#but i really hate most art anatomy tutorials on youtube

[tiredfoxtf]

Do you have references or places you learned to do anatomy. I would like to learn how to draw limbs attached to torsos and maybe also torsos and also heads attached to bodies. It's not going well and the way you do it is amazing so I'm staring at you with big Ole eyes. What is your wisdom

My wisdom is a lot of practical research. The anatomy book I reference sometimes is in russian and I don't think there's an english version anywhere. But most of the stuff you can find on the internet anyway.

If you have problems with connecting body parts together that means although you grasp general forms you lack theoretical knowledge on skeletal and muscle structure. Because that's what holds our bodies together. I quickly higlighted the parts that should be important on the picture. (All reference pictures were quickly found on Pinterest).

For connecting the head to body my main recommendation is to start drawing from the head. I too find it a lot harder to connect head to body if you start draw from body and try to attach head to it. And again, after that is to reference the way muscles connect to each other in the neck to get a grasp where to go from the head.

As for resources.

Highly recommend to look at Anatomy Quicktips Playlist made by Sinix Design. They focus on some parts of the body, like shoulders, hips, necks, even hands if you want to look for that. Generally really recommend to watch his vids, because they are all very comprehensive.

Just looking up some pics and draw from them, while referencing the muscles, trying to understand their general shape and form, how they bend and stretch and simplify them. There's no need to draw every muscle, because, you don't even see some of them most of the times.

[crazysodomite]

its about art advice

i think my thesis is. when you see someone making a tutorial/advice

are they trying to dictate how you should draw/teach you that the way they do art is the Correct way or are they actually providing useful artistic observations that anyone can use in their art?

most 'art influencers' who create tutorials basically teach you how to mimic their style. which is not inherently bad. we stumble into problems when people say what is 'correct' and whats 'incorrect' in art. this is why statements like these are so commong in artist communities:

i hate doing lineart/its not fun to try to get a clean line and ctrl+z constantly

just dont do lineart/dont do clean lineart/use your sketch/paint/ ANYTHING

i hate doing backgrounds/i hate that i can't get things to look symmetrical

then just dont. you can do anything you want forever.

and so on and so forth.

a lot of art 'influencers' and even art teachers dont teach you how to enjoy your art in your own creative way they just teach you how to make a Specific type of art

this is why generally i have a problem with 'art critique'. it ALWAYS assumes everyone wants to do perfect realistic paintings with perfect proportions, perspective and anatomy. or art with perfect clean lineart and shading or whatever the fuck. and that decides whats 'good' and whats 'bad' and that understanding of art is just really narrow minded

i just feel like most people are taught to just do whatever the mainstream on social media is which is not inherently bad but there's no real understanding of the wide world that art can be. like imagine a clickbait youtube thumbnail with DON'T DO ABSTRACT ART LIKE THIS do it like THIS or whatever the fuck

and then we get into the topic of peoples opinion that

more effort = better

more detailed = better

but whatever i dont have the mental energy to write more. maybe after i cook my stew

[ghostlysleuth]

I follow you on twitter & all I gotta say is, I love the diversity in your drawings so much, I hate when people make girls all stereotypes & your art makes me feel so comfortable it’s like a warm feeling not to mention your nsfw art. It doesn’t just show the list it shows the love & affection each character has for eachother it shows how intimate & hot the moment can be but also sweet? I’m not sure I love your art too much it really makes my day to see it, but any tips on anatomy?♥️

thank you so much!! i totally get what you mean by a list, that really is what diversity can feel like sometimes. my weight and figure have fluctuated so much over the years and i've gotten enough shit from family about eating habits and how chubby i've gotten, to the point of dysmorphia, and turning to art (and not to mention seeing the vast majority of fat butch rep) to remedy it has done wonders for my body image, and i'm really glad people like how i do things.

in terms of tips, as someone who went to school for this sorta thing, i'm gonna try to make this as accessible as possible aka free resources.

timed figure drawing!

legit, you gotta draw naked people posed in intricate ways. there's literally no avoiding it, you have to draw from life and not from tutorials. obv, i'm not saying go out and attend a life drawing course -- that's expensive shit -- so here's a few options:

i use a site called quickposes, since most figure drawing galleries require subscriptions.

you can set a timer for how long you want on each pose/reference. i recommend challenging yourself with shorter times as it helps you to get rid of any hang-ups about getting the anatomy exactly right. the drawing's got to get done by the end of the timer, don't focus on the details. just draw, be done with it, move on to the next drawing.

there's also a youtube channel that we'd use in class when a model couldn't show called new masters academy and they have a bunch of timed daily drawing exercises.

as a general rule, don't lean on the amount of time you have. what you're wanting to do is get a FULL PICTURE on your paper as soon as possible, regardless of a long or short time. get the full figure onto the paper then use the rest of the time to fuss over details, shading, editing, etc.

do studies!

kinda similar to the last one but in the more time-consuming sense.

use pinterest. it has a lot of uses for a lot of things but i use it quite a bit for both anatomy refs and costume design inspiration. this is legit what my home page looks like now because of it.

here's a board i made on anatomy, pulling from different body types; obviously i get a little gay wid it, but there's a verrrryyyy clear lack of certain body types in a lot of body refs like muscular women, fat women, just overall people who higher fat content than the lean, almost 0% fat of the figures seen in most tutorials and galleries:

this is where pinterest really shines because you can find literally everything on it.

in particular, there's an account called character design references, that is basically a stockpile of references for artists. i wouldn't normally recommend artist tutorials when it comes to wanting to learn anatomy because it can get a little echo-chambery (side-eyes the male vs. female tutorials that float around on twitter all the time) but there are actually some boards that have genuine studies on the human form, even from a medical point of view.

LITERALLY JUST DRAW A LOT.

I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH IT'S GONNA TAKE A LOT OF TIME AND PRACTICE TO GET TO A CERTAIN LEVEL OF SATISFACTION.

like that's it, full stop, draw often. if you're feeling rusty, go back to basics. if you're art blocked, go back to basics. if you're bored, go back to basics.

[kiwinatorwaffles]

Hello Kiwi, I hope you’re doing very well. If you have the time, may I please ask for art advice? How can someone get better at understanding how angles and bodies work?

hello! i do in fact have some time!

honestly, angles and bodies are still something i struggle with from time to time. i personally haven't gotten down exactly how perspective works, but i do have to tell you, references save lives.

the magicposer app used to be great for being a free resource to pose however you want but a few updates ago it changed so that you could only put one character on a scene at a time for the free version. which is Dumb. but if you just want to get a quick angle for one character, i'd recommend finding a free 3d poser resource and tracing over where the joints/body segments are and getting a better feel for their positions. it's not the fastest way to improve, but tracing over references to get the structure genuinely helped me so much during 2020-2021 and it's a method i still use from time to time today. for more concrete tutorials, this twitter post by lou_koris has great examples of foreshortened anatomy!

as for anatomy in general, there are a number of amazing tutorials you can just find online! personally one way that i got better at drawing the human body was just looking at how other artists (usually professional) do it and incorporating it into my own artstyle. the guy i would recommend the most for realistic body proportions is moderndayjames' deciphering anatomy series on youtube! winged canvas also has a playlist about human anatomy that i would recommend checking out! and my art isn't exactly the best example but i think it's relatively decent right now, so if you'd like to reference off my stuff by all means go ahead!

but generally, my biggest advice is to just Look At Things. seriously, simply looking at certain angles/bodies and tracing over them to see how joints and shapes overlap is a HUGE step to improvement. and remember, improvement is not linear! i drew stick figures for 7 years and really awful anatomy for another 6 before i even started to consider the more advanced stuff! as much as i hate to say it, you can only "git gud" by practicing and utilizing resources most useful to you. i'm sorry i can't be of more help when it comes to this topic in general, but i'd be happy to talk about shading/coloring if anyone else has questions

[jewlsreigngallery]

I was watching a tutorial video on how to draw Chibis because it had popped up on my YouTube notification. I had the realization that the Trolls from the DreamWorks Animation film Trolls, is almost similar to how Chibis are drawn. From what I learned in the video they are about two to three heads tall, which seems to be how tall the Trolls are.

