#i actually have to CARE about proportions? and mood? and COLOUR THEORY???

[benevolenterrancy]

I think this was probably pre-Hogan and the underground network, when information wasn't really getting in and often bad news about the homefront couldn't be verified. When it sometimes became just a bit too overwhelming to deal with in the dark and the cold...

[pencokun]

I'm probably going to need to ask you for some art tips friend, you have some amazing stuff here!!!

Thanks for liking my works! I’m glad that you consider my works amazing. I still have a long way to go, though!

Art tips, huh? Well, I think I do have some that might be helpful.

Tip #1: ALWAYS SAVE YOUR WORK. This is super important, especially if you’re making a huge piece or an assignment of any kind. I usually try to save my works at least every three minutes to ensure that my progress is saved.

Tip #2: When in doubt, trace. Now, I know that tracing is considered as a newbie’s move or something a small budding artist will do but hear me out. Tracing actually helps you to get a better grasp at how to draw certain objects or how to draw certain characters and get their basic proportions right. One of my favourite artists, @down2thebone does this as a way to get a better grasp on how to draw Miguel and it’s really effective! But always remember to not claim traced works as your own original work. Tracing as a way of practice is good but please do not sell them!

Tip #3: Practice, practice, practice! Even if it’s just a small doodle, it still counts as practice in a way. Practice on shading. Practice drawing masculine and feminine characters (very important). Practice anatomy. But always remember that practice doesn’t make perfect-but it does make excellence and expertise.

Tip #4: Learn a bit about colour theory and how to use colours effectively. You have no idea how much a little colour theory will help you. Not only can learning it helps bring your artworks to life, it also helps you tell a coherent story. This is especially useful if you’re planning on working in animation or comics or illustrations. And speaking of using colours, this also applies to choosing colours for shading. Sometimes black works but I will recommend you using other colours instead like dark red or purple or Prussian blue or even hot pink, depending on the mood of the drawing.

Tip #5: Experiment with shapes and lines. This helps with fluidity in your artwork, especially if we’re talking about characters. From shapes and lines alone one can already determine the personality of a character.

Tip #6: Take care of yourself. Don’t forget that having good health, both physical and mental health, is very important in order to make art. Get some well-needed sleep, treat yourself to some good things, don’t forget to stretch, drink water, do some wrist exercises, talk to loved ones, and take a break if necessary.

Tip #7: All-nighter? Water is your best friend. Unless you’re in need of some quick shot of caffeine without actually staying up til dawn (drink café au lait or white coffee instead of straight up black coffee), water is your best shot at staying up late.

Tip #8: Before moving on to digital art, try to at least get the fundamentals of traditional art first. Draw with pencils, colour with colour pencils, practice with aquarel paints. The more you understand them, the more you will be able to handle digital art. Besides, there is no Ctrl-Z in real life. So don’t rush to get that sweet Wacom/Huion tablet just yet. You have to get along with that 2B pencil first.

Tip #9: Don’t be afraid to show your work to the world. By posting your works, you’re basically showing the world what you can do. And as you post more and more, you also show the world that you’re growing as an artist and that is a good thing! And it’s not a bad idea to join in cons and stuff. By partaking in cons or other events that allow people to sell their work, you’re basically expanding your marketability and, who knows? Maybe one day you will end up with a pretty sweet deal.

Tip #10: Strive for excellence, not perfection. This is a life lesson I got from watching a Bollywood movie titled “3 Idiots” and it’s honestly such an important life lesson that people tend to overlook. There is no such thing as an objective concept of perfection because perfection is always a relative and subjective matter, depending on the individual. If everything in this world is perfect then it would be a pretty boring world. Striving for excellence is great because it’s a learning process. And as long as you breathe, you’ll always learn new things which will result in you being more and more excellent in what you’re doing.

[melanchellen]

On aliens

"We're tiny! Don't you see it? We're tiny!" she yelled at him, her voice dripping a panic so urgent and overwhelming, not even his warm embrace could calm.

"We were born here, on a day and age we never chose, by people we have not the luxury to pick, under circumstances we will never be able to control. And that's how we leave as well. An unknown how and when await us at the end of our existence. And then, we become just numbers and statistics, on catalogues no one really reads. Or we remain as faded inaccuracies​ in the memories of the people that overlive us. That's if we're lucky. If we were able to find people that actually cared enough. All of our existence is a sequence of events so unimportant, so dull, so insignificant...

How are you not afraid? How are all of those facts not overwhelming and scary to you? Every day that passes by, we walk towards our inevitable disappearance, which will also soon mean nothing. We're such a waste of power. And even so, not a really significant one, that could possibly disturb the balance of the endless universe. Everything will soon continue to exist, totally indifferent to our musings."

Tears filled her eyes as soon as she stopped talking. They were both laying still, fingers interlaced, gazing at the endless night sky expanding above them. To say this wasn't what he had in mind when he asked her to go stargazing with him, would be an understatement. He was prepared for a romantic night on his rooftop, filled with laughter and love and hours of talking about future plans or sweet nothings. Now that he came to think about it, he should have at least expect things to not go according to plan. This was a running theme on his life, at least ever since he met her. She has always been full of surprises. But watching her now, at a state of pure existential panic was a whole new level of unpredictable. He tried his best to comfort her.

