#i feel much more confident in my digital art skills now!

[lonely-layla]

Amazing experience

Budo Masuta x fem!chubby!reader

Not proof read so if you see errors use ur brain

You made it to the martial arts club, You’re not sure who you’re looking for but from the flier it was someone named Budo. You take a deep breath and fix my skirt as you open the door to 5 people training.

“Welcome to the Martial Arts Club! What brings you here?” A man, around 5’8 with black hair approaches you. “Uhm hi. Imr looking for someone named…” you look at paper double checking the name on the flier. “Budo Masuta?” You hear a chuckled come from the black haired guy in front of you. “Well, that would be me. And you are?” He looks at you waiting for your response. “Y/n” you respond nearvously. “It's nice to meet you, y/n. And I assume you wish to join the Martial Arts Club?” He asks you with a standard enthusiastic tone he always has.

“Y-yeah” you stutter in response. “Excellent! I always welcome more members to our club. Do you have any experience in martial arts, or would you be a complete beginner?” You pause for a moment before answering “no…im a beginner”. “Don't worry, we'll start you off slowly. That should give you a good foundation to work with, and then you can always advance as you improve your skills!” He smile at you. It makes you feel warm inside, how a complete stranger is being nicer to you than anyone in the whole school has. You begin your classes with Budo until the bell rings for class.

You walk to your class when you see and you and Budo are both in class 3-2. As you sit down in class, you see that Budo is already seated next to you. He glances in your direction and smiles, then turns back to the front of the class.

“The first 6 digits of pie are 3.14159” you say answering the question. “Correct y/n” the teacher congratulates you. “It seems you know a lot about pie don’t you, fatty” Musume comments from the back of the class, giggling as some of the people in the class also laugh a little.

Budo glances over at you and notices you’re much less confident than you were before. He shoots a dangerous glare at Musume. She immediately shuts up and faces forward, visibly shaken.

Class bell rings again and everyone leaves to lunch. You pack up your stuff but Musume had stayed. You notice the rest of her friends walking into the classroom. *what the hell are they gonna do now?* you think to yourself.

Just as you ask that, you turn around and is faced with a little pig that got thrown at your face. You don’t even worry about yourself you worry if the little pig is alright as it squeals and runs away. “OMG Y/n! It’s your twin ahahaha” Hanna yells and they all laugh and walk away. You burst out into tears and run to the zen garden.

Once you arrive at the garden to calm down you take a seat at one of the benches. You hear footsteps come up behind you, and you can sense someone approaching you from behind as your breathing slows down. *Oh no, it’s probably them again. Please stop, don’t come any closer* you think, you brace for an impact but you feel a soft hand on my arm.

Budo is standing behind you. He looks worried when he sees your wet cheeks and red eyes from crying. You feel his hand squeeze gently. “Hey...are you alright?” He asks you with a worried expression on his face. It was embarrassing for you, for him to see you like this. You didn’t know how to respond, so you turn away and curl into a ball and continue sobbing.

He kneels down and rests on the ground beside you. He pulls you close to him and gently pats your back as he tries to comfort you. “Shhh, everything will be okay. I know it's tough right now, but just try to hold on and let your emotions flow naturally. I promise it gets better” . Those comforting words proved to you that he wasn’t here to judge you.

“Why do I have to look like this?” You ask softly, trying to hide your body. “Why do so many people find time out of their day to tell me what’s wrong with me?” You sigh out of exhaustion. Budo gives you a reassuring gaze as he continues to hug you.

“I don't think there's anything wrong with how you look. Yes, you may have a few extra pounds on you, but that just makes you more beautiful in my eyes. There's nothing wrong with having a little bit of extra curve, it just shows that you have a healthy amount of energy and nutrients. Musume and her friends are just jealous of your natural beauty.” He comforts you rubbings circles into your shoulder.

The bell rings to go back to class as I stand up and just him as tight as I can. Thinking about how no one had ever said that to me before. “Thank you” I say feeling more tears fall. Budo smiles warmly, angles your face to face his and gently wipes away your tears with his thumbs. “It's no problem at all, really. Just try to keep your eyes dry. I'd hate for your pretty face to be stained with tears” he giggles as he smiles at you.

This was the moment you realized you were in love with him. The man that actually care about you unlike anyone else. We both walk back to class together and I sit down, instinctively putting my bag on my lap hiding my stomach. Budo noticed this subtle act and notes it.

As the day comes to a close and you make your way to the gate, you hear footsteps approach you and you sense someone approaching you. “Hey y/n, I just wanted to ask you about one of the math problems from class today. I didn’t really understand it” Budo speaks to you, obviously trying to make an excuse to walk you home, but you don’t mind. He walks beside you discussing the problem bruh you reach your home.

You feel his hand fall to the small of your back as you two walk together, this brings butterflies to your stomach. Budo glances down as you walk up your driveway. The sight of you fills him with so much emotion. The way your soft cheeks glisten in the sunlight, the gentle sway of your hips as you walk, the way your cute little Akademi uniform clings your tummy, everything is just perfect. He waves goodbye to you as he walks to his own home.

That night you thought of making Budo a fresh batch of cookies as a gratitude gift. The next day, you walk into school and spot Budo walking in with the rest of the martial arts club. “Hey Budo!” I say waking over to him.

Before he could say good morning back I speak “thank you for protecting me yesterday. I-I brought you some fresh baked cookies. You don’t have to eat them if you don’t want but I just wanted to do something ni-“ your rambling is interrupted by Budo putting his hand on your shoulder. “Thank you for the cookies, but you don't have to buy me anything. I'm just doing my part as the Martial Arts Club leader. And I was only being a gentleman by accompanying you home; it's something that I'd do for anyone” Budo states as he continues to walk into the school.

“id do that for anyone”, those words ran in your head all day. Was what he said and did back in the garden, just because he felt bad for me? Did he not actually like me the same way I liked him? Was all of his actions just him being friendly? There was so thoughts in my mind.

Today, you decide to keep your distance from Budo so that you can clear your head and make some sense of your feelings. Budo noticed that you were avoiding him,but he didn't make an effort of contacting you. He just thought that you didn’t want to talk to him because of this morning. As you sit alone, you're filled with mixed emotions, excitement, frustration, uncertainty.

Your school day concludes and you walk to the gate like you always do. Still compressing the thoughts, but then you hear footsteps behind you. You can tell it’s Budo, because… well who else would it be. But his footsteps sound fast.

You turn around to feel his lips crash into yours with a passionate kiss. It sends a jolt of butterflies through your body as you melt into Budo's embrace. His hands caress the side of your face as he kisses you. It's like all your negative feelings are being erased, leaving only pure, blissful happiness.

You break the kiss as you look at him, this kiss lingers on your lips, almost tasting the sweetness from where his lips touched yours. “I've wanted to do that for so long... You're so beautiful.” He states, tilting his head a bit smiling at you.

