pine-niidles - Tumblr blog

[pine-niidles]

part 2 of effort to compile my art outside of social media: 2023 sketch compilation is up on itch!

It's $5 but I also have free community copies enabled if you can't or don't want to pay that for whatever reason but are still interested in getting a copy <3

[pine-niidles]

Creator Spotlight: @camberdraws

Hello! My name is Camber (any pronouns), and I’m a mixed media illustrator located in the southwestern United States. I love drawing everything, but I have a special interest in depicting strange creatures and environments, often accompanied by abstract imagery and mark-making. Professionally, I’ve worked creating concept art and 2D assets for museum exhibits, but currently, I am engaged full-time as a software developer and make standalone illustrations in my free time. I’ve been posting art on Tumblr since I was a teenager, and the site has been very welcoming towards my work to this very day!

Check out Camber’s interview below!

Did you originally have a background in art? If not, how did you start?

I’ve had an interest in drawing since I was barely sentient, but at thirteen years old I decided to become “serious” about art. I was all about reading tutorials and doing a ton of studies. I would tote my heavy instructional art books to school every single day (my poor back!) Despite all this, I decided to forgo art school in favor of a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science at my local college. Alongside my major, I received a minor in Art Studio with a specialization in fine art, which totally changed my views on creating artwork and drastically changed my style.

How has your style developed over the years?

As mentioned previously, my style did a 180 after I studied under some very skilled fine art professors! As a kid, my drawings were very realism-heavy and inspired by video game concept art. I mostly worked digitally, too. During college, I was thrown for a loop when we were instructed to do strange things like, for example, make a bunch of marks on paper using pastel, WITHOUT looking, and then turn said marks into a finished piece of art! I quickly and deeply fell in love with abstract work, and especially appreciated images that are not easily parsed by the viewer. Since then, I’ve made it my goal to combine abstract mark-making with more representational subject matter.

What is one habit you find yourself doing a lot as an artist?

Hmmm, one habit I really enjoy as an artist is strictly tracking the amount of time I spend drawing! I currently work a full-time job wholly unrelated to art, so I have to be careful with my time if I want to spend enough hours drawing each week. I created a spreadsheet that allows you to enter the amount of minutes you’ve drawn each day and calculate how much drawing time you still need to reach your weekly goal (I aim for 20 hours a week.) Having such a clear, numbers-based objective keeps me motivated to work like nothing else!

Over the years as an artist, what were your biggest inspirations behind your creativity?

I know this is a common inspiration, but Hayao Miyazaki’s work has been rewiring my neurons since I was a child. Seemingly all of my artistic interests can be summed up by the movie Princess Mononoke: it has strange/abstract creature designs, a strong focus on nature and environmental storytelling, and a mix of dark and hopeful themes. Additionally, I’ve been deeply inspired by video game series such as Zelda, Okami, Pikmin, and Dark Souls. But arguably, none of these have influenced me more than Pokemon! I’ve been drawing Pokemon since I could barely hold a pencil, and I haven’t stopped since! I believe my love of designing creatures originated with my endless deluge of Pokemon fanart during my childhood.

What is a medium that you have always been intrigued by but would never use yourself?

I’ve always been fascinated by 3D mediums and am so tempted to try them out! Whether that’s 3D models created digitally or sculptures made from clay, I profoundly admire artists who have this skill. Oftentimes, it feels like I don’t have time to delve into a totally different artistic paradigm. However, I feel very strongly that learning new skills can enrich your current work. I should take that advice and someday give 3D mediums a shot!

What is a recent creative project that you are proud of?

I am in the process of creating an art book (a dream of mine!) and have been executing smaller drawings of concepts I find interesting from both a visual and storytelling standpoint. A recent drawing for said book is that of a snail made of ink with an ink bottle as a shell, and it went absolutely viral! I’ve never had an experience like this as an artist before and it has been spectacular! I was able to open a shop using my newly acquired art printer and sell many prints of my snail. Creating something original, directly stemming from my interests, and having that resonate with so many people has been unreal. I couldn’t ask for more as an artist!

What advice would you give to younger you about making art that’s personal or truthful to your own experiences?

I would tell my younger self to chill out and experiment more! I was so caught up in the idea that I needed to have a realistic style to be considered “good.” I also believed that technical skill was the only measure of how worthy my art was. That’s not to say technical skill doesn’t matter, but I now firmly believe the creativity and voice of your ideas far outweigh the skill of execution in terms of importance. Technical skills should elevate ideas, not the other way around. Once I began to revel in strange ideas and stories for my work, depicted oftentimes in odd styles or mediums, I truly found my voice as an artist.

