#took a picture of myself as a pose reference for this

[cielle-b]

Elias "brutal pipe murderer" Bouchard

I hate him <3

[wereh0gz]

UwU

[autism-corner]

I couldn’t stop staring at those long, slender fingers as they lifted the glass of red wine to her lips, as they carefully cut up the meat with her knife and gracefully brought the food to her mouth...

She looked at me and smiled. "You always tend to provoke controversy, just like a Venus flytrap. Do you long for a sword that much?"

[zincbot]

i use more drawing references than anyone alive

[dr-friendship]

I have this idea in my head for a fun digital art piece with my own characters but it's taking longer than I thought it would so I figured I'd post the WIP so that I can say I've posted something today hahaha--

[kozachenko]

Finally decided to play around with my old lineless style again! Also figured out a way to draw Reimu that I actually really like!

Artist's Notes;

I've mentioned in a few earlier posts that I've been wanting to draw in my lineless style again for a while as a way to test what I've learnt from my previous style in regards to lighting. I did the face first and then for a while was thinking about doing a full body illustration of Reimu just to draw her outfit again. I'll talk about the face first since that's the first drawing I did in this batch.

For the longest time I really couldn't find a way to translate Reimu's face into my style. I was able to make her clothes work out well, just not really her face. I did like elements of how I drew her face a few other times, namely the tiny eyebrows and her pupils, but they didn't really feel like Reimu to me, or at least how I imagined her in my head. I then realized that it was less of a problem with the entire face and moreso the eyes, and it took me quite a bit of trial and error to make something that I was happy with. Also, as much as I thought the tiny eyebrows were cute, it didn't really make sense with her character. Like, from what I know about Japanese history, plucking your eyebrows was something that nobles (rich people) would do, and since Reimu is...neither of those things, I decided to just give her some thicker eyebrows instead (I will be saving the plucked eyebrows for another character though, so they will return). After I got to a face I was happy with, my next challenge was the hair. I did the front part first and liked that enough to continue, and then after more trial and error I realized that deep down I was a short-hair-Reimu-is-best-Reimu-truther this whole time because once I gave up on the long hair and gave her shorter hair something just clicked in my brain. And so, after drawing her outfit in again (this time without the yellow tie which is kinda sad but I'll find a way to incorperate it into future designs because it just was not making sense to me in context with the rest of the outfit) and finnicking around with the bow, I came to a version of Reimu's face that I actually liked. I thought that it made more sense for her character to have her cut it short, mainly because she's doing a bunch of Youkai extermination and she has to keep her hair out of her face somehow. I still wanted to make it kinda messy though, as Reimu is probably too lazy to clean it up herself. I think another reason I like it so much is because in Forbidden Scrollery, Moe Harukawa gave Reimu short hair and that really suited her, so I guess that was just a subconcious reason as to why I liked it so much. I also think that the shorter hair helps to separate her a lot from Marisa, as I think Marisa looks really good with longer hair. Speaking of, now I wanna do a drawing of her and Reimu together to really solidify how I draw them (unlike the previous version where it was just them standing). As much as I do like the face, I am concerned if she looks too much like how I drew Keiki now, but that might just be a product of the stylistic choices I made with her eyes and I might just be overthinking it. I am hyperaware of same face syndrome so that's probably the reason I'm so concerned about it lol.

Now for the fully body drawing. I was struggling to think of a good pose for her, so I just took a picture of myself and used that as a reference while still making slight adjustments for readability's sake. This is another case of, "I've looked at this too long and can spot every single issue with it" but this time I'm still happy with the final product mainly because this was a test drive for how I want to develop my lineless style in the future and for what it is I am more than pleased with the result. The main reason I deviated away from my lineless style was mainly because I was having a hard time with the lighting and making it interesting, and I am so glad that I've finally found a way to make it work! I'm especially happy with the clothes, as I think clothing folds are really fun to draw. I was somewhat inspired by the works of J.C. Lyendecker and the way he draws clothes, though admittedly it is not a one to one, since I mainly wanted to try implying the shading of the clothing folds with shapes (I do really want to do a study of his style one day as his art is incredible). So for the sleeves, I drew in a bunch of triangles where I wanted there to be a strong highlight, roughly coloured in the inside, and then blended them all so it looks like a more subtle. On both of these drawings, I also added in a noise filter to give it some texture (as that's what I used to often do with my drawings) and while I do like it, I might want to experiment with making it more subtle in the future, as it's pretty noticeable in both these drawings. Overall, I'm really happy with the lighting and colours of this drawing, and while I could nitpick several aspects of it (her hand holding the gohei looks too tense, I tried making her look like she was standing on the balls of her feet but the positioning of her Gohei's trail of papers ends up making it look weird, and I could've put more effort into the hair and bow and so many more things), this is more of a piece for me to experiment with my style again, and I'm excited for when I get a new idea for a piece, as I really wanna try some more stuff out with this style!