Why now? Why all of a sudden? He was so distant a couple hours ago, why does he think this is the right time? You look away from is gaze with a concerned look. You can’t understand why all of a sudden he’s showing you affections after being distant all day.

He noticed this body language and takes a step back. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I should have asked before I did something like tha-”

“nonono! You didn’t! I- I just didn’t think you liked me the way I liked you” you meekly say adverting his gaze. He smiles and exhales as he moves closer, “Oh, honey... I've always thought you were so cute. You don't think I kept following you around because I hate you, do you? I thought you would have put two and two together by now, but I'm guessing you didn't pick up on those hints” he awkwardly smiles.

You make eye contact again but slowly look someplace else. “I just didn’t think someone like you could like someone…like me. The whole reason why I join your club is because Musume and her friends told me to lose some weight” Budo's expression widened hearing your wirds.

*flashback to before you met Budo*

“Ahaha y/n! Don’t you think you should lost some weight you fat pig” Hanna Daidaiyama comments walking by you. “Don’t you think you need to re-dye your roots bitch?!” You angrily snap back at her. She frantically looks around as she walks towards you and pushes you to the ground. “Yeah, but unlike you, I know how to fight” she says as she walks away.

You stand up and amidst yourself off, walking to the stairs of the first floor you see a post o Brie wall “Martial Arts Club! Come show off your self defense skills and learn new ones!” Those seems like exactly what you need. You rip the poster off the wall and go straight to the class

*back to present time*

Budo pulls you into a hug. “Don't let anyone tell you any different: you are beautiful. Those bullies were just jealous of your beauty, and they took it out on you just because they had some personal problems to deal with. I know you've gone through a lot, but I swear to you that everything is going to change. From here on out, none of that bullshit is going to happen again.”

You feel tears fill your eyes to this. You finally found someone who loves you for you, who doenst want to change you. “T-thank you Budo” you sob out.

He smiles as he wipes away your tears with his thumb “Oh, my sweet little angel~” He kisses you on the forehead and wipes a few more tears before gently placing his hand on your cheek. “I'm so happy that you're mine now” he tells you warmly as the smile grows wider and brighter than ever as he stares into your eyes.

You both walk home together and this time, when you get to your doorstep, you invite him into you house. Since your parents are out on a business trip it was just you and your dog “do you want to come inside?” You asks gesturing at the door. Budo face lights up as he nods ands walks inside. He follows you inside the hallway. He pets your dog softly, then smiles warmly as he turns to look at the inside of the house.

You both get to your room as you walk to the closet to change. YIY close the door and walk out in a hoodie and some shorts. Budo couldn’t stop staring at you as you sit on the bed. “Do you wanna watch a movie?” You ask him with a light blush on your cheeks, he smiles and agrees.

Budo curls around you tightly as he rests his head against your chest. Your soft, warm body is incredibly comforting, and he feels completely at peace. He wraps his arms carefully around you, and pulls you into a tight hug. He kisses your forehead.

“I guess listening to Musume actually did do something good for once hmm~” you exhale softly as you adjust your position to be more comfortable. Budo laughs at your comment and gently strokes your hair as he rests his head on your chest. “I guess that’s one thing to thank her for. I couldn’t be happier than I am right now”

You shifted your weight so your on my side, letting out a soft groan to the movement. Budo picked up on the slight noise and it sends shivers down his spine. He begins to caress your body more intimately, stroking your hair and running his hands along your side. His touch feels heavenly, and you could almost feel the heat coming from his palms.

You turn again to face him and lean in to a kiss. Budo wraps his arms around your waist, returning the kiss. Holding you tightly against him as he kisses back with all the passion in world. He then movers you up onto his lap in a quick movement.

You are surprised at his strength as no one else was able to move you like that before. His lips are warm and tender, and they feel like heaven as they make contact with your own. You feel your body heat up with excitement, and your mind becomes clouded with pure ecstasy.

Your hips begin to unconsciously start rocking on his groin, making his breath hitch. His hands start to roam your body going from your thick thighs and ending on your lump ass.

As you continue to ride him he throws his head back “Mmm~” he melts a deep moan escape his lips as his hands grip your ass tighter, urging you on.

He begins to take off your shirt when you put your hand over his go stop him “Budo are you sure about this?” You ask letting my insecurities get the better of you. “I-I just don’t want you to be… disappointed” I look down in shame. His hands go to my chip and it leads me to connect with his lips once more. “I love you and your body, there’s nothing about you that will disappoint me” I gives you a smile.

Grabs your wrist firmly, pulling your hand away from his “You are beautiful the way you are and II’ve every inch of you. You're perfect exactly as you are.” He reassures you as he continues to undress you.

His hands start to move your pants down to expose your stomach. He pecks kisses all over your body. Once your bottom parts are exposed, he kisses you deeper, his hand gently caressing your bare thigh, moving closer to your already wet pussy “You are so beautiful” his eyes hold yours as his hand moves further up your thigh, making you shiver from anticipation and desire.

He inserts two digits inside of you. “Oh my, looks like you wanted this as much as I did~” he says getting more hard by the minute as he pumps two digits in and out of you. You take his pants off as you start pumping his already hard cock in your chubby palm. “Ahh~ damn you good” his laugh turned into a moan as he continued to pump into you, now adding a third digit and hitting deeper.

Budo groans loudly "Fuck~, I can't take this much longer~" he breathes heavily as his hips buck into your hand. He feels his orgasm coming over him as he lets out a loud moan as he comes onto your hand. his whole body shivers as his breath hitches.

His eyes widen when you don’t stop pumping and you lower your plump ass onto his cock and begin moving. “W-wait wait wait! Ah~ fuck~” he moans out loud joy expecting you to overstimulate him.

As you continue to bounce, he in clasps your bra letting your heavy breasts fall and bounce freely he reaches up to cup your breasts and his mouth goes to your right nipple "You are so fucking beautiful right now," he muffles into your breast, his hands falling to your stomach massaging it slowly.

You couldn’t believe the amount of praise you were getting from this man in the moment. it was too much for you to handle. “ahh~ fuck Budo!” You yell out as you come to my climax and squirt over his cock.

He watches in amazement, watching the liquid seep out, feeling your tightness release around him “Oh my~” He whispers as he feels the warmth of your climax cover his cock, it's something he's never experienced before with another person.

His words snap you back to reality as you see the mess you made around you. “B-Budo I’m.. Fuck I-” before u ou could spew out your apology, he kisses you softly, “Don't worry about it honey~” he soothes, pressing his lips to the curve of your neck as both of your breathing patterns even out. “It was incredible”

You lean on his chests as you two both fall into a soothing sleep. Feeling each others chests rise and fall.

[lucysarah-c]

To you, a year and a half ago…

A year and a half ago, someone (Sage, who has sadly deleted their blog) trusted me enough to ask for my very first art commission. Today, I've decided to close my art commissions after about a year and a half, ending this chapter with a piece that is remarkably similar to the very first one I ever created (Once again thank you @topaz-carbuncle for your patience and support)

As I plan my next steps in my artistic journey, I want to take a brief moment to acknowledge how far I've come. A year and a half ago, I was still finding my way through digital art. Now, although I'm still learning, I feel a bit more confident in my skills.

