#someone help me to simplify my art style

[infamoussparks]

Happy birthday, Caly! My little 4-year old baby celebrated on April 23. She wanted a Disney Princess themed party and Rosaline made sure everyone dressed the part. This is also a great look at height-accuracy for my OCs (except Caly, who is kneeling on a chair).

[what-am-i-doing-in-this-fandom]

"🎶You can make it different 🎶"

"🎶You can make it right 🎶"

[this is a reference to the Steven Universe movie- the song being "Change", i think is what it's called :P]

[abby-howard]

I'm going to be asking a lot of artists I follow this question, but how did you develop your style? It SEEMS like most people find their style and stick with it forever, just making improvements and iterations. I tend to work in a lot of different styles because I enjoy doing that, though I know there are things I gravitate towards as well. But I wonder what your journey was and how you got feedback and improved while staying true to what you enjoyed?

Hi there!

I definitely wouldn't say that I've found my style and stuck with it forever-- I feel like each of my projects has asked for a certain kind of art, and has presented new challenges that push me in new directions.

Some of that comes from seeing someone else's work and having something click into place that might fix errors/faults in my own, and then I might try to incorporate that, such as bigger outlines on my characters to help distinguish them from the background, or maybe a way someone else simplifies eyes that can help make mine look less weird.

When I first started drawing, I can see where I encountered certain influences because my sketchbooks suddenly switch to incorporating some new stylistic element that I liked from whatever I was reading/watching at the time. But it was never QUITE right, it was never just copying, there was always something ~wrong~ with it. And that wrongness was my style! As much as I hated it, that was what distinguished my art from being just a copy of someone else's. I hate it less now, and understand that other people see something there that maybe I don't, because it's just what happens when I filter other people's work through my head. My soul, if you will.

There are definitely through-lines with my work, driven by what I like drawing and what comes easily to me-- hatching is almost always a major component, and I like making expressive characters. Here's some of my earliest available stuff, from my old webcomic:

Then not long after that, I started The Last Halloween, which pushed me to challenge myself in both layout and style:

And here's the same comic, years later:

And here's a series I did for kids, where I had to use full color and lay off on the hatching, as well as learn how to reconstruct animals that we have no photo references for, which is definitely a place where style comes majorly into play, whether I wanted it to or not:

Then there was the horror book I did, where I tried to push my work to be less cartoony overall, and to work very hard on improving my hatching:

Then I started work on Scarlet Hollow, where I incorporated a limited/muted palette and had to once again push myself to make less-cartoony art, as well as learn more consistency so I could draw sprite sets. This was a big challenge for me, and has helped me grow as an artist so much!

And most recently, I wrapped up work on Slay the Princess, which required that I go back in the cartoony direction, but in a very different way than I was used to. This took a lot of sketching to figure out, and there's still a decent amount of artistic stumbling in Chapter 1 while I settled into it.

She's drawing on anime/Disney influence, but each Princess required a bit of stylistic variability. Some are more anime, while some are more realistic than even the Scarlet Hollow characters.

So I wouldn't worry too much, honestly! A person's style is often something that reveals itself over the course of their career, rather than something they choose and then try to stick to forever.

Even if you don't think you have a style, you do. It might vary a lot piece by piece, especially if you're trying to closely imitate another person's art, but the more work you do, the more you'll figure out your own strengths and interests!

[ncalabby]

Hi there!

I really really love your TF2 comic work. You manage to capture the style of the comics and still mix it with your own style to give it a unique identity.

I’m making a TF2 comic myself, but I’m self-taught when it comes to making art and comics. Do you have any techniques that have helped you develop your style and comic-making?

Thank you and have a nice day!

I don't know about others, but for me, finding the goal of 'what you want to be' is the first priority.

for example

I go on social media, read comics, and watch movies. If I feel a spark, thinking "I LOVE THIS ART!" I'll try to analyze why I like it. Is it because of the way they make sharp line art? Is it because of the color?

Then, I'll continue to analyze the tools they use. Is it because they're using a G-pen, which makes their line art look so sharp? Then, I will try using a G-pen.

Here comes the problem part. Even if I try using the same G-pen, my art still doesn't flow. Why? I question myself and look at many other artists who also use G-pens and find out that it's about movement and flow! I don't have that in my work, which is why it looks so stiff! Later, I'll practice movement until I get it.

Even though many people say I captured the TF2 art style well, I feel I didn't study the TF2 comics that much. I love how Makani simplifies the characters, but my style is actually inspired by a lot of different comic artists, such as these:

I simply try to study various comic artists' styles to see which suits me best. I didn't aim to replicate the TF2 art style specifically. Instead, I use a sharp cel-shading style and simplify to make drawing easier, which is also a technique used in the TF2 comics. That's why my art might feel similar to that style.

