#my goal is to improve in my backgrounds

[twottie-m8]

Dreamling Week 2023 Day 1 || Meowpheus

Ever run into a cat while on your morning jog that you have just GOT to send a pic of to your good friend?

Has that cat ever turned out to be said friend?

No?

Just Hob?

[icewindandboringhorror]

currently at That Point which occurs once every few months where one briefly begins pacing around the house teary eyed contemplating selling their own organs or becoming an online scammer or getting on anxiety meds so you can bear the risk taking required to be a hitman or so on and so forth.... why must everything so Expensive... Surely all would be healed in life if only I had one big plate of lasagna and a simple loan of $40,000 ... auoughhh....

[samgatinho]

omg I just stumbled upon your art and WOW it’s amazing!! What program do you use? Any tips for a beginner artist too? Sorry totally [not] asking for a friend

thank u! i mostly use ibis paint x and sometimes clip studio paint too! :D

i don't think i'm much of a pro to be out there telling on beginners but, if you're looking to improve in certain aspects, i'd recommend studying art fundamentals. i like searching for tips on youtube and i personally love watching pikat's videos; they give pretty solid, good advices for studying art :)

overall, i think the most important part about drawing is having fun, as cliche as this sounds, it's true. stressing over your art might actually bring down the quality of it, so don't worry so much about making masterpieces! do what you like! ^_^

[procrastinova]

'24 art summary!!! Ignore the fact that this is almost a month late...

original template by Papakkapao_ on twitter

2022 and 2023 summaries

[normalcannibalism]

i feel weird and self conscious about my art again. sigh

the entire post ended up in thw tags ohb my god

[lunex-the-cat]

It took 20 million years but I finally gave this bastard the update he deserves.

[fragglerockopinions]

Check out my Ko-Fi or DM me if interested! :D

More art examples here!

[rabble-dabble]

So, regarding your latest piece.

VGDVYHFBTGFHFTFHDBCC GOOD! VDVFYBTHFCGJC5V5HFHDYD

LOVE IT!

AAAAHHHHHHHH THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! I'M GLAD YOU LIKED IT!!! (and apparently so did other people too!!)

it's a redraw from last year's lyricstuck- but to be honest, i did the redraw literally last year. as in it was only a month after the first one that i decided to put in ACTUAL effort and redraw the fuckin thing. it worked out pretty well i think because it looks SOOOO much better than the original!

it took me a couple of days (because i put in actual effort lmao) but i was working on it for HOURS, just for like days straight because it was the only time i had to do it, so i knew i needed to finish it. i also fixed up mistakes i put in the first time - spelling mistakes, spacing, just little touches that needed fixed or coloured i didn't do originally. i think i struggled the most with the villian panel - i'm a bit insecure with how clearly you can see my (to me) childish drawings because i don't know how to work without lineart that well. i just blurred it last year but blurring it for the second one ruined the vibe i was going for so i kinda just grit my teeth and posted it knowing it wasn't my best, but hey, at least i tried!!

overall, i'm glad it turned out so great. it also highlights how much effort i've put into my artwork, and how it's paid off, plus how much more i still need to improve. i think i need to improve my backgrounds more, and learn how to not only draw things that AREN'T people, but without lineart as well.

thanks for the ask i was literally smiling when i got it <3

[queerkhazad]

Hiiii

[tahbhie]

How many drafts should you go through before deciding your novel is ready?

There's no specific (official) number, but to create a foundation that ensures you don't burn out quickly, overwork yourself, and get tired of your work, I'll say four. It's the same number I use for my students since most of them have other engagements outside writing that take up a copious amount of their time.

1. Initial or Zero Draft:

This draft is also called the 'just write' draft. Focus on putting that idea down. As the creative juices flow, let it all out. Don't worry about perfection or coherence; the goal is to capture your raw ideas and get the story out of your head and onto the page.

2. Second Draft:

This is the plot draft. Read through what you have written to see if every detail you added was meant to be. Here, you focus on the structure of your story. Ensure that the plot makes sense, the pacing is right, and there are no major plot holes. This is where you might add, remove, or rearrange scenes to improve the overall flow of the narrative.