If someone had told the version of me from a year and a half ago everything I would learn in just 18 months, I wouldn’t have believed it. Styles that I once thought were beyond my reach have now become almost second nature. I still have much more to learn. I even identified three major challenges I faced in my last commission, and I am eager to improve on them.

It's a dream come true to see some of my commissioners using my art as their profile pictures or as the cover for their fics.

This is a simple message to say "THANK YOU" to all of you who believed in me and gave this little artist a chance. It’s also an encouraging note to those of you just starting out: "JUST DO IT." You’ll learn so much about yourself and your art by sharing creative ideas with those who commission you.

Thank you, and I'm so excited about my next art project.

[rosekasa]

Do you have any art advice for people who just started? Layers, tracing, social media etc?

hi anon! i've answered some asks before about general art tips (x x x x ) so if I miss anything here these are more detailed and might help as well!

don't worry too much about creating a style right now! in fact, from my personal experience, i'd say don't worry about creating a specific style at all. the style of a piece is supposed to be a tool to help you give form to a feeling. instead take a look at art that makes you feel good and think about why and use that analysis as a guide for your choices during the process

assuming you're a digital artist, layers are Great. they're Beautiful. I use separate layers for things that I think I might need to move around later, e.g., the colour of the skin, the colour of the hair, etc. most programs have features such as clipped layers (to keep everything on the layer above within what you have drawn on the layer below), blend modes (to change the way the colours on the layer above interact with the layer below), and a naming function, so you can label what is on each layer if you need. definitely have a fiddle around and see what works for you! a general thing that people tend to do with blend modes is multiply for shadows and overlay/screen for lighter parts. have fun with it and see what feels good!

honestly. honestly. the biggest mistake I made was getting too deep into posting on social media before I started enjoying art as a hobby in itself. your skill is not determined by how fast you can draw, or whether your art looks like the most popular pieces you see circulated on social media, or whether one of your pieces breaks 1k notes. social media traction follows your confidence and enjoyment in your work, it's not the condition that precedes that. focus on building a good relationship with your art and your feelings about yourself as an artist and all the good stuff will come without you even realising, I promise <3

[steviebunny]

Pretty Astute Observations

Entrée (part 1)

AI image disclaimer: while I am in no means trying to say that AI generated images themselves are art. I do want to make it clear that I don't consider myself an "AI artist". In previous fics I have drawn my own images digitally and it is a hobby I greatly enjoy, but I have a degenerative connective tissue disorder that has made drawing a much more painful endeavor for me. I use AI generated images as an accessibility tool to help visualize what I see in my mind when writing since I can no longer do this by drawing on my own. All images generated with DALL·E 3

09:00

“Well, thanks to Freddie Lounds, there's an unconfirmed story floating out there that The Chesapeake Ripper's already in custody.” 

“Unconfirmed. Am I confirming? We’re Fact-checking for Freddie Lounds...”

“You're fact-checking for me.’

“I always feel a little nervous going into these places.”

“Why's that?”

“Afraid they won't let me out.” As Will says that he stumbles and begins to fall when he is caught by Lena. She smiles and simply responds “No need to worry, I feel the same way when I walk into the BSU.” She even winks at Jack…Will is really beginning to wonder how she gets away with expressing her true feelings to Crawford readily. Thats a matter for another time he supposes, awkwardly separating from Lena. Clearing his throat and adjusting his glasses. 

Jack says “Don't worry. I won't leave you here."

" Yeah, not today.”

—

09:10

Fredrick Chilton in what is either complete confidence or unassuming arrogance “Dr. Bloom just called me about you, Mr. Graham... or should I call you Dr. Graham?”

“I'm not a doctor.”

“You're not FBI either… what of your friend?” Chilton’s gaze goes to Lena scanning her from top to bottom. 

“He teaches at the academy, he’s got the temp.ID. I’ve got the real thing. Along with a few others…Has anyone ever told you you’ve got this uncanny resemblance to a manhattan ADA? Barba I think… met him back when I was with the BAU”

Chiltons jaw fixes into a frown. “Theres a distant relation, far cousins of somesort on the fathers side I believe. We’re not close.” 

“Funny I suppose, well Dr. Chilton we’re going to need to see the crime scene while it's still relatively undisturbed.”

“I assure you three, for something so disturbing, it is quite undisturbed.”

“Why was a nurse left alone with a prisoner in a high-security psychiatric hospital?” Will begins asking his questions of the situation.

“For the two years since he was brought here, Gideon behaved perfectly and gave every appearance of cooperating with attempts at therapy. As dictated by our present administrator, security around him was slightly... Relaxed. I cannot help feeling responsible myself for what happened. He sat directly across from me and I had no idea what he was hiding.”

“And now one of your staff is dead. I understand, doctor.”

“Mr. Graham's going to need to see the crime scene with as much privacy as you can provide”

“Oh, yes, that thing you do. You're quite the topic of conversation in, uh, psychiatric circles, Mr. Graham”

“Am I?” 

“Uh, yes. A unique cocktail of personality disorders and neuroses that make you a highly skilled profiler.”

“He empathizes with everyone Dr.Chilton…he doesn’t become the killer or agree and sympathize with their motivations just feels what they can. You’d think someone in your highly educated poition would understand the difference.”

“Well we are woefully short of material on your sort of thing, Mrs.Holmes.”

“Gibbs, Ms.Gibbs. Dr. Chilton.”

“Oh yes, horrible tragedy… forgive my forgetfullness.”

“We’d like to see the crimescene now.:

—

09:15

“So, Gideon was restrained?”

“Handcuffed.”

“He concealed a fork tine in the palm of his hand and used it to pick the lock. Where is he now?”

“In his cell. You'll note the removal of organs and the abdominal mutilations are all consistent with The Chesapeake Ripper.”

“So is the brutalization of the corpses, but that doesn't change the fact that The Ripper is still out there.”

“Jack, what I'm about to show you suggests otherwise.” The door buzzes open.

“Dr. Chilton consulted on the case when we failed to catch The Ripper after his last series of murders.”

“The reason you failed and kept failing to capture The Chesapeake Ripper...Was I already had him.”

Will’s eyes seem to glaze over as he examines the scene, almost swaying as he scans the room.

“As far as we know, it's been over two years since the Chesapeake Ripper killed?”

“That's correct.”

“When was Gideon admitted?”

“Almost two years ago.”

---

05:00

“Yet another early morning for us Ms. Gibbs.”

“You requested to see me this time, Dr. Letcer”

“I did.” His sad smile widened towards the redhead “It has come to my attention that I know a fair few things about you, only from the papers. I’m hoping we can rectify that.”

“What’s there to rectify?” She shrugs, “I have an affinity for loving intelligent and stoic people, maybe to my detriment. My father has killed for me, my career is my life. Arguably the first and last of those things are also because of my father.”

