#-taught me more about how to use shapes when drawing people than school art classes ever did

[missionel]

it's kinda funny to me how punch out of all things has probably had the most welcoming fandom on tumblr (not in general but for me personally). out of everything out there, i didn't expect the game where a high schooler beats up adult men that could (and sometimes try to) kill him to havea fandom i felt so comfortable posting in, but here i am 😳 not trying to make a sappy post or anything, just an observation i had

[lemon-wedges]

Heey just wanted to tell you that I adore your art, especially the way you draw Barok. You humanised him in a way I've never seen an artist do. All your characters, but especially him, look like real, soft, approachable people. I can almost see their chests expanding, I can imagine them laughing and breathing, I can tell how in love your ships are, which is very special and very rare

Your art makes me extremely emotional

(also where did you study, what books did u read, how long did it take you to learn to draw like that??)

AH thank you for the sweet ask! it really made my day to hear this TTuTT

As for your other asks, ill put them undercut with some photos and links to stuff!!

I've been drawing for about ahhhh 16 years( 8 of which are actually like serious school stuff than just a hobby) but tbh its only really been in the last 3 where i feel like ive been making actual progress in improving my stuff. but thats my personal path in art and its always gonna be different for you or anyone else.

anyways 3 years ago i made some changes to my drawing habits and study methods that were like. real specific to where i wanted my art to go (cleaner lines, better foundations, gesture, etc etc). I worked on thing one at a time tho!! it can get overwhelming real quick if youre not careful. So the stuff im gonna give you is geared towards....well, me? both in content im searching for and just the classes that resonate how i like learning

OK BOOKS:

CLEANER LINES. I use to have a habit of making like EXTREMELY sketchy and unconfident lines. This is a landscape book that i literally just copied every single thumbnail. Helped me get into the habit of both using only a few strokes to get an idea across and breaking down complicated subjects into shapes

ANATOMY. Morpho series. Its not a how-to-book tho its just a compilation of an artists break downs. This one is my fav tho. And helped a lot when i was struggling to understand like ALL BODY PARTS

CLOTHING. This is probably my fav clothing book. Very short and published in the 1940s. Its helpful specifically to ME cause its clothing is closer to TGAA outfits(mens) than more modern books LOL

And now CLASSES. I do actually have an art degree from a university and let me tell you. I was left SEVERELY lacking any skills i needed to go into the industry I was interested in 👍 (not cause of the professors but cause the school itself was actively killing its art department :p) So i was kinda just left looking into online stuff on my own (AND COMMUNITY COLLEGE!!!! MY BELOVED AFFORABLE CLASSES )

NEW MASTERS ACADEMY. Its a subscription-have access to all the videos for a month to a year- kind of thing. cheapest is about $40 a month. REALLY REALLY helped my anatomy and foundations. Steve Huston: Good for entire step by step anatomy break downs. Micheal Mattesi & Karl Gnass: Gesture. I've watched a handful of other videos but these instructors were the most helpful to me

DRAWING AMERICA. A lot more pricey. Around $100-$300. but youre basically paying to own the recorded classes and keep them forever. I've only really taken Will Westons classes cause he focuses on BGS and props. But he also has some nice composition stuff thrown in there too.

(I've taken a LOT of online courses and the thing about a majority of them is that they arent really taught by professors or teachers so they tend to be more like a giant Tip video than an actual lesson plan. And if u haven't taken an art class before the difference is HUGE)

and i think thats it? i guess if theres anything else i can give u its this tip:

you mentioned my art is humanizing. Thats a comment ive heard a few times and i guess its odd to say but i dont really know what youre seeing? Like i understand the "ships in love" but cause i did go out of my way to draw sappy love faces 10 bajillion times until i was satisfied. But alive? hmmmmmm like THINK i might know what you may be responding to. Its a combo of the gesture and my effort in trying not to loose the energy of the original sketch when i go to clean it up. And what ive figured out is this. Youre not outlining or tracing your under sketch youre REDRAWING it .

i put the under sketch and clean up next to each other so hopefully this makes sense but like. when i do an under sketch im only really focused on building the figure. When u build a figure youre drawing out bigger shapes and breaking them down into smaller and smaller ones. Lines feel like they have more energy at this stage because the circles and cylinders are fully drawn out, making them have a continuous momentum. So then when it comes to the clean up stage. im not looking to trace the exact lines i drew out (if u notice my final isnt a 1 to 1 copy of the og) im trying to follow the flow of the original lines. thats why youll see lines go thru the figure sometimes, its me trying to keep the energy in that line even if its not suppose to be very long.

idk if this makes any sense at all.....and maybe i should have recorded me actually drawing this out but [shrug emoji] i could do it later if anyone is interesting in wtf is happening here. CAUSE I SWEAR ever since i started cleaning my sketches like this i started to get those comments. but also i could be wrong too.....then i REALLY dont know what im doing ahahahah

Anyways, i hope something in here ends up helping you anon!!! GOOD LUCK ARTING I BELIEVE IN YOU :O

[laneelliot12]

I love the way you draw cats! How did you adopt a style like that? Who/What were your inspirations?

Thank you!!! I'm so glad people have been liking them!! I'd say I get a lot of style elements from popular cartoons, like pokemon, but I also take a lot of care in my references, and learned to breakdown their shapes over years of trial and error. I'd say a majority of the inspo I got was from random warrior cats speed paints on youtube- I'd pause the frames and pay attention to all the different steps they did! I don't think any one youtuber stood out to me as someone I got my style from, but It's def an amalgamation of a bunch of creators from the early 2010's! I'd love to post something, or even a video one day, of how I do each of the steps I do to get where I get! [Below is a retelling of my art journey if anyone is interested!]

I'd like to think I've got two styles of drawing: art for ocs, and canonized fan art. For both I use a great deal of references, either chosen from stock/free use image sites or from pictures of my three irl cats (who are very photogenic <3)! I am self taught, which means I've gone through a LOT of trial and error over the good decade I've been into the WC fandom. About a year or two ago, my laptop (that I've had since childhood) crashed so hard it deleted everything from my hard drive, losing YEARS of progress/artwork that I hadn't posted anywhere. Foolishly, months before that, I'd deleted my DeviantArt where all my cringe emo ocs were posted, something I was embarrassed of at the time, and now deeply regret doing (fr keep and date ALL of your art it is so important for your growth). I wish more than anything that I could post some of it here to show how my style has grown and changed, but sadly, I'll just have to describe it to ya.

[^^^ Above: the only bit of art I have saved from that time!]

I started drawing wc art in the 4th grade with some friends at my school- a very close friend of mine had started doing it, and I had never really drawn before, so I just followed along with what she did; the meme-y 'firestar doesn't like waffles/derp' fad of the time had be in a VICE GRIP and a lot of my work looked like that. I drew almost exclusively on paper, until my parents let me use the trackpad/mouse on the family computer in mspaint, where my passion for it really started to take off.

From there I got into deviantart, and started out like a lot of young kids did- thick, uniform lineart, coloring in the flats manually, tons of airbrushes and clip images of sparkles, the GOOD STUFF. I would hold paper up to the computer screen and trace the emo mspaint scourge pmvs frame by frame, I was obsessed. Then, for my 13th birthday, my uncle gifted me my very first wacom tablet; a tiny, 6x6 plastic plate that came with a pen and a too short chord. I drew constantly, watching speed paints and reading riverspirit comics until my eyes melted out of my skull, rp'd and posted little comics about my day to day. This went on and I very slowly started improving the more naturally drawing came to me; I held my pen different, downloaded a pirated version of firealpaca, learned about lineweight, obtained LAYERS. Almost seven years ago now, that friend I started drawing with passed away while she was very young. I couldn't stomach drawing warrior cats art for a long time after that; and, my parents had been urging me to give it up for a while too (in their opinions, if I was going to waste my time drawing, it should be something I could do to make money. If only they could see my commission having ass now!!). I still made art, but I did it formally; still life, paintings, figure sketches. When I got to highschool, I went to a specialized program for gifted students (burnout king right here) and took a TON of formal art classes, studying it as my main field. I learned about shapes and color and the natural flow of a piece; but I never really get over my love of cartoons, or my love of warrior cats art. There was just something so special about it, so unique to any fandom I've ever been in, that eventually, I was called back to it. My life was very difficult during that time, when I decided to redraw some of my old digital art for a class warmup. I hadn't touched a laptop in years, and it was ROUGH, but I reconnected with it instantly, and it was the first bit of serotonin I'd had in a WHILE. I got back into roleplays, got back into tumblr, got back into all the old stuff that made me happy.