"Hey! Everything is fine. I'm here for you. Please, stop crying..."

He softly enveloped her in his arms, and she showed no resistance. She didn't stop crying either. He was caressing her upper arms and she was wetting his shirt. Nothing seemed to be able to drag her out of this loophole she was caught in. It was for the best to just let her be for a while, to let everything out. The spiral of thoughts was far too complicated to navigate while shaking and sobbing. He could only tighten his embrace and place a few chaste kisses on her forehead. She needed some time, he'd be there for her as soon as she was ready.

Waiting for her to calm down, he started replaying at his head everything she had say. Her arguments were valid and her questions, however urgent, were, admittedly, unanswerable. Preparing what to say back wasn't a search of answers, it was more like forming a counterpoint based on the same cold facts. Time was passing by unnoticed, and at some point she started calming down a bit. As she finally stopped crying, he broke the embrace hesitantly and searched for her eyes.

Her face was red and her eyes swollen. He wiped away her tears and smiled gently at her. Maybe now it was time to break the silence. He cleaned his throat, took a deep breath and started.

"First of all, my question was whether you believe in aliens or not." she smiled a bit at that, which gave him the courage he needed to continue.

"Secondly, I'd like to add that you look lovely even when you cry. Also I'm a bit underwhelmed, I've seen you cry more than that over the death of a fictional character, you could have done better."

That earned him an eye roll and a bat on the forearm, but it was worth it, for that glimpse of a smile on her face.

"Ok. To the main point now. I wish I had the answers to all of your whys and hows. I wish I could persuade you there is reason, or there is a higher purpose that's tying us all together. That, however, would be foolish, and also a lie, as I don't believe in those things either."

A sigh escaped her lips, and he reached down to hold her hand.

"Yes. Our whole life isn't but a series of events, most of which we're unable to control. Yes, the very ends and beginnings of our time in this tiny planet are still inexplicable, and yes, the difference we can make is rarely enough to change anything. I agree with you. There's almost no way to maintain your sanity once you've realized how small you are compared to the cosmos. It's scary to view yourself in proportion to the unknown and unexplored."

"Then how?" she interrupted him "How and why are you not afraid by these things?" Her wondering eyes were piercing his, as she demanded an answer.

"I admit that I'm scared too. It really upsets me once I really think about it. Having thought about it, I ended up on the conclusion that it's wiser to think about the atoms, rather than the black holes."

At this point she was totally confused, and so he proceeded to explaining.

"You see, there'll never be anything I can do to change the passage of time and its consequences. And I've came to accept that. Much like a black hole, time has a power of its own that we don't fully understand or are able to control or defeat. This moment though, here, with you, or everything else that I choose to do, on that list of insignificant human musings, it's more similar to an atom. I can study it better, understand it better, I have power on it. I have the power to control the colours and the sentiments on the pictures filled under my name, on your memories."

She was listening cautiously, as he further explained his theory on how we need to focus on the things we can affect rather than those we have no power upon. Her panic was subsiding and she began to understand. A sly smile was fighting on her lips.

"Thank you for this. For putting up with my existential fear and my overreaction. It means so much to me, having you hold me while I cry." she said, squeezing his hand.

Her eyes were now lovingly grazing his face, the distance between them becoming less by the minute. They shared a slow, tender kiss.

"Well..." he was the one to break the silence as soon as their lips parted "I was planning on telling you this tonight anyway... And although I should admit I came up with a different scenario in my head, the sentiment still stands."

"I guess never sticking to the original plan is what you get for having me around" she humored, in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"I'll gladly take it" he admitted and they shared a smile.

"I love you." he added, his voice somehow steady even with his heart pounding on his chest. "I love you and I'm thankful that we get to star in each other's memories. I couldn't have wished for a better version of you, even if I wrote your character myself." He finished off his sentences exhaling, as if there wasn't enough air in his lungs. Her response came in the form of a kiss, this time though it felt different. It was deeper and more passionate and they both got lost in it, completely melding together.

When they separated to catch their breath he searched for her eyes once more.

"So?" he asked, face begging for an answer. It was more that he wanted to hear her saying it than not actually knowing the answer, but he was scared still

"Yes. Yes, I do believe in aliens." she answered, her eyes mischievous while trying to maintain her composure.

"You're impossible." he all but yelled at her, rolling his eyes pointedly, crossing his arms and facing away. She fell on a fit of laughter, but hugged him still.

"I love you too. So so much." she whispered on his ear.

The stars had now disappeared, and the sky was getting lighter and lighter. They lied there, entangled, their eyes fixed on each other, not really noticing as the sun was rising. They were just two people, madly in love, on a random rooftop in a random town, realising how lucky they were to hold nothing but each other's mortal bodies on their hands.