[liliannadelaphinehartifelt]

Alastor - [ CATCH IT ON CAMERA ]

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This was originally a silly little fluff piece that turned into….well, this. I hope you all got the vibe from the song cause it doesn't get more straightforward than that…

WARNINGS: [ MDNI ] + [ NSFW ] + [ FEM READER ] + [ BUBBLY READER ] + [ IMPLIED SMUT ]

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Taking a polaroid picture with Alastor!!

That was the goal when you stroll into his room with the brightest smile as he sits reading alone late one night.

Your lover doesn't initially suspect what you're up to.

He’s very content with reading as you go about your antics as quietly as possible.

Alastor was perfectly unbothered by your presence at first, used to your soft giggles filling the room and quietly enjoying the jovial aura you emit.

It's only when he hears a distinct ‘click’ of a camera that he stiffens in his seat.

The sharp and quiet sound caused his ears to twitch, claws digging into the leather cover of the book he held, and his red eyes peered over the edge to see the source of the interruption.

You peer back up at him, smiling softly from your spot on the carpeted floor.

The tiny polaroid camera in your dainty hands holds his attention, probably combusting into flames in another universe by the look on his face, but you grasp it tight in hopes it'll stay intact.

“What's that infernal thing doing here?” he snarls quietly, attempting to stay calm as your eyes soften on him, silently begging the stag to be kind.

Though his patience is thin, he withholds his hateful rant about technology to hear you out.

“A little imp sold it to me, and I just couldn't say no, Allie! It takes wonderful pictures too and…and I've always wanted one..” your voice trembled a little, afraid he'd outright scold you.

Alastor seriously considered doing so until he spotted the array of Polaroid prints you'd already taken and left to dry on the carpet.

You had some of yourself. Posing freely in each one, and every frame he laid his eyes on was strangely adorable, with a few mildly scandalous, in his opinion.

Alastor then caught sight of the few you'd taken of him, all off-guard shots, clearly taken at a distance as if not to disturb him.

Those, in particular, had your lipstick print on them, tender kisses you'd placed there as a silly add-on of affection for him, and his tail twitched in amusement at the minuscule detail.

“Let me see it, darling,” he held a clawed hand out, book now resting in his lap, and his posture more relaxed than a moment ago.

Hesitant at first, you hand him the camera, silently hoping he'd refrain from destroying it. You are pleasantly surprised when he shows no indication of doing so.

“Hmm..”

Alastor inspected the device thoroughly, eyes narrowed as he searched for any signs of the Vees’ technology, but there was no evidence of their tampering whenever he looked.

He still took the precaution of asking you directly, “It's not one of their devices, is it?”

You shift to sit on your knees, not having to ask who he's referring to, “No. Not that I know of…” you answer truthfully.

Alastor hums, seeing no trace of deceit in your expression and having no reason not to believe you; he hands the camera back.

You take it with a gracious smile, absolutely over the moon that he let you have it back, “You may keep it… but any picture you take is only shown to me. Have I made myself clear, dear?”

You nod eagerly, happy to have the camera back and not bothered by his stipulation.

”Okay, Allie!” You chirp, contently fiddling with it again, giggling as you take more silly pictures of yourself.

Alastor watches as you do, following your body as you roll around the floor leisurely, posing provocatively here and there.

It almost annoys him how good you look, acting childish and carefree, barely trying to keep his attention, and moderately unaware of how badly he wanted yours.

The book in his lap was no longer enjoyable, lacking the entertainment you provided, and his focus was permanently on you.

If only you'd put that dammed camera down….

