#but when i try new things to improve my digital art no one cares or likes it. so yeah. discouraging stuff.

[manaofflame]

This is some pre-canon one-shot fic practice that may be implemented into the comic. I only made this because of the new art I did, which is below. Some art note, I am just trying out various color profile view thing that the digital art application I used have, because I'm not sure if I'm bad at coloring and choosing color or it's the color profile, I don't know, just trying things out. Siffrin is not a good candidate for this, since his color palette is black and white, oops, but I'm trying stuff out and improving... I hope... Uh, I hope you enjoy!

(Warning: Nothing morbid like blood or worse, but just for people who likes good grammar. I'm bad with past, present and future tense, so, sorry about this. Also, I am bad at remembering some vocabulary, even some basic words! So the writing can feel... simple. Anyway, that's all!)

Sorry for another interruption, this is just in case some technical error happen. You see, some times, when I tried to create some paragraph spacing in the middle of all of these words, some of the paragraphs just straight up vanished and never came back, at least in my screen it doesn't. So I'm not sure if when I post this, those paragraphs will pop out of nowhere. If it does, I will see if I can deal with it. Not sure if this is a common problem, but it happened to me.

Mirabelle is feeling very anxious and nervous. Recently, they had retrieved the fourth orb after a hard battle with the sadness that guards it. With one left to go, their journey is nearing to it's end.

She hadn't been able to sleep, so she decided to take a walk around, to calm herself down.

She stopped suddenly when she spotted Siffrin, looking up at the night sky, looking at the stars again (she's not sure why he likes to do it. She supposed it's pretty, but she felt that there's more to it than simple observation).

She shouldn't be surprise or startled to find Siffrin in the dead of night, and seeing no one is awake right now (or outside like they are), she...

"Siffrin." She softly called out to Siffrin, trying not to startle him, though it seems he already noticed her presence. He's very good at sensing presence amongst the party, it's what allowed him to find Bonnie that time when the rest of them didn't noticed the child.

"Mira, shouldn't you be in bed?" Siffrin asked.

"I should, but I can't sleep. And so should you. I know you like being up at night, but... it's not healthy, being up at night all the time, and we need to be ready and good to go to keep journeying, and... and..." Mirabelle tries to find more answers, but she ran out of it.

"...Mira, you are worried... Why?" Siffrin asked, looking concern. Mirabelle feels a bit jealous that Siffrin is not feeling anxious or worried about this journey at all. She wished she had that kind of confidence. Still, despite that, Mirabelle knows by now, from the time she journeyed with him alongside with everyone, that he's a kind and caring person.

Despite her initial worries due to his mysterious aura and other factors when he first joined, Mirabelle is glad to asked him to join her and help her to save Vaugarde when he saved her and everyone from that powerful sadness.

"I'm.. just worried. We are closing in the end of the journey, there's only one orb left to get before we head to Dormont to get to the House Of Change to defeat the King, but... what if something happen?!"

"Mira."

"What if... one of us die? What if they are crippled permanently for life? What if... What if..."

"Mira, stop. Listen to me."

Mirabelle stops, looking at Siffrin, who's looking at the stars with pained expression, as if thinking of some unpleasant things like memories or something else. He then turns to Mirabelle with a reassuring face.

"It will be alright, Mira. I won't let anything happen to anyone. I won't. Isa, Odile, Bonbon, and you. I won't let anything happen to you." Siffrin declared with a small smile.

...She knows. Siffrin would look out for everyone, and lead everyone to safety, disarming traps and looking out for enemies, making sure nothing bad happen to them.

"..Thanks, Siffrin. I suppose I should stay positive! No need to bring down the morals." Mirabelle replied with a smile, feeling a bit better.

"No problem, I hope it helps." Siffrin hides beneath his hat. Is he being shy again? Cute!

Mirabelle hopes nothing bad will happen to her or anyone, and of course, Siffrin. He's her and their friend after all! She now feel like she could go back to sleep now. She hoped one day she could hug and group hug with Siffrin, but due to his weird aversion to touch as Odile called it, she sadly could not. She hoped one day she could though.

[icedmetaltea]

I've been feeling discouraged about my art recently. Could you possibly give me some tips?

Ok I wanna preface this by saying I am by no means a professional or even "good" artist, BUT I shall try!

These are all tips by a digital artist so I can't help much when it comes to other forms

This got long so under the cut, 20 ART TIPS TIME LETS GOOO

1.Try to draw most days, or at least once a week. The more often the better BUT I don't mean like hardcore, a complex drawing every single day (recipe for burnout right there). I mean like even just 30 seconds of SOMETHING. You can draw shapes, maybe fill a page with circles. There are programs u can find online that give you like a min to sketch something and challenge yourself in a really short time frame. Guess what?? When you draw often you're building those neural pathways (I think) and the more you do it the easier it'll get

2. Don't obsess over making stuff look perfect on the first draft... or at all. I recommend making a "draft" layer or 2... or 3 over the initial sketch. The more you go over it and change stuff, the better it'll be. Also, If you spend hours on it and still hate it?? Who cares! You put in the work and now you have an idea out on paper that you can go over some time in the future and improve if you chose to.

3. DON'T DELETE STUFF!!! Unless it's literally just mindless scribbles, save everything you draw. Like I said, you can go over it again and improve it someday. You can also look back at it in like a year and compare your art to see where you've improved! I deleted all my old art from beyond like a year ago and regret it so much. Don't berate yourself for the stuff you need to work on, be proud of what improvements you've still made

USE REFERENCES!!!!!!! Please just do it, I know it's annoying but I promise it helps so so much

4. Invest drawing tablet, preferably one with buttons that you can map to undo, sketch, fill and such. This will make drawing sooooo much easier (and faster). My quality of art has improved just from drawing the same thing and redoing it like 20 times at a time, and it takes way less time when I can just click a button to do that. It might seem daunting at first but it quickly becomes instinctual. This is the one I got and I'm quite happy with it! It's got good sensitivity, a pen you don't have to replace batteries for or even recharge, and it's mid-range so not wayy too expensive. However, if you're just starting out, I'd recommend this (I got the corded version but I assume it's about the same) since it's small, cheap and you can focus on just learning basics like improving lines n such.

5. Use a bigger canvas size. I started out with 1000x1000, and that's still fine for smaller stuff and doodles, for better quality I recommend bigger sizes. If it's too small it'll look all weird and pixel-y

6. THERE ARE LITERALLY SO MANY FORMS OF ART, maybe the one you're trying just isn't something you vibe with! There's mosaics, digital, traditional (and all the many sub-categories of that), sculpture, photography, etc. All are equally valid and you will improve in your craft if you choose something that 1. you enjoy, 2. are consistent with it!

7. SEGEMENT OUT THE LIMBS drawing DCA stuff for over a year has helped me improve on anatomy sooo much literally just because it forced me to think of each part of a limb in terms of segments, shapes- for instance, instead of an upper arm, I think of a tube which connects to a circle that allows it to rotate and another tube... followed by a weird shape for a hand that connects 5 smaller tubes, whiCH ARE THEN SEPERATED IN TO 3 TUBES EACH. Yes it sounds confusing but breaking it down like that instead of just trying to figure things out helped an absolute shitton

8. Have some kinda hobby that makes you draw frequently. For instance I have a discord sona I draw a new pfp for every month or so. It's a simple design and since the pfp won't show many flaws I can pump out lots of art for it in a small timeframe and I find it relaxing. I've actually improved a shitton just drawing pfps This is one of my first pfps from maybe 2 yrs ago compared with one of my most recent ones

(yes I'm a bit of a furry deal with it) It's cute, there's nothing wrong at all with it! However, you can see how things have changed.

See how the lines are a lot more even, less jagged? The proportions of the shoulders are much wider, the ears aren't just popping out of the hair, the shading makes a bit more sense and isn't just thrown around at random. There's also a broader range of color, with a few bright highlights to catch the eye, colored shading I think as well. The former is just like 3 simple colors. These are all things I learned from drawing pfps consistently.

