#i thought screentoning is easy

[eeniiart]

First day of Furin Trio Week <3 New Experience | Flowers | Fate I mixed 2 themes and now Sakura is experiencing ikebana for the first time :3

[bazeartstuff]

Fancomic Entry

This comic was done for this contest. I had really loved this person's GyJo 80s AU for a longtime and had wanted to do their DTIYS before but just never could get it right... so when I saw this contest I resigned to do it as a comic a) because I like GyJo (one of the only Jojo ships that stuck with me), b) I was in college and thought the project would be good to occupy me and c) helped me explore drawing comics on Procreate.

Being one of my first comics in Procreate, I was still figuring out screentones (as I always am) and I couldn't even be assed to use the text function (though I've now come to understand Procreate text function is actually ridiculously easy compared to CSP). This comic is fine and I enjoyed doing it.

[bleushark]

og spider gang (the laocoön group)

for an assignment in one of my art history classes, we had to recreate one of the artworks we looked at, so i chose the sculpture laocoön and sons (aka the laocoön group, amongst other names) i’d include the sculpture but yk artistic nudity

i did not need to put in this much effort but it was really fun and i’m really proud of it !

uh more thoughts below the cut cuz i have a lot of stuff to say about this waha

i knew i wanted to do a greek sculpture, cuz they were the most dynamic pieces of art we’ve looked at in class so far. we discussed the use of heroic nudity, and how that technique is still used today in the form of superheroes wearing tight suits. so combining a greek sculpture with a superhero felt so perfect! choosing spider-man was easy, since he’s my favorite superhero. in the assignment description, my professor said we could modernize the artwork. spider verse felt so perfect since the first movie revolutionized animation and inspired many artists to incorporate some of the movie’s style into their own artwork- me included. the idea of itsv miles, peter, and gwen fighting doc ock as laogoön and sons came naturally from there!

while i wasn’t trying to replicate the art style, i tried getting the proportions of the characters down the way they are in the movie, as well as the small, slightly different screentones of each character. i finally found some perfect screentone brushes to do so! if u want them lmk and i’ll link them :D i couldn’t get the proportions exact since i didn’t have time to study the movie, but i did my best using the art book and some screenshots… i still got them to a point i was happy with tho :D

[jinzouactor]

thank you so much for the thorough and thoughtful reply!! it’s really encouraging. I have access to CSP and I need to learn my way around it - I mostly use PS atm so I would love to hear any CSP tips you’re willing to share!

yeah!! ok this might be a long post but i want to highlight the CSP specific things that i havent found so easy in other programs. though idk if thats still the case

the main advantages I find are in the panelling tools and the text bubble tools that you can drag-and-drop to an existing canvas

there's a lot of pre-set layouts you can choose from, but i usually make a single frame and cut it up into panels using the sub tool to match whatever sketch i've made of the page, putting the speech bubbles in or over the panels.

CSP automatically makes layers for each folder, which stops you drawing or filling outside the panel when you're trying to draw inside

Although sometimes your brush tries to snap to the panel border as if it was a ruler which is annoying. deleting the associated ruler or turning off ''snap to frame'' can help.

you can draw speech bubbles using the balloon pen or use the ones in your downloads. the CSP text tool is sometimes janky but its good enough.

the 3d model feature comes in useful sometimes for poses harder to visualise or just to save time

this moire effect is done using the layer property tool that can create different screentone patterns (not just dots)

i went through a phase of using a LOT of these for a comic book look

other than that i sometimes scroll the assets page for unique brushes, speech bubbles, auto actions i can download and use

[yume-fanfare]

mar art program reviews:

procreate: uncomfortable. i can definitely see the appeal behind an ipad's portability and it has some really nice brushes but i hate apple too much for it. AND THE FACT THAT IT HAS A LAYER LIMIT???? it's absolutely a deal breaker no way. ive also overheard something about it having infinite zoom in???? it can be useful but it won't give you a good estimate of how much stuff fits on an image???

photoshop: used it for years, sucks ass. you still have to pay separately for the stabilizer right ? cant believe it's still the industry standard for illustration

illustrator: vectors are So Useful. it's not a program you'd use to make painterly art, of course, but it's perfect for lineless Shaped artstyles (and in fact makes adding lines extremely easy if you feel like it). and of course since it's vectorial you won't ever have to worry about stuff getting blurry when you scale it

krita: ive been using it for animation stuff and it's pretty great! can't speak much for all of its functions but free, open-source programs always get extra points too <3 lovely project. my main complaint though is that the pen and eraser are pretty much the same tool, i wish you could map the brushes separately (if anyone knows how to im all ears)

medibang: used the mobile version for a while and i think ive had the desktop one at some point too. also a lovely free program that has some always appreciated tools for comics (like for drawing panels and, if i remember correctly, even manga screen tones too?). the mobile version is a bit lacking in comparison to the other well-known mobile drawing app, ibis, that i haven't tried but well ibis has a time-lapse function (always adds a lot of points) and its symmetry rulers are also easier to use (at least since i last tried medibang). i think medibang's stabilizer was better though

clip studio: despite its recent messes and everything i still think it's definitely the best program out there and ive been a csp advocate for a while. so many useful features, an active community making assets and tutorials for it that you can easily access within the program without having to dive online and it's actually rather cheap, even more so during its frequent sales. it's so good. it's not my main program, though, because i still haven't found brushes im comfortable with </3 the stabilizer is also a bit confusing to me. however i think the new paid update requires you to always have internet connection which is an instant no for me. who thought that was a good idea

paint tool sai: my best friend <3 though the 2 update was Great it's still lacking in Many aspects (please please just let me align text to the center ill die happy), but it has the best stabilizer out there and configuring brushes is pretty intuitive. it seriously lacks a lot of functions but it's still the program im most comfortable with

ms paint: people seriously make such cool stuff in there. there's also nostalgia factor, and it actually has screentones too! last time i tried them they were a bit wonky but interesting to use

ive tried procreate a couple of times before and its . such a weirdly unnatural feeling, it's like you're dragging a line rather than drawing it

[optimistpax]

ooh I'm thinking of reading tf 2019 but idk if it's for me, could you share more of what you enjoyed about it? I'm curious!

