#getting out of artblock by drawing memes you know how it is

[suzie-bee]

npc grian and grumbot are siblings and they also say swearwords i can prove it

original meme under the cut

[sattorntempura]

:) i would really appreciate it if you gave my oc a chance. If not, it's okay. *cries*

Hey, peeps. Lately, I've been going through this uuuuugly artblock for my main project. (This is my first post, scary, lol.. really nervous)

So, a few months back, I drew a Devil May Cry OC. The images are under the 'more' tab, but i would really appreciate it if you read this first. With this art block going on and the urge to draw something other than my main/serious project, I decided to make a small comic of my OC's childhood and how he ended up meeting the main/canon characters/crew.

And if you're new to the DMC world, hello, welcome! I hope this little comic will encourage you to check out the official games, it's pretty fun!

Try to guess who I ship him with... Hey, don't look at my pfp! That's cheating!

So yeah, there's going to be some sketches/panels of this ship. Dw, nothing too explicit/graphic. It's fluff, lol. I think that's what they call it? There's going to be more information regarding the dmc - oc comic in a future post.

I know there's a lot of different opinions when shipping an oc with a canon character, so that's why I added this little 'more' tab/bar below so in case you're not interested, you can scroll away :) for those who choose to stay and continue on, thank you.

My oc's name is Ezra. He was created when a cool friend of mine invited me to RP the DMC5 storyline with them. I was kinda nervous at first since it was my first time to ever RP with someone. I got the hang of it, though! And it was fun! (The next/future post will provide more information of that if anybody is interested. Since it's kinda the reason why Ezra exists in the first place.) I am not sure if I will include the RP events in this comic, since like I've mentioned, it took place in the DMC5 storyline, and its quite a lottt. Just like the canon game. So I might draw the day (i mean the in-game time) after the Qliphoth was taken down. Or summarize the DMC5 storyline. There's still a lot of time to think about it since I'm going to start off with the background of this character, then when he becomes an adult, and then when he meets the crew.

☝️ This is how the cover of my oc's DMC comic will look like. The title is blurred out because I am still debating whether I should change it or not. Lol, it's kinda edgy, I might keep it that way.

☝️These right here are adult/present Ezra and a few panels of Vergil. I am still experimenting with the way I draw Vergil since I want to have him look a little closer to the game than the way he looks in manga. (Which is hard since I prefer drawing the exact style of any series official art... Because if I do it in my own version, it never looks like the character. So yes, this is a challenge.)

The drawing with Ezra's full body is supposed to be Ezra holding his scythe over his shoulder, but I gave up on finishing it since I didn't like the way his coat looked. You can even tell from the different coats he has in the other panels/images...

The image with Ezra getting food poisoning was from eating Dante's food. This idea stems from all those memes with Dante creating unidentified matter, whereas other characters like Vergil make decent food.

The first image and 3rd image are actually linked together, hehe. I wonder if any of you know the tilted towers reference? Lol

☝️Another Vergil sketch. He is laid next to Ezra in bed. (You can see the pillow that Ezra is cuddling with peeking in that image, lol). This moment is related to Vergil's nightmares.

☝️ The first image out of the two is one out of the 2 closest friends BEFORE the DMC5 events. I think you will really like them. They've put a huge impact on Ezra's life and are the very reason for the way/who he is today. I still don't have a design for the other friend, that's why it's not provided here.

The second image is just baby Ezra, not having a clue what the adults are talking about. The adults definitely didn't call him that...

☝️Lastly, this is my reaction once I created this DMC OC and decided to ship him with Vergil. I have no clue why Samsung does this to my images once edited, lol.

The same friend mentioned before also had me create an OC for a game that they play, and I failed to not grow attached to this character. (What!? I created them. They're like my own children now!) I might show u guys how he looks like when I finish his design.

If you guys have any questions, feel free to hit that, uh, *checks profile*, Ask me anything button, I will try my best to respond. If I don't respond, it's because I am still a boomer to this app and don't know how to operate it. Another reason is because the answer to your question may be a spoiler.

