#inspired by my friend who played pressure with me and used a drawing tablet and would wonder why they would die before door 50

[timeregistry]

I wanted to reply to this comment with a picture but you can't do that on tumblr (I think?!) but it made me giggle so much that I wanted to just do a quick thing because idk inspo comes in all forms DONT LOOK AT IT TOO HARD but thanks for the banger idea @mysteryart5645 (I hope you don't mind the @ !)

[jack-is-lost]

Oh sweet! okay another lol sorry bub. When it comes to art I geek out and never shut the fuck up. I like hearing about the passion people have for it.

So, when did you figure out your style? Or more specifically what medium you prefer or felt comfortable using most? if that makes sense...cause I know a lot of artists have a range of what they do but there’s always like that specific thing they focus on and stick to. When did you find your style or technique? If you don’t mind me asking

No need to apologize, I like these kinds of interactions, my dude. This will be a long answer with old art for examples so I am going to use a “read more”.

It took a while to find a style. At first, I was mainly doodling animals and monsters. Which, mainly due to watching a lot of anime/animations while growing up, evolved into drawing anime-like stuff. So, for some time, it was mimicking things I’ve seen on screen or in manga. I really liked the linework, the grey tones. Yet, I kept falling back to animals; painting them, doing sketch studies, etc. I had a mixed preference when it came to mediums. 

I’d say it was around 2009, when I turned 16, that I started to find a style but it was the very beginning. Very rough. That is the year I obtained a pen tablet and started cruising around sites that had art programs in the browser. It took some time for me to obtain my own art program and to get adjusted to it. So that was all I had for a couple of years. There was no pen pressure and I didn’t understand all the tools/brushes at first, but it is where I learned how to use layers and such.

(2010 - OC art was drawn for a friend) I think it really started taking shape around 2016. I had my own art program by that point and understood things better. It wasn’t perfect and I was still playing with styles and types of characters. Don’t be surprised that my animal-loving heart started to combine itself with anime which resulted in anthropomorphic “furry” characters. I grew up with Digimon, Pokemon, Inuyasha, and such so drawing things with animal-like characteristics was normal for me. 

(Personal character who worked at a Maid Cafe | I wanted to create a manga back then but never went through with it)

I delved into that community for a long time, 2013 - 2016, not drawing pure human-themed pieces for a while. It was near the end of 2016 that I branched back to human art, falling into this fan art corner. It started with anime, once again, but a style wasn’t really there. What I learned by drawing “furry” stuff couldn’t entirely be achieved when drawing human characters. It felt like I was at step one all over again. So I began to sketch again. 

(Old art tumblr | Personal OC that is a cat demon and very inspired by anime) I relied heavily on shows I really liked in that category: Yu Yu Hakusho and Inuyasha being the main examples. Which resorted to some fanart that I tried to go into further detail with. Taking what I learned in the past when it came to lining and coloring.  

I was happy where I was with it but I wanted to take it further. I wanted more realism. I was already trying to draw real-life fictional characters at this point, but it was easy to see how drawing anime stuff prior bled into the style. 

2018 - 2020 was a moment where I decided to focus on realism. I wanted to improve my human and animal art that way. So I found myself, once again, sketching a lot. 

I think this is why I prefer doing a lot of sketchy stuff compared to rendering entire pieces. I still digitally paint, especially animals (and that is what I am often paid for), but I find my human stuff looks good as sketches. So here we are now where my art is this mix of sketches and paintings. Though I occasionally fall back to that anime/comic-like style.

This was a long-winded way of going about answering, but I wanted to give examples that — like with everything, it takes time to hone in a style and skill. 

[sassyduckqueen]

30 Days of Lukanette- Songbird

Only one more chapter to go now! I hope you guys like!

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"So what do you think?" Luka asked as he looked up from his guitar. Marc and Nathaniel were looking at him like he was playing music from heaven or something and Max was grinning. Luka had played him the piece of music he had composed for his game. 

 "Perfect!" He grinned as Markov floated around him. "I knew you were the right person to capture what I wanted. Thank you, Luka,"

 "No worries," Luka smiled, stretching as Marc and Nathaniel came over excited. "You two ok?"

 "We just wanted to show you our latest comic," Marc smiled as Nathaniel handed him the book. Luka took it and flicked through it. It was their take on the battle between Basilisk and the heroes. Luka couldn't help but smile at how well drawn it was. "Basilisk was terrifyingly awesome but we added some context as to why Viperion was akumatized,"

 "We wrote it so Viperion had no other choice. If he didn't get akumatized, Hawkmoth got the miraculous," Nathaniel explained.

 "So to make sure that never happened, he used his second chance to bring him back and allowed himself to be taking over instead," Marc added in. "He is defeated by the hero trio of Silencer, The Illustrator and Reverser after his fearsome glare petrifies all the miraculous holders! What do you think?"

 "That's awesome," Luka grinned, handing it back to them. If only they knew how close to the truth they were. "But why did you make Viperion sacrifice himself?"

 "It seems like something he would do," Nathaniel replied as Marc nodded.

 "Yeah, Viperion comes across very caring. When I met him after I was devilized, he seemed very concerned about my well being. He even caught me when I fell. You know he reminds me of you, Luka. Very cool, very caring, extremely selfless," Marc mused, blushing a little. Sometimes, Luka wondered if Marc and Nathaniel knew more about the heroes then they let on.

 "Maybe he is Viperion?" Nathaniel laughed. "If he changed his hair to green, he would look exactly like him!"

 "Nah!" Alix butted in. "I met Viperion and Luka is way more chill! Besides, Viperion has green eyes and Luka has blue!"

 "Hmm I don't know there's similarities," Marc continued. "Both Luka and Viperion are older then everyone else, both are very kind and both are musicians,"

 "But an he actually play the lyre?" Max pointed out. "All I've seen is him throwing it. A surprisingly effective weapon though,"

 "Umm I look nothing like Viperion... right?" Luka asked, wanting to change the subject. Everyone was way too close to working out he actually was Viperion. Fortunately for him, Rose and Alya had perfect timing and rushed into the art area with Nino. All three of them looked like they had just downed a lot of sugar. "Um... Rose? You ok?"

 "I'm fine but we're just heard the greatest thing ever!" She gasped excitedly as she practically bounced.

 "Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale are filming a new music video!" Alya gasped, looking at everyone in excitement. "And they're holding auditions for extras and the heroes of Paris at the Louvre today! Now!"

 "We must go!" Marc declared.

 "Yes!" Alix joined in. "A chance to meet both Jagged Stone and Clare Nightingale! I'm not missing this!"

 "Our chances of actually meeting the two stars are very slim," Max pointed out, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Less then 10% and our chances of been in the video are even lower!"

 "Don't worry, Max," Alya grinned. "Marinette does Jagged's designs. She's already there!"

 "That does increase our chances to 21%," Max replied. Luka wondered if he should tell them about his mum's past with Jagged. 

 ~At the Louvre~

 "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Sass asked as Luka splashed water on his face. "Our magic disguises you but even so..."

 "Don't worry," He smiled as he adjusted his guitar on his back. "I'm not going to compromise my identity and we'll just be extras. I doubt Jagged and Clara will remember me anyway,"

 "Alright," Sass hissed as he curled up in Luka's pocket. "I trust you,"

 "I know," He smiled as he walked out of the bathroom before joining the others in one of the huge lines. It seemed everyone in France came out to audition. He looked around and frowned as he couldn't see Marinette. He walked over to Juleka and the others, who looked like they were about to explore with excitement. "Hey, where's Mari?"

 Juleka pointed to the stage, where he saw Marinette, Adrien and Kagami all dressed in superhero costumes. He could have face palmed as they were all dressed as their superhero identities. If only people knew but as he looked around, he noticed people seemed completely oblivious to the fact that they all looked like the heroes. He remembered Sass explaining that while their magic causes people to look the other way, it would be wise to avoid something like this. 

 "So how did Marinette get on stage?" He asked. 

 "Oh, Clara insisted on her been Ladybug since she almost got the role last time," Alya explained as Marinette just grinned nervously. "And Adrien's father got him the role again. As for Kagami, I think her mother pressured her into been Ryuko but look how close they look! It's so perfect!"

 "They do look like Ladybug, Cat Noir and Ryuko," Luka commented, hoping no one put two and two together. Marinette's eyes were looking at the auidence. She spotted him and instantly relaxed as she waved a little. He smiled and waved back before Clara came onto the stage, followed by Jagged. The crowd cheered and roared in excitement as she spun around and grinned.