Absolutely!! I'm always down to talk about comics!

Gonna throw my thoughts under the cut bc oops this got really long really fast... i have a lot of thoughts

TLDR: I like it bc it's easy to get into organization/access wise, it's soooo pretty to look at, has genres I personally enjoy and find fun, has a lot of characters I vibe with, and its themes are empathetic and hopeful which is nice to read about when life is tough

Organization

So the first thing that I think rocks about the 2019 comics is that they are actually organized in volumes that make sense from the get go. All the main story AND side stories are compiled in chronological order. This may not seem like anything significant, but I have major beef with serialized American comics about this so imo this is great skldjfg. Also!!! 5/6 of these volumes are on overdrive! So if they aren't already on your libraries library app (libby or hoopla), then the library can absolutely get you them if you ask! I'm certain that the 6th volume will be up there soon, it did come out relatively recently tho so it might be a month or two. It's also only 4 years/6 volumes long so it's not an overwhelming amount of content to read, which is nice :)

Art

Another thing I really love about the 2019 comics is the art!! They've got a couple artists that are series regulars, but 9 times out of 10 they knock it out of the park! Usually I'm bothered by a series jumping around different artists, but the regulars have similar enough art styles that with the colourists help, it's not that noticeable when they do switch around, which is really nice! I also Looooove the use of colour dots (i dont think they're screentones in this case? since they're quite big and used as a texture thing? idk im not a professional comic artist.) You can see some in my header! It's a double page spread from the first volume!! gorgeous stuff :)

Genre/Story

As for the story itself, I think it'll really depend what kind of genres you like reading. It starts on Cybertron before the war, which is fun to see since we get to learn a little about their culture, history, and geology. The genre starts off as a murder mystery and evolves into a political drama before finally dissolving into something more action-y. So it's not for everyone, but I personally had a fantastic time!

Characters

The 2019 comics have a MASSIVE cast of characters. There are so many characters that there's bound to be at least a FEW that you really enjoy! Lots of more obscure characters from the depths of tf lore that haven't really been developed in mainstream media (afaik) get some time to shine (Flamewar, Roadrage, Jumpstream, Javelin, Lightbright, and Subsea to name a few) and also introduces some new characters (Termagax, Codexa, Geomotus, Exarchon, Cryak, Rubble, Gauge, Lodestar) which imo were really fun to see! There's also a surprisingly large (relatively fleshed out) female cast which is refreshing to see in a franchise that originated as Reagan-era toy ads lmao.

I say relatively fleshed out bc the massive cast of characters is one of the series biggest strengths, but it's definitely also one of its biggest weaknesses. Since there are so many characters sharing limited panel time it's difficult for the series to explore them in depth bc there are just SO MANY. They're also using the toy designs where they exist (see: lots of same designs with different colours), so characters are sometimes difficult to tell apart. Esp if they don't show up often and you're not already overly familiar with transformers. Altho my comic book club of non-transformers fans managed to get through the first volume alright (or at least they said they did) so it can't be that unintelligible...

Themes

I really liked the themes in this series! Again, that's a personal preference that'll vary from person to person, but I had fun with this one. I'm not sure if it's the right word, but I think the narrative felt very empathetic(?). Characters were very rooted in their ties to other characters, their relationship with other characters. Something something we're better with the connection to and with the support of others. Some of my favourites character arcs in support of the theme of empathy in no particular order off the top of my head:

Cyclonus and his grief

Arcee and the lasting impact that the PREVIOUS war had on her and her relationships (esp with Greenlight and Gauge)

Gauge getting to CHOOSE her family not because she has to but because she wants to

Sad videogame dad Bumblebee

Geomotus and how he's autistic and taken seriously and respected and also his friendship with Landmine

Optimus being chosen for the matrix because he has the quality of HOPE

Javelin's PTSD

Shadowstriker trying and failing to keep Flamewar from being a gremlin and getting in trouble

Megatron being the pettiest man alive

Starscream's love for Cybertron?? ???

Wheeljack being SO supportive of his mentee Gears

I would apologize for the essay but you DID ask ahaha! Anyways, I definitely think the 2019 comics are at least worth looking into if you're a transformers fan and are looking for some comics to read. I had a blast reading them :)

[arsquare]

please what is that kaishin marxist meme manga ("they mean nothing... if you aren't redistributing the wealth") originally from i cannot find it anywhere. also its too funny and i love ur art and memes

Hi! The reason you can't find it anywhere is because it's directly sourced from my silly little brain. It's not even an edit of a Kaishin doujin or anything; it was born directly looking like that. I just thought it would be funny if it LOOKED like an edit of a Kaishin doujin but like... I would have felt bad editing something someone else worked hard on drawing lol. So I just made it from scratch by myself. Is it perhaps a deranged level of commitment to the bit? Yeah, probably <3

Here's the post for anyone who doesn't know what I'm talking about

Anyways here are some images of the work in progress as proof. I'm sorry the rest of this fake doujin doesn't exist bestie

here are some of my favorite bits of text work on that meme. see what I SHOULD have done is put some placeholder text and then edit it out in MS Paint like a real one, but for some reason I just did it all in Clip Studio Paint. whatever

So firstly. my watermark is also in the top left, I completely forgot I watermarked it but just in case anyone came for me like "OP why don't you credit the original artist :///" I can point to that and say "Hi I am the original artist actually lol" Anyways it's a well known fact that you can't rotate text in MS Paint so I thought it would be really funny if "You've" is rotated but "only acheived [sic] false consciousness!!" isn't. Also the slight misspelling of "achieved" sends me every time

this is also hilarious to me. the little "r" floating next to the "You" CLEARLY unaligned. The random capitalized "B" in "Bourgeoisie" (AND THE FACT THAT BOURGEOISIE IS SPELLED CORRECTLY AND ACHIEVED ISN'T) since they're capitalists. keeping the "they mean nothing. They mean nothing!" from the fake original context.