9. CONSISTENCY IS KEY!! And FUN, if you have fun drawing it'll be a lot easier to do frequently

10. Whether it's drawing pfps, blorbos or landscapes, find something that brings you joy and it'll be MUCH easier to stick to. Draw, draw a lot, do not worry about "good" art and "bad" art cause there's literally no such thing. Compare what you draw now with what you do in like a year or two from now and I promise, if you're consistent, use references and are patient, you WILL amaze yourself with how much you improve.

11. Challenge yourself! Join secret santas (assuming you know you can complete it within the allotted timeframe), draw your friends' sona/ocs (if they're cool with it), do palette challenges, do monthly stuff like drawtober or whatever it's called (BUT I don't recommend doing something every single day for a month cause again, gonna cause mega burnout)

12. Draw when the inspiration comes, it will move your hand. These days I make much better quality art that I'm proud of when I just let inspiration flow through me instead of begrudgingly making myself draw. You shouldn't be forcing yourself!! If you are, you probably are burned out by either drawing too much, feeling a lack of confidence or some other stuff going on irl. Inspiration comes naturally, and when it doesn't it's prolly your mind trying to communicate that something's up. If resting a week or two doesn't help, take a deeper look at your life and see if the artblock is a symptom of something else (for me it's most often depression).

13. At the same time, sometimes you just need to start. Kinda on the previous point of lacking confidence, often we scare ourselves out of even trying. It might feel insurmountable. Nah, try. If all you can do is a wobbly, vague sketch?? You got the idea out!! Start drawing fuckin eyeballs or something, just start. Sometimes the hardest part is just facing a blank canvas and putting a couple lines on it

14. Not all brushes are equal. Some just make drawing easier- at least for me. I dunno the science behind it but when I use my sketch brush (it's got a similar look to pencil) rather than my lineart brush it makes drawings just... look better. Also using thicker lines in general helps. Why?? NO CLUE, maybe thinner ones just show flaws easier or intersect better or something.

15. Music or some other distraction can help, idk why. Some days I like to have a movie/show/podcast going in the background for a mild distraction that keeps me slightly stimulated on other stuff even as I draw- maybe it increases brain activity or??? No idea. Sometimes just listening to music. Sometimes I need total silence. Do what works for you! Give lots of different stuff a try, you may love drawing while listening to a podcast in the background

16. Take breaks!! The pomodoro method works with art as well. Every 25 mins or so, take a 5 min break. Get up, stretch, get some water, maybe watch a yt vid. Call ur friend and tell them you love and cherish them. Then get back to it and you will feel oh so refreshed. After maybe 3 rounds take a 15 min or longer break and then repeat if you still feel like it

17. SLEEP IS INCREDIBLY FUCKING IMPORTANT you will see a deep decline in the quality of your art when you're tired, plus you just feel like shit and art is about feeling good and expressing yourself. Sleep is important, even tho yes I stay up too late drawing most nights, I do my absolute best to get at least 7 hours of sleep every night, as should you!!

18. DO NOT BE SCARED OF STICK FIGURES AND MESSY SKETCHES, they're actually the best way to start bc 1. it's a quick way to get an idea out before you forget it 2. the finished piece will actually look a lot more fluid since you weren't spending all that time obsessing over making the first draft look perfect- which often just makes it look stiff. You can do a whole lot with stick figures. Focus on that good ol' line of action.

19. Random but when drawing the face, I like to first make a circle and then like a "mask" over it for the actual face. For me it just makes sense. Then two lines, one up/down and one left, right, it'll make it easier to align the eyes and ears. In general, the ears usually go where the "mask" begins and just below the left/right line

20. Finally surround yourself with people who encourage you. I grew up in an environment where people would gawk at stuff my sibling drew and ignore me bc they were ~naturally talented~ and it made me not want to draw at all.

Well guess what?? Now that I spend time with people who encourage me and genuinely care about my interest in art I've improved a lot bc I have the motivation, the joy of showing ppl who care about me new pieces. If people in your life aren't encouraging you, or gods forbid insulting your art (excluding constructive criticism that you've explicitly asked for) then TOSS EM OVERBOARD THE BOAT OF LIFE and find people who will treat you with the love and respect you deserve

P.S

This isn't a tip, just a recommendation: Chicory, a colorful tale. It's a game where u play as a cute lil dog who gets a magical paintbrush that lets you color the world. The only issue? You have no ~talent~. My gods, this game struck a cord with me.

Feeling like you don't have any talents that come naturally to you. Being overlooked even when you try your best. Feeling like a complete joke when you try to pick up the brush (or in this case stylus) because there are so many "real" artists and you're not one of them.

Also the things people say and how they can affect you even when not intentional. Damn. It's just a beautiful game. It's made by the same people who made Wandersong, another absolute banger game with a character who is seen as a joke and I cannot recommend them enough.

bonus tip bc why the fuck not: OVERLAYS!!!!!!! In clip paint studio you have all these layer options, I can never memorize what they all do so I just make like an ombre color layer over my base colors and try all of them to see what looks cool

[anti-workshop]

SHAKY HANDS STICKER CLUB

Hey friends! I alluded to a big thing coming and THIS IS IT!

Patreon sucks ass but it's sort of the name of the game for fundraising things, and we need to raise funds, so here we are!

Do you like stickers? Do you like buttons? Do you like queer leftist shit as well as unique pieces of art you can adhere to the world or wear on your person? Please join our sticker club! You get stickers every month and maybe button/s if you want!

Check it out here -> STICKER CLUB

Also! More short designs will be coming soon! So stay tuned!

Read more below if you wanna know why we're doing this. Warning, it's long and sort of sad.

We started screen printing from one of our basements in 2020. It was, needless to say, the worst possible time to try and start a business. We barely survived and were able to move into the basement of the Milwaukee IWW's new union hall so we could all split the rent and make it affordable.

That was back in 2021. We were still struggling, but through word of mouth we got jobs and kept the lights on. We weren't really able to pay ourselves, but we all had second or third jobs so it was (mostly) fine.

We printed from that basement for about a year (and I hit my head on the ceiling and doorways hundreds of times) when a fellow wobbly and co-op enthusiast invited us to join his co-op as a DBA (doing business as). He sold us on the idea by offering to subsidize our workers' comp, general liability and book keeping expenses so we could try and grow sustainably. After some meetings we agreed to join as a DBA and we put our faith in this fellow worker whose intentions seemed pure and generous. We'll call him G.

Throughout the co-op's history some of our worker-owners' personal lives have been pretty chaotic. Working multiple jobs is stressful enough as a lot of you know, and so is navigating the continued stress of covid, having kids who are dealing with being bullied for being trans, all of us having major depression, adhd, etc. etc. We relied on each other, kept the lights on and just forged ahead, but there were some jobs that we delivered late or very late because of the chaos. G was understandably frustrated by these setbacks, as was I.

Because of the chaos, for about 5 months I was literally the only person working at the shop, performing literally every task from emails to quotes and mockups to invoices to pre-press, press, post-press and fulfillment. The Goncahrov shirts y'all purchased literally paid our rent, and I cannot thank you enough for that.

Then a fellow worker we'll call Z joined the co-op and saved my life. Z is amazing and I love him and owe him so much. He and I just kept at it and did what we could to care for our fellow workers who were struggling while away from the shop.

For about a year we've been trying to get an equipment loan to improve our processes because our little 4-color press and our flash and conveyor dryers suck ass. They're functional, extremely difficult to use, and they make our final product inconsistent and screen printing is a nightmare on them. It was all we could afford so we made the best of it and pursued a loan from a really cool cooperative lender that lends to other co-ops.

After a year of paperwork, making reports of our revenue and costs, analyzing our processes to improve them and show we were a viable business, they finally granted us the loan! We got a new press, better dryer, more screens and an incredible water-based digital printer/plotter combo that allows us to do stickers and decals and banners and buttons and other cool shit like that.

While we were applying for the loan, we were also pursuing a Collective Bargaining Agreement with the PPPWU (formerly the GCC) because we would be the only worker-owned co-op in our region (and maybe the US) to have the allied label, the most coveted union bug for printing. The local president was amazing to work with and we finally got awarded our union label and started paying dues.

It was around the time we began seeking the loan that G was doing and saying things we were a little confused by. He unilaterally fired two worker-owners in his co-op after months of mediation on my part to try and address interpersonal conflict. It's my fault for not seeing the writing on the wall then, but because he had done so much to help us, we justified his actions to look past our concerns.

