#I got some real nice mechanical pencils with colored lead :)

[deerpun]

red/blue /|㇏^•̀ᵥᵥ•́^ノ|\

[elizakai]

Hay :D

Can you tell us what do you use to color your drawings on traditional? I need some tips •́⁠ ⁠ ⁠‿⁠ ⁠,⁠•̀

why hello!! Sorry for such a late answer!!

so, I’m a fun little something we call ✨inconsistent✨(sigh) so while I may not be the best person to ask…but here’s things I commonly use color wise (favored art supply dump)

Alchohol ink markers

I use these most, they are a beautiful thing, my favorite are Ohuhu as they are high quality and a much lower price then brands such as Copic. (Can you taste the salt.)

They have less blend ability in comparison to Copic but are overall a much better investment if you ask me! They are great for a more smooth look! Another one I have around that I use for less saturated colors is touch youch youch

I very much prefer brush pens over the chiseled ones, for a paint like experience, and more dynamic application! Again these are just personal preference!

(I have a bad habit of opening ink capsules and painting with ink. I would not necessarily recommend this.)

Watercolor

There’s lots of pretty nice watercolor you can get for a pretty cheap price! The ones I prefer currently are MeiLiang, I got them online for a good price and they are very nice!

That said I do mix around different brands and such, whatever is on hand.

Gel pens

I love gel pens, even if you just have like one or two it’s such a difference!! I love just having white ones for adding little details and such to drawings! You can also get colors if you like! I use the Jellyrollers!

Colored pencils

a lot of people hate colored pencils which I get, but I find them very helpful for detailing (when I have motivation to do so lol) I often use them on top of drawings I’ve layed down a base of alcohol ink with! That way it has a clean base and can add the fun texture and stuff afterwards!! Those smooth looks can be achieved with pencils alone, I often just don’t have time for that :) it’s very fun though, layering is key with pencils

I do very much enjoy prismicolor colored pencils!!! It’s an investment I don’t regret lol, although I’m sure any soft core colored pencils would have the same effect!!

Posca

occasionally I use posca markers for large poster sized drawings, esp for the ink capsules. I like the paint coverage!! That said they can be a pain to work with.

it’s probably not good to be like me and use all of this on sketch paper. (I know. I’m aware that that is psychotic.) but I do normally use sketch paper, getting some multi medium paper might be good if you are interested in paints inks and pencils though, that way you can use it for all of the above :))

Color wise that’s what I commonly mix and match with, when it comes to pens my FAVORITE pens to sketch or do lineart with are Tombow calligraphy pens. Simple brush pens, it makes detailing harder but I enjoy the dynamics. There’s lots of micro pens you can find for small details as well!! I also prefer to use mechanical pencils for sketching, simply because the mechanical lead stays thin and sharp instead of getting dull. That said, I use very cheap mechanical pencils, and sometimes you need a full pencil depending on the project.

There’s a little mini rant on the art supplies I use color wise, again these are just my preferences from what I’ve tried!! I’m by no means a professional haha, i very much experiment and make a mess of things!

Traditional art can become…quite the investment. Especially when it comes to buying all of the art supplies as your resources dwindle. I have to buy new art supplies much more often than I’d like to admit.

All that said, I am a firm believer of art being able to be formed from any medium!! >:D

be it a simple 2b pencil, a ballpoint pen, or crayons products, I think anything can be used to make something really pretty :))

Only real advice I have is don’t be scared to mix and match, get messy, and experiment!! Do whatever’s most fun, and don’t think you can’t make something great from something simple!! There’s no real rules. Only techniques and suggestions. It can be daunting because there’s no undo button in traditional art, but I think that’s a really good way to expand your abilities :0 it teaches you to roll with mess ups and learn how to work with them!!