and finally. the white scribbles above the tone marking out the old text. the use of bold for "redistributing the wealth..."

idk I would not call this my magnum opus or anything, if you want to read actual genuine honest-to-god Kaishin content by me, there's a 98-page doujin called Breaking Stasis on Ao3 about Kaito and Shinichi getting stuck in a time loop here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/35883097/chapters/89472589

Is the art lower quality than what you see in my shitpost marxist doujin? Yeah, but I also whipped it up in 2 months for the Kaishin secret santa as another ridiculous "commitment to the bit" moment so I think that's excusable. Now that I've got more time on my hands, I'm actually editing Breaking Stasis to actually have screentones and better backgrounds and less fucked up faces <3. I'm about a fifth of the way through LMAO. Which is not a lot, but granted, I had to draw a high quality 24-page original oneshot in the meantime so I'm going easy on myself. That is going to be posted in July, after the competition results are out, I hope everyone looks forward to it!

[stillness-in-green]

On the topic of Dabi's 1st Ranked Adviser, Sharkie as I'll dub him, apparently some think that the 2nd mercenary that Deku beat after Nagant was Sharkie, given how similar they look (sharp teeth, both seem to be wearing the same mask, similar face). However, Sharkie and...IDK I guess I call the other Sharpie, do have difference in their facial features and different piercings, not to mention Sharpie is wearing a different outfit altogether. What are your thoughts?

@shockersalvage, have I ever told you how much I appreciate your willingness to continually send me questions about the advisors? Because I really do appreciate your willingness to continually send me questions about the advisors. I love these guys. As to Sharkie--or, as I call him, Spiky Cabbie--and Sharpie? Let's compare!

(Flipped him upside-down for easier viewing.)

The Similarities:

Pointy Teeth. This is a jump-out obvious one. I would point out that Sharpie's teeth are more pin-like, narrower and with much more space between them, than Sharkie's, which are broader at the base, more triangular in shape, compared to Sharpie's more conical ones. However, that's easy to handwave as being just a difference in levels of detail because of the close-up, and also because all known pictures of Sharkie have him with a close-mouthed grin, while Sharpie's mouth is hanging open--it makes sense that the teeth would look a bit different! Inconclusive.

The Mask. This is another clear similarity, particularly in the presence of that thin double line at the bottom of the mask, which is present on both.

The Eyes. The men seem to have similar screentones applied to the irises of their eyes, a gray about the same shade as their masks. They both also have visible irises on normal, white sclera, which is definitely not a given in this series, see e.g. Re-Destro or Toshinori Yagi.

The Toss-Ups:

The Build. Well, they're both pretty muscular, compared to the more lean types. But, I dunno--it's hard to say with the perspective on Sharpie and Deku being what it is, but I feel like Sharkie is bigger? Like, considerably bigger. Sharkie towers over everyone else he's ever pictured next to; further, he's really barrelchested. The man has a chest cavity like a wine keg, and Sharpie just doesn't look that broad to me.

The Tattoos. Impossible to say! While I would guess that Sharkie is wearing a vest over his striped shirt, not a jacket, his arms aren't clearly visible in any or our pictures, nor is his unclad chest, so we can't say one way or the other if he's got ink.

The Face. Again hard to say, this time because of the angle, but they do both look like they have relatively sharp features, particularly in the cheekbones and around the jawline. On the other hand, if you look closely, there's something very weird going on with Sharkie's chin:

    This is not facial hair shaved into fashionable lines; he actually has a notched chin, consistently across every picture. Sharpie, on the other hand, as you can see above, has an entirely normal chin.

The Differences:

The Jewelry. As you noted, they do both have piercings, significant amounts of them, but the location and number are different. Sharpie has four loops, four studs, and one center spike, all in his ears; Sharkie, meanwhile, has only three spikes in his ears but also two lip rings.

    Furthermore, Sharpie wears two blingy neck chains, while Sharkie doesn't seem to be wearing any jewelry save the piercings.

The Hair. You've gotta squint for this one, but as you can see in the earring picture above and the picture at the top of the post, Sharkie is consistently shown to have thin but visible sideburns. In two of the pictures, he's also drawn with a visible hairline around the nape of his neck. It's short short short, but it's there. Sharpie, by contrast, seems to be entirely bald/shaved. This is also a small thing that sets their masks apart; Sharpie's extends back behind his ears, clearly wrapping all the way around his head, while Sharkie's cuts off at his sideburns. (Leaving me wondering if he glues it on or maybe secures it with the brim of his cabbie hat somehow. Heck, maybe it's actually just face paint, or an extremely low-key heteromorphic feature.)

The Clothes. This is maybe the one that stands out most to me. The hat, you could just assume got knocked off in the fight/when Sharpie got hung upside-down by Black Whip, but their tops are completely different. Sharkie has a striped shirt and a plain vest with dark buttons. Sharpie has that scale-pattern....there's probably a word for the kind of garment he's wearing; I feel like I've seen it around before on, like, ikemen samurai and the like. I don't know it off the top of my head, but anyway, it's almost all sleeves, with just enough going on across the back and shoulders and the chain fastened around his neck to keep it all in place. Whatever it's called, it's absolutely nothing like Sharkie's outfit.         There's also the matter of their pants. They look superficially similar, but to my eye, Sharpie's are cut to a tighter fit, with a seam down the side, while Sharkie's look baggier and lack the side seam.         Now, in real life, I'd accept a handwave on people having, you know, more than one outfit in their wardrobe, but a) this is a manga where the villains in particular have a very limited array of duds, and b) thanks to Chapter 335, we're now up to six returned advisors (Hooray!), and every single one of them is wearing exactly the same thing they are in every other picture of them we've ever seen. So, no, I don't see any particular reason for Sharpie to be the only one to have changed clothes, especially so radically.