Then, when those workers were gone he started to get abusive in text threads towards me and the other print folks, and we still looked past it because he had a lot going on in his life and that kind of stress can bring out the worst in anyone.

Well, a few weeks ago it came to our attention that we don't own our print co-op anymore, and we functionally stopped owning it once we signed on as a DBA. We thought we were all worker owners, but it turns out only I am, because I paid in at the time when I had the money. The abuse has escalated to the point that Z has quit, leaving only me the original creator the our co-op who we'll call M.

We're sort of trapped now. We're on the hook for rent at the shop until 2025, as well as the payments for our $30k loan, in a business that's been swept out from under us by someone we trusted who has become toxic and plainly cruel in his treatment of us.

Despite the stress and never really paying ourselves, I've enjoyed learning water-based screen printing and making garments people actually wear! It's been amazing! As the anti-workshop, we've been able to fund programs for our local IWW, the local tenants union and the local pro-palestine, anti-war committee. That has felt so good.

We've made our space an extremely queer, worker-focused spot for folks to learn the ins and outs of design and printing, which I am so proud of.

We're still here. We're still printing. We need to raise the funds to buy our equipment back by paying off this loan, so we can stop being a DBA of G's co-op and be our own entity again.

Failing that, we'll see what happens.

[thassa]

Some good things did come out of my large breakdowns I had a few weeks ago.

I've never had much faith in myself in regards to my goals, and I gave up on a lot of things that mattered to me. Music, art, social work. I struggled with impostor syndrome my entire life, and suffered from low self esteem due to the struggles that came with growing up with undiagnosed ADHD. I always felt like I tricked people into thinking I was smart because I could never do things consistently. And I pretended that I just didn't want to do those things anymore, when in reality I didn't think I deserved to do them, because I wasn't actually capable.

I realized that if I wanted to be happy, I needed to give myself more credit and be willing to make mistakes. I am allowing myself to realize I'm lovable, I'm likeable, and I didn't trick my friends or loved ones into caring for me. I'm worth having a job that makes me happy, and I'm worth pursuing my passions. I played my bass guitar for the first time in years the other day, and even though it wasn't much, it was... unbelievably cathartic.

For the first time in a long time, I'm making some new years resolutions and planning long term goals. They include:

- Starting therapy. I have been more stable the last couple weeks- I am trying to be kinder to myself and practicing grounding techniques for when work gets overwhelming, but I feel like I need to have an outlet to talk things out. I have reached out to a few therapists and am waiting to hear what their availability is like to schedule consultations.

- Get back into bass and art! I ideally would like to get an upright bass and join the local community orchestra, but I don't think that's going to be realistic for a while. That doesn't mean I can't play, though, even if it's for myself. I need to actually get my bass guitar and amp set up, but in my downtime I've been sight reading some music and practicing the rhythms. I also have been trying to draw more. Ideally, I would practice the basics, because I want to refine my style more, but as long as I'm creating I'm happy.

- Networking with the new marketing director at my current job. While the customer service aspect of my job sucks at times, I work with a supportive team and I know if I ask my boss, she'd support me trying to learn and grow, and who knows? Maybe I'd be able to shift gears from my current position.

- Finish taking this marketing course through Coursera, and maybe get a couple other certifications along the way. I'm on track to finish the Coursera course in six months, but I'd like to get it down to three, if possible. It's pretty easy to finish a week's worth of modules in a day as long as I have the spoons (and now that I'm back on my ADHD meds, it should be easier)

- Once I'm further along in the course and have more formal training, I want to reach out to the chorus my wife volunteers with and offer to do their social media. I know it's something they don't have a lot of time for (and it could use improvement), it would be good experience for me, and it would get me volunteer experience in two fields I'm passionate about: music and the LGBT community.

And as for my long term goals, they include:

- Getting a job in marketing, ideally for a company that specializes in music or audio

- Finding community in music. Be this getting an upright bass and joining an orchestra, or playing folk music with my wife and our friends, or whatever. Music used to mean so much to me, and while I don't want performing to be my full time job anymore, I want it to be a part of my life in some way, shape or form.

- Finding community in the arts again. I feel like I made some good headway last year, but my insecurities kept me from doing more. I also want to pursue more physical art. I enjoy doing digital art, but I'm definitely harder on myself than I am when I use a physical media. I place a lot of pressure on myself to make it perfect, which leads to my style being sanitized.

- Improve my executive functioning skills. I'm slowly getting better, but therapy will help

I haven't had a long term goal since I got married, bought our house and graduated college, which has lead to me just kind of floating around. I feel like these goals reflect what I've been missing and I'm excited to pursue them!

[ladynahimana]

I thought it time to give an update on my doujinshi progress for Teach me and sharing my thoughts on the topic of AI-generated art and how I came to drawing these doujinshi.

Progress is slow, because I'm not satisfied with the cover and I'm doubting ths appeal of this series in general. Its topic and atmosphere is not my strength and therefore I feel it's not enough. My mentor probably also felt this. She didn't like the script, but couldn't pinpoint what exactly was wrong with it. Maybe it's the kink. Neither of us know and since then I struggle. How to improve something you don't know where the exact problem lies? I still managed to finish the storyboard and my mentor now likes it and encourages me to finish it completely. After working on the cover and not being satisfied with it, I stopped working on it. Procrastination at its finest. Recently I at least finished the draft of the script for the next part, which will probably be the last of it, ending this series with three parts. Instead I want to go back in my comfort zone and that is heavy romance. My sister calls my works cheesy, but I like them the way they are and the most important thing for me is to feel proud of what I created.

So yeah, enough about my struggles with this new series. I started creating doujinshi as part of my manga lessons, which are part of the rewards I get on Patreon. When Covid-19 hit and cons all over the world got canceled, I decided to raise my pledge to one of my favorite artists to support her in these difficult times. The one-hour monthly lessons started out with how to draw in chibi style and after that, to continue the lessons, I decided to draw doujinshi with her guidance and feedback.

I love doujinshi and have collected four boxes full of only FMA ones. *cough* I rarely read a BL manga I end up enjoying, because I, as the reader, usually don't feel like the mangaka drew them with passion and more like because it's just a job they try to earn a living with. It's also why I'm not a fan of manga where writer and artist are different people. On top of that there’s this generic art style for the BL genre and the characters are really stereotypical and nowhere near as deep as the characters that can be used in fanworks (which is no wonder due to the short length of most BL manga).

And this leads me to AI-generated art. I'm just a hobby artist. I don't earn money with any of my art and therefore I personally don't have to fear for paying my bills. But I fear for the artists that do and the world of art in general. An AI will never be able to create something with a heart. It has no emotions. It does not think about happiness and the joy of creating something. It is soulless and their art will always lack something truly beautiful.

The sad thing is that so many people don't care. What they define as "beautiful" is different. They want to see “perfect” drawings. They don't see the beauty that is imperfection and criticize the work of artists, when they see it. Human faces are not symmetrical, not perfect and drawing them that way will always be more beautiful to me than an artist drawing one side of a face and then digitally mirroring that to create a perfectly symmetrical face.

Society doesn't see artists as essential, which Covid-19 already highlighted and now those artists are getting abused by stealing their art and training AI designed to replace them. When Clip Studio Paint announced the inclusion of Stable Diffusion into the program and advertising it with how easy and fast backgrounds can be created, I was like "oh no" and so relieved, when they canceled it after getting much negative feedback. Of course, drawing things like backgrounds is time-consuming and not the focus for readers of comics. In the age of webtoons it's all about being fast and productive, but at what cost? Ripping the artists off that fed the AI without consent to enable mass-production? To me an elaborate background created with 3D-models converted to lineart will always be inferior to a background that is self-made with wonky lines and a perspective that is a bit off. It's the heart, which created the artwork, that counts. It's not mass-produced and passionless. It's art that can even touch the soul. That being said, I would be really happy if my so far shared doujinshi were able to accomplish that for someone. Art is a passion I hope to never loose, even if there are times of struggle and uncertainty.

[foxsnails]

Not to sound like?? Pretentious I guess?? (Although I don’t like that word) but something happened to me and my art this year

Like for years I had been reluctant to do traditional art bc I thought I’d suck at it, it’d been so long and my digital was fine, so what was the point? Then I realised just how burnt out I was, had been for a while, and just crashed.

