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How To Draw Gemstones by wysoka

Support the artist and buy a print!

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Know what I’m salty about?

In all my art classes, I was never taught HOW to use the various tools of art.

Like yes, form, and shape and space and color theory and figure drawing is important, but so is KNOWING what different tools do.

I’m 29 and I JUST learned this past month that India Ink is fucking waterproof when it dries. Why is this important? Because I can line something in India Ink and then go over it with watercolors. And that has CHANGED the ENTIRE way I art and the ease I can create with.

tldr: Art Teachers: teach your students what different tools do. PLEASE.

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How I draw skin Part 2: DON”T DRAW NATIVE PEOPLE WITH RED SKIN!!!! A tutorial

For the first tutorial on how I draw skin, see the post here.

But seriously, I’ve seen too many drawings of Native characters with literal red/pink skin to count so just in case some of you are having troubles with drawing Native people, I’ve provided a guide for you. Please take my swatches if it helps!! and no more red skinned people, please <0<

Disclaimer: this tutorial is mainly about the artistic depictions of Indigenous Peoples in North America, where the slur and redskin caricature originated, but it would still be racist to draw other non-North/Central/South American Indigenous groups like this so…..don’t.

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Twitter // Instagram

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its me! ur local azn that loves boots!

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Some Photoshop Tips

I’ve been getting quite a few asks about the process for the patterns in my stylized artworks, so I decided to put together a couple of tips regarding them. 

Firstly, what you need are

—  CUSTOM BRUSHES  —

Most of the patterns I use are custom brushes I made, such as those:

For the longest time I was convinced making brushes must be super extra complicated. I was super extra wrong. All you need to start is a transparent canvas (2500px x 2500px max):

This will be your brush tip. When you’re satisfied how it looks, click Ctrl+A to select the whole canvas and go to ‘define brush preset’ under the edit menu

You will be asked to name your new glorious creation. Choose something that describes it well, so you can easily find it between all the ‘asfsfgdgd’ brushes you’ve created to be only used once

This is it. Look at it, you have just created a photoshop brush. First time i did I felt like I was cheated my whole life. IT’S SO EASY WHY HASN’T ANYONE TOLD ME 

Time to edit the Good Boi to be more random, so it can be used as a Cool Fancy Pattern. Go into brush settings and change whatever you’d like. Here’s a list of what I do for patterns:

- under Shape Dynamics, I increase Size Jitter and Angle jitter by 5%-15% 

- under Brush Tip Shape, I increase spacing by a shitload. Sometimes it’s like 150%, the point is to get the initial brush tip we painted to be visible.

- If I want it to look random and noisy, I enable the Dual Brush option, which acts like another brush was put on top of the one we’ve created. You can adjust all of the Dual Brush options (Size, Spacing, Scatter, Count) as you wish to get a very nice random brush to smear on your  backgrounds

The result is as above. You can follow the same steps to create whatever brush you need: evenly spaced dots that look like you painted them by hand, geometric pattern to fill the background, a line of perfectly drawn XDs and so on. 

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE

—  PATHS  —

But what if you want to get lots of circles made of tiny dots? Or you need rows of triangles for your cool background? Photoshop can do all of that for you, thanks to the magic of paths.

Typically, paths window can be found right next to Layers:

Draw whatever path you want, the Shape Tool has quite a bit of options. Remember, paths are completely different from brush strokes and they won’t show up in the navigator. To move a path around, click A to enable path selection tool. You can use Ctrl+T to transform it, and if you move a path while pressing Alt it will be duplicated.

Now, pick a brush you wish really was in place of that path you’ve drawn and go to layers, then choose the layer you want it to be drawn on. Then, click this tiny circle under the Paths window:

Then witness the magic of photoshop doing the drawing for you while you wonder how tf have you managed to forget about this option for the past 2 years 

You can combine special brushes and paths for all sorts of cool effects. I mostly use them in backgrounds for my cards, but you can do whatever you want with them.