“That's a fascinating way to phrase Agent Gibbs being a federally acknowledged hero. The largest number of commendations in Naval investigations, yes?”

“Killing is killing is it not?”

“To some…What of your mother, Lena?”

She scoffs and stands from her seat, then moves to rest her back along the ladder in the office.

“Dead. She and my younger sister. Murdered. Papa’s spent his life keeping me safe and dedicated to taking down the scum who are responsible for such things.”

“Is that not admirable?” He asks leaning his chin into his hand. His face is still plain but something behind his eyes changes. A new understanding.

“Sure it’s admirable…but it messes someone up does it not? Will would like him, he builds boats by hand in his basement.”

“Is he the ‘messed up’ one or are you Lena?”

“Both…I mean look at my track record. Papa joined the Marines, then took down druglords and terrorists for a living, I joined the Marines like him and went to work for the FBI, taking down serial criminals and maniacs for a living. When Jack made that go to shit, I fled, fell in love with a man who solved puzzles, and took down terrorists for a living…Even if it meant sacrificing himself in the process.”

“It's quite the pattern isn’t it?”

“What about you Dr. Lecter, how’d your parents screw you up?”

“They passed away.”

“Would you like a hug, Hannibal?”

“A hug?”

“I have a friend that once said a good hug tells you all you need to know about a person…so” Lena stands with her arms out-stretched for him.

And Hannibal readily accepts.

----

09:20

“She has the same wound pattern as the last-known victim of The Chesapeake Ripper. I mean exact”

“We never found a body for his last known victim.”

“Then the victim before that.” Will flails his wrists a bit looking peaky, his brown glistening with sweat.“I see The Ripper, but I don't...Feel The Ripper. This is plagiarism”

“We never made the wound patterns for any of The Ripper's victims public.”

“Well, maybe he is The Ripper. I don't know.”

“But if he's a plagiarist, the real Chesapeake Ripper is gonna make sure everybody knows it.” Jack sighs. 

“Well, there’s nothing more that Will can do now, so that means I don't need to be here.” As Lena begins to ascend the steps back from the scene Dr. Chilton moves to block her path. 

“Agent Gibbs, while you're here how would you like to accompany me to an event this afternoon.”

“An event?”

“A show, I have spare tickets.”

“I do love theater but I’ve already got plans, sorry.”

“You do..?”

Lena looks behind her maybe begging for one of the other men to give her a way out of this, but of course. They are useless.

“Yes! Actually, Will is introducing me to his dogs today, aren’t you Will?” The man in question looks perturbed but plays along. “I am. Dr. Lecter was supposed to feed them for me today but I suppose Lena talked him out of it this morning.”

“That I did! Now if you’d excuse us Dr. Chilton it's a long drive to Wolftrap.” She says as she pushes past Frederick and quickly jogs up the rest of the steps.

---

"It's hard to understand everything's so... twisted and hard to explain."

[kashuan]

Hi I love your art style! Especially how dynamic your poses and how distinct and expressive your faces are.

For somebody currently struggling with their own style, do you mind sharing how you got to where you got? Probably lots of studies, right? 😅

Did you focus on realism and built your more stylized take on that? I'm mostly a digital artist but I have heard that practicing a lot with pencil and paper may help, do you have any experiences with that?

I'd love to hear if you have any advice <3

Hey! First of all, thanks so much! ♥

In terms of stylization, aiming for and sticking to a single style is something I've heard that some people do, but was never something I really thought about too much myself. I started by just copying the artists I liked, so in the beginning I was just mimicking another's style 1:1 for the most part. After doing that with several artists, the styles naturally started to blend together, until I was eventually able to develop a more conscious sensibility of what I did/didn't want to include, which just comes through a lot of the practice. Over the years my style has been really all over the place, from Extremely anime influenced, to western comic book style and cartoonish, to fairly strict realism, to where I am now which I think is something like stylized realism. It's inevitable that you'll go through a few styles as you grow as an artist, even if you're only sticking to one genre, and I believe it's important to allow that to happen, rather than trying to strictly force yourself to stick to one in specific. I don't draw in the styles I used to, but I think little touches of it still remain in my current one, which I think helps give it a little bit of uniqueness. In regard to my current style though, yes, I do studies from life almost every day to help me keep a strong grasp on realistic anatomy as well as to continue to grow my understanding of it. I use references too with almost all my drawings, but then I add stylization on top of it, which is something I wasn't able to do with much success until I had been practicing for years, so don't be discouraged if this is a struggle. I will say though as soon as I began to do studies regularly, my improvement went like 500% faster than it had before; just about the only thing I wish I'd done differently on my journey with art would have been to start doing studies from life sooner. So if stylized realism is a style you're interested in, I can't recommend that enough! And even for more cartoonish styles, the better your understanding of forms and anatomy, the easier time you'll have exaggerating it confidently, tbh. Re: digital versus pen and paper, this isn't so much related to style specifically, but even as a primarily digital artist myself, I highly recommend getting in some practice with real media too. It forces you to be more deliberate and decisive with your mark making, especially if you're using something like pen-- once the line is made, you can't erase it-- and that skill carries over to how you draw your lines digitally. I still try to do pen studies at least once a month and I think it definitely influences the confidence of my digital lines. Lastly, I'd also say keeping some sort of inspiration board is a great tool. I have a side blog for saving pieces that I see which I would like to incorporate elements of into my own style, whether because I liked the way the figure was posed, the expressions, the artist's mark making, the composition, the interaction between the subjects, etc. There's so much like that which all goes into influencing an artist's specific style and it's really interesting to think about when you consider what you want from your own! Whenever I'm feeling a little dry on inspiration I look through my dash over there or in the folder of inspiration I've saved and it almost always helps get some new ideas flowing. Like I said, I don't think it's necessarily a good idea to focus in on just one specific style and constrain yourself that way, but to instead consider how you'd like to use bits and pieces of many styles can be very helpful to growing your own. There's a whole lot more than can be said on this subject, but I hope this much is of some help to you ♥♥

[mold-soda]

i think ever since i started drawing ppoiyo i’ve had a healthier relationship with my art.

i used to be really afraid of sharing my art bc i didn’t like it that much and i thought other people would find it bad, but drawing ppoiyo has brought me a lot of happiness and has encouraged me to not only grow more comfortable in my art but also expand my horizons in style and technique.

two years ago i was very uncomfortable with my art skills because i had spent years comparing myself to friends who had grown in their art a lot faster than i had, but now i find myself looking at my own art and being able to smile bc i love it so much, even older pieces from last year when i was just starting to learn techniques for digital coloring and experimenting with styles. i really genuinely love drawing now and want to expand my skill sets.

it’s just a really nice feeling, being able to love your own art. i knew my confidence had changed, but i didn’t know how much. i really love drawing ppoiyo, and i love the drawings i create of him. they’ve become so special to me and have made such an impact on my life that it’s genuinely surreal to me

anyways there’s not really much of a point to this post! i just was looking back at some of my art for inspo for a current piece and i got hit with the feels.

