and saw you did match ups so I would like to request one if possible

I prefer men and I'm and adult so please no children haha

I would describe myself as an artistic and romantic at heart, I love art in all its forms drawing paintings music theater all of it

I also love the complexity of the human experience I find it fascinating

Despite this I often come of as cold or intimidating at first glance from what I've been told and usually have a hard time opening up to even my closest of friends

I love a good debate or alternatively a good brawl I don't fret standing up for my beliefs even in petty banters

In Romance I prefer being the one to pursue the relationship if I don't have an initial like for someone and they approach me romantically I will reject them ruthlessly. I'm very much a soulmate type person I want to find the one and stay with them to the ends of the earth haha

I cant stand ignorant people or boring people I think very quiet and shy people broing too 😅

Oh and I'm really into the occult and weird things like tarot, astrology, conspiracy theories etc

I hope this was good enough and thank you in advance have a great week✨

You're welcome, I hope you have a great week as well! <3

SPOILERS: MENTIONS OF FIGHTING EVENTS AND CHARACTER DETAILS

The wonderful F33itan says your matchup is...

Akaza from Demon Slayer ; Kimetsu No Yaiba!

Have fun dealing with this lil shit tsundere

He enjoys coming back from missions to find you painting or drawing something, whether it be a thing you've been spending days on or a simple doodle on a small sketch pad. Occasionally he'll join you in your art activities only to repetitively rant on how much better your drawings are than his.

The human experience and body is intriguing to him as well. As we see in the Final Battle Arc, Akaza has always wanted to reach the see through world to get a better grasp of his fighting skills, and with this he likes to do minor research on how the human body works, functions, etc. He can sit for hours listening to you read through books about anatomy, fighting, body analysis, all while you take notes or reread to understand what the text is saying exactly. Sometimes he'll ask questions but the majority of the time he either finds out himself or just sits until you're done, then goes back to read whatever chapter he had a question about.

He finds it kind of attractive, how cold your glare is and how intimidating you can seem. Doesn't mind if it takes a while for you to open up, he's not the best at showing his emotions or being transparent to somebody either.

Akaza loves to train with you, but he's always extra careful to not hurt you severely. Loves to have detailed arguments with you as well. Maybe debating on which part of the body is the best and why, or something technical that the both of you can get a benefit from. He also shows you the best forms and stances for fighting and could spend the whole day just perfecting one move. Only for you of course.

To be honest he's okay with not being too too lovey dovey and romantic. If you start to be affectionate though, he won't stop you. He trusts you enough to know you won't try anything, but he still gets a bit iffy with his past and thoughts about Koyuki. Talk with him and assure him you're okay and that you'll always give your best to defend yourself, it'll make him feel better.

He finds shy and boring people tiring as well, so doing spontaneous things at the most random times is fun for the both of you. One time he dragged you around a whole city just give you your favorite candy in the end, and it was actually really sweet. Him that is, but yeah the candy was good too.

He loves to listen to you rant or go deep in thought about any conspiracies you've built up, learning about astrology and listening to you talk about all of the tarot cards you have and would like to get in the future. Whenever he goes out on a mission he tries his best to bring back something that could help you with any information you need. Akaza supports your research and discoveries 1000% and will do anything and everything he can to help.

Pet names consist of simple but sweet things that only the two of you understand. Any special, memorable events that have happened to you two could result in a new name for either of you. Depends who thinks of a better one / who a name would fit more for.

Overprotective bitch 24/7, 365 but will deny it every time you bring it up.

[sacruna]

So first thing's first: the Portfolio.

I researched studios, their IPs and their projects to get a grasp of what they'd be looking for in an artist/designer. Then I figured out what I really enjoy creating and it pretty much boiled down to Visual development, Character design and a tiny bit of Illustration. A mix of both should result in something with:

Drawing Skillz- ofc gotta know how to actually draw - Color, Light, Anatomy, Composition, Perspective, ...

Adaptability - being able to create in different styles, settings, tones

Thought Process - show multiple options, sketches, thumbnails, iterations, variations, ...

Storytelling - this could be a detail on a character's outfit or a full storyboard

Personality - show the character's personality with expressions, poses, performance, emotion, strong silhouette, clothing, etc.

