#ough this makes me want to get back into dnd stuff

[paintedlepard]

A friend of a friend is building a custom Executioner subclass for his DND group, so he commissioned me to make some page art!

I’m really happy with how this one turned out, and if you happened to want something similar for yourself my commissions are opening back up Soon!

[catt-crossing]

rant/vent

i just need to dump some thoughts, and it might not all make sense but Whatever 💖

So like part of me wants to fuck off for a while and change my identity for a bit but alas i canna 😔 i decided to bee in a relationship like half a year ago and then i joined a dnd group and yeah other reasons of why i Can't Simply Do That. Ougj...

It's FINE i still like beeing me <3 it's just. i basically never got a proper closure for something that happened at the beginning of the year and i know for a fact at least One of my friends is treating me a bit different than how she used to like it just feels like she possibly likes me less but idk im also unsure so! and idk if it's because of what happened or not but im like MMMMRRRGGHHMMM

so like all that happening makes me want to like you know Leave. and then come back later and oh im different and things are fine and we don't have to remember what happened but alas it's also been like 8 months! so im like girl. it's like 8 months too late to do that lol!!

and like idk it feels like in this discord server im in with some close friends (not sgc if any if y'all see this lol, y'all are good 💖) it feels like im ignored a bit sometimes or like other people get more interaction than do? but i can't tell if it's just me or im Going Insane Hehe <3

OKAY well but no. at least with my art and photography, i rarely get anyone saying anything about what i make :/ and like sometimes you just don't get anyone saying anything cus people are busy and etc. but the fact that other people's art and shit gets more attention every time and im left ignored makes me want to explode and also gross moss :3 and how the fuck do you explain to people that "hey, ive noticed my stuff doesn't really get much acknowledgement from y'all compared to others?" without sounding whiny or guilt-trippy because im scared to say anything because im aware that people aren't constantly checking discord or they see stuff and Maybee can't comment right away. but the fact that it seems to bee me specifically has me just :/ ive stopped posting much there anyway cus like okay. i make stuff because i like making it. taking pictures and taking the time to edit and make them look nice makes me happy! and jm glad to do that for myself! but sometimes you make something and you want to show it off because you are happy and want your friends to see the thing that you did! and when they don't acknowledge it, time and time again, you're bound to get sad :(

<- It's me I am Sad <3

Ough anyway yeah. as lady gaga once said

Just dance~ spin that record BABE~

[artharakka]

Hey there---I have been hunting for your blog forever! A classmate of mine brought thumbnails of your work to a drawing session, and we have been obsessing over your people. I find the way you illustrate long noses and sort of androgynous-looking faces and big hands really refreshing, and your werewolf druid Vaara is super charming! They really make me want to know more about your campaign world.

I hope you don't mind sharing, but I was curious what software(s) you used for the comic you made, A Dream with Rain. Do you have any general tips for people trying to draw better? Sorry for bamboozling you with questions. Delighted again to have found your blog!

OOof thank you! ❤❤❤ This was a delightful message to get! So cool to know my art exists outside my own little circle (it's sometimes difficult to realize that there are actually so many people behind all the notes my art gets). And also an encouraging ask because I've been struggling with my art style a bit lately (feeling like finally slowly getting there and out of art block now tho). But one of my goals has been to use bolder shapes and lines (like larger features and other than snub noses), glad that you like them as well! And if you read my tags I do have many non-binary characters & I like to play around with masculine and feminine features anyway so ough it's cool that it shows through the art as well ❤ (And oh check out my sis/sibling's art blog @artist-rat as well, they also have a very funky style and draw so expressive faces!!)

This is getting long, so here's a quick doodle of Vaara for you and rest of the answers under the cut!

The campaign Vaara is in is still in the beginning, so I don't know yet either what's to come! My friend @iijadraws (who is the DM) knows more about the lore if you want to know (and if she will spill). So far Vaara's archdruid Aalis noticed something bad was happening to their forest in the north and south. Vaara's dear friend Kiilo gave Vaara a precious key/amulet for luck and went north, Vaara gave Kiilo their stone knife for protection and went south. After a day's travel, she found forest stripped of life, and an old empty stone hut/house. Then strange things started happening, like giant unrecognizable beast coming out of the forest and Vaara's own empty eyed doppelganger staring at them from the empty forest. Vaara freaked out, hid into the stone hut, was cornered, and used her now faintly glowing key to open a door within it. The door became portal, and led them to a mysterious house where they are now stranded with Knell (artist-rat's character). Vaara is still mostly freaking out and attempting to run back home (not happening).

Mmm I want to illustrate more scenes and ramble more about both of the DnDs I'm currently playing (Rhiam's and Vaara's). I have one Rhiam background info & illustration coming up and will hopefully get it posted tomorrow, and I'd like to do more of those for both of them!

THEN What software I used: I've been using Krita for years now and I really like it! It's free and constantly developing (there have been a couple of hiccups in the past, but I haven't had any issues with the latest versions). If you want to know more about some specific feature I used (like brushes, effects, settings in general) feel free to send me another ask/message!