The Intangibles: Sharpie is described by Hawks as "a hired gun"--one of All For One's people, the same sorts later summed up by All Might as "escaped convicts who serve All For One" and mentioned by Lady Nagant as others AFO "reached out to."         That's all well and good, but Sharkie isn't a hired gun, and he certainly isn't one of the escaped convicts: he's MLA. All throughout the aftermath of the war, whenever anyone is going over the scope of the threat, the escaped convicts associated with AFO and the remnants of the PLF are always mentioned separately. The PLF people have outstanding loyalties, and they sure as shit aren't to All For One. That's not to say none of them might ever do his work, of course; with Shigaraki out of service and Re-Destro in prison, AFO has definitively taken the reins of the villain movements. Still, we never see him giving orders to ex-MLA types directly; their orders are all coming to them from Skeptic. Why would this one dude be the exception?

Conclusion: I think your instincts are right on the money: Sharkie and Sharpie are two different people with superficial similarities but considerably more significant, glaring differences if you look closely at their respective designs. At most, I'd say they look similar for the same reason there are so many mob villains with reptilian features in the series: pointy bits are an easy visual shorthand for Person With Villainous Intent.

Thanks, again and as always, for the ask!

[tepperz]

i didnt think about it before now either xD

i know lol 20,000+ is too much, i keep getting distracted XDD I'm also always saving morrrrrrreeeeeeeee. Pixiv in particular is sooo bad for that -- if you have a subscription to it, it just keeps recommending you good art after good art. and it's like! aaaaa! I can't keep up with how many amazing works there are! (screaming)

"The example and your analysis of it are really interesting! You’re right about the unique highlights and warm color drawing attention there. I hadn’t noticed until you pointed them out! Even just the one “simple” artwork had a lot of valuable details."

You get it you totally get it!!!!!! Yeah, exactly!!! Like I get its easy to gloss over as a picture but it actually has soooo much unique value! I really like that kind of thing!! I'm a super nerd when it comes to seeing the unique value of artworks ><. I feel like most artwork has its own appeal. Not to sound weird or anything, but besides saving sooo many artworks, I sometimes also go through the manga I own too and try to write down what I think the mangaka has done super well with paneling/screentones/ect, and what I think they could improve on. It's super useful for reference, as someone who's trying to make comics! Even manga I don't like have good points that are worth learning from!

So how would you categorize something like that?? @@ I get how just one doesn’t encompass all that now!

I think i'd put that picture into "portrait - no background" and also save a copy of it into my "texture" folder? hmmmmm. dang, i should have sorted it while I was looking at it earlier!!!!!! i forgor LOL

I’d love to see how these details are translated into your own works.

I legitimately thought of drawing something new with that pic as inspiration, but im in an art block right now so I can't u_u; But! I will go find a work that I had inspiration for!

so in this one I was trying to give the atmosphere of someone with low contrast dark blue, sort of a creepy mood. The unnaturally still pose in the photo with the low contrast of the anime picture. I don't think it worked out this time, but it is an example of me pulling from other works.

oh! heres another one

that was last year so im trying to remember what aspects I pulled from. the chibis are my character references, the photo is his eye color... and from top to bottom... I think the top white drawing is his face shape? And below that is his hair color. Below that, the low saturation is inspiration, and the bottom reference is... i have no idea. Vibe? lmao. But yeah, my point is not all my references are masterpieces but I try to cobble them together like some goblin quilt lol

(asldfdsaklj I see you show your art with references later on bless you~)

heehee. I like seeing yours too ^^

Oh yeah, all the poses and expressions even in those portraits do have something that makes them stand out! Even art without backgrounds has to have good balance and use of negative space.

yeah! Exactly! Since organizing and seeing similar pieces together Im really starting to understand some patterns. It's good to learn.

A Clothing folder is sooo useful for cool details or cuts, but also the fabric types and specific folds. I struggle a lot with designing outfits so any help is lifesaving orz

8U I should do that. Have you tried pintrest? I have a lot of cool clothes saved on pinterest. I know it's kinda cliche to turn to pinterest for ideas but it always gets my mind twirling when I see the different types of aesthetics. I know you didn't ask and feel free not to bother clicking it, but if you want inspiration with clothes, heres a link to a pinterest board I use specifically for super interesting clothes: xxx

It’s been so many years since I started this organization system now… I think my Pictures folder just got too disorganized so I separated poses, and then just kept separating as the need arose. Haha letting the folder decide must speed things up a lot though! No worrying about which reference has been waiting for years to be used, just following the mood~

Wish... i wish i'd done that xD You realized the benefits of organizing a lot sooner then me. I watched a video lately about how people who are really good at drawing know what references to use in any particular situation (I think it was this one: xxx) and it sort of hit me how I was holding myself back by not being able to sort what I liked and why. It's really cool to see what pictures you chose and how they work together (with the middle distance and long distance backgrounds folders). I can definitely see the impact it has on your work already!! In my opinion I think you're very good at middle distance shots, so I can see how you'd be inspired by those works! And the interesting angles in your references and big shapes translates into your art as well, I believe ^^

I’m down for trading tutorials for sure! o// Anything to do with light or clothes would be treasured forever~ Are there specific tutorials you’d like? (And ones you’d recommend?)

Ohhh yeah let me get together a bundle for you! Here! I hope this helps! https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1yGCOUpPunk038by_ztRgELAWLRgmxEVK?usp=share_link ^^

as for me, if you find any tutorials on backgrounds or gesture, I'd love it if you threw them my way! no pressure thuogh.

Man, it’s so cool seeing the references near your art. They all came together and made something with the feeling but new. Loving the moodboard lol!! xD Once they’re on your canvas, then you don’t have to go digging through folders any more, I see I see! :3c

heehee, thank you! I'm glad that comes through!! Exactly, I feel like digging through files gets me out of the flow so I just throw them all on my canvas. i dont mean to make moodboards but it does end up working for me!

