#this is late because I just learned to draw digitally

[twisted-aces]

Not me rolling in late to this trend...but please enjoy my OC Laya and Grim as the Barbie meme.

[multifariousmediums]

RvB facecanons! Closeups under the cut.

[keeps-ache]

HEY

[calebslittlecrow]

Manifested A New Monitor In Under 24 Hours

Apparently success stories are motivational or shit, so here is one for y'all. Not really my thing to share success stories normally, but this one is so dumb and fast maybe it helps someone. Take it or leave it basically ┐( ˘ ､ ˘ )┌ Anyway, context: I do digital art. Like a lot, a metric fuckton of drawing anime men. And I have been using the same monitor since the beginning of my art journey. I love that crusty old bastard, we have been through a lot. But like most good things lately it has been going downhill. Not in a "look how quirky" - kind of way. More like the "I may implode mid-project and flash seizure lights at you" - kind of way. And the power button stopped working, so it won't even turn off. Do I have other monitors? Yes. Are they decent for digital art? Hahaha... no. Yeah, I could use one of them in case my monitor suddenly flatlines while I'm trying to merge some layers or play Genshin or Dead By Daylight or whatever. But honestly? I rather wrestle my old monitor out of the afterlife than deal with whatever piss-yellow color settings filter those monitors have going on. But I wasn't actively looking for a new monitor either, because a decent one costs more than my will to live. Not ready for that kind of financial trauma. Didn't thought about manifesting one either, my brain kinda forgot this was an option. What happened? I saw an absolute unit of a monitor at my friends desk. Colors so juicy they made my eyes water and my heart lurch. Size big enough to show me my shrimp like posture while drawing in full HD reflection. I thought "Damn this thing is nice. I will get one like that one day. Mine". That was it. No drama, no longing gazes at the monitor, no dropping hints at my friend that I want the monitor. No hints that my old one was being cranky and slowly turning into a microwave. Just looked at that spicy monitor and internally decided one like that would be mine. Fast forward not even 24 hours later and my friend suddenly turns to me and asks: "Hey, you want that monitor? I never use it anyway". That exact monitor I locked eyes with the day before. Zero effort, zero mental crisis. We swapped, one of my backup monitors for that gorgeous piece of display heaven (that thing has touchscreen too T-T). "But Mochi, why are you telling us this boring story???" Because sometimes shit just works like that. No need to strangle or micromanage every detail of your manifestations. I wanted it, I probably mentally claimed it and went on with chugging a liter of hot chocolate with milk despite being lactose intolerant. No pressure, no mental crisis, no "what if I never get a monitor that nice?", no "I need it now or I'll explode." Same applies to shifting more or less. Maybe we should sometimes back off and trust the process, and maybe the 3D will get its ass up and actually do shit. And yeah, I struggle with that in regards to shifting too. No shame in admitting that. I want my DR so bad and now and I question everything I do twice, I basically build a brick wall in front of myself. But shit like those small manifestations make us learn, right? Right ^-^

[sen-ya]

Life After Info Post

[Click here to access the Life After Digital Comic Book]

Summary: Two years ago, a viral outbreak rose the dead. Considering how his life had gone up to this point, surgeon Trafalgar Law figured this might as well happen too. When a supply run into the nearby city gets intercepted by a seemingly reckless and impulsive former patient, the dependable routine Law had settled into in this new life shatters. He finds himself exposed — his body out in the infected landscape, his conscious clawing to define what he believes is right, his heart begrudgingly deciding to find a new home on his sleeve. Maybe there’s more than a virus roaming the new world that can bring a dead man back to life.

Content Warnings: Canon typical violence, zombies/body horror (but lbr I am not good at making scary things look scary)

Relationships: Luffy x Law

Update Schedule: New page every Monday/Wednesday/Friday

Page Count: [37 posted | 55 drawn]

Latest Update: [7/21/24] WOWEE did I get myself carried away this morning. I just spent 5 hours organizing my comics and creating the digital comic book pages. I could have spent that time drawing or idk not doing what I do for my job, but I cannot be stopped. Anyway I blocked out 30 pages of this comic last week and they include the most intense action sequence I've ever done in my gotdang life. Wish me luck because I am nervous about tying down all my drawings lmao.

OLD UPDATES:

[6/29/24] HULLO! I'm doing so bad at keeping my masterposts updated lately I am sorry. All pages of life after are tagged life after if you're ever looking between masterpost updates! Also exciting update, I finally have figured out all the different plot points i'm gonna be hitting (yay!). I got hung up on something for awhile that made me not wanna work on this project, but I'm back at it. I think we'll end up with 6-7 parts! I have probably another 80-100 pages to draw lol. Also i got the app Magic Poser and it's AWESOME and I immediately used it to block out sets cuz MAN I hate backgrounds.