I graduated highschool in 2020 and started drawing a lot of warrior cats content in between shifts- which leads to where I am now! I was deeply insecure about it and would hide the fact I did it from people I knew irl because I was afraid they'd think im cringe (I am cringe and I love that about myself now, thank u therapy)- and now, I pay for our internet bill off warrior cats commission money, which felt like a pretty big leap!! I still like doing 'formal traditional art', and it has influenced my art and it's shapes a ton- but I still cling to the anime eyes I loved to draw as the kid who wanted to make cartoons for all the world to see.

[bigjimbopickens]

Hi! I wanna say I love your art first of all! I just read the message under your last post about Kevin’s art video and you said you’re mostly self taught - I’m curious about how you get into that? I’d love to learn to draw but have no idea where to start!

Sorry for getting back to this so late I am not as active on Tumblr. And yes, I am mostly self-taught because of my circumstances growing up. To those who don't know, I am SnowfallWarning/Big Jimbo and I am currently an animation student. I do 2D animation, concept art and character design and I graduate this year (hopefully). I am disabled both physically and mentally which is why I mostly do digital art. I have a coordination disorder (dyspraxia) and am blind in one eye but that doesn't stop me. For my entire childhood I was discouraged from drawing as I apparently wouldn't go anywhere with it or that I was terrible. Where I lived most of my life had no opportunities for someone like me so I had to leave to continue pursuing art. Because of the poor access, the only things I had was notebooks, school supplies and an old iPad mini to draw with growing up. I learned everything I currently know now from using those. I don't know what got me into drawing still, may have been Warrior Cats and dinosaurs. Like what Jose said in Kevin's video, art comes from the soul. It is human expression and we've always been doing it. Anyone can be an artist and we all start somewhere, trust me. Here's some stuff I usually tell people because I do get asked this often (I'm also not the best teacher): 1: Experiment. Find what works for you. Be messy with it, not every piece needs to be perfect. If you are a digital artist then also trying different programs can be helpful too. Maybe you're better at drawing landscapes, characters or abominations that defy God. 2: Use references if necessary. Not sure why for a while it was considered "cheating" to use references. Everyone in the industry uses references, I would know. If you also want, you can try tutorials but I found I learn more from references. 3: Take inspiration. I'm always adding things I see in other people's art to my own style if I like it. Though try not to copy them. 4: Tracing. I believe tracing is okay for learning purposes. It's how I learned to draw humans after doing exclusively furry art for years tbh. I tend to stick to real-life references for this, this is a great site for practice: https://line-of-action.com (if you're not okay with nudity then do remember to turn that off). "But where do I even start?" Grab a piece of paper and pencil (or open a blank canvas on a digital art program if you prefer that) and just start doodling whatever. If you have an idea then go for that as well. Every class I've had in college so far has started with drawing and rendering a bunch of shapes to see where everyone was at and to get a feel of our styles. So maybe try that too. Draw random shapes with different materials/brushes, colour them in and add details like shadows and highlights. I know it seems ridiculous but I do it every once in a while to experiment and try different methods. You probably won't improve overnight. Hell, it took me 7 years to get to where I currently am. A lot of people quit because they think they're not good enough when pretty much every artist is only proud of about 10% of their work. Definitely the case for me. Not every piece is going to be a masterpiece and the imperfections can be what makes it special, so please don't be so hard on yourself. Don't be discouraged because other artists may be better than you either, they've probably been doing it for longer. So please, if you are dedicated enough, keep trying. I'm sure you will get somewhere :) So basically, - Use whatever material you got and draw what comes to mind, even if it's terrible it is a great start. - Experiment with your style and/or materials. - Reference, take inspiration and trace for memory. - Don't give up but do take breaks to avoid burnout. - Try not to be intimidated by other artists, we also don't really know what we're doing tbh (and just as afraid of you as you are of us).

I hope that all made sense and was somewhat helpful :)

[casketcat-archived]

Various Ob.ey Me Kiwa Headcanons !

under the read more because this is a long post !!

Sleep ; Kiwa has a few odd sleeping habits! For one, she usually sleeps mostly in the nude. Typically just shorts! She overheats really quickly at night and it wakes her up, so she figured that would be the easiest way to handle that. On some nights she does just have a very loose, thin fabric nightgown though! For sleepovers where clothes are kinda, y’know, necessary— She likes tank tops and shorts!

Sleep 2 ; Kiwa sleeps with a ridiculous amount of stuffed animals and other various cozy, cuddly items. She is a ridiculously cuddly individual and actually can’t sleep well if she doesn’t have her arms wrapped around something. She also just always loves being surrounded in a little pile of soft things!! She will, however, sacrifice some of her plush space for a partner to share her bed with her though… they wouldn’t fit otherwise lol

Bed ; Kiwa’s bed is covered in stuffed animals, pink, and many kinds of pillows and blankets. She doesn’t use the blankets too much, but she likes the texture of most of them! Her bed is also set up with a soft pink sheer fabric canopy, and she has a few extra stuffed animals atop the canopy for storage in a place she can still see them when she lays down! The bed is SUPER fluffy to sit on and very cozy!!!!

Art ; Art is a very, very important thing to Kiwa! Quite a few different forms of art too! She adores painting, and actually has painted a small mural on the wall of her room! Yes, she argued with Lucifer over it at least once lol. He could not stop her no matter how hard he tried. The mural is of various types of flowers with some clouds. She adds small new things to it sometimes when she’s bored! A few of the added things have been clouds in the shapes of various animals! She’s been considering asking Diavolo if she could paint a larger mural somewhere around R.A.D.

Art 2 ; Another form of art Kiwa really adores is music! She’s generally pretty good with a two instruments— piano, taught by her mother, and the guitar she learned in high school! She doesn’t play either too much anymore, but they’re still near and dear to her heart! If you catch her glancing longingly at a piano, it’s probably cause she misses the one she has at her parent’s place back home… she’s just not gonna say anything about it.

Art 3 ; A big (but subtle) way Kiwa shows her affection is sketching things of people she’s close to. She kinda finds herself doodling crushes of hers in class pretty frequently. She also draws them gifts and little sticky notes with motivational drawings very often! That applies to friends too, they always get cute little stuff on their books, doors, and various little places they’d stumble across in their day to day! She just wants to give them little random mood boosts!

Art Supplies ; Kiwa has and uses many different types of art supplies! These take up a good portion of her room and storage within it! Canvases, many kinds of paint, pencils, pens, stickers, and more! She has drawers upon drawers full of them. She typically goes for nicer brands, she’d rather shell out more money for higher quality supplies than have to buy more supplies bc cheaper ones run out faster! A good chunk of her funds go into art supplies. She also has a very large tower of storage drawers full of fabric!

Sewing ; Kiwa is a seamstress who runs her own small business. On top of her various other forms of art, sewing is one that’s especially important to her. Her adoptive father was a fashion designer as well (though he is now retired) and taught her a lot of what she knows about it! She did a lot of online classes about it as well— one of the few school-like things she’s ever been able to focus on. This blossomed into her running a small business making custom lingerie focusing on plus sizes.

Small Business ; Kiwa’s business started while she was in the human world, it’s one of the big ways she paid rent and bought her art supplies and fabric! Her business did continue into her moving to the Devildom, and she’s been having a lot of fun making lingerie for demons now as well! She has also started shifting into making regular clothing clothing items as well since coming to the Devildom. May as well expand her abilities as long as she’s somewhere new!

Angelic ; Kiwa is a human. Her mother, however, was not. For many, many years her mother was angel in the celestial realm. However, her mother eventually fell in love with a human man and gave up her blessing to become a human and live with him. Eventually Kiwa was born from their marriage, and she is completely a human.. but some angels can possibly sense she has a bit of angelic descent in her. Kiwa’s mother unfortunately passed away due to a human disease when she was a pre-teen, a disease that for a long, long, long time wouldn’t have impacted her at all.

School ; School…. isn’t really Kiwa’s thing. She’s not super good with it, nor has she ever been. Even throughout her time in the human world. It’s actually why she dropped out of college to just pursue her small business and the like. Even now enrolled in R.A.D., she’s not doing too well in majority of her classes. She’s a little frustrated about it, and it makes her upset more often than she’d like to admit, but she’s trying… kind of.

Side Business ; Kiwa started doing cam girl-type work around the time she turned 20. Alongside her lingerie business, it brought in a good amount of money! She paid rent, bought her supplies, and lived pretty nicely. She also gave a bit to her parents to assist her brother’s college fund! She really enjoys the work she does, she finds it a very nice way to express herself and her sexuality a little more, but she’s also not super attached to it. She would drop the more explicit work once in a relationship if her partner wanted her to! She would love to still do suggestive photoshoots with her own lingerie on occasion if her partner was comfortable though.