[milkyplier]

It got too long and heartfelt in the reblog, so I decided it deserved its own post XD

BOOM. MY OLD ART FROM LIKE 2018/19???

This is my bestie's Harry Potter OC that I drew for her! I actually had some similar drawings of both our OCs, but they're not in my possession right now XD and maybe they'll never be! But it's cool to see how very far I'll e come since then.here's some of my more recent art, just so you can see them side by side XD

For me, personally, seeing them side by side makes me giddy. They're so different, it's hard to link them together, hard to look at them and think the same person drew them. But I did. And as someone who grew up with another fabulous artist (@/rustic-space-fiddle), | was always impatient, always discouraged to look at my own art and see everything it was missing. I wanted to draw like Rusty, but I was so very unskilled. I was very eager to reach the day when I could match her skill, when I could look at my art and see in it everything that I saw in hers.

And today, I can honestly, confidently, gratefully say that I have arrived.

Obviously, if you go check out Rusty’s art, you’ll see I am by no means as good as her. But I learned awhile ago that I’ll never be, no one will—not only am I biased that she’s the best artist in the world (because she is), but Rusty draws the way only Rusty can, and the way only she will. Others may draw similarly, others may copy her, but art is like a fingerprint. Each style and piece is unique to the person who drew it. Therefore, it’s unfair for me to compare myself to Rusty when I could never possess her fingerprint in the first place. But that doesn’t change the fact that I used to compare myself to her so harshly—and the fact that to a younger me, I have achieved exactly what I wanted.

2018 was not the year I started drawing. Was it perhaps the year of my first exploration into the digital realm? Yes, but before then, I was drawing horses. I love horses, and I loved them so much they were all I ever drew. My walls were adorned with dozens of drawings of horses. I’ve since fallen out of the habit of drawing horses so regularly, but all those drawings are what started me drawing. I learned to hold a pencil and put it to paper drawing horses, and then from there, I just started drawing everything else. I only recently started drawing in seriousness, in the grand scheme of things. A year or two ago. And then I was drawing people most of the time, and the occasional dog or cat. And there were many bumps along the way—my discouragement at my own ability, as well as my inability to draw digitally, as I was quickly coming to love. The iPad I used at the time simply didn’t support Procreate after awhile, so I was using my sister’s iPad.

There are also the artists which inspired me. Obviously, rustic-space-fiddle was—and still is—my number one support and inspiration, she was my goal. But then I got instagram and I saw people’s different styles, and while I don’t know where exactly the inspiration from them comes from, it’s certainly there, perhaps in the courage with which I now draw. The second biggest inspiration in my life has been, without a doubt, Jojo. Her art style, which I adore, is something I have tried to imbue in mine—I’ve been told before that it can be seen, but I’m unsure of that. Still, even if I do not draw in her style, I think I draw in her energy. In the way that I draw Legend, that style, that goal, that love for him and her art, I think it’s there every time I draw Legend, and even in the other things that I draw too. She may never know, but she is perhaps the only other artist in the world I have ever really hoped to be like.

Anyways. I guess what I am simply trying to say is I’m happy. I’m proud. I’m content with my art, in a way I once hoped I would achieve, and while I know I have many things to learn, I approach them without that lost hopelessness I used to feel, but with passion, curiosity, and the determination to grow better.

If you’ve read this far, thank you. You didn’t really have any reason to read this—even if we have talked, even if we are mutuals, I’m still a stranger whose ramblings about her art hold almost no weight at all. But you did anyways, because you were curious, because you cared, because it was interesting, moving, inspiring. Whatever it was, thank you :)

I’ve come a very long way. And I’ll go a very long way more. I hope you’ll be here to see it all!

[not-xpr-art]

just wanted to share a few comparisons to show how my digital painting skills have developed over the years!

(these were all done with the same brush type on the same program btw!)

see below for a mini kinda Art Advice post where i go into each of these comparisons!

wanna start by saying the brush i used for all these pieces is the 'watercolour' brush on firealpaca... essentially just a default flat brush that usually comes with most software!

the first two are to show unintentional messiness vs intentional messiness. a lot of my early art had a pretty messy quality to it purely because i was still unfamiliar with the mechanics of digital! (though i will say, i think i was going for a more painter-ly style in the 2015 art anyway because i was basing it on pre-raphaelite works)

i think once you become a lot more familiar with certain mediums, you allow yourself to be a bit more confident with the brushstrokes you make! the 2022 piece is one where i wanted to create a sense of texture, almost like a digital version of impasto (aka thick layers of paint), and i know better now how to use digital software to create this kind of effect!

and you can see with the next row & the 2016 piece that i managed to create a much smoother, more blended appearance whilst still using the same brush! a part of my improvement came from me allowing myself to spend a little longer on pieces, especially in those first few years. i think a lot of beginners to digital (or any other kind of medium for that matter) think that if they spend the same amount of time on a piece as they would in another medium that they're more familiar with they'll get the same results, but it doesn't really work that way lol... especially if you're very new to digital... my advice here, then, would be to allow yourself to be slow at figuring out the medium (and let yourself make mistakes!)

going back to the 2016 vs 2022 comparison, i wanted to include this to show how sometimes you can keep things still messy, but still controlled and complete looking! also, remember that in digital most programs will let you adjust the 'colour mixing levels' or another similar 'blending level' option, which essentially just means how much the strokes blend or don't blend into what you've already painted... (knowing this would have made blending a whole lot easier back in 2016 lemme tell you lol.....)

(i also wanted to include that comparison cos it looks like they're looking at each other and i find it funny pfft)

the final comparison is, again, to show how controlled brushstrokes can give a piece a simultaneously painter-ly and smooth appearance! in both the 2015 and 2023 pieces, i wasn't super precise in my painting skills. but the 2023, to me at least, doesn't look as messy purely in the way i've been able to use the brush!

i mainly wanted to share this because i spent a long time trying to make my paintings look smooth, and i definitely do still do this in some artworks (particularly if i'm using fluffy/textured brushes), but i realised that i really enjoyed being able to create messy works that overall feel more finished due to the painting skills i've developed over the years!

i also just want to say that i'm not saying that either of these sides are 'better' than the other, they're just a few different ways i've approached art in my years as a digital artist! my observational drawing skills have grown a lot since the left side pieces, but i still think there's a lot to like in my early works and i'm definitely still very proud of them!

~~

thanks for reading & feel free to check out my other art advice posts and consider tipping me here on tumblr or heading to my kofi if you wanna support me! (no pressure ofc!!) <3

[genericpuff]

I appreciate your art style! It’s very confident with strong shapes and great body language. Who are your inspirations and do you have any advice for drawing efficiency because I always get hung up on the small things and it keeps me held back

Aw thanks so much! Regarding my inspirations, I grew up on a lot of manga, animation, and video games, so many of my inspirations are Japanese artists in the gaming and manga industry. Included but not limited to: Takeshi Obata (the artist behind Death Note, Bakuman, Hikaru No Go, Ral Grad, etc.), Tetsuya Nomura (FF VII, FF X, Kingdom Hearts, The World Ends With You, etc.), and Akihiko Yoshida (FF III, Bravely Default, Nier: Automata, etc.)