 "Thank you for coming all of you!" Clara declared as Jagged stood next to her. "Now let's work on making this dream come true!"

 "Yeah! Time to rock and roll!" Jagged grinned. "As you can see we have three of our heroes! Allow me to introduce them! You all know Adrien Agreste!"

 The amount of girls that roared made Luka jump a little. 

 "He's gonna be playing Cat Noir!" Jagged declared. "And our Ladybug is my album designer, Marinette Dupain-Cheng!"

 "And last but certainly not least! Our dragon girl without a leash!" Clara rhymed.

 "Kagami Tsurugi, daughter of Tomoe Tsurugi, the legendary dragon fencer of Japan!" Jagged called out. Luka was surprised by the yells that some boys gave out. Kagami merely bowed a little and stood up straight.

 "However, we are still missing our snake!" Clara declared. "We need a Viperion, make no mistake!"

 "Luka, you should totally try out for him," Marc hissed, giving him a thumbs up but Luka shook his head.

 "Let the auditions begin!" Jagged declared before he grabbed a seat. Clara sat next to him and watched as people walked on and tried to play the role of Viperion. Luka frowned as neither of them seem satisfied. A few people came close to looking like him but to both Jagged and Clara, they lacked something.

 "This is hopeless! We're never find our Viperion!" Jagged wailed as the que came to an end.

 "What seems to be the problem?" The voice of Gabriel Agreste asked as his assistant Nathalie came over, holding a tablet that had a video call on it. Luka watched with interest. "No Viperion yet? That is a shame,"

 "We need someone who is wise, kind and smart! Someone who truly loves their art!" Clara sighed before she looked towards the crowd. Her eyes suddenly lit up as she grinned. "Of course, how could I not see? The answer is right in front of me!"

 "I take you have been inspired, Clara. Very good," Gabriel replied, nodding.

 "I have to make sure my thought is true," She replied. "About a dear friend in the color blue,"

 She grabbed a tray of cakes and walked over to the line.

 "You all must be hungry from all this waiting," She declared, walking over with a tray of cakes. "Please, help yourselves,"

 A rush of people caused the gang to get squashed against the barrier. Marc instantly felt panicked. However, it subsided as Luka carefully pushed back people, protecting his friends and Juleka. Clara noticed and smiled to herself as the idea evolved.

 "Oh no, you're all get squashed!" She gasped before un-clipping the barrier rope. Her security gasped as the swamp of fans was unleashed, causing her to drop the cakes and knocking her down. She gasped, overwhelmed but the sound of a guitar caught the attentions of the fans, giving Alix a chance to help her up. She looked over and saw Luka playing his guitar, drawing the attention to him. She stood and instantly squealed before rushing over to him. "Luka Couffaine! I knew it was you. As soon as I saw the color blue!"

 "W-What?" He gasped, ceasing his playing as she rushed over before pulling him over to her. He was completely surprised at the fact that she remembered him. 

 "Sweet Luka, as beautiful as the music you make," She grinned, dancing with him. "Will you do the honor of been our snake?"

 "M-Me?" He gasped, surprised. "Oh, I'm nothing like Viperion! Really, someone else sho-"

 "Luka, your heart is pure and true," She sang, spinning him around before she looked at him. "I think this would be a perfect role for you,"

 He looked over at Marinette, Adrien and Kagami. He did come to be with his friends and they were his friends. After all, Marinette was his girlfriend. He looked over at the others, who gave him thumbs up and grinned. He looked back at Clara before looking at Marinette again. She gave him a thumbs , meaning

 "My sweet kind boy, please say yes!" She sang. "You really would be the very best!"

 However before he could answer, XY and Bob Roth stormed in, looking very confident. To his surprise, XY was wearing a cheap Viperion outfit. He instantly shoved Luka out of the way and grinned at Clara.

 "No need to use such a loser," He declared as he bowed. "Your Viperion is here,"

 "Ummm," Clara frowned as she looked over at XY. She sighed softly and turned to the tablet. "Gab, what do you think? I don't mind XY been in the video-"

 "The boy in blue would be preferrable. He looks like he would fix in with our heroes and I'm sure he's a friend of my son," He mumbled, looking at him. "Boy, what's your name?"

 "Luka, sir," He mumbled, feeling a bit overwhelmed. 

 "You're friends with my son, correct?" 

 "Y-yes, sir," 

 "And you know the girls?"

 "Yes, sir. Kagami is a friend and Marinette is my girlfriend," He replied.

 "Knowing the other 'heroes' is perfect and you're the correct height and build but if you do not wish to play our Viperion, I won't make you," He replied, giving Luka a glare never the less. Though Luka felt that this was Gabriel Agreste's natural expression. He made a mental note to ask Adrien later. Bob Roth cleared his throat.

 "This punk is no where near as talented as my son-"

 "I'll do it," Luka blurted out, shocking XY and Bob Roth as Clara squealed in happiness.

 "Oh, Luka! You've made my day!" She sang, spinning around. "Now off the the changing room that way!"

 She pointed to them as a member of the tech team lead him to the changing room. They gave him the outfit and he went inside before getting changed. Sass flew up and sat on the vanity case. Luka moved around.

 "Wow, this is a perfect fit," He mumbled as he looked around. Sass checked out the outfit as Luka put on the mask. "How do I look?"

 "Like Viperion," Sass replied, admiring the details on the outfit. "This is made so well. The craftman ship, the material. It's perfect,"

 "Do you think people will work out that I'm Viperion?"

 "No," Sass replied. "No one has even battered at eyelid at the other three despite the fact that they look like their heroes selves. Besides, your hair is currently blue and your eyes are blue. When you're Viperion, they all turn green. Even if you look like the real deal, people will think otherwise because of those features,"

 "Clever," He replied. "Hey, why are my eyes and hair green when I transform?"

 "The look is what you desire," Sass answered. "I would guess on a subconscious level you want to define yourself from Viperion,"

 "So I make myself as different as I can,"

 "That or you just really like the color green," Sass shrugged, making Luka smile before someone knocked on the door. Sass hid as Luka opened the door.

 "You ready, Luka?" The techie asked.

 "Yeah," Luka replied, coming out of the trailer and walking over. He waved at his friends as they cheered out and stood next to Marinette, who looked more nervous then before. "You ok?"

 "Y-yeah... just freaking out inside," She gasped. "I think I have stage fright,"

 "Don't worry. You'll be fine," He smiled, making her relax as Clara span over. Luka noticed that Bob Roth and XY had gone. He felt a little more relieved.

 "You four are perfect so let's begin!" She called out. "It's time to have fun, dance and sing!"

 "Not so fast, Miss Nightingale," Bob Roth appeared with Mayor Bourgeois. Both men looked annoyed as they walked over. "Sorry, kids but this video is cancelled. No filming will be done today,"

 "W-what?" Marinette gasped.

 "Mr Roth, you can't just walk in here and shut us down. Miss Nightingale and Jagged don't work for you-"

 "You're right there, Miss Rolling but they need certain permission to-"

 "We got the permission, Bob!" Jagged called out. "Penny made sure we had it. Didn't you Penny?"

 "Yes I did,"

 "Ah but you see as the mayor of Paris, it goes to my office and I'm afraid I have no such paperwork," Mayor Bourgeois grinned, smugly. Luka frowned deeply. "Since you have no paperwork, you can't have your video filmed here until you filed it,"

 "But I did file it!" Penny gasped.

 "Clearly not," Bob Roth laughed. Luka gripped his hand into a fist. 

 "It's obvious that you had it destroyed because your son isn't in the video!" He gasped but Bob laughed.

 "I destroyed nothing and you can't prove I did," He grinned. "Too bad. I was looking forward to you failing, Mr Couffaine. You better clear up. The mayor wants the musem back to open in an hour,"

 With that, he laughed and walked off. Clara sank onto her knees as Penny and Jagged moved over to her. Luka frowned deeply and moved across to them but before he could, Clara ran off and Jagged followed. Marinette walked over as Penny began to clear out people and the tech team started to take down the set.

 "Something similar happened last time she tried to do a song about the heroes," She mumbled, taking his hand before whispering. "Maybe we're just cursed,"

 "I refuse to believe that," He whispered back as Adrien and Kagami walked over.

 "We should all get changed. Father will want the costumes back until they can start filming again," Adrien replied, looking over at where Clara had ran off too. Luka nodded and they all began to walk off towards the changing rooms but the room were suddenly destroyed by a sound wave. The four of them gasped as they looked up and saw both Clara and Jagged on top of a trailer, only they were their akumatized selves. 