Alastor narrowed his eyes, smile tightening as you rolled onto your back to take a particularly racey photograph of yourself, sporting a rather lewd expression he'd only seen you make amid pleasure he induced.

His eye twitched as you snapped the picture, unable to look away as you stuck your tongue out and winked seductively, tilting your head to get a better angle and inadvertently directing your face towards him.

The stag grunted an obscenity as you eyed him innocently from below, head cocking to the side in curiosity as to why he seemed so stiff.

“Am I bothering you?” Your gaze softens, twinges of shyness seething in at the thought of annoying the overlord, and you braced yourself for him to answer with a curt ‘yes.’

That answer never came.

Alastor remained silent, staring intently at you before reaching a hand out to caress one side of your face.

His touch was cold, a chilled contrast to the heat rising on your cheeks as his claws trailed down your skin, stopping once he reached the curve of your jaw.

Your lips slightly opened, a soft gasp escaping them as his sharp nails ghosted over you. He gripped your chin and chuckled as your instinct to relax in his hold kicked in.

“You're not bothering me at all, dear. I have a request in mind. That's all.” he lowered his voice, unconsciously lessening its static as you hummed quietly in response.

Your eyes fluttered closed, face nuzzling into his palm as you rolled to lay on your front, leaving the camera on the floor near your waist. Your feet kicked up, lace stocking-clad legs lazily swinging as he cupped your face gently, careful not to scratch your soft skin with his claws.

For a brutal overlord to be so tender was unfathomable to most, but you counted yourself lucky to have encountered one.

You basked in his touch for a moment, slowly lifting your gaze to his heavily clouded one, “Is it somethin’ I can help with, Allie?” you asked him quietly, giving a small smile as he scratched his nails under your chin affectionately.

Alastor chuckled, seeing your blush intensify at his gesture, a reaction he'd yet to tire of bringing out of you.

“Yes, you can help, but you'll have to promise to keep it a secret between us, little one. Can you do that?”

His deliberate cooing made your heart melt, every bone in your body buzzing with delight as he coaxed you into secrecy.

“Okay…I won't tell a soul. I promise..” you nearly whine, dying of anticipation and needing much more physical touch than he was giving you now.

“Come to me then, darling,” he barely finishes the command before you slide onto his lap with a giddy smile.

You settle down on him comfortably, straddling his lower half and unafraid to relax against his chest.

Alastor grunts as your body meets his, momentarily distracted by the pressure you impose on his hardening cock, but quickly averts his attention back to his previous train of thought as you tug at the lapels of his pristine overcoat impatiently.

You pout while he raises a brow at you, clearly unamused by your bratty gesture, “I wanna know now…” your expression turns sour, a dramatic showcase he can't help but laugh at before snapping his fingers to conjure the item you left on the floor.

“I'd like to take a picture with you, dear,” he explains causally, and you blank at the statement, having to process the bizarre concept of the Radio Demon of all beings wanting to associate himself with a camera…

Willingly at that…

“R-really,” you squeak out, confused but gradually excited by the prospect.

Alastor peered at the camera in his hand, pricking the newly printed photo you took a moment ago from the bottom slot, holding the picture up to admire its details.

You blushed seeing him study your downright slutty behavior taken in one snapshot.

Though you were a little embarrassed, he seemed amused rather than disgusted.

“I'd like to recapture you making this exact face. You wouldn't mind posing like that for me again, right little doe?”

He articulates the demand as a light-hearted question, fixed grin shifting to a closed smile as he hummed lowly at your timid nod of agreement seconds later.

Your silent compliance isn't enough for the stag, his hips rutting up into you forcefully to prompt a verbal answer, and you give it through a trembling moan.

“N-no, I don't mind at all…”

The pitch in your voice rises, shocks of pleasure igniting in your core from the feeling of his prominent hard-on brushing against your clothed slit.

An immediate patch of your slick forms on the thin fabric that keeps your mound hidden.

Alastor snakes an arm around your waist, holding you close with a toothy grin reappearing on his face, sharp teeth grazing your ear as he whispers into it.

“You’ll put on a show for me, yes?” you nod quickly, unable to help yourself from grinding down on him for more friction,

“Yes..” you purr, helpless as ever, when a deep laughter thunders in his chest at your reflexive response.