But in the end, remember to be yourself. Don't try to become someone else; instead, draw things the way you'd like to see them in your work. Draw in a way that makes you feel happy. That's it!

[cereovo]

A set of very conceptual notes I drafted a while back for someone asking for advice on learning to draw humans. I'm entirely self-taught so this is less of a tutorial and more of a very rambling set of general principles I follow and ideas that helped while I was learning. I figured I'd post it in case anyone else could get use out of it!

I also recommend checking out:

Drawing East Asian Faces by Chuwenjie

How to Think When you Draw (lots of good tutorials in this series)

Pose reference sites such as Adorkastock

Transcript and some elaboration under the cut:

Img 1 - Drawing a face

The two most important elements (at least for me) when drawing a face are the outline of the cheek/jaw and the nose*. I often start with a circle to indicate the round part of the skull, then add a straight like and a 'V' to one side [to create the side of the face and the jaw]. The nose creates an easy template for the rest of the face's features to follow (eyebrows at the top of the nose bridge, eyes towards the center of the bridge, ear lines up to eye) and the placement/direction and overlap with other features is a very simple way to indicate dimension. [A sketch of a face that has been adjusted by moving its parts to create 3 different angles. The following text is underneath:] -Different 3/4th views can be created just by adjusting the position of and amount of overlap between the facial features. - The top of the ear usually lines up with the corner of the eye. Think of how glasses are designed [specifically, how the arms run from the eyeline to the ear] [I go on a tangent in these next few paragraphs] *One thing I see many artists do - not just beginners - is learn how to draw A Person. As in, one singular person with one set of bodily proportions and one set of facial features. It's an issue that runs a bit deeper than 'same face syndrome' because sometimes these artists can draw more than one face, they're just not very representative of [the diversity present across] real people. Part of the reason I'm talking more about how to think about approaches to drawing - rather than showing specific how-to's - is because there is no one correct or right way to draw a person. The sooner you allow yourself to explore variety - fat people, old people, people of color, people with [conventionally] 'unattractive' features - the easier it'll be! Artists often draw their own features honestly and without [harmful] caricature, so it's always a good idea to look at art made by the kinds of people you're trying to draw if you're ever unsure about how to handle something. In general, it's far more important to learn how to interpret a variety of forms than to learn how to replicate the Platonic Ideal of the Human Body.

Img 2 - Stuff that helped me

Jumping into drawing humans (faces or otherwise) straight from photo reference can be overwhelming. The trick is to simplify forms into shapes - but even this concept is sort of abstract and it may be hard to know where to begin. Good news - Thousands of other artists have already figured it out. [When starting out] I needed to learn from photo reference AND artists I admired in order to improve. [When looking at stylization you are inspired by] ask yourself: WHY does this simplification work? How can I translate it into a different pose? Instead of copying what you see in a photo reference exactly, try to focus on the general forms first. My two biggest style inspirations for humans while learning to draw them were Steven Universe and Sabrina Cotugno's art. SU gets a lot of hate [in this instance I was specifically referring to a time on tumblr when the art was knocked for 'losing quality'] but its style does a great job of simplifying anatomy in a way that still portrays a diversity of bodies + features. [Extremely simplified drawings of Lapis, Steven, and Amethyst] SU characters are still identifiable- and still read as 'human' - even when reduced to just a few lines!

Img 3 - Things I keep in mind while drawing side profiles

- Eyebrows + eyes close to the 'edge' of the face - Forehead needs enough room for a brain - Eye is > shaped from the sides - Mouth kinda halfway [between the nose and the chin] but closer to the nose - Skin/fat exists under the jaw [and connects to the neck] - neck is about one half the width of the whole head - the back of the skull always sticks out a bit further than you might expect - Sometimes less is more - contours exist on every face, but drawing them in may make your character seem much older than they're supposed to be. However, it's a good idea to use them when you *want* your character to look old! These are very general notes- every face is different and has different proportions [and playing around with them creates unique and interesting character designs]

[nemisisnemi]

Nemi’s 100 followers Art Raffle! 

I’m holding this event as a way to thank you all for getting me to 100 followers :D 

I’d like to give a special thanks to: ( @loser-jpg @spookyavenuestreet, @lemonchuu @artistnettles, @nyx-of-night, @celestcelest, @vauxxnm (and so many more i cannot @ in one go due to the tag limit but you know who you are!! I'll be tagging more ppl in the reblogs!) for supporting me on my journey all the way to 100 followers! Thank you for always interacting with my posts <3 

EVENT RULES: 

No harassment is allowed. You will be taken out of the raffle and blocked. 