 "I don't where you all think you're going but we're making this video today!" Guitar Villain declared before beginning to play his guitar.

 "Get back!" Luka called out, rushing over with Marinette to pull people back from the falling bricks as Guitar Villain trapped everyone inside. Luka looked around and started to direct other people to answer exit. As people started to escape, he began to sneak away.

 "You two, don't you dare go!" Frightingale sang as she jumped in front of Kagami and Luka. He had noticed Adrien and Marinette had managed to slip away. "You're the stars of my video!"

 She then hit the two of them and others with her whip before laugh. 

 "Sing, dance or rhythm! Or you're be frozen in no time!" She declared as people started to turn into crimson statues.

 "We have to sing, rhythm or dance," Kagami frowned as she moved her body to a slightly rhythm. "Or we'll be frozen like the rest of France,"

 "Not an issue for me," Luka grinned. "Music and art is second nature to me,"

 "Oh a natural bravo," Fighteningale grinned as the four of them danced. "You even have the right tempo,"

 She jumped away as Cat Noir and Ladybug jumped through the window and began to fight her. Guitar Villain joined in as Luka looked around. 

 "We need a plan, we need to fight," Kagami growled. "We can't just dance for the rest of the night,"

 "Agreed, my friend," He stated. "But to no end,"

 He noticed the stage production and the two of them rushed over there. He looked around as he kept up the dance before noticing the smoke machine.

 "I have an idea. That smoke machine," He sang. "It was cause quite the scene,"

 "Good thinking, Snake," She grinned as he turned it on and put it on the highest setting. "Trouble is ours to make,"

 "Yes but the heroes need to come to play," He stated as the smoke covered them. "It's time for Viperion and Ryuko to save the day,"

 The two of them ran to a place for cover, even though the fog machine was thick enough to hide them. Ryuko frowned to herself before she clicked.

 "I've been hit in my civilian form," She sang. "So Longg, bring the storm!"

 She transformed as Cat Noir and Ladybug got hit. She joined the battle as Sass popped out, doing a little dance of his own. Luka rose an eyebrow but didn't question it.

 "If I don't sing or dance, then I'll wither," He sang to himself. "Time to say. Sass, scales slither!"

 He transformed into Viperion and joined the battle. Frightingale went to lash out another person so he dived in the way and took the hit before jumping up and landed a kick. It worked perfectly because then people would thinking he got hit as Viperion. She stumbled back but laughed.

 "Sing, dance or rhythm! Or you'll be frozen in no time!" She cackled as he back flipped away.

 "I hope you have a plan," He stated, dancing. Ladybug frowned and shrugged.

 "Last time, we defeated her by been chained together," Cat Noir sang. "But she has guitar Villain with her, she's more powerful then ever,"

 "If we are to win and save France, then I better activate my..." Viperion sang as he flicked back the head of the snake. "Second Chance!"

 "Awesome solo!" Guitar Villain cried out, causing the heroes to jump out the way.

 "The only way to get the upper arm is for me to summon my.... Lucky Charm!" Ladybug called out as she threw up her yoyo as the other three danced. She frowned to herself as a cable appeared out of thin air.

 "A cable? Great, that's our only hope. I guess it's better then a rope," Cat Noir stated as she looked around. The guitar resting against the wall lit up as did the speakers and Viperion. She grinned before turning to Viperion. 

 "I know what to do," She grinned. "We need a guitar player and that has to be you,"

 "She wants a world full of song," He grinned. "Guess I have to play along,"

 "Cat Noir, use your power on the guitar to bring harm," Ladybug grinned. "You know the opposite to my Lucky charm,"

 "And what of me? What can I do?"

 "Help me destroy the mic of you know who,"

 Viperion rushed over to the guitar and plugged it in before he started to play, getting the attention of Guitar Villain and Frighteningale. Cat Noir landed a kick to Guitar Villain and destroyed his guitar using his power as Ryuko and Ladybug took out Frighteningale's microphone. The little butterfly escaped just as Viperion turned into a crimson statue. Ladybug purified it then grabbed the cable and threw them into the air.

 "Miraculous Ladybug!" She shouted, restoring everything before the four of them fist bumped each other before going off their separate ways. Luka came back into the studio as Marinette and the others rushed over to him.

 "Are you ok?!" Marinette gasped, knowing full well he was but she hugged him anyway. Clara and Jagged walked over.

 "We've decided not to make the video," She sighed, causing everyone to frown. "However, onward with the show,"

 "Both me and Clara are working a song called Songbird and we need a guitarist to play since Vivica is on holiday," Jagged started before looking at Luka. "Would you like to be our guitarist on this song?"

 "Me?" He gasped, surprised as everyone gave him words of encouragement. He looked over at Marinette, who grinned. "Yeah.. I'd love to!"

 "Awesome!" Jagged grinned. "Marinette will be doing the designs for the album it will be released on, right Marinette?"

 "Of course!"

[dotzines]

Artist spotlight: Lunarin-Arts!

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Header source: [X]  

Introduce yourself I am Lonneke! But online I prefer going by the name Rumii. I am currently 20 years old and I live in the Netherlands. In my spare time I like drawing (of course), Cosplaying and Gaming. I used to be really into anime, And I still have favourites like Kamisama hajimemashita, Black butler and hetalia. But right now I am more of an artist/ gamer. In which I play alot of Overwatch, which would be my main fandom. and Story rich games like NieR; Automata. I love meeting new people, and especially other artists. Even though I tend to be a bit shy at first //especially in large groups Nonetheless I hope we can get along!! And Im very excited to try out zines. as I have never done them before. When did you start drawing? Are you a digital or traditional artist? I started drawing in last grade of primary school, so around the age of 11/12. I primarily started out traditionally, but quickly picked up on digital art. Mainly using MS Paint when I just started out. Next thing I know I had a drawing tablet and extensively used Paint tool SAI. So I would say I am a digital artist. Though I do traditional as well, but I don't upload traditional art as much.  Do you use any traditional mediums? If so, which are your favorites? I have! for traditional work I just use whatever pencils I have around for sketching. Micron fineliners for Linearting. I don't color my works often, but have started getting some copic markers, pro markers and twin markers to try out. I like using the copic markers alot, they are very expensive.. but I can just feel how much better the quality is compared to my other markers.

image source: [X]   Why do you prefer traditional over digital? (or viceversa) I highly prefer digital, mainly because it's way more easy to manipulate your works, edit any smaller mistakes without having to draw them over again. and from lineart on, nothing you do is permanent. Plus I can use way more colors than I can on traditional mediums right now. What do you think is the most challenging part about being a traditional/digital artist? I think the biggest challenges for me were getting accustomed to my drawing tablet. I mean it really takes some time to get used to the pressure, and it really feels different than draiwng directly on paper. and after that getting familiar with the drawing programs. I just switched programs again and I am still figuring out all the tools. So even though I think digital mediums make things alot more easy, it takes a long time to get everything out of it. even years later you can discover a function you never knew of. which will elevate your art even more. What inspires your pieces? I take inspiration from various places, I like doing challenges, or just fanart. but also alot from music. it can get me into a certain mood or I can just see a piece that fits with the music. and then try sketching it out while listening to this song. I also like looking around for special things like 'mermay' for example. Look at the themes and just try to imagine what kind of piece I can do with that.

image source: [X]   Explain your "everyday" drawing process I kinda take I gotta explain how I get through an artwork? well, first of course I try to find my inspiration. Or I already have a vague idea of what I want to do. And I make a super super rough sketch. then I go over it and add slightly more details. My sketches are still usually very messy. but I love that when I lineart I can make everything pretty and detailed. and it looks better compared to the sketch. Which is obviously my next step. After that I lay down base coloring in seperate layers. Always starting with skincolor > Haircolor > eyes > bigger parts of clothes > smaller parts of clothes > details If I have background I try to go with the biggest parts like the sky or ground or whatever first. and move up from bigger to smaller things pretty much. I work very organized so I always have my layers in different maps. Usually one for each character, and for the entire BG. sometimes also different ones for different parts of the background. so it's easy to find back if I have to fix something in a certain part of my artwork. Besides this I also sometimes do more painted works, I have only done those in portraits so far. But in those I made the sketch > put colors below it > merge layers > start the shading part by part on top of it. usually working back to front on which colors overlap eachother Do you have an artist you admire (or more than one)?