I know in the film universe they are roughly six inches tall but when drawing them out, they are basically a similar size to a Chibi. So with that in mind I have decided to redraw my Trollsona using the measurements of Chibi's but also try to draw the Trolls anatomy accurately.

The one thing that's a common trait in all of my drawings is, I struggle with finding the alignments of the ears. I always make one too high or too low on the head and then one too big or too small. I always have to trace over one ear that I like the most and then flip the canvas to move the duplicate to the other side.

I really hate the beginning of stages of art. I just want to be a pro or draw like the artists who inspire me! There is still so much learning and experimenting I have to do! Sometimes I wish I could skip this step and jump to me being good at art.

Then I have to remember it took me three years to complete my first young adult novel. I started to dabble in writing for young adults at the age of twelve but couldn't ever complete a book. It wasn't until I was fifteen when I was able to finish my first ever book. I just have to remind myself it takes a lot of time to learn a new skill, especially as an adult I feel like. I'm having a lot of fun don't get me wrong but I feel I've been in a stump and haven't liked anything I created. Which always sucks when that happens!

[decaffeinatedartisthug]

Steal like an artist

One of the things that I found particulary difficult when I started my art journey, is the so-called “refernce study”. At first, for example, I tended, as I said in one of my previous posts, to copy every exact detail of my art references. Also, I liked to use artwork as my only source of inspiration, and not real life references. This one in particular, is the worst mistake you can do when you are learning, as real-life references force you to study how real bodies work. Also, they push your brain to memorize instinctively the real anatomy, and it gives you the possibility, in the future, to not use references at all!

Artworks are good references too, but only when you use them to study how the artist works and extrapolate some techniques.

So steal, but only like an artist! 

1. How to choose real references: this particular point is very important. How do we choose references? It seems like an easy job, but it really isn’t, as most references aren’t very good for your art. For example, let’s see this picture: 

this is a very good reference, as it proposes a very particular pose and natural lights (two things that beginner artists hate but have to learn). Meanwhile, this: 

can you see the unnatural lights and the very simple pose?

These are some pinterests boards and youtube videos you can use to see some more references: Drawing wiff waffles, Angel Ganev, Ergojosh, Paintable

2. How to learn from other’s art: as I said, artworks are an infallible source of ideas and tips. Do not listen to people that say the contrary: artworks are an incredebly important source of improvment if used correctly. How do we, however, learn from them? 

this is an artwork from loisvb, one of my favourite artists of all time. What I like about her style, is the shading and colors. Her palette is so varied, but never ill-fitting. Also, look at the shadows, how she uses them to make her art 3D! Through her I learned how shadows work in different poses and how to make your artworks more interesting.

3. YouTube: One of the many positive sides of Youtube, which is a huge platform costantly filled, is the unlimited number of art channels. Art channels are really helpful, and they are filled not only with tutorials, but also a lot of “sketchbook tours” and “let’s draw together”s. This last one in particular, is a type of video that i’m absolutely in LOVE with, basically because the artist talks about something regarding their art journey meanwhile drawing. They give helpful tips and make you want to draw with them. Another thing that I love, are Livestreams, basically because is the same thing as a “let’s draw together”, but it’s in real time, and you have the possibility to ask questions during the real composition!

Here are some videos you might like!

[doublerainebow]

Artist Resources (Part 1?)

This is basically just going to be a bunch of resources I have found to be useful. I can’t say that I’ve used all of them, but I’m sure they’re all worth checking out.

I’m also gonna try to put a detailed description for most of the links so you have a better idea of what you’re getting. I apologize in advance if some of them are redundant lol

(I put “Part 1″ if in the case I make another one)

~Links to Tutorials, Tips, Resources, etc~

Another Resource List -- Leads to another Tumblr post. Apparently, the post isn’t mobile-friendly, so it’s suggested to view this on Tumblr browser. Has a bunch of other links. I’ve checked out a few of them (mainly the copyright stuff lol), and it seems that some of the links may be a bit outdated. Still, it doesn’t hurt to check out the links.

Arms and Legs -- Leads to another Tumblr post. A handy tutorial on elbow and knee placement.

Art & Game Dev -- This leads to my personal playlist of a bunch of YouTube videos. Has a bunch of tutorials and interesting videos that I’ve collected over the course of a few years lol.

Blamblot -- A website that contains resources and tutorials on comic lettering. This is primarily in reference to western comics, but it doesn’t help to take a looksie.

Commission Calculator -- Leads to another Tumblr post. Helps artists to stop selling themselves short.

Comparing Heights (hikaku-sitatter) -- A height comparer for centimeters.

Comparing Heights -- A height comparer for feet and inches.

Mouth Shapes and Lip-Syncing -- Leads to another Tumblr post. Useful for... drawing mouth shapes.

Reference Angle -- Useful for when you’re trying to map out a face from an odd angle.

Soft Proofing for Printing -- Leads to another Tumblr post. Helps when you’re trying to make prints of your artwork.

Textures -- A website full of different and mostly free textures. While this website is made for 3D texturing, it can also be useful for 2D drawings. Signing up gives you 15 free credits everyday, and you can use those credits to download some textures for free.

The Models Resource -- A website of models ripped from a wide array of games.

The Spriters Resource -- A website of sprites ripped from a wide array of games.

The Textures Resource -- A websites of textures ripped from a wide array of games. 

~Links to Stock Images~

Please check out whatever policies they may have for their images before using them!

(not sure if any of them are active anymore as I followed some of these accounts a long time ago when I used to be more active on Deviant Art lol)

adorkastock (formerly senshistock)

anatoref -- Leads to another Tumblr post. Has a bunch of hand photo references

charligal-stock

HumanAnatomy4Artist -- Does contain nudity

null-entity

PhelanDavion

RobynRose

~Links to Other Artists~

Akihito Yoshitomi -- Yoshitomi is a mangaka who has tutorials on manga making. He also has an insightful series in which he drafts and draws a 30-page manga in 18 days. Remember that every artist works differently and his process may be different from another’s.

Drawfee -- Drawfee is an improv drawing show of four artists: Nathan Yaffe, Jacob Andrews, Julia Lepetit, and Karina Farek. While they don’t have tutorials in a sense, their videos explain the different processes they go through as they draw. They also occasionally provide tips, tricks, and resources in their videos. They do have another channel and a Twitch channel where they host drawing classes in addition to other fun shenanigans.

EtheringtonBrothers -- Has a bunch of useful and eye-catching tutorials called “How to Think When You Draw”.

Mark Crilley -- Mark is a comic artist, specializing in manga, who has a bunch of tutorials about anatomy, perspective, comic making, and other things.