If you have multiple accounts, be sure to link your other account(s) in your bio or intro post. 

Do not ask me when I will be starting the pieces. I have a busy schedule and do not know when I will have the time. 

No NSFW & suggestive requests allowed!!  No furry & mecha requests, I do not have the skillset to draw these. 

The winners must send me(preferably multiple) references and or descriptions of what they want drawn. Any overly complicated details and or clothes will be simplified. 

The winners will be allowed 2 changes when I check in with them with their pieces. 

GUIDELINES + INFO: 

This event will be held for a week from (July 23 12:00 am - July 30th 11:59pm est time) and I’ll randomly select the winners at the end of the week via the wheel of names (https://wheelofnames.com/)

To enter, all you need to do is to reblog this post with the tag “nemi 100 followers event”! Each username will apply as an entry. While multiple reblogs are appreciated, you’ll only receive one entry to give everyone a fair chance! Any follows during this event are greatly appreciated

There will be 5 winners selected in total

The 1st & 2nd place winners get to choose one of the options I've given and the rest of the winners will get their respective prizes. Once the 1st & 2nd place winners have selected their choice, it cannot be changed. 

I will be tagging & DMing the winners so make sure you have your dms opened! If there is no communication from the selected winners within 24 hours, I will select someone else for that slot. 

Prizes:

1st place: (choose only one of these options!)

Full body colored/rendered piece w/ a simple background 

2 characters simple interaction bust shots in one drawing sketch/clean lineart (can be characters or ocs but no color!) 

one character colored bust shot w/ simple background 

examples below!:

first piece(from left -> right) is full body example, 2nd one is of the bust shot, 3rd one is the type of rendering I'll be doing, 4th one is an example of the sketch I will be doing

2nd place: (choose one only)

a full body sketch/lineart piece w/ no color & background 

one character bust shot w/ no color & background

examples below!:

ignore the doodles around the first piece, but that will be somewhat what a full body no color will look like, 2nd piece is closer to what the style might be in & is also what the bust shot looks like.

3-5th place: one character bust shot w/ no color & background 

If you're curious on what my current art style looks like, go through my recent posts or master list! The examples I gave aren't 100% accurate to how my art looks like right now.

link to masterlist: here

I would like to give another special thanks to @/celestcelest @glidiaxoxo @raguiras @twistedwonderlandshenanigans for helping me with this event. Go show these people some love!! This event would not be possible without their help!! 

Good luck to everyone and thanks for participating!! 

[fallenclan]

Related to FallenClan designs! All your designs are super amazing, what’s your simplifying process/how do you decide design for cat pelts? Cause I always struggle with simplifying/deciding how they look especially bengals and cats with white patches… thanks if you respond!

I’m ADHD and struggle with consistency and simplifying lol, though more complex designs are pretty, I lean more towards what you do w/ you’re cats as they are simple but still super pretty + it makes it easier to consistently draw them all for stuff like this! (These comic like moon updates :])

(Also hope none of this came off as offensive, it’s all meant positively! I really really admire you and your designs :])

ty for the compliments!!! very sweet ask and I shall do my best to give a good response o7

generally my method with designing characters/drawing is to just wing it. fuck it we ball basically. but i DO take a lot of inspiration from other people's warriors art, taking the time to analyze what i like about their styles and what different sorts of patterns i can use

(i also regularly consult the Clangen Sprite Guide for better looks at white patches/tortie patterns and such, highly recommend)

the first thing i decide when i'm designing a new cat is what fur texture i want them to have. i have four that I pick from (pictured below, in order), wavy, spiky, curly, and square.

i decide the fur pattern based on the cat's personality (a more stoic cat might have square fur, while someone more bubbly might have curly, or someone more excitable have spiky, so on and so on), and also based on their parents/how many cats i've designed with that fur pattern recently.

after that is snout shape, which is probably my favorite part. i love to draw cats with a very pronounced snout, not unlike an oriental shorthair, but i generally slide around between that and a more typical, stubby snout, occasionally veering off into the very square snout of a maine coon. this is also a great spot to determine how sharp you want their jaw to be, which is something that can really help set a design apart! (a couple of snout examples below)

then i usually move onto colors. i like to pick an undertone for the cat first, so i know what sort of pallate to work with. as you can see in the pictures below, ravenstar has a purple/blue undertone, and toadbelly has orange/red undertones

this helps me make all the colors look nicer together, so i don't end up doing something like making a very warm colored cat with blue-toned white patches (which would make the white patches look super cold/too bright), which can be a really cool stylistic choice, but isnt what i tend to go for

once i've drawn out the cats fur shape and picked my colors, i'll move onto the base coat. over my time of having the fallenclan blog i've discovered that having a very simple pattern underneath the normal pattern can add a lot of visual interest to a cat, and make them look less plain.