I have a few people I know that inspire me, like Chance-To-Draw on DA ( https://www.deviantart.com/chance-to-draw ) And my best friend of mine who doesn't really upload her works anywhere anymore ;;-;; So I can only admire her through our discord server >< I also love Lord_Gris (https://www.instagram.com/lord_gris/) alot! And Rosuuri (https://www.instagram.com/rosuuriart/) ofc those are a few well-known artists. I follow alot more people with amazing art but gosh I can't possibly list all of them here >< I just like seeing a variety of different art styles and OC's Is there an artwork you are most proud of? Why? Right now I'd say this one; http://fav.me/dd4acw5 I just..love how the coloring turned out. this was a really hard painted piece to do aaa >< especially her hair. But Im just so happy with it! I really feel like I have been improving my coloring again lately and I can't get enough of it jgkdhf

Do you listen to music (or tv shows/films/anything else) when drawing? YEees, I listen to vocaloid covers alot, actually. also covers from other things. just..alot of covers. or original fanbase songs ahah A few examples here; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwMZhdyZHVI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNoy_b_JYU0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPMhkIiapIA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPw-0vctJJQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Tr014nQ4pk

image source: [X]   What makes art interesting for you? For me it started alot as a way to vent my emotions. It calms me down to draw when I am sad, angry or happy even. I love being able to look back and see the improvement. and know that in 2 years I will once again look back at the stuff I am currently very proud of. and know I can already do so much better than that! This is really what keeps it interesting to me, I think. What do you do when art block strikes? //Cry// Jk, To be honest. I either try to break through and search for any inspiration. Or I just call it a day and go game or listen to music. In the last 1.5/2 years I have had a massive art block. I was dissapointed in my own art. didn't know what to draw anymore. and didn't see the point of continuing. Just recently I found a new art program. which in this case helped me get out of this huge slump. and I'm ready to be a bit more active. and get into new projects and broaden my horizon's in general What’s the most valuable art advice you’ve ever received?

Well, I haven't asked for alot of advice before. but a while ago I sortof got the advice to use references more often. After which I feel alot less afraid to do so. and feel like my works are getting alot better. and I find it easier to start on things after searching for pose or background refs

[coe-lilium]

Hey Lilium! I love your Servant redesigns! I'm starting to learn to draw digitally so that I can design Servants myself, like Kriemhild. Would you have any advice you could give me on this?

Hi! Thank you so much for your words!

I’m a bit unsure if you’re asking for tips on digital art itself or on chara design?  

In doubt, I’m going to go with “digital art” in this post, if you meant chara des hit me up with an ask and I’ll happily provide for that :) 

*necessary intro*: please consider that my art education ended 10 years ago and never prepared me for more stylized/cartoon styles, so I’m self taught for almost all intents (100% regarding digital art).

Long wall of text under the cut:

First suggestion is to get a good, reliable art program. 

Plenty of artists use Paint Tool SAI and Clip Studio Paint (currently using CSP myself and don’t plan to ever abandon it). Neither of them is free but both are less pricey than Adobe bundles and both were created more for illustrating than “photoshopping” purposes. There’s plenty more but those are two I used and can recommend. Many art programs usually offer a 30 days trial so my suggestion would be to try them out and see which is more to your liking and offers the best quality/price wise.  

By personal experience, it’s much better to pay and have support than to find a free unofficial version and then get fucked and lose all your works when you update your operating system and discover the bootleg program doesn’t work anymore. Learn from me, don’t risk it.     

Next suggestion, get a drawing tablet or a tablet. Nothing too pricey as a beginner, when paired with a good program any decent tablet will do its job. What you really need is pen pressure, everything else is optional. People draw on their iPads with great results but never having tried I can’t give suggestions here, if not to look for artist who do and see how they work (YT surely has tutorials ‘bout it).   

With hardware and software out of the way, let’s get down to proper drawing business:  

First of all, forget that “but you’re not a real artist if you use references/copy poses” noise: use references, use all the references you want. 

If you want to paint a starry sky and don’t know how to rend the effect, maybe the glowing of a nebula? Look up Youtube and Deviantart tutorials, tumblr tutorials, look up on how all the artist you like paint and their tips, all the IRL photos in google. 

Something I personally find very helpful are tutorials comparing realistic and stylized styles and showing how to go from one to another, how to simplify shapes etc.    

Renaissance artist invented the darkroom/camera oscura to help them drawing perspective and then traced over that shit. If Caravaggio traced to save time, then so can we. 

And there’s so many different ways to reach a similar result that maybe your first attempts will look like copycats of that tutorial you saw or that really inspiring artist. It’s fine. But the more attempts and the more you play with your program of choice, brushes you like/find more comfortable, the more you look up different sources and integrate bits of them all in a singular piece, the more your work will be distinct.

Now, onto one of the big elephants in the room: do you know how to correctly sketch a human body from scratch? If yes, amazing! (all my respect). 

If not, there’s plenty of solutions without having to learn how to (which is the way I currently work bc drawing is a 100% hobby and I’d rather spend my time elsewhere than in re-learning human anatomy) and working digitally makes these solutions way easier. 

After you find a “how to draw anatomy” book or blog or tutorials and safely store it somewhere safe to go back and reference, then you can 

1. find stock photos, either from google (be careful not to use copyrighted stuff) or in bundles specifically created for artists to use as bases or references. On Deviantart for example there’s SenshiStock, incredible project with hundreds of photos free to use. The anatomy book/blog here will be useful if you want a certain body shape and your reference doesn’t match with your idea. 

2. chose a program like CSP or similar that comes with 3D stock poses which you can then alter as much as you like in size, weight, rotation, light direction, position of every body part down to each finger (in CSP’s case, you can also download plenty more free to use poses, brushes, 3d objects, patterns etc created by the userbase and shared in the library bundled with the program).  

3. if your main art program doesn’t come with human poses? no problem at all, get one just for this specific purpose, like Design Doll (both free/pay ver, imo free ver is more than enough), Posemaniacs (free, online, uses flash), MagicPoser (free with option of in-app purchases, it’s an app, good reviews, just tried it a little and seems quite good). 

4. less conventional but imo still useful, especially if you want to draw in “anime” style and proportions for Servants designs: go to My figure collections and use figmas. 

They’re highly posable plastic figures from the most different jp (and not) characters, each one with a photo gallery and as long as you modify the final piece and -important!- don’t sell it if you base it on a specific user photo? I’d say go for it. Or mix body parts of different figmas, or use the “archetype” products, naked bodies made precisely for drawing bases, there’s options with both more “anime” and more realistic proportion. 

I collect them for both owning Fate/other characters without spending a fortune and for drawing references and I find them quite well suited for this purpose. Why on earth despair if I’d ever want to draw Arturia in armor when I can just grab my figma of her, pose it, take a photo and then draw on it? :P

Now, hardware and software check, way to find poses check, what else? 

Layers are your best friends. For example, Bradamante? A good 50+ layers, some of them stored in folders so I could just select and deselect them to remove or put on mantle, lance, shield, sword etc. Just... remember to name them to save yourself a lot of time.  

And changing a layer’s opacity too, especially to draw the definitive lineart over the first rough sketch or for shading or highlights.    

The more I write the more I find things to write about so I’ll call it for now, this post is already a WoT as it is. Hopefully I was of use, but if you need more, ask right away and I’ll do my best! :)               

[ennergetics]

FILLED REQUEST: down with love, a fuckboi! seongwu au

(image credit)

pairing: ong seongwu x reader genre: fluff, angst wordcount: 3023 summary: Ong Seongwu is the campus’s resident type-A fuckboy. when you, an unknown writer, attempt to steal his spotlight, he tries to get revenge by making you fall in love with him. warnings: provocative situations, but nothing too steamy (inspired by the movie of the same name! same verse as the sungwoon prince au, but with a different reader + earlier time period. cross-posted on ao3.)

one | two

Each term, Ong Seongwu beats three of his own personal records: the number of features editors who’ve quit at the campus publication he heads; the amount of attention its social media has garnered under his editorship; and the size of his contacts list, the names of interviewees mingling with those of all the people he’s slept with.

Everybody on campus knows Ong Seongwu, and he wants to keep it that way. A consummate professional, he entered university knowing exactly what he wanted and how he was going to get there. After all, one doesn’t become an excellent reporter and social media influencer overnight; Seongwu built his brand through hard work, god-given good looks, and a knack for making people laugh. He flirts with all of them and fucks them without batting an eyelash, and none of them can say they didn’t know what they signed up for.

Yes, it’s easy to fall for Seongwu, with a story like his: a talented boy on scholarship with big dreams, eager to find someone to share his life with. The best lies are half-truths, after all. Seongwu does work hard, but he doesn’t think there’s a place in his life for love. Still, that doesn’t mean he can’t have fun, and he’s broken the many hearts of people who’ve wanted more.