[6/10/24] HELLO. I'm sorry I've been shit at updating my masterposts lately. It's easiest to do from my computer, which I rarely use, and life has been happening. I also can't believe I bungled the queue and posted pg19 before pg18 i am very sorry 🤦 Eventually I'll have to turn this into an airtable base I'm sure, but until that day comes where I have like 100 pages of this comic we're stickin to the regular post lmao

[5/26/23] I got real caught up in doing summer of lawlu comics this week and this is the first week since the first week of April I haven't drawn new Life After pages and it feels weird 🙊

[5/19/24] More Luffy backstory comin' this week! :^)

[5/12/24] Updating now so get myself on schedule to update on Sundays like I had been with my other comic master post!

[5/8/24] Thank you to everyone who's liked/reblogged/comment on the first few pages!! It means the world to me that anyone's reading my silly little comics.

[4/28/24] HULLO. It’s happeninnng. I’ve spent the last few weeks working on this comic, and I gotta make this post so I can start queuing pages & link this in them! This is the most like….legit? Comic endeavor I’ve undertaken perhaps….ever. I’m very nervous about committing to how long it will need to be lol. This story is dear to my heart — zombie content is kind of my very favorite. I’ve always found it to be a great backdrop for exploring themes like grief, coping with change, community, and learning to live again. It’ll be a long haul but I hope you’ll ride it out with me!! Tomorrow I’ll be posting the first two pages. After that a page will post every Monday/Wednesday/Friday. As of this post I’ve completed over 20 pages so that I have a good lead on what’s posting and continuing to write, so I’m hopeful that’s a cadence I’ll be able to maintain. I’ll update this post weekly to include the most recent pages the way I do with my main comics master post. All pages will be tagged 'Life After' and I'll tag any pages with zombies in them with 'zombie' for blacklisting etc.

[mecharust]

There is this thing in fandom spaces I noticed where it doesn't really feel like a community anymore but more... corporate. The transformers fandom is not an exception. An artist having hurt feelings over their fanart being copied is not something that needs to be discussed under "what is legal" or not. We are not businesses trying to sue each other we are all people that like the same toy line.

As artists, the line of inspiration and plagiarism can be a fine line, however just like most things in life- Proper communication and acknowledging the humanity in each other is the proper way of dealing with issues like this. If you hurt someones feelings your first priority is making sure what that person needs to not feel hurt anymore. Not trying to damage control the situation to appease the public eye. BE CONSIDERATE OF THE PEOPLE YOU ARE SHARING A SPACE WITH.

I see people that make these fandom spaces feel weirdly cold and uncaring, So i decided to also take the time to mention and discuss my inspirations that helped me form my own voice when it comes to my transformers related art & writing- Because I think we as artist should learn on how to give back when we take inspiration:

DerrickJWyatt:

Starting off with the late Derrick- I enjoyed his unique and recognizable art style even outside of transformers, but it was Transformers Animated that became my first exposure to the franchise when I was watching cartoons- It's unique setting made me experiment with how I want my AU to feel like. I studied the concept art when I was trying to get a grasp on how I want my designs to look, which helped me create my own unique design philosophy that still feels like it is transformers while also being its own thing. His twitter is still up for those that want to see his doodles and fun ideas.

@disformer:

Incredible artist with the ability to make drawing robots look so effortless, which if you are an artist you'd understand how having the ability to make something look effortless- requires a lot of effort. The resources they posted are so incredibly helpful- This video he made saved my life when trying to draw these stupid robot ppl- recommended to anyone who hates drawing squares and is lazy <3.

@combaticon:

The- and I mean THE transformers writer. If you haven't read her work you are missing out because her writing comes from such a genuine place, where even tragedy and uncomfortable feelings are written beautifully to capture the complex and messy experience that is life. Writing that embraces queerness without sanding off the edges to make it appealing to the masses. Combaticon writes stories that can only be written at home, for you and your friends. It makes me enjoy sharing my own writing to connect with others in the same way her work spoke to me.

@drill-teeth-art:

Amazing and creative artworks that highlight body positivity not seen much in fandoms. Drill-Teeth creates Transformers designs that all look incredibly interesting, distinct and unique! Also just incredible artworks done digitally as well with a pen and paper. I have been getting into drawing more on paper myself because of the amazing work I saw drill make. (However my analog art could use some work </3)

There are more I could mention but I would probs be sitting here all day- I hope any artist who reads this decides to think about how they can give back to a community that inspired them. Peace and love everyone