Like I've mentioned before, information about the comic itself will be explained in the next post. I don't spam post, so don't worry about getting lost in my profile trying to look for more information. I will try to have a pinned(?) post, if this app allows me, where I can add links like the way I've seen other users on here do it.

Haha, I add lazy watermarks (even though my art ain't that worthy) because I've seen small artist get their art clapped by a-hole users without permission. This has also happened to me, but it was yeeeaaarrrsss ago. This is why I don't post much of my art nowadays. Especially with the "art" bot-stealing going around. I need to find a better way to not let it happen to my art ever again.

Thank you for taking the time to view this, I really appreciate it! If you are interested in my OC's journey in the DMC world, feel free to follow me. You might even see my art growth/process between the very start of the comic to the very end of it! I hope it gets better... lol, watch it get worse- they slowly transform into stickmen HAHA

[maplefox-memu09]

Sebastian & Ciel Species Art Meme!!🐾🐾

Heyya! It's been like... Centuries since the last time I posted Kuro art related in this blog. Work, artblocks, my IG, & other things has been keeping me very busy😔😔 But hey, I actually draw quite a lot for this one, & I hope y'all like it😌

In case y'all didn't know, a year ago I made a Species Meme just like this for my wolfdog OC & posted it to my IG.

But Then, 2-3 months ago, I got an idea about making a Species Meme for Sebastian since he can transforms into any kinds of creature, & I also always wanna draw him as animals! So, this art meme is very perfect for me :D

Though, I decided to include Ciel later on in the end cuz.. hey, why the hell not??'v')/🥔

Btw fyi, there's actually supposed to be a rectangle for Equine/horse, but I changed it to Cervus/Cervi/Deer species bcus the design I got for Equine! Sebastian is too... Bland for my liking lol😅

& Ciel only has 5 Species cuz I'm running out of design ideas lmaoo TwT🏃🏃🏃

Speaking of Ciel, I finally have the chance to draw my Demon!Ciel animal/ familiar form headcanon, Azure Hellhound, which it's actually ever got mentioned in my other headcanon post about post-season2 Kuroshitsuji × Moriarty The Patriot crossover AU ask (well I kinda mention it, but it's in the tags :v)😔✊

P.S : my friends keep calling dragon!Sebastian Dilf Daddy for some reason 😐😐🥴😐😐

Anyway, I actually have more drawings of Sebastian & Ciel based from the Species Meme, including more headcanons about Ciel's Azure Hellhound form (concept art & doodles). You can see them down below:) :

Azure Hellhound :

For this Demon!Ciel's concept art, I choose to not to make Ciel wear his garters like he usually do. & I also make him wear bow/lace-less boots, y'know- kinda like horse riding boots. I just can't help but feeling kinda uncomfy imagining him fighting with bows/laces & garters lol, I have a feeling they're going to slows him down😅

Demon!Ciel also rarely use his eye patch anymore. He only wears it when he have to interact with humans.

Ciel could transform his familiar form into Chibi/pupper form ... Or as I like to call it, a Potat form🥔🤲😖

The idea of him having a chibi transformation of his Hellhound form is actually inspired from Lumine by Emma Krogell :'D. Like- I can't help it okay? He's too cute🥺

I headcanoning demon!Ciel using his familiar form more often during combat cuz he is self-conscious about how small & fragile-looking he is in his human form:'>

In his familiar form, he can just tanks his enemies & act like a beast without caring his enemies' mockings

Though, Sebastian still trying to help Ciel getting used to fight in his human form because he knows it'll be necessary one day.

okayy that's all I have for now :')

I dunno when I'm gonna post another Kuro art, but I just wanna let y'all know that I'm still into Kuroshitsuji. It's just that I'm more focused on grinding for my IG art account now😔🙏