Miyuli -- Miyuli is an artist who posts tutorials on their Twitter. Their tutorials range from anatomy to clothing to other things. They even have a few books of art tips. Currently (as of the time of posting this), their 2018 version is free for download, so I highly recommend you download that. Some tips may be outdated, but they should still be helpful.

Whyt Manga (Twitter/YouTube) -- Odunze is a comic artist, specializing in manga, that has a bunch of tutorials on manga making and drawing characters of color.

~Links to Free Programs~

Blender -- A free 3D program if you’re into 3D modeling and such. I also personally haven’t used Blender (I use Maya lol), but I know it’s a respectable program.

Krita -- A free painting program if you can’t afford Photoshop or Clip Studio Paint. I personally haven’t used Krita, but I have recommended it to a few friends and they have positive reviews about it.

Paint Tool SAI -- Okay, this one isn’t free, but it’s a significantly cheaper painting program where you don’t have to pay a subscription. It’s 5,500JPY (~50 USD). I’m not sure how well it still works on modern computers (the last update was 2016), but I still use it here and there because I love the pen tool feature it has, and it still works like a charm for me.

~General Tips From Raine~

Raine admits that she’s guilty of not following her own advice, but Raine hopes that the tips that she does know will be beneficial to someone who will follow them. She’s also going to keep all her tips under the cut so as to not make this post a huge wall of text (even though it technically already is lol)

Also, if you have some resources, tutorials, tips yourself, please feel free to send them to me and maybe I’ll make a part 2 to this post!

ALWAYS LOOK FOR REFERENCE. This should really go without saying. You can’t draw from life if you refuse to observe life itself.

If you can’t find the exact thing you need, MAKE YOUR OWN REFERENCE. Time and time again, I can’t find something exactly that I need. So instead, what I do is that I take pictures of my own reference. Sometimes I even grab a friend and take pictures of them doing whatever it is I need.

Have a mirror handy when you’re drawing. Sometimes what you need is actually right there in front of you.

Having trouble drawing something? Do some studies. Take the time to understand what it is you’re drawing. I can’t remember the exact story, but I heard that the people who were working on Tarzan were having a hard time drawing his hands. So, what they did was spend a few hours looking at hands to try and understand how they work.

IT’S OKAY TO STUDY THE ART OF OTHER ARTISTS. Just as we look to the old masters as a reference, it’s definitely okay to look at modern-day artists for reference. Just don’t go copying exactly everything that they do, or worse, trace what they do. Just don’t do it... at all.

Not every line needs to be realized. The viewer of your work will automatically connect the dots.

DO NOT TRASH YOUR OLD DRAWINGS. Please, never ever do this. Your old drawings have value to them, even if they look terrible to you. Old drawings may hold ideas for things you could do for the future. They also serve as a way to see how far you’ve come as an artist.

GETTING BETTER AT DRAWING TAKES TIME AND EFFORT. You’re not gonna get better overnight. It’ll take months, or even years, to feel like you’re a competent artist, and even then, you’ll still have room for improvement.

DON’T LOOK DOWN ON YOURSELF IF YOU’RE TAKING A LONG TIME TO GET BETTER. It’ll be better for your mental health in the long run.

Alternatively, DON'T LOOK DOWN ON OTHER ARTISTS EITHER, ESPECIALLY TO MAKE YOURSELF FEEL BETTER. You know the struggles it took for you to get where you are, so don’t go putting down other people when you’ve been in their shoes once.

KEEP DRAWING. If you’re not making an effort to get better, then you’re not going to be better. I get that it’s hard to find the inspiration to draw (I’m very guilty of this), but just keep trying. It doesn’t have to be big or spectacular. You don’t even have to post it if you’re the type who likes to post their art stuff.

Try to find references from real-life. It’ll help you better understand form, lighting, shadows, etc., especially if you’re going for a more realistic kind of art style. Otherwise, finding reference from things like cartoons, anime, comics, etc. are just as good.

Try new things. Try new art mediums. Try a different art style. Switch up the way you do things. Maybe you’ll hate it, maybe you’ll like it. Who knows if you don’t try.

Watch time-lapses (or speed draws/speed paints) of other artists!

Pinterest and Google are your friends if you need tutorials or references or whatever.

If you’re offering commissions, DO NOT WORK UNDER YOUR LOCAL MINIMUM WAGE. You are literally devaluing the work you actually put into a piece.

I like to think I’m an aficionado of Photoshop, so feel free to ask me questions on how to achieve something! I’ve used Photoshop for about 11 years now and know my way around the program. On another note, I do recommend setting custom keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop because the default shortcuts are terrible (in my opinion), and because having custom shortcuts increases the speed of your workflow.

Because I’ve been seeing this a lot lately in Twitter, you’re never too old to start in art. Art is just one of those things that anyone can pick up at any age because the only thing you really need to get good in art is time, diligence, and patience.

Try not to post hi-res images of your artwork to prevent art stealers from selling your artwork in high resolution.

Always, always, always add your signature and watermark on your artwork. I like to add my signatures and watermarks in places that’ll be hard to erase or crop out. I’ve also seen people add their signatures and watermarks in creative ways (ex. on a character’s shirt). You need to protect your work in an era where people will just blatantly steal it and make profit off your work.

Tag List

@reality-is-often-disappointing

[madelion]

hey, i'm an artist (or so i'm pretending to be) and i absolutely ADORE your art style and the way you draw so beautifully. What are some tips or what is some advice you could give me on anatomy, use of color or digital drawing generally? I've posted my art like once but I was so nervous of what people might think of it I made something super different to my actual style, so if you scroll on my page don't find it because i hate it lmao

Anyway, I would really like to hear what's some advice you have to give!

Hi!!! First of all, thank you so much for your sweet comment it means so much to hear that 🥺

So my bIGGEST TIPS I can possibly give (this is gonna be long I apologize in advance):

1. always always always use references.

I cannot stress this tip enough.

Whether it‘s for a certain pose you want to draw: you can go on Pinterest/google to find poses, clothing ideas, hairstyles, lighting, scenery. use references for EVERYTHING. no matter what people say it is not cheating. Sometimes we luck out and we magically draw the poses straight from our brain, but honestly that’s rare.

And it doesnt all have to be from real life. You can take inspiration from other artist whose styles you look up to/admire. For me that’s viria94(Instagram), aleikats, alexiakhodanian(twitter), spidertams(instagram) and many others! Obviously you don’t want to copy your inspirations, but you can learn so much from just observing their artwork :) Your inspirations will most likely change dramatically overtime because your art style will grow as you continue to improve. These inspirations are going to be a mashup of things you like about each individual style. And eventually, you’ll learn how to incorporate some of those elements into your own art which in turn: helps you find your own voice/style with your artwork.

but also, don’t forget to not copy them exactly lol. It’s one thing to “copy” an art style as a way to personally practice in your own time (which is totally okay to do!) But there is definitely a fine line between practicing/outright copying and claiming it as your own work. I hope that made sense???

2. Redraws

this is something I only just started doing, but it has helped my artwork improve immensely. I redraw scenes from shows and movies that I love (which I will get to this tip in a second). And then because the scene is already set for you, it helps you not only practice anatomy (especially if you’re referencing real people), but also lighting, setting up compositions, and in general practicing this over time will help you refine your art style!