Side business 2 ; despite Kiwa being a cam girl, and doing very explicit stuff for strangers on the internet, she’s never dated or really had any romantic or sexual partners in person. She’s been far too busy, but it’s not for lack of interest!!! She hasn’t even had her first kiss in most situations solely because she’s just… busy. She has always been busy!

Brother ; Kiwa’s younger brother, Shion, has always been someone she’s very close to and who is very important to her. She always values Shion’s opinions and always enjoys being around him! This is possibly because on top of being his older sister, she did spend a good chunk of her teenage years basically half parenting him because of how busy their dads got. Their fashion design business picked up at a super unfortunate time, and they tried to be their for the kids as much as physically possible, but Kiwa assured them she didn’t mind helping out taking care of Shion. She did a decent job basically parenting him!!

Parents ; Kiwa’s birth parents unfortunately passed away when she was still fairly young, pre-teens, but she was adopted by two family friends after that. Her dads are two of the kindest, most loving, sweet people ever. One of them used to be a fashion designer, while the other was basically his secretary and assistant. They worked so well together and Kiwa always looked up to them! They are now retired and teach a pottery class in her hometown. Their hometown is small and in the country side, not very big, but warm and welcoming. One of her dads became mute from an accident a few years before her time in the Devildom, and as such, Kiwa, both of her dads, and her brother all learned and know JSL to communicate.

Mornings ; Kiwa isn’t much of a morning person. She can’t really wake herself up too easily— when she first wakes up is one of the main times you can ever really make her mad or see her grouchy! She’s pretty huffy in the morning when she first wakes up unless it’s on her own terms. She falls back asleep pretty easily too! If you try to wake her up, and you don’t see her put her feet on the floor, she’s probably gonna fall back asleep. She’s a little better about mornings if she has a partner who she shares a bed with— waking up cuddling someone she loves negates any possible bad mood.

Pets ; Kiwa has had quite a few pets throughout her life— animals are something she is ALWAYS going to adore. She’s always cared so much for animals. Currently, though, she has a few pet ferrets. There are five total, and they are absolute little trouble makers. Their names are Cupcake, Macaron, Donut, Bonbon, and Pudding! Their enclosure takes up about an entire wall of her room, and she takes wonderful care of them!! They are her babies!! HER BABIES!! They have plenty of toys and places to hang out!! Sometimes… they run around the House of Lamentation.. chaotic babies.

Magic ; Kiwa has an odd and distinct lack of magical power. She doesn’t have much of an interest in pacts, but she doesn’t have much innate magic either. She struggles to learn it and doesn’t do well in classes that teach and involve magic. She doesn’t really seem to mind it too much, mainly because she knows there’s other things she’s good with! Maybe one day she’ll be more interested in pacts with the demon brothers, but as for now, she’s a little uneasy about the idea.

Love Languages ; Kiwa’s main two love languages are physical touch and quality time. She is a cuddly, touchy, lovey thing and being able to touch and be close to her partners (and friends!!) is so important to her. She respects those who are nervous about it, and she does her best to be considerate about it!! Her brother isn’t much of a cuddly person either, so she’d adapted to try her best to ask less affectionate people before just tackling them into a hug. She forgets sometimes but she’s doing her best!! Quality time is also very important to Kiwa, she’s the type who’s very content just being in the same room with someone she cares about even if they’re doing completely different things. It’s bonding time that she really treasures.

[fandomfluffandfuck]

I used seb as reference but i couldn't get his features right DD:

How do you draw him so accurately ???

That's still a good drawing, though! You have pretty good proportions, and I like the slight shading you did around the collarbones, throat, and cheek. It gives the drawing some more movement like with the lines you used do.

Drawing is hard, trust me! And as boring as the answer of how is... it really is practice. I know that that's the most annoying thing to hear, but it's unfortunately true.

For illustration (ha) purposes, I'll tell you some about my own art experience:

I've been consciously practicing drawing since I was in 4th grade. I almost literally thought to myself, huh, I really like drawing, I'm gonna draw all the time! Then it became my life from then on. Summer vacation, weekends, and any other free time... I spent it drawing. Thousands, thousands of hours. Not practicing drawing Sebastian specifically, lmao, just drawing in general, with a heavy focus on humans.

Drawing constantly.

Then, when I got serious SERIOUS about drawing in high school I started actively seeking out things I was "bad" at drawing: animals, fabrics, glasses, backgrounds (which I still despise, lol), still lifes, some architectures, some landscapes, etc. I was actively seeking to increase my skills with pointed practices, not just doing more drawings for expression purposes. I focused on proportion, parts of anatomy, foreshortening, etc. Also, I started diving into materials I'd never explored before, coming from graphite and moving into colored pencils, watercolor, oil pastle, etc. I made a point to try and draw every day for at least an hour.

(And I still do a lot of that! Learning is never done.)

But, as a result, I genuinely saw a huge leap in skill after just a few months of doing that. I taught myself through firsthand experience that what everyone says is "talent" is about 10% (if even that) natural aptitude that you build upon, adding 90% skill. Sure, I might've drawn prettier stick figures than the other kids in my 3rd grade class, but if I had never kept up with the skill--if I had never kept pushing myself--I would still only be a 10% better stick figure artist than everyone else, y’know?

It's easy to say that as someone who's experienced some of that, though. I know that it feels, in the beginning or middle of the art journey, like be told "be patient" or "work harder" and that's never fun 🙃

Also, last side note (sorry, I can't help but ramble about art 💀), but I find that a lot of people assume good art = good, dexterous hands. Fine motor skills don't so much matter as your observation skills matter. It's not what you can do with your hands so much as it is what your brain can tell your hands to draw. Don't draw what your brain says is a face. Draw what is actually there. Train your eyes to see things like shapes, structures, textures, etc. rather than seeing an eye or a nose or an animal, y’know?

TL;DR, that's a good drawing! Thanks for showing me! Don't be too hard on yourself. Art is tough--it's a skill. Practice can help you get more accurate with art, if that's what you want, but you can also just have fun and fuck around. No rules!

[matrose]

Hello ! How are you doing ? I'm a FAN of your artwork and i would like to ask a few questions if it's ok for you to answer them ? I would like to know how long does a drawing take you ? ( like, for a non-background/only character by example and how long does it take you for a full masterpiece like those you are doing for khazad week ? epsecially the last one with the oh so like dream mountains ? ) And did you learn by yourself ? Are there any artists that you admire and that have inspired your style ? oh and the most important : do you think you will ever do illustrations for children's stories like fairy tales? because your artwork is very colorful and cute ( and amazing, marvelous, wonderful, poetic, incredible ) and I can see your kind of drawings on the covers of children's stories ! have a nice day !

oh wow hello!!! i am very well and luckily mostly recovered from being sick so i was properly outside again and visited the deer and goats at the park, so i'm very happy 🥰 this is such an incredibly sweet ask and i am very flattered to have received it!! i'm happy to answer your questions 🫶

luckily, i've got an artprogram (ProCreate) that automatically records my process and tells me how long it took - everything i draw varies greatly in style because i usually draw whatever i feel like drawing and try whatever i want to try...i really really like trying out all the different brushes available to me and see where they take me!! so i'll show you four different drawings and how long they took me:

there's a lot of variables but in general cell-shading is a lot quicker than a painting approach ❣️

my latest drawing for khazad week took around 3 hours i believe - i had a lot of fun with filling everything with these little swirls and shapes, i used to fill entire pages with stuff like that during train rides when i was younger. i'm honestly a bit surprised people are liking it that much but i'm very happy! my backgrounds usually take a bit longer though, i've checked a few bigger drawings and they all come out to around 7 hours!

i had a few How To Draw books in my team, i especially remember one on animals and one on anime that i had when i was 12, though i also remember not really using them and being a bit bored by them. i also had a book about drawing when i was maybe 5 and i remember that one really fondly. it used simply shapes and bright colors and there was an underwater landscape with fish and corals and algae that i thought was sooo beautiful and that i would draw over and over again. i think that one stuck with me haha! otherwise i am self-taught in the sense that i never really attended classes beyond the mandatory ones at school. art/drawing for me personally has always been about having fun and trying myself out and being happy more than anything else.

it's also why i will not and can not ever do art properly as a proper job like graphic design, and i am not sure i could do comissions either. if i am bored and/or restricted the quality greatly suffers...this is truly just for my own fun 😚 though to prematurely answer your last questions i actually COULD very much imagine doing kids books illustrations - those are usually very whimsical and fun and unless the author has very specific pictures in mind already, i could just go nuts with it...kind of a dream honestly though the deadline would be so scary!

as for inspiration...this one is haaard to answer! i constantly get inspired by so many things i see every day - tumblr is so full of wonderful images and nature itself is so beautiful and sometimes i'll recall things from my childhood, books with vaguely remembered illustrations about all kinds of things (the caves in mountains from what i posted yesterday were based on a blurry memory of a book my father read to me when i was pretty young) and then there's museums... on top of it all i study art-history so i am always surrounded by beautiful images...how overwhelming. here are three artists that have inspired me with shapes and colors and patterns:

gustav klimt, phyllis shafer, and wenzel hablik!! in general i really really love art noveau, expressionism, and abstract art and i also love childrens books illustrations!

i don't at all come close to any of them and my more cartoonish style is a way of mimicking features of the art that i love but without putting too much work into it hahahahah

thank you again for this lovely lovely ask, it made me feel really cool 😳 i hope you'll have a wonderful day morning or evening, wherever you are 💐 feel free to ask more questions if i've answered anything in an unclear manner or if you just feel like it:)<3

[mcrmadness]

Watching educational videos about film making for 3 days in a row has resulted in my watching a tv series and occasionally going "oh so they're using the ZOOM here to emphasize the emotions :oooo" or "ah they're filming the characters from a low angle - normally it emphasizes them being powerful but here it just means they're looking at downhill".