Around 15 pages/pieces

The portfolio itself is also a piece of art and it should keep the reader interested - not sure how I'm going to accomplish that but I'll keep it in mind.

I already have 2 big projects I think would be great to show. both are from RPG campaigns I played a while back: 1st one was in Tales from the Loop, the 2nd in Apocalypse World - 2 of the best RPG narrative systems ever, if you enjoy creating stories, pls brainwash your D&D friends and try these.

Here's the initial structure for TFTL Kids (it needs a title):

I don't believe this is the best way to actually build a portfolio, but it's what works for me. It keeps me from going wild and lose myself in a project. In order to actually accomplish and finish this, I have to have a very structured plan. Let's see how it goes. I'll be working on these kids during the week, so expect updates soon.

[roswelldetails]

RNM 2x07 - Como La Flor

Apologies for being so late this week!! Lots of translating to do, and research. Mucho gracias to @queenrikki for reviewing this one for me!

EPISODE SUMMARY:

OLD WOUNDS — Liz (Jeanine Mason) is forced to revisit a painful part of her past when her mother Helena (guest star Bertila Damas) shows up at the diner unexpectedly. Michael (Michael Vlamis) urges Maria (Heather Hemmens) to seek help after she experiences a strange vision, and Kyle’s (Michael Trevino) attempt to get Steph (guest star Justina Adorno) to open up doesn’t go as planned. Finally, Helena’s arrival in Roswell sends Rosa spiraling. Nathan Dean and Lily Cowles also star. Barbara Brown directed the episode written by Danny Tolli & Carolina Rivera (#207). Original airdate 4/27/2020. 

DETAILS:

Max and Isobel both describing to Rosa how it feels to use (and control) your powers.

Isobel:

"Ground your intention.  Feel the current running through your body, your hands guiding it with purpose."

Max:

"Okay, draw energy from your spine…"

Arturo on Rosa:

"I heard a little mouse crying in her room this morning."

Escamoles - like Liz says in the episode, they're ant larvae. One article I found called them "the Caviar of the Mexican desert". 

Helena calls Liz "mi corazón", which means "my heart".

"Arturito, te ves bien."

Arturo, you look good.

Adding "ito" to someone's name in Spanish can both be positive or negative.  It can refer to smallness or also tenderness (like an affectionate pet name).

@tasyfa pointed out that there was a little timeline error in this scene.  Arturo says that he hasn't seen Helena in 7 years, since Jim Valenti's funeral, but last season it was established in 1x12 that Valenti died in 2014.  Also, remember the show is a year behind reality right now, so it's still 2019. So off by 2 years.

The reason for Helena's visit - transferring her ownership of the Crashdown for Liz so that Liz can sponsor Arturo's residency for citizenship. I did a lot of research trying to understand and clarify why this is.  Thanks to those who weighed in when I was struggling to find a clear answer. Eventually I reached out to Define American, the non-profit org that provides support to the show on racial and immigration related issues.  Here's the response:

The short version is that Liz has to meet minimum income requirements in order to sponsor Arturo, because she has to be able to certify that she can financially support him.  Since she's currently unemployed except for the Crashdown, transferring half of the ownership to her makes her a business partner and helps her to meet the income requirements. 

The Spanish:

"¿Cuánto quieres, Mamá?" 

How much do you want, Mama?

"She has a very thoughtful manicure."

If you don't understand, it's cool. I'm not going to explain here.  Feel free to DM me though! I won't judge, promise!!

Narrative thread about Max's nightmare/memory continues from 2x03 and 2x06.  Don't forget that 2x03 was just Isobel remembering it. Max was a hallucination. So when he brings it up here, it might be something they haven't discussed in a very long time.

The Spanish from Rosa on her red jacket:

"Eres una mujercita."

Basically translates to you're a little woman or young woman.  I assume the "cita" is supposed to be diminutive here.

"Mom is an opportunist.  If she found out she had a kid who came back from the dead she would use you to get to Anderson Cooper. And then she'd use him to promote her latest lounge singer gig."

"Isobel pays double.  Becky tax." 

A Becky, according to common colloquial use, is an annoying white woman, usually entitled and privileged.

Lead bartender quit..meaning there's a job opening at the Pony…hmm. Wonder if any of our characters need a job... 🤔

Maria's vision:

Michael drops the change

Flash to Kyle dropping his keys & bending down to pick them up.