3. Draw from life

Not everyone has a realistic art style, nor do they need to have one. However, it is important to understand the ”rules” before you can break them. And what I mean by that is that by practicing realistic anatomy, you get to understand proportions/how the body works in relation to itself. Because even though everyone is shaped differently from each other, there is still an overall similarity we all have with one another. And honestly all you have to do will go into my next point:

4. watch tutorials

Cannot even tell you how many tutorials I have watched over the years. I will forever be on YouTube trying to learn how to do something. this honestly goes with the references section because it just helps so so so much. Having someone show you exactly what to do is so beneficial because they’ll move you through the exact motions you need to do to get to the end result. I remember when I first started really getting into art, I loved drawing realistic eyes and lips. so I watched tutorials of that all the time and now it’s pretty much second nature to me.

since you asked about the use of color, anatomy, and digital drawing… this is gonna be golden for helping you okay. I might have taken a color theory class a couple quarters ago at school… but trust me I’m still winging the whole color thing. howEVER, tutorials will be your best friend when it comes to these things I pROMISE.

5. TAKE BREAKS

please for the love of all things do not push yourself to be creative when your mind refuses to do so. some of our best work/ideas appear when we’re bored or doing something else entirely.

taking a break means go do something else you enjoy. For me that’s: playing my favorite video game, watching my favorite show/movie, reading a book, talking to my friends or family, baking, writing. just do something else!

the moment you try to force yourself to finish a drawing when you’re really not in the mindset to do so (unless this thing you’re drawing is for school… that’s an entirely different thing trust me lol), you’re just going to lead yourself into an art block. So many artists pressure themselves to draw everyday because yeah it can lead to improvement, but back in my anne with an e days when I felt pressured to put out fan art consistently for the show, it led me to what was probably my longest art block EVER. and it sucks because I ender up losing the inspiration to draw for a show that I loved a lot. So always remember to pace yourself and take care of yourself before anything else <3

6. Draw what you love

so often we feel pressured to draw what others want us to draw. But that shouldn’t matter. yes, it’s good to be aware of the people that may look at your art/follow your art account, but that should never dictate the work that you create.

for some people they love drawing original characters and creating stories, others might only love drawing animals, some people have certain themes in their artwork, and others, like me, purely like drawing fan art.

when you draw something you love, your artwork will always turn out better because that means you’re having fun making it.

and for me personally, I cannot whip out original characters for the life of me unless it’s for a grade LOL. So when it comes to drawing, that’s why I stick to fan art.

NOW I KNOW THIS WAS SUPER SUPER LONG but I really hoped this helped in some sense!!!

But thank you so much for asking, I’m always more than happy to give out some advice/tips :) I’m looking forward to seeing more art from you!

[blushnik]

What kind of message would you give for beginners on drawing? Cause I'm getting frustrated how my work turn out.

Hi, hun!💙 I tried to sum it up but yeah... I’ve got a few things to say. So I drew pics cause who wants to read some long list with only text, right.

(small disclaimer: these are my own opinions and what works for me might not work for others, ALL of these are my tips from my own experience and is NOT a guide in any way. I’ve learned each one the hard way so I hope they help you.)

There are no shortcuts. Trying to take shortcuts will do more harm than good (i know this because I practiced gesture drawing for 2 years in the hope it will teach me how to draw bodies, spoiler alert: it did not. Anatomy does. Not gesture drawing)

What is it you want to draw the most? Faces? Do that. Don’t bother with human body, animals, perspective, landscape etc. When you feel like you’re decent in one, move onto the next topic (I’d suggest you don’t spend TOO much time on one though because you are gonna come back anyway. Learning these things is a circle, you only expand it over the time)

I am guilty of this one big time. I just wanted to jump right to the hard stuff but I can’t tell you enough HOW MUCH it’d make it easier & faster to improve if I already knew basics. I do recommend ProkoTV and their basics playlist on youtube (amazing channel, really and their podcast is MMM YES)

Please don’t be afraid to use references. EVERYONE uses reference pictures. Using reference pictures is NOT cheating, it’s the way you do it. How can you draw something if you don’t know how it looks like? Reference pictures not only make it easier for you but they make your art look better. Sure there are artists who just draw from their imagination on the fly but I guarantee, they are such master skill level already with such a wide visual library, they can afford it.

Reference pictures are your friends. Use reference pictures. Period.

References are great but they are gonna do you more harm than good IF you just copy the picture in front of you. Get multiple pictures of one thing. Observe how that object works, where the shadows are, how it changes depending on the angle. Don’t just draw. Think about what you draw.

Everyone makes mistakes. There are gonna be a lot of “bad” drawings before you do one good, just keep drawing. Don’t look at mistakes as a bad thing. Instead, try to learn from them. Which brings us to the next point:

If you create something and just dismiss it by “this looks like shit” and throw it away, you’ll never learn from your own mistakes. I suggest, you take a long hard look at it and pick ONE thing that bothers you the most, analyze why it happened and try to not repeat that mistake in the next drawing. You created something, be proud of yourself, accept the mistakes you did, work on them and don’t forget to pick something you really liked about the piece too!

Did you draw a portrait but you hate how lifeless it looks despite the fact you know how to draw faces? Good. You’ve spotted a mistake. Maybe give a little look at facial expressions and use that knowledge in your next piece.

Not everything you make has to be posted. Not everything needs to be a masterpiece. You should find time to simply experiment without high expectations. You may watch a lot of tutorials, you may create an entire “art plan” in your head but you’d be surprised how much stuff you’re gonna figure out by trial and error method. Free yourself and experiment. Even if it looks like someone took a big colorful dump on the paper, 90% of the time, you’ve learned something (a lot of times subconsciously too).

This one is hard. Like really hard. But inevitably, it will keep happening. For me, it’s once a month – 2 months. I feel pretty good with where my art is right now, I’m doing the best I can at the moment and then suddenly BAM. I draw like a kid in the kindergarten who has no freaking clue how to hold a pen. It usually takes a few days of trying (and crying) and then everything’s back online. Why the f-?

I saw a video and I don’t remember the name where they talked about this phenomenon. I was surprised how many people have it like this and they said it happens when you “level up” your art skill. When you “level up”, your brain thinks about the drawing differently, is more critical, knows the better way how to draw things but your hand simply isn’t catching up yet.

As much as drawing through these periods works most of the time, sometimes you feel like you just can’t. Like it physically and mentally hurts you to watch yourself fail over and over again. Take a step back, take a deep breath and go get some quality relax-time. Feel free to say “fuck drawing” for a day or two. Listen to some podcasts, watch some tutorials or art movies – that way you're still improving passively.

It’s 12:45 AM and you refuse to go to bed until you “fix that FKCING hand pose”. Please, go to bed. Chances are your brain is already offline from exhaustion and stress, you ain’t gonna solve any hands and any poses tonight. Go to sleep. Tomorrow, your mind will be clearer.

Learning to draw is already a hard long process. Don’t make it harder on yourself by ignoring your life and your needs in favor of improvement. Stay healthy my dude. It will reward you in the long run.

