#WHY ARE THEY SO DULL?? BECAUSE ANIMALS IRL AREN'T ACTUALLY BRIGHT ORANGE???

[dimonds456]

Y'know I think I've figured out why I keep making things more grey in my artwork than I mean to, specifically regarding skintones.

It's part influence, yes- so much old artwork is washed out and grey compared to normal skin tones, but that's because it's. old.- but also because whenever I think of "realistic" skintones, I think of it like "less saturated than cartoons."

that's it.

Cartoons are always so bright and vibrant- WAY more appealing than real life imo. It's part of the exaggeration of animation. You can have all sorts of skin tones because you can literally use anything on the color wheel and the camera will pick up on it because there's no "camera" at all. Animation is freeing.

So, recently, I've been trying to draw more "realistically." I only just learned how to draw noses (because of animation, actually, thanks ATSV), and correct body proportions, and specifically feet and hands. I'm only JUST figuring that stuff out. So, when I'm referencing "more realistic" stuff, my train of thought has LITERALLY been "stiffer and duller than cartoons."

But here's the thing- cartoons have GREAT skin tones! If you wanna colorpick skintones, animation is such a good way to go!

In my effort to make things "more lifelike," I've been stripping my artwork of life. I got the opposite of what I wanted.

There's a metaphor in here somewhere but the point is now that I've realized this I'm taking a hard right back into vibrant skintones again. Fuck "realism" I want to give my characters life.

Expect another updated ref again FGHDSJAK