Like. Yes. Exactly why I am watching these videos. But I would also appreciate it if my brain would remember these when I am planning MY videos or video projects for school! But for some reason I don't remember even anything they told us at school. I only remember the stuff about technology, not the actual creative process or mood different angles or lighting and stuff can bring into the video.

I think I also need to focus more in the whole concept of this... I think it's "Freytag's pyramid" in English. In Finnish it's known as "the curve of drama". Basically it's just the main frames of a plot and how a plot of any story or media should go in order for the idea to be interesting for the viewer. And I have such hard time grabbing on this concept. I cannot really compare this to anything I have seen, I can't see where's the complication or climax or anything in a work. I feel like I get excited by things that are not meant to be those to get excited over. I feel that I enjoy more of plots that are complex and don't follow this in the exact manner, also plots that are difficult to understand and need you to rewatch the movie at least 2-3 times before it opens to you fully.

I can't review my own writing or videos and compare it to this pyramid, I don't think I have any of the elements there. It's either rollercoaster or a straight line. And I don't know how to even add those? Mostly because: I often don't even want to. It's cliché to always have a plot have this same frame, it's boring to me. But maybe that is why people have a hard time grabbing on my creations cos they are bizarre and might not make sense for others than me, or maybe they feel like they lack something because I have my own way of writing my stories. Maybe one of my newest might slightly follow this pyramid, I'm not sure, but it definitely was not intentional if so. It just happened on its own.

This is, also, a problem of someone who is self-learnt. Maybe this Freytag's pyramid is kinda similar to musicians who make music but have never studied music and don't know the music theory, but just do what they like and for some people it slaps and it's what matters. Kinda feeling this with my drawings because despite being to art school as a hobby as a kid, and having art classes in regular school, I don't remember ever actually studying arts and drawing. It hit me just last or previous year that wait, you can actually study arts and drawing. It was such uncanny thought that had never crossed my mind before??? I just learnt to draw on my own, using my own methord, making sketches in ways I came up with cos I didn't know about anything else. I still don't draw human heads with circles and lines. I find it confusing. My comic book characters start with shapes only to make it easier to see the size of the finished piece so I know it fits the paper. My photorealism starts with me just drawing the outlines without making any helping lines apart from the grid. I just find the regular way of drawing humans, difficult. I did try one way to do that a while back but nothing really came from it. I still don't know how to use that in drawing and just do that how I used to do with my art.

So in a way when we learn about all this at school, I kinda have these... mixed feelings over what we are taught. We are taught about technical stuff, but I'm someone who likes to break the norms. I like to add weird stuff, add easter eggs, do things that feel obvious to me but maybe not for the viewer. There was once scene in a group video where the camera shakes a lot, and teacher mentioned about it that it didn't look that good, so we pointed out it was on purpose because the person in the video talks about challenges in the studies. Handling the camera is one of the challenges and we decided it fits it well cos it just shows the challenged on the video, just not in the hands of the person who was talking. Altho the teacher didn't say it's bad, but that it's understandable and an artistic choice. So things like these, I like doing stuff like this and I think they are often considered unprofessional or bad or plain unskilled, when I have made a conscious choice to do something that looks very unskilled even when I'd have the skill to either make it invisible (such as cut the shaky camera bits when editing a video) or to not do it in the first place (such as drawing straight lines without the line looking shaky, but I just happen to like the shaky-looking lines that give a more relaxed mood). But I can understand that it can be difficult to sometimes tell apart it when someone's just unprofessional and/untalented (or just in need of more practice), and when something was an artistic, conscious choice. And the latter definitely usually has a smaller audience, but often a very loyal audience. I think Tim Burton is a good example here, since I also am a fan of his works but I also know he has quite a lot of haters, too. And for what? No idea.

[kaihoku]

V13 TO CREATE - December, 1995

"By making something from scratch with our own hands, I think we grow as people. It takes an incredible amount of effort, however."

~*~

My place is currently pretty plain with nothing much in the way of décor. The walls were so bare at first, it’s almost sad. So I thought I could make something to adorn it with. It’s not going to be anything so high brow as to be considered a piece of artwork, mind.

First, I asked a friend to help me procure a plank made from a century-old tree. When it arrived, I had a tough time transporting it home as it measured around 2 meters in length and 1 meter in width. Both ends ended up sticking out of the windows of my car. When I got it inside, I leaned it against the wall and temporarily placed another long piece of wood across to form something like a Torii. Simply placing a piece of wood straight across seemed boring somehow so I positioned it with a slight slant instead. I've already got a hammer and all the other tools I may need. The nails were the usual sort made of iron that’s shaped like a hook.  After installing them into the wood, I started hanging stuff like the cowboy hat and lasso I got during my short excursion in Colorado and this ceremonial vest for tribesmen I had. Other stuff I hung up were these super worn denim shirt and jeans I’ve had for years. The result actually turned out pretty nice.

What I really wanted to do was to install them straight into the walls but my apartment unit is a rented one and I can already imagine what my old man would say if I were to ruin the walls without permission.

“The hell...? You bloody daft or what?!”

Pop works in interior design so he’s real fussy when it comes to things like building materials and wallpapers. He has zero inhibition when it comes to openly criticizing anything he doesn’t agree with, even if it’s in front of the people who designed it. He both paints and sketches and even as a kid, I always knew that I could never surpass him in that domain. I couldn't even begin to compete.

I’ve always loved the things pop drew. In fact, he taught me all the basics: how to hold the pencil, how to draw steady lines, how to properly smudge when sketching, etc. For example, when lightly drawing over lines multiple times, it‘s always better to hold the higher side of pencil. He’d watch from the side and if I did it wrong, he’d tell me, “No, not like that.” Back then, I didn’t ask any questions and simply followed.

I went to art classes from pre-school up to 3rd grade so as a kid, there was plenty of opportunity for me to draw. But more than wanting to draw, I kept going to those classes because I liked the teacher a lot. He was an old man whose hair had already gone all white. I loved the beagle he drew for me and kept it for a long time. On days we drew still life, if they happen to be fruit, he would peel the skin at the end of class and offer them to us. I remember being particularly overjoyed when they were apples.

These days, when I draw, I like to use a box of 18-color crayons. Red depletes the fastest. I’m not a fan of oil paint because it tends to cover up the pencil lines. The feeling of tension is less that way so it doesn't excite me as much.

Come to think of it, there was a time when I kept feeling this intense need to draw. There was this night I couldn't fall asleep and stayed up until dawn just drawing a bunch of eyes. As I kept at it, mind empty, each one I drew came closer and closer to being something that I liked. It was only after I stopped that I noticed that my hands were almost completely black and the crows were already crowing outside. My eyelids felt heavy but I felt refreshed and light.

I think I somehow get it when people say that they like to make things because thinking about what it is that I like, I realize that it’s the same for me. Even for work, I find that I really enjoy the process of it. Even the kanji for tsukuru, I prefer using “造る” over the more commonly used “作る" because it gives off a stronger sense of something unfolding.

Right now, whatever I’m doing always somehow has something to do with work. As much as I enjoy it though, I really do wish I had the opportunity to do something that’s completely unrelated to it. To do that, I would need to completely remove myself from where I am now and go to some place I’ve been wanting to go...say, for example, Bali. When the chance arises, two things I will definitely bring with me would be a camera and a box of crayons.

One day, I’d like to hold an exhibition where I can put the things that I drew, photos that I took and objects I made on display. If people visiting see something they like and wish to purchase it, they can. The proceeds can then be sent to welfare associations who are working on rebuilding towns ruined by disasters. When I get a chance to do that, it'd probably be nerve-wracking but I’m sure there’d also be a lot of invaluable experience to be gained from it.