Most importantly, let yourself learn from others, but NEVER let people force how you use your supplies, don’t be scared to beat them up if that’s what you need (the art supplies not the people.), and don’t think you need the fanciest things to make nice things >:D

if you want more specific tips and such feel free to ask, I’ll do my best to answer :,)

[sootbird]

Hey Rox, random question. How can one learn to draw? I mean, I got the whole take a pencil and a paper and practice everyday but I mean, after doing that you understand proportions, light, perspective? Naturally? Just by practicing everyday?

Artists telling people just to practice art and not giving them any solid starting place is a bullshit cop-out and something I’ve probably said at some point, but I’m going to rectify it now by giving you a comprehensive guide to starting art.

Some people may disagree with me (and honestly I recommend asking other artists this same question to see what they say and what you yourself agree with), but I think no matter what kind of 2D art you want to make, you should start with traditional, realistic drawing or painting. The reason for this (aside from anecdotal evidence of it working for me) is that learning to draw things that occur in real life gives you a foundation for branching out into different styles or media down the line. Even if you want to draw cartoons or anime, learning realistic drawing will help you, because it will familiarize you with the complicated shapes that more cartoony drawings simplify or exaggerate. For example, if you learn to draw a realistic nose, then you can see different ways to turn that realistic shape into a simplified version of itself. Practicing realistic art can also help train your eye and get you accustomed to different techniques such as line quality, shading, color theory, composition, and various types of art materials, or media, as I will probably begin referring to it as.

So, the next step is to figure out how the hell to start learning to draw realistic stuff. I will help, using written descriptions, tips, and videos I have found online to help you.

First off is Materials/Media.

You can make art with practically anything. Anything from the humble paper and pencil to the most expensive and high-end art supplies. You can burn a piece of wood in a fire for a bit and then use the charred end to make marks with. You can use mud to paint with. You can dip your toe in ink and use that as a paintbrush. My point is that you can really get creative with it and I think creating art should be a joyful experience, not a painful one.

Art supplies can be very expensive, so for beginners I really do recommend a paper and pencil. Not a mechanical pencil either, but one of those wooden ones. They work well for drawing because you can use both the point and the side of the lead to make marks with. I also recommend getting a good eraser. My favorite kind are the grey kneadable ones, because you can squish them into any shape you need for any particular area that needs erasing. I’ll link to some on Amazon later on.

You can practice pencil drawings on lined paper (I have a whole lot of sketches I did in high school that are just on lined paper), printer paper, cardboard, etc, or you could invest in a sketchbook. Cheap sketchbooks are pretty easy to find, like they have them at my local grocery store, but you can also find them online for fairly cheap. Sketchbooks are made of different paper depending on the media (drawing materials) that you’re using. Paper intended for pencil drawings tends to have quite a fine grain for smooth blending, whereas paper in watercolor sketchbooks is rough and absorbent to suit the wet medium. You can get a sketchbook with any paper you want, really. I’ve done pencil drawings on pastel paper before, because it was the only paper around, and it still looked nice, just different than it would on finer grain paper. What materials you choose to use depends on the look you’re going for, and you’ll figure that out more with experience.

To start with, just grab some paper and a pencil and start making marks on it. See how many different looking marks you can make on the paper. I’m not really talking about shapes persay, but literal marks with the pencil. Thin lines, thick lines, scribbles with lots of pressure or just a little bit of pressure. Scrape the side of the pencil along the paper and see what it does. Try blending the lines with your finger. Just take some time to play with the material without getting hung up on creating anything. Do this sort of experimenting with any new art material you’re introduced to. The first thing you should do with a new tool is acquaint yourself with it, and that’s what this is doing. Get used to how the pencil feels in your hand and what motions feel comfortable with it. Keep in mind that you don’t have to hold the pencil the same way as if you were writing. Often if I’m shading with a pencil, I will hold it with all of my fingers around it and use my thumb to put pressure on it.

Now, shading.

Shading and mark making go together, because shading is basically using the marks you’re making with your pencil or pen to indicate lightness vs. darkness. To practice mark making and the techniques that are used for shading, I recommend watching this video and drawing along with the exercise. The artist uses pens in it but you can do it with pencil too! 