I hope that answers the questions for all of the people who were sending me inquires about the patterns. If you have any questions regarding this or any other Photoshop matter feel free to message me, I’m always up for complaining about how great and terrible Photoshop is C’:

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So I got a lot of messages after my first post asking me to explain layers, so I have put together a cheat sheet of the different layer types.  The quickest way to become awesome with layers is to know exactly what each one does. Once again, I’m no expert, and these are just my personal definitions, so please try these out for yourself! LONG POST BELOWWW THE LAYERS CHEAT SHEET PART ONE: 1. NORMAL:  Aw yeah you know all about this layer its just your average layer  2  DISSOLVE: This mode “dissolves” some pixels, allowing the lower layer to show through. very pixel-y.  Reducing opacity makes it dissolve more. ________ 3. DARKEN: Now the difference between darken and multiply are a little confusing, so I will explain them together. MULTIPLY is more of a glaze, while DARKEN favors the darks on all layers.  So if you have a darken layer on, it tend to reduce/remove the lighter tones on the layer if there are darker tones below it, while darkening the darks.   4. ��MULTIPLY: A glaze that darkens the color of the layer below. It is great for shading.  Reduces whites. 5.  COLOR BURN:  “Burns” the lower layer favoring a more saturated look.  Marks made over white are not preserved.   6.  LINEAR BURN:  “Burns” the lower layer, with a little less saturation than color Burn.  Also will preserve colors over white.  7.  DARKER COLOR: I tend to avoid this puppy cause it does not darken on the RGB channel. (feel free to try him though!) ______ 8. LIGHTEN:  Lightens the colors below. Favors lighter colors on lower layers. 9. SCREEN:  Lightens the colors below, but much closer to the “glaze” analogy as above.  Reduces blacks.  10. COLOR DODGE: Often used for magic-y effects, color dodge bumps up saturation and is very bright. 11.  LINEAR DODGE: Much like color dodge, but less saturation.  12. LIGHTER COLOR:  Once again, this is an outside RGB channel layer, so I don’t really use this.  As you probably have noticed, the second two groups are opposites, so if you have a good handle on one, you probably know exactly what the second group does! I will do the remaining groups next week as they do not follow this pattern.   Thanks! drawmaevedraw.tumblr.com  EDIT: Part two here: Photoshop Layers Part Two!!

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Photoshop CC Keyboard Shortcuts by Theme Hive - more goodies here

Revamp of my compilation of Photoshop CC keyboard shortcuts for Mac and Windows machines.

The list includes:

Keyboard w/ shortcuts

General tools

Image cmds

Layer cmds

View cmds

Select cmds

3D cmds

Filter cmds

This list uses the US International keyboard layout, which means that some shortcuts may be different if you’re using another layout, though the vast majority of them will be the same.

download: PDF (approx. 625KB)

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123 Ideas for Character Flaws

Absent-minded - Preoccupied to the extent of being unaware of one’s immediate surroundings. Abstracted, daydreaming, inattentive, oblivious, forgetful.

Abusive - Characterized by improper infliction of physical or psychological maltreatment towards another.

Addict - One who is addicted to a compulsive activity. Examples: gambling, drugs, sex.

Aimless - Devoid of direction or purpose.

Alcoholic - A person who drinks alcoholic substances habitually and to excess.

Anxious - Full of mental distress or uneasiness because of fear of danger or misfortune; greatly worried; solicitous.

Arrogant - Having or displaying a sense of overbearing self-worth or self-importance. Inclined to social exclusiveness and who rebuff the advances of people considered inferior. Snobbish.

Audacious - Recklessly bold in defiance of convention, propriety, law, or the like; insolent; braze, disobedient.

Bad Habit - A revolting personal habit. Examples: picks nose, spits tobacco, drools, bad body odour.

Bigmouth - A loud-mouthed or gossipy person.

Bigot - One who is strongly partial to one’s own group, religion, race, or politics and is intolerant of those who differ.

Blunt - Characterized by directness in manner or speech; without subtlety or evasion. Frank, callous, insensitive, brusque.

Bold - In a bad sense, too forward; taking undue liberties; over assuming or confident; lacking proper modesty or restraint; rude; impudent. Abrupt, brazen, cheeky, brassy, audacious.

Callous - They are hardened to emotions, rarely showing any form of it in expression. Unfeeling. Cold.

Childish - Marked by or indicating a lack of maturity; puerile.

Complex - An exaggerated or obsessive concern or fear. (List specific complex.)

Cruel - Mean to anyone or anything, without care or regard to consequences and feelings.

Cursed - A person who has befallen a prayer for evil or misfortune, placed under a spell, or borne into an evil circumstance, and suffers for it. Damned.

Dependent - Unable to exist, sustain oneself, or act appropriately or normally without the assistance or direction of another.

Deranged - Mentally decayed. Insane. Crazy. Mad. Psychotic.