During that crash I picked up an old sketchbook that I had only doodled on like 2 pages in and tore them out. I was just trying to get myself to draw ANYTHING. I got coloured pencils instead of graphite bc I always found just grey drawings boring, and it works so well and getting me engaged in traditional art.

It’s at the point now where traditional art is my favourite medium and I feel genuine joy doing it again. I’ve become excited about new mediums and tried a bunch of new materials, my drive to draw hasn’t been this strong since I was a kid

I’ve also stopped trying to box my art into one specific style, no longer trying to be a furry artist, or a kids book artist or any ___ artist, just an artist. I can draw in so many different ways, I need to stop feeling like I need to choose one to roll with forever. Letting this happen has helped improve my art and my relationship with my art so much and I hope it’s noticeable, it is to me at least. It’s given me more space to experiment and kinda merge these styles in some areas and I’m really enjoying it

The possibly pretentious part, but I feel this stuff is important, is that I’m actually buying books for the art AND READING THEM, AND ENJOYING THEM. Bc of my adhd I kinda stopped reading all together when I was 12, I had no interest in books anymore or cared to absorb physical art or even learn art history and stuff like that. But now it’s like I’m suddenly refreshed, seeking new things and engaging with art around me and I love all that stuff. I even have an interest in like fine art and wanna go to galleries?? Something I never thought I’d wanna do

The question “what do you wanna do with your life?” Has always confused me and I’ve never had a solid answer other than “survive”, but I was thinking about it the other night and it just so easily popped into my head “I just want to create and consume art for the rest of my life”, and now I’m trying to get into the local art scene

I’m just rambling bc this is the best I’ve felt, creatively, in a painfully long time. But if you’re feeling burnt out, just put the pen down for a lil bit and try something else

[aanihtewrites]

・🎨 ⸝⸝ ・Canvas

*sigh*

My eyes hover across the once empty canvas now filled with different colors giving it life. It isn't complete yet, I still have to go over the details and do some touch-ups here and there but, the painting looks so good already! I can't wait to see the reactions of everyone in the art department when they see this.

I felt an uncomfortable pressure build up in my lower back probably from the 3 hours I’ve been sitting on this wobbly wooden seat. The art room really needs some new furniture.

I decided to take a break, there’s still a week till the yearly art exhibition. I have enough time to work on the canvas.

A few droplets of murky paint water escaped the paint cup as I dropped my paintbrush in it, the acrylic paint palette sat right next to it. A happy hum left my mouth as I stood up and took off my apron while making my way to the common area in the middle of the art room.

I took a seat on the comfy love seat in one corner of the room and smack my lips. My eyes shifted to the table in the middle of the room for digital artists to sit at.

“Hey, Stacey! What are you working on?”, I called out, catching the attention of the blonde girl glued to her iPad screen.

“Working on an assignment. We have to study color and light theory and draw something based on what we learned.”, Stacey bubbly replied and held up her iPad for me to see. “I am drawing a tiger under the sunlight! How is it? Do you think it’s good enough?”

“Not bad, not bad. Can I see yours, George?”, I asked the brunette boy sitting right next to Stacy. He nodded as he held up his iPad. “I draw penguins.”

“Yep, penguins are always nice. Can’t wait to see the final work.”, I complimented him and watched as his face glowed up with happiness.

“You so kind. Thank you.”, George appreciated with the limited English vocabulary he knew. It isn’t easy for someone from French to catch on to a new language right after moving to the United States but, I always get surprised at his improvement with every conversation we have.

Both of them went back to work. I smile and relaxed in my seat, my eyes unmoving from the busy students.

“Stacy look so beautiful when she doing art. God, I like her so much.”

“George is so cute."

I heard in my head and chuckled under my breath before pulling my phone out from my jacket pocket. These two had the biggest crush on each other ever since they met. I don’t care if you call this “invading their privacy”, it’s fun hearing their thoughts.

Hearing people’s minds…what a blessing and a curse at the same time. I wonder what the gods were thinking when they gave me this mystical power. It’s pretty useful at times but sometimes I wish I never heard things I heard mistakenly for this power.

This power’s been with me for as long as I remember. I tried telling my parents about it of course but, they almost sent me to the mental asylum because apparently, I was going “crazy”. Those memories still haunt me, geez. I’ve been quiet about this ability ever since.

I wonder if anyone else can hear minds like me…

“The art room really needs some renovation.”, I heard an unfamiliar yet intoxicatingly addicting voice in my head followed by the sound of the creaky door swinging open. “Yeah, it can really use some better furniture and a new coat of paint.” My oh my, who is this fine man?

A perfectly sculpted face with big hazel eyes and beautiful brows, a nose so cute that I had to resist my urge to bop it, his hair looks so fluffy, that I wanna run my hands through them, and oh god, those lips…I wonder how they would look like on mine. Wait what am I thinking? Shit, Diana get yourself together you don’t even know him.

My head whipped up to the sound of a low giggle. It was the mysterious man. He put his poker face back on as we made eye contact. I frown, why couldn’t I read his mind anymore? I wanted to know what made him laugh…

“Are you Professor Diana?”, the boy asked, his husky deep voice making goosebumps rise all over my body. I nodded with a smile, trying to mask my nervousness.

“Yes! That’ll be me! Who are you may I ask?”, I asked as I stood up from the loveseat, my phone slipping back into my jacket pocket.

“Oh, I’m Aiden. I’ve been hired as an assistant art professor and the administration informed me that I’ll be working under you.”, he informed with a sweet smile on his face. I was screaming internally at this point. This is about to be added to my reasons for coming to the university. Who wouldn’t want to be here if you get to see this eye candy man every day?

“Nice to meet you, Aiden. It’s a pleasure to be working with you! I hope we’ll be close acquaintances in the near future!”, I extended my hand for a handshake. My heart is doing cartwheels in my ribcage. I wonder if all the sweat I am sweating right now is making me smelly. Is my makeup okay? I haven’t put much effort into it this morning. Ugh, I should have washed my hair yesterday.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when a veiny and humongous hand enveloped my embarrassingly small hands. Aiden firmly shook my hand before taking it back. He must be a master with his art. I can’t wait to see them.

“The feelings are mutual.”, Aiden replied. “So…who’s painting on that canvas.”

I looked in the direction he was pointing, realizing that he had his eyes on my unfinished painting from earlier. I knew I should have finished the painting at one seating. He must be thinking that I’m a work hoarder. What else are you going to mess up today, Diana?

“Uhh…yeah! I am the one working on it.”, I nervously replied as I took small steps towards the painting. “It’s for the annual art festival coming up next week. Sorry if it looks a little weird now, it’s unfinished. In case you’re wondering, I'm trying to depict child exploitation on social media.”

Aiden said nothing. He simply observed the painting closely, his hazelnut eyes carefully going over all the tiny details. Oh boy, I’m sure he isn’t impressed. He is probably judging the imperfections I haven’t covered up yet. Is that a blank spot? Why didn’t I notice that before?!

I wonder what he’s thinking…I thought and tried a little harder to get into his mind.

“Stay out of my head, I don’t like people invading my mind.”

“And stop thinking so low about yourself, I think you’re perfect just the way you are.”

I did not just hear that in my head. Did Aiden just communicate with me through his thoughts?!

“It’s called telepathy.”

No way! There’s someone else on this earth with the same ability as me?

“No shit Sherlock.”

“And that is how my dear children, I met your father.”

#_:'- i totally suck at writing cute stuff even though I love reading them t-t. hopefully one day I will get better? a friend told me that I would never be able to write a proper cute short story and she was kind of right. anyways, I am kind of proud of this one, it could get better if I actually put some effort behind it but I guess it's fine for now.

[audio-luddite]

Stop thinking and listen.

I spun up several of my new LPs including "Kind of Blue" and "Truly". Really good sound in both. The KoB is a Jazz Wax Records DMM from Europe and has a quiet clean surface. It is a milestone Jazz album due to its art first and foremost. It is admittedly old, I mean 1958 is over 60 years. You cannot call it new anymore, but influential certainly. It is rather like Beethoven's 3rd Symphony, it changed things. New pressings are nice to have.