Kyle staring into a bright light.

Maria shouting his name.

"My heart was broken.  Liz ended things and a part of me died."

Max's story to Valenti… not all THAT far off from the truth.

Note: has anyone told him about Valenti investigating him? We know Liz and Isobel were questioned.  Michael was present when Liz was questioned. Kyle knows the whole theory his mom was pursuing. And he just wanders in there like nothing happened?

"Try leading several short staffed investigations with the mayor breathing down your neck."

Another subtle reference to the mayor, including the election banners hung around town in S2 and his "anti-immigrant agenda" which was referenced in S1.

Max has been with the department since he was 18 - this is the first time we learned that.  In 2x05 we learned he was there at 21. So that timeline has now been further clarified. Which also means he was hired during Jim Valenti's time as Sheriff.

"I need eyes on you at all times now."

Definitely implies a lack of trust, or possibly still wanting to keep an eye on him for the purpose of her investigation (not a fact, just a theory).

Steph tells Kyle that she's always hanging around the hospital because she's doing admin work for her dad.

"I'm starting to feel like you're a ghost who only I can see."

"Ask them if they can see me. Or if you were just talking to a ghost." 

Note that ghosts have been a running theme this season with Rosa returning from the dead. This seems to be in line with that. Or are they subtly tying Steph to Rosa (I'm grasping at straws here, probably).

Liz leaves the safe on 3...but before she changes it is on 81. Helena leaves it on 78 after stealing the ring. Good continuity, RNM!

The whole "my mom hates cops" theme is a little confusing to me.  I mean, it makes sense given what we know about Helena. Except that she had an affair with Jim Valenti, who was… a cop. And also an addict.  Maybe it was different because they rehabbed together (just an assumption, not a fact). Or maybe the Jim experience contributed to her dislike of cops.

Liz...might be grasping at straws when she refers to police work as "something you love" to Max.  He didn't exactly seem enamoured by the job when we first met him in Season 1.

First time we learn Max and Isobel's father's name. And it is… Dave. 🤔

The Spanish Helena uses when she meets Max:

"Pero que guapo estas."

But how handsome you are.

"Cuidado Arturito."

Careful, Arturo…

Helena found Liz and Diego's wedding registry online. 

“Look there are medical reasons for non-drug-induced hallucinations - epilepsy, schizophrenia…”

“My mom has a degenerative brain disease. My grandma did too. I've always known I'd be next.”

Helena wanted to be Selena.

Which fits with Liz's lounge singer comment earlier.

And the "drunkenly singing in the car with your daughters in the backseat" fits with the story Liz and Rosa discussed in 2x02 about the car accident they got into as kids with Helena driving drunk.

Helena shows Liz her ten years sober chip, suggesting that she's been sober since Rosa died, but Rosa finds pills in Helena's car later in the episode.  Oxycodone. The same drug that Rosa used to steal from her mom as a kid (which we learned about in 2x04) and the same drug that she and Kyle discussed when he was checking her health in 2x01.

During Helena's toast to Rosa:

Preciosa = precious

Rosa Linda… still not sure personally if this is a continuity error or a pet name.  I’m inclined to go with a pet name. Throughout the whole episode Helena uses lots of pet names, nicknames, diminutives to address people. Rosa Linda may be just another version of this since Rosa's middle name was pretty well established as Helena in Season 1 between her grave, memorial pamphlet, etc.

Kyle calls attention to Steph's bandage on her arm.  She says she gave blood, but it feels like she's evading.

Also she calls him McDreamy, which is a Grey's Anatomy reference. Kyle called himself McSexy (another Grey's nickname) in 1x08 as well.

Note: I've seen some people talk about the speech about his sick friend as being about Maria, but I think he's really talking about Steph.  Or both, vaguely. He's certainly trying to get Steph to open up to him. Here's what he says:

"I just found out a friend of mine is sick. And I can't do anything to help her. And I hate feeling helpless."

Only after Steph puts her walls back up, does he gesture to Mimi's files.

The Spanish:

"Oh, ándale, gùero."

Ándale is like, go! Or let's go! Gùero we discussed earlier...basically white boy.