Watercolor has a distinctive transparent look so it’s easy for me to tell apart at least! Gouache is a bit harder because it can look like acrylic but they can be used the same way so it’s okay if some get mixed in… (I honestly can’t tell the difference between mediums like oil and acrylics though!! I don’t use them so their nuances are mysteries~) 

ohhhhhh. i guess thats true, watercolor really does have a texture. Gouache I just recently got some this week for the first time. Did you know that they're basically watercolors??? It's wild. But when I see good gouache it reminds me a lot of hard shading, like in anime. Oil I feel like also has a texture, kind of... thick? I have literally no idea about acrylics though. All I know is I like to watch people on youtube use them to relax.

And sometimes I’ll find inspiration in an unexpected folder– It’s tiny but the pic on the bottom right was the biggest influence on this piece! I loved the strong shadows and greenish tint!

i know this is the last thing in this huge bleeping wall of text but its literally so cool to see your inspiration and the final piece. I can totally see where you're coming from with the blues and greens and it's really interesting to see the correlation. Thats why I wanted to put some of my finished works and references in this post too. I love seeing those kinds of things. If you want to share more, I wouldn't mind.

Anyway, thanks for chatting with me!

How did you learn to draw so well? Like was it from classes or a book on fundamentals or just trial and error?

//// thanks for the kind question!

I guarantee you I would have improved faster if I’d taken a class, but I hope some of the materials I’ve used over the years can be of use to you too:

Andrew Loomis’ books - I never made it past the first chapters, but those had some great advice.

Youtube - Proko’s bean method. Figure drawing references will greatly improve anatomy and “drawing what you see”. It’s boring imo, so doing just 5-10 minutes a day can keep one from burning out while still seeing improvement. Speed painting videos are a nice way to relax and study.

Will Terrell’s People Drawing series - He’s a humble man with personal advice for artists. I watch his videos when I feel discouraged or lost.

Art, art, art - Whenever I see an artwork that I like, I figure out exactly what pleases me: line thickness, nose shape, finger positions, composition, the way the hair bends in the wind, etc. Then I try to incorporate that specific characteristic into my own art.

I have growing folders of (I’m a bit embarrassed) almost 8,000 pictures, organized by characteristics, for the sole purpose of studying their prettiness. Sometimes we don’t need a tutorial to spell everything out, just an example can help us envision our own works’ potential. Also, staring at pictures is a relaxing way to study too!

And of course, trial and error~ I don’t post my sad, failed paintings or all the weird sketches I make, but they exist and teach a lot!

[cestcirque]

HI OKAY SO I TOO ALSO WANT TO SHARE MY THOUGHTS AND THEORIES SO FAR SINCE WE ARE NEARING THE END OF THE CARDINAL SET AHHHHHHHHHHH 😦 (we’re in for a long message people 😳)

okay so ever since i saw you say these to other readers who have shared their theories and pointed out clues (continue underneath the three photos LOL):

i definitely thought at first that it’s a story of each yn ending up with each of the main setter (tl yn with semi, extrema yn with atsumu, screentone yn with akaashi) but now i feel that’s possibly not the case right? 😶

as of rn, i’m thinking that possibly atsumu ends up with screentone yn, semi ends up with extrema yn, and akaashi ends up with tl yn 🤔 BUT IDKKKKKKK AJXMSKXKSKXSI like I feel that their respective stories is really all about how both the setter and mc learn about love, relationships, what they REALLY want and need in a partner and the different stories just shows their pov of things??? they’re just constantly learning more about themselves and their potential love interest(s)

i also went back to read your psychoanalysis and clues for semi, atsumu, and akaashi that you released under aperture and seeing what kind of partner they NEED which also brought me back to this post that you released before and recently reblogged again:

i forgot to screenshot but someone else had the thought about how akaashi offers stability to tl yn since she can be volatile since akaashi does that to bokuto and the fact that tl yn has akaashi saved as le reve which translate to the dream compared to the name she has for semi which is le jouet which means the toy. tl yn has like a sexual tension relationship with semi but i know they’ve gotten closer after learning about each other’s ex. she also had “angry sex” with atsumu a few chapters ago but other than that, they don’t really interact so i don’t think they’d be interacting again any time soon. but when she’s with akaashi? idk what word to properly use but it’s like she softens up with him and kinda gives him adventure??? almost inspiring if you ask me and it seems like he offers her contentedness and companionship too

screentone yn has akaashi saved under as hopeless romantic and then i can’t remember what she has semi saved under but she has atsumu saved as like #11 right? and the fact that she sees atsumu on equal grounds and she doesn’t know too much about him other than his volleyball career kinda hits home? like that whole chapter of them talking and atsumu helping her realize what she really wants to do (career wise) was an endearing chapter and i felt that really connected them together. in your analysis, you said that atsumu needs someone who understands him because of his drive, i guess someone who will stand by him right? screentone yn is known to be hooked onto passions easily too so she can also understand atsumu on that level. when she interacts with semi, i don’t see any hope LMAOOOO like it’s not even in question other than their one night stand. when she’s with akaashi, she’s like very hesitant getting to know him personally vs talking to him about work. it seems like she wants nothing more but to keep it strictly a professional / friends only relationship 😗

finally extrema yn. i’m iffy about her the most LMAOOOOO like i’m sus especially since she’s a graduate of nohebi high 🐍🐍🐍. i can’t read her too well other than the fact i can clearly see how driven and ambitious??? she is, running too fast to care. i can also see how easy she makes it to truly be yourself around her. she easily did that with atsumu and semi. akaashi isn’t in question since they’re exes and she doesn’t want to talk to him at all LMAOOOOOO. since atsumu knows what her plans are, they work well in that sense but, i really like how she got to hear semi’s “real” voice, getting him to *mostly* be himself. after extrema chapter 16, idk how to feel about semi LMAOOOOOOOO. but it seems like she genuinely enjoys hanging out with him? compared to being with atsumu, she knows she’s doing it just for publicity because she wants to help atsumu with the relationship rule. and now she’s saying she doesn’t need anything else from atsumu? that definitely got me thinking she doesn’t actually care much about atsumu right now 😶

BUT ANYWAYS YEAH THIS MESSAGE IS HELLA LONG AND THANK YOU FOR COMING TO MY TED TALK LMAOOOOOOOO. I REALLY WENT OFF 🥴 I’D LOVE TO HEAR WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT MY THOUGHTS RN LOLOLOL. THIS IS SO FUN AND YOUR BRAIN FR WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS 😝

HI MY LOVE 😍 since this message is already long, I’ll put my answer under a cut ⤵️

A lot of people have been looking back to Aperture’s secret clues to find some kind of structure for these relationships, but remember The Cardinal Set already has its own structure: the full, cardinal set 😅

That is, the three points of a relationship—companionship, romance, and intimacy. Perhaps it might help to review Yukie’s insight from Layer 8 👀

Yukie also mentioned that Akaashi changed after his relationship w Aperture Y/N failed... perhaps the type of partner he needs would have changed too?