PRODUCE, the publication he helped found as a freshman, is his current project and only love. He can’t help it if all the features editors up to this point have fallen hopelessly in love with him, tried to change him, and quit their jobs after failing. They were then banned from ever returning to PD101, the fond nickname for the publication’s office on campus. It’s been Seongwu’s home for his entire stay at college, and no simple flings would be able to drive him out of there.

Seongwu is at his usual spot in PD101, alternating between scrolling through PRODUCE’s social media accounts and editing the article queued for publishing within the week, when someone clears their throat.

“Boss, I’ve got an interesting piece you might want to look at.” The current features editor is a deceptively quiet boy with a knack for finding the best stories. Park Woojin quite easily turned down Seongwu’s early attempts at banter, and Seongwu’s glad to find an editor who might actually last till the end of the year and beyond. Woojin is clever enough that Seongwu might bring him onto the team when he expands PRODUCE beyond the campus, but that’s not important right now. If Woojin says a story’s got promise, Seongwu’s willing to bet on it.

He takes the tablet from Woojin and skims the article someone sent in to their submissions email. The sender, one L/N Y/N, doesn’t even have a picture up on their profile, which is a red flag for Seongwu. He gives it a cursory read-through, his expression souring as he gets further. It’s well-written, sure, but the article hinges on a tip for those lost in love: take control of their romantic lives ‘by not fucking scrubs more than once.’

He vaguely remembers what the word means: it’s a gender-neutral word for “fuckboy” that was popular in the ‘90s. Seongwu snorts. “Of course we’re not publishing this. It’s barely worth the minute I gave it my attention.” He doesn’t really think that, but PRODUCE is his magazine and he’s not going to publish anything so contrary to his own lifestyle. There’s something about this piece that feels like a personal attack, though Seongwu can’t quite place his finger on it. Before texting his next hook-up for the week, he gives Woojin a look; Woojin shrugs; and that’s the end of that.

Two days later, everyone on campus is talking about an explosive blog post promoted through the school’s online billboard system, titled “DOWN WITH LOVE.” Seongwu checks out the link and finds a more polished version of what had been sent in, complete with properly sourced memes and gifs. That annoys Seongwu enough, but now none of his regular fuck buddies will pick up his calls or reply to his texts—that is, except for the three who sent him a link to the blog post.

Seongwu looks you up and discovers you’re quite attractive, your photos tastefully shot and social media clean. He’s scrolling through your twitter when he sees a question about whom you think ‘the worst scrubs on campus’ are.  There’s only one name there: his. “Never met him, but everybody tells me he’s an ass,” your answer says.

That’s the moment he decides he’s going to get his revenge. Ong Seongwu doesn’t lose, and it should be easy enough to make you fall in love with a self-proclaimed fuckboy like himself. You’ve never met him—in fact, you refuse to meet with him or any of the PRODUCE staffers—and his carefully curated social media means he can control his image perfectly. Seongwu puts on glasses, parts his hair in the middle, and borrows from his friend Jisung’s wardrobe, making himself practically unrecognizable, then sets himself up as a new student in your project management class.

Adopting a Busan accent that’s a passable approximation of Woojin’s way of speaking, Seongwu strikes up conversation with you. “Hey,” he says softly, “have you got a copy of the syllabus? I just shifted into this class.”

“I do,” you say, your tone oddly hopeful. “You don’t know who I am?” You look surprised that he’s talking to you. He imagines you must not be popular; infamous, yes, but you probably didn’t make many friends publishing and promoting your post like that. Your campus is filled with easily identified scrubs who probably didn’t take too kindly to having their beds suddenly empty.

Seongwu cocks his head in a way he knows makes hearts flutter, blinking at you. “No, should I?”

“No, no, not at all!” you say, a grin lighting up your face. “Here, I’ve got it on my phone.” You hand him your phone, and Seongwu makes sure your fingers touch his. He exaggerates his reaction, looking down with a sheepish smile, but he feels his cheeks turn warm. Seongwu shakes his head. It’s been a while, he tells himself, and that’s all it is.

The class starts and he has no chance to return your phone. You’re engrossed in the professor’s explanation—something about the various management frameworks, and Seongwu realizes he’s in over his head here as a communications major—but you glance at him occasionally, worrying your lower lip with your teeth.

Within ten minutes, the class is over, the first day a simple explanation of the syllabus. Seongwu doesn’t need to graduate with Latin honours, but he wants to. This class is beginning to look like an obstacle, and he curses how foolhardy he was with this plot. It spoke volumes about how much you’d shaken up his routine. Still, there was a way for him to kill two birds with one stone.

“Um, thank you for lending me your phone,” he says, scratching at the back of his head. “It’d be great if we could be study buddies?” Seongwu says, letting his hair fall over his forehead just so. “I’m Hong Sungwoon, but my friends call me Ong. They say I’m too much of an old man,” he says, chuckling. This way, you’ll use a name he’ll recognize, but won’t know it’s him.

You’re smiling up at him, then he sees a spark in your eyes. Bullseye. “Maybe I should get your number, Ong-sshi,” you say. “It wouldn’t be hard to study with a cute face like yours beside me.”

Seongwu covers his mouth with his hand. “Gosh,” he says, “I’ve never had anyone be this forward with me before, especially not someone as attractive as you.” Your eyes soften, and Seongwu admits it’s a look that makes him feel warm inside. He almost feels bad about how he’s going to break your heart.

“Then we’ll both be lucky,” you say, handing him your phone. Your fingers linger at his arm, tracing a light pattern on his bicep as Seongwu inputs his number. He ignores the shiver up his spine at your lazy smile, keeping the act up and trembling slightly when he hands your phone back.

Your first study session is in the following week, right before a quantitative quiz Seongwu has no idea how to answer. Hong Sungwoon is a man afraid of crowds, so the two of you study at the roof of the old biology building, a spot you’ve apparently been keeping to yourself since you got to university. It’s conveniently near PD101, so everything works out for Seongwu.

He’s sitting with his side flushed against yours, watching you push up your glasses every few moments while explaining the necessary diagrams to him. When he feels you shiver at the chill, he places an arm around you as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “You shouldn’t be cold,” he says, wide-eyed.

You grin up at him, snuggling closer and leaning your head on his shoulder. The hand with the papers you’re scribbling on falls onto his upper thigh, and when you show how the items flow from one department to another, he feels the pressure of your finger against his skin.

The rest of the session continues like this, with Seongwu finding excuses for innocent touches here and there, with you escalating each one. Your breathing becomes shallow, a cute flush beginning to show on your skin. Seongwu resists the urge to pull you into a kiss, internally reminding himself of the part he has to play. It’s when you’re done explaining the whole lesson, practically sitting in his lap, when you turn to him and place your hand on his chest.

You draw your face close to his and whisper against his mouth. “Ong,” you say, looking into his eyes, “how would you feel about lessons of a different kind?” And Seongwu springs away as if burned, sputtering while trying to hide his laugh at how corny your line had been.

“I couldn’t possibly do that, Y/N-sshi!” he says. “I mean, I’ve never really done that kind of thing before, and I want to save myself for someone special, you know?” But before you can say anything else, he adds, “I would certainly be honoured to take you out on a date, though. You seem swell, and I’d love to get to know you better.”

Seongwu sees you considering it, and for a moment he’s worried you won’t take the bait. “I mean,” he says, pressing his hand into the small of your back, as if he doesn’t feel you shuddering under his touch, “it’s hard for me to control myself when you’re so pretty, but you could be...”His fingers curl up, scratching lightly against your shirt in a way he knows you’ll feel. “…you could be my first.”

He’s got you there, and right after a grueling, fifty-point quiz, he takes you out to a small hole-in-the-wall restaurant. The auntie running the kitchen waves at him when he ushers you in, flashing both of you a big smile. “I’m not the most well-off,” he says, milking your sympathy. As you look around with wide eyes, though, he feels his throat itch with apprehension. In a way, this is an honest side of himself, one no one, especially not his hook-ups, ever get to see.

“I love it,” you say solemnly. He orders for the both of you, and you dig into the home-cooked meals with gusto. Seongwu makes sure to feed you once or twice, ignoring how your tongue slips out to lick the rich sauces off your lips. The whole time, you both talk about how you ended up at the university, Seongwu giving you a sanitized version of his history, omitting how cutthroat he’d been throughout the years while building his virtual empire. He finds out that you’re just as driven as he is, with a mind skilled at data visualization and a minor in publication management.

