#also to improve my style i'm gonna try to use color palettes online and improve my sense of color theory

[chibigaia-art]

how did you learn to draw? Would you recommend any classes or certain resources? do you have any tips, general or hyperspecific or anywhere in between, other than "just practice"?

sorry to bombard you with questions. I'm just a frustrated amateur artist trying desperately to improve, so I'm asking around some of the artists i particularly like.

I learned to draw by bashing my head on my desk for several hours, which means practice (sorry,) and also by staring intently at artists I like, trying to 'steal' how they draw some things

I never followed a class online, so I wouldn't be able to give out recommendations for those, and I haven't actually looked up an art tutorial online in years so I can't remember anything, but here's a few resources/general tips under the cut

RESOURCES

haven't used this myself, but my teachers during the first year at comic school mentioned proko as a good YT channel for beginners

quickposes - useful for gesture drawing, I acc use this one when I feel like I need to draw but dont have any ideas

I know some people use designdoll for poses as well, I never used it myself because I tend to use the csp models for that, but if you don't have csp, I think it's a good alternative

coolors - for color palettes

adorkastock - more poses! I don't check it anymore at this point but it was my first actual 'art landmark' when I was a kid and I needed to find some poses, I could always rely on their photoshoots

I'm not linking any tutorials because, as I said, I haven't looked up any online in 10+ years, but I used to watch a lot of speedpaints as a teen, and it should be fairly easy to find decent tutorials on YT at this point;

GENERAL TIPS

if you have a sketchbook, please don't let the internet make you believe every single page has to be a masterpiece, that attitude is gonna break you

not everything will be a hit piece and thats ok

when shading, avoid pure black

experiment with styles!

when inking, you shouldn't move just your wrist but use your elbow as well! also rotate your canvas, both when doing traditional art and digital

true to traditional and digital art as well - flip the canvas to see the art mirrored and find mistakes (for traditional you can hold up the paper to a source of light and look at it from the back)

use references whenever possible

what works for another artist might not work for you ( re my ink tip: I follow that, but I know a couple mutuals don't do that and their art still slaps and looks clean and crisp)

when drawing a full illustration with a background, work on the background perspective first and THEN add the character,, this should be basic knowledge but my idiot ass actually processed this info only a few years ago

learn how to use perspective grids asap, dont be like me

IF YOU DON'T WANT TO LINE YOU DON'T HAVE TO!!! be free

rule of thirds is always useful to keep in mind

I'm not super good at giving advice because tbh I don't think I'm good enough to give it, but I hope at least one of these things will help you out!

[spaceman-spaetzle]

sorry 4 this but now you got me interested: how did u develop ur style? :D its distinct n vibrant n i love it

there's absolutely no need to apologize! this will probably become an incoherent ramble so i'll see what i can do! thanks again for letting me learn about your style too :) <3

i've drawn since i was a tot tbh. i've been told that i was always a bit self critical (do not recommend 0/10), and 3 year old me once complained about how what i drew looked like a potato. but with that came determination and a genuine free feeling that came with drawing.

i think i started actually keeping sketchbooks since i was maybe 9-10? mentioning this because keeping sketchbooks is intrinsic to my work. and like a lot of artists this generation, i was very inspired by anime. i definitely drew anime girls awkwardly standing stiffly with hands behind their backs, LOL. i couldn't decide on a distinct style for a long time though, but throughout my childhood i grew inspired by pop artists like roy lichtenstein.

i hung out with a lot of animators during my uni days, and i found myself studying a lot of artists and animators who had these crazy, dynamic poses and vivid characters. i was in the fandom for a long time, but in the middle of college, i took a break and really began to experiment! my love for inks, which was introduced to me when i was about 14, stuck with me and from there i was able to develop my style.

like you, i've taken all sorts of art styles ive appreciated and sort of made it into my own thing, but from what i learned from my animator friends' art and my brief time taking animation classes, i really wanted to make my art feel bold and full of movement. i still struggle to capture movement the first time when i draw things, so i still have a long way to go! but i guess what really helped me develop my style was establishing my values in my art practice. what do i want to see? how do i wish to draw for myself? those kinds of questions! and that meant crossing out things such as same face syndrome. i also find it really important that character designs say something about the character's personality. so for roderich, i like drawing him in a mix of sharp and soft angles. his pointy nose, chin, and sharp shoulders to me resemble a judgmental aristocrat and the softness resembles the contrast between people's assumptions of him and aspects of him you would have to get to know him in order to learn. i also just generally think he's a bit on the thicc side and a bit soft to touch, haha. i also like trying to vary the body types i draw.

sorry that this was so long! as for artists i like, i tend to follow a lot of twitter artists that have very fleshed out, distinct voices in their styles and i like to learn from them. one of my fave artists is victoria vincent/vewn! and growing up, artists i enjoy include erte, alphonse mucha, and Plenty more. and lately i've been feeling inspired by egon schiele. he makes me want to play with exaggeration and proportions a lot more!

thanks for asking and please know your art just feels very vivid and tangible, if that makes sense? like they're clearly stylized but it feels like there's so much thought put behind the characters! they almost feel real in a sense.