But honestly? I kinda tend to just grab whatever I can learn from whoever's art I feel like studying. There are a lot of webcomic artists and modern digital artists who I've learned so much from over the years just by observing their art and identifying what they do that almost feels unique to them. Like, the creator of Two Guys and Guy? I always like how he draws elbows. Or the creator of Alfie, I love how he stylizes eyebrows and body proportions of all shapes and sizes! And of course when it comes to those aforementioned inspirational artists, Tetsuya Nomura's line quality is top notch, and I learned a lot about how to color from Obata.

I really rambled there, but inspiration comes from so many places! <3

In regards to the second part of your question, honestly, that confidence just comes from a lot of practice and drawing the same things over and over and over and over and over-

Anyways, I've been drawing webcomics for a number of years now, so along the way I've sorta had to learn tricks and shortcuts to make the process a bit more efficient and less headache-inducing. I think after all that, the core things I can recommend are:

Learn how to draw from the shoulder and elbow vs. the wrist. This will allow you new motions that can accommodate long, confident lines and shape structures. Tiny strokes are great for detailing, but long swooping lines are the best for getting in gesture, form, and line clarity! Plus it's just healthier for your body all around, helps engage your shoulder muscles and reduces the potential risk for carpal tunnel ;)

Keep your toolset simple! I know it's easy to sort of want to just collect and own every single brush out there (especially if you're a digital artist) but honestly, the best way to be efficient is to simplify your kit and process its strongest tools. You can accomplish so much with just a good ole' fashioned round brush, soft airbrush, and blur/blend/smudge tool of your choice - all the fancy ones are simply there to make your life easier after you've learned how to draw the fancy stuff those brushes are trying to replace, IMO (ex. I know how to draw things like leaves and bark with the round brush... so having brushes to do it for me is way handier nowadays! But it's only because I know how to draw them normally that I can ensure I'm using those tools properly, if I'm explaining that clearly ?)

Always be open to trying new industry tools, there is no such thing as 'cheating' (barring blatant theft lol). I don't think a lot of people realize just how many artists across every art industry use tools and techniques designed to make the process more efficient, like 3D models, photobashing, gradient mapping, color balancing, tone curving, etc. to help speed up the creation process and turn an okay drawing into a great one. Of course, none of these tools can substitute for actual skill, you still gotta learn how to use these tools properly in addition to learning your foundations, but those super efficient artists definitely aren't working from the same process that everyone else is, it's different for everybody and it's all about finding what tools work best for you! And the only way to do that is to try 'em :)

Remember that the core of creating and presenting art is expressing an idea to your audience. There's no pre-requisite to how 'detailed' that idea needs to be to be understood, because 1.) your audience may interpret it entirely different from how you intended anyways and 2.) your audience is way better at 'filling in' the details than we give them credit for! One such artist that I can recommend you look at is WLOP, their paintings are well known for being gorgeously rendered and almost 'hyper-realistic' but when you actually zoom in on their paintings, you'll find many of the 'details' are very basic, often times just splatters of a round brush. Here's an example:

From that first glance, it looks like an incredibly detailed hyper-realistic painting, but zoom in a little and you'll see all the messy brush strokes and where they used brushes that are all incredibly simple (I could recreate the same look of the owl with just the transparent watercolor brush in CSP!) Regardless of the details not being rendered out as much as we'd assume, we still assume that what were looking at is completely rendered down to the last pixel, because our brains are doing all the work to fill in those details. WLOP focuses on shape, color, and form first before worrying about nitty gritty details, and their art doesn't suffer at all even when they don't bother with detailing at all. Pretty neat, huh?

THAT WAS A LOT LOL But I hope that helps ? I try not to keep it at "just practice" because often times that gets misconstrued as just "draw a lot" when if you don't know what you're lacking or what piece you might be missing in the puzzle, then of course it's gonna feel like you're just bashing your head against a wall! It's like teaching someone how to skate or ride a bike or drive a car, practicing will definitely do more than not practicing, but there are additional things you can learn and apply to make that learning process work for you rather than against you.

That's all for now! Best of luck in your journey! Remember that the key is to just take it at your own pace, be comfortable with making mistakes (it's the only way to learn!), and have fun! Being able to make art efficiently is great and all, but having fun and enjoying yourself is definitely the most important thing! <3

[spookyshoosh]

so early december i was really burnt out with doing my own digital art. in the previous months i had tried to reinvigorate my passion for visual art by getting into physical mediums again like pencil/ink drawings and watercolors. while it felt good for a little bit, i felt sadness in seeing how much my skills had regressed over time due to just not practicing/taking long hiatuses from art in general.

so,, i started learning how to crochet and like its just so good. i made a scarf for my dad for christmas and like the whole time i was making it i would get these little bursts of warm fuzziness. out of string, i’m making fabrics which i then sew together to make clothing. then when i gave the scarf to my father, he wore it and enjoyed the colors and how soft and warm it was. the feeling was absolutely invigorating!

i got a set for ergonomic hooks and a yarn bag for christmas by my boyfriend bc he saw how much i liked making the scarf. i indulged myself with the christmas money i got and bought myself some legit merino/angora wool yarn. it was like so fuckingg soft and warm. with it, i made a hat and scarf for myself. its new years now and my bf loves the hat i made for myself so he makes the trip AGAIN with me up to this boutique yarn store an hour and a half away from home so i can get more of the same yarn i made my hat out of but in a different color. i whip out this hat for him within days. he loves it. i make several more projects, two of which being; a cover for my hot water bottle and a little neck/ear warmer for my dog. all of that, however, has mostly just been practicing basic stitches, making and joining rectangles or doing simple single crochet rounds.

today, i pushed through some anxiety about trying something a little more advanced and bought yarn to make a sweater. the past couple days finishing up my last projects, i was looking at the emptiness of my yarn bag. not many scraps to work with as i’d already made little potholders and cozies already, so i began looking for new projects to consider. sweaters seemed like the next step for clothing, so i found a couple patterns. off to joanns i went in the midst of a fucking snow storm to get my sweater yarn. at this point, im confident and excited.

now, this is my first time formally using a actual crochet pattern, so i spent some time today reading the pattern and looking up an index on what all the abbreviations mean, how to size things, and a bunch of other questions that needed clarification. as i read, im actually understanding and learning and when things don’t make sense, i end up realizing what was wrong and fixing my mistake pretty easily and its not a terrible hassle.

idk man its just like,,, what if all these years this is what i was meant to do. i’ve been keeping up with it nearly every day for about a month now and i see no signs in myself of getting tired of it or wanting to quit. i want to keep learning and continue doing more stuff.

tldr; i ditched digital art for crocheting and my brain hasn’t brrrrrr’d this hard in a long time. learning new things that you’re good at is an incredible feeling.