3. Third Draft:

Character development draft. In this stage, you look deeper into your characters. Make sure their motivations, backgrounds, and arcs are well-defined and consistent. Flesh out their personalities and relationships, ensuring they are compelling and believable. This is also a good time to refine dialogue and make sure it sounds natural and true to each character. That's for this drafting stage.

4. Fourth Draft:

Grammar and punctuation draft. This is the polishing stage. Focus on correcting grammatical errors, punctuation, and spelling mistakes. Pay attention to sentence structure, word choice, and overall readability. This draft is about making your manuscript as clean and professional as possible.

Keep in mind that the goal is to define what completion means for each draft. Once you reach the goal, take a break and return to it for the next drafting stage.

Some writers pay people to carry out some of the drafting stages for them, so if you fall into that category, you might have fewer drafting stages to handle yourself!

Reblog to save for later 😉

Thank you all for the support 💜!

[beegalactica]

real 'glow up' advice i wish i had

Imagine getting to the point in life where YOU are your own vision board; where you are that girl who has the life that you want, and you don't have to seek it out through other people. That should be the ultimate goal.

Here are subtle things that you should be doing to channel your ideal person and improve yourself for the better FROM THE INSIDE

take care of your hygiene: brush your teeth every day, wash your face with soap, wash your hair, take meaningful showers

be kind to yourself: speak nicely to yourself, treat yourself every now and then, love yourself exactly the way you came

make the effort: do your hair and wear something cute, even if you're only going to the supermarket. I bet your ideal self looks stunning wherever she goes, so make that effort if you really want to become her

move your body: dance to some music for just 5 minutes, take a walk, get off the bus a (reasonable) few stops earlier and walk the rest of the way

romanticise the hell out of your life: wear those bows, create that vision board, play that aesthetic background music even if you're just washing the dishes, wear that outfit!!!!!

admire yourself: look at yourself in the mirror and remember what you look like, take a million selfies to look back and smile at, give yourself a compliment every time you pass your reflection

get creative: if you want cute decor, make it! if you want cute clothes, find some easy DIYs!

focus on what you can control: if you cannot change the situation, let it resolve itself. don't waste your precious time obsessing over something you cannot change

get to know yourself (again): rediscover your hobbies, try new activities, learn to appreciate your solitude, get out of your shell

I really wish I was part of a community like this when I was going through a really insecure and lonely phase of my life.

Instead of deciding to wake up a 3am every day from now on, and trying to reach 20k steps every day, start small and walk your way up to greatness!

[hannnsh]

hc10 joel painting 🗻🌸

gouache on paper :3

hello everynyan, i busted out my paints and my rusty painting skills and came out with this badboy 🔥🔥🔥 that is cringe talk im sorry, anyways yea i have came back to my painting roots gosh its so good to paint again after MONTHS !!!

i can say im not thattttttt happy w this ??? pls dont come at me abt it lol its just me, but to be fair i did this in one go (i’ve been doing that a lot..) and until like 3 am 😭 i was planning on going in with some coloured pencils the next morning but i got lazy and scanned the thing and immediately sealed it in a bag LOL so some things like the flowers arent that polished so my bad 🙏🏻

there r some things i wish to improve on when doing this painting, mainly water bc hello what is that 😭 also it is my goal to paint/draw more landscapes during my break and the background for this one actually turned out well imo :J there r some things I wanna tweak but honestly im just happy with the outcome

dont focus on the anatomy it is a bit wrong and i have this problem called cant use references for the life of me .. it is very severe. so it looks a bit wonky lol

that is all for now, i do have a feww things to finish this month, hopefully i get to that since now i have time lols, and this is not a promise at ALL dont take my words seriously, but maybe if i have spare time i want to try and figure out how to open commissions :3 my problem mainly is idk how to get the money, since my currency is very different and idk how i can charge in us dollars or something and converting it into my currency 😔 but if anyone actually knows a thing or two maybe u can help me 🥹

see u all next time bubye

[prettieinpink]

REBRANDING YOURSELF

COLLAB WITH THE HOTTIE????!!!!!!! @honeytonedhottie. LMAO NOT US PLANNING THIS IN LIKE DEC THEN RELEASING IN APRIL. I luv you so much ur my fav moot. moots who collab together, stay together. Check out her post on her page too, as usual, she makes the best points so y'all better listen.