Anyway. All 6 of our main characters are lacking certain points of the cardinal set... but which ones?

And as for your feelings on Semi and Extrema Y/N, they certainly are the “least trustworthy” of the setters and Y/Ns, no? But do we remember what Aperture Y/N told Semi about trust??? It was mentioned again briefly in Trompe-l’œil. (This is really what I’ve been trying to nudge with my author’s notes about tRUSTING SEMI, I’m not trying to make you guys doubt him 🤣)

[onigiriico]

Osora Interview translation (pt.2)

(printed in AnimaniA 4/2018, p.58 - 61 / interview originally given in March 2018 at the Manga-Comic-Con in Leipzig, Germany)

( pt.1 )

The Internet offers Let’s Players, but also all kinds of artists an opportunity for very direct communication with their fans. However, this can also have its downsides when it comes to potentially negative feedback. How do you deal with this issue?

—Sometimes you just stumble across negative feedback that you didn’t want to see, and that can chip away at your motivation and creativity. I try to prevent that by not really looking at reactions in the first place, and when I do happen to see negative feedback, I try to forget about it again as soon as possible. Of course, when I start a new series, I’m curious about the readers’ reactions and go looking for feedback, but if eight out of ten comments are very positive and two are negative, I still tend to get stuck thinking about those two negative comments. There even was a time when that negative feedback made me feel too depressed to draw for a couple of days. But the more often this happens, the more you learn to deal with this criticism. I can stomach it pretty well by now, and I think it’s important to not let negative feedback get to you.

Did your experience regarding interactions with readers change much from Boku to Senpai no Tekken Kousai to The Ones WIthin?

—Digital publications receive a lot more feedback than series that are only released in print - be it via email or via Twitter. Twitter is the main source of comments. With Boku to Senpai no Tekken Kousai, there was much less of a response, and the feedback that we did get was usually in the form of letters. Since readers had to buy the magazine first and then go out of their way to send a letter, that was a lot more complicated. (T/N: i.e. it takes more time to write/send a whole letter than to just send a tweet)

How do you handle responding to messages from your readers? For example, do you set specific times for yourself to reply?

—Since I get the most reader interaction on Twitter, I try to answer questions and comments there when I find the time for it. I always do that myself because I want to respond to my fans in my own words. That doesn’t feel like extra work to me, but rather like a pleasant change of pace. Aside from my personal account, there’s also the official account for The Ones Within, which is mostly for promotional use. My editor retweets my tweets there and forwards any questions that get asked there to me.

Could you describe your usual daily routine when working on The Ones Within?

—I’m a night owl, so I usually get up rather late at around 10 am. After that, I basically work in two rounds. The first lasts the entire day and ends in the evening, around dinner time. Then I take a short break, and the second round starts at around 9 pm and ends at roughly 2 am. If I’m close to a deadline, I sometimes just continue drawing until I pass out. (lol) I never take much time to eat at that point, either.

What advantages are there to drawing digitally in comparison to drawing traditionally?

—Oh, there’s a lot - especially how easy it is to make corrections and adjustments. Your work space is neater and other people can’t stare as easily at what you’re drawing. There’s no need to erase sketches or apply screentones by hand (T/N: see here how screentones are applied traditionally, it’s definitely faster digitally lol), so there’s not as many work steps either and you can finish your work even on your own [without assistants]. And since it’s all data anyway, it’s easy to save as well.

Do you have any advice for artists who are just starting to work digitally?

—Practice makes perfect! I used to have a private page online where I more or less kept a drawing diary, all about original characters. I still kind of do the same thing on Twitter nowadays. It’s important to keep at it and actually draw on a daily basis, that way you’ll get used to it. There’s also live streams from artists on Pixiv and Twitter - it’s helpful to watch those and adapt parts of their progress for your own work.

You’ve shown us a picture of one of your notebooks that you use to jot down your ideas - where do you usually come up with these? (*picture under the cut at the bottom of the post)

—There’s two main places where I tend to draw spontaneously. For one, on the train - usually after meetings with my editor. I can best sort out my thoughts right after those meetings and save some first ideas. Secondly, in bed, right before going to sleep. Ideas flow really easily when you’re sleepy and letting your thoughts wander. Also, I’d feel like I’m wasting my time if I did nothing and just waited to fall asleep, so instead I imagine as many scenarios as possible and jot down the best ones. When I come up with something I especially like, I might also get up again and draw it digitally right away. (lol) I don’t take my notebooks with me everywhere I go, though.

Both Boku to Senpai no Tekken Kousai and The Ones Within combine dark, mysterious elements with more comedic ones. How do you find a balance between these two aspects, and what do you like so much about combining these opposites?

—I like both comedy and serious plots, so I wanted to draw both - in the end, I combined the two without really thinking much about it. I usually just let this come to me naturally while I’m drawing too, although I do keep the timing in mind. For example, it wouldn’t be appropriate to make a joke in the middle of a sad or serious scene, and vice versa. So, I take care not to destroy the atmosphere that I’m trying to convey [in each given scene].

Personally, which character from The Ones Within is your favorite?