[coolwolfbr]

Hello again tumblr, I know it's been a while, It's been a rough couple of years for me to be honest. I started becoming less confidant about my art back then, and myself. After starting high school, the work load has been overwhelming and stressful, even my art academy drains me. The only thing that's improving my art skills has been taking a private art class, with a teacher who has more experience in art and provides more helpful feedback. Sadly this year has not been the best start for me either, after being diagnosed with a chronic inflammatory skin condition, i've had to visit a multitude of specialist, as my health and well being had started to worsen.

After being hospitalized for a week, my health has improved tremendously. I am able to bond and make friends again, as I had isolated myself from my peers while not in the best state of mind alone. I now try to work on my own projects while practicing my digital art skills. I know I'm not very relevant here, but I feel like talking about what's been happening lately gives me a little bit of a fresh start. I'll be posting a little more often, or at least as much as I can for now, but I will be posting again.

[fizzypawn]

Hello! I just came across your account and wow, I love your art! Your style is so unique and cute! 🤩

I have a few questions for you, if you don't mind.

Sorry if this is a tough ask, but do you have any tips for a beginner digital artist such as myself?

My biggest struggle is being motivated to do it when I know it will take me a long time to get as good at it as I want to be now.

That is the main reason why I didn't pursue it for so long. I just look back to when I was 13 and think: "Man, I could have learned so much by now and been much better at it. Oh well..."

Thank you for your time 👋

I think the best tip I could give is in two parts! I'm sorry this is so long, but please remember this is my own perspective and advice, since this is what worked best for /me/! ^^ Firstly, a bunch of my artist friends advocated for beginner artists to take small pieces of someone's artstyle - maybe the way they draw eyes, or hands, or maybe even the materials they use or colors they shade with - to help develop and create a more consistent artstyle. This also applies to pose references! Using pose references is okay! My art got so much better once I was able to develop muscle memory and the ability to realize is proportions were likely incorrect. It is actually how I learned to draw! Practice diversity in eyes, noses, face shapes, body shapes, and other features unique to each person at an early stage to try to avoid same face syndrome. Repetition in my own art makes it hard for me to climb my way out of the grave I dug for myself. I actually recently began to work on that flaw. It may look bad or wonky at first, but it is okay. I don't have a single good sketchbook on my hands from before I became a digital artist. However, looking back on those drawings I managed to keep myself from destroying makes me feel more confident in my abilities to grow.

Secondly, I suggest being consistent and working through the plateaus and temporary deterioration of your skill. It took me a hefty 11 years to get where I am, and my art style only met my expectations at the beginning of last year. After years and years of developing muscle memory for my own art style, I now don't need to rely on reference images or other people's art styles to draw. Your art style will typically be 'bad' or 'ugly' in your own eyes due to the high expectations you and others may set for yourself, since you see so many skilled artists on social media. You need to keep your chin up and push through the dark times where it seems you're not getting anywhere with your art! I believe in you and others do, too.

Everyone starts somewhere, and I suggest that you base your success off of your improvement!

[beej-hunnicutt]

I have been REALLY wanting to do traditional art lately. And I finally called it quits on my prior sketchbook it's like ~basically~ filled up and I rlly had that thing since 2018 and I think it's more than time to start fresh. But I have this absolutely beautiful handmade sketchbook I CANNOT GET MYSELF TO USE. I want to use it. It rlly inspires me...but it's just too damn pretty!!! Sksksksks. I think I'm gonna use the illo I have lying around and maybe pick up the pretty sketchbook when I feel a bit more confident in my traditional art again.

Like I don't think you need to have a 'ugly drawing' and 'pretty drawing' sketchbook I personally can't do that. And I know you're suppose to open up yourself to your sketchbook and I was happiest when I truly felt I did that BUT ITS JUST SO HARD.

My sketchbook really became a safety after I could draw again post surgery. I had to use my sketchbook or else I couldn't draw (it was physically too painful digitally; don't ask me why I dunno) but when that shift happened and it became physically too painful to draw traditional and I had to switch to digital (yeah....Idk...grr) I really have never been the same since 😭😭😭

Though I truly value and love traditional art. I wouldn't have improved like if I didn't. Like before I did a lot of traditional I COULD NOT draw on my iPad. I always said it just felt """"too much like traditional""" but now? I only draw on my iPad and feel I could actually feel the skill transfer which is nice. Like ohmygod. My like pages and pages of just John and Lincoln studies were so good to me and I know is why I feel comfortable drawing them today. Which I wouldn't have been able to do digitally I just know it. But also, I don't think I really could draw like I do today if I didn't do digital? You know. Like I love that just as dearly and was very important to my early years especially (and still now of course) of figuring out anatomy bc of the ability to tweak thing.

But um. Long story short. If I'm getting the craving to traditional I think I need to tap into that. Even if that means I have to draw less to have more fun. I think it'll be worth it.

[digitalsatyr23]

Anime/Show Idea: An outgoing, popular, and athletic girl is roommates with an introverted fat nerd. Rather than simply being wish-fulfillment shlock, the main focus is on how the two people who otherwise avoided each other start socializing and learning little by little what they’re like, changing their perspective on what it means to lead a fulfilling life.

The popular girl has many, many acquaintances, but social stigmas kept her from being her true self in front of her peers out of fear of alienation. She has an interest in a niche hobby like making terrariums and wants a snail as a pet. The fat nerd is a well-known artist who has deep connections online because all his best friends are all over the world. At first the girl wants nothing to do with the guy (he barely leaves his room anyway), but she stumbles onto an online gallery of his and sees all the digital art of fantastical characters and lush landscapes he’s painted. This leads her to reach out to him and the chubby guy starts coming out of his room more often. At first they get on each others’ nerves because of how different they are, but they later get used to each others’ quirks and form a bond. The girl tries to help the guy work on his social skills and diet while the guy teaches the girl all about digital art and suggests various shows and movies she ends up really enjoying. Guy: “I’ve wanted to join a gym before, but I always thought that I’d get bullied for my weight there and made fun of. I’ve always been fat so I figure I should just stick to what I know.” Girl: “That’s... That’s not how that works. People like me love to see overweight people at the gym. We know you’re trying to improve your health and put in the effort, so you don’t have to be scared. And hey, if someone starts making rude comments, I’ll tell them to fuck off!” Or Girl: “So what’s a sona? I keep seeing that word passed around on your blog.” Guy: “Ah, well, it’s basically like an OC meant to represent yourself online. Some people make them look just like themselves with maybe a small twist, whereas other artists like to make them completely different from their true selves and have fun with the design. Your sona could be a dragon, a vampire, or-” Girl: “A spider girl!” Guy: “Oh, like maybe this?” *shows girl a typical cute monster girl* Girl: “No no, more like this!” *shows guy a terrifying horror movie monster. the guy nervously puts his thumb up and helps design a sona for the girl, learning new art techniques in the process* Neither person is trying to fundamentally change who the other is, but rather give the other an insight into their world and help them become more well-rounded individuals who each learn how to accept themselves in their own way. No matter what, the girl remains an outgoing tomboy but maybe she learns how to form closer bonds with her other friends who may have also been into weird stuff but were equally scared of talking about it. Even if the guy loses weight, his personality doesn’t totally change. He’ll always be a big softie at heart, but now with a bit more confidence. A big theme of the story isn’t so much “a clash of two worlds” but more like not judging a book by its cover and learning to be more comfortable in your own skin. Another key point I want to make about the idea. These two NEVER hook up. They get close to each other by the end, but they never hold romantic feelings for each other. I’m tired of the idea that guys and girls can’t be friends. We need more stories where guys and girls are friends! Not “just” friends like it’s a downgrade, but actual friend friends!! Anyway, thanks for reading my idea I came up with while cooking spaghetti. If Netflix staff wanna talk and green-light this, my asks are always open. ;)