“Then smile, my dear! I don't want to miss a single second of your darling reactions..” he held you still as his free hand lifted the camera, capturing the split second his head shifted downward, finding the most sensitive area on your neck and marking it with ease.

You shivered against him, feeling the smirk on his lips as the crisp click of the camera’s flash going off mixed with your startled moan.

He‘d certainly have a grand time with you and your new little trinket.

And you'd accomplished much more than achieving your goal of getting one picture with him…

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Sometimes, I think I'm incapable of writing fluff. It's almost a curse at this point…

NO TAGS: 🚫

[ BONUS CONTENT + ]

The song in this edit used to annoy the shit out of me but ill let it slide this ONE time cause its Alastor…. Credits to creator ❤️

[boxbug]

A Canary’s Final Flight

My piece for @trafficzine 4th edition! Get it for free here! 200 pages of excellent art and fics, incredible work from all participants and from the mods especially!! huge shoutout to the mods for real

Process notes under the cut! (I struggled a lot so it's a bit of a novel)

So the entire process was a Ride. I knew when I picked this prompt that I was going to have a hard time, because Jimmy’s final death had been illustrated a billion times over by extremely talented artists. But I had a Vision of the snapshot of the second before the impact, when everything is still but you know what’s about happen. It was very much inspired by the clip of Fog by Jabberwocky, bu the thing is, they have the advantage of all the build up of the fall, and that’s when the trouble started.

This was my first version, and obviously it wasn't working. And I was trying so hard, with so many iterations! Small wings, big wings, no wings, different poses, less backgrounds elements. I'd done compositions were everything seemed peaceful but something is Wrong, but it wasn't working this time.

So instead I focused on what rendering I'd like to do - I tried a painterly approach, for that visceral feeling, but it wasn't working either (but hey, I did keep the red sky, so, progress)

At this point I'd been doing back and forths for weeks and I was just as lost as at the start. Now that's my tip for people who make art of any kind, in situations like that, stop thinking about how you can make the best piece possible, and think about you can have fun with it (because when you aren't it's visible). And for that was, 1 - going back to using ink and pen nibs and doing way too detailed inking, and 2- looking at Dave McKean's covers for Sandman (which, funnily enough, was also a reference for my previous trafficzine piece)

And from there I was actually going somewhere! Between the jagged rocks, the red sky, and the increased verticality with the borders, I had hit the vibes I wanted.

I did some experimentation with the border, and even though I really liked the bad boys I drew they were taking too much away from the lonely desolation, so I actually used Red (Unecessary Redstone)'s idea of all of Jimmy's worldy's possessions scattered on the ground post impact, with the idea to make it looks like the central image is his grave being dug.

(and yes for a short amount of time the were supposed to be clock markings on the sun, but there was already enough going with the wings so I scrapped that) (also fun fact the reason why the wings aren't fully material but more ghostly is because my toddler cousin was watching me draw the very first draft and asked why he didn't just use his wings and i went :( so the wings are a metaphor now)

So from there I found a bunch of picture and took some myself, cut and assembled everything together, added shadows in all the appropriate places, and repainted some elements so that everything would look better intergrated (some of the wheats are basically 100% handpainted, the cardboard as well). This took a suprisingly long amount of time, but I was done!

Well I wasn't expecting to have that much to say, but I hope if you're still reading, it was at least interesting!

[deerspherestudios]

Hii!! I love this VN, such a wonderful job. I have two questions:

1. What is the most difficult thing to draw for you? Hands, backgrounds...

2. What kind of music do you listen to? Or what are your favourite singers or bands?

I can't wait for Day 3 and know more about Mychael and the story. Remember to take breaks and be healthy ❤️

Oop, it's rare for me to get questions that's not about Mychael these days haha! Thank you so much <3

My answers are kinda image-heavy so I'll put them under a cut! But to summarize:

Poses

Too many to name.

1. Figuring out poses is the hardest for me, since I have difficulty imagining the right positioning + anatomy without some help. I heavily rely on references to get the vibes just right, especially for hands and perspective.

Fun fact! For these I actually took pictures of myself and used them as reference:

Hilarious to think in 3 of these I'm pretending to be Mychael rizzing the player. Unreal.