-hitachinaka-

[that-was-anticlimactic]

reki with tourette’s headcanons

[ID: it’s reki from sk8 the infinity wearing a yellow sweatshirt with his hands on his hips. he’s wearing a red bracelet on his right wrist and he’s smiling. behind him is a touette’s syndrome awareness flag. end ID.]

so. @zukkaclawthorne got me hooked on reki with ts and now imma post headcanons i wrote oops

okay so first—that little skateboard he plays with??? stim toy, actually.

he likes the sound the wheels make—that whirrrrrr sound. it makes his arms flappy :)

he also finds the rolling motion soothing and relaxing and it always calms him down—it takes his mind to a happy place

he rocks back and forth and shakes his legs a lot. that also contributed to why he was terrible at skateboarding the first few times he tried—because his body would be like “time to rock back and forth!” and it would mess him up

neck twitches for days :)

no but for real—neck twitching is one of his worst tics because sometimes—if he’s in a bad mood or if he’s sad or anxious—it gets harsh and violent and really strains his neck.

so, langa gives him neck / upper back neck massages to help with the pain

he went through this phase for a couple of months where whenever his neck would twitch, he would snap his fingers two times.

he has a lot of hand tics which can be stressful when he makes skateboards because sometimes he’ll be in the groove and then suddenly he’ll mess something up

speaking of messing things up, he has a tendency to dig the bottom of his palm into his forehead whenever he feels like he does something stupid—he doesn’t even realize it until someone points it out.

he feels like even more of a failure of a skater because of his tics because they can hold him back and make the course more dangerous.

if his blinking tic resurfaces, sometimes the blinking gets so intense that he literally cannot see for anywhere between five seconds and a minute depending on how bad it is. that is how he got some of his worst scars.

or sometimes he’ll make a really aggressive hand motion and it throws him off balance on the skateboard due to the intensity

anyways back to hand tics: he points a lot and does symbols like the “rock on” sign or certain numbers (for some reason, the most common number for reki to throw up is four—though sometimes he throws up whatever number he hears) he also grunts a lot as a tic so he sounds angry even when he is’t.

sometimes, his hand tics really hurt and his hands become shaky and his fingers start to feel the way his heart feels when he’s anxious. langa helps in different ways—he holds reki’s hand, he gives him something to fidget with to try to distract him (sometimes it’s his own fingers—he’ll just set them in reki’s palm and be like “let me carry some of the pain”—no, reki didn’t totally cry when he said that what)

sometimes, reki sticks pencils in his ears. his teachers have been trying to stop it since he was young, but he always did it anyways—he couldn’t help it.

his hair is also long enough for him to chew on. yes, he chews on the tips of his hair because i say so. sometimes, to stop him from doing that (and from swallowing his own hair), langa will try to make him laugh so it falls out of his mouth and then he’ll scoot close and tuck the hair behind reki’s ears… once they start dating, he kisses him too. but also that’s one reason why he wears the headband—to try to keep his hair out of his face so he doesn’t chew on it.

reki’s favorite form of stimming (other than his skateboard toy, that is) is stress balls. he’s got a couple of stress balls in his room or backpack—even one with string attached so he can carry it around his wrist. he just really likes the texture of them.

after his second race against adam, cherry and joe were so proud of him and also impressed and worried dads that they bought reki a big stress ball, like, the size of a stuffed animal. it was a blue cat. he uses it all the time.

speaking of fricking adam, we all know he would so use reki’s tics against him during a race. like, when he grabbed his wrist and “danced” with him, he would mock reki’s tics or say creepy things about how his verbal tics are music and his motor tics are him dancing along and it makes him so uncomfortable and like even more shaken

oh and adam purposely does things to trigger his tics, like when i mentioned that number tic??? yeah, adam will purposefully say numbers to make reki do the hand gestures

one time, reki wanted to tell langa that he loved him but got nervous so he signed it in sign language instead. but, since reki’s tics are occasionally hand gestures, langa thought that it was just a tic and mentally was like “i wish that was for me…” and reki is like “i wish he knew it was real…” and joe, cherry, shadow, and miya are all facepalming and groaning at their obliviousness

reki prefers taking hand written notes to electronic notes because he draws / doodles to stim and he can’t really doodle well on a laptop. so, he’ll doodle in class all of the time

sometimes, his pictures / notes turn out pretty bad / illegible depending on how bad his tics are, but that doesn’t phase reki. it used to when he was younger, but it doesn’t bother him at all anymore. in fact, he thinks it adds personality

during class, he’ll draw pictures for langa and slid them on his desk. they’re usually really random things like the teacher or the back of someone’s head or squiggly lines or whatever he sees outside. more often than not, it’s abstract art. langa loves these drawings and he keeps them all on his desk in his room.

reki also started drawing pictures for the rest of the sk8 crew and gives it to them during races. when he gave everyone their first doodle, he was like “i’m not the best artist ever and sometimes my tics mess up the doodle, but i thought of you while i drew it so i want you to have it”

(shadow didn’t shed a couple of unwilling dad tears when he got home that night what)

anyways, they all keep them. every single one. miya puts them in their school binder so they don’t feel as alone / isolated at school.

although shadow and miya give reki a lot of crap / teasing about not being as good as everyone else, the second they hear anyone comment about “the weird red head that makes noises” and comments on his ts in a negative way, oh, they will stop you.

sometimes, reki whispers words he hears under his breath as a tic (echolalia, baby~) and when he overhears people saying stuff about “that redhead that always follows snow around” or about him not being good enough or how he’s an idiot to face adam, he ends up muttering that too. and it’s not a one and done kind of thing—like. he does it for days. it makes him so upset (and i already hc him, with depression so it just makes it worse)

having tics while having injuries is not a good combination—especially if it’s with a broken arm. the crew made sure to keep an eye of reki’s comfort / pain level after adam broke his arm and literally tried to kill him in their final race. joe let reki squeeze his hand whenever he felt the urge to tic and cherry would ask him how much pain he was in after he ticced and depending on how bad it would be, would make joe or shadow fetch a heating pad or an icepack for reki.

joe also taught reki about the magical thing called physical therapy tape and helped him put it on his shoulders, neck, and back one time. it was his idea to use the tape on reki’s fingers when he was injured to make him feel better (because it literally makes my fingers feel better)

also langa kisses each of reki’s fingers and knuckles, slowly and tenderly, soft so he doesn’t hurt him or trigger a tic. a way of showing that he loves him not despite his tics, but even with his tics and that he loves him and his tics.

cherry isn’t always the best at showing he cares, so he’ll wear a ts ribbon sometimes in a way to show support (and it makes reki beam)

shadow once gave reki a flower shaped stress ball because there were “extra at work” (not true—he went looking for one)

miya didn’t really know much about ts at first and asked why reki made those noises and made weird movements all the time and langa explained so then that night when miya got home, they did research on ts so they could understand it better. later, they told reki that whenever they called him a slime, they meant it purely about skateboarding and it had nothing to do with his tics—even that his tics didn’t make him less of a skater

all his life, reki had been the different one: the one no one wanted on the team because sometimes his tics messed him up, the one who was asked to leave classes during tests because his tics were too distracting and made him take the test in the hall, when sometimes he’d get too overwhelmed by how close people were in the halls or at races and would have panic attacks, how he rocked in his chair and adjusted his position seventeen times an hour and sat on his feet while the other kids didn’t, how he shook his legs more aggressively than others, how he couldn’t skate as well as everyone else because of his tics and because he wasn’t good enough

which is probably part of the depression that weighs on his shoulders

the first time reki had a panic attack during a race due to closeness and overstimulating noises (and this is the first one after the sk8 crew happened) langa was racing and wasn’t there to help, so shadow kind of panicked and like picked him up under the armpits and carried him away from the crowd since reki could barely process anything other than panic and the sound and feeling of static and they sat in shadow’s car for the rest of the race and once he felt better, he gave shadow a huge hug and shadow returned it.

one time it happened and cherry was nearby and he saw the signs before it got bad (remembered from the previous time / his own experiences) and helped talk reki down before it got bad (he has a soothing voice)

usually, though, when / if it happens (because reki usually feels safe there), langa is the one who helps

but it got so much worse after skating against adam the first time because he no longer felt safe and suddenly everyone cheering adam’s name even after witnessing what he did to reki was too much but langa was racing adam so langa wasn’t there and this time it was joe who kneeled in front of him and started talking just loud enough for reki to hear and he was like “you’re safe—we won’t let anyone hurt you. we won’t let him hurt langa. you’re safe. i’m here and so is cherry and shadow and miya and langa will be waiting for you at the end of the race…”

it happens again at the next race he goes to—and this time it’s miya who notices and they tug on langa’s sleeve and is like “i think you need to take reki somewhere else” and langa does :)

okay i’ll end on a positive ts note or two—langa asks reki to add the ts ribbon to the design on his skateboard

shadow finds chewelry at the store one day when he’s shopping and buys it for reki (and gets a matching one for langa!)

once reki came back after his mental health break, the first thing joe said to him was, and this is nonnegotiable “reki! i missed you and your tics!”

miya once overheard reki muttering to himself about his annoying tics were, so they intervened and was like “your tics aren’t annoying. they’re you and anyone who think s they’re annoying is an idiot”

and for the first time in his life, reki doesn’t feel alone and isolated and so different from everyone (at least, he’s working on that last one) and he’s finally found a group of people who want him on their team and a boyfriend who always supports him and makes him feel less isolated, tics and all <3

i uhh I have a lot of feelings,,,

[matthewbeilschmidts]

It’s been a long while since I’ve posted but I’m so glad that I am :’)

This is for Day 1: of @prucanweek - Ordinary

Apologies for spelling errors, it’s a little short but I hope you enjoy 😭💞

-

Matthew doesn’t mind that he’s living an ordinary life. Really.