I have several DMM albums and I think it makes for a generally better pressing, if done with proper care. I have seen wholesale slagging of the method in several places, and just wonder why. If you don't like it don't buy it. You basically skip the step where you have to spray conductive paint over a lacquer to let the plating work. Spray paint!

To damage my Audiophile credibility further I also played several CDs. The sound was fine with many nice details and textures. So many high end CD players stick a tube in the line to "improve" the sound. I have 12 tubes between the CD and the speakers. Personally I think the mix and basic recording has more to do with the ultimate playback quality than if bits are involved or not.

The CDs were a couple of Santana works, "Supernatural, and Shaman". They were good sounding. There is no perfect system. I was just enjoying the tunes. That is as it should be.

I have a lot of CDs from back when it was the future. Several are TELARCs which was a good label. Pure digital of course and now gone like the dinosaurs. One I have is the "Grand Canyon Suite" with digitally recorded thunder on one track. They have warnings on the disk about overloading speakers. More a marketing thing than a threat to equipment. There also is an 1812 Overture with real canons, but I cannot find that one. I am sure I bought it back in the day.

Our Grandkids visited and of course asked for the usual pop tunes off of Apple Music. They got it, though I did try subliminal programming by playing some classical music during meals. Some of those POP tunes have really boosted Bass. No surprise for kids stereos and headphones or ear buds, but in a real system it is kinda heavy.

Hey I will play anything.

[carrieleblancart]

for the artist asks: 15 and 18

15. How long does an average piece take you to complete?

That would assume any piece is average, haha. It depends mostly on size and whether it's a commission. The sketch paintings I do, I try to do a 6"x6" painting a half hour so that I can maximize the number of paintings I can do at live events. And a lot of the sketches I did for Black Cat October were between a half hour and 45 minutes. And then, there are the more detailed paintings. The painting of Ojoco which is 8"x8" was probably somewhere between 3 and 4 hours, not including the initial sketch which was probably a half hour to an hour. And then I have a couple large pieces that I started in like 2021 that are still not done and I haven't kept track of the time I've spent on them. Some of the digital pieces I've done have been anywhere between a half hour, two hours, etc. Just depends on the amount of details I'm putting in.

18. What are you currently trying to improve on?

Everything, all the time. It's hard to pick one thing, since there are so many things to consider when making a painting or drawing. Shape, color, composition. I'm always trying to improve and try new things. Asking myself, did I achieve what I want in this painting/drawing? I guess something that isn't directly the paintings themselves is organization, time management, and focus. There are a lot of pieces that I've put down a while ago that I've forgotten about and would like to get back to, so I guess that's the organization and focus piece. And trying to get things done in a timely fashion, that's time management and focus. Trying to keep my studio clean so that I feel motivated and ready to paint. Trying to balance between finding /making time to paint, trying to get my art out there via social media and events, keep up with the commissions I do get, and having a day job/career that's unrelated, and taking care of 47 snakes, 3 cats, myself and my home.

[shadyhouse]

Your art is so fuckin good and I lose my mind every time I see it! You pretty much top the list of artists I want to commission one I have digital money again. Do you have any art advice you'd wanna give a fellow (though less experienced) furry artist?

OMGGGG THANK YOU!!! :D that means so much, i'm glad my art can have so much of an influence on you! that seriously makes me so happy 😭 i'm honored to be one of your favorites!!!

as for art advice.... i feel like im not qualified to give Good advice since im pretty much completely self-taught, but also maybe that makes the advice better? idk ive been "serious" about art and doing commissions since 2017 so i have quite a bit of experience but i still feel like a beginner gdhkgjldsgdskg but anyways here's my own personal things ive learned over the years

absorb as much art as you possibly can. art of all mediums. tv shows, movies, music, visual art, animations, books, comics, ect ect ect EVEN bad art! i am a huge believer of the idea that both bad art and good art is extremely important to you as an artist because not only does the bad art show you what Not to do, but sometimes bad art has GREAT ideas that you wouldve never thought of before. whether they're just executed poorly or the ideas arent touched upon as in depth as you'd like. i'm giving you permission to steal ideas right now PLEASE steal ideas from all the stuff you love and put your own personal spin on them i'm BEGGING you!!!! just don't claim other people's art as your own and you're golden

if you want to open commissions but you don't think you're "good enough", open them anyway. i swear it will do nothing but help you improve and give you experience for the future. i started out by drawing things for $10 a pop and it did SO MUCH for my improvement, i'm always drawing stuff that i wouldve never drawn otherwise and it's helped me a ton with my own personal art too. the variety of the prompts you'll get will be intimidating Because it'll be stuff you don't typically draw, but you'll feel such a sense of accomplishment by the end Because it's a challenge. all this being said, don't let people take advantage of you. stand your ground and don't be afraid to refund/deny a commission request because you're excited to get paid. for every client who's a dick to you there's like five clients who will gladly respect you and pay you what you deserve irt your skill and quality. i Promise

DRAW WHAT YOU LIKE TO DRAW!!!! Don't draw what you think other people want to see! at the end of the day, it's YOUR art, and you should be building a gallery full of things that make YOU happy and Spark Joy when you create, regardless of how "niche" the subjects may be. i'm in the process of unlearning this myself, but the best thing that you can do for yourself as an artist is be self indulgent and cater to Yourself above anyone else. if you only draw stuff to pull in followers/commission clients/ect you'll end up getting burnt out EXTREMELY easily and start to resent your art. the best thing to do is to slowly acquire the community that cares the most about your art, and you as an artist. that way you'll feel better about your craft and you'll be able to REALLY feel the love. the people who look at your art can absolutely tell when you're passionate about a piece vs when you're just doing it for attention/money/ect. that's why people who claim they're going to "stoop low and draw furry porn for money" never get anywhere unless theyre TRULY passionate about the craft, because people can TELL when their heart isnt in it

TL;DR draw whatever you wanna draw, be open to try new things, and take in as much art as you can and be open to new life experiences so you can stay inspired even when you're not making art. i hope this is helpful!! i feel like im kinda rambling about my own learning experience haha

[magicsunwheel]

Why You're F#cking Amazing

Pick-a-Card

How to play: pick one of the photos below using your intuition. You can close your eyes and meditate for a bit or just take a few grounding breaths while thinking of the topic. Feeling drawn to more than one is fine! You might have messages in more than one pile

Pile 1 (x) Pile 2 (x) Pile 3 (x)

My pile numbers always go from left to right, then down to the text row (if applicable)

Pile 1

Cards: The High Priestess, Five of Swords, Seven of Pentacles, The Moon Rx, Five of Rods, Ace of Pentacles

You are so intuitive! You're either very in touch with your divine feminine or are working your way there right now. Something about you is severe in the most beautiful way. You can take things seriously when they need to and the way you command a room with just your presence is unmatched. Maybe you're also a tarot reader or involved in spirituality/divination in some way. Maybe you really like Pick-a-Cards.

Something beautiful about you is that you never give up on a fight, especially when you know the end is worth it. Your ambition is strong and you will fight for what you love and what you want. You are not weak-willed by any means.

This also makes you so unique! You work so hard and put so much labor into your love even if you know it will take a long time to come to fruition. The times that you feel discouraged by a lack of results are few and far between. If for some reason you do find yourself wistfully hoping for faster results or an easier path, you can easily remind yourself of why you started in the first place.

You might have moments where you think of yourself as sneaky or like you're hiding a part of yourself from others, like your true self would be too much for them. I'm here to tell you that your intensity is exactly what make you such a beautiful person! You thrive in competition and in adversity. It gives you a chance to show off your quick thinking and survival skills. Others look at you with envy of how you can make an opportunity out of seemingly nothing!

If you need help improving your self-love, Spirit says to stop comparing yourself to others! You are amazing and beautiful and unique all on your own! Throwing yourself into the fray to compete against others who are nothing like you will only fim your inner shine. And you really do shine! When I asked for a card about why you are beautiful, nearly half the damn deck flew out!

Sprit loves you and I love you so please take care of yourself and keep making those amazing opportunities to improve your physical surroundings. (I feel like you have a very clean room/home)

Pile 2

Cards: Nine of Rods, the World, King of Cups, Three of Rods, Ace of Rods, Two of Cups

Ahh the Loona pile!