Soooo yeah,.. cya later?? ;'D

[anxietywriter]

romantic things

because i'm hopeless i'm a sap, this is significantly more rambly than my other lists because i am in fact using it to wax poetic. i change the pronouns randomly sometimes my bad

taking so long to respond when they say they're more into kisses and cuddles because you're just crying in relief. so so much relief because they had asked how much affection was okay (such a green flag) and you had mentioned that sex was off the table (aspecs rise up) because you know that they knew but you were still scared. (it's a bit controversial from what i hear, but i'm of the thought that your partner should know if you're asexual asap)

it's the dreams of picnics and little hikes and aquarium dates and warmth. warmth because of dreams where you're given their jacket and still leaning into them for more warmth and spooning them in your arms. of sunsets and sweet words.

speaking of hoodies, constantly wondering if some of your clothing would fit them because hey you don't actually don't know?? and buying oversized clothes or accessories that can fit most sizes just to share something with them.

having a list of songs that reminds you of them and also of your own complicated feelings towards love? of being afraid of getting hurt but still wanting that feeling anyways? of hesitant confessions and fear of rejection? but also of calling them your lover so long as said love is true?

the fact that i write poetry despite having a love-hate relationship with poetry and even hating some of my own poems. but adoring a lot of the ones that i wrote about him when i was particularly sappy. the fact that i tagged them with a heart. the fact that i'm mildly embarrassed and don't know if i'll ever even show him, but still make them addressed to him.

even in the middle of an artblock, i dragged myself out to then create drawings of one poem and even some doodles that i thought he'd enjoy. including some with two subjects rather than one because yeah i am that corny. the fact that i'm considering recreating the doodles with more details and making it a series of drawings.

being a relatively frugal person. that will absolutely not stop you from buying them shit. nothing big or too committal, just a little treat. just to live in their head for a little bit rent free.

it's the hope that flutters in my chest with every little meme captioned with "us" and the comparisons of main couples from his newest favorite movie

the immediate and multiple apologies for late replies and messages. the fact that they want to talk to you and are letting you know by saying they're sorry. and you forgiving them instantly.

the casual mentions of a future of "oh later we should go do that" or "i'll take you there one day" or "we should watch it together." it's the implied want for longetivity. how they want to keep you in their life.

[creative-robot]

Do you have any tips on fighting art block, I haven’t drawn anything in a while and want to but don’t know what to draw

I have a few that I use yeah! First rule of thumb, The first two or three things you draw while trying to get out of artblock are most likely not going to become finished pieces, this is OKAY and ENCOURAGED, Think of it as warm-ups to ease yourself back into it! Artblock tends to happen because we set too many expectations upon ourselves or find a way to subconsciously wall ourselves off from drawing from anxiety, which also tends to block out all the ideas

Number one way, do some little warm-up exercises!

The first thing I always recommend to anyone is to draw some blobs! No really hear me out, pick an animal —personally I usually go for snakes or cats— and, if you’re on traditional do some contour lines and make some blob shapes, if you’re on digital set your brush size really high and make some blobs that look VAGUELY like your animal, than without doing any erasing, add some little details or eyes to make it look more like it’s animal, you can add to the shape— other colors, tails, ears etc— but the main rule of thumb here is NO ERASING, Filling up a sheet with them and making it simple helps you ease back into it and warms up your drawing muscles

Another one I recommend is grabbing a reference and just vaguely sketching it out, you’ll see this one repeated no matter who you ask about art block, some will say do gesture drawing, some will say do contour practice, honestly it’s whatever fits your bill. Practice some hands, doodle some random faces, grab an object and draw it in a stylized way, this doesn’t only help you practice but it can also give you some ideas for future projects, or to just turn the sketch into your favorite character lol