This is all I can think of for now, if anything comes to me, I’ll add it here. Always feel free to ask and thank you for asking me. 90% of the above was a reminder to myself too 💙 I hope this was helpful  💙 💙 💙

[parcai]

hey hey kit kat, I was wanting to get into digital art sometime in the future do you have any tips for starting out or like....just getting into it in general? if not that's completely fine feel free to ignore this shdg

dkjldgjksl disclosure that i’m NOT qualified to give visual art advice, esp digital art, like at all lmao. i just do whatever looks right, and i haven't gone to art classes or plan to major in art or anything 😭 but i will try ❤

i guess since you’re just starting out, i’d say that materials are pretty important. idk if you’ve acquired the materials yet, but i’d rec getting a tablet w good pressure sensitivity if you go for the more digital display options. do a shit ton of research on tablet recs bc a lot of the time you can good stuff and not pay for a really expensive wacom or smth. (no hate bc wacom is cool, but it’s too pricey imo). same thing w drawing softwares. i started on krita bc it’s free <3

don’t use ctrl z like a lifeline lol. try to draw as traditionally as possible at first, if that makes sense? it’s v annoying at first to transition to digital from traditional (ik i at least got v frustrated w some things lol), and having a good foundation is critical to make the process smoother.

don’t get caught up in all the brushes. this kinda goes w the start more traditionally thing i already said, but it really does keep you from getting overwhelmed.

make sure to flip your canvas a lot. it’s one of the most underrated features of digital art, and it really helps you catch errors. i’m particularly dependent on this bc it improved my digital realism so much.

once you start to get the hang of your tablet, shortcuts, and the software you’re working w, i’d recommend using layers and learning how to clip layers on top of one other. layers aren’t a super fancy feature or anything, but they’re literally the best part of digital art dfdjdjkdjskj. youtube is the best resource, but you can always ask if you need help, and i’ll see if ik anything/can find out for you <3 i liked searching youtube for my specific software’s tutorials or using the built in default tutorials for tips sometimes.

find like one art thing to test everything on. it’s really difficult at first bc, like i said, there are so many tools and advanced features that even i haven’t figured out yet. this is a good rule of thumb for traditional art too, but it’s esp. useful to have one thing you feel comfortable drawing to test new tools and tips and techniques on. for some people, this is a particular character/oc, or an anatomy part, etc. for me, i have v basic, simple girl and a counterpart boy oc (if you can even call it that) that i like to test more stylistic things on, and for realism, i always test it on eyes.

be careful w color </3 i’m literally the biggest offender of this LMAO, but it’s so much harder to get an even saturation and stuff in digital art since you’re not really mixing colors yourself. coloring in general is just...extra tough, and i’m still watching people digitally color all the time to improve.

once you get the hang of it, i think you might even find that it’s more convenient/easier than traditional art, and i think you’ll really like it. ik i do. :)

[blackdogblues]

1) THANK YOU SO MUCH, that means a lot to hear (which I always say when someone tells me something like this, but I truly mean it ♥)

2) This is an excellent question so prepare for a LENGTHY response.

My art journey began literally when I was old enough to pick up a crayon! My mom used to let me and my siblings finger paint all over the kitchen floor when we were infants. It'd always been a fun hobby for me as a sick kid who stayed indoors all the time, but I started really being serious about it when I picked up one of those how to draw manga books in a book store at let's say... age eight or nine. Not really the best place to start, tbh, but it was my springboard into the art world and for that I'm very grateful.

I'm also mostly self taught. Everything I've learned, I've learned from observing real life, other artists (ESPECIALLY this one), watching tutorials and speedpaints on YouTube, and reading books. The only “official” instruction I’ve received are elementary school art classes and an art summer camp thing I did one year. It's been somewhat patchy; I’ve spent most of my time just drawing what I like and somewhat neglecting the fundamentals, but recently I've started going back to the building blocks I've skipped over and teaching myself the basics of drawing, and I feel like my work has improved somewhat because of it.

AS FOR TIPS, here’s what I recommend the most:

-Don’t skip the fundamentals! Teach yourself about color theory, observational drawing, anatomy, composition, etc. They are very very important, and while they can seem boring, there’s always a way to spice it up--like using your ocs as your subjects when you’re doing figure drawing or lighting studies!

-USE REFERENCES. I hear that a lot of artists are discouraged from using references because it feels like cheating, but this is not the case. All of the art masters and all of the professionals use references; it improves your work immensely. Googling stock images is useful, as are scrolling through deviantART for posters who put up photos of themselves in different poses as resources.

-Thumbnail for bigger pieces! Thumbnails are essentially small/messy, exploratory sketches to sort of perfect the idea you have in your head before you actually commit to the finished/full piece. Make lots of little sketches with different colors, poses, and layouts so your finished product is as good as it can possibly be!

-Take inspiration from your favorite artists. I wouldn’t have learned half the shit I know now if I hadn’t been inspired by my favorite artists--anatomy, digital painting, you name it. There’s nothing like looking at someone else’s work to inspire you to create/perfect your own.

-With all of this in mind, draw what you love. Experiment and teach yourself the basics, yes, but if you discover there’s a thing you like drawing above all other things, pursue it! If there’s something you don’t like to do, be it coloring, inking, whatever, don’t do it! It took me a while to discover that I hated clean inking and I preferred sketching and the way sketches looked, and now that I’m focusing on creating things the way I like, I’m so much happier, my gallery is fuller, and I feel like my work has benefited for it. While it’s good to be well-rounded, all artists have a niche, and focusing on that niche is not only harmless, but encouraged!

I hope this helps/inspires some way. Thank you for your question and support :)

[vividaway-art]

DEAR ARTISTS, IN MY OPINION..

cif you want your art to improve, learn to take compliments. i know how hard it can be!! i think we’ve all been victim to self-hatred with our art. we have our expectations set so high for ourselves and its setting us up to fail from the start. 

we imagine what this art piece is supposed to look like, but its usually based around being unable to draw like someone you admire. being unable to create what you want now. i know this is going to sound stereotypical but PRACTICE WITH REFERENCES! 

USING REFERENCES ARE FINE

COPYING SOMEONE ELSES WORK ISNT, remember this.

remember to take breaks. its okay that you arent there yet. no one thinks you are any less amazing because you arent the world’s best artist. you arent stupid or dumb, and it doesnt make you any less of an artist. 

i know this one is hard, but STOP JOKING ABOUT HATING YOUR ART. even if there is truth behind it, dont joke about it. dont add it as a caption to your art, or in the tags. this includes deflecting compliments by saying “oh thanks. but i dont think im good” or “nooo, its not good. i hate it!”. you have to try to change how you think about it. 

its sounds dumb, but you need to try to be optimistic about your art! if you cant fix your style on your own, seek help from those around you that you love. or, you can even find some people online willing to help for free.

youtube tutorials seriously do help. 

if you didnt have a chance to learn anatomy whether it was online or in school, try to teach yourself. look at anatomy references on google, or try to take pictures of yourself and really look at the details. theres a lot of great sites you can find that are people posing for references. they are the best thing to exist. use them!

and most of all, genuinely and honestly have fun. dont base your arts worth on how many like/notes/retweets it gets. its okay to post your art. its okay to not post you art. do what makes you comfy.

some references 

even more references

hairstyle reference

poncho reference

a few art tips

this cool art thing

colors

how to make transparent art on tumblr walk-through

pose references

how to calculate your commissions

how to draw breasts that look less awkward

photoshop, paint tool sai, clip paint studio, and adobe animate bootleg download

hands references

good commissioning site that is free and easy to use

[ninevillains]

so i'm trying to draw a picture of a dude in a bathing suit... i was wondering if you could give me some pointers? especially in the anatomy lol

Sure! Excuse me if I go into too much detail. Or not enough! Feel free to message me again if you still have questions after this.