2. I can't say my taste in music is for everyone haha! I think it's clear from the two playlists I've made for Mushroom Oasis. But! Here's my little genre sandwich from Spotify Wrapped? I can't say it's super accurate since I listen to a bunch of alt, ska and jazz too but oh well.

I might've ruined my sandwich when I kept listening to NITW and Utopia's soundtracks nonstop and back-to-back while working for hours this year but uh, have it:

For bands and musicians, I switch interests a lot!

Off the top of my head I've been a fan of Streetlight Manifesto, The Front Bottoms, Tally Hall, (these three are childhood faves!!), Los Campesinos, Will Wood, Bear Ghost, Destroy Boys, Rare Americans,,,, I'm sure there's more but there's too many to list haha.

[heylorrain]

Part 5. Part 6 Part 7

👉Chapter is almost doneeeee 🙇‍♀️ probably 2-3 parts more to go.

👉also friendly reminder, references can be seen here! ( most of them, cause others are pictures I took of myself doing the pose and I’m not posting them 🫣😰😂)

👉 Another software that helps me A LOT it’s called “PoseMyArt”. It’s free and has a lot of poses to choose from or you can create your own.

— Thank you to everyone who has given love to this comic! ✨🫶🫂

[a-suspicious-number-of-ducks]

Hermit-a-Day May, Day 15: FalseSymmetry. Today's style/medium is She-Ra and the Princesses of Power! My thought process for this matchup wasn't particularly profound--I knew I wanted to do someone in She-Ra style, because I adore the show, and the queen of hearts, heads, and body parts seemed fitting for a series about a bunch of strong, terrifying women, one of whom wields a frick-off giant magic sword. Details and references under the read more!

So... I don't really have specific references I can point to, because I just turned on season 1 of She-Ra and watched almost to the end of season 3 by the time I was done with the drawing. Any time I needed to check a style thing, I would just...let the current episode play until I saw an example of the way the animators drew that specific thing. That being said, False's face was primarily referenced from Adora, her knees from Glimmer, and her hands from Entrapta because Entrapta was the first person to have a good shot of their hands while I was looking. Here's a couple pictures of the general style, if you want to judge for yourself how I did at emulating it:

Additional references include False's Minecraft skin (of course) and several pictures of myself doing the pose, complete with sword.

She-Ra's style is very smooth and relatively simple, with broad stretches of plain colors. Shading is rare and usually only for temporary lighting effects, so I left my drawing unshaded. Everything is just so clean, because...it's an animated show and animating fiddly details sucks. I really enjoy She-Ra's character design and art style, so it was a ton of fun to get to try it out for myself.

I had to pay extra attention to the eyes and ears, two of the most distinctive She-Ra style hallmarks in my opinion--as well as the iconic solid shaded blush across the cheeks and nose, but that part was easy. I also had to use a smoother inking brush than my normal toothy ink pen, which meant that inking/lining took forever. That is why this is nearly two hours late. Don't look at me.

Fun fact if you read this far: Catra is around 72% of the reason I finally realized/admitted I was bi at the tender age of like.... 17. She was just too pretty for me to stay in denial.

I feel like I'm forgetting something but it's 3am so I'm just gonna hit post. Cheers!

[samlizzy71]

I love your art! It’s so nice seeing trans art by a trans person about happy trans people :))))

Any tips for a beginner artist? What to draw, how to stay motivated, etc.

Thanks! I hope you have a wonderful day.

Thank you so much!! w I wouldn't know what to say, the usual "keep practicing" doesn't look like much of a help x) but sadly, is the only thing that will make you better as an artist. I always say that a good sign is that, a while after you've finished a drawing, you start finding imperfections, mistakes, and things that can be improved. Don't be obsessive, and be aware that your drawings won't be perfect, don't think that it means you're useless or anything, is part of the process. Don't hate what you do if it doesn't look as nice as you'd like, that won't get you anywhere, but is fine if you don't like old drawings after a while. That's a sign that you're growing and getting better. You're now able to identify what you can do better, I would worry if after years you still think your drawings are perfect, that means you're stuck there. However, when you become aware of one of those things that can be improved (for example, you realize that in a previous drawing, hands looked weird), try to do it better next time. Don't say "I can't draw hands", just try it x) And you won't suddenly make them perfect, but now you know what you have to work on.