This one includes a little bit of mental prep but honestly? Save. Every. Sketch. Even if you make/look at it during artblock and say ‘wow I hate this’ you SAVE IT, your concepts are still good, your brain is just telling you that you can’t make it work, and yeah some of the sketches aren’t gonna be anywhere near pretty but that’s the POINT! You don’t have to work on one picture the entire time you can bounce between multiple depending on where you feel you’re most comfortable each day, and you don’t have to use every sketch as your basis but your concepts are what make your art yours, getting rid of it and only having the things that you’ve finished will give you unrealistic expectations to keep OUTSHINING them every time and set up more of a wall for yourself in the long run

This one’s a bit more specific but, character design! This is the one I use the most besides the blobs, make a creature! Grab a generator and fuse some animals together, make a fake pokemon outta it or make a new hybrid altogether, don’t worry about how realistic it is the important part of this one is the thought process, you don’t have to use it in the future you just need to make it for now, it definitely helps get your gears turning while still keeping it generally non-stressful. Grab a random mood board and make a character design out of it, take a theme (steampunk, robot, alien, clockmaker, etc) and apply it to something mundane, like coins,or pens, or book covers! Or, of course, fashion! Purposefully make the most deviantart neon edgy OC possible! Turn your main brain off and just have as much fun with it as you can, you don’t have to post it you don’t even have to show it to anyone else

A lot of artblock is about shifting your gears or changing perspectives of what you create to feel good about it again, like I said before a huge part of artblock is feeling like your art isn’t ‘good enough’ or feeling like you’ve run dry on ideas, or just pure unfiltered stress. The biggest thing you can do is to start small again, draw like a kid, don’t let your thoughts about anatomy or critiques stop you, and you’ll find yourself starting to warm back up to your own creations. At the end of the day if it’s just causing you a lot of stress trying to break through art block the best thing for you might be to actually step back and give yourself a break, and come back later.

The best part of art is you can literally do whatever you want, draw something cursed, redraw a meme, draw Frosty the snowman saying ‘fuck’, play with colors, draw something cute as scary as you can or vice versa, draw a mushroom, make up a new kind of animal or plant, draw yourself as if you were in your favorite media’s, the best way to go is to let go of all the ‘cringe culture’ mentality and just go as apeshit as possible



[greencharisard]

I promise I'm still working on that pokemon project, but it's a pokemon-trainer set of 6 of a 'mon that's very detailed so it's taking a lot of time, and I ended up artblocked.

The first pick was the first thing I did after almost a week of not drawing, what happened is roughly this:

- Was still working on-and-off on the pokemon pic set, and a new TLK one.

- Re-downloaded Steam for some reason I can't remember.

- Found out Spore is in there with all three packs  and on sale (base game+creepy & cute+ galactic adventures)

- caved and bought it cuz it's been years and I wanted the third pack and a convinient way to access it that wasn't a 10+ y/o disc/code I've used a million times on 5 or 6 PCs.

- Played it for 3 days or so, including a day were I completely messed up my PC by tampering with the core folders (went back to normal now THANK GOD) and played switch games for that day.

- Spent another half day after fixing my PC making an EA account to have a proper acc on Spore itself (had to go forum digging, it's a mess). Then played Spore more.

- In all of this watched one HK meme video and stated getting a bajillion of them in my YT recommendeds.

- Played a bunch of switch games for a day trying to stay away from Spore and start drawing (failed).

- Decided to start playing HK again at piss off o'clock in the evening. Still couldn't get past Hornet in Greenpath.

- Next morning finally beat boss 2 and open up a MASSIVE CHUNK OF THE GAME.

- spend the next 2 or so days playing that, including most of today.

So yeah, I fried my brain, in an attempt at grudging trough the art block I tried making an OC, then also tried making self-inserts because Hollow Knight has been my lifesource for the past few week or so, while Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss have been one of my latest obsessions for months, so it only felt fitting to morph my crittersona to fit in those universes.