[kylejsugarman]

like walt obviously never wanted to or tried to focus on his cancer as a disease, it just became a nebulous entity that was in turns an impetus to Get what he Wanted and an exit sign, and thus was never a huge component of his jesse/business-facing identity, but it’s so excruciatingly clear that the cancer as a disease WAS a big part of his identity to jesse. walt worried about people perceiving him as withered and diseased, but jesse perceived him the complete opposite way and transitioned to that “digital short about making a meth comic” hero worship state of walt partially because of his cancer. jesse not only has a well documented affinity for protecting the vulnerable (and like it or not, cancer is an inherently vulnerable disease), he has an early established personal connection with cancer thru his late aunt ginny. his and ginny’s relationship is a story told almost exclusively through offscreen events and visual or conversational cues, but that just makes it all the more wrenching because this story falls into place in near perfect tandem with the show’s deepening and softening of jesse’s character. we realize that he’s a loving, insecure, vulnerable person just as we’re also piecing together that he lived for years with this woman who loved him as he Was and who he cared for devotedly until she died. her things remain in her house untouched; when he invokes her name, there’s an unusual degree of reverence to it that we don’t typically see with jesse. he clearly still reveres ginny and those emotions transfer to walt as soon as jesse learns about his cancer diagnosis. that protective instinct emerges, that sense of urgency returns. when walt says that his cancer is stage 3a, jesse unconsciously mumbles “in ur lymph nodes”—not a fact u would expect him to just know offhand. jesse knows this from his time with ginny and in that line—the quietness of it, the impulsivity of it—we see that jesse is thinking about Time. realizing how little of it walt must have left if it’s in his lymph nodes. and so he submits. jesse submits and follows his protective instinct despite the harm it leads him to because he wants to buy walt more time. walt and ginny have become inextricably linked in his mind and when walt dispenses those rare bits of affection and approval, those links only grow stronger. we see all these newly uncovered parts of jesse—the part of him that cares deeply for the vulnerable, the part of him that needs validation from a parental figure, the part of him that is no longer there following ginny’s death—bending to accommodate a generous perspective of walt as a sort of hero who is fighting cancer and graciously allowing jesse to fight by his side for a greater good. and if jesse can reach the bar that walt has set for him, if he can just do what he’s told and chase walt’s approval, maybe he can earn them that victory and save walt from what happened to ginny. i just think that if ginny weren’t a part of this equation, we wouldn’t have gotten the walt and jesse relationship we got. in any case, we certainly wouldn’t have gotten jesse lovingly drawing and inking a literal comic book superhero version of walt and their adventures.

[meanbossart]

Another much overdue ask compilation! Some short-ish lore asks (Gale, Gort, DU drow relationships and pet-companion preferences) and a couple of art/advice ones sprinkled in. THIS IS BY NO MEANS ALL OF MY ASKS so as usual I appreciate everyone's patience!

I actually think he'd give them a pass entirely as soon as he noticed. Correct me if I'm mistaken but half-drow get No love from underdark drow and are usually surface babies right? So that fruit is miles away from the tree lol. I think he generally has a bit of a soft spot for mixed kinds since he himself feels like an amalgamation of sorts.

Thank you! They're kind of a pain in the ass to draw at times for that very reason but man I do like the look 😩if other people like it too then that makes it all worth it!

THAT'S TRICKY TO ANSWER BECAUSE OFTEN TIMES I'M NOT... REALLY TRYING. I've draw a ton of horror comics for mine and my partner's series' SAD SACK and SORTIE, so I think it just comes naturally to me 😅 also I do genuinely find expressive and, uh, rugged faces more attractive? (I think they look rugged, again that's what people tell me at least.)

I think the secret might be adding bits of realism in there. I get a lot of comments about the wrinkles and eyelashes I add to my art, as well as the way I draw individual teeth (though I've lately been making an effort to simplify my style in favor of drawing faster, so I haven't done that as much or in as much detail.)

Both symmetry and the lack of it can also add to that effect. I have employed both facial unevenness and almost point-perfect symmetry to achieve something a little frightening or otherworldly in my work. [MORE UNDER THE CUT]

Thank you so much!!! The contrast is very much intentional, that's what DU drow's character is all about ;)

Hahah well I somewhat doubt Bhaal would care that his spawn gets named, but either way he stripped himself of his name as soon as he killed his foster parents and abandoned the Underdark. He had a drow name that I jotted down somewhere but it's completely irrelevant because nobody has used it since he was a child, and he doesn't remember it (even pre-tadpole/having his brain scrambled.) Here's a little write up about his origins that might shed some more light on that: https://meanbossart.tumblr.com/post/739688837431836672/did-drow-ever-have-a-childhood-before-the-temple

And about his original drow-given name and the reason behind it: https://meanbossart.tumblr.com/post/741350986692591616/drow-had-to-have-been-given-a-name-by-his-adoptive

Everyone just referred to him as his supposed race, or as Bhaalspawn or Bhaal's child, and any other similar titles. Orin called him "kin" and "brother" and Gortash likely called him his associate. Post-tadpole the camp grows entirely used to calling him "the drow" and he has no desire to change that or to choose a proper name.

THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH😭 no reason to be intimidated, I'm just some rando drawing BG3 fan art LOL I've been drawing since I was a child, and started taking it semi-seriously when I was 16 years old, so twelve years ago! That's around the time where I got my first non-display tabled and used that well into my twenties, prior to that I only did stuff on paper and liked to do inks color with pencils. I never really ventured into traditional painting at all except for a little bit of water-coloring in college.