here's a good example! one of the first cats i designed, oaktuft. their pattern was super basic--one base color, plus the inside of the ears, and then the color of their patterns.

and here's another cat that i designed a little more recently--Shiverspots! you can see that even just the small change of adding a bit of a lighter color to her underbelly made a world off difference. plus my style got a lot more defined lol

i have a couple of different base patterns that i use. here's a few more examples. i've even started to experiment with more than two colors!

once i've got the base done i move onto patterns. this part can definitely be tricky; trying to make a dozen brown tabbies with short fur be distinct can be . a challenge. i like to follow the steps of what i've already designed--a cat with spiky fur might have very sharp, angular stripes, and a cat with curly fur might have much rounder ones.

i think a good rule of thumb for if your pattern feels a little too basic is just to throw some more colors in there. another shade of orange, a more pale tint to some of them, whatever. and don't be afraid to erase it and start again! sometimes a design just won't work, and thats fine :)

the final thing i do is to add little design quirks. a particularly sharp jawline, downturned eyes, a crooked smile or a gap tooth, whatever! little things can really give your cats character.

i really hope that this helped!!!

[frogsrneat]

♥️ Art resources ♥️

Hey I put together a beginner art resource list! Feel free to share, save, etc. but a lot of people don’t know where to start:

Man is this a holy grail it includes free programs, online courses, tutorials, and scholarships (us based):

A big thing you are taught early on is just hand/eye coordination. Speed drawing, or “gesture drawing” if you’re fancy, is the best practice you can do on a regular basis.As much as you hate hearing “just practice”- it matters.

The best online art course I can think of. It will literally go step by step in teaching you commands and digital painting:

YouTube anatomy holy grail:

The Loomis method for the construction of the head is very popular because it is easy to learn and remember and can be applied to any drawing of the head.

Loomis also has many published books under his name. I’m not saying you can get free books here but if you could well. Careful of fake links with this site, if you don’t see the single login.re it’s the wrong one.

If loomis method books aren’t your style and you are more of a video person try this (this is the first on a short series):

If you know me I’m barely cracking the surface with digital art but I’m actually trained in professional forensic art and hyper realistic portraits , so here is info on traditional art by media.

Little proof of some training, but if you like this, this is woodless graphite pencils on vellum- just a slightly better quality than a pencil and paper :)

Finally here are some amazing pose references. Adorkastock had moved from Pinterest and is working on their own website so check them out here:

Taco is single handed my my go to for simplified anatomy and it goes my section of the body (people have made Pinterest copies that is separated by parts of the body) but I highly recommend buying it if you’re able!

I hope that this helps at least someone find a resource they needed or wanted! Feel free to dm me or repost with comments or more resources!

[iztea]

hello iz ik it's such a cliche question and idk if you've already answered that but- how do you learnt drawing humans??? like everyone says practice but i don't know how and i struggle so much :( thanks already for answering!! i really really love your art

hi!

the very regulated, academic, objectively correct bs answer: learn the fundamentals, study and practice!

the unhinged, off-the-counter, cool uncle from your dad's side of the family answer:

Imo, the best way to learn how to draw on your own is to reference and study other people's art. There is no need for you to reinvent the wheel, and if you are a beginner and have no idea what you're doing, tackling multiple fundamentals at once can overwhelm and demotivate you quite a lot. So, for your morale and motivation, I think it is totally okay to just observe multiple artworks from multiple artists and engage with them critically ( * N.B. : artistS - plural; by referencing multiple works, you lower the risk of accidentally becoming a copycat or locking yourself into an art style that will never be as good as the original because it was not yours)

What I mean by critically engaging with an artwork is to analyze how they're tackling difficult body parts that you struggle with. For example, let's say you can't/don't know how to draw legs. Look at a picture of a real human leg, observe how someone else has simplified that leg form and anatomy, and then try to recreate it. Don't just copy their linework 1 to 1. That is not the point. Do it your own way, incorporate aspects of others' art that you like, and make them yours. You should have 5++ references of that leg from 5++ different artists. There are maany people out there who post their studies online, raw sketches or structural drawings (TB Choi comes to mind for example). Look for people like them, and if you can't find someone, then Pinterest is your bff. When learning how to draw, hunting the internet for how people sketch >>> rendered art. If speedpaints are more your thing, then youtube has you covered. Personally, I've learned more from a 20 min speedpaint with nightcore bgm and zero annotations from some guy that doesnt even speak english that has 300 views than I've learned from 10 min long art tutorials from fluent english speakers with 1 mil views. At the end of the day, we can yap and theorise as much as we want, but it's the act of drawing that brings results and seeing how other people draw is sometimes worth a thousand words.