Use references, DON'T copy or trace, but as a visual artist, you have to be very *visual*, so, look at the way others have made their own art, and see what you like about different styles. Search for pictures of people doing activities you want to draw, doing different poses, etc., Is like writing or composing music, you need to read or listen, even if you will create something new, it's great to have references and guides. As for motivation, that's more difficult ^^ It is completely different for each. For me, the motivation at first was creating characters I could surround myself with when I was feeling awfully lonely and depressed, you know, to give them their own lives to get myself distracted from my own. Now my motivation comes more from knowing other people have found themselves in my characters and stories, and that somehow what I create has helped them, even if just a few, even if just a little. I like to compare my old drawings with the newer ones, just to see how much progress I've made x) This is my first digital drawing from 2012, versus one from 2024 (Some people improve a lot faster, I just took a lot of time because the first years I didn't draw as much, in 2018 I only made 3 drawings)

[ingravinoveritas]

Did you see this picture yet? The first thing I realized was Michael's hand on David's back and their lovely smiles.

Hello! Yes, I did certainly see this group picture that was posted this morning, after every other picture had been posted. This is from Georgia's Insta, so for those who haven't seen the original post, here is a screenshot, along with a close-up of Michael and David, so we can see a little better:

It seems that Georgia's hashtag has been causing some confusion due to her use of an idiomatic expression, so for non-native speakers, the word "tits" has multiple meanings--colloquially, it's another word for breasts, but in British slang, a "tit" also refers to someone who is a fool or an idiot. So Georgia is saying here that she has tits, Anna has tits, and Michael and David are a pair of "tits" (idiots), which gives us the number three.

I did notice and enjoy that there is a "beading" theme to this picture, between David's suit and Anna's dress. I actually very much like her dress and how flattering it is, and it's something I would wear myself, although probably in a different color than white. I also love the way David's jacket sparkles, and there is something about him wearing it while standing next to Michael (who looks one box of bleach away from Aziraphale) that makes it have even more of a "the angel and the Starmaker" vibe to it. Because it's them. You know?

That was a large part of the impression I had of this picture, as it were. Of there being two distinct couples here, but perhaps not the couples you'd assume. It actually reminds me a lot of the picture that the four of them took in Lapland last year, which also looked like two gay couples rather than two straight ones. They all seem to look very comfortable in this arrangement as well, in a way that I felt was somewhat absent from a few of the pictures that were posted yesterday.

To your point, though, I did notice Michael's hand on David, and the warmth that radiated out just from that single touch. His hand is also noticeably low on David's waist, which echoes how we've seen Michael with his arm around David in the past, and is a lovely complement to David's hand being near Michael's neck. Michael's hair is also a bit disheveled compared to the red carpet photos, and I love the idea of it being messed up from a snogging session he and David were having in a coat closet before the girls pulled them out for a pic. Actually possible? Maybe, maybe not. But it's still a delicious thought.

Another thing I noticed is that there is something to the way Michael and David draw the eye in this picture. Georgia and AL are posing/smiling in the same exact way they do in every group picture...although unlike the others, this one wasn't a selfie, and so I wonder if that could be why they seem to be giving off a sense of discomfort to the camera. With Michael and David, the feeling is more one of hesitation. The warmth and crackliness and connection is still there, of course, but it's also almost as if they're holding back, somehow. Which doesn't seem very much like them, at least from what we've all see over the years.

It is a nice picture overall, though, which makes it unfortunate that Georgia's caption sort of takes away from the moment a bit. And given that she's been in the habit of adding these types of cutting comments/tags to a lot of her recent posts, it feels less like "British humor" and more like knowingly taking a dig at Michael and David. She could have just as easily posted the group pic without the hashtag, so at least for me, that's what makes her using it feel so deliberate.

So those are my thoughts on the Oliviers group picture. I am glad that we actually did get one of Michael and David, and to know that they did have the chance to interact at the event. I'd love to hear what other folks think as well, so feel free to add your perspective in the comments. Thanks for writing in! x

[bara-izu]

Do you have any advice on how to get over lack of skill? I want to do the Astarion Lestate trend but I don't think my skills are ready for it. I have references pictures of Astarion pulled up when I'm working, and even have the game launched so I can turn him if I need to (mostly for the attempts I did at his hair) but everytime I tweaked something or started over nothing looked right. I keep getting frustrated 😭

Hi anon- Sorry this took me a while to get to, i hope you and others can still find this useful! While the basic advise to get over 'lack of skill' is PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! i hope this will help you knowig where to get started with that!