Short version:

1. Find a reference picture or two

2. Copy or analyze/reconstruct the image(s) to the best of your ability. (If you’re going to share your art publicly, you should use a license-free image, or credit/ask the owner – assuming that your art and the reference are clearly similar.)

3. ???

4. Profit

Long version:

1. Gather good reference

Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, Youtube, Google… the internet is full of attractive people. Find some pictures that look close to the result you want. I like workout videos or TV/movie scenes because it’s always useful to see your subject from multiple angles, and I can select the exact frames that look best to me.

Sometimes I use little action figures, or 3D models in apps like Skelly or Handy, when I’m trying to figure out a pose. You can also use pics of yourself or friends. A big mirror or a smartphone is all you need to be your own model.

Don’t hesitate to take inspiration from art you really like. Instead of copying it, analyze why it appeals to you, and see how you can apply that in your own work.

2. Draw the pose first!

One of my favorite general principles in art is to work from big to small, or general to specific.

Try to capture the basic shape and position of the pose before you consider individual muscles. Place the head, torso, and limbs as flat boxy shapes using straight lines or simple curves.

At this stage it’s still easy to make changes and correct things. Don’t rush ahead to the muscles before you’re satisfied with the pose.

This is more or less how I start a figure:

(Both of these dudes are missing a cranium, and there are other proportion issues, so don’t mistake this as reference for anything but the overall drawing approach.)

3. Think of muscles as flat shapes

Muscles are complex interlocking 3D forms, but you don’t have to think of them that way in the beginning, especially if you’re sticking close to your reference. It’s easier to map the positions of the muscles onto your blocked-in pose with straight lines and basic curves, just like you did for the head, torso, and limbs. (See the chest of the second figure I posted above.)

This step is all about creating a clear guide for your final lines.

4. Final lines (or) additional steps

At this point you can make the contour more realistic, get the muscles just right, and add in more details from your reference, because you’ve got the pose established and you’ve figured out where all the major shapes are placed. If you tried to do this all at once, without blocking in the pose, you’d probably end up with a figure that’s way out of proportion.

For the final lines, work on top of your sketch. If it’s a traditional drawing, erase the sketch with a kneaded eraser until you can barely see it. If it’s a digital drawing, just lower the opacity of your sketch layer and make a new layer for your final lines on top.

If you’re familiar with constructive drawing (using perspective knowledge to translate your 2D drawing into basic 3D shapes, like wireframes), now is a good time to take your sketch further, using cross-contour lines and more accurate forms to define the figure in 3D space. Then you can do the final line work, or move on to the lighting or coloring phase.

Art is hard, so try to keep things simple and focus on one thing at a time. I try to think in a step-by-step way even when I ignore my own advice and rush to finish a drawing.

Generally speaking, the pose and overall proportions are much more important than detailed anatomy. Anatomy is the icing on the cake.

Resources for learning!

I should say that the main thing I covered in this post is an approach to blocking in a figure from reference. I left out a lot of the form building stuff that I rely on for most of my work, because it’s a huge subject, and you can get great results without all the complications if you use good reference.

To get the most out of your reference, it helps to learn observational drawing. Dorian Iten’s accuracy guide has some very useful tips. 

In addition to observational drawing from reference, I use a constructive drawing approach, which I learned from resources like this:

Draw a Box - A great intro to constructive drawing. Highly recommended.

Figure Drawing: Design and Invention by Michael Hampton - Great to study after you know basic form construction, and before you dig too deep into anatomy.

My all time favorite figure drawing teacher is Steve Huston. Brilliant teacher and equally good artist. His book, Figure Drawing for Artists: Making Every Mark Count, is the single best guide to figure drawing that I’ve found. Also check out his lessons on New Masters if you want to get really serious.

Bryan Lee has posted a lot of great figure drawing tutorials and notes on his DeviantArt page. You can dig up most of the good stuff in his Tutorials section, and by searching his gallery for notes.

—

My ego is forcing me to add a disclaimer: More experienced artists will see that the work I post here doesn’t really do justice to the principles I mentioned. Trust me, I know my doodles are a horror show of errors. This is my fanart blog for chillaxing and trying very hard not to be the perfectionist who hates everything that’s not fit for a professional portfolio.

[wall-e-gorl]

an artist friend of mine was talking to me today and i just

guys art is just shapes. learn to think in 3d and to recognize shapes in the world. 

that horse?? Box triangle triangle box oval box box box box

a computer?? LOADS OF BOXES BRO

a human body? shape it out my man, start big as u can get smaller, ending with idk fingers n ears maybe? 

also??? my dudes until you know how you draw things, give yourself s p a c e and start going as light as u can w/ your pencil/pen/marker/what ever you happen to be using.

can i draw smth that looks good thats as small as my thumb? yes! could i have done it without knowing what goes where when i do it big first? HELL NO

some other tips:

just. really go ham with tutorials. not the kinds that are like. step by step but the kind that teaches you TECHNIQUES

tutorial blogs are awesome for nearly constant tips and tricks to art, as well as artist youtubers. You can learn a lot from both speedpaints and draw with me’s/vlogish style videos. Also artist streamers are good, picartio and twitch are the ones i mainly use. (make sure the ones you learn the most from have a style similar to what you want to do yourself. how they draw their art is how they get it to look like theirs. Diversifiying is always great too, like you like how x does hair but y’s shading? hot damn! basically, dont just copy ONE persons style, be inspired) 

if you are in the middle of smth and go “uhhh how do i do this next bit” youtube is your best friend. “how to [shade, add texture, crosshatch, watercolor, ect)” or “[x] tutorial” will bring at least one good video for you 

ACTUALLY PRACTICE THE STUFF YOU LEARN. reading and looking is all good but you need to gain the muscle memory for when you need it

You dont need the best supplies to do your best art. can it help? yes. but you need the skills to do good first. the best art ive done this week has been on note cards that i got for like 2 dollars max and a pencil i found on the bus

Always learn big before you simplify. Are my chibis cute? yes. are they 100% accurate to anatomy? no. do i still use the guidelines ive learned? YES

everyone hates it but you will have more “failed” drawings then successes. But even when you fail you win, cause you learn smth. oh the eyes are too close together, ohhh the nose is bad, aaaaa the head is WAY too big. You Will See It And You WILL Learn

also! in general, be positive! it could be hard at first but its worth it, everything is better when you can see the good easier as well as the bad.

[b00bconnoisseur]

60 questions for @not-my-brain

1. selfie.......Ugghhhh ok. Imma take one rn

Ok here u go (yes thats a bmth shirt)

2. what would you name your future kids?.....Ooo hmmm well when i was a kid i really liked the names disney, and mesiah. I didn't know at the time that mesiah was another name for god i think lol. I liked it cause of handlers mesiah. I still do. Ooo and maybe Tj too

3. do you miss anyone?......Yeah. My friends on Pinterest from a year ago. My friend lucas. Stan lee. Bob ross. My cousin who died from cancer some years ago. Snape. Sirius. Lupin. Tonks. Dobby. *continues to name every unfortunate death in hp*

4. what are you looking forward to?.......SE-YA next month!! Its the south eastern young adult festival at this college. You can have meet n greets with authors and alot of stuff its the besstttt

5. is there anyone who can always make you smile?......DEFINATELY. @dirtysocke @mysisterlooksforthisaccountsobye @cristal-kyd1280 @sammchenry my friend lucas and @septembersbloom. ^^

6. is it hard for you to get over someone?..... What like...romantically? Or like a death? If romantically uhhh idk it took over a couple weeks but im ok now. Ive never had another relationship so idk. If death oof yeah idk maybe. Ig it depends on how much i knew them idk. Like when my nanny (great grandma) died i was sad for days (is that alot?)