You insist on splitting the bill, but the auntie surprises you both by telling you the meal is free. “This young man is a regular customer, and I’m happy to see him finally out on a date,” she says, and Seongwu thanks the stars for having her back up the alibi he’s given.

He walks you home, and at your doorstep, you give him a kiss that tastes like auntie’s best tteokbokki, and Seongwu deepens the kiss for a moment before remembering the long-term plan. You’re breathing hard when he pulls away, your pupils dilated and your grip on his neck tight. “Come in,” you say breathily, your hand moving to stroke at his jaw.

“I-I’m not sure that’s a great idea,” Seongwu says, though every bone in his body—as well as all the blood that rushed south at the feel of your hips against his—disagrees. “I’ll see you in class next week.” He kisses you on the cheek before extracting himself from your grasp.

Numerous dates and study sessions go by, with your hands wandering his body more and more desperately and his famous self-control slowly but surely being eroded by your touch. One night he gives in and you make out on your couch, his grip around your waist tight as you grind against each other. He waits till you come and leaves with a terrible case of blue balls, insisting on being a gentleman all the while. Never mind how dirty his groans are when he jacks off later in the shower, your name on his lips. As he leans his head against the shower stall, his heavy pants fogging up the glass, Seongwu thinks something has to be done.

You’re at one of the smaller study halls, one rarely frequented by students, when Seongwu decides it’s time to enact the final phase of his plan. He ignores the uneasy feeling at the back of his mind, willing himself not to feel anything when you thread your fingers between his. For once, the two of you aren’t caught up studying, and he pulls you to a rarely visited section of the hall, where you crowd him against the bookshelf and pull his lips to your own.

Your lips are puffy and his hair’s a mess when he pulls away, stilling the gentle grind of your hips with one steady hand. “I’m not sure,” he says, putting all the confusion and turmoil he’s feeling into his next words. “I think—I think you’re the one for me, but I don’t know how you feel.”

Seongwu’s set up a hidden camera on the top shelf, ready to record your confession for posting at prime-time. Everything’s in place for him to succeed, but he can’t deny the apprehension he feels. He wants you to confess because it means he wins, that you’re a hypocrite who doesn’t walk your talk. But part of him wants you to confess because he wants to know how you’ve felt about these last three months you’ve spent together.

You sigh once. Seongwu holds his breath. “I’m in love with you. I wrote an article decrying love and its associated pains, but it all feels like a lifetime ago. You’ve made me so happy these past three months. It was impossible for me not to fall for you.” And Seongwu smiles, having won both your heart and the competition you hadn’t even known about.

“That is, if I hadn’t fallen for you already, Ong Seongwu.”

You stand on your tiptoes and reach for the camera, switching it off. Seongwu’s jaw hangs open, and while he’s staring at you wordlessly, you begin to speak. “A year ago, an impressionable junior applied for the features editor opening at PRODUCE magazine. I needed some experience for minor credits, and yours was one of the most-talked-about and better-run among the accessible publications. I was starstruck by you then, so smooth and suave and skilled. You knew precisely what you wanted and how to get it.

“I told myself that I wouldn’t sleep with you, even as your flirting got more intense. It’s easy enough to fall in lust with you, Seongwu, but the sides you showed during the magazine’s times of trouble, the rare moments you bared your heart—in the end, I fell hard. You took me to bed during the Christmas party and never talked to me again.”

Seongwu’s brows furrow. “So you wanted revenge by getting me to date you?”

“No, you silly boy,” you say, reaching out to touch Seongwu’s face. “I just wanted you to like me. I knew it’d be irresistible to you, the idea of making someone crack, to the point that you’d let down your cool exterior and be the you no one else gets to see.”

He’s floored. There it is, that feeling again, of being bested by someone else—the same someone, no less—but it’s overshadowed by the realization that everything you’re saying is true. Maybe he hasn’t fallen in love with you just yet, but he’s certainly getting there. Ironically enough, words aren’t always easy for him, and he hasn’t verbalized the meaning behind his enthusiasm as he checks for your messages in the morning; the energy he feels after laughing in class with you; the tenderness of your interlinked arms as he walks you home.

“I do like you,” he says, “more than I knew. More than I should. But we can be happy now, can’t we? I’ll release this cover story, we’ll go on dates for real, I’ll ask you to go steady, and we’ll live a good life, or whatever it is always comes at the end of romantic comedies.”

You look troubled for the first time, and Seongwu feels the seed of worry grow. “I can’t. So many people here on campus are better off because of me. No more awful ghosting, no more one-night stands that they expected more from, and no more silly attachments.” You shrug before pulling him close. “I’ll miss you.”

Taking the camera with you, you smile sadly, giving Seongwu one last chaste kiss. “I guess I’m a down-with-love kid, after all.”

[areallyyellowmango]

Hello ! I am a 14-years-old artist and since you're young as well, I would like to know if you have any advice to young artists who are trying to get a little noticed like me ? Also, any digital art tips ? Ty if you answer !!

Hey there anon! Thank you for asking! ♥ That is a subjetc I really like talking about cause it’s something that, honestly, is not very easy and can be very different for different people. Getting your art noticed at first can seem like an impossible mission, especially if, like me, you’re still climbing your way towards “essential” improvement, and by essential I mean the fundamentals of art, like anatomy, composition and other theorical stuff. As an artist that is still in the middle of this process, I feel so honored to know someone wants my advice to get through steps I’ve gone through, that means I’m progressing well, so thank you for that ♥ But anyhow, I’ll try to sum up what I feel like are very very VERY important tips for young artists, based on what I’ve learned/self taught myself throughout the years. c:1) Don’t do it to get noticed; do it for fun. Of course, feels so good to get a fantastic feedback from followers and other dear mutuals, it’s just amazing! But it’s a human being fact: when we turn fun into work, it becomes boring and stressful. When I started the blog, I pushed myself to post every single day. I thought that if I was very active, I’d be noticed more quickly. At first it was okay, I learned a lot of stuff really quickly trying and trying repeatedly. But it soon started feeling like another source of pressure in my life. So I went back to how I did before, drawing for fun, doing it cause I love it, cause it’s my passion, working to improve, and it all got so much better. Being noticed should not be your main fuel, love should. And all the rest comes as a consequence of how much love you put in what you do. Not only in art, but everything in life.2) Practice. Practice a lot. Never stop.Right after having fun, improving myself as much as I can is the second main thing I focus. There’s a quote that I like that goes: “May you be pleased with your work, but never satisfied”. Keep on practicing, constantly. I recommend keeping a sketchbook with you, and trying to make yourself draw some sketches on it every single day. But keep in mind: It doesn’t have to be perfect! It shouldn’t be! Make gesture drawings, scribbles, doodles, sketches. Draw from life or from your mind. If you like drawing faces, draw many different faces, experiment shapes and styles. Challenge yourself to draw something you’re not good at. No need to push yourself to make it perfect on your first tries, keeping on trying is the key for any young and specially self-taught artist. If your art achieves what the viewers looks for in quality, it’ll be noticed sooner or later.3) When it comes to getting your art more noticed, focusing on fanarts might make it easier.Okay that might sound weird, but it’s true. Starting out and gaining some popularity as an OC artist is DAAAAAMN HARD. At first, my blog was gonna be OC focused. I kinda gave up cause 1) I noticed I didn’t really wanna draw OCs anymore for a while :’) and 2) As we know, fanarts are much more likely to get noticed than original characters arts. Luckly for me, I love the AoT fandom so much and it was quite easy for me to feel like an active part in it when I started trying. It’s a really nice fandom overall in my opinion, which accepts all kinds of art pretty well, so it’s a good starting point for you. Of course, if your original art is good and innovating it’ll gain popularity with certain ease as well, but it’s not that common for young and begginer artists like us to expect that from ourselves right off the bat so I guess that’s worth saying.4) Find mutuals/fellow artists/your inspirations!Before creating my blog, I’d never been in touch with other artists that produced the same kind of content I do; I did it all just for the sake of doing without really showing anyone and without any critique, just keeping it all for me. Tumblr really changed it for me. I made fantastic friends here, some of which are EXCELLENT artists that I look up to so so so much. Being in touch with other artists, along with making it much more fun to be a creator of content, helps you learn much more about what you need to improve by constantly noticing how they draw certain thing, what kind of style they use and having someone close to you that likes the same stuff you do and might like your art as well!I could go for hours talking about stuff I think are very important on improving your art and bringing people to notice it more, but I think it’d get too long and something like a “lesson” and I don’t think art is something that can be taught to someone in that way. You can teach the fundamentals I mentioned before, but art is something that should come from each individual in my opinion, and growing with it is a different experience for each different person. :3About digital art, I’m still a begginer in that and my traditional art is much better than my digital art in many aspects (except coloring, cause I don’t practice coloring with pencils much and don’t have watercolors yet ;-; ), but from what I’ve learned these past few months, the three most important things are:  1) Get to know the program you use, whatever it is. As a begginer, I’d definetly recommend using Paint Tool SAI. It has some great tools, just enough to start out and make some good art, and it’s not too hard to use. By getting to know your program and it’s settings and tools, you’ll eventually know by heart just which tool to use everytime and how to make things look more natural and flow better. Also, I believe moving to Photoshop or whatever other program that has more tools after getting used to SAI is much easier than picking it up straight away. There’s also the pen tablet of course which is essential in my opinion (I ain’t got time, patience and skill to draw with a damn mouse :^) ). There are some good ones that are not very expensive and do their job pretty well! 2) Don’t get stressed out if your art is not as clean and well done as it usually is on paper. For me personally, learning how to draw digitally has been almost like learning how to draw all over again. It’s not as easy to transfer the ideas from my mind to the computer screen as it is on my sketchbook. I have a messy drawing style by nature, so things like linework and coloring digitally were very tough for me at first, and it took some practice to get to the point I am, in which I still need A LOT of practice and improvement. But my point is, try and try and try again until you get to a point in which it looks cleaner and it flows better, like it does on paper. Play around with different brushes and textures, perhaps you’ll find one that matches your style better.3) PRACTICE! That sounds cliche, but it’s true. It’s the only way to improve. There’s not much to say about it overall, but what I like to do to practice is take some random reference photos and “trace” over them, not like, literal tracing, but turning the body into blocks so I can understand better how joints work, for example, and how they look when bent like this or like that, so when I draw it by myself I’ll remember that and it’ll look much better. There are also many sites in which you can challenge yourself to draw based on certain reference photos in a strict time that you can choose, I’ll link you two of them: x    y So, these are some of my tips for you as a young artist to improve your art and therefore get it noticed sooner or later, I hope this was helpful in some way! If you have any more questions, please feel free to PM me, I’d be glad to give you some more advice that I couldn’t put here so it’d be too long (and my “Keep Reading” thing doesn’t work for some reason :^) ) and give some more in depth tips in digital art! Kisses and hugs and good luck! ♥