Similar to Pile 1, but much more fiery! You are resilient! Taking time to collect yourself before pushing forward with a renewed sense of energy and purpose is such an amazing and useful trait. You maybe aren't as commanding of a presence but you have such an inner strength that no one can deny.

You got the World for the reason why you're beautiful! Maybe it's related to physically being very beautiful and possibly exotic-looking. You might have very specific features associated with a certain area of the world that stand out where you live. You also have such a wonderful understanding of the world and where it's currently at. Things can seem negative or like hope is lost but you still seek out the beauty and share it with others. You see opportunity where others do not and feel a sense of peace and connectedness with all of humanity. Wow!

Your uniqueness shines in your emotionality and compassion. You might be a natural born leader who makes sure to understand all under your rule. You lead with kindness and, most importantly, by example. You don't have any desire to use you position for ill-gotten gains. Power to you does not corrupt, it solely provides a tool for you to do good in the world and really make a difference in the lives of others, whether it's on a large or small scale. You are probably the kind of person who makes sure to give money to those who need it when you pass a begging mother and her children, or buying a homeless man a bottle of water on a hot day.

Your card for why you think you are not perfect actually came out quite positive. Maybe you don't have a very low self esteem, but I can see a few possible scenarios here. You might be constantly planning in your head, waiting and watching for the next move to take but never actually getting to the action part. Maybe you're planning for your future and have so much planned out that you're excited for, but haven't made the practical plans on how to actually get there. This could make you feel bad about yourself especially on days where you're reminded of others moving ahead in their lives while you're still planning. Visualisation is very important in manifesting your desired reality! If you are moving slower than others around you, remember that it is okay to not be where "everyone else" is. Life is not a race or a competition. Taking your time to get to where you need to be when you need to be there reminds me of the story of the tortoise and the hare. Quick does not necessarily mean better.

You can improve your self-love by creating! Using your creativity and passion to make something! Create art, whether it's physical/digital art, music, writing, inventing, anything that uses those creative muscles of yours. It doesn't have to be good! Just creating something will help burn up that excess energy you have that's trying to rush you somewhere. Self-expression this way can be a wonderful hobby even if you don't consider yourself as a creative person.

Your kindness really shines through. You care so deeply about the people around you and your spiritual team cares just as deeply about you. You are loved and watched over and protected by Spirit. Others around you also see your sparkle and appreciate and admire you, even if they don't show it. Know you are beautiful and amazing and bringing a light into this world that needs to be here.

Pile 3

Cards: Six of Rods, the Hierophant, Four of Rods, Six of Cups, Ten of Swords, the Hermit Rx

Damn, who are y'all!? You've got some mighty power and pull in this world. Maybe you're a public figure or have some kind of platform, like a social media with many followers. You could also be well-recognized within your field of study/work. Whoever you are, people see you and look up to you. They celebrate you and how amazing you are! Spirit loves this about you and you really shine in the spotlight. Your achievements deserve all this pomp and celebration!

You are naturally authoritative. People listen when you speak and take your words to heart. You might also be a religious person or someone who enjoys organization and the comfort of hierarchy. People will willingly follow you wherever you lead them because they trust you with all their hearts. "A merciful ruler" (lol) You hold your position with grace and dignity befitting a king or queen.

You are unique in ways the public recognizes, but we knew that already! You might be someone who likes to entertain and you throw the greatest parties and get-togethers. Maybe you've planned a wedding and everyone had such an amazing time! You know how to relax and have fun when the time for celebrating arrives. You can out down your guard and bit and let loose. Not many people with such responsibility can let go of the reigns like that, but you don't seem to hold on to control too tightly.

Your past might be a source of anxiety for you. Maybe you're worried that what you've done when you were younger will catch up to you and ruin what you've got going on now, but it's important to remember that the past is the past. It cannot be undone or wished away. Taking time to accept what happened and recognizing that you've moved on to bigger and better things is important here. Whatever happened, take time to heal your childhood wounds and forgive past actions.

Ending this cycle will bring much more self-love to your life. Old habits and patterns being out to rest is the way forward. It might be a painful ending and something you don't necessarily look forward to, but it is something that needs to happen to clear out old energy and welcome in everything new. You can't expect to move on if you're still repeating old actions or ways of thinking. It's time to set these things to rest and evolve. Leave behind what no longer serves you.

Your understanding of yourself knows no bounds. You've taken the time to inquisit yourself and learn all of the shadows that lie there. Self-reflection might be a favored pastime for you. Through this knowledge of yourself you are able to see truths that many struggle to see all their lives. Your light can cut through the fog if bullshit and see the true source of something. Use this knowledge of yourself to become the best version of yourself that you can be! I know you're already on your way there and it's amazing to see! Spirit is so proud of you and loves you so much!

[nightopianfoxgirl]

This is gonna be an end-of-year wrap up talk with future changes. I feel more comfortable talking about it here first before it goes on my DA page. Do not mind me please, there’s a lot to unpack.

I really thought this year was going to be the year of change after you-know-what came to wreck 2020. I did make good improvements in my art and animations and am getting closer to my Associates in Digital Media. Near the end of the year was a total mess. But to be honest, I have been suffering through a lot behind the scenes with drama. I never really realized how toxic the “friend group” I was in because I was young when I first joined. I should have seen it from the constant in-fighting on trivial issues and blame-games. I tried to play kind and fair, but it always ended up with me having to take the blame and please everyone else. I was constantly being drained and the moment I said I wanted to leave, they would pull a 180 to draw me back. They became the friends I knew when I first joined, but it never lasted. There was always something that ticked them off. Some would even go as far as to cyberbully people on multiple platforms and acted as if they were not in the wrong until other users called them out. Then they would cry to me for being called out, demanding comfort.

Recently, I opened up about it to friends, family, and a counsel group after years which was when I started to realize that I needed to leave. I slowly dissociated from the group and found more freedom, but in October I put my foot down and it ended terribly. One of them verbally lashed out and I no longer felt safe on DeviantArt because they are active in “calling out” other users at the drop of the hat. Then they did the same thing all over again: act nice like nothing ever happened. I came to Tumblr because I knew none of them were here and people I know and trust are. I rarely post on DA now and lock comments because the group still stalks my page. They are trying to reach out again, but I am ignoring it. I can’t block them or they will send others after me and if I delete my accounts I give up everything I created and can never use it again without risking a new account being discovered. Locking comments is all I have because there is no report for this type of abuse.

I’m slowly recovering, but things will never be the same for a long time. Comments being locked on DA will be a new constant until safety is deemed which breaks my heart since I love talking to you guys. I love interactions and hearing what you have to say. I’m sorry if you have noticed the sudden shift, but I still must be careful with what I say. I don’t want a huge fight breaking out, I just want to be left alone and out of all these dramas that I never was in in the first place.

On lighter notes, I will be continuing my commissions and Blazing Fire but I intend to do more complex details on and off the job. I wish to improve and become even better to add to a future portfolio. Another new thing coming is that I will be launching a Ko-Fi page. Not confident for a Patreon, but it is a start. So when that comes around, you can find me there too. And as I have hinted, I plan to make a small business making handmade crafts. I hope to open it within 2022 once I get my bearings and store selection set up. Other than that, that is all and I hope you all have a good rest and a better year as we go into 2022.

Sweet Dreams

[decaffeinatedartisthug]

Pro-tips for baby artists

At the beginning of your artistic journey, everything feels confusing. You just have a colossal amount of ideas but you don’t know how to put them down. It doesn’t matter if you’re a painter or a digital artist, the question is still the same: “why does it have to be so damn difficult?!” On one hand, this question proves that you are maturing, as most baby artists tend to - and it’s perfectly normal! - feel like they are doing everything correctly, to ralise at the end that their ideas might be too many and too unorganised. 

On the other, this problem can be resolved in various ways, that most artists learn with experience, but that I want to share with you in this post. 

1. References, not copies: What I used to do, and I see a lot of baby artists making the same mistake as me, is basically coping others’ art. With this, I’m not saying that you can’t use references or you mustn’t do “draw in your artstyle” challenges, as it’s VERY important that artists know that references are important, photos and art pieces both. What I want to say, is that taking an artwork and completely coping every single detail in it blocks your creativity and your ability to follow anatomic structures in a real references. Using others’ artwork helps you when you “steal” from the other artist some techniques, like how they colour, how they draw bodies, or what kind of references they use.