Who on Tumblr inspires you and why?

My peers here on Tumblr inspire me more than anything! Sharing my work with contemporaries and giving each other support brings me joy like no other, and keeps me motivated to continue creating. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them! @beetlestench, @theogm-art, @trustyalt, @ratwednesday, @phantom-nisnow, @svltart, @mintdrawz, @mothhh-hh, @jupiterweathers, @thesewispsofsmoke, @picoffee, @fetchiko, @kaisei-ink, and @pine-niidles just to name only a few!

Thanks for stopping by, Camber! If you haven’t seen their Meet the Artist piece, check it out here. For more of Camber’s work, follow their Tumblr, @camberdraws!

[pine-niidles]

March Project Updates

Artblock + Hiatus

Oof. It's been a heavy artblock month. Every tiny inch of progress on any art I've been working on has been hard won. All I've really manged to get out are a few rough sketches which I continue to only post in my discord. The thought of posting to general social media only makes me tired. I might officially call this a hiatus. I'll keep posting these monthly updates and notices whenever I have anything big to share but for the next few months at least it will continue to be pretty silent from me.

Convention Research

Now that I'm seriously thinking about doing conventions I've been looking into what that would mean logistically and what cons I can even table at here in the UK. 

What that means is spreadsheets. Lots of spreadsheets. The one I'm most proud of is one I've put together of all the UK zine fairs, comic cons, & anime cons I can find.

I also have a one for comparing manufacturers and one for my planned list of stock. I originally gave myself a deadline of June to put together at least enough items to look good on an application but after lots of data gathering I've moved that to August, since most cons around here seem to open apps August and later. I may or may look into setting up an online shop for the physical items before then? It depends on how things go.

Plans for April:

​The Sea Unseen

I'm once again taking part in this year's edition of the Sea Unseen Zine, I'll be working on my piece for that this month - I won't be able to share anything from that, but I'll be sure to put up a notice when the zine is out in June. I'll be drawing a common murre this year!

Finish Your Project Jam

A friend of mine linked me the Finish Your Project Jam which I am taking full advantage of to finish my 2023 digital sketchbook compilation, my hourlies compilation (both of which are about 90% done I just need that final push) and a zine about impractical but cool fantasy swords (~50% done). If things go well I'll also see about releasing a draft of Don't Wake the Sleeping Dragon, likely without art.

[pine-niidles]

February Project Updates

The move is done! I'm settled in at home again and it feels great! I can quickly feel my ability to function coming back to me. It's also nice to be going swimming again, my local pool finally has its upper floor showers fixed, so I don't have to go up and down the stairs as often. On the other hand the construction that's been blocking my girlfriend, and I's shortcut for going grocery shopping is still blocked, and likely will be until summer. Other construction is finished, and new ones started, such as it is living in the city. 

Moving was the focus this February, but I did get a couple of art things done. 

Hourly Comics Day

Hourly comics day was a blast this year. I'd only participated a couple of times before, and I don't think I ever manged to finish the whole day. That was back in university, so I thought I'd give it another shot. It ended up going pretty smoothly. I stumbled into a style that worked well when doing the 9am comic. It's pretty quick to do, I like how the final result looks, and any rough edges feel intentional. 

I did find it took a LOT of focus and about halfway through the day I stopped drawing comics every hour so that I could concentrate on the work I needed to do. I still took notes every hour of what I wanted to draw later.

I had to stay up late to finish drawing the catch-up comics but I was having fun so it's all good.

I always enjoy seeing diary comics, it's nice to have a glimpse into other people's everyday lives and thoughts. With the medium of comics specifically - it's fun to see how people depict themselves and their surroundings. What they put more effort into drawing, what they leave out completely, how they stylize things. Most of the time we see artists draw from a built-up image bank to make made-up objects or from refs found online, there's something a little different that comes across when drawing something one uses day to day. At least it certainly feels different to draw it! My favorite panel to do was drawing the sink full of dishes. 

You can find my full day of hourly comics here, I'm still working on putting together that pdf/zine of them

Erwin Zine

I put together this zine of photos of my parent's cat, I already miss him <3

2023 Sketchbook Compilation

I finished the intro, I still have the cover and outro to do. Will be wrapping that up soon :)

March Goals

I haven't thought much about what I want to get done in March yet... I'll be leaving that for next week's me as I get back to figuring out the perspective issues on this commission I'm working on. 