Traditional and Digital art are very much different beasts. Which one you want to start with is, in my opinion, just dependent on what you want to do. Digital art gives you a lot of tools that makes learning easier, but you might find yourself having much steeper of a learning curve if you ever decide to do traditional art instead. If you want to be good at both, you need to practice both, since the skill doesn't entirely translate from one medium to the other.

Naturally you will be able to draw well on either, it's just... Different. I will say though, that I think if you're still learning you should use whatever allows you to look directly at what your hand is doing, so either traditional or display tablet/Ipad. I have no idea what a non-display tablet would do to a beginner, but remembering my experience with it I feel like it might be a huge detriment to developing the skill (feel free to share your experiences in the replies if you disagree, as I would definitely be curious to read them!)

YOU KNOW ME BABY IT WAS MESSY AND COMPLICATED the tldr.: is that they were "buddies", absolutely no romance intended there on either mine or DU drow's part, but due to his nature the friendship was extremely weird.

Here's a couple of replies where I go into more detail about it: https://meanbossart.tumblr.com/post/739191190871818240/i-dont-have-a-particular-question-in-mind-sorry

https://meanbossart.tumblr.com/post/744952815768764416/so-not-sure-if-youve-covered-this-but-i-thought

That's definitely reserved for the vamp LOL DU drow very much enjoys when Astarion teases and fusses over him, and while Astarion probably got a kick out of acting that way around such a big and scary looking guy at first, I think by "now" (later and post-game) he's pretty much immune to DU drow's looks and just enjoys doing it in earnest.

He's not at all averse to being touched (even rather intimately) by close friends, but he wouldn't be quite THAT vulnerable with anyone else.

HE REALLY DISLIKED GALE... He irked him out by seemingly fostering a rather persistent romantic interest in him for at least half the time they spent together (very much based on my interpretation of their in-game interactions at the time, though my Gale might have been a little bugged.)

But also they had a... Fairly in depth relationship still? Gale was a staple in my party, and even though I antagonized him constantly by the end of the game it still felt like they had so much weight in each other's lives, if that makes sense. I might need to do a bit of an "update" on the DU Drow/Gale lore sometime, I feel like I've had some thoughts since that warrant more exploration of their dynamic (you can find a lot of old asks about it if you just search the Gale Dekarios tag in my blog though).

The gist of it is that DU drow found him arrogant and duplicitous, his constant optimist irritated him to no end and felt like it veiled a stream of self-pity (two things DU drow despises) Gale's attempts to get through to him only added insult to injury. By the end of the game he decided to pursue the crown of Karsus and this only lost him even more respect in Drow's eyes, seeing as he doesn't value godly power at all.

I was pretty overwhelmed by the game at the start so I actually missed a lot LOL including Scratch. I did get the owlbear cub though, which DU drow gladly welcomed into camp since it was injured - but I think he would have wished for it to remain a wild animal and to return back to it's home after it had grown up a bit. He didn't really make a "pet" out of it more than he just looked after the little guy in the way it's mother might have, probably with Shadowheart's help.

He wouldn't be opposed to proper pets though if one were to stumble into his life. He'd definitely be more of a cat guy because of their independence and strong little attitudes.

It is very hard to build proper rapport with him. He will be "friendly" to most people who have a good sense of humor about them, but friendSHIP is another thing entirely.

I think it's kind of circumstantial. He's very economical in his relationships and doesn't really seek them out at all - so a situation where he's forced to be in someone's company might be the only way to develop a bond with him, as he doesn't appreciate insistence either and that's more likely to push him away. He doesn't value status or titles either (kind of looks down on them really) so that won't help.

I think he just likes people who are true to themselves and their nature, sometimes even if the nature is one he disagrees with at it's core. This is why he liked Gortash, why he and Shadowheart got along so well, and why him and Astarion fit together so seamlessly despite seeming so different. Likewise I think it's why he didn't jive with people like Gale or Wyll, because they seemed to be rather... Dishonest with themselves and their own end-goals.

[mistercrowbar]

As someone who's just started trying to learn art a bit later in life (I'm 29) I feel pretty far behind the artists I admire (such as yourself). Any words of advice for an older amateur who's just getting started?

Find your art obsession and keep drawing it! I've had a few friends start late and improve steadily just from getting into D&D and wanting to draw their characters. Learn the basics of anatomy so you can draw your blorbo. Then learn backgrounds so they have a place to be. That will lead you into perspective, then drawing objects, you wanna give them an appeal outfit so that gets you colour theory, etc etc. Just keep trying to answer a new "how do I draw X" question with each illustration and you'll improve.