Dishonest – Given to or using fraud, cheating; deceitful, deceptive, crooked, underhanded.

Disloyal - Lacking loyalty. Unfaithful, perfidious, traitorous, treasonable

Disorder - An ailment that affects the function of mind or body. (List the disorders name if they have one.) See the Mental Disorder List.

Disturbed - Showing some or a few signs or symptoms of mental or emotional illness. Confused, disordered, neurotic, troubled.

Dubious - Fraught with uncertainty or doubt. Undecided, doubtful, unsure.

Dyslexic - Affected by dyslexia, a learning disorder marked by impairment of the ability to recognize and comprehend written words.

Egotistical - Characteristic of those having an inflated idea of their own importance. Boastful, pompous.

Envious - Showing extreme cupidity; painfully desirous of another’s advantages; covetous, jealous.

Erratic - Deviating from the customary course in conduct or opinion; eccentric: erratic behaviour. Eccentric, bizarre, outlandish, strange.

Fanatical - Fanatic outlook or behaviour especially as exhibited by excessive enthusiasm, unreasoning zeal, or wild and extravagant notions on some subject.

Fickle – Erratic, changeable, unstable - especially with regard to affections or attachments; capricious.

Fierce - Marked by extreme intensity of emotions or convictions; inclined to react violently; fervid.

Finicky - Excessively particular or fastidious; difficult to please; fussy. Too much concerned with detail. Meticulous, fastidious, choosy, critical, picky, prissy, pernickety.

Fixated - In psychoanalytic theory, a strong attachment to a person or thing, especially such an attachment formed in childhood or infancy and manifested in immature or neurotic behaviour that persists throughout life. Fetish, quirk, obsession, infatuation.

Flirt -To make playfully romantic or sexual overtures; behaviour intended to arouse sexual interest. Minx. Tease.

Gluttonous - Given to excess in consumption of especially food or drink. Voracious, ravenous, wolfish, piggish, insatiable.

Gruff - Brusque or stern in manner or appearance. Crusty, rough, surly.

Gullible - Will believe any information given, regardless of how valid or truthful it is, easily deceived or duped.

Hard - A person who is difficult to deal with, manage, control, overcome, or understand. Hard emotions, hard hearted.

Hedonistic - Pursuit of or devotion to pleasure, especially to the pleasures of the senses.

Hoity-toity- Given to flights of fancy; capricious; frivolous. Prone to giddy behaviour, flighty.

Humourless - The inability to find humour in things, and most certainly in themselves.

Hypocritical - One who is always contradicting their own beliefs, actions or sayings. A person who professes beliefs and opinions for others that he does not hold. Being a hypocrite.

Idealist - One whose conduct is influenced by ideals that often conflict with practical considerations. One who is unrealistic and impractical, guided more by ideals than by practical considerations.

Idiotic - Marked by a lack of intelligence or care; foolish or careless.

Ignorant - Lacking knowledge or information as to a particular subject or fact. Showing or arising from a lack of education or knowledge.

Illiterate - Unable to read and write.

Immature - Emotionally undeveloped; juvenile; childish.

Impatient - Unable to wait patiently or tolerate delay; restless. Unable to endure irritation or opposition; intolerant.

Impious - Lacking piety and reverence for a god/gods and their followers.

Impish - Naughtily or annoyingly playful.

Incompetent - Unable to execute tasks, no matter how the size or difficulty.

Indecisive - Characterized by lack of decision and firmness, especially under pressure.

Indifferent - The trait of lacking enthusiasm for or interest in things generally, remaining calm and seeming not to care; a casual lack of concern. Having or showing little or no interest in anything; languid; spiritless.

Infamy - Having an extremely bad reputation, public reproach, or strong condemnation as the result of a shameful, criminal, or outrageous act that affects how others view them.

Intolerant - Unwilling to tolerate difference of opinion and narrow-minded about cherished opinions.

Judgemental - Inclined to make and form judgements, especially moral or personal ones, based on one’s own opinions or impressions towards others/practices/groups/religions based on appearance, reputation, occupation, etc.

Klutz - Clumsy. Blunderer.

Lazy - Resistant to work or exertion; disposed to idleness.

Lewd - Inclined to, characterized by, or inciting to lust or lechery; lascivious. Obscene or indecent, as language or songs; salacious.

Liar - Compulsively and purposefully tells false truths more often than not. A person who has lied or who lies repeatedly.