[jesseevelann]

Have you ever tried scanning your paper drawings onto digital form?

I used to before I finally got an Ipad and could comfortably draw digitally, now I don't as much. Traditional is always going to be more comfortable I think, but when I do get into digital it takes a while to go back becasue they're so different to me.

The last time I turned traditional into digital was with this piece of vampire Sakura (or rather my version of the Pop Up Shop event, and what I think her vampire look should have been)

The colouring and shading is much more advanced and better than what I can do traditionally, but I struggle with lining and colouring with pencils - it feels a lot more time consuming.

While the digital piece has more colouring and refinement, the traditional art seems to speak to me more, but I coloured it to match the other one I made, and to make the metal elements shine properly.

I did the same sort of thing for this one. The blood covers her mouth more and the eyes look more menacing, but the traditional looks more clean. I do like the shading of the fur a lot though.

Another example of using this technique is the redraw I did for one of my first pieces of digital art. I drew the pose first on paper, fixed elements of it slightly and used that digitally.

I'm not confident with side profiles, like at all, or foreshortening, so I drew it in my more comfortable medium.

This example is where I drew the base of my idea on a piece of paper and drew over it. A lot of changes were made and it looks much better than the traditional sketch, but the sketch wasn't made to be good - just to get a feel for the pose.

My digital art can be more exciting because I do have alternatives for like, lighting. I did just smoke and and just the neon lights and played around with it a lot for this piece.

With my Ipad now I can draw without a traditional sketch, providing I have an idea in my head. But I do have a few good drawings from when I used my phone only, because it's all I could comfortably draw on.

These two are some of my favourites: I loved the pose for the Sakura one and I'm really happy that I managed to pull it off, and Hikari is just so so sweet and cute she became a favourite easily. These drawings didn't have a traditional base and were solely digital pieces.

If I have difficulty with a pose, or I do decide to make something digital, it would be done with the process of using a photo of my art and tracing over it most likely, but I'm not sure if it'll happen like that. I've been steering away from digital art so I can work on my traditional skills more.

[dynayshe]

my tumblr essay on art style i guess :P (read if you're a bored artist lol)

now that I'm out of art block i can draw whatever i want however i want right? (limited by my skill set obviously)

but how tf do i know what i want????

im looking at my inspirations and goals and

i want to depict mha characters as well as hori so maybe i should imitate his profiles

i also like his coloring style

i love how detailed genshin's general art style is

but it requires LOTS of effort so it's really not realistic for me

i have a few artists on twt that i like but. their style is really unique and while that's nice i don't quite see myself drawing in their style (too cartoony for me maybe)

lots of artists on insta but. they'd be good for more fashion centered art. the ones im thinking of wouldn't work w expressing emotions

the artists w a mix of mha and realism. big eyes but sculpted faces. unique noses and lips but they dissappear when u do strong expressions.

OH like a second style?? for comics and funnier emotions??? like chibi but not exactly. more western art style in general but. more anime like one for emotions. ahh a lot of people do that i guess. could be smart

and then there is the process of sketching.

confident vs ashamed lines. more imagination less lines. I've seen habs draw live and it's crazy how they take it slow but jump straight to lining. no need for putting a circle for the head, nothing just going straight for the line.

reminded me of how people paint differently w different mediums. bigger sections w acrylics and going layer by layer. while smaller sections w oils and finishing an area before moving to the next one. this doesn't quite work the same w digital but i guess you need to consider how you THINK while drawing too

maybe it would help w my proportions? or maybe i need to master my proportions to be able to sketch that confidently?? idk how this relation works tbh

and of course another thing to consider about my style is my tools and steps

im mostly using csp but sometimes i doodle on autodesk maybe i should stop doing that. and on csp i think i found my fav brush (that i use for literally everything) but just like how i could have different styles for emotions maybe a different brush would help me w different ideas too (like yesterday i was drawing overlay deku and thought my current brush was too soft for it. so i tried another brush that looks a bit like softer g-pen) yknow brush theory and all

AND THEN process oh my god all the layers and steps. like that's one thing i just don't understand. there are so many different methods for it and im trying to go for the easiest one but sometimes i feel like i did a wrong step and like im stuck. yknow like maybe i should have put this on top of that oe maybe I need to learn how to render ON TOP OF lineart. i know i can't have everything but seeing all these artists both amaze me and confuse me even further bc i get so envious!! it looks so good when they do it and i don't know how long it took them to get here either they just make it feel so easy

SIGHHH and after all of that there is still one more thing: personality and originality

i want it to feel like me. like it reminds people of me. my current style changes so much that one of them doesn't even feel like the other yknow? i want it to be recognizable im just a tiny artist barely starting to share w others but i have a few friends and i want to seem like myself through my art to them (yknow like how you can recognize your friend from the way they dress and the clothes you've seen them wear before)

and of course. i don't want it to feel like im doing homework. this is art i still wanna enjoy it. im trying to prove to my parents that i can do this as a job (obviously even if it's art degree they stilk want me to graduate from an university) so i decided to study industrial design. while studying im gonna draw and hopefully take smth like commisions once i grow larger (once i figure out a payment method! this dumbass gov doesn't allow PayPal nor any fucking alternatives!! it's impossible to be an international artist in here ToT) as i was saying. i want to enjoy my future job and my current hobby i guess. I've tried many mediums but i think i work easiest w digital. i make a lot of mistakes and adjustments so only digital works well enough for me anyway

that's all i guess. of course I've had these thoughts many times in my life but i always had the excuse of art block or other stuff like skill or time but. now that i got to be completely free from school and got my interest back in mha (also will to live lmao), and I've finally conquered my art block i guess i just want a purpose in life and that is improving my art (AND MY FUCKING LOVE LIFE UGHHH well also,, i want friends,,, irl ones that i can be honest with,, feel like myself,,, wait fuck this is getting too real imma end it here)