If you want more focused improvement, try finding some local or online art classes. Drawing figures from life is always the best, then from photo, then from illustration. Pair figure drawing with learning construction shapes (boxes & spheres etc) and internal anatomy (all the little muscles). Do studies of other works you like to understand how the artist did the thing you find appealing. I don't have any specific suggestions for classes/tutorials/books, for me it tends to be a lot of, I want to draw [object] so I search for an image reference and slap it on the canvas while I draw.

Medium can make a huge different too. Digital art is cleaner for sure but the physicality of pencil and paper, paint and canvas, and other traditional media can be really fun and leads to more of those happy mistakes. And say you just don't like the lineart phase of an illustration, well, fuck it, just clean up your sketch and bit and slap colour on it and paint it up a little.

Lastly, this one can be really hard, but don't tear yourself down comparing to other artists or because your art isn't getting engagement. Try to find some peers you can learn alongside. Draw for a handful of other freaks who love your blorbo too. Try not to let the joy of art get sucked out of you.

hope some of this helps!

[honey-minded-hivemind]

If we guess that Adult Reader is roughly 120, that means that they were born in about 1905, would have 15 in 1920, and 34 when WW2 started.

Imagine the teens not quite knowing how old they are, thinking they are in their 30s or 40s or even late 20s.

Then they snoop around and find photos of baby reader in those white dresses they put every baby in back then, regardless of gender. Photos of them during the roaring twenties in nice suits/flapper dresses, photos being part of relief efforts in WW2, photos of them at the Woodstock festival and Elvis concerts, a photo of them (and Victor???) watching the moon landing.

At first they think Reader just looks a lot like their family, then they drop the bomb of "Oh no, that's me."

Reader is old, not quite as old as Logan and Victor, but they're older than Xavier and Erik, and that's enough to earn some shock and awe.

Because what do you mean their cool adult friend figure is 120 YEARS OLD?! Seriously?! They don't look a day over 21!!! They were alive during the Titanic?! They were part of BOTH World War efforts?! They are older than TV and McDonald's?!?!

(This doesn't even mention the hollow, scared feeling that they KNOW and ARE FRIENDS WITH Sabretooth. Him. The guy who tries to decimate Logan and tried to kidnap some of them to draw him out. The guy who was part of Weapon X. The one adult enemy who has a kill count in the third digits, if not the fourth digits. Him. That's their friend?!) (They don't have a good time learning that).

Xavier wants Reader to give the kids a lesson on old technology and what they saw during their ling lifetime, so the children know what to watch out for and how people should support each other. Erik wants them to please whip the Brotherhood into shape. Victor wants them both to can it and leave Reader alone. Reader tells everyone to shut it, and they'll help in their own ways, but they're not reliving the wars, the 20s, or the various moments of violence throughout history.

(The one thing I'd add is that if the show is set in the 2000s, or late 1990s-2000, then Reader would be born in 1880, I think? Eh. They're an oldie but a goodie, they'll take a birthday cake any day of the year)

The person who kept the baby photos of Reader were Victor, who only gave Reader the one or two family photos they wanted, a.k.a. with their parent and grandparent and the family pet, an old hound named Maxwell. Victor kept the rest, because even if Reader doesn't like those memories or those photos, he does, and he wishes he'd had more photos of him and his brother when they were younger, even just one. There are several photos of him, Reader, Logan, and a few other people at a bar, on the war front, and even at historical events. And now Logan is invested too, because what do they mean he knew Reader before all this? They were friends in his past? They knew him? Why didn't they tell him? Why didn't they say anything?

@sugar-soda You've opened up a whole new au, please have fun with it! Send any asks or headcanons for this Reader, I like them, and I'm curious how they deal with their friends and foes alike!

[worgengel]

Your art feels, for lack of a better term, dirty and grungy in a really good way. Effortlessly messy but still careful and intentional. I really love it. I was wondering, do you have any tips for how you achieve this, and who/what are your inspirations? Thank you, and keep doing what you're doing man, it's really cool. <3

thank you, that means a lot to me, that's really kind

I think i started my process simply from being aggravated that i couldnt draw as neatly as i liked, so i lean into that inability. i dont think its laziness, i think you have to work with how your brain works and the kind of art you enjoy. i think i had to learn what the difference was between "i was avoiding learning this because its hard" vs "this is how my brain works + making difficult art that works with how i visualize the world"

as for what i do to get digital art look nasty and grimy (through a lot of blood, sweat, and tears trying to learn how), i have a few things ive found helpful.

for one, i dont make a seperate layer for my lines vs pencils. the inks go right on top of the pencils and i just erase and carve away as i go.

another thing is working really loose, and a) tightening up your work as you go, erasing stray lines and making clearer forms and b) working with mistakes. also good to not overwork like, effects.

textures are your friend. scan papers and trash and junk. its fun and also you'll see potiental in trash

spattery brushes, rough brushes, scratch and scribble. i recommend collecting as many as possible LMAO, use any and all resources.