He grows up near the coast, two parents, a fraternal twin brother, and their gangly hairless cat, Tony (picked curtesy of Alfred). Their parents take them everywhere they can during their childhood, the beach, museums, sports game. They focus on their interests, figuring out what the two like and dislike, as they encourage them both to be themselves and do what they love no matter what. Alfred debates between whether he likes wrestling or football more, while Matthew settles into hockey. In between family get togethers, community festivals, and endless sports training, they somehow have time for homework. (The two share answers a lot.)

He and Alfred each have their own rooms when they enter their teen years, a space to decorate and fill with their own mementos and awards. The sports continue, but later their parents find themselves a little bit busier than before. They do though, give them as much time as they can during the school year, never wanting them to go without someone by their side.

Matthew fades into the background a little bit as they get older, while Alfred puts himself front and center. Matthew watches once with a hand over his eyes as Alfred auditions for the school musical, and surprisingly he read and sings the lines well. “It’s always the rowdy ones!” their theater teachers says after he’s finished performing, a mix of anticipation from planning on putting Alfred on stage and dread at the thought of having to manage him.

Matthew silently supports him, after all he has his own things to do.

He’s the co-caption of the hockey team, the coach giving him the position to give him a little more of a voice, and his teammates verbally agree, considering on the ice Matthew has a lot more to show than he does in person. He accepts, albeit hesitantly.

By the time graduation comes by, Matthew can barely believe how the time has passed. His team even wins a championship under his watch. Some of his fellow classmates look so ready to go out and experience the world, and it’s scary to him because weren’t they all going at the same pace?

His parents talk him through picking his college of choice, and he decides to go. He needs to do what everyone does and experience the world.

And if he decides he wants to come home, that’s okay because at least he tries.

-

He’s in his first art class during his third year at university. The time has been going well, he’s got pretty decent grades and has managed to join a few clubs. But he’s not done yet. Extra curriculars, can’t finish without them. He prioritizes his general education first, and even slips himself into a few major classes early on, but humanities is on record now and has to be completed no matter what one’s studying.

He can get through one semester, he hopes.

Next to him, a student is snickering and the professor doesn’t look amused.

“Gilbert.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“If you’re done, I can introduce myself now.”

The professor goes in with complete, in-depth introductory slides with her name and credentials, and a briefing of all they will overcome this semester.

He’s never been an artist, at least not one that picks up a pencil and creates a realistic masterpiece with nothing but that and a pad of paper. Maybe some poetry contests in high school, if that counts. The written word has its own impact, its own set of colors to breathe out for the world to see.

There’s another snicker, interrupting his internal monologue.

He doesn’t say anything, because he doesn’t know the student, and it’s not his place to control others. But, if it starts to hinder the class, maybe he’ll tell him something. He’s paying to be there, too.

The man catches him staring.

“Yes?” he asks Matthew without being spoken to in the first place.

“Oh,” Matthew flushes at being caught, not that he was trying to hide it anyway. “Well, she didn’t say anything funny?”

The guys waves a hand, making a “psssh” noise as he does.

“I’m just laughing because of how formal this all is. She won’t be this dignified later in the semester that’s for sure. She’ll be ripping her hair out.”

Matthew glances back, he doesn’t want to say anyone looks mean but, he would believe it if she was.

“You look scared,” the guy laughs, which is rude because isn’t he the one that just put the thought in Matthew’s mind? “She’s not too mean just a sticker to the rules. Will get real pissy if something doesn’t go right.”

“And you still set her off knowing that?”

The man laughs again, but this time around he’s actually trying to contain it behind the thin art easel. He’s not very hidden.

“She’s my cousin’s wife.”

Ah, that makes sense then? Messing with family is normal, but also he shouldn’t be bothering her at work.

“It’s no wonder you seemed casual.”

“She taught both of the lower division figure drawing classes, too. This is my third semester in her class. She’s the only one teaching this specific class I didn’t have too much of a choice.”

“Art major?”

“Yep! And you?”

“Psychology major. I have to get in some cultural classes.”

“Ever taken art?”

“Actually no, not even in high school. I got through that stuff by working backstage in the theater department.”

“Well not to worry my friend, because you picked the best one.”

“Is it easy to pass?”

“Nope. Well, maybe if she likes your work,” Matthew deflates at the blunt response, “but don’t worry because I’m here to be your guide.”

Matthew perks up, but it takes him a moment. This guy’s gonna help him?

“Are you any good?”

“Am I good?” He looks perplexed Matthew would even ask. Matthew has to cover his own amusement. “I may not look it but charcoal and I go way back. I’ll show you my work later as proof.”

“Deal.”

“Gilbert, since you’re adamant on talking, you can be the first to introduce yourself.”

Even if his name wasn’t said, Matthew feels just as guilty. Caught, for talking on the first day of all things.

“Gilbert Beilshcmidt. Fourth year. I’m an art major and my favorite breakfast food is pancakes.”

Matthew looks surprised that he was paying attention, even to the last addition of their introduction. Matthew’s not sure he would have known considering he was distracted.

-

And so their friendship starts.

-

Gilbert sits next to him again. And again.

Where ever Matthew sits in the art room, Gilbert follows not too long after.

Some days they take the sitting desks, some they stand and lean against the stools.

And despite not even talking much, Gilbert treats him like a friend.

-

“Do you have any plans this afternoon?”

“Nope, this was my last class.”

“Do you want to get some coffee and work on our sketch books.”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

-

Matthew finds himself meeting Gilbert in his downtime. Every Thursday after drawing for three hours becomes the day they meet. At first, all they do is draw, little more.

Gilbert is animated in all moments, but he has short spurts where he focuses exceptionally on his work. Matthew is no art critic, but he thinks Gilbert expresses himself quite well on paper. Graphite, charcoal, and pastels, all the utensils glide easily without a single stroke missing its mark.

Watercolor though, could use some work, which actually happens to be Matthew’s favorite. Even if the intention is to guide the colors with a brush, it’s okay for them to take a life of their own spreading across the thick paper.

They share snacks, art supplies, and their time.

Gilbert proves himself very useful as he promised. Matthew though never planning to be the next Van Gogh, has to pass this class. And it would be nice to pass it with flying colors, but some concepts are harder to grasp than others.

It’s obvious to tell he’s a beginner, while Gilbert excels. Matthew finds out he only now needs the intro class since it’s the first semester it became a requirement.

Gilbert helps him find the shapes he’s comfortable with, explains the processing for hatching and how it relates to shading. And while he’s no expert, he sees a subtle improvement over the next few weeks that makes some pride swell within himself.

-

“Do you want to come with me and my friends to this cool bar for dinner on Friday?” Gilbert asks about a month into the semester.

It’s the first time Gilbert and him will have spent time off campus.

“Yeah, I’d love to.”

-

Gilbert’s friends are just as animated as he, it’s almost hard to keep up. Overwhelming as they are, they’re extremely welcoming. Matthew eases into the atmosphere, joining in when he can but mostly pleased to be out and doing something different.

He’s made friends during his time, but like him they’re a little more reserved and pick quieter places on the town.

It’s fun. And he wants to go out again.

Matthew invites Gilbert and his friends to watch his next hockey game.

After their shock in finding out he plays such a violent sport, they’re all agreeing and planning to find the best seats in the arena.

-

“Are you serious. Are you hiding muscles under that red sweater?”

Gilbert pokes at him, it tickles when he gets closer to his biceps, but he knows he’s only teasing.

“You think I’m playing but I’m serious! You should have been there, well you were there. On the stands, I mean. We all screamed after you sent that player flying against the wall.”