Lustful - Driven by lust; preoccupied with or exhibiting lustful desires.

Masochist - The deriving of sexual gratification, or the tendency to derive sexual gratification, from being physically or emotionally abused. A willingness or tendency to subject oneself to unpleasant or trying experiences.

Meddlesome - Intrusive in a meddling or offensive manner, given to meddling; interfering.

Meek - Evidencing little spirit or courage; overly submissive or compliant; humble in spirit or manner; suggesting retiring mildness or even cowed submissiveness.

Megalomaniac - A psycho pathological condition characterized by delusional fantasies of wealth, power, or omnipotence.

Naïve - Lacking worldly experience and understanding, simple and guileless; showing or characterized by a lack of sophistication and critical judgement.

Nervous - Easily agitated or distressed; high-strung or jumpy.

Non-violent - Abstaining from the use of violence.

Nosey - Given to prying into the affairs of others; snoopy. Offensively curious or inquisitive.

Obsessive - An unhealthy and compulsive preoccupation with something or someone.

Oppressor - A person of authority who subjects others to undue pressures, to keep down by severe and unjust use of force or authority.

Overambitious - Having a strong excessive desire for success or achievement.

Overconfident - Excessively confident; presumptuous.

Overemotional - Excessively or abnormally emotional. Sensitive about themselves and others, more so than the average person.

Overprotective - To protect too much; coddle.

Overzealous - Marked by excessive enthusiasm for and intense devotion to a cause or idea.

Pacifist - Opposition to war or violence as a means of resolving disputes. (Can double as a merit in certain cases)

Paranoid - Exhibiting or characterized by extreme and irrational fear or distrust of others.

Peevish - Expressing fretfulness and discontent, or unjustifiable dissatisfaction. Cantankerous, cross, ill-tempered, testy, captious, discontented, crotchety, cranky, ornery.

Perfectionist - A propensity for being displeased with anything that is not perfect or does not meet extremely high standards.

Pessimist - A tendency to stress the negative or unfavourable or to take the gloomiest possible view.

Pest - One that pesters or annoys, with or without realizing it. Nuisance. Annoying. Nag.

Phobic – They have a severe form of fear when it comes to this one thing. Examples: Dark, Spiders, Cats

Practical - Level-headed, efficient, and unspeculative. No-nonsense.

Predictable - Easily seen through and assessable, where almost anyone can predict reactions and actions of said person by having met or known them even for a short time.

Proud - Filled with or showing excessive self-esteem and will often shirk help from others for the sake of pride.

Rebellious - Defying or resisting some established authority, government, or tradition; insubordinate; inclined to rebel.

Reckless - Heedless. Headstrong. Foolhardy. Unthinking boldness, wild carelessness and disregard for consequences.

Remorseless - Without remorse; merciless; pitiless; relentless.

Rigorous - Rigidly accurate; allowing no deviation from a standard; demanding strict attention to rules and procedures.

Sadist - The deriving of sexual gratification or the tendency to derive sexual gratification from inflicting pain or emotional abuse on others. Deriving of pleasure, or the tendency to derive pleasure, from cruelty.

Sadomasochist - Both sadist and masochist combined.

Sarcastic - A subtle form of mockery in which an intended meaning is conveyed obliquely.

Sceptic - One who instinctively or habitually doubts, questions, or disagrees with assertions or generally accepted conclusions.

Seducer - To lead others astray, as from duty, rectitude, or the like; corrupt. To attempt to lead or draw someone away, as from principles, faith, or allegiance.

Selfish - Concerned chiefly or only with oneself.

Self-Martyr - One who purposely makes a great show of suffering in order to arouse sympathy from others, as a form of manipulation, and always for a selfish cause or reason.

Self-righteous - Piously sure of one’s own righteousness; moralistic. Exhibiting pious self-assurance. Holier-than-thou, sanctimonious.

Senile - Showing a decline or deterioration of physical strength or mental functioning, esp. short-term memory and alertness, as a result of old age or disease.

Shallow - Lacking depth of intellect or knowledge; concerned only with what is obvious.

Smart Ass - Thinks they know it all, and in some ways they may, but they can be greatly annoying and difficult to deal with at times, especially in arguments.

Soft-hearted - Having softness or tenderness of heart that can lead them into trouble; susceptible of pity or other kindly affection. They cannot resist helping someone they see in trouble, suffering or in need, and often don’t think of the repercussions or situation before doing so.