I'm going to put my teacher pants back on, this might be a bit long so buckle up- I'll go over a few areas:

Primitive Shapes

How to Use References

Delete your work (hear me out)

--------------------------------------

Primitive Shapes:

This is your foundation. Everything starts with this, and while you may find it boring to think of your art in terms of cubes and spheres- i kid you not it will help elevate your work.

If/when you are stuggling to draw a complicated pose, or a specific perspective, refering back to the form in these basic shapes can really help to simplify your process and help you problem solve.

A chill/silly watch for a more in depth discussion on what i mean / how this can help - Give Pikat's 'Draw boxes (correctly) to improve your art' a watch. They also mention this in the video but @/Uncomfortable on youtube also has some great fundermental videos.

-------------------------------------

How to use references.

Okay so references are great 10/10 very useful. But, unless you know WHAT to study from a reference, they can sometimes fall flat of their usefullness.

Anatomy studies are something a lot of us will be recommended as artists, but actually knowing what to pay attention to can boost your confidence in your work. Start with a goal, what do you want to get out of this sketch session? Do you want to get better at understanding the 3D form of a specific part of anatomy? Better at poses? Try to narrow down your learning each session to make it less overwhelming.

In this i'll focus on understanding the form so, lets start with a reference. Linking back to Primitives again, start off by braking down your anatomy into forms. Sketching over the top of your references is totally fine. But make sure you are doing so critically, otherwise it may look like a flat/unnatural trace and you're not really learning from it. Via the first sketch you can see where the primitive shapes fall on the body - think of it like a ball-jointed-doll, hips, knees, shoulders ect are ball socketed whereas arms, legs ect can be made up of tubes. (See the first image, when sketching your tubes, sketch your contour lines too- this can help determind how clothing / hair will fall over the body, and can help you understand the 3D Form.)

A BIG IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE - When using photo references, do be very aware that they may be distorted due to the height of the camera, or camera focal length - (you can see in my sketch i had to edit the torso and head because the reference was a little top heavy)

A few artists/books for some extra reading / reference : - Andrew Loomis (OG for body proportions, books are a little outdated but fundermentals are still useful), - Tenten云画画 (his stylised anatomy breakdowns are very interesting to me) - Anatomy Essentials (I've had this book for years, it covers lots of areas, is a bit complex though, i myself should reread it again 😅

Also, if you can't find a reference for a specific pose, don't be afraid to use 3D programs! Anatomy 360, DesignDoll, Clip Studio, Magic Poser - all nifty options~

SO taking when we've learnt from the primitive forms, you can now try applying that to the Lestrat Picture. (which, granted is a complicated pose, as it also has forshortening and an odd top down perspetive of the bottom character- so don't panic if you don't get it the first time!)

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Final points- Delete your art (hear me out)

What i mean by this is, sometimes reworking the same face over and over again can bog your down. It can make it very difficult to actually see whats wrong. So, get rid of it and start again. (hide the layer/use a different piece of paper, please don't actually bin it (yet))

Next, redraw it. Use what you've learned the first time, and redraw it from scratch. (in this case, that might be just specifically the head, or the hair, or the eyes ect - you don't have to bin the whole thing, but sometimes it can really help give you a new perspective)

Once you've done this, unhide your original, compare, this may help you understand what you were doing wrong the first time. Or if there are areas of one that you like- its an opportunity to combine them as you see fit! :)

On a side note for Astarion's Hair, the lovely @mistercrowbar actually posted a breakdown yesterday! (i use p much the same method so-)

I HOPE this was of some use- do feel free to ask any questions if you've got them! i'll try to answer in a more timely manner next time 😅

[liketheletter-l]

// blood and injury , scopophobia

my pal @pickledcarrotsandradish and i have been doin a little art/fic swap with some bad things happen bingo prompts & i like how this one turned out :>

i dragged out a box and took a bunch of reference pictures pretending to drag myself out of the harbor to get the pose right 💀

srry i haven't posted in one million years i've been busy. Expect more random bullshit soon <3

[meanbossart]

Asks about VaM, art advice, and miscellaneous stuffs

HI! Real quick please refrain from referring to Sad Sack as S/S for the uh... Obviously reasons LOL We call it "sads" for short!