- First I wanted to draw him as an imp, technically I already drew him as a demon/sinner, so a creature native to hell seemed like the next best AU choice. I didn't think much about what he would do, I just focused on the design part itself, and even then as you can see I had quite a few ideas I tried out on the side. One of the main reasons that made me think he'd fit as an imp is that in an earlier design he had that I never posted the tip of his tail was arrow shaped instead of being just a tuft like now (I should draw that impish form again sometime, he was basically like now but not a noodle). For the clothes I kinda used stuff I own irl as inspo, while thinking "what would fit the HH/HB style?" so I used a sleeveless hoodie, a black shirt (I have a lot of those, I just made one with a generic skull pattern here), and the only pair of jeans I own that I can actually stand to wear... escept by the time I remembered I wanted to draw those I had already drawn cargo pants on him out of habit, so I just colored them like jeans instead... I would probably love pants like these lmao. Oh and chains linked to the belt loops, I actually have those too, they're made form crafstore legit normal chains, not ones made to be actually worn like this. Listen I got them in high school I was an edgy basard and I didn't know where to get stuff like that so I just asked dad to get some like this instead ok. I have a pair of normal steel and a pair of black ones, here he's wearing the latter.

- The other idea was to turn him into a HK bug, more specifically, a mosskin tribe member from greenpath, cuz it's my favorite stage of the game with how pretty it is (listen the artwork of that game is goreous ok). He would probably be a bit of a loner/outcast, always hiding with his leaf/bush cape; the lighter fuzz is part of his body. I imagine he'd be a side character you have to go out of your way to meet and interact with, and depending on how you do so his outcome in the story may vary: one option is that he just stays like normal if you befriend him, the second is he succumbs to the infaction and he ends up being a secret boss an you have to kill him, a third however is maybe he does get infected, but if you do some sort of side quest before defeating him you can cure/save him still(?) Idk. His boss/infected form is partially inspired by aspids (because they're some of the most annoying enemies and I think that fits him/me well enough :') ), he probably attacks from a distance with a combo of spitting at you directly from the ceiling and throwing bubbles of infection around the stage by swinging his tail; maybe even releasing bursts of orange gas like some other enemies when you hit him (in later pahses). And yes, the name is a pun; I noticed the characters in this game either have descriptive names/adjectives, or normal names so I went with a combo of the two.

art and characters by me, do not copy, trace, repost, reuse ecc without my permission please.

[nobodies-png]

those artsy asks got the boys gave me an idea! namine with an artsy partner! like maybe they draw together or something idk just headcanons for namine with an artist as her s.o. i guess

oh hELL YEAH - AS AN ARTIST, I L O V E THIS

Namine : 

Two traditional artists = one b i g mess. There’s just blank paper sheets, unfinished sketches, canvases and materials scattered all over the place whenever you to get together to hang out. People know better than to stick around for long, because they know they’ll become your personal mannequin. After every art session, you two always end up covered in paint.

You usually forget your things at her place and she does the same - so at this point, it doesn’t matter who the materials belong to. You often leave little doodles and memes on her sketchbooks for her to find later. Namine loves them and she’d love to reciprocate with her own drawings, but she doesn’t want to somehow taint your sketchbook. So instead she leaves sticky notes and post its inside with her cute little messages.

The two of you are used to pulling weird poses for the other. “Y/N, show me your hand. No, but raise your pinky like this - Wait, turn your wrist a bit !” “Namine, look up for a second.” “But if I stop drawing now, i’m gonna lose all my focus!” “Come on, I need to know how noses look in this position !”

You might be Namine’s partner, but she’ll be ruthless when critizicing your work. She’s not afraid to point out everything that she thinks needs improvement or give you some tips here and there - even with her uncharacteristically harsh words, she does have good intentions and expects you to be honest with her art as well.

So many c o l l a b s. Namine confides in you all of her ideas and you do the same, which results in the two of you just getting h y p e d, creating a thousand of projects together. Comics, series of paintings, you name it. If you’re ever stuck with an artblock, just go to her and she’ll do her best to bring that inspiration back !