> References in general also help a lot. I can't tell you how many times I was too lazy to look something up and spent 14235 hours trying to draw it off the top of my head only to have it done in 10 minutes once I finally gave in and pulled up a reference. So yeah, always use references. Don't be like me this is actually a bad habit

Okay, but how to /use/ that reference if you're a beginner? Very simple: draw on top of it ( *Do Not trace the outlines, that's pointless if you actually want to learn something). Draw guidelines over the body parts, deconstruct and simplify the ref into just boxes and lines ( always think in 3D ). This will help a lot with keeping the proportions in check. You can start by drawing those guidelines first and then get into details. Kinda like in sculpture: you start with a big block of a rock, and then you slowly carve and build form and then detail. The more you draw, the less you will need those guidelines as you get a feeling for the proportions yourself and will no longer need this step.

Once you become more confident in your skills or have a "sense" for drawing and you are in too deep to just give up after hitting your first wall, then you can tackle the scary intimidating stuff that is art fundamentals ( or you can do them simultaneously, all I'm trying to say is to never forget that you are not the only drawer in the world; looking in your neighbor's yard is totally okay within the reasons of common sense ). You don't have to raise and milk a cow it to make butter, you can just buy it from the store. If you want to bake a cake, a beginner chef will use store-bought cake mix because they have no idea how to cook. Once they learn the science behind baking (because it really is a science) they will buy their own ingredients and then improve or personalize the cake with better, well-researched ingredients, they will add their own twist, flavours, adjust the macros, perfect the technique and so on.

This is how I've personally learned how to draw by myself bc I'm self-taught and didn't care for formalities as it's just a hobby of mine that I do for fun. If you want proper advice you should probably listen to more qualified people but I can only preach what I practice.. Anywayssss hope it helped!!

[papermonkeyism]

Poking at the dinosaur project thingy, this time with some production technicalities point of view.

Here be musings.

I originally thought of the project as a calendar, then a series of calendars that could be collected into an art book once enough art had been made for it, and at some point I thought of just skipping the calendar part and going straight for art books.

I've been going back and forth between those options multiple times over the years, and it's still kinda open. Like on one hand a simple calendar with just thirteen illustrations (twelve months plus cover) is the easiest and cheapest option, though pretty limited (what to do once the year presented in the calendar ends, and you still got unsold leftover stock?), and the other hand art books are big projects requiring lots of work, even more money, but be a lasting and very satisfying thing to have.

Maybe I should take a middle road and make a zine instead?

Maybe.

Though, this is where the shape of the actual project comes in.

I've always planned the project as having a slice of life style format, with little story and more focus in exploring the setting. Kinda just looking in and enjoying the view while you go. But I've noticed that keeping the "narration" as illustrations kinda keeps the immersion at arm's length too. While that is fine and dandy for a calendar where the space for any narrative would be very limited anyway, if I was going to do more with the setting, I kinda need something deeper. Even if the audience is fine just looking at pretty pictures, with ADHD it would be better to have something deeper to help keep me personally invested enough to actually plan, plot and produce the materials needed.

Should I make an actual story, with plot and stuff? Feels kinda unnecessary for a thing focusing on just illustrations, and I don't know if I really "click" with a text heavy picture book format. I kinda feel it would make comic as the best option, though that has its own downsides. I've always wanted to do full colour paintings of the dinosaurs, yet going comic it would have to simplify a lot and make it grayscale just to keep me sane. And, as someone who has done well over 250 pages of a long form comic, that's still a HUGE commitment I don't think I have the resources - mental, physical nor financial - to pull off.

I also kinda feel having a plot story would sort of detract from the "exploring the world" aspect and put more heavy focus on characters, which. Well, it's not *bad* exactly, just not quite what I want.

(Also I am aware the dinosaur clan I have has a kid character, and I don't want to make her the point of view character for the story. I have no interest doing a childrens' book. I mean, I am perfectly fine if kids do eventually end up liking my stuff, but I don't consider them my target audience. My target audience is me, an adult person in their later 30s, and a handful of nerds I consider friends and/or mutuals.)

Another option I've been toying with is kind of a double edged sword.

Those who got the Almost Real speculative evolution zine volume 5 got a bit of a taste of this, as I kinda tried it out there.

So... I've gone to pretty great lengths as a layperson to work in the setting of the project thingy. It's always bothered me when dinosaurs get just dumped into a story with no regards to when and where they actually lived, making for an anachronistic hodgepodge of what's popular forming into a mismatched fantasy setting, usually with throwing humans into the mix. I don't like that. I'm more interested in seeing the actual animals as they were, when they were and where they were, where the focus is in the dinosaurs themselves. Thus the limit to Two Medicine formation (with some of the surrounding areas included too, though still keeping to the same time period).