That's all for now - I hope you enjoy your last couple weeks of winter o reader of mine.

[pine-niidles]

January Project Updates

I'm going to start this by pretending I'm not posting this a week into February, and you're going to go along with me, ok? Ok! 

Well January sure went by quick! My update last time was pretty hesitant, but I think I am properly getting back into things. On top of that I finally got a reply on my visa and I'm flying back to Scotland at the end of the month 🎉 Very excited to be home! I'm looking forward to seeing my girlfriend and friends again and being back in a space I've designed to work for me. Now, onto what I've been up to:

2023 sketchbook

Part two of attempting to document my art: I put together scans of my physical sketchbook with a bunch of digital drawings from last year. The pdf is pretty much complete, I've just been putting off figuring out the cover and writing a quick intro & outro.  

I guess I'm also kind of hesitant to put a price on it since 60% of it is stuff I've posted publically, but I keep telling myself it's worth it anyway. And it's nice to see all that art in one place rather than lost to void of social media.

Stickers

I got myself some sticker paper and have been doing a bunch of test prints to get to know it (and my printer). I'm really happy with how they're turning out! It's extremely satisfying to print out my art and hold it in my hands.

I plan to set up an online shop sometime after I get back to Scotland, I'll probably open it in March. Sticker packs will be up for sale there alongside zines & prints 🌟

Commissions

Perhaps this is more of a February update but by the time the month is over it'll be too late to let you know! I opened regular commission slots and alongside them I made a fun valentines YCH, only slightly vampire themed. Very self-indulgent but I hope you'll like them it too.

I'll probably only take one more slot before closing both the forms :)

February Plans

- Hourly comics day was the 1st of February. I'm pretending this is just a January update, so I won't go too far into it right now. I did finish it, and I'm formatting the comics to make into a zine!

- Sketchbooking - I'm finally returning to drawing in my physical sketchbook again, I'll start posting scans again as soon as I have ~10 pages done

- Impractical but Extremely Cool Fantasy Swords zine, I have (almost) all the swords finished I just need to put it all together

- and gotta focus on finishing those commissions ofc <3

[pine-niidles]

Chibi gift for a friend, this one was extra fun because the design was an adopt I made, it makes me so happy to see her get a story!

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Little experiment 🔷 character belongs to @thefrogwild

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somehow this ended with my writing still being legible

happy hourly comics day...

[pine-niidles]

February Commissions Open 💘💌

💗 I've changed up my shop since last time, mostly in terms of what styles are up on offer, you can see the full changelog here

💗 shop link

💗 valentines ych form

[pine-niidles]

happy hourly comics day...

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Mercury & Lani for an art trade with @akorn10ds 💖they're so cute

[pine-niidles]

Your wish is my command! (thank you for enabling me)

The knight has always had a naturally low voice and an androgynous look. She was already getting mistaken for a boy before her father died and she found posing as his son made things go a lot smoother when taking over his old jobs and contracts. Her father was a traveling mercenary and monster hunter, he was the one who taught her how to use a sword while the whole family was traveling with him to his jobs. Now the knight travels with her mother and sister, on average staying at each place for a few months to a year. She's charismatic and witty and makes friends quick no matter how short of a time they stay at a place.

The princess isn't actually a princess, rather he's the precious sheltered daughter of a mid rank lord who parades him around more like a gemstone to show off than an actual person. His "tomboy streak" is affectionately laughed at and dismissed as the imaginations of a sheltered girl who knows nothing of the real world, all the more so when his attempts to actually pass as a guy and run away from home fail instantly. He's clever and creative and stubborn and can handle more than he's given credit for but is being consumed and blinded by anger.

The two of them first meet when the knight is hired for a job at the princess's father's castle. There's some tension right off the bat with the princess not liking the knight's cavalier attitude, but the knight also takes her ambition seriously and makes the princess feel Seen. There's a bunch of banter as they keep meeting up, and they share a handful of kisses before parting ways as the knight moves on to a new job. Neither have revealed their gender at this point.

They meet again a few years later, unexpectedly. The princess had finally succeeded in running away, though he's still not managing to pass as a guy. He was taken in by a couple who run a tavern and is working as a barmaid there when the knight comes to town looking for a place to stay while she's got a job nearby.