—I can’t really “rank” my characters because I love them all! Going by who’s the easiest to draw, it would be Anya. He’s a pretty straight-forward type, so he’s easy to understand. He’s also the only one who looks angry a lot of the time and has eye bags… and his accessories, like the helmet, his iron bar or the chewing gum - they make him stand out and thus easy to draw.

Do you already have an ending planned for The Ones Within or do you still have a few options to choose from?

—The ending is already planned out!

Do you maybe already have a new project in the works that you would like to tell us about?

—For now, I’m just really happy that The Ones Within is getting an anime adaptation and I can finally talk about it, now that it’s getting officially announced this May! I can’t wait to see my characters animated on the screen!

A final word to your fans?

—Thank you so much for reading my manga! There are so many Japanese manga series out there, and I’m really happy that you chose to read mine out of all of them. The Ones Within is getting an anime adaptation, and of course the manga is still ongoing as well, so I hope you will stick around and enjoy it until the end. Thank you!

Osora-sensei, thank you very much for the interview!

I tried to decipher these but the picture was too small to read much sadly agdjsdvhs

The bigger page seems to be some Kudou bros goodness? They seem to be talking about Shinya having Kenya's piercings (and maybe about Anya getting piercings as well, considering his very resolute "I don't want to." lol) and they're also mentioning ramen at some point from what I can decipher

And the bottom right looks like some kind of character relationship chart / worldbuilding notes,,,

[1eos]

i always thought the noah used a dark screentone bc 1) it was the easiest most visible way to display that the clan was different from the protagonists and 2) could clearly signify that the noah were all from the same clan/family/ from the same side despite them all have an extreme range of character designs. i mean road camelot’s character design in her noah form uses the gray tone, but in her human form/design she has pale skin? there probably is a a deeper hidden or unconscious bis showing through, but with so many noah and with a cast that big I can see why hoshino did it (to make the noah stand out on the page without all of them only having that stupid head crown tattoo or making them all wear uniforms or smth) it gives them the ability to have diverse designs, but also gives them a clear distinction from the protags while also being clearly recognizable on the page.

you said all of this for......? 😭😭😭😭😭 it's literally not hard to make characters stand apart without just making all villains dark skinned. rhodes design nd all of the akuma look different with facial features in general all having the similar dark circus them so giving them dark skin that's ASHY was unnecessary. nd yes it's a fucking bias bc it's also really easy to give some protagonists dark skin too so you're not implying all brown/black ppl are fucking monsters. like you're rambling abt design like im not a whole artist??????? WHO DESIGNS CHARACTERS??????? stop with the excuses. making your villains dark skinned when everyone who is 'good' is racist ESP w the heavy religious overtones LMAO? the exorcists (pale) literally align themselves with god nd akumas being devilish nd not pale is like basic racism 101. like what yr are you living in. GOOD artists don't have to rely on racism to make their characters 'different' from each other

[yourhealthmattersblog]

when you get past

Manga Review Vol. 1-4"

Recap: Yuki Kageno is just a 15-year old elderly school pupil who's an ordinary-searching, reluctant and miserable introvert that and also the history blend. She's unable to create buddies, but she in fact truly wants to. Mizunaga is her classmate who every lady drops in deep love with in one single look. Tired with females obtaining the wrong principle, confessing to him, and also obtaining ruthless after them turn along, Mizunaga needs Kageno to become his phony partner as a swap for relationship. While experiencing the advantages of friendship Kageno guarantees to end up being the darkness to Mizunaga's illumination and guards him from different women. This is in fact the beginning of friendship and also Kageno's love loaded lovely high school life.

And Kageno is also charming! I remember this uncomfortable sensation when I remained in the senior high school. That's my impression of the heart no kakurega

Art: I like just how Kageno is attracted like a chibi. It exaggerates her character, and that feeling to be considerably smaller equally in dimension as well as existence and that I, that had actually been the smallest in my own program via senior high, connected instantly. Perhaps for those that have not been the one that is little, this could assist them link. The web pages are fairly straightforward for aren't and also shoujo inundated with audio and screentones clips, until it's for impact. There's excellent usage of unusual exaggeratedly driven pages for result. I like the personality designs that are easy, as well as regardless of their convenience, each number has their particular search. There's a focus on expressions, a variety of which obtained really bent for impact. Conversely, Kageno is attracted undeformed at times of high-drama.

Discussion: This can be a normal shoujo tankoubon. The guide is little and also you will certainly discover no color pages. I needed a magnifier to see a few of the text. Customarily, I genuinely may have preferred to possess color pages for all those area frontis pages which were in-color within the journal. Each size has oneshots at the conclusion, gags, or some extra-short tales.

Story: What's ideal about this account would certainly be the figures. I assumed Mizunaga and also Kageno mosted likely to be thought about a sickeningly wonderful and also wonderful uncommon pair, nevertheless it exercises their coupling isn't so strange when you get past their external looks. Additionally, them both have exceptionally dark attributes which appear whenever you anticipate idol to become at their honest mountains and the heroine. Curiously, neither Mizunaga's or Kageno's conduct that was dim can be used as speaking points. Clearly, Kageno isn't Mizunaga and a isn't a "royal prince". Neither of these simple figures ought to be screwed with. And additionally the cheering on relocations both-way. This isn't regarding Mizunaga supplying one way help with many afraid-girl stories regarding Kagano.

The the strongest cheat player account is busy and each section held me desiring more. I like the love's progressive renovation, but it's not as well sluggish regarding be always a limitless conversation of "does he or she like me? "what as well as" have to I do". Instead it's even more of the analyze what kind of set of regular teens establishes an effective friendship via delightful activities like searching in the beach likely to the zoo, and comprehending just how to play table tennis. Whatever moves at Kageno's speed, therefore we obtain deeply right into her mind and also for that reason are obtained via school on her trip. The issue is most definitely "what's the proper rate for Kageno?" There's no concentrate on creation that is princess. The major one area that does manage external appearance goes someplace I really did not anticipate. Within this feeling the series is very stimulating, significantly within the capillary as "Pochamani".