Not everything is painting and drawing, though. Thanks to you, Namine has been expanding her horizons and sometimes will try her hand at other aspects of art like sculpting, crafts and body painting ! She’ll often use you as a canvas and draw on your back (because she’s too shy to ask anyone else).

Buying gifts for each other is w a y too fucking easy, because you can always resort to buying m o r e art supplies ! Or just making something for the other, like a little painting and whatnot. 

[artofalassa]

CREATOR 2017 TAG MEME

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 favorite works you’ve created this year (fics, art, edits, etc!) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you’ve brought into the world in 2017. Tag as many writers/artists/etc as you want (fan or original!) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works. <3

I was tagged by the lovelyyy @bitter-stella - thank you so much, honnn! <3 Tbh I needed to figure this out. I needed a break and think a bit differently, not just nag about how unproductive I was this year.

1.     Hurry!

Ady and Graham. This one would be the first one. It was something that started as .. nothing but a sketch I prolly wouldn’t finish and there I was lining it and colouring and heyyy, atmooosphere. <3 And these two (siblings!) are just my life.

2.     Not So Alone

Katsy and Jim are… the other two siblings from my stories. I drew this one after struggling with a terrible artblock before Christmas. So wanted to draw something winter-y, but nothing was enough, nothing felt good, I felt like a shit. So I realized – Katsy is a person who tends to feel like a shit deep inside. So … why not help myself helping him? Finally painted a proper background I’d like. <3

3.     Rafe’s aging meme and Rafe in general

My week of rewards for working on commissions and stuff. This boy became quite popular around people. However, friends complained they want to draw him, and have no refs, because ‚he’s too difficult to draw‘??? :‘D + there were questions what he was like when he was younger, which tattoos came first and so. My sweet baby, who started as that dummy muscle-type kinda guy, who’s just there as the bear sidekick to Valeria. Then I gave him Ady’s necklace and… shit got real. He’s made such progress during the year and I am so proud to say, that he’s one of my characters, who feels really alive to me. And there, years ago, I said I’d never want to see Jim and Ady’s children. Hah. Lolz.

4.     I Fell Asleep Amid the Flowers

A birthday gift I painted for my darling Mort. Vlad and Valeria enjoying the moment, when Vlad isn’t a complete a-hole. I’ve had these deserts of Utah in my inspir folder for ages and wanted to draw something with them and.. yeah. This just somehow happened. <3 I remember I finished the picture two minutes before Mort came home after few days. :‘D

5.     The Boy And the Sea

Meet Aidan an Sylvia. I thought I’d manage to draw this comic till the end of the year, but life went so busy and upside down, I lost my will halfway through it. Glad I managed to do more pages than the Words In Pictures has as a complete piece. But I had to take a break from it in June and … didn’t manage to return to it until I had no time to really work on it. But I am not throwing this project away! I have half of the pages finished and these days I am pumped to work on it. I just don’t have time fore it. :D However, it is something I am really proud of. <3 (Hehehe, first time actually showing a whole preview page somewhere!)

I could add some other things – like participating in Inktober and keeping up for more than fie days! (and loving the results) OR succesfully joining the artists alley at Animefest Brno in May! <3 OR finally giving Book of Lillies and Book of Stones an element to connect them and make them interesting for somebody else than just myself. Even though it is just a start of the journey, it is the first step! I finally know, what I am writing about. Time to research, explore and see what the characters will do with what the fate throws at them. ‘=) Some of the projects which motivate me to go for it, have been in making for YEARS and those are still not done. I hope I am stubborn enough and that I get time to sit my ass this year and really work on it. Even though I haven’t drawn much that can be seen last year – I have to admit I am really content. Because I crossed those first lines that have been keeping me from doing it. The first being the decision – Hell yes, I am doing it. It’s going to be difficult, but I AM doing it. The second – I found what I want to write about. <3

Last year was… not as good as the one before. But… it was a difficult one, which we managed to get through and I can pat my own shoulder, and tell myself – we really managed. I sorted some things, moved forward and even though I’ve been struggling with tons of shit and artblocks last weeks, I think of all the things I learned last year and I am very grateful.