Solemn - Deeply earnest, serious, and sober.

Spineless - Lacking courage. Cowardly, wimp, lily-livered, gutless.

Spiteful - Showing malicious ill will and a desire to hurt; motivated by spite; vindictive person who will look for occasions for resentment. Vengeful.

Spoiled - Treated with excessive indulgence and pampering from earliest childhood, and has no notion of hard work, self-care or money management; coddled, pampered. Having the character or disposition harmed by pampering or over-solicitous attention.

Squeamish - Excessively fastidious and easily disgusted.

Stubborn - Unreasonably, often perversely unyielding; bull-headed. Firmly resolved or determined; resolute.

Superstitious - An irrational belief arising from ignorance or fear from an irrational belief that an object, action, or circumstance not logically related to a course of events influences its outcome.

Tactless - Lacking or showing a lack of what is fitting and considerate in dealing with others.

Temperamental - Moody, irritable, or sensitive. Excitable, volatile, emotional.

Theatrical - Having a flair for over dramatizing situations, doing things in a ‘big way’ and love to be ‘centre stage’.

Timid -Tends to be shy and/or quiet, shrinking away from offering opinions or from strangers and newcomers, fearing confrontations and violence.

Tongue-tied - Speechless or confused in expression, as from shyness, embarrassment, or astonishment.

Troublemaker - Someone who deliberately stirs up trouble, intentionally or unintentionally.

Unlucky - Marked by or causing misfortune; ill-fated. Destined for misfortune; doomed.

Unpredictable - Difficult to foretell or foresee, their actions are so chaotic it’s impossible to know what they are going to do next.

Untrustworthy - Not worthy of trust or belief. Backstabber.

Vain - Holding or characterized by an unduly high opinion of their physical appearance. Lovers of themselves. Conceited, egotistic, narcissistic.

Weak-willed - Lacking willpower, strength of will to carry out one’s decisions, wishes, or plans. Easily swayed.

Withdrawn - Not friendly or Sociable. Aloof.

Zealous - A fanatic.

[ch3w0p]

Here it is, a little help on how to draw kinky/4c hair, it’s my first tutorial but I hope it helps.💖 // feel free to reblog so others can learn

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Rita Vrataski from All You Need is Kill Done in Microns and Higgins Calligraphy Ink in Black artist twitter

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I did an art vs artist bc I'm behind the times :')

[ch3w0p]

Strangely enogh, i didnt find informations on how to decently portray a friendship between a white (A) and black girl (B) . Can you give some advise on what i should pay attention to ? A is tomboy, snarky and immature, while B is girly, well manered, perfectionist. They are both main POV, they influence each, on both good and bad ways. The theme of my story is humans being afraid of transhumans, and they may talk about the priviledge transhumans have over humans (because superpowers)

Writing Interracial Friendships (White Girl, Black Girl)

You can write this in as many ways you can write any positive friendship. It appears you don’t want a friendship that’s impacted much by internal racial conflict, which is great. I’d absolutely encourage steering clear of the racist friend route. That’s not what most Black people have in mind in terms of representation.

There’s really not much to say on what to do without being pretty general. That information can be found on numerous general writing blogs and article. 

The most I can tell you are things to avoid or be mindful of:

White Feminist / Power Dynamics

Racist Friend + Unpaid Educator

Black Best Friend

Mammy

Magical Negro

Sacrificial Negro

I’ll go over each of this main points and offer solutions.

Relevant Relationship Tropes to Avoid:

POWER DYNAMICS 

Respect is an important aspect in any friendship, but especially between white and Black women. There is a power imbalance here, with white women holding more privilege and assumed innocence and protection. In order to maintain a strong bond, it’s crucial that the white friend does (and does not) do the following:

recognizes her white, female privilege and doesn’t weaponize it 

does not patronize her friend, particularly for race-based reasons (”Wow, you aced the test?)

does not make unfair assumptions about friend, has empathy (Can be the difference between “Jasmine’s been so moody and angry lately. Ugh.” vs “Jasmine’s not acting herself. I need to find out what’s wrong; this isn’t like her.”)

does not belittle her Black friend’s life circumstances and feelings 

is supportive and understanding towards her Black friend

SOLUTION -

You should read up on white feminism and white female privilege for a better grasp of the subject. 

There’s many great resources out there on the subject, but I just came across this thread today so I thought i’d share: An Ex White Friend’s Tears.