7. what was your life like last year?.....Sucky af. Still is. But the highlights of my life last year was getting and making friends on tumblr, going to the tøp concert and going to warped tour, volunteering at the library, going to seya and meeting some of my favorite authors, reading, changing and improving my art, listening to all the bands i listen to now, getting into more fandoms, going to a friends house for the first time

8. have you ever cried because you were so annoyed?.......Yes lol. Some years ago when i couldn't find smtn id be so annoyed and pissed id start crying. I dont now but still lol

9. who did you last see in person?.......Hm ig family doesn't count....? Wait do u mean a friend? If so uhh my friends rebekah, anika, and Judah at a TAB meeting at the library sometime last month.

10. are you good at hiding your feelings?......I think so? Like i mean I can hide whenever i get my....time of the month from my mom (talking abt stuff like that with her makes me uncomfortable) and i hid a breakup. And other p big stuff too. So imma say yeah

11. are you listening to music right now?........*pops on earbuds after reading this* yee im listening to bitch lasagna by pewdiepie xD (do i have the best spotify playlist or what?)

12. what is something you want right now?.......To hug @mysisterlooksforthisaccountsobye but SOMEONE has to live so far away

13. how do you feel right now?........Happy that my earbud still works cause they got washed in the wash yesterday....oops. Its not my fault. I told my dad to remind me to take it out of my jacket pocket before they threw it in but noooooo he forgot

14. when was the last time someone of the opposite sex hugged you?.......Uhhhhh fuck idk it was probably from my lil 4 yr old bro sometime last week. Other than him (hes my favorite sibling) i dont let them hug me too much

15. personality description.......Nerdy. Fangirl. "Emo". Tomboy. Hotsause obsessed. Book lover. Music lover. Black. Blue. Harry potter. Introvert. Fall. Sports. Values friendship. Loyal. Uhhhh i cant think of much lol

16. have you ever wanted to tell someone something but you didn’t?.......*sigh* yes. Yes yes yes. Theres some things abt me, or my life really, that i havent told anyone on here or my irl friends that i sooooo want to so bad but i haven't cause i feel like they'd feel bad and pity me and i don't want that

17. opinion on insecurities........I dont really understand this one. Everyones insecure abt something. Is this askin like if i think its ok or not? I say its ok. Im insecure about literally everything about me. My face. My personality. My socialness. My art. What i do. What i say. Basically my whole body. The things i feel good abt are my books, music taste, and my friends (ily fuckers)

18. do you miss how things were a year ago?.........Hmm this time around a year ago....idk its sorta the same but all the stuff i mentioned abt my year from last year didn't happen yet so nah tho my life sucks rn its better than this time last year

19. have you ever been to New York?........Nooo but i want too soo baddd i wanna visit @septembersbloom !! Im coming for ya soon gramps *does the eye watching thing* my dads been to nyc before tho cause he does construction and he had a concrete job to do there. It was a 23 hr drive for him

20. what is your favourite song at the moment?........Uhhh idk!!! So hard! Maybe.....the whole thats the spirit album by bmth ;)

21. age and birthday?.....15 yrs of age and September 27th 2003 (whats yours brainy? I'll put it on my calendar)

22. description of crush......Its weird idk im not sure if its a genuine crush or not but uh....They like hp :).Thats all u get

23. fear(s).......Losing my best friend @dirtysocke and my other friends. Death. Failure. Momo chasing after me then killing me slowly keeping my eyes open to look her dead in the eyes while i die

24. height......5'6 call me short and I'll fuck u up with THIS *pulls out trusty potato peeler named now steve* dont test me boi

25. role model......Hhhhhhhh so many! But uh gosh one of them is @superraedizzle (youtuberrrr) and vexx and bob ross and da vinci and aaaaaaa so many

26. idol(s)......First person that immediately comes to mind is @sammchenry cause he's super cool and he's really nice and his art's reallyyy good (if u havent seen it w-w-what are u even doin with your life?) And he has a great sense of humor and *continues to ramble about why samms the best*

27. things i hate.......Dabs. Transphobes. Homophobic ppl. Basically any hate on the lgbtq+ community. Bullies. The ship starker. Umbridge. Snape haters

28. i’ll love you if….....U you'll eat pizza, draw, and rp harry potter with mee

29. favourite film(s)......Fantastic beasts. Every hp film. Twilight. The maze runner 1-2. The hunger games. Spiderman homecoming. Kingsman: secret service. Into the spideyverse tho i havent seen it yet

30. favourite tv show(s)......Inkmasterrrrr. B99. The mick. The middle. Uhhh idk mostly ink master xD

31. 3 random facts........Ive never had shrimp. I had a beta fish for over a year once. Im eating pizza crust rn

32. are your friends mainly girls or guys?.......G i r l s. I have all girl friends irl and one boy. And on tumblr it seems like i just meet girls? Likei agree with @cristal-kyd1280 its like alot more gals then dudes here. But i do have some guy friends on here too. But mostly girls

33. something you want to learn.......TO DRAW ANATOMY DAMMIT

34. most embarrassing moment........Every moment of my lifes an embarrassing moment. Idk of i can pick a "most" embarrassing one. But one time i i sent my crush (now ex bf) a hey fuckface and like some hearts or whatever for an ask game that meant like "i have a crush on u" "youre adorable" etc and said Hewo but i did it all anonymously. But he confronted me askin if i sent it cause im the only person he knows that actually says hewo lol. Then later on i finally admitted i really liked him and well y'all know the story after i think. Unless you're new

35. favourite subject.......A R TTTT OFC

36. 3 dreams you want to fulfill?........meet my friends on tumblr. Get into mtsu (college i wanna go to) and study art. And go skydiving

37. favourite actor/actress........favorite actor uhhhhhh probably thomas brodie sangster or tom felton and my favorite actress? Hmmm idk maybe evanna lynch (luna lovegood)

38. favourite comedian(s).......probably kevin hart lol he's p funny

39. favourite sport(s)........basketballllllll and football

40. favourite memory........uhhhhh idk?? One oh my favorite memories was when we went to see tøp in concert

41. relationship status.....single as a pringle

42. favourite book(s)......harry potter and the order of the pheonix. Harry potter and the half blood prince. Simon vs the homo sapiens agenda. Divergent. Maze runner. Twilight. Fangirl. Fallen. Red queen

43. favourite song ever.......TOO HARD DONT MAKE ME CHOOSEEEEEE

44. age you get mistaken for.........16 and 17 sometimes lol

45. how you found out about your idol........i was watching someone on yt and superraedizzle always poped up in my feed and my mom turned on one of her vids cause she always saw her vids too now ive seen most of em i love her. Id heard of vexx but never watched him and i was watching a collab from anthony miller art and shrimpy and i checked out shrimpys channel and was lookin at comments and alot of ppl said his art is like vexxs so i checked out vexx. At first i was like eh ok. Now i cant click fast enough when he posts a vid. And i actually fpund out about bob ross from my grandpa on jan 20 2017 when trump was getting sworn in or whatever. We turned on pbs and my grampa told me to look and bob ross was on and i was IN. I loved it. I even started watching full episodes on YouTube of the joy of painting after that. Wonderful man. My first painting i ever did i think was when i followed one of his tutorials xD (i didnt know it was popular at the time)