2. Instagram account: if you are a beginner artist who was born in the internet era, one of the first things that come to your mind when you start improving with your artistic skills, is that you have to open an Instagram account where you post your art pieces. Sometimes, this helps artists to stay committed to their passion, but most of the time the result is the opposite. When you are in the first stages to become an artist, you have the possibility to be creative and do what you want with your art. If your sketchbook isn’t “aesthetically pleasing” it doesn’t matter, as only you and your friends are going to see it! You can experiment with new artforms and artstyles without judgement or deadlines. Now, I don’t want to say that opening an online art account ruins this, but having an art account certantly requires very thick skin  - as we all know that on the internet people feel like they always know best - and costant care and precision, which sometimes dulls the positivity that making art normally brings. 

3. Art supplies: One of the most popular phrases used by creators is “the art supply doesn’t make the artist”, which is completely true, but not quite accurate. Expensive art supplies won’t make your art any better, and they won’t make your work any easier, but using correct art supplies is very important. Spending 200$ for an art supply that you won’t be using is not worth it (a.k.a. me with brandy oil pastels that I refuse to use because it’s too difficult), but buying some, for example, inking pens at a fair price will help you improve. You have to experiment to know what works out for you or not, so using only a normal pencil won’t help you with your sperimentation and, automatically, your artistic growth. So spend money, but spend it with conscience.

4. OCs: If you don’t know, OC stands for Original Character, and it’s a common thing between a lot of artist to create an OC with their own personalities. Here’s my tip on them: USE THEM. They are extremely helpful for your creativity and for your anatomic studies. An OC provides the perfect opportunity to draw and learn through something you enjoy. By drawing the OC, your art skills will improve with ease, as you will be drawing them in different situations, expressions and poses. Apart from this, even only the part of the conception of the character will help you to organize and choose your ideas!

5. Experiment: As a beginner artist, I always thought that when you begin your artistic journey, you have to be sure of what “type” of artist you are going to be. Guess what? I was wrong, so very wrong. Let your curiosity get the best out of you: you want to give sculpting a try? Go for it! You want to pass to digital art instead of traditional? Awsome! Art is expressed in millions of forms, you just have to descover what you like best, but to find them, you have to try as many as possible. It doesn’t matter if you fail: it’s normal. Errors make the journey more interesting, and they make you want to be better the next time!

[citrus-cactus]

Citrus' Art Summary 2021!

Here it is, my year in art! Overall, I did more digital art this year than any other year previous, managing about one major piece per month. Finally a year when I can fill in all those squares (and then some!)! That's a-bonkers-lot for me :O

Some more reflection 'neath the cut:

I set out with the goals this year of Doing Lots of Art Digitally for practice/learning purposes and also working with deadlines in mind, kinda maybe sorta... like a real professional might? Just to try it out?? Of the stuff I finished, two were for a zine (hmm, never did post those, though you can see most of the full-color piece in February!), three were paid work (blurred/not pictured, I don't really feel comfortable sharing those), one was a t-shirt design (not pictured), one was for an art giveaway (June), 10 were sketch requests (March-May), 7 were for Tumblr events (all digimon-related; July-October), 7 are for a personal project that I really won't be giving many details about (Nov), and 10 were index-card-sized pen-and-ink practices. Oh, and if we're counting ALL creative/fandom stuff, I wrote a fanfic and made a fanmix. Phew!!

I'd like to say I enjoyed every minute of it, but some of it was sort of stressful, actually ^^; I DO have a full-time job; my self-imposed artistic workflow made it feel like I was working two jobs sometimes, and that DEFINITELY took a toll on me (particularly since I was trying to meet all those deadlines!). I also tended to get wrapped around the axle being a perfectionist a lot of the time, which led to me to spending a LOT more time fiddling with not-actually-that-important stuff than I probably should have (this is a constant struggle for me!). TL;DR, there are still TONS of things I could afford to learn about being a more efficient/less neurotic artist, and, in hindsight, I think I was teetering on the verge of burnout several times throughout the year (oops).

One positive thing I did was upgrade from MangaStudio to ClipStudio this year, and while there there are things I miss about my old setup, I really like that you can download new brushes directly from Clip, as well as some new functionality I discovered that I had never figured out previously (or maybe it didn't exist?). I also realized I need to make major improvements to my posture, break-taking, and overall drawing setup. I tend to hunch over a lot and that has made my back and shoulders pretty unhappy a lot of the time, particularly when I'm in deep-focus and work-hard mode :P

I'd also like to... draw more for myself next year? Taking requests is a lot of fun (and I still have several in my inbox that I'd like to finish, WHOOOOPS), but sketching for myself used to be something I did to relax and unwind, and I realized it's not really relaxing if I'm drawing with the intent to post for an online audience. I also really want to make more progress on my Personal Project now that I've started it properly! So I'm anticipating my perceived art output will be a lot lower next year, for all these reasons, and that’s OK! Art goals for next year involve a) working on self-care and recovering from what-very-well-may-be burnout, b) jamming as much as I can on Personal Project and things I will probably never publish on the Internet, c) WORRYING LESS about small details & audience when I DO draw/post goofy fandom stuff, and d) remembering how to draw spontaneously and for fun. Fingers crossed these are achievable goals!

In terms of my personal favorites for the year... well, that's tough! I like them all for one reason or another. I REALLY liked how my December piece turned out; I think I nailed it (I really wish I could show it!!). And I'm also really proud of how the Daisuke Kaiser comic turned out. I got to play with some fun screentone brushes, and it's an ACTUAL (short) MANGA-STYLE COMIC that I finished, for once. Finally makin' comics!! Secretly, THAT'S THE DREAM!!! My teenage self would be so proud.

It'll be interesting to see what 2022 brings!

[legionofpotatoes]

I love your art, it is very detailed in a neat way. Was wondering how you got started making it as a source of income? How did you get your first paid work, I'd love some advice on how to get started, if that's ok

Thank you. Of course it's okay, although I doubt I have enough work experience in art to really delve into this. I only went full freelance this year, and had been juggling art as a side hobby until then. If you're still interested in my somewhat narrow perspective, and are okay with my long-winded rambles, I'll give it a shot:

So to answer your question fully, I'll describe how I started and move into personal advice and learnings later on. As a disclaimer, I am a white cishet dude in my late twenties with a moderate cocktail of mental illnesses, but overall I can pass for a functioning adult so a lot I have to say may come laced with privilege I cannot fully identify.

So uhh I began drawing in around 2012? I think? Maybe halfway through 2011? And I mostly made fanart for things I enjoyed and tried to branch out in communities that felt nourishing to my style and interests (I caught a bug for alt posters and enjoyed mainstream movies so I spent a long time on posterspy early on). There were a handful of opportunities that came from there but I could only accept a couple because of primary workplace commitments. Still, it showed that networking in a focused community was definitely a good place to start; I myself have huge trouble committing to social networks and really staying socially active, but I knew it was an essential ingredient in succeeding so I tried to make myself be involved in challenges and art support trains etc. as much as I could.

In parallel to all that I also ran a few third party online stores (redbubble, teepublic) for disposable income and would sometimes, if rarely, hit around $100-150 a month from those sources combined. It is a sort of thing that requires helper accounts on other social media sites to promote it on, because the stores themselves have a huge volume of content that translates into low organic discoverability. Obviously it was never gonna be the way towards financial independence through art, and with community projects being few and far between, I opened private commissions in around uhhh 2017 I think, focusing on offering a few styles I knew I could do well, and sometimes operating in individual fandoms (it was mostly a bioware thing to be frank). But I had to close them back down after a year or so, again because of work-life conflict and how badly it was burning me out. The reason I kept trying to monetize this hobby is because I honestly hated what I did for my main job and wanted to see a way out in some shape or form in the future.

And then in 2020 I had to quit my main job altogether because of *gestures at pandemic* and deal with a mental breakdown from all the wonderful things it did to us and me specifically. I took a short break and decided to give art a shot full-time, and that was around May this year. I was planning on opening up commissions again (and I still am), but a few sudden opportunities that fell in my lap moved that timetable down and now I'm grateful to even be doing something I am getting adequately paid for.