RACIST FRIEND + UNPAID EDUCATOR 

The white friend has prejudice ideas and isn’t shy about them - and/or is ignorant to the harm of their words or beliefs.

The racism may come out subtly in the form of microaggressions. Becky sings along to a song that uses a slur, not seeing what the big deal is. John might not “get” the race issues that affect marginalized groups. Luckily, the all-knowing Black buddy is there to enlighten them - time and time again.

The Friend of Color inevitably becomes anywhere from full to part-time educator to the wronging friend. This may apply to romantic relationships as well.

SOLUTION -

It can be anywhere from mildly disappointing to crushing to realize your friends have prejudice beliefs. It’s especially burdensome when said friends, if corrected, resist and argue against your perspective. When being right and pride is more important than PoC pain. Luckily, many people, even if initially embarrassed and defensive, know how to reflect, apologize, and go forward to avoid repeating their harmful mistakes.

Relationships can survive with one half having ignorant views – as long as the ignorant is willing to reevaluate and make right, and the Person of Color accepts their reconciliation efforts. Keep in mind; no one is obliged to educate or forgive racist transgressions. It truly depends on the person, strength of the existing relationship, size of the offense, number of recurring offenses, and the reaction of the offender to correction.

Feel free to write characters who don’t do or say racist things to their friends of color! You may let us assume they’re well-read, worked all those funky questions out of their system before the story starts, or ya know, actually aren’t ignorant and just know better. They may not know everything, and aren’t expected to be perfect. Some sense of poise and rationality isn’t much to ask for, though, right? 

Let’s be real – most white people fall somewhere on the scale of ignorance when not thoroughly educated on marginalized folks’ issues. Being taught growing up to love those who are different and that “we’re all one” isn’t a complete education. Sometimes it’s simply just enough to allow the relationship to happen, is all.

There’s a lot to know and people slip-up. That’s understandable. 

Microaggressions and race-related questions a PoC may find annoying are bound to happen from people one considers friends or a lover.

Is your hair real? How does weave work?

So do you even need sunscreen?

I agree with the cause, but their approach was way too hostile.

Small note that not all friend-to-friend education is negative. Particularly when initiated by the Friend of Color. Say your Black girl had to deal with some crappy microaggressions at work. She vents to the white friend, who shows sympathy for the situation. She might’ve never known or thought about the issue before. Follow up questions may be on the table at this point. Or she might save a thought for later to look up on her own, and be of even more support in the future.

Depending on how far gone an ignorant friend is, the person may or may not determine it worth her time to enlighten the ignorant. I personally don’t condone sacrificial levels of education being poured into training friends and colleagues not to be racist. There’s too many sources for people to educate themselves these days without burdening their peers.

IN SUMMARY:

Avoiding startling, deal-breaker sized racism is ideal in a story where racism isn’t meant to be the focus. Especially dispensed from friends the Character of Color is led to trust.

BLACK BEST FRIEND 

A “BBF” is essentially a sidekick to the traditionally white MC. What little story line they get revolves around the main character. Their dialogue and actions all in some way support and lead back to the white MC’s story. Even their struggles can somehow be made about the white person. You can have a Black person who is someone’s best friend without them fulfilling this stereotype.

SOLUTION:

Give the Black character her own life, friendships, and relationships outside of the MC.

In this case, the Black girl also has a POV. Make sure her perspective gets sufficient attention in the story.

MAMMY 

Often restricted to Black women characters, the Mammy is motherly generosity gone sacrificial. Always the shoulder to cry on, never the one resting her head on yours. She gives emotional and sometimes physical labor way more than she takes. This is often done with smiles and denial of a struggle. 

SOLUTION -  Balance is key!  You can and should make your characters there for each other. That’s a natural component of a healthy friendship, and support ought to be recuperated. Characters who practice self-care and mental preservation is also important. Make sure Black characters are shown care. People should notice when they’re struggling and reach out, too (This would tie into avoiding the Strong Black Woman as well).

Not sure if you have a mammy?

If you feel this could be a problem in your writing, pinpoint every incident in which your Black character has to go out of her way to help others, at the expense of her own life. Now, note how many times the person/people in question have done the same for her. Remove or replace mammy-like incidents.

MAGICAL NEGRO 

The Black character is a magical force in the White person’s character arc. The magic could be literal or figurative. The Black character’s existence is based around the white character(s), always standing in the wings to save them with their wisdom and/or fairy godmother-esque powers.