I do not want humans in my dinosaur stories. Period.

But what if...

So, imagine a research journal. There's a scientist visiting the clan of Singing People the project focuses on, with the mission of studying them, their life and their world. The book or zine or whatever could be a story of the dinosaur clan introducing themselves and their life to this person. An outsider point of view to excuse learning about them by them teaching this POV person how their world works. There could be some interaction and maybe interviews, and of course illustrations because you need to document your subjects after all.

Like, I'm kinda excited about the idea. It would let me get into the details I want to picture without getting too into the heads of the characters to limit the chances of artistic exploration. You gotta document the surroundings your study subjects live in after all! But you'd still get to know the characters because it's the job of the POV person to learn about them. Win win!

It's just that I don't want to put too much attention on this hypothetical scientist. Like I said before I don't want to mix my settings. The dinosaur project thingy's world IS Laramidia in the Campanian period of late Cretaceous, it's not meant to be a scifi setting, nor do I want to have any focus on any time travel.

Wonder if it would be possible to leave the scientist character vague enough to never actually get explained? They're just nameless outsider from undetermined time and place who's interviewing some dinosaurs. Maybe with some peronal opinions or musings but no anecdotes about their own life or themself. And whenever there's interactions between the scientist and any of the Singing People it just gets handwaved away. (Of course the Singing People are curious about them too, but that's not the point of the study so it just doesn't get documented or something?)

I don't know. Could that work?

[screentones-webcomicresources]

do you have any advice for aspiring author-artists who already work full time (40 hrs per week) day jobs?

i straight up don’t have time for anything outside of work, taking care of my pets, general housekeeping, feeding myself, and sleep. i’d have to sacrifice time for one of those categories to do anything outside of them. and i frequently do sacrifice that time. usually sleep and housekeeping.

(i am looking for part-time work that would let me bring in the same amount of income per month, but i would have to sacrifice my current health care while im in the middle of trying to address my own medical needs)

Our work-life balance episode has some good thoughts we definitely recommend you check out, because we struggle with this too! It can be tough depending on your energy levels, and sometimes the answer really is to wait for a season of your life where things are less busy before you jump into a large comic project.

But it's still possible to make progress at your own pace. Here are some things that help us:

Keep something you can draw or take notes with on you when you have a bit of downtime in your day. You can use a notes app on your phone to document an idea or edit an outline when you have something come to you, or keep a sketchbook at your desk depending on your set up. Depending on your transit options, sometimes you can also draw on a bus or train.

Team up! If you have art friends in your neighborhood, consider starting or joining a club or meet up to draw after work (this also has the much-needed benefit of social time). You may also be able to hire art assistants to help with flatting or another part of your page-making process.

Reclaim some of your time if you can. Get someone else who wants to watch the animals once a month and go on a weekend art retreat to focus (large or just hanging out in a library or someplace where you can concentrate - going to be different for different people). You may find some other ways to simplify your daily routines or multitask to get some time back in your day for comic-making.

Set realistic expectations and don’t compare your results with someone who works on a comic full time. This may mean scaling back the scope of your story, simplifying the art style, or working at a slower schedule. However you make your comic, it still matters, and it should be an activity that brings you joy, not stress!

We wish you the best of luck!

[oddly-casual]

Spoilers for the Tales of the Tmnt teaser trailer (This me talking abt my thoughts and stuff I noticed ;)

With screenshots baby let’s go.

I’m not comparing it to Rise, but it did give off a kind of vibe. Especially with how Leo holds his sword and Raph’s fond older brother stare.

I’m also really glad they got rid of Splinter’s whatever they were, it was a little distracting on his movie design for me so I’m glad they simplified it.

I think this might be the establishing shot of like a news report about how much the public loves the turtles now. Which is crazy bc imagine being an unsocialized shut in teenager and suddenly you have hundreds of adoring fans.

Ma’am 💀 ain’t no way this grown ass woman made that sign deadass. They really took notes on how some fans act abt the turtles that’s crazy.

Fame really does go crazy bc ain’t no way she seriously wants to be married to a crusty teenager.

They’re gonna get their ass beat

Come on now, what did he expect…he had enough sense to rip it off the wall but not throw it…

Lowkey kinda hope they get called into the principals office after this fight because of how much property damage they caused

The art style is wild, but I particularly like these two frames of Raph because they go hard like look at that.

Also maybe a Raph barn fight???