Gilbert recreates the motions, but only slams himself into the wall and whines after he bounces back. He then plays it off like it doesn’t hurt. Gilbert’s not a very good actor.

People tell him it’s so much different watching him on the ice, but it’s still him. He’s always wondered how much different, he feels like himself. He just knows he goes into the zone when he’s in his gear. He just wants to win. And he will.

“It’s like night day,” Gilbert continues. “You were ready to kill a man down there.”

“You’re not the first to say that. I guess maybe, I could be a little more out there in real life, huh?”

Gilbert stops walking.

“Nope.”

“Nope?”

“You’re perfectly fine the way you are. I like the way you are, so don’t go change. I don’t want to be at risk of dying during art class.”

And as silly as it sounds, he’s pleased. He likes Gilbert a whole lot, too. Just the way he is.

-

“Do you want to have dinner with me?” Matthew takes the initiative.

“Dinner?”

“Yeah, just you and me. I want to take you out.”

“Like you did to that guy on the court,” Gilbert laughs nervously.

“On a date. Gilbert, would you like go out with me?”

He says yes.

Later that evening when he’s heading home, Gilbert starts running through the courtyard cheering that “I have a date with the cutest guy I’ve ever met!”

Matthew’s window is open, he’s face is bright red and he slams head first into his pillow. He needs to plan the best first date ever.

-

Three months into dating, he’s finally heading home again for a school break. He wants to take Gilbert with him, who is waiting for the next major holiday to go back home. But isn’t it too soon? They haven’t been dating that long, after all.

But Gilbert surprises him, and jokingly says he wants to go with him because he’ll miss him too much while he’s gone. And then, Matthew asks if he seriously wants to go.

“I do.”

So they ride the 3 hours train down to Matthew’s childhood home. He’s a little bit nervous, because he’s had dates to school dances, and brought friends over, but this is entirely different. This is someone he wants to take a serious step with, even if the time hasn’t been that long. They’ll never get anywhere if they don’t, so they’ll both take the leap and pray it works out.

“Mom, dad, Alfred, this is Gilbert.”

It’s the most timid Matthew’s ever seen him.

“Nice to meet ya, I’m Matthew’s boyfriend.”

After he shakes all their hands, he takes his hand back to link pinkies with Matthew.

There’s not an once of regret in his mind as the long weekend passes.

-

Gilbert graduates the next year, and the year after it’s his turn. They’re going to move in with each other. Gilbert really has no irresistible urge to go back to his home town, satisfied with just visiting a few times a year. And Matthew thinks he would like to go back closer, just to figure out his next move. So, they go together.

It’s only a one bedroom, but is more than enough space for them both. Gilbert finds work as a docent while Matthew works for a second degree in education.

He still plays hockey for a local league, Gilbert becoming their number one fan. They find their own rhythm, a pace that works for them both, where they can settle down or speed up when they agree with each other. Dewey mornings, warm summers, chilly evenings they spend them altogether.

They decide move up North closer to Gilbert’s hometown. Matthew’s more nervous meeting his grandparents than he was introducing Gilbert to his own family, but Gilbert assures him again and again they’re just a stuffy old family who actually really care about each other a lot more than they let off.

Gilbert’s grandfather towers over him, despite being a hair above 6 feet. He’s silent, eyes boring into Matthew as he introduces himself. And to end all of Matthew’s worries, the elder man pulls Matthew into a hug and tells him he’s glad him and Gilbert are home. Gilbert, just as perplexed as he, stares, but he melts into a pleased laugh.

Yeah, this is his and Gilbert’s home now.

-

They stay, for a long while, contemplate moving a few times, but they’re satisfied for now.

Gilbert and him always make time for each other, continue their own respective interests with complete support of the other. They’re never afraid to complain, because they always work through it rather then let it simmer.

Gilbert’s vivacious spirit keep them going, and Matthew’s heart keeps them grounded.

His life at first seem a little bit ordinary, but how can he complain when the pieces of the puzzle fit themselves in and stayed locked in tight.

[davidjrpalos]

hi, i just found your art and i love it! may i ask a stupid question? did you go to art school or did you teach yourself?? if self taught, do you have any advice? im a self taught artist and i want to get better lmao. i just love how beautiful your work is, very inspiring!

Thank you!! and it’s not stupid! I didn’t go to art school or anything (I did take the elective art classes late in middle school and in early hs too but I’d been drawing since before then and I took those as a requirement to be able to take painting, which I never ended up doing though) so I’d consider myself self taught.

Ok this ended up being long so hopefully it’s not super overwhelming but I hope it helps!

so what has helped me a lot has been thinking about my subject in a 3D sense, I usually try to understand why whatever I’m drawing is structured the way it is. So usually w my portraits I’ll think about the skull underneath or I’ll think about parts you can’t see (like an ear or a nostril if they’re turned slightly etc) on the reference image and it helps me make sense of what I’m seeing.

also drawing parts in relation to another helps a Lot, so I’d line up like the edge of an eye to the corner of the mouth and draw a bunch of lines connecting parts like that to make sure everything is properly distanced and that helps a lot with keeping proper proportions! (you can still do this with non portraits though, looking at negative space is a game changer)

starting sketches w vague shapes and then slowly going more into detail also helps and it’s less daunting than thinking your first few marks need to already be accurate and defined.

for the mental part of it I think understanding every time you draw it doesn’t have to be a Piece will help put the pressure off and it allows u to not be worried about mistakes. (It also makes room for experimentation) Also I used to be very caught up in being upset how my art style isn’t as good as other people’s but realizing no one’s art will ever look like anyone else’s (even if they’re copying) helped me value my work and see it as it’s own entity that doesn’t need to be critically compared to anyone else’s, that’s also just not how it works anyway. that also allowed me to grow quicker when I was able to push mental barriers like that away and work on what I enjoy about making art.

Also artblock is a thing that happens to everyone, I either accept I’m gonna make stuff I don’t like for a while or if I straight up have no inspiration then I need to distract myself in the meantime. Getting into a new or revisiting an old medium does help let you think differently about your art and could help you get out of artblock too though. also drawing a lot of whatever you like does so much for improvement bc then it’s just lots of practice so don’t feel weird ab being obsessed w something or like going through a phase bc it all helps you improve anyway plus you’re spending time on stuff you enjoy too.

Ok ik this ended up being a lot lol but these are some things i feel like have been very important to me as an artist, a lot of these are things I actively use or have to remind myself of still. I also didn’t wanna just be vague like ‘keep going, practice a lot! Don’t compare urself!’ etc. so I hope this was useful & feel free to ask more if you have any questions later too!

[quaranmine]

Hi quara I am once again overcome by the urge to learn artTM and I was wondering, if you could tell, how did you actually learn art?

Hi!!! Short answer? practice

Long answer? spite

basically, I always liked arts and crafts as a kid. but i was not super interested in it, and instead began to focus away from visual art to stuff like writing. my 7th grade notebook had so many stories! Then, in 8th grade, I asked to have art as an elective, and was denied. They wouldn't let me take the class. I had already bought a sketch book for the class since I knew I wanted to take it. I didn't want to take the sketchbook back to the store, or hoard it with all my other notebooks.

So, driven by spite because of my school administration, i decided to fill it anyway by myself. and fill it I did. and another, and another, and so on.

I'm mostly self-taught. I drew anime based on tutorials I saw on pinterest. I joined a group board/community of novice artists on pinterest and posted there for people to critique. I started using markers primarily because I saw them all over the internet, and they're still my primary medium. I had very little formal instruction partially because the art program at my high school was a trainwreck (too complicated to explain) and by the time I had proper teachers I was like...beyond the rest of the class in ability. I went to a small school, the same teacher taught grades 6-12 at different times of day. we didn't have advanced classes, and i was so advanced beyond my classmates that the teachers just let me do my own projects. i dont say this to brag i just say it to mean i literally did whatever i wanted in class and never got taught anything (since the projects were too easy). the only formal art education i have is one (1) college class on 2D design and color theory which definitely did help me in composition.

to actually give advice though...? i used a lot of internet tutorials, many of which were probably pretty bad. But i think what helped me the most was probably drawing based on photos--not tracing. I used to carry a mini sketchbook with me and some pens (because i felt my lines would be more certain if i couldnt erase) and draw people i saw around, or pull up a reference photo on pinterest. i did this constantly when i was bored or waiting somewhere.

I would recommend paying attention to underlying shapes and guidelines. when i was a kid i thought drawing circles before you drew something was dumb, but I think it genuinely helps. break things into shapes and pay attention to how much space they take up. draw from photos and from life, and make sure you draw what is actually there rather than how you think it should look. make a reference library of pose photos/people to draw. and then fill up many, many, sketchbooks because what really helps will just be doing it over and over again.

and pay attention to other people's art--pieces in museums, fanart on tumblr, etc. what do you like about it? what do you notice about the lines, the shapes, the colors? what about the composition? look at nature/real life too--how the sun hits that leaf or how someone tilts their head. everything is art!