dirty up your canvas as you work, not AFTER youre done drawing, at least in my experience

draw a lot. it's gonna look bad a lot of the time but that's how you end up making good bad good art

as for inspirations, i think i have a lot of things i love and it changes often. as for now, i really love the art of robert weaver, brian sanders, bernie fuchs, austin briggs...artists in the late 50s and 60s KNEW how to work seemingly wild lines into a picture. its fascinating.

i really like dark black shadows like mike mignola, ayami kojima, and q hayashida. typically dark shadows make stuff take on an edge

i look at a lot of 90s graphic design. they knew how to make actually interesting graphics back then and it rules, its great to study just to learn how to put together interesting objects into a cohesive artwork

as for general inspo, i watch a lot of movies and listen to a lot of music. movies that mix industral and natural themes together are my groove (the texas chainsaw massacre 1974 and stalker 1979 really hit the mark.) i like metal, goth, industrial, grunge, hip-hop, and country. i just gotta say, like what you like and DONT stick to aesthetics. aesthetic culture is the worst (despite tagging stuff that appeals to my own tastes as aes on my personal blog). 60s art and skater magazines are really different but you gotta like what you like, thats how youre a unique person. i like to pick out any and all pictures that appeal to me. i hoard pictures, sounds, whatever looks cool. its fun. did I mention animal encyclopedias?

overall though, dont stress it ✌️ slap some paint here and there and remember its ok to make art just for the sake of it looking cool

[egophiliac]

Hello! Sorry to bother but do you have any digital art tips? I’m quite new to it and any tips, tricks or advice would be helpful! Your coloring style is very beautiful and I love it a lot!

thank you! 💚💚💚 sorry this is a bit late, hopefully there's still something helpful in it!

(also, it got pretty long, sorry!)

I think the biggest thing is to just take things slow -- digital art feels different than drawing traditionally, and it's SUPER easy to get overwhelmed by the billions of cool features that the digital world offers. (I say, as someone who spends a lot of time downloading cool brushes and textures...and then never using them ever.) there is a ton of really cool stuff you can do digitally, but because there's so much, I think it's really important to take time to figure out what is and isn't working for you. spend some time doodling without any intent to do a finished piece, figure out how you like to hold (or not hold) your tablet, what keyboard shortcuts you end up using a lot (and therefore might want to map to your pen/tablet buttons for quicker use)...that kind of thing!

everyone's workflow and preferred program and style are different, so it's hard to give hard-and-fast general advice. but the things that I think of as the essentials for learning digital art programs, and what I think of as a good order to focus on learning them in (although YMMV, especially depending on what kind of art you're doing):

brush customization (e.g. flow, opacity, softness)

layers and layer masks

selections and transformations (e.g. scale, rotate, flip horizontal/vertical, skew) (skew is underrated and I will die on that hill)

blending modes (e.g. multiply, screen)

adjustments/adjustment layers (e.g. hue/saturation, curves)

and I think most stuff after that is gravy! often very good gravy though! but yeah, as overall advice I recommend just taking things one little bit at a time, spending some time just drawing and messing around with each feature and what you can do with it. whether or not you end up incorporating any of it into your workflow, it's always good to try things out and just see how they feel! :D

and just so there is at least a little more concrete helpfulness in here, here's a few more specific things that I think are super important to keep in mind!

use! your! tablet/pen buttons! I mentioned this earlier, but they are extremely useful for keyboard shortcuts that you use often! most programs will also let you create new shortcuts for other things -- personally, I use the magic wand tool to fill in big color blocks a lot, so I made shortcuts for 'expand selection' and 'fill' and then mapped them to my tablet buttons.

flop your work horizontally often! when you're working on something, you get used to the way it looks, so seeing it mirrored is a quick way to see it with fresh eyes! in my experience, it often feels like this:

(a common thing is to find that everything is sort of 'leaning' too much one way, which is where skew really comes in handy!) (seriously, I love skew, it is my savior)

if you're working with color, keep a hue/saturation adjustment layer (or a layer filled with black or white and set to Color) on top and toggle it on occasionally to check your values! a lot of people who know a lot more about color than me (and are better at putting it into words) have written about why values are so important, so all I'll say is that the rule of thumb is that your image should still be readable in greyscale:

there are some exceptions and grey areas (do ho ho), but it's a good general rule to keep in mind! (some programs also have a colorblind mode, so you can check to see how your work will look to someone with colorblindness!)

and finally, here's some digital art programs I recommend, if you're still looking for a good one!

free: krita, FireAlpaca

paid: ClipStudio, Procreate (iOS/iPad only)

[crushmeeren]

⌜ ¡! roadtripping with sho ¡! ⌟

⋆ fun facts ;

// sho loves roadtrips, especially in the morning because he can watch the sunrise. he says it’s peaceful. he’s been waking up early all his life, so it’s easy for him. truthfully, he’s the one getting me out of bed, carrying me to the car as i cling to his neck, covering me with a fluffy blanket.