Por favor - please 

Rosa's art that we first saw in 2x05 now looks finished:

Isobel's graffiti "In Pod We Trust"

Both Isobel and Rosa's graffiti:

Isobel's assessment of Rosa's art

"That's a black hole. An unstoppable force of destruction. And it's getting closer. I see a girl looking into her own doom. She thinks it's inevitable, that she can't stop it, but she can. See, she created it. That means she can destroy it."

Rosa on Isobel's efforts to help her:

"You and Max, you keep talking about harnessing emotion and grounding myself, right? But I can't do that.  It is in my DNA to be screwed up. Literally. My mom's mentally ill. So, so am I. I was broken long before Noah did what he did. That's why he chose me to prey on.  That's probably why he chose you too."

Maria on her grandmother:

"When I was a child my Grandma Patty was the only adult who understood my make-believe world. Thing is, I was six.  So my favorite things about her were just illness, I guess…"

Maria on her mom:

"She was always kind of out there.  By the time I realized it was more than that, I just became obsessed with money. Wanted to be able to take care of her. I invested everything Grandma Patty left me, and I worked, scrounged.  It was about three days after my mom was finally fired from her job at the Pony, I bought the place."

Maria's blood does not contain the alien protein that Kyle found in the Pod Squad and Rosa after being in the Pod for a decade. (and yes, he actually said Pod Squad, which feels like an OG fandom victory)

"Look, there is one thing I noticed in your grandmother's file. Her insurance company is the same one that paid for my dad's cancer treatments...My dad got cancer because of an alien incident at Caulfield Prison. A fake insurance company established by Project Shepherd covered his bills."

"Okay so my grandmother got sick at the same alien prison where your mother died?"

More Spanish (there's lots of it this week).

Helena, when she gestures to the present:

"Abre tu regalo."

Open your gift.

Quinces is just slang for Quinceanera.

Just in case you're not familiar with quinceaneras (Liz's was also referenced in 1x02).

"Mija, me enseñas tus prom photos?"

Daughter, show me your prom photos.

Regarding the power outage.  Liz thought it was Max. Max thought it was Rosa. But the wire is frayed, like it was cut or chewed through. So it wasn't alien power related.  When Arturo finds the wire though, he says, "Must have been a little mouse." Which is how he referred to Rosa earlier in the episode. So the question is, does he actually think it was a mouse? Or does he think Rosa cut the wire? And if Rosa did cut the wire, then why? To distract them while she goes after her mom's car?

In the big Liz/Helena argument, Helena calls Max “a güerito cop”.  Güero means white person, similar to the more commonly used gringo.  But by adding the “ito” onto the end (like discussed before), Helena is basically diminuitizing Max.  She’s using the “smallness” above to basically imply that he’s some white nobody.

“I may not be the PTA mom who made cookies for bake sales or hosted sleepovers, but I sacrificed everything to come to this country to give you a better life.”

This is...not actually true.  Liz and Rosa are both natural born U.S. citizens, born in Roswell.  So she didn’t “come to this country” for that reason. She was already here when Liz and Rosa came into the picture.  And it’s not like she came pregnant with Rosa or anything, since Rosa is Jim Valenti’s daughter.

The ring that Helena took was ARTURO'S mother's ring.  It wasn't even Helena's family's heirloom.   

Liz and Arturo sharing flan for dessert.  At the start of the episode before Helena arrived they discussed making flan for Rosa.

Arturo admits that he always knew the truth about Rosa's heritage. (*fistpump* that's one of my headcanons coming true). 

"Rosa es mi hija, siempre y para toda la vida."

Rosa is my daughter, always and for life.

"Maybe you're right. I am playing the hero. Just like you're playing the politician's perfect arm candy.  See, I did a little digging. And your boyfriend, Dirk-- he ran for city council. It's very impressive. But there's no mention of your daughters. I'm guessing Dirk doesn't even know about Liz or Rosa.  Does he know anything about you, Helena? 'Cause it would be such a shame if he found out about a little town called Roswell."

Helena gives Max the ring, but keeps the box… maybe that's what Helena really wanted?

Huevos = eggs.  Basically, slang for balls.

"I know that face.  You uncovered a massive conspiracy."

"I checked the Caulfield drives. No sign of a Patricia DeLuca, but there was a Patricia Harris. Her maiden name. She signed up to participate in an experimental trial. Government was interested in weaponizing alien abilities. They wanted to create super soldiers. Your grandma was one of the first human subjects."