[lonelysheepling]

hey how did you get so good at art

Sorry this took me a week to answer

Short answer: Lots of practice and a few art programs/classes

But that's lame and doesn't help anyone so here's the long answer

During the summer before my sophomore year of high school, I took an online art class that went over the basics of traditional drawing and it fucking transformed how I now view art. The class is called "The Ultimate Drawing Course - Beginner to Advanced"

Here's a link to the class. Only buy it on sale, do not buy it at full price (the site has sales constantly, I paid $10 for it).

What this class basically did was it taught me the fundamentals of drawing and it also somewhat transformed how I drew humans, I learned about rim lighting, textures, and perspective. Although it took me another few years to really get the hang of perspective and honestly I still struggle with it

The next thing was that I started taking art classes at my school, with my newfound grasp of lighting I was able to actually really get into painting and I'd still consider my skill above average for someone who rarely paints, the key is grid painting.

Here's an image that somewhat shows how the process works

You take your reference image and you put a grid on it, then you create an equivalent in size grid on your canvas and begin adding in details block by block. If you want to learn more about this I'd recommend looking of grid drawing tutorials. This shit seriously helps me paint.

Another thing to factor into drawing is lighting and shadows. When choosing shadows I went from doing this

To doing this

This creates a more vibrant shadow as you can see.

Also, make use of overlays and soft lighting, that stuff can seriously tone up a piece of art (excuse the poor gif I only have so much stamina)

Just make sure not to overdo them or you get a piece where the lighting is a little harsh

Also make use of online tutorials, art references, and color palettes. AdorkaStock has tons of free-to-use pose references that have really helped me in a pinch

But primarily I just started picking up artistic quirks from other artists, the triangle noses from animal crossing, face shapes from Jaysen Batchelor and other artists on this site, I picked up my general color palette from LavenderTowne and Kasey Golden, my style of hands came from studies of UnknownSpy, and I've probably picked up other things subconsciously since I follow and shittone of artists on Instagram. Don't be afraid to just get inspiration and ideas from other creators.

Most of all, practice, genuinely it will help, try and draw out a bunch of hands from references you'll get better at it. Also, check out creators like LavenderTowne or Emily Artful who'll do tutorials on their channels and show their process in creating art, it may help you to see how they do it.

I've been drawing nearly every day for 2 years, it has certainly helped my process but don't work yourself to the point of burnout. I have a lot more creative stamina than most people.

[hpe24]

I've been trying digital art recently. How do you draw people so well?

Aw thank you for the compliment!!😳😳 This isn't always the case but I was taught that drawing on paper is a lot more effective than digital art when it comes to honing basic skills. I used to attend an art cram school and they had these croquis sessions to train us figuring out the shape and flow of human anatomy. I feel like that's what helped me get the basics and I highly suggest searching for croquis sites that would suit you the best, like Line of Action or some playlists from the Youtube channel Proko, for instance. You can try it digitally instead of paper if you feel the need, as that's what I'm also gonna do since I feel like there's still a lot to improve myself😅 The university I went to had us drawing with tablets 90% of the time, yet there was a croquis class for first years drawing only on sketchbooks, and I guess they also thought traditional art was the way to go for basic training.

Other than that I guess you gotta look up a lot of references... I basically grab any reference images and anatomy tutorials made by other artists, or focus on the body shape of characters when watching media. Personally I was deeply into Mob Psycho 100 and One Punch Man which inspired me to try drawing people in similar proportions and angles as they're well-known for crazy shots and dynamic movements. Also (this is strictly for personal practice but) try copying an image to your liking, it could be anything like a manga panel or an anime screenshot. Of course you gotta be careful about not to take their art style and make it your own default style, but imitating what others have drawn surprisingly helps and my aforementioned cram school had us pick and recreate artwork by others quite regularly.

If you're asking about digitally shading and colouring people ummmmmmm there’s nothing more to it than throwing in a bunch of layer modes and that also goes back to gathering references I suppose?? Searching lighting reference shows some cool tutorials although this part of drawing has always been my greatest weakness and I don't think I'm qualified enough to explain aaaaaaaaaaa

Of all the ways to practice, I'd say croquis is the most important one. You can never do enough and I'm sure there are super talented people out there who don't need to, but avoiding it always comes around to bite you back because that's exactly what I'm suffering right now djgfshdgldjgkdghldjgkdh

[tropicalfreckles]

I know this is random but do you have any drawing tips of any sorts? Like pencil to paper drawing. Facial expressions or body positions. Anything really. Thank you!

I've never given actual advice to someone online before, mostly just kids asking me about art in high school. I’ll give it a shot, though!

I'm for the most part self taught, I took art classes in high school but the only actual good advice they give is the basic fundamentals, where to find the light source and of course drawing the 'skeleton' of a drawing.

So, as far as drawing actual paper to pencil. Honestly, the best place to start is just drawing the basic shapes if you're drawing a person. You know the usual circle and lines, maybe add a box. Like down below here.

I haven't actually drawn traditional in yeaaars, but drawing traditionally really is the best way to start. Yeah, you don't got the nifty crtl+z or an eraser that doesn't leave some sort of marks when you make a mistake, but it gives you a better control of what you're doing with your hands. I struggle with digital sometimes because my hand shakes more than on paper. My advice for avoiding as many mistakes and eraser marks as possible is getting a .5 or .3 led pencil or mechanical pencil, then draw as light as possible. (you can get those at your local art supply store)

As for drawing facial expressions, I'm gonna show on digital cause I don't really know where my sketchbook went and it's easier for me.

From what things I've learned over time myself and from other people, sometimes when you're just trying to draw expressions, you can use either just a basic head template then draw on it, or just draw expressions out in the open. I picked up from some web comic artists and some professional artists who give advice online that emoting the expression you're drawing yourself can help with feeling out what it is you're doing. It's all really in the eyes and the mouth.

There is also the thing animators and cartoonists do, where you stretch the face and exaggerate the eyes and mouth.

That's also mostly what animators do and I'm sure they have an actual term.

Also looking over references (references are your FRIEND) is a good thing to follow when it comes to expressions as well, and ESPECIALLY poses. You can free hand all you want for practice, and sometimes it can help you improve, but honestly using references is your best friend. You can look up stock photos for poses, and for expressions maybe even look at real life expressions people make then at different styles of hand drawn expressions. Ranging from realistic, semi-realistic, 2D & 3D western and eastern cartoons, etc;

I learned how to draw super expressive faces from growing up watching cartoons and anime. I drew mostly anime in middle school and high school (along with Sonic), so that's why my style looks the way it does now. It evolved obviously and I don't drawn super anime anymore, but you can probably see inspiration in there somewhere that I'm unaware of consciously.

Now anime isn't for everyone and I'm not saying you gotta draw it at all, but if you wanna do something that helps break you from a more static expressive standpoint, I suggest maybe drawing something a little cartoony.

Moving on to poses now, like I said before, references. Your best friend. I don't really always use them cause I'm a dummy and I get a little lazy but whenever I draw stuff for people that isn't me? I always use them. It can help a lot especially if you don't know how to move the placement of an arm, or a leg. Also you can just pick random references that isn't just stock photos if you want something more animated or fluid looking, but pulling up a movie or tv show (live action), and just pausing at moments of movement.

Like if there is a fight scene breaking out? Pause it, pull it up in a program if you got a tablet OR draw it out on your sketchbook. If you need something next to your sketchbook instead of above you, what you can do is just print it out instead of looking at it on your phone. Maybe lightly draw a pencil over the bodies in the photo to get an idea of how it moves, and apply that to the drawing.

Cause screen grabbing someone in motion is way better than using someone posing as if they're running. It's not as natural and more stiff, so it won't look as good. Running in motion is a lot different.

(another thing I wanna add is there are plenty of references about a rule of thumb for fluid poses used in animation you can follow, which is like following the curve of a line that you draw with a circle at the top representing the head to work off of as a base. The more curve of the line and movement, the more pleasing to the eye/natural it looks. It’s better to actually go looking for it, it’s more detailed in explaining than I am.)

What you also can do is having someone take a picture of yourself doing the pose you want, whether it’s an action pose (i suggest they take multiple pictures of you moving through that pose then), or just doing a still.

One last thing to add I guess is also face shapes and body types also factor in to how you draw expressions and move bodies. Play around and try different shapes and sizes of a person, really move them. Like here I drew Fionna and Cake, and Cake is a very stretchy character.

That's about as much as I can think of, but if you have any in depth questions on what you'd like to see how I do something, just ask. I'll try my best to answer.