// sometimes we bring our dog with us (he loves roadtrips as much as his daddy). he’s a black and white pittie mix! he’s so quiet i forget he’s there because he just stares out the window. if sho needs to nap, he’ll stretch out in the backseat and our baby will sit in the passenger seat lol.

// i like to read or work on writing on roadtrips. sho is, shockingly, an amazing artist. lately he’s been helping me learn how to draw digitally, so i practice that too.

// absolute junk food is what we eat. sho gets a strawberry slushy wherever we can find them and i steal sips from it the entire time. he doesn’t mind, he just smiles and offers me a drink after he takes one.

// i love watching shouto drive. he seems so serene, happy. and he’s stupid hot, so that’s a plus. he looks like an angel when the sunset hits his hair just right, making him glow.

crusho self ship / lore page. ⋆ ⋆

[mediamime]

How long have you been drawing for?? Your art is so pretty and I was just curious how long it took you to get where you are?

Hi! Thank you for the ask and for thinking my art is pretty :)

short answer: 20ish years

long answer: maybe 6 years, spread out over 20 years. Spent a lot of time not doing more than drawing a face in the margins of notebooks lol

Long answer expanded:

Started drawing as a kid. Did some real cringe fandom art. Its foundational. Wouldn't be here without it.

I did art a lot more seriously in high school. I went to a specific school for it for a while. My art was more... "art" at that point. Did some really weird texture based mixed-media type stuff. I actually dropped out of the program when I was asked to commit to a gallery showing - big shout out to my crippling anxiety!

I gave up art entirely, like practically cold turkey, when I went to college. I had two jobs, so I was constantly working, and I got my master's by 23. Never been more miserable! 0/10 would not recommend that lifestyle if you can avoid it.

After college I would pop open a cringe sketchbook every now and again, like once a week At Most I'd draw a face lol. Mainly because I just didn't have time or the willpower to do much of anything outside of work. Tried to pick it up again around Covid because I had the time to! Not having to commute is a powerful thing. I've been lucky enough to continue being remote, for the most part.

I'd say I've been making a valid attempt, instead of just fucking around, for the past year. The most helpful thing has been my "resolution" this year to draw something, anything, every single day. I haven't, but I try Most days.

My best pieces of advice:

For any skill you want to learn is to do something consistently. Every time I've stopped drawing for extended periods of time, I've felt like I was starting from rock bottom. I wasn't - I still had some fundamental understandings of things (shape, form, lightening, so on), but not practicing those things makes it really hard to go back.

For drawing specifically:

Use references. Think about objects you draw in terms of shapes, not just as a connection of lines.

Don't destroy your art. Keep it. Go back and look at it. Embrace the fact that its Not Good because it means you are getting Better. Eventually you'll look back at it fondly. I have very few things I've made over the years - again shout out mental illness - destroying old art is one of the things I regret the most in life. Also, please back up your digital art. I had an SD card snap once and boy was that a bad day.

For encouragement - its never to late to pick something up. You'll be much better than me at my age if you practice most days, I promise :)

Anyway, rant over. Hope you have a lovely day!

[buboplague]

hello. i'm an art nerd and as such do art nerd things like study art. you are one of my favorite artists for your smooth and organic lines. is your style of line work something you've developed unintentionally over time or is it a matter of intention and technique? ive noticed you're able to do a lot with very little, which is something i strive for in my own art. happy late easter if you celebrated btw

oh this is an interesting question! I've never really stopped to think about this before.

I think it's a bit of both, but mostly unintentional and developed over time as a characteristic of the way I prefer to draw.

I draw quickly, erase minimally, like continuous lines, and enjoy the actual physical feeling of drawing messy, and I think that's helped me be more confident in my lines in general and contributes to how it looks. Being precise and accurate is usually not my goal, so it's ok if something is off (please never flip my sketches haha). I like the way drawing like this feels.

But there are also a lot of styles I love that use fluid lines, like ukiyoe art and artists inspired by those same styles, or others' quick gestural drawings. Seeing those inspire me to stay loose, or not care about accuracy, simplify things, etc, and folding these concepts it into my work is intentional, because it loops back into enjoying the way it's done. I don't really have much advice or technique for how to achieve this deliberately because I guess I'm not really sure myself LOL but based on how I approach things myself, these are tips to try (which it looks like you're doing some already!):

draw with pen on paper. If you mess up just go with it, or try again from the beginning. Don't get hung up on erasing and fixing things, just keep drawing

practice speed, with timed gesture drawing or other methods of practice you're comfortable with; try it without picking up the pen

turning stabilization off while drawing digitally for a more natural line (entirely subjective, but stabilization trips me up so bad and feels weird)

draw from life. It can be random objects around the house, or random photos, but draw things you normally wouldn't - train your hand to follow your eye, as this will help you see the way you use line, and is an easy way to practice what kinds of lines you want without getting hung up on idea generation, or if the character looks right, expectations, etc.