May the 2018 be kinder and better!

Tagging @lesoldatmort @teryster @le-aki @chenria

[felicja-j]

1, 8, and 9 for the ask meme :)

ask meme

1 - When did you get into art?

i’ve been drawing ever since i was a teeny tiny child, i remember doodling in my grandma’s books (i’m sorry grandma) but i’m guessing when i really got into it was when i was around 13-14 (so 3-4 years ago), which was the time i discovered some youtubers and anime, which was all i drew for the longest time

8 - What is your favourite piece that you have done?

 (copied from a previous ask :v)

uuuh that’s a good one. i think, fanart wise this, it was the first time ever i put such effort into trying to understand a new program (photoshop, hi) and make something that looks really good, and i was super happy with the end result! when it comes to my original pieces (that i have only a couple, actually) i very recently started playing around with colour and i love how this thing looks

9 - What is your least favourite piece that you have done?

there’s a lot of works that i honestly dislike/hate, sometimes i look through my art tag and wonder,,, why did i ever post most of these things, but the one i hate the most (from what i’ve published and not yet deleted for some reason) is this bitch - sure, i don’t like most of my older works, but with them i at least know i did what my skills allowed me to do at that moment, and with this i just got straight up lazy, i was artblocked and in a bad place mentally, nothing was coming out the way i wanted, so i just screwed around with gradients and filters until it was half decent and posted it anyway

[empathique]

Tagged by the lovely @pengwenno <3

Rules: Tag 9 people you wanna get to know better

Relationship status: Single

Favourite colour: Black, dark red, purples (I’m basically not fond of bright colors)

Pets: 0, but 9 stray cats that I love very much and visit at least once a week ;A;

Wake up: 8-9 on good days

Cats or dogs: ...As much as I love doggos, I’ll have to choose cats for this one

Coke or Pepsi: I... don’t really taste the difference

Day or night: I’m indifferent to either 

Text or call: Text. Please.

Chapstick or lipstick: Lipstick, I say as I rip off yet another layer of skin on my lips

City or country: Somewhere in between would be nice

Last book I read: Waiting for Godot (does this even count as a book?) because it’s one of the texts tested for my Literature finals :)))))))

Last song I listened to: Crybaby by Melanie Martinez

Five facts about me: 

(ooh boy are you guys ready for some nonsensical rambling?)

1. Although I’m sleepy 90% of the day regardless of how many hours of sleep I got the night before, it’s almost impossible for me to take naps. To me naps are just 30 minutes of lying on the bed with my eyes closed but my brain still working and my anxiety going at 100mph for some reason. Feelsbadman.

2. I’ve been trying to put myself and my art out there (?) recently. Thanks to a friend’s introduction, I grew some balls and joined a local group that goes around taking drawing gigs (paid and non-paid) and I’ve been trying to volunteer for more of them recently (after a good hour of panicking and sobbing). Hopefully someone takes pity on this crying puddle.

3. The school volleyball team actually tried to recruit me when I was in secondary school (I don’t know what they were thinking). All of us had to go through a compulsory tryout for the performing arts clubs or the sports teams, and since I’d joined volleyball for a very, very short period of time in primary school, I knew the proper stance and techniques and receives. 

(I’m still very glad that I never joined, even though I did think it over. Sports CCAs are brutal.)

4. I have very little pastimes other than drawing. I enjoy reading and playing video games, but it’s difficult for me to start on or finish them. For me, resting and/or relaxing is... drawing (or watching the occasional video.) So when you guys see me reblog those ask meme thingies, know that it’s because I’m having an artblock and honestly have nothing to do. (Like right now)

5. There was a period of time in my life were I was incredibly health conscious and exercised 5-6 times a week because I wanted to lose weight. I don’t know where that willpower came from, but I highly suspect that I used up my life’s quota. The Em right now eats ice cream from the tub, forgets to eat all the time, and barely lifts a toe. I also stay very far away from the weighing machine (though I’m pretty sure I destroyed my metabolic systems so thoroughly that I’ve never gained back the weight I lost heh)

I tag:

@looking-for-stray-dogs, @magicalgirlmafu, @nekojimaxosamew, @buraihas, @imsufferinggg, @hanahikari (I’m not sure if any of you have already been tagged, but please don’t feel obliged to do this if you don’t want to!)