He did say he was gonna kick 🤷

I think this might be the final blow to the fight of the bots just because of how dramatic and center stage it is

The robots, most likely sent by TCRI, seem to have different materials cobbled together. So either they’re shit at making robots or they’re repairing themselves.

Or someone else repaired them with junk, maybe Donnie.

And why number your bots? Shit tagging systems tbh

April is saying like always. Though I do wonder if she’s wearing that little headband bc she’s trying to mimic aliens. It would be the right amount of cringe fail for her personally

Another thing I’m noticing is while everyone else got several shots, Donnie is only seen with a group and not by himself like his brothers are. I think this is just the pilot episode we’re seeing clips of so I’m not too judgy about it but I do wonder what the hell Donnie is doing that he can pitch in and help with the fight.

April we only see once, which is fair, again first episode. I really do hope they explore her character more than what we saw in the movie.

That’s all for now, let me know if I missed anything because you know I eat that up

[adelphenium]

art related question !!

how did u get so good at capturing faces and such ... i often have such a hard time getting my drawings to look like someone and their likeness . do you have any tips or anything ?

hii hello ty for the ask!! honestly i can't really offer much in the way of advice beyond suggesting lots n lots of practice, which i know is what everyone says... but i find it's true :") i have a few thoughts below as well!

i think drawing lots of diverse face shapes + features kinda helps you to recognize patterns over time and decide what to emphasize to make someone's face look more distinctive.

mainly, i think less is more!

to use a basketball example (just bc that's what's been on my mind lately):

russell westbrook (top) has lots of really unique facial features (square face, deep-set eyes, strong nasal wings, mole, small ears, wide mouth, etc.) but i find that actually makes him hard to capture. on the other hand, to me, kevin durant's (below) most noteworthy features are his wide nose and semi-hooded (?) eyes.

for a hockey example, i would say the same about linus ullmark (crinkly eyes, soft chin, thin nose bridge, small mouth + thin lips) and jeremy swayman (sparkly eyes, wide/prominent nose) respectively. i personally have a harder time drawing ully than sway!

it's also helpful to look at multiple reference pics from various angles to see how these differences play out.

these are just my personal thoughts -- i don't know if the way i latch onto certain characteristics is actually ~accurate~, and i also take some issue with what i conceive of as "natural" or conventionally attractive features as the baseline to more unique ones. i try not to lean too much into caricature territory, but it's a hard line to ride.

overall, though, the whole point of cartoony art is to simplify and focus on a few key points! it's subjective but i think that's all part of balancing your own style with portraying people in a way that's recognizably Them.

i always feel a bit out of my depth about giving out art tips but i hope this helps a little! <3

[cuepickle]

art question! Your style is just pure eye candy to me, and I'd love to know what your process is for stylization (if there is any) as someone who has very little knowledge on capturing the likeness of a live action character.

Do you make the decision to focus on the more important/recognizable features like hair, eye shape, general build or is it just a sort of built up muscle memory from staring very closely and drawing what you see on the subject? I'd love to hear what you think is most important in the process if you have any advice! If not, I understand completely!

either way, love your posts! Have a nice day/night!

Firstly, thank you so much for the kind words about my art/style!! I really appreciate it.

Oh gosh, this is somehow a tough one to answer, because I feel like I’m trying to work my process out every single time I pick up my pencil to draw.

I often get caught up in trying to match a person’s face exactly, but in doing so I’ve found that I end up losing the forest for the trees, and there ends up being no likeness whatsoever! I have tons of drawings like that all through my sketchbook (and my posts too tbh).

So just like you wondered, I have been trying to focus on the shape of features and simplifying things down. I’ve been watching a few YT artists recently who preach the importance of shape, and I think it’s really helped!!

I always use references for every drawing (the character’s face, and then random people for poses), but I’ve been trying to remind myself that I’m not trying to draw a photorealistic pic. I’m drawing the character in my style.

Hopefully I’ll be able to keep improving! But I have had a bit of RSI in my hand at the moment that’s keeping me from drawing as much as I’d like 🥲

[heartfulselkie]

I love your art style! You do such a good job of drawing characters in adorable ways (especially Chat Noir, he must be protected at all costs).

Do you have any advice on how to draw chibi/chibi-esque characters? I’ve been trying on and off for years and all my attempts inevitably look strangely proportioned and unnatural rather than cute.

Thank you so much! I do tend to enjoy drawing cute things so I end up doing it a lot (with Adrien/Chat Noir being my favourite to draw) 🤭

Chibi/chibi-esque drawing is a little weird since its usually skews the body's proportions. This is why it can look really weird sometimes. But sometimes that weirdness can be charming? It's really a matter of finding a way that works for you and that you like.