46. what my last text message says......."ok your turn"

47. turn ons.....uhh nerds ig idk um book lovers, music lovers, art lovers, potterheads, idk and nice ppl

48. turn offs......jerks. Homophobia. Idk ig whatever i said in things i hate

49. where i want to be right now......uhhhh idk wait didn't i already answer this? Ok this ones different ig so uhh with my friend lucas

50. favourite picture of your idol.....oh shit...favorite? Idk xD i have a fave of vexx but not of rae or bob. But heres pics of them any way

51. starsign......a libraaaaa boiii

52. something i’m talented at......drawing and speed reading. Thats about it lol. Oh and procrastina

53. 5 things that make me happy.......ooooo art, my friends here on tumblr, books, harry potter, and music ^^

54. something thats worrying me at the moment.....if my friend thinks im being annoying

55. tumblr friends......hhhhh so manyyyyyy. @dirtysocke @mysisterlooksforthisaccountsobye @cristal-kyd1280 @chinesewaffles2 @kingantlion @queen-baelin @sammchenry @septembersbloom and more

56. favourite food(s)......green beans, pepperoni pizza, and vanilla madelines

57. favourite animal(s).......basically any reptile. Puppies. Cats. Any animal really but my #1 are snakes

58. description of my best friend.....well she's a tiny bean (5 feet) and she has dark hair, she wears glasses, she doesnt take shit, she's in love with Josh dun, she's awesome, funny, nice (YES youre nice jackie) and shes the best friend ive ever had. Oh. And she has a weird obsession with spaghetti

59. why i joined tumblr.......well i heard abt it on Pinterest over a year ago but didnt want it. Then @mrfastbass-deactivated20181231 on DeviantArt said he got tumblr so i made one then followed him and figured id just post art and that's it cause i thought tumblr was boring as hell when i first got it. Now im p much obsessed with it

60. ask me anything you want.......go ahead brainy shoot. Give me smtn good

[gihu]

Hello ! I’ve been wanting to start drawing but to really learn. Do you have any tips ? How did you start drawing? I love your art !! 💕

Hello friend!! So sorry for the delay, I’ve been p busy and also was a little shook that anyone would ask ME for art advice??? bc tbh i’m hardly at that level yet LOL but also maybe it’s a good thing you asked me bc BOY have I struggled and BOY am i struggling now!!  putting this under a cut bc i tend to ramble

So one thing I won’t say is “JuST pRActICE” which is what a lot of tumblr artists say and that irks me even though it’s true and valid advice it’s just…not that helpful. At least for me. Another thing I won’t say is “I popped out of the womb with a pencil in hand!!” because I can’t relate. Being from a pretty conservative Asian family/country kinda suppressed what desire to pursue art, even as a hobby, in me as a kid. I started learning how to draw in sophomore year in high school because I got REALLY fucking obsessed with One Piece LMAO. I lived and breathed OP, I was watching dozens of eps a day at one point. That one tumblr post that was like “the best way to get better at drawing is to become obsessed with something and draw it a million times”? Probably the most solid advice I’ve come across. Anyway, that obsession led me to wanting to create fanart for the first time (that was my starting point for wanting to become an artist, which eventually led me into stop motion, thanks One Piece)! I did start attempting to draw the characters right away, but I also started watching a bunch of youtube videos and using figure drawing sites to practice anatomy. I’d recommend starting off with learning anatomy! Learn the proportions of the face and body, it’ll help a TON. but you’ll have to learn how to enjoy the process of studying bc there’s so much studying to be done if you want to learn how to draw. Other tips (that helped me personally): 

-don’t aim to finish a drawing 100%. By that I mean skip rendering the details, it’ll slow down your improvement. try to aim for 60 or 70%. also, some may disagree with me on this but try to avoid using color at all when you’re starting out! you may get overwhelmed and it’s fact that drawing and knowledge of values are far more important. i’ve heard a professor compare color to icing on a cake: it makes the cake pretty but why would that matter at all if the cake base tastes like crap??

- don’t doodle mindlessly. a tip i hear often is to doodle lots and lots but…i don’t think it helped me improve at all. you need reference, something to compare your drawings to so you can throughly analyze how to improve them. nearly every single artist i know, including myself, uses reference for their drawings. it’s ok to doodle to jot down ideas and stuff, just not for learning. 

 - draw from life as much as possible!! it’s more helpful than drawing from photos or art because translating from 3d to 2d really trains your brain by forcing it to analyze more. also, photos tend to be distorted and alter reality. copying/referencing art can be helpful but only if they’re master paintings (sargent, monet, etc.) IMO. please don’t copy from tumblr artists, even for practice LOL. try to avoid their tutorials as well if you’re a beginner you probably won’t be aware of the mistakes they make, and unwittingly incorporate them into your drawing habits. there’s tons of art book PDFs out there, they’re your best bet! 

- carry a sketchbook around and just draw as much as possible. use your free time to draw from life. make it a habit. the more you draw the more you’ll add to your muscle memory and visual dictionary

- find out what interests you about the world, and incorporate those interests into your art! is it the way clothing falls across the body or the way light casts shadows? do you have a particular interest for teeth or hands?? i think hands are quite amazing 

- idk if i’ll be able to explain this clearly but whether you’re drawing comics or making “aesthetic” work, CONCEPT will always be more important than how your art looks! by concept i mean idea, message, etc. The clarity of your message is also important! it needs to be readable

- don’t blame your tools for your lack of skill. when i was starting out i wasted so much time researching and accumulating a bunch of art supplies that i didn’t even use, thinking that better tools would increase the quality of my art. the only tools i needed turned out to be pencils, pens, some watercolors and later, a basic tablet. award-winning films have been made with iPhones alone.

- lastly…JUST DO IT. technical skills are important but what’s even more important is your passion and desire to create. what’s holding you back? fear of being judged? that’s dumb! the best art-related quote i’ve heard is by andy warhol:

“Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.”

isn’t that beautiful? this changed my whole outlook on making art! i mean, you won’t ever be able to make art that appeals to everyone but you sure can make art that some people will like! there’s an audience for everything! so don’t be needlessly burdened by what you think others think of your art and make art for you and you only. one thing that i did that i deeply deeply regret is quitting drawing for 2 years up until this past summer, and that’s only because i didn’t think i’d ever be good enough at drawing. so i just gave up. it makes me so sad because even if i drew for just 10min a day i could’ve improved so much in those years! please don’t do what i did

- some helpful websites/youtube channels: schoolism (the best and most affordable online art class i’ve come across, $35 a month but they have legit instructors from disney, pixar etc.) Line-of-action (for figure drawing) croquis cafe (more figure drawing bc you can never do enough) sycra (youtuber who makes tutorials, one of the few that trust completely. i especially like his video on iterative drawing) 

man that was long! but there’s so much to talk about still! btw it’s admirable that you want to learn a new skill! i believe that if you truly want something to be better at something, you will, 100%. if you ever have more questions, feel free to shoot me a message, my inbox/DMs are always open, even if i might take a while to get to it :)