And general art tips: "Practice" is kind of a old and empty answer, so, here's some bit more specific stuff I learned from my art teachers (keep in mind that my art education isn't university level, but I went to a really great upper secondary school (high school?) that had special emphasis on visual arts so it's something).

Try to avoid using eraser or blurring. Especially the latter. One of the first lessons our class learned was not to blur pencil lines with our fingers/paper when shading our works. It was forbidden and it caused outrage, but was really helpful in the end. Airbrush tools have their place, but learn to shade and mix colours without it first (add or lessen pressure, select in-between color manually, cross-hatching). Personally I’ve been really digging using really sharp edged brush to colour my works lately (for paintings I use softer tools, but sharp coloring works really well with my softer line art I think!)

Studies are a great way to improve whether it’s anatomy or colours. I had weekly classes with model for a couple of months back in school but now I’m mostly using images from Unsplash (they are free to use) for color and painting practice. If you want to improve fast, try to do many sketches as fast as you can: we started with 3 minute sketch and then lessened the time so that in the end we were doing 10 second sketches of the model. I think there are sites specifically for this purpose where images/models change with timer? Here big paper & pen/brush might also help (no time to dwell in details, get the overall shape).

Try different mediums and methods: before my art school, I mostly drew with a pencil on A4 or smaller paper, and my art was kind of faint, careful, full of little details, stiff. Then in school I was forced to use watercolours, and acrylic and oil paints, try digital art, use big canvases, sclupt things out of clay and whatnot. It gave me a better sense of how shapes and colours work, but also helped me get bolder with my art (that is still a process, but I developed a LOT). I had drawn my entire life before that but I was shy to change my art and methods. And I know materials can be expensive, but work with what you have. My teacher once made a still life composition out of cleaning cart and other random stuff and made us draw it on a really big paper with big chunky chalks that were taped on long sturdy sticks found from forest. Relatively cheap but forced to draw big shapes and use your entire body rather than just wrist. It looked kinda like this and it’s still one of my favourite classes:

Again, feel free to send ask about specific art (or other) things you'd like to know if any come to mind! And thanks again for the message! Have a great day/evening/whatever time you have there!

[firebuug]

3 and 5 for any character

ill do it for each of my dnd ocs that they apply to bc im evil and fucked up so um. answers under the cut u_u tysm!!

3. what is their goal right now?

bierrab: uhhm i think her goal is to learn more about human life and be reunited with her old clan! but um. it's a bit hopeless because. a lot of her old clan was killed by humans *whips and naenaes*

for context, she is an aaracokra and is oblivious to what really happened to her clan and ended up getting kinda lost! shes not too developed yet but a friend helped me come up w her story

boris: ujhhh provide for his kids back home! i havent played him in a campaign yet so he isnt super developed, but hes a tabaxi bard who has two kids at home and is adventuring to get money to support them and bring home cool stuff as souvenirs for them

farrow: man no clue. i havent used him in a campaign in a while, but i guess in general his goal is to just prove himself, get stronger, and get freaky revenge on everyone who's ever wronged him and his party >:)

80s farrow: OUGH. first of all: find the werewolf thats been tormenting his town (and hopefully have it be his totally-not-crush clayton). second of all: form the garage band of his dreams. third: be accepted by the cool kids of his baseball team. fourth: make friends and stop being a lonely bitch

RTS skuggy: no idea what his goal is outside of road to salem but in this campaign my friend's running everyone's goal is to get to salem in one piece tbh. he wants 2 escape his past and figure his deal out and settle down in a fucked up town ^_^

i also forgot dexter is a character im playing in rts eventually so i. his main goal is to get to salem but also hopefully gain the trust of some people along the way to further his reputation :-) and become the best doctor he can be ! 💖💖 and get a hang of [REDCATED FOR SPOILERS]

5. do they follow a higher power? what are their thoughts on divinity?

none of my ocs follow a deity because that shit baffles me. not even 80s farrow, who's class is monk, follows a deity. his deity is the director of 80 Cool Tricks And Stunts To Wow Your Friends!, the cassette tape series he learned all his sick moves from

OH SHIT farrow in my very first campaign there was a deity who was just a dog who looks like a mop named Mop. i dont think he worshipped him BUT he DID meet him and his thoughts on divinity is "this shit is stupid as fuck but MOP is the one bitch i respect"

bierrab is not opposed to learning about it but doesn't follow it herself, she does love hearing stories from different cultures however

boris i dont fucking know man. he would follow a higher power but idk what that power is idk dnd religion so hes just there. he isnt super religious but he thinks theres somethin out there and hopefully its watching over his party and his family

skuggy doesn't follow anything but respects it and'll probably make an effort to at least learn a little bit about it if one of his friends is super devoted to it. 80s farrow thinks his world's deities are a bunch of random dudes and doesnt fucking understand