Rebranding is a process in which you redefine who you are and how others perceive you. Each journey of rebranding yourself is personal and individual. When you rebrand yourself, you further align yourself with your higher you. This post is a guide to getting started on your journey!

UNDERSTAND YOUR CURRENT SELF.

So, take a step back and think about who you are as an individual right now. What are your values and beliefs? Does your external self reflect your inner self? Are you comfortable in your current environment?

These questions and more will help to see which aspects of your life you may need to redefine. See if there’s anything that doesn’t align with your higher self. 

After that, pick those aspects that need to be redefined. Why do you want to change this? How has this been impacting you internally/externally? Does this aspect stem from your environment or yourself? See why this aspect needs to be improved. 

DESIGNING YOUR BRAND

This is more of a fun step! So, using your aspects design how you want that specific thing to look and feel like. Avoid being vague or non-specific. Try to put in as much detail as you can for each aspect. 

If you’d prefer, you don’t have to use ‘aspects’ and instead use your life generally. This is your redesign, so do whatever is more comfortable and achievable for you.

ASPECTS

Health

Social life

Career

Hobbies

Family

Finance

Spirituality

Personal development (mindset, goals, improvement)

Self care

Culture

Well-being

Things to include

Achievable goals

How your environment looks like

How your daily life like

How you see yourself

What do you feel after

Why this is alignment within yourself? 

You can do this any way you want. The one I would recommend for redesigning your life would be a vision board, preferably a physical one. If you don’t want to do that, there are still a lot of options such as writing it down into a pretty poster, creating a playlist that will reflect your brand, creating a pretty list, or having sticky notes around your room as reminders. 

Be creative and detailed with this. You should spend at least an hour if not more trying to redesign your life/aspects.

CREATING GOALS

Goals are so important, especially when we are moving in a different direction than we were before. As we’ve got the current status of who we are and what we want to be, creating goals should be easy. 

Make your goals visible. Put a sticky note on your mirrors, put it as your laptop background, put a reminder on your phone, listen to a playlist that motivates you of your goals or anything else that will constantly remind you of your goals. 

Other than that, remember that goals have to be achievable, mindful, and flexible.

ESTABLISHING HABITS

Habits are so important to rebrand yourself. Habits make up your identity. The way you act, speak, and do daily, can subconsciously influence you to be someone who isn’t in alignment with your higher self.

 As much as it’s important to establish new habits that align with you, you have to root out the habits that are pushing you off track from achieving your goals. 

The good thing is that you can do both at the same time. Replace those old habits, with brand new ones. For example, when you open your phone first thing in the morning instead of opening up TikTok, get YouTube opened and start a 5-minute meditation to start your day.

However, just because a habit is beneficial for you, it doesn’t mean it is in alignment for you. For many people, they prefer to read books as a productive alternative for leisure, however, you may not be able to read a book and focus. In that case, you may want to watch an educational video instead. You’re still getting the benefits, but just in a different way. 

STEP FIVE: IMPLEMENTING YOUR BRAND DAILY

Think about all the little details of how this person would act, from morning until night. Embody their actions, words, aura, and vibes. This is when having a visual of your goals is good, so you can see what you need to do.

This includes no longer indulging in things your higher self wouldn’t do. Regardless of how much comfort, entertainment, or dopamine something gives you, you have to let it go if it is destroying your mind. 

I way I recommend implementing your brand daily by creating a daily routine that focuses on a different goal each day of the week. E.g:

Monday - Practicing being mindful (meditation, journaling, connecting with your religion)

Tuesday - Fitness (pilates, weightlifting, hot girl walks)

Wednesday - Socialising (going out to meet new people/connecting with old friends)

Thursday - Productivity (Schoolwork, studying, business, workplace tasks)

Friday - Self-care (taking a slow day however you’d like)

ta-daa!! thanks 4 reading. now go follow @honeytonedhottie 💕😍

[morganbritton132]

Next week Nancy posts a tik tok of Eddie in one of these tents at the soccer game. He couldn’t handle all the bugs so he bought one of these and a fancy fan to keep him cool. She pans to Eddie who is just flipping off the camera

It builds up to the tent.

It first starts with Eddie posting a TikTok complaining about the mosquitos like, I thought we were killing this planet. Why are these fuckers out in droves?? Followed by another TikTok of Eddie shaming Steve after a game for not being sympathetic enough about the literal vampire attack he survived.