When you’re ready, you can start trying to shade basic forms (shapes). Shading gives a two dimensional shape a three-dimensional look. It turns a flat circle into a sphere. Once you learn how to shade basic shapes, you can pretty much figure out how to shade just about anything. For example, once you learn how to shade a sphere, you know how to roughly shade a head! And what is an arm if not a cylinder? A nose if not a pyramid?

There are lots of videos online for practicing this. Here’s one that’s pretty good.

This is where I recommend starting. Once you are more comfortable with that, here is a list of things that you can look up and try to get a handle on, in what I think is a pretty alright order.

Perspective (one-point, two-point, three-point)

Value, Tint, Shade

Drawing negative space

Foreshortening

Composition

Drawing from life

Color theory

It would take me a very long time to outline all of this stuff, which is why I’ve given you that list of stuff to look for online. There are a lot of great resources out there and I recommend searching for them and comparing them. I can’t go into depth on everything right now because there’s a LOT of stuff, but I hope the little outline I gave you will help give you a foundation and know where to look and what to look for! If you have any questions about specific stuff, feel free to come and ask me about it and I’ll try to help.

Here are links to some cheap art materials on Amazon:

Grey kneadable eraser

Sketchbook for pencil

Pen set

There are lots of other listings for stuff like this online, so do check around for what you want! The ones I linked are just options.

I hope this helped! Thank you for the ask anon, and good luck!

[bugaboowritings]

Map of the City - Queen Bee in New York

Chloe is trying (but in America)

Inspired by @gale-of-the-nomads​ au , Queen Bee’s City!

here you go, love - @zazzlejazzle

Bascially Chloé does move to New York with her mom and trys to contiune being Queen Bee! Savior of New York. . . .well. . .trying to be at least. . . 

I have like 6 WIP’s and the number grows whenever I try to write a new fic. I surprised myself by being able to pump this out under two days.  It’s a small drabble, but it was still fun writing out how Chloe would grow and take this role seriously.

Chloé pulled out another colored pen from her case. Testing the ink before she committed to it. Scribbling on the edge of her notebook, checking if it still worked before drawing on her canvas. Looping the pen around till a thick trail of ink left the tip. With her metal ruler in her other hand, Chloé studied the map before tapping her finger on an empty spot. Aligning her ruler on two dots to form a nice straight path. Making them touch. Running her pen down quickly from one edge to the other. Creating a nice thick line in purple glitter gel.

“Sweetbrier Shop to Rivington Street,”

Victims of hit and runs and cheap robberies in the near-by liquor store. She almost got stabbed there once, but she left the fight as if it was just a light scratch. Nothing too major that this hero and a first-aid kit couldn’t handle.

Scratching the color on her key, writing a set of numbers behind it, then capping the gel pen when she was done. Her key grew to be a spectrum of colors with each crime listed. Each color marked off different dangers in the streets.

Tapping her chin with her ruler as she thought over the next points.

“Columbus Circle, Broadway, and Saint Nicholas Avenue,”

All hot spots for black market exchanges. Whether done by slipping it under one’s seat at showtime or in teens' backpacks when they walked home. Her suspicion was based on some loose tells by 'crackheads' and kids that believed something was off. Yet, what really tipped her off were the random addresses, pictures, and tickets she found after confronting that mob-boss. Well, more like lurking around their office till they came back. Long story made short, it was the most anxiety-filled 5 minutes of her life. A moment that some annoying kid from class still bugs her about. 

Trying her best to logically connect them to the rumored case of human trafficking, but no vice.

Pulling out a bright lime sticky note from her desk. Noting the weak evidence behind this conclusion. Smoothing the sticky note on the wall to make sure the glue struck well on her poster.  Applauding her organization before moving on to the other locations she had to check off.

Even since she came to New York with her mother, Chloé felt an urge to ‘promote’ herself. To prove everyone in Paris wrong. To make them see how much they needed her. To prove that she’s important to their stability. And when they cried for her to return, she would laugh and rub elbows with the western high class. Live in the beacon of the leading fashion trends, technological advancements, and the center of business. 