"Kind of wish I was an alien instead."

"What happened to the experiment?"

"It was a total failure. Caulfield shut it down in the '70s after people started dying. I don't understand how your grandmother got involved."

"I do. Henrietta Lacks, Tuskegee, Holmesburg.  The DeLucas aren't the first black people to be secretly experimented on."

Highly encourage you to read these if you're unfamiliar with any of these references.  It's African-American history (and really a black mark on U.S. history) that's rarely taught in schools.

Henrietta Lacks:

Tuskegee:

Holmesburg:

Reality versus Maria's flashes… great gifset by @rosaortecho on this here:

Kyle rips his jacket, staggers out to the parking lot, drops his keys, and is almost hit by a car, but Michael throws him out of the way with his powers (and Kyle still ends up injured because he lands on a glass bottle).

"Now that we know your illness is related to Caulfield we can find a cure for it."

"Maybe it's not an illness. I saw the future today, Guerin. When I first found out Grandma Patty was experimented on, I was furious.  But what if my genetic inheritance isn't just injustice? It's also actual superpowers. Saved a life today. And not just any life-- Kyle Valenti's. Tomorrow he's gonna turn around and save five more lives."

Liz and Rosa's dueling big sister act is super fascinating.  Rosa admits that she wasn't going to burn the car, and then she saw Liz crying, felt helpless, and that's when her powers went all wacky and caused it to explode.

Meanwhile, Liz has spent the whole episode trying to keep Rosa safe from Helena, and is trying to comfort her here by talking about Helena's sobriety.

But--Rosa stole Helena's pills, so she knows Helena is not sober, and she doesn't tell Liz that.  Why? To protect her.

At some point these two should probably stop keeping secrets to protect each other and start actually sharing what they know.

Kyle stitches himself up.

Steph quoted in this scene:

"I was up in the gallery contemplating American downfall thanks to progressive socialism."

"People tend to bail when things get real. I'm not into that."

Cameron's car was impounded a couple hours away.

Max is turning in his badge and gun and is turning down desk duty to search for Cam.

Isobel and Michael's discussion at the Pony:

"Do you think that Noah chose me because I was already broken?"

"I think you are the only one of us who ever keeps it together."

"I'm serious, Michael. The night that drifter attacked me, why am I the only one who started blacking out? I mean, Max literally murdered a man, but I'm the one who breaks?"

"You were traumatized. We were kids. At that age, trauma gets etched on to your soul."

"But what if it's not in my soul? What if it's in my DNA? Look, my whole life, I've played Stepford wife, because I thought that's what I was supposed to do. But...I need to understand myself now. I need to know where I'm from.  And if I don't know who my biological parents are, how am I ever gonna know who I really am?" 

"What are you saying, Iz?"

"I know that we said we shouldn't look into the past, but…"

"It keeps pulling you back. Me too. I spent my whole life thinking I'd build a ship and blast off into the ether. And then the minute I decide to leave that all behind and focus on this good thing in front of me, I'm sucked back in. Maria's family was experimented on at Caulfield. I need to find out more so I can find a cure for her illness."

Rosa takes one of her mom's pills. 😭

MUSIC:

1. Cactus Groove "This World"

2. Shelly Fairchild "Drive"

3. Mathis Hunter "Mrs. Vinegar"

4. Big Stone City "Good For Zero"

5. Big Stone City "Way Down Below"

6. Selena "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom"

7. Elizabeth Moen "Best I Can Do"

8. Wagons "Keep Coming Back"

9. AG "Where Is My Mind" (Pixies Cover)

[petite-madame]

Hi PM! So I'm starting out in digital art and I was wondering, do you think in term of learning, it's good to trace your reference picture or does it just makes you 'lazy'? I don't know if I make sense but I feel like tracing is the easy way and won't help, and at the same time feel like it can really help with understanding proportions and whatnot

(cont) PS: for the tracing question, I’ve seen a lot of artist getting yelled at for even just expressing their opinion on the subject so if it’s not something you feel comfortable talking about I 100% understand it            

Hi anon ^^

Ok, good question! A bit more complicated than it seems.

at the same time feel like it can really help with understanding proportions and whatnot

Not really. Ok I’m gonna try to explain you in my amazing Frenglish why it’s not a good method, I hope it’s gonna be clear. :)

From what you are saying, tracing could be useful to understand proportions. If we start on that principle, it would mean that all the photos you are gonna trace have models with proper anatomical proportions. I mean, how could it be otherwise? It’s a picture! It’s reality! Well….Nope! It’s not exactly reality. It’s the reality of the camera. The camera itself and even the way the pic was taken can deform the human body and the proportions on the photo you choose to trace can be completely fucked up. Two examples: selfies and sport pictures.