[incaseyouart]

Omg i’m so sorry to everyone that I haven’t answered in the past few days! I’ve been really busy shipping out zines etc @_@ I figured rather than spamming everyone on my dash I’ll do a batch-answer. 

1. For digital I use the watercolour and pen brushes in Fire Alpaca. For traditional the Koi waterbrush (medium tip).

2. Thank you that’s so nice of you to say!! <3

3. I know I’ve gained a good audience by posting frequently and interacting with other members of the community, and just in general trying to stay positive! Also remember to tag everything you post to make it searchable!

4. Aw thanks~ The asks aren’t annoying!! I appreciate every single one (well.. mostly. some are clearly jokes lol). Just use reference - I usually Google-image search! I also have some drawings/tips on hands here. 

5. On your lineart layer select the box “Protect alpha” - this means that any colour you lay down will ONLY affect the pixels on your lineart. You can do this for any layer. It’s basically the same function as a clipping mask.

6. You’d have to go into your pen settings I imagine! For me it’s the Wacom Desktop Centre.

7. Fire Alpaca has a lot of help files on their website, but like everything in art, mastering something just takes a lot of practice! Things that took me a bit to figure out was the “Protect Alpha” option (which lets you lock pixels and colour JUST on them and nothing else), and how to use the “snap to gridlines” in perspective - so, setting up the vanishing points. I’m still getting used to that one. Just play around with each tool for a bit and look up what it does, and how best to use it! 

8. I would highly encourage you to try developing your OWN style - one that you can uniquely say is yours. You can of course take inspiration from other artists (and here I encourage the plural). If it looks TOO similar, as you’re suggesting, then you might be accused of tracing, and the original owner of that style (and any of their followers) might be annoyed. Style comes organically with practice, and you should also embrace multiple styles - that’s what makes an artist versatile, and versatility in a competitive market is very crucial for success. Good luck!

9. I have a few tutorials here - but none for that specifically. This is a cool image I found on Google. When in doubt, box it out!! Basically every figure in existence can be planned out with boxes (or circles/ellipses). 

10. Use reference. 

11. Hmm, I don’t think so... I don’t usually link the pose reference image(s) I use. I will, however, link the reference if it’s from another artist. I mean, it’s always a good idea to link back to reference - that’s a good practice that I should do more. 

12. You can drag around the different windows by holding your mouse down on the top of the window, and then you can snap that window into/beside/underneath other windows! 

13. You can for sure look at my art for reference, but keep in mind, my anatomy skills are not as good as the real thing, so I would highly encourage you to use actual references of the real human body/whatever it is you’re drawing. Thanks for asking!! 

14. Please browse through my digital art and drawing tablet tags! 

15. Lol I would love to get snowed on all day :P Thanks for going through my tutorials ^_^ I hope they inspired you to want to start arting! 

16. Yaaay I use an Intuos small on a Mac too! You should use Fire Alpaca it’s the best (and free). For tips, please browse through my digital art and drawing tablet tags! I don’t have the buttons set on my tablet right now actually haha - except for the top button on the pen is set as eyedropper. 

17, 18, 19. You need to inform your parents that you have a friend who relies on your help via electronic devices! Also yes please do take a breather from life for a bit - sounds like you’re a bit overwhelmed! If you want to DM me you can and we can talk more :) 

20. You can draw however you want! There is never any pressure to draw realistically, other than from yourself! Being able to render realistically is a useful skill - and my professors would argue that before you can accurately caricature anything you must know how it works realistically - but for sure you can branch out into cartoon-like style! I always encourage artists to adopt several styles (see answer #8 and these posts)

21. Sounds like you’re drawing at too small a resolution and/or canvas size! Try a canvas of at least 2000X2000 pixels set at 200DPI. Also I find the line quality much better in Fire Alpaca than in SAI (that’s mainly why I switched over). Good luck! 

22. I DON’T have all the tools a human can have - that, in my eyes, is having a Wacom Cintiq, or a Cintiq companion. I literally just use watercolour paints+paper+koi brush, or my Mac+Fire Alpaca+Intuous. I also have markers and pencil crayons, which I used to use exclusively from 2004-2013 (I miss them actually) but yeah now I only use a few things. It’s not the tools that make the artist great, it’s knowing HOW to create art! Like wizards/witches and their wands - some tools do enhance your skill (obviously), but you must know the craft FIRST. 

23. I own Canson brand sketch books! Mixed Media (90lb paper) and Watercolour (140lb cold press)

24. I used my smart phone camera, scanned it in and touched it up with Photoshop. The biggest edit I did was making the background around the drawings white. Here’s a tutorial about how to do it (with a different image)

25. Wahoo thanks for the follow and the compliment <3 GO CANADA!

26. YAAAAAAY OUR BABY HAS ARRIVED! I have shipped all the Canada ones out, and I shipped another 45 today to the US and other countries, and the rest should be out by the end of the week!! I’m so happy you got it, thanks so much for the support!! 

27.  Age difference doesn’t really matter THAT much, in the grand scheme - well, maybe it does for the teen years. If she has a partner currently, and she seems happy, then I would try to just stay her friend for now! You could maybe gradually drop hints that you like her, and gage her reaction? 

28. Could it be acid reflux, or heart burn, or an accute respiratory condition maybe? I’m not really well-versed in medical things, and I don’t know anything about your level of fitness or health, so it’s difficult to answer... >.<

29. The print was drawn out by a friend who got them printed onto sweaters at a local print shop! We tried to find and buy it online but we couldn’t find it anywhere >.< 

30. Prepare for it like any other interview - dress like you want to succeed (but also be comfortable). Know your portfolio really well, so that when they ask questions you won’t have to flip through it or hesitate. Be knowledgable about the job/thing you’re applying to as well, so you’re go to go for trivia about the interviewer. Smile and make an appropriate amount of eye contact (demonstrate active listening). Here is a good LinkedIn article about interviews.

31. Aw thanks~ yes yes most of my life is quite happy and I can’t complain ^_^ Have a good one!

32. Thank you!!!! I hope 2017 is super productive for me as well!! Graci and ciao~

WHEW! Feel free to DM me if you want to know more~ 

[fueledbywriting]

Does excessive social media exposure hinder us from having time to reflect on ourselves?