And that's all I've got so far! I've not drawn either of them yet but I am nothing if not externally motivated by people engaging with my stories so maybe if more folks express interest I'll find the time to sketch out some designs ;)

Oh no... it's happened again... I made new ocs

it's a closeted transmasc princess who's impulsive & firey and desperate to have control in her life x a laid-back cis female knight pretending to be a man to work as a knight to support her mother & little sister

[pine-niidles]

Looking Back on 2023

Heyyy folks! Long time no news from me huh. 

I'm struggling to think of what to even say about my silence. I've not been doing so bad I'd call myself depressed, but I'm doing a tad worse than just a slump. It's been a rough 6 months, not because of one big thing. Instead, a bunch of medium-sized reasons all piled up on top of each other to leave me extremely drained. I've mostly been working on the two commissions I still had in my queue (thank you to my commissioners for being so patient with me, I'm so sorry to make you wait so long <3). I've done a little personal art other than that but didn't have the leftover focus to keep up with sharing it on social media or writing up any updates about my situation. I've pretty much only been active sharing things in my art discord. I'd like to say I've been doing better in the last month or so, but I hesitate to make any promises at this point! We'll just have to see how things go :)

Artfight

So you were promised a more in depth artfight review but I think I missed the right timeframe for that... instead have this look at 3 years of unfinished artfight thumbnails from my new year's wip clean-out!

Year of Art Summary

All things considered I made a lot of art this year, and I'm really happy with how most of it turned out ☺ I did a bunch of experimenting with more playful techniques and color schemes and I think they suit my style a lot. I want to try and much those limits even more next year to see what kind of fun art I can create! Something with colors specifically really clicked in my brain after that witch drawing I did in April, before then I would spend a long time figuring out the perfect color scheme and doing a bunch of adjustments but ever since that drawing things have really been coming together super quick? I'm not sure what changed but no complaints from me. 

Life Drawing Summary 

I rarely post my life drawing but I've been keeping at it! Actually, I put together a few pdfs showcasing all my life drawing going back to 2022, you can download them for free in my itch or ko-fi shops! :>

I also put together a yearly art improvement comparison going back to 2015 that I was planning to put here. However, seeing how long this is already getting... I'll make a separate post for it.

Commissions

I've been gearing up to open commissions again after that unintended hiatus. I don't want to open slots until I'm sure I'm back to being able to finish them in a reasonable timeframe, so I've been using that leftover energy I do have to think about revamping some things and new styles to offer. Back in November I ran a survey on what people want to see from me (it's still open if you'd like to fill it out and help me get more stats!) 

here's a preview of what's to come based on that & my whims:

- stamp commissions were super well received so they'll be added to my main repertoire

- A combo of me reading too much dun meshi and wanting to offer some kind of comicky commissions led to this idea of comic pages of characters eating together, I have a couple examples in progress, when they're done I'll add this style to my main offerings!

- I'm still not 100% set on sketchpages but I like the idea of them so if this test goes well I'll add them as an option

Onward to 2024! 

I already completed my new year's resolution on day 1 of 2024, it was to pet a cat. I've made a second one which is to get a library card whenever my visa is approved and I move back home. It's been something I've been wanting to do for a while but never got around to, hoping this will be the excuse I need to do it.

Art-wise it's not a new goal, but I've been trying to focus on improving my rendering! Though I've also been playing around a lot with screentone... the two don't have to be at odds 🤔 

I'm dedicating this year's personal art time to making new references for as many ocs as possible with nude bases so I can easily design new outfits for them whenever I want to without fully making a new ref from scratch.

Otherwise I'm just trying to take it slow, work on things one at a time and see what happens from there.

[pine-niidles]

With the aim of documenting my art study I've put together three pdfs showcasing every piece* of life drawing I've done in the last two years + some scattered commentary. It's totally free to download, you can grab it off my itch.io or ko-fi shops!

The aim is to add a new pdf every year so it'll be extra fun to go back and compare them.

[pine-niidles]

Deep Blue - one more drawing for Grem!

Commission Info | My Links  

[pine-niidles]

Ref sheet commission for 7pmGremlinhours + a bonus repeat shark pattern from their shirt because that's just how I am sometimes

Commission Info | My Links  

[pine-niidles]

A colorful year of art 🌈

I've been struggling to draw these last few months but looking back to everything I made in the first half of the year, I'm still really happy with the art I made this year - I'm working on a full reflection blog post I'll share soon!