- Selfies: When you take a selfie in front of a mirror, the hand holding the phone is closer to the lens of the camera. That’s why it looks so big. If you render the same proportions on a pic by just tracing without any knowledge of anatomy or proportions, it’s gonna look ridiculous and just give you a “small body - big hand” effect. Someone with a better understanding of anatomy would either draw the hand smaller to correct the deformation of the camera either foreshorten the arm to really enhance the play on perspective and give a cool effect like for instance in this artwork.

- Sport pics: When you take a pic of, let’s say, a baseball player. The body is so much in tension, in action, in MOTION that when you look at the pic, the body seems completely deformed. Does the body look this way in reality? No, it’s the reality of the camera lens. Don’t get me wrong, these pics are cool but if you trace them, for instance, to work on your baseball AU, the characters are gonna look ridiculous. Not stylized. Not cool. Ridiculous. Short legs, arms curved like a bow. They are not reality, they are just an impression of reality.

That’s why tracing will lead you nowhere in terms of learning. If you don’t know anything about anatomy, drawing techniques, proportions, you won’t be able to identify anatomy mistake (or perspective mistake, or whatever mistake). Tracing is mindless,you think you know what you are tracing but in fact, you aren’t.

It’s far better if you learn from the start, whether you are into CG art or not, to abstract your subject. Try to think it as bigger elements, and then study the proportions and composition of the elements. Basic elements used to draw a body, a car, a chair, whatever, include standard shapes such as boxes, cones, cylinders and spheres. Once you grasp the subject using such primitives, it isn’t that hard anymore to draw whatever you want and then add detail. A good part of learning to draw is learning to observe so you can translate what you see into two dimensional line or forms. (I did a post about deconstructing the body into shapes HERE). Tracing does absolutely nothing to help with that.Don’t get me wrong, when I was about 10-11 and that I started to learn to draw, I started to trace (with tracing paper, because…there was no CG art at the time xD) but it achieved nothing. I thought it did but I when I look at the drawings I did at the time, they are all deformed and the faces are wonky (the funniest thing is when you look at the original pics, you don’t see these deformations). In other words, Linda Evangelista, I’m sorry for all the wonky traced drawings I did of your face, where your jaw was super big and your eyes not on the same level. xD

When an artist use a reference picture they don’t just copy it exactly. They correct the deformation of the camera lens to render proper body proportion. Reference pictures are a GREAT help, I use them all the time and I will never shut up about how useful they are because it’s stupid to try to recreate a whole face, car, landscape, guitar, etc.. from memory but if you know about technique, you will correct the mistakes by yourself. The pic will just give you basic depth, proportion and curve perception to build your final work.

Also, tracing won’t train your hand to be better at doing a clean line work either for instance.It’s better to draw again and again and again to train your hand. Your line work will be wonky at first, then cleaner and cleaner.

However, there’s nothing wrong with tracing your own stuff if you are working on a complex picture. Some artists sketch all their characters on a different piece of paper and use a light table to put them all in the same pic (a lot of mangaka do this). They also use this method to do a clean line work (they sketch the character, use a light table and trace their sketch with ink). As you were asking about CG art, it’s different, of course. But there’s nothing wrong with doing all your characters on different layers, even different documents and then grouping them all in one pics. Whatever works. I do it when it’s a complex pic like  this one.

I’ve seen a lot of artist getting yelled at for even just expressing their opinion on the subject so if it’s not something you feel comfortable talking about I 100% understand it   

As if I cared.

If it were a good method, I would tell you, it’s a good method. I will never shut up about the virtues of referencing in spite of what a part of Tumblr thinks, so, you know, as I said, I don’t care.

Voilà! I hope it helped :) Good luck on learning about CG art. You’ll get there like I got there. Slowly but surely.