So, with that somewhat limited perspective, here's what I've learned that I'd tell myself if I was just starting out:

1. Being a fan of something can be a shortcut towards effective networking kickoffs. Which are important evidently. If you love something and enjoy making content for it, join communities, settle into a combination of social media websites that feel right for those interests + your body of work + your inner rhythm, and try to play to content discovery as much as your mental health allows you to. Like I said, I know that I myself am incredibly bad at self-motivating to talk to people, so I found that synergizing common interests into fanart - which I enjoyed making anyway - could be a way to give myself a gentle nudge forward and build those bridges leading to community activities, which then net experience and coverage. Sometimes even freelance projects from official avenues. Again; picking the right spaces for what you're after is key. Companies roam twitter, concept art recruiters scour artstation or linkedin etc, instagram can land you private commissions and collab opportunities, so on and so forth. Find your niche and try to kick up dust. However...

2. I do not believe that any social profile can replace a good portfolio. The thing that made an immediate difference to me this year was building a coherent, simple website with my best work front and center and a contact form on top. Every single opportunity I got came from that form (maybe via twitter or instagram initially, but always sealing the decision after going through the website), so I firmly believe that showcasing your skills and portfolio in a visually arresting and user-friendly way is a big priority. I had some reservations about tackling that task but fortunately I had help from a savvy life partner and we slapped it together via wordpress in less than a day. Twitter/whatever social media is prevalent in your target groups is definitely important to get the right eyes on your shit, yes, but those eyes will then look for a second stop where your work and rates are more clear and concise. Simplicity is key imo, I cannot overstate this. So make a cute, simple portfolio!

3. Your skills and rates will grow and change as you do. Let them. Over the years I built several lasting professional relationships from my obsession over mass effect and kept getting opportunities both from bioware and their partner companies, some small and some a bit bigger. A one-off job earlier this year opened an unexpected door to another much larger commitment, and then the work I did there brought some attention from small businesses looking for commercial commissions. These were all incredibly different projects in terms of scope and budget, and I've been tackling them all on a case-by-case basis and slowly coming into my own irt my needs, rates, and SOW thresholds. It is still a work in progress (and a LOT of literal work as well), and very much a thing I struggle with in publicly marketing, which is why I felt a tad underqualified to answer your question in the first place (obviously I did not let that stop me). But what it means for me now is that I am rapidly developing into whatever my "version" of a functioning freelance artist is, and when the conditions for that guy are met, I need to be able to confidently plant myself and operate from that space despite past precedents. Do not let anyone bully you into downpricing what you yourself perceive as legitimate products of personal growth and development. Speaking of which...

4. The shitty challenge of turning envy into inspiration, and paddling outside your comfort zones in full riot gear. it is hard, but realizing that being a miserable, self-hating artist in my early days got me nothing but more misery back was the first real step I took and what truly blew the hinges off. I was just not pleasant to be around, I would badmouth my work all the time, and it all somehow made sense in my broken mind because the validation I sought was purely external and the way I sought it was through eliciting sympathy via self-victimization (even when I made something objectively nice). It all led fucking nowhere. Except perhaps to my own narcissism that I one day managed to identify and start managing. So I started looking at things that made me seethe with envy and calmly deconstruct and figure out their inner workings instead, do studies, and find nuggets of inspiration or discover new ways to approach rendering or building up specific elements. It was an application of analytical diligence to what I wanted to be a purely emotional, esoteric workflow, but that I deep down knew wasn't. Art is a discipline and a skill, and maybe it isn't a straight line, but you gotta find some line to thread nevertheless. Being self-hating was almost an identity I had to break out of, and despite it still being like, 4-5% there? I realize its cause and effect on me, my work, and those around me, so it is with a conscious choice that I gently set it aside when I work and especially when I learn. It won't always stay quiet, but the effort is the difference. Your doors towards accepting true growth and venturing into uncharted territories, art styles, and networking will really open from there. But there's a huge caveat...

5. Toolsets, accessibility, privilege, and all the good things that enable artistic expression and profitability are not given equal to all. you might do all the mental work I mentioned to be ready to rock and roll and learn and draw your way out of anything, but digital art is a fucking money pit that asks almost too much at times. I don't got a good case study here but identifying and ensuring accessibility to the tools you need to do your best work is, like, super important. The ergonomics can improve as you make money and settle into the job, but the basics have to be made available to you. And some of that might not even be under your direct control. That can be anything from pen tablets to software subscriptions to opportunities in hiring sullied by sexism or what have you. You gotta navigate all that through careful networking and money/time management. I don't do a good job of devoting specific slices of time to work/study, and my primary clutch is iPad software which went from a good deal to a nightmare scenario over the years. So all I can say here is do what I didn't; network, invest in a PC/tablet, and pick a software you'll learn that won't burn a hole in your pocket.

6. Be nice to work with? This one is hard to articulate and has landed my own ass in hot water in my early years because of how socially inept I am, but nothing is more worthwhile than being.. like. a good person to work with. That can be anything like meeting deadlines, or sometimes missing them but eloquently articulating why, being generous in early stages, being communicable and not too wordy in your emails, having a good grasp on abstract artistic concepts and how to describe them in simple terms, having a clear, laid out framework of your working rates in commercial and non-commercial projects and sticking to those guns with grace, understanding when you need to say no and saying it well, the works. Just being nice. Sometimes that might mean going headstrong with something you believe in, or simmering down and sucking up to the big man, all relative and adaptive. Part and parcel of the service provision dance that we all have to do in order to make bank. Know your lines here, obviously, and don't like. work for nazis. or uh.. *shudders* exposure. but be nice and empathetic and communicable and word will travel eventually. Skill may be in abundance these days, but good people are most certainly not, and capitalism has a way of bubbling up scarcity. Grim, but uh, them's the breaks.

I know I'm ultimately telling you to like. Have a body of work, make a portfolio, grow, and network. But that's really how I see it for now. And being nice can be a cherry on top that sets you apart, along with the inherent irreplaceable voice of your artwork. I think I rambled on enough, but if there is something specific you need my help with, even if you want to come off anon and talk in private, please feel free.

[vic-chaos]

HELLO i love your art and your style so I wanted to ask if you have any tips for aspiring artists!

Oh thank you so much.....!!!! I feel honoured 🥺❤

I think the best general advice I can think of is just not to be afraid to experiment or go outside your comfort zone!!

It was hard to pick something to talk about in this reply, but this has helped me a bunch and is not something I see people talk about so often.

There's always something you'll be best at or do most often (what I mean by a comfort zone) and you will improve that specific skill by practicing it of course, but it also helps a surprising amount to do completely different stuff every now and then too!

Like for example if you mostly just draw humans, take a quick break sometimes - every few weeks maybe - to play around with animals or landscapes or whatever (and it doesn't matter if they look bad because its not your strength, you don't have to show anyone dsjhdfs) then when you go back to your usual stuff you'll feel it a little easier, and be able to see things with fresher eyes. That helps improvement a lot, at least in my experience!! Its also something I like to do whenever I'm feeling kind of stuck or art blocked.

I'm also really big on experimenting with art styles and I definitely think it's a useful thing to try (as well as just being fun!!) especially for beginner artists. What I mean by this is like... try experimenting with both cartoony styles and realistic ones, cel shading vs painting, clean linework vs just colouring a sketch, thick lines and thin lines or even no lines, smooth brushes or textured ones, just trying out different brushes in general.

With digital art especially there's SO many different things you can do, and the best way to find which styles and techniques work best for you is honestly just to try all of them! It doesn't need to be done in some gruelling long practice phase before you're ready to start posting either, you can experiment with your normal fan art and stuff. It may make your art look "inconsistent" but honestly... who cares sjjddndbd (I have the most inconsistent art on earth and you guys don't mind!!)

I guess in summary... its always worth it to try different and new things, even if they turn out badly you will still learn from the experience. And let yourself have fun above all else because it sounds corny but it really is the most important thing... nothing will help develop your skill or give you inspiration more than passion, so don't feel bad letting your art be as self indulgent as you want!