Yet, when she stepped off that private jet- her fantasies were crushed. 

Briskly enrolled in school again after the first weeks of setting in America. Given a uniform that clashed with her shoes. Forced into classes that she couldn’t choose (Who would think that every class would be at max capacity during the middle of the school year?) all with students that made her gag when around with. Total snots or geeks, if you ask her.

 All and more as her private school crest was stamped on everything and anything. There were times where Chloé had to fight the urge to rip the ‘thing’ off.

So far, New York City wasn’t what she thought was gonna be. 

All expect one class. 

 Political Tensions.  

Honestly, she thought it would be a total snooze-fest, a slow recap on every famous war and battle. Yet, she was corrected the moment she stepped into the room. The professor managed to even get her interested in the subject.

Something that Ms. Bustier would applaud at. 

From dissecting news reports or tall-tales, the professor made everything seem reasonable when the world proved to be not. Gossip or he-said-she-said silenced itself whenever they were around. The professor was known for dumping essays for their lack of sources. Wishing to read-only facts,  why’s or analysis. Kicking out if's and but’s. Using the first five minutes to prep the class or go on tangents as they said the same thing but in riddles. Like the total hippie they were. Something that Chloé didn't really get.

Maybe it’s a cultural thing.

These tangents and riddles would be based on how society will see you one way and only one way. No matter what you do, you will always be the stereotype. This professor wanted the class to break that bubble.  Chloé,  a foreign rich girl, a nobody on the streets of New York, was expected to speak her mind when asked to and dissect each line as if it was the last word the author ever wrote.  

To show that she isn’t a dumb blond or some foreign eye-candy.  

Chloé wouldn’t budge with this, but with a classroom filled with people- she strongly dislikes as much as she liked the model of their watches- she wanted to be what they envied. Batting her curled eyelashes in satisfaction when the professor nodded to her answer. 

Chloé raised her hand more when the tip of her tongue carried the answer, not caring if it was right or wrong because she knew it wasn’t wrong or it was just something important that had to be said. An idea worth breathing into the air. No matter what her mother said when she noticed all the books Chloé brought home or whatever side comments she heard as she left tutoring, she tried to prove them wrong. 

Because they were and they are.

Studying the building blocks of war and politics. The field her father jumped in and out of.

From the Philippines ‘ deadly drug war that claims more than listed, rumored Russian hacking, Brazil’s burning, the US inconsistent investigation, and even her own country’s news- Chloé seems to understand more and more about the world she once thought was the size of a nutshell.

When really Chloé broke out of the eggshell she was sheltered in.

Her mother’s business trips to other companies and international nations didn’t do them justice. Showing the rich and their desk rather than the real people that were hidden in streets or offices. 

“Roosevelt Avenue and Times Square, “

Talk was going around about risky projects taking place. Pinning two push-tacks instead of drawing a line between them. "More investigating need", she hummed. Nibbling the edge of her lips, tasting her gloss.

Stepping back from the wall, the blonde ate up her lips in anticipation. In front of her, the picture grew clear and neat. Even if to anyone else it resembled confusion. As if it was a nest of colored branches and loops. After the sixth step back, her back hit the table. Lifting it up before Chloé stepped away. Her pencil pouch spilling her mechanical pencils and pens. Letting them roll away before hitting her laptop. One that had ten different tabs checking the news and double-checking her numbers.

However, Chloé didn't turn to the mess behind her.

She was too busy awing her work.

The complete map of New York City- annotated with each important detail she discovered. Covered in lines and pins to indicate vices or crime scenes. Some colored lines extended out of the map. As if trying to touch the sticky notes or typed up reports on what she squished out of locals or from the internet. Chloe wasn’t a journalist, but she understood the appeal of piecing everything together. What was once an enigma was turning into a complete picture. No wonder that four-eyed nerd went crazy whenever she got a new scoop.