SOLUTION - The solution mirrors that under Black Best Friend. Give the Black character her own life, friendships, and relationships outside of the white MC. Their life and energy should not be devoted to saving white people from the world or themselves.

SACRIFICIAL NEGRO 

Black characters who lack self-preservation, quick to lay out their backs as a doormat and lay down their lives for a white character to move forward.

Does the Black girl give up her own happiness for her friend with no payback? Similar to the mammy, it is generosity without any regard for one’s own self. Black characters depicted as having so little value for their lives that they should give it all up for white people is hurtful and degrading.

Sacrificial Negro Example - Suicide mention tw

I recently watched a movie where the Black woman, after knowing her new white lady friend for mere months, jumps out the high-rise window to take the evil force haunting the lady with her. She is instantly dead. The lady, now unburdened by evil, moves on quickly and returns to her happy family life. The Black woman isn’t even mentioned again.

Before that pivotal moment, The Black woman went out of her way to pamper the white woman in attention and affection. Gifts for the white lady and her child, sticking around when the evil went after her too, and even physically attacked Ms. Sacrificial! The movie even threw in some good ole Magical Negro traits; the Black woman provided key supernatural knowledge on how to defeat the evil.

After all this, she receives a few “You shouldn’t have’s” in return.

The Black woman was merely a cure for the white woman’s problems.

If your Black character’s existence is to be the problem-solver and bridge for the white person to reach their goals, you need to reevaluate the characterization.

SOLUTION - I understand friends on some level will sacrifice well-being and comforts for each other. Time to travel a far distance to meet her, money when she’s got none, sleep when she’s had a horrible nightmare and needs to talk till sunrise. Even selflessness should have its limits when it does harm to the do-gooder, or constant deprivation of oneself for others to thrive.

Overall, just make sure it’s not too much sacrifice, and that it’d be and is in some form reciprocated. And always always think twice before having Black characters die for others, as if their lives hold no value and they’ve nothing going for them. 

How convenient in that movie I watched. the Black woman didn’t have any other family she cared enough about, making dying for the white woman an all too easy, natural solution.

No. Black people dying for everyone else to live should not be the natural solution.

SUMMARY: 

Write complex characters that don’t rely on stereotypes, within the Black characters and within the relationships. Then just write a good friendship filled with love and mutual respect.

~Mod Colette

[ch3w0p]

Do you have any tips for drawing round ladies? :D

Hiya anon!

Well, I’m still learning myself, but here’s a few tips I usually keep in mind!

1.) “Fat” is not just a big belly!

Fat distributes everywhere, but not necessarily equally! Like at any weight, every body is different and has an unique shape! Some keep a hourglass shape, some become more pear-like, some are shaped like teardrops or apples… but the basic thing is, fat doesn’t just choose one place where it WON’T gather. It may not be as visible in some area compared to another, but in real life, it’s reeeeaaaaalllllyyyy rare to just find a person whose fat only stores in their bum, thighs and tits, leaving their waist, arms, neck and etc slim. Keep the body pleasant and thick all around, not just in the places where the weight-gain is the most imminent!

Keep the round shapes in mind!

2.) Rolls! Folds! What are they?

What are they? Not something to be afraid of, that’s for sure!

Basically, don’t hesitate to give your characters fat rolls. Skin folds, stretches and moves along with the body, and so does the fat under it! However, a lot of people who draw rolls tend to give the character many super small ones — this is not how rolls work! Usually, the thicker the person, the thicker the rolls — they increase in size, not necessarily in number.

Rolls are the most preminent in places where the body moves the most, AKA the joints. Fat folds over itself and creates creases and ‘rolls’.

3.) HOWEVER….

(No references here, sorry!!!)

When we age, our skin loses its elasticity and it can’t keep the rolls and folds thick and perky. In our youth, our weight can be held up way better than in our elderly days due to the stength and adaptivity of our skin which disappears as we age. Thus, fat tends to droop lower with older people, and the rolls appear thinner. This can also happen if someone who has had a LOT of weight packed up suddenly losing a big chunk of it — the skin can’t adapt and will begin to “droop“ down and lower. Make sure to keep such factors in mind when drawing and planning how the weight of your characters should be carried!

And then, a lil tip that;

4.) Study references and real life!