Steve, literally applying calamine lotion to his bites, “You’re fine.”

“They stole my blood!” Eddie exclaims. “Look how pale I am!”

“You’re always this pale.”

“I’ve been bitten less by bats.”

And you know what? Eddie was just going to suck it up. He was going to just sit there and endure in order to support his husband and his wildest jock endeavors, and not just because Nancy’s been roasting the shit out of him every Saturday for the last three weeks, but then. Then he got bit on the ass.

He has a mosquito bite on his ass. How???

So, he furiously drives to a sporting goods store and buys himself a little tent. He throws in a portable fan and even buys a new cooler, and it’s great. It’s 10/10, definitely improved the whole situation now that he’s not being eaten alive again. Nancy can laugh all she wants with her frizzy hair, he doesn’t care.

“POV,” Nancy says in a mockup of Eddie’s TikTok voice. He looks up from his phone and gives her the most unimpressed look. “When people think you’re a Satan-worshipping cult leader but in reality, you’re just a little bitch that can’t handle the outdoors.”

She looks away from the camera and smiles at him. Eddie doesn’t say anything, just flips her off.

Later, Nancy posts another TikTok of Robin talking about her game-winning goal. Meanwhile, in the background, Steve gives Eddie a kiss through the netting of his tent.

[art]

Creator Spotlight: @chaaistheanswer

Hi everyone! I am Clara, but you can also call me chaa! I am a digital artist based in Auckland, New Zealand, with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Media Production. After graduating from uni, I moved out to pursue my art career and I’ve been a freelance digital artist ever since. I love concept art, especially character design! Creating characters influenced by my love for fantasy is what I live for. Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you enjoyed my art! And thank you, Tumblr, for this opportunity!

Check out our interview with Clara below!

Did you originally have a background in art? If not, how did you start?

I specialized in art in high school and have a bachelor’s degree in Creative Media Production from Massey University with an animation pathway. For our thesis film, which I worked on with several of my classmates, I took on the role of producer, art director, and concept artist. Our short film was featured in the Wellington Film Festival Terror-Fi in 2020. After graduating, I went on to become a freelance artist, but my goal is to work for the gaming industry as a character concept artist. Ever since I first picked up a pencil, I knew I wanted to become an artist!

Have you ever had an art block? If so, how did you overcome it?

Art block is quite common among artists, and unfortunately, I too have fallen prey to the affliction. I have several ways of overcoming art block: watching movies, playing games, reading, or going out for a drive with my sister. These are just a few things I love to do to help keep my creative juices flowing!

What is one habit you find yourself doing a lot as an artist?

I tend to obsessively research about completely unrelated topics while I draw. I find learning new things helps improve my concept designs, especially in creating backgrounds for my characters.

Over the years as an artist, what were your biggest inspirations behind your creativity?

Video games and anime were my biggest inspirations! Anything with a captivating story that’ll send me to the edge of my seat, and loveable characters. I’m particularly drawn to high and dark fantasy.

How has technology changed the way you approach your work?

Technology has made a huge impact on us artists over the last few years. I used to draw a lot on paper, but since getting a tablet, I find myself searching for the undo and redo buttons and even trying to zoom constantly while I draw on paper. I used to only draw for myself as well, but after posting my art online, I now have an audience to whom I can share my art. Because of this, I am able to earn a living doing what I love by creating illustrations for clients.

What is a recent creative project that you are proud of?

I am very proud of this recent commission I’ve done for a client! Fortunately, the piece turned out exactly how I wanted it to look, and my client was very happy with the result. I am also in the process of working on a Webtoon, which is going as smoothly as I hoped it would be before its re-release!

What advice would you give to younger you about making art that's personal or truthful to your own experiences?

The best advice I would give my younger self is to never hold back! Try not to think about the negatives of creating and sharing art that you believe in. Embrace vulnerability, and don’t be afraid to dig deep into your own emotions and experiences. Always explore, and don’t limit yourself to your own bubble. And most important of all, stay true to yourself! Stay true to your values and beliefs, and never compromise your own authenticity for the sake of pleasing others. Your art is a reflection of you as a person.

Who on Tumblr inspires you and why?