[bloggo3-blog]

Tips on how to get better at drawing

How do artists get good at drawing? People tend to think that the ability to draw is a natural born talent but fellow artists will know that this is not true in the slightest. Being an artist takes a lot of practice and dedication just like any other skill. The big question now is how does an artist practice to get better?

Draw Everyday!

I think the most obvious answer would likely be “draw a lot.” Draw what you’re bad at and draw what you enjoy drawing. Draw what is going to help you get you the job done. For example, I want to be a concept artist for video games so I’ve been working digitally, drawing fantasy/sci-fi environments and characters, practicing anatomy, perspective, and visual story telling. I’m well aware that I really suck at vehicles and creatures so I should be practicing drawing those more often.

However, it’s not just knowing what to improve on. It’s also trying to find the time to draw in between all the other things that are happening in your life or even finding the motivation to draw; this is a pretty common problem among artists. Most professionals recommend to draw something everyday; at least a quick little sketch or something. This is a surefire way of seeing improvement over a period of time. However, I find that it’s hard to bring myself to draw at all. I’ve been through quite a few forums where artists share tips and ask for advice and this problem shows up all the time. It’s pretty weird how artists can never find the drive to start drawing although they love drawing so much.

The problem typically stems from things that many artists share: lack motivation from a mental health problem (usually depression), a lack of inspiration (artblock), or become discouraged when they see work from better artists. 

Take Care of Yourself

Firstly, there isn’t much that I can say on the mental health problem since everyone’s case is different. However, people have told me that being more self aware about their habits has come to help their mental health. By being aware of your own habits, you can figure out which ones are unhealthy and you can try to replace it with a more positive pattern in your day to day life (this is apparently called cognitive behavioral therapy).

Artists also tend to work a lot when they get into it and I get that. However, to keep yourself from not going insane (and spare your poor hands, eyes, and back), you should take care of yourself by taking frequent breaks to stretch, hydrate, and of course, get a good amount of sleep. It sounds really basic but many artists including me tend to forget to take care of themselves. Your body and mind will thank you for taking these basic steps!

Stop and Really Look at the Roses

The second most common problem for artists is a lack of inspiration. Again, people tend to deal with this in different ways. For me, I like to look at other people’s work (personal art blogs are even better because they usually talk about their thought process and what they referenced to get their ideas which is what you can use too!). Some people might just need a break. If you’re really stumped on a particular drawing and have no ideas, try taking a walk or a shower and then come back to it. 

Looking at other people’s work will only get you so far. First of all, the artists that you reference get really good through a lot of practice and observation of the world around them. Their drawings tend to look good because they understand how the world works and what is normal to the human eye (and when they know these rules, they know how to break them without making things too weird for us). To understand this, you need to observe the world around you and do studies about them. A lot of the time, you’ll start to see patterns that can help and inspire your art.

It’s All in Your Head

Becoming discouraged when seeing a more experienced artist happens to everyone and it’s all in your head. It’s all in my head, too. We all need to remember that no matter how good or bad we think our art is, it shows the effort that we put into it and that in itself has worth no matter what. Like I said before, artists aren’t born talented; they create their talent by practicing their craft and I promise that the people that are good now didn’t used to be that good; they had to work for it which means that you can work to be that good too.

Below is the popular Loish’s “yearly improvement meme” that shows her progress over time. For me, these things are inspiring to look at because it shows how much improvement we can make for ourselves. Just keep drawing!