It's okay to be impatient and lazy sometimes LOL. Sometimes doing the bare minimum helps you to learn where you want to simplify or stylize things. "Good enough" is also a pretty useful catchphrase sometimes

I hope something in this post helps! And sorry if it doesn't, I'm not very good at articulating my own art or thought processes.

Thank you for your kind words and for enjoying my work. happy late easter!

[mistylune]

How I manifested an iPad (without realizing it.)

Hello! It’s been a bit a time since I last made a post. I’ve been pretty busy lately, but when I was thinking about what I wanted to post next, I remembered a success story from a while back. This story is definitely one of my favorites.

So to clarify, when I say that I manifested without realizing it, I mean that I manifested before being fully clear about the law. Back then, I wasn’t a part of the community, so I had no idea that what I was doing was manifesting, nor did I know either of the laws. I’ve come to learn that we manifest all the time subconsciously, and now I know how it is utilized properly. But in this story, keep in mind that this was before I was on tumblr.

So there are two types of LOA. Law of attraction, and Law of assumption. I used to confuse the two all the time, so I’ll quickly define them. I know you all have probably seen them defined a million times, so I’ll keep it brief.

(Also please note that these are my personal descriptions of them, so they may not be entirely accurate, nor make sense, but this is just how I would define them.)

Law of attraction is the belief that your thoughts are what attract things into your life, and by focusing your thoughts positively into the things that you desire, you can attract them into your life. For example, bringing money into your life.

Law of assumption is the belief that your thoughts are what shape your reality, and thus if you change your assumptions about yourself and your life, you can change your reality. In this case, instead of bringing, or attracting the money in your life, you would already have it.

I ended up using a mix of both when manifesting my IPad, so when I say LOA, I’ll be referring to both of them.

So onto the story.

A couple of years back, I got back into drawing, and while I enjoyed traditional art, I wanted to branch out into digital art. Many of my favorite artists that I saw on social media were drawing digitally, and I wanted to experiment in the medium. But the only device I had was my phone back then, and a school computer. When researching on what a lot of artists used for digital drawing, I discovered that many of the artists I admired used IPads for their artwork. And so, I decided then that I wanted to get one.

I remember that I focused a lot on what I would do if I had one. I would watch digital drawing tutorial videos, make Pinterest boards for inspiration, I followed my favorite artists on instagram, and would get inspired by watching speed paints and looking at their art. I remember how I would bask in the feeling of excitement at the thought of having my own iPad and creating my own artwork, focusing on the positive feelings that would arise when I thought about having one. Just thinking about it filled me with joy and motivation. I didn’t think of how, where, or where I would get it. I just knew that someday I would get one.

A few months later, it’s summer and I’m offered a spot on a team for a contest. After accepting, I attended a lot of meetings discussing the competition and preparing, we left two weeks later to compete. We worked really hard, and I had a lot of fun being on that team. When we competed, I was super excited but also full of nerves because we each had a part and I had to speak in front of a crowd. But it ended up paying off.

When the award ceremony came, I was full of nerves again, because I was unsure where we would place, or if we would even place at all. I remember seeing that a team I thought would win got second. At that moment I wondered which team was good enough to beat them for first place. And it ended up being my team. I felt a rush of excitement and emotions as we went up on stage and accepted our medals. It was my first time winning a team competition, so it was fun celebrating with the people I had been working with for two weeks. It was rewarding knowing that our hard work payed off. But the kicker was what happened after that.

After celebrating for a bit, and heading to the awards banquet, we learned what prizes we would receive for placing first. We received three prizes, and among them was…an IPad.

Now, I was in complete shock. I had heard from my mentor that the tech prize would be a computer. But it ended up being an IPad instead. The very thing I had said that I wanted. I remembered thinking it was just a very lucky coincidence, and I joked with my parents that I had gotten what I wished for. But now I know that in reality, I had actually manifested my iPad.

Recently, when I was struggling with manifestation again, and feeling stuck in a loop of negativity, I made a list of all the things I had already manifested to pull myself out of it. Through that, I was able to remember this story. Realizing that I had manifested before I even knew that it was a thing motivated me so much, because I realized I was putting so much pressure on myself to do something I had already done several times.

So I think the best advice I could give is that if you are struggling with doubt and negative thoughts, please remember how powerful you are. You are capable of manifesting anything that you want. I know it seems unbelievable at times. It was for me too, which I why I first saw my manifestation as a lucky coincidence. I’ve realized too that putting a label on the law often adds this extra pressure, because we aren’t sure if we are applying it correctly. But we are the creators of our realities. There is no wrong way to manifest. Just do what works best for you. But don’t give up. If you do, you could miss out on receiving your desires. The law cannot fail, and neither can you.

Thank you so much for reading! I truly hope this post was able to motivate or help you in some way. I’ll see you guys in the next post!

With love,

Lune.