A smirk danced on her face before quickly switching it out for a frown. Ignoring the sour memories in her head, reminding herself of her plan. There was a new objective at hand.

New York was getting a new hero.

Not a movie coming in theaters soon or another comic book hitting the shelves (though she wouldn’t mind if she was the muse for one).

New York City was getting a new super-hero.

A savior, if you will.

One that would do the people justice. By the people. For the people.

Unlike a certain pig-tailed scrub back at home.

[gawaincomic]

If you don't mind me asking, what supplies do you use to draw?? I love your comics and your sketches and you're a huge inspiration :D

...M-me? Wow, thank you @violetcancerian XD! I’m a bit surprised because I don’t really feel like I know what I’m doing, and I am not at all professional when it comes to drawing. But I do love what I do, even if I do it messily :p.

If it helps, sure, I’ll gladly tell you about the supplies I use. This here is for the black-and-white stuff, because I assume that that is what you are asking about.

My drawings aren’t particularly sophisticated or artistic, so I have some preferences that real artists will abhor. I like very smooth paper, brush pens rather than brushes, and fineliners instead of pen-and-ink.

Paper

My preferred paper size is A5, and I like drawing in notebooks. This is a bit stupid when you want to get a decent scan of your pages afterwards... But I am incredibly messy, so on the other hand, my use of notebooks means that so far I haven’t lost any pages yet! I’m drawing The Darkest Hour on detachable Daler Rowney notebook pages - easier to scan, but more dangerous for me :p.

I use a lot of Moleskine booklets (I have them in all sizes, mostly black). My Snape Notebook is a TeNeues Cool Notes booklet and I have recently dipped into a Leuchtturm 1917 notebook. All have very smooth, rather light and yellowish paper. For my pencil sketches I use regular printer paper.

Pencils

I used to draw almost exclusively with mechanical pencils, but since my evening classes at art school I much prefer regular pencils for sketching, especially softer leads like B4 en B6. I still use my mechanical pencils for detailing (or for travelling). I’ve recently discovered the joys of the blue pencil for initial sketching. Pretty much the only brand of Non-Photo Blue pencil I have found in local shops is Caran d’Ache, so that’s what I’m going with.

One of my teachers at art school told me that Staedtler pencils are Really Bad. But I had some already and I’ve never had any complaints, so I’m using them up and I’ll break out the huge box of Derwents after that ;-).

Pens

I am quite rubbish with dip pens. I love them, but - I can’t use them very well except for writing. I am a control freak and my drawings are mostly clear line, so I want to have the best control possible and not have to worry about inkblots and such. I mean, I get stains with *anything* as it is, so I prefer to make my life as easy as possible. That’s why I use fineliners instead of nibs and brush pens instead of brushes.

My fineliners are Copic Multiliners. Before that, I used Staedtler Pigment Liners, and I love those, but I used them lots and it annoyed me that I had to throw all those empty plastic pens away. So at one point I decided to invest in Copics, which are metal and can be refilled. Yes, empty fillings still get thrown away :/. Maybe one day I’ll have to face my fears and switch to nibs that you can refill from a glass bottle...

For inking, I used to love my really flexible Pentel calligraphy brush pen, but at one point or another the ink starts to flow far too heavily and everything just goes blob :(. I have since switched to a Pentel Arts Color Brush (also refillable) and I am very, very happy with that. The ink flows much less quickly - I can get dry brush effects with it or make nice, fat lines while drawing it slowly over the paper. Frankly: it has been a game changer for my brush inking.

For my quick sketches I use a very basic Bic ballpoint pen. It’s probably the cheapest in the shops, but it draws very fine lines. I just love it :D.

For my greys I use felt tip pens. In TDH it’s the Faber-Castell PITT Artist Pens (Brothers & Sisters is drawn with those entirely, but I think in future I may go with a brown Pentel). More recently I got the Koi pens, which I really like. They have larger tips. I’ve used those in my Snape sketchbook and elsewhere.

That’s it, really. I hope this helps! Don’t hesitate if you have any questions about this stuff :).