If what you're asking for are recommendations for a website to host that kind of thing, Neocities, Twitter, Itchio and as you mentioned AO3 are all perfectly good options! Patreon too (depending on how gnarly you're planning on getting) but I'd suggest keeping that as a secondary host option because I don't think it lends itself super well for getting your work circulating. I believe Bluesky allows that kind of thing too, but I'm not too sure since I don't use it.

Now, If you're asking about public reaction rather than guidelines, anywhere you go you might find people that don't jive with the work you do 🤷 just be upfront about the type of content you're making right off the bat to avoid having anyone stumble upon it by accident to the best of your abilities, otherwise, I wouldn't worry too much. I know we're constantly exposed to examples of overwhelming harassment and "dogpilling" happening to others but... Truth be told, most of us won't ever get to the size/internet level of fame where we experience that. I think the threat is a little bit... Overstated, nowadays. Not to mention that most of the time people are getting harassment for things that have nothing to do with their work, and rather relating to their behavior and attitudes. Play smart, be responsible, and be honest! Whatever comes next is in god's hands LOL

Thank you for the ask! Not sure I was of much help 😅 but frankly when you're just starting out it's best to focus on getting the work done first and just throwing it out there, wherever it may be. You can worry about technicalities like that later!

I GOT YOU MAN the full sketch is now up on my patreon!

YES AND YES WHETHER IT BE STORIES OR ART OF DU DROW AND YOUR CHARACTERS SLAMMING PINTS TOGETHER BE MY GUEST PLEASE

I love seeing everyone's take on my weirdo so much, anything is honestly welcomed!

AW DUDE thank you so much! Especially for suffering through the mammoth of a story that ANE turned into - writing has never been my strongest point so I'm always shocked to hear from people that enjoy it 🥲

About the booze question, honestly I'm not picky at all, I usually go by price and by that I mean whatever is cheapest LOL but I prefer a dry white as far as types go.

You only have to pay for it once! You get a code that unlocks the software and all of it's features and you're free to cancel your subscription after that. At some point the code might change or there might be an update that requires subscribing again - but that seems like a very rare occurrence so I wouldn't worry about it.

OH NO I HAVE DEFINITELY TRACED MY OWN REFERENCE BEFORE, but not entire poses! When something is challenging I'll make a point of drawing it out the usual way.

I can remember a couple of instances from Nick and mine's comic where I traced pictures I took of myself, just as a time saving measure. Again like I said in the post, there are several ways to employ tracing your own material that is perfectly acceptable. I have also traced bare-bones 3D backgrounds that I made for the same reasons.

I know you specifically asked about tracing when something's complicated, but I still wanted to be upfront to demystify the practice under different circumstances. The rule of thumb is to never use it when you know it would be inhibiting your skill development!

Happy to hear you wanted to pick up the skill! I definitely understand the urge too LOL since playing BG3 and becoming so invested in the stories and characters my art has improved a ton, simply from forcing me out of my usual style and making me want to capture different moods and scenarios - finding something you're passionate to draw is, frankly a great damn start.

I replied to a bunch of asks asking for pointers and advice a while back, one of the questions was very similar to yours and I still stand behind the advice I gave then. Hopefully you can find something helpful here! https://meanbossart.tumblr.com/post/740543514692173824/some-art-advice-asks-ive-been-meaning-to-reply

HMMM I don't usually think of myself as the best teacher/tutorial guy, but funnily enough I can think of a few things about this topic that I could elaborate on lol. If I do that in the near future, I'll put it up on my patreon (for free as with everything else.)

If there are any specific things about it that you (and anyone else who would be interested in it, for that matter) find challenging and would like for me to focus on, let me know!

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That's all for now folks, and as usual thank you so much to everyone who's left a nice compliment, word of encouragement or funny tidbit in my inbox as well! I can't reply to you all individually, but I see and read all the messages I get c:

HAVE A LOVELY REST OF YOUR WEEK