If you yourself pack some weight or have access to internet, libraries or just life on the street, you will see how bodies at different weights and shapes work and move. Use references, see for yourself — try to find how fat distributes and especially, HOW IT FOLDS! Folds and rolls seem to be one of the biggest problems many have while drawing thicker characters, and that’s ok — we’re taught as a society that fatrolls are inherently bad and disgusting, therefore there are not many situations where we’d find ourselves just… staring and studying how the fat in our bodies works and moves. You’ll learn quickly, though!

I’m still learning myself, but especially since every body is different and the weight we pack acts in unique ways, it can be really challenging to find the ‘absolute’ right way to draw thicker characters. Don’t give up! You’ll get the hang of it eventually!!

[ch3w0p]

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[ch3w0p]

HOW TO BULLSHIT LEAFY TREES USING PHOTOSHOP: I use this to quickly make a believable outline of trees in backgrounds because no one’s got time to worry about leaves when you have a bunch of comic panels to draw!

1. Make a multiply layer over your sketch (OR use a normal layer and slap “no fill” on step two)

2. Add Layer Style>Stroke (black) 

3. Use an interesting brush shape in white to create a chunky stroke outline 

4. Erase excess! TADA A TREE 

5. Add Simon (important)  The brush I use is called “snappy” by Kyle Webster, it’s a tilt-sensitive triangle brush and I use it for nearly everything! 

[ch3w0p]

Personal Recommendations for  Sketchbooks

There’s a lot of personal preferences that people like about specific sketchbooks to take into account. Here are my personal preferences and why.

Can’t be spiral bound.

·       If you like working in pencil or a smudgy dry medium like pastels or charcoal, this one is a must. Especially if the spiral bound is super malleable. If it’s a spiral bound there’s a more likely chance for the pages to smush and grind on each other forcing the dry medium everywhere on the page.

·       This is also important for left handed people

The front and back cover must be made of a thicker material than the paper on the inside.

·       At first this rule was supposed to be, “must be a hardcover” but softcover sketchbooks are great because a good portion of them are staple bound which is a lot lighter in your backpack than the standard hardcover glue bind and thread sketchbook which is usually a lot heavier.

·       If the front or back cover isn’t at least 3 times thicker than the paper on the inside, I don’t buy it because I don’t like the idea of my cover ripping off and exposing all of the paper I drew on and those drawings being ruined because the cover couldn’t do its job.

Can’t be more than 10$

·       Unless if it’s a specialty sketchbook with special paper (for example a RENDR sketchbook or a multimedia sketchbook) for a specific medium generally I don’t like spending more than 8$ for a sketchbook.

·       Why? Because if its more than 10$ I usually grow super attached to them and because I don’t want to ruin it with my shitty anime drawings. I never use it therefore defeating the purpose of a sketchbook.

Has to have the ability to lay flat

·       Why? Because I like having the option to draw across the page.

Must have sizing options higher than 5”x7”

Why? I like having the option of being able to lay my forearm out on my sketchbook also it makes it more sturdy when I’m outside drawing.

  Specific Branded Sketchbooks I Recommend

Canson XL Multimedia Sketchbook (blue cover)

·       It’s a student grade sketchbook

·       If you like experimenting with a lot of mediums, this sketchbook is great because it can even take up gouache and acrylic.

·       This is a spiral bound sketchbook however the spiral binding is thick and sturdy

·       The sizings are kind of weird but once you start drawing on them, it makes sense.

Strathmore Toned Tan and Toned Grey sketchbook

·       Depending on the make that you get, you can get the fancy hand bound one (which is usually a lot of money, about $15-$30) or the spiral bound which is usually less than $10

·       Don’t ever buy these sketchbooks from hobby lobby because they will charge you 3 times higher than the actual list price

·       I don’t like using these sketchbooks because the cover is like a thin cardboard so I don’t normally lug this kind of sketchbook like I would with my other sketchbooks.

Artist Loft Hardcover Sketchbook

·       They’re super cheap ($5 for a sketchbook with 100+ pages)

·       The paper is slightly textured which is great for people who work in pencil because you can build it up nicely

·       They’re glue and thread bound which means the binding is sturdy even though its cheap

·       They lay flat

Fabriano EcoQua Sketchbook/Notebook

·       They’re staple bound

·       Slim and lightweight so there isn’t a whole lot of bulk in your bag

·       Relatively cheap (less than $7 depending on your retailer)

·       Can lay out flat

·       The paper is like copy paper, very smooth.

·       Can handle ink relatively well without bleeding however if its alcohol based then it will bleed through