Readability-- Easy: That is with "Let's Party a Waltz" on degree. The vocabulary and also furigana is correctly inside the shoujo language that is prepared for, so there have actually been not many events that I would certainly to speak with my dictionary. The expressions will certainly additionally be rather easy, expression to aggravate the audience without outrageous run-on.

Overall: All that's missing are color web pages. Usually this can be a tale teenagers as well as tweens might connect only to and pleasurable nostalgia for ladies like myself. I think that this can be a sequence companions and males may slip to see because of regular dim conduct, the laughter, and likewise the tale's no-crisis perceptiveness. I would certainly like to view this on a read manga online site. Know more here : https://themangablog.mystrikingly.com/blog/2tpu4yd02ec1r9glw25gg1625697748 the  history of

[elfchensdcartblog]

How I do my Doujinshi

This is not the „only“ way or perfect way to do it, just mine.

Idea/Theme.

First I get an idea. It’s often something suddenly popping up in my head. Like a random thought/headcanon or an inspiration I got from reading, a picture, even real life.

E.g. for „Melon Seeds“ it was the thought about telling kids how babys are made -> „man plants a seed in the belly of a woman“

Brainstorming

After the idea, I jot down everything that comes to my mind about it. That’s just rough and without an order. Just things that come into my mind. That could be a Mindmap, a list, random scribbles and texts/papers... I often already think about an idea during the day and jot down my thoughts in the evening somehow more ordered.

In this step I also think about characters if there are any new. Mostly they don’t have names now. Since I’m bad with names. Mostly I just name them „main girl“, „girl“, „kudo daughter“... 😂

Plot

Now I try to find a rough storyline. I think about what should happen in different parts of the story.

The beginning - should address the overall problem. (To stay with „melon seeds“ -> Kazuhas try to say she’s pregnant and hint to the main part (melons) )

Raising up to the climax - leading the reader to the turning point of the story. Here it’s „small Heijis story about melon seeds“.

Climax - Turning point of the story. Short stories mostly have just one, in longer stories I often include several ones but have an overall climax I head to. To stay with melon seeds - Heijis realization through the promise as kids is the climax/turning point.

Falling action (optional) - sometimes you don’t just want it to end right after climax. Especially for long stories you want to show some small pieces of the outcome. In melon seeds I nearly got right to the end after the climax. You could see the small part with coming back to the present and Heiji running of as falling action.

end - how should the story end? I often have just a rough idea of it.

Script

After I’ve the main points of my story, I fill them up with scenes and ideas, like what phrases do I want the characters to say or what should they do in which situation? It’s totally free how detailed this step is. For me it’s very different for each story. For short ones I often have most of it already in my head and don’t need to note much. For long stories I work a bit more.

e.g. for Heisuke I did a rough description what I want to draw on each page. For the upcoming Heizomi story I write a detailed script (more in style of a theatre play with speech roles etc) without exact paging details. For wedding bells (~62 pg.) I just wrote a small description of the scenes.

Storyboard

Now I draw each page as a thumbnail and think about what will be seen and which camera angle, what to show, which panels etc I use. It’s still just a draft and I change it often while drawing the real doujinshi.

For most stories I often decide in this step on all the speech (beside some important phrases I came up during the process before)

Rough sketches

I take the storyboard and transfer it onto my actual drawing medium and drawing size. Since I mostly do the Storyboard in a Journal, this means to draw it again in my drawing program Clip Studio Paint. (Or to drawing paper if I want to work traditionally but that’s not the case anymore)

Detailed Sketches

I sketch out everything in detail. While the rough ones are mostly just random geometric figures, now the characters get their appearance. I also draw in the panel lines.

Inking/Black/Screentones

Detail work to make it look good 👍

Lettering/Word Baloons

Now the finishing step is deciding on all the texts and baloon positions. It’s not easy to always find the right place and think about a good conversation to follow 🤔

That’s it, now it’s ready to upload 🤗

[aterriblethought]

a-ngua replied to your post “Hello. Good day. I'm really curious. Can you describe in detail the...”

Ah, but cleaning sound so plain and easy... rotating, crop/size, leveling, cleaning, redrawing, gutter shadows if there's any (my personal nightmares) , color pages, cloning, bent lines, spreads... etc. It's heavy labor of love lol

Definitely cleaning scans is more difficult than digital raws, but while the topic has been brought up, I thought I’d go through the process of cleaning a page.

Here’s the cover page for chapter 2 of “Monster in Sheep’s Clothing” that I cleaned recently. When I first saw the page I was like “why”

These sort of areas are easiest to clean because you can just copy a clean area, drag it over, and align the screentones.

Areas like this I use the clone tool with “Aligned” checked and try to line up the pattern so it does a seamless paint of the pattern. Then I just redraw the black ink line.

this area made me want to cry. why the glow on the text.... RIP. basically what I ended up doing was using the clone tool to replicate the screentones on the jacket, and then kind of winged it with the clone tool to recreate the tones on the chair using samples from other parts of the chair.

In the end, this is the result with text.

Here’s another example of a particularly involved manga panel to clean.

Probably the most difficult part of panels like this is redrawing the areas of hair with gradient screentones on it. Kyuugou loves her gradient screentones.

Anyway, hope that was interesting.

[stolen-ass-name]

Finally Finished! This edit took ages \(´д`)/

So, half the pictures of Shadow Ring are from the manga, and half are redrawn by yours truly. The original is Sailor Moon. After I saw it I just couldn't help but think about Captain Mizuki 😂

Some Highlights:

Flashy Flash's hair is a bitch to edit

Wittle Oneshotter in Usagi's place, cause I thought "Quick, who has a v shocked expression all the time????"

Copy-pasting Screentones saving my life

Thanks to the bangs the girl in the third page has, turning her into Fubuki was v easy and I appreciate that

I only figured out how to properly shade Shadow Ring's headdress a couple minutes ago as I finished this RIP

Oneshotter's full coverage swimsuit, inspired by wanshotta 's post

Original:

This must have taken at least 12 hours total, and crashed my MediBang app at least seven times ༎ຶ‿༎ຶ