@yuumei-art has been an inspiration to me since my early Deviantart days. I admire how she uses her skills to focus on environmentalism and cyber activism. @nipuni is another inspiration of mine. I found her when I was in the process of recovering from Dragon Age Solavellan hell. I admire how she manages to capture faces well while also sticking to her style. Her paintings are so beautiful and very pleasing to my eyes!

Thanks for stopping by, Clara! If you haven't seen her Meet the Artist piece, be sure to check it out here. For more of Clara's work, follow her Tumblr, @chaaistheanswer!

[hotwe]

Tax Season Commissions!

Hi everyone! It's that special time of year again! Time to pay the IRS so they don't come gank me, along with yet another surgery for my cat son (another mass removal but it's just a lil one on his gums so don't worry about him he'll be fine once it's gone however this still will cost over 1k lmaoooo) and with the other expenses- mainly finally getting prints and additional stickers made- this year's goal is around $3k!

Interested? ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿ ↓ clicky! ↓

Here is the plan to try and reduce strain to keep hotwe projects from being neglected for 4-5 months!

I will offer traditional hand drawn commissions! The price for these is generally lower because there is no color to contend with!

Some original hotwe art (that I had been saving for the artbook kickstarter lol) will also be for sale. Tumblr crowd you wouldn't be familiar with these pieces since they're on patreon only$1forallrewardsalsosometimesforfreejustsaying but I'll make a post showing what's available.

Livestreaming is likely! Either streaming commission work which is always fun or ??? Whatever needed for your viewing pleasure I suppose! I'd collect tips/donos here from anyone who wanted to toss a penny my way rather than get a commission.

Prints pre-orders are possible, I'm still figuring that out!

How to get a commission:

(and this time I am going to explain everything fully lol)

Start by sending me an email [ contact.hotwe@gmail ] with a description of what you'd like to have done! You can tell me as much or as little as you like because I will be asking follow up questions regardless!

Commission prices are based 100% on what is being asked for and vary greatly! Once I know enough about what you're looking to get, I will give you an estimate for the price! It can go up or down a bit from there as additional information is given, specifically if you forgot to mention something or if I get more detail about something and realize it wont be as labor intensive as expected.

Do not worry if you have a budget, I will work with it! Changing things like how much is in frame and whether there is color, what kind of background if any, etc, can reduce the price a lot! Even if your piece can't be done within your budget, a sketch is only $45!

The sketch option is your request, in color (unless you don't want color!), with just the flat fee of $45. The caveat is I spend an hour and a half on it only!

I know what you're thinking, but no! With sketches, I won't double the time by doubling the price because that wouldn't be worth it for you at all. I make the most progress on a piece in that first 1.5 hours, then after that it takes a long time- like 10 hours- before any significant improvement happens to the piece. Working on your sketch for 3 hours would hardly look better than 1.5 hours, so let's save your money. iusuallygooverthe1.5hoursanywaysbecauseiamafoolandicannotbesaved

Do not worry about asking for something and finding my price is higher than your budget- you are not insulting me!!! Don't feel shy about a budget either; art is a luxury I can't even afford for myself lmao and I do want my stuff to be accessible to people in my position. Also I like to work with budgets but I am not going to undersell my work, so don't feel like you are doing me a disservice! I've been doing this stuff for a long time so I know how to wiggle around for everyone's benefit. So just shoot your shot!

For hand drawn commissions, it's much the same process as digital ones! Let me know what you are looking for, and if you have a preference on size as well. Generally, a hand drawn piece will be a bit cheaper because I don't have to agonize over color, but depending on factors like size and detail it could also ramp up quickly. However, I don't intend to take on anything particularly intensive, since hand drawn pieces are meant to reduce my commissions work time this year, not add to it!

I mean, technically I could do color, I have the pencils... but at what cost... like spiritually I mean...

Payment! I send invoices through paypal (unfortunately) and I do accept payment plans! My rule is that to protect myself, I work up to what I have been paid. So if I have been paid half the price, I stop when I have done half of the work until I am paid further.

Because of this, the payment time frame is going to be smaller this time since I'm trying to not be working for half a year. Usually I prefer the months to not exceed the first digit of the price (i.e. $100 per month at least) but this time it's going to have a 4 month cut off.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask in your email! I'm always down to chat, negotiate, and goof!

Thank you guys!