For me, my "squish style" (as I like to call it to myself 😂) has taken a lot of trial and error. Drawing, drawing and more drawing is the best thing to improving.

Yes, it sometimes comes out looking awful. I've had plenty of times where I just can't get a drawing to look right. It still happens. Even when I draw comics the same character can look different across multiple panels 🤣

But sometimes a drawing is good enough. And good enough really is GOOD ENOUGH. I can be a perfectionist, but trying to be perfect just ends up in a lot of frustration. Sometimes I look at a drawing I've made and can see the faults in it - but that's a drawing I made and I've decided it's good enough. Being kind to yourself does a lot more for your improvement than people realise, I think.

I'm a little all over the place when it comes to advice, but I'll share something someone told me before and it stuck with me and did a lot to help me relax:

There's no straight lines in the (human) body

Humans are naturally squish and curved! Even when a body is tough and toned, it has natural curves to it. So your lines don't need to be precise.

"Chibi" obviously emphasises on these curves and softness - especially around the face. Simplify the features! Squish and soften them! Are there artists whose styles you like? Trying drawing the bits you like and mix it up! Put Artist A's eye shapes on Artists B's head shapes!

I think the learning part is a fantastic part of doing any kind of art. Yes it can be tedious and tiresome and frustrating at times, but there's really nothing wrong with learning and figuring things out. We all start somewhere. Sometimes things will just click into place, and sometimes it'll take a bit for you to figure out what it is that's bothering you about a drawing.

Just keep experimenting and drawing. It doesn't have to be perfect. You're just aiming for something you can say "that's good enough" and take enjoyment from that. I believe I really started to improve myself when I took "good enough" instead of "100% perfect" as my end point for my drawings.

[ranchycowgirllover]

Alright so I made a Stella Re-Design, this post ‘ill be kinda long cuz I wanna explain things and such

My main problems with this design are 1- Details that are unneeded that lead to inconvenience in the animation department (like seriously watch scenes with her and focus on her lashes) 2- This outfit isn’t very regal, I’m guessing the bottom of the dress is supposed to resemble feathers idk it just doesn’t look good.

Alright so we have that out of the way, I have made a few different possible re designs. You’ll see the one I prefer at the end.

This one I tried to keep more in line with the original pink princess theme. Simplified the dress and hair (I imagine that her hair can fluff up when she’s angry) and I replaced the dark purple with a maroon. I also made her hair white. This way the only purple is her make up which should cause you to look at her face more.

This one is a more evil Queen inspired Stella, used the purple as a main dress color, I gave her green/blue eyes and grey hair which she had in the pilot. The eyes are help tell her apart from her husband, and the hair change is to make her look older and more regal. I changed the style of dress now she looks less little girl costume princess. (No hate to princess peach)

This is a younger Stella design that I did. My canon is that she was dressed this way as to appeal more to Stolas.

Now this is the final design that I chose. The purple is for royalty, I did away with the dark purple as to make her look less threatening. And the dress is rococo era inspired just because I those dresses no real reason

I also did a design for her brother.

His changes were simplify his outfit, and the other stuff like his hair were changed to match his redesigned sister

Alright so that’s all the art. The rest of the this is just going to be me ranting and raving about her character.

Okay so I think we should acknowledge how fucked Stella’s situation is. She’s in an arranged marriage and her only purpose in hells society was to give birth to an heir.

Stolas and her brother are shown to have magic powers, and Stolas we know he has princely duty’s so we can assume the same for her brother. Stella doesn’t have any of these she was meant to be a baby a maker. Even her name Stella compliments Stolas’s role as star prince or whatever.

Now in the first episode of season 2 we have Stella making fun of her husband how he’s bad in bed and how she’s glad she doesn’t have to fuck him because she’s given birth. I think this is Viv’s attempt at making this situation seem less fucked up.

I don’t even know it just makes me really uncomfortable that this very feminine woman in a shitty situation is being vilified. Like if I was in Stella’s situation I’d probably have anger issues too. I’m just so tired of being told that feminine outrage and displays of anger make us monstrous bitches.

Now obviously Stolas being forced into a loveless marriage also sucks and is an awful situation for him too. But he’s not that much better than Stella. Both are shown to be physically abusive to the castle staff, and Stella for all her faults isn’t black mailing someone into sex.

Now having two shitty people wouldn’t bother me if the narrative didn’t bend over backwards to make Stolas seem like such good guy, just an uwu gay bean. His wife is SO mean she won’t let the gay people be happy 🥺. Also painting abusers as cartoonishly evil monsters does a disservice to people who have been abused is all I’m saying.

Anyways I’ll hopefully have a Stolas Redesign up next

Bye now