What is introspection, how does it affect our lives, its conflicts with social media, and how we can balance the two of them

Some of us would like to be the center of attention, some just wants to be out of the limelight, and some others would like to observe these people and ponder on how and why those people do such things. In a certain population, some people would do things in a spur of a moment; others would need to extensively assess their actions before executing them. The people who do extensive assessment may have to do another round of reflection in order to examine their actions and how can they improve themselves as people. This so-called extensive assessment of the self has an actual name, and it is called introspection.

But first, what really is introspection? Introspection is defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary as "an examination of one's own thoughts and feelings." Another definition by vocabulary.com is "to look inside," and it describes the act of thinking about your own actions or inner thoughts. Introspection is also examining your actions, opinions, thoughts and how it affects not only others' lives but your life as well. Introspection comes in two forms: self-reflection and self-rumination. Self-reflection is the positive form of introspection; it is a form where people give meaning and significance to their actions, accept and learn for the mistakes they've done, and increase their self-awareness. If self-reflection is the good twin, then self-rumination is the so-called evil one. Self-rumination is the negative form of introspection, where one obsesses over their failures, and constantly doubting themselves and their self-worth.

I would like to use an illustration in order to visualize them better, but I have to point out that my illustration is not as accurate since this is according to my perspective, but this is completely open to interpretation; my interpretation of these two might be different from what you think it is. Let us use writers as examples for these two: self-reflection is the writer who asks themselves why they wrote such things and gives meaning to what they wrote.

They are also the kind of writers who would gladly accept constructive criticism, accept and learn from the mistakes that have been pointed out on their works, and use them as guides to write better pieces. However, self-rumination is the writer who completely obsesses over their weaknesses and their failures, to the point where they will start doubting their capabilities as a writer and start asking whether they're still worthy to be called as writers or not.

Introspection is not just a word you can brag to your friends as something that is for the 'intelligent' guys only, a word you can use to gain points in word games like scrabble, nor is it just a meaningless basic word at all. This is a word that holds great importance, too important that a lot of people are just taking this word and its meaning for granted. Introspection also goes by self-analysis, self-examination, soul-searching, and self-observation. Probably the reason why a lot of people take this word for granted is because it focuses too much on the self, and we only want to put our best foot forward for the public.

For me, self-assessment led me to my way of thinking today. Since I am the type of person who has high tendencies of being the observer from the sidelines, I always tend to notice others' actions and I try to evaluate them in my head. Through my personal assessment of others' actions, I also get to assess the actions I should do in order to improve and the ones I should avoid in order to let it be the cause of my self-'destruction,' in a way.

In today's society, everything is now available on the internet. Through social media, all of us become connected in multiple ways and whether we like it or not. We create an alternate version of ourselves, or the selves we wanted us to become but didn't. Social media has become a bridge to connect people, but sometimes it connects us too much to the point we're completely attached to them and we forget to allot time for ourselves. We have allotted too much time for social media to the point it slowly destructs us in one form or another. Such form is that social media can be psychologically destructive.

Based on success.com’s article Why Introspection is so important for a Balanced Life, being on social media creates dopamine and oxytocin surges within the brain. Dopamine is a chemical associated with pleasurable experiences, and one's dopamine level rapidly increases when they are on social media. An amount of something might be good, but too much of it can be bad for one's health. Excess dopamine have adverse side effects, such as loss of concentration and increase in anxiety. On the other hand, oxytocin plays a role in forming bonds. A person's oxytocin levels increase by 13% percent while on social media, which might sound nice at first. Contrary to the previous statement, too much oxytocin can cause someone to reinforce distinctions between groups and to strengthen their prejudice towards something.

SOCIAL MEDIA CLEANSING

Too much time on social media can be extremely destructive for some people. In order to minimize the damage social media might cause us, listed down are some ways that can help you.

Avoid gadgets! Easier said than done. We have been too technologically dependent to the point where being away from our phones cause us slight panic. However, we should minimize our use in order to not become completely dependent on technology. Allot yourself at least half an hour of no gadgets – no phones, no laptops, no tablets, no video games, no TVs. Nothing at all.

Get yourself a dose of nature. I don’t literally mean to go to some park or some sort, but that still works nonetheless. Allow yourself to go outside, and just observe your surroundings. Watch the people walk by in front of you, pet some stray dog or cat if they come near you, entertain some people who don’t look menacing according to your standards. Use your surroundings as inspiration for the next item on the list.

Create! Create! Create! Let your creativity flow! Do some drawing, writing, singing, dancing, acting, or anything! Transfer all your thoughts to your work and express yourself. It’s okay to be not good in any field, as long as it makes you happy. Don’t let others’ talents pressure you into doing things you like, just do your thing in your own pace. 

Converse with people. There is nothing better than socializing with people in the real world. In social media, sure you get to talk to people, but sometimes the people you talk to are not the real version of themselves. When talking to people in real life, you can feel their emotions in the way they speak, the way they present themselves, and how they express their emotions. Talking to people can also be a source of relief for some, since you get to talk to them about anything and everything under the sun.

Spend time for yourself. This is one thing that we are missing out because of social media. Distract yourself from the virtual world by doing the things you really like to do, like listen to your favorite singers’ new songs, read a book you have in your shelf for months (or years), grab a cup of coffee. If you’re not interested in coffee, might as well get yourself a cup of hot chocolate or tea, but couldn’t because you were too transfixed on being updated on the events on social media.

To answer the question given at the beginning of the entire article, it does. We lose time to ourselves because we always want to relate to every trend at the moment. Honestly, there might be some things to lose if we don’t get ourselves updated every minute, but it’s worse to lose yourself because you want to get updated every minute. There’s nothing bad in getting yourself updated every minute, but don’t forget that it’s also good to have time for yourself.  Being on social media for a long time means you have to become the best version of yourself, even though it’s not who you are in reality. However, by analyzing our actions, we can still achieve our ideal online personas if we just remember when to take a break from the fast-paced environment called the Internet. In all honesty, introspection is not as hard as we think it is; it’s just that we tend to overcomplicate things when we hear it for the first time. Sometimes we just have to reflect on ourselves and assess what we should and shouldn’t do in order to improve ourselves as people. – Jaz Meline Angeles

[djduskie]

I’m bored, so lemme share with you a dream I had not only 1 hour ago

I was at some sort of convention and i was at this desk drawing i suppose?  I remember wondering if TotalBiscuit was at the con, and if I should go greet him as there was a panel going on in the backround. Then some couple of ladies try to sit at the desk as I take my tablet and such. I asked “Can I just leave these here?” (guess I didn’t bring any sort of backup or whatever, so I had to carry all of it), and they were just like “no.”

Then all of sudden I was playing "Resident Evil 7" (except not really it was an entirely different game, but it was first person horror but I called it Resi 7)?? The building basically switched to this house area, tho it transitioned really well so I have to wonder if it was the same convention building. I was also playing it with my sister and  a friend. It felt so real but i knew it was a game.

After stuff happens (which if i remember, included us trying to find these 3 dolls as it was some sort of secret), it then switches to some HUGE outside place where we're fighting a final boss of some sort (i dunno who he was, all I knew is that he was a boss), and i remember what to do to fight this boss as if I’ve done this before. Everyone around me switched to FE Fates characters now for... some reason. The final boss dude threw Azura (with some machine robot he was in) across the bloody sky and I used I guess telekinesis powers and brought her back to us! She was unconscious, but alive. Then the "fight" happened, which involved shooting certain areas of this robot (inspired by the fact that I played some Saints Row 4 the previous day). A QTE happens where i think a wall or something was gonna fall on Sakura of all people, and I telekinesed the wall away, once again being aware of the fact that was "supposed to happen". More shooting happens, then ANOTHER QTE happens where this giant fuckin teddy bear comes from behind us, and I use my awesome power to stop him at the last second. A character (not FE but someone else i dunno) gave me another gun so i can double shoot the boss, and... that's all i remember I think

After beating the game (I think), my friend is like "welp I'm bored, I'm gonna go play Oneshot" and I was like "you're STILL playing Oneshot??"

and then the dream ended

I think the reason I remember this dream well is cause I could actually FEEL the pressure and power of using telekinesis, and it was so fuckin awesome cause I’ve always DREAMED (no pun intended) of having that power!! And I used it quite frequently in the fight too! I remember trying to telekinese a person, but it “failed”. It was just... so cool

So yea that was my dumb dream. As expected, it made so goddamn sense. But the fact that I remembered it is something.