#im working on drawing up a tutorial for another ask so that resource will also be available!

[lethesbeastie]

Hi, I saw your post about practicing drawing fat people and I was wondering if you could compile like a list of resources or references?

It can be difficult to find resources for drawing the wide variety of forms fat bodies can occupy, so I've done my best to bring together some resources I've been able to prove have some degree of diversity in the references they offer!

My primary resource recommendation for drawing fat people is Morpho Anatomy For Artists: Fat And Skin Folds! It does a wonderful job breaking down where fat accumulates on the body, how it interacts with the familiar landmarks of human anatomy, and what sort of shapes it tends to form under the influence of gravity. It's a phenomenal reference and my top recommendation for anyone seeking to improve at drawing fat people!

When it comes to finding decent photo references for fat people, the pickings are frustratingly slim. Most sites that specialize in pose references either don't have fat models or have all their images behind paywalls. Of the resources I looked through, the best sources for pose references were Adorkastock and Line of Action.

@adorkastock actively seeks to provide an incredible profile of pose references with diverse body types, and as an added bonus you can access a lot of their images for free on their site/Tumblr or join their patreon for early access to images! Line of action is a site aimed towards practicing figure drawing, providing images and a timed function to challenge artists to sketch within a set time limit. I took the time to go through roughly 300+ images and was pleased to find that during my session around two-to-three out of every ten photos were fat models. The only caveats to this was the fact that most of the images were of the same individual, limiting the applications for studying the variants of fat bodies. Still, it's an amazing tool that has a free mode and allows you to filter the types of references you want based on age and level of nudity.

Beyond sites that specialize in art reference photography, there's also the ever popular Pinterest, which is the site where I typically seek references for my personal studies. Due to the nature of Pinterest's extensive collection, there's a vast variety of references for different fat body types that includes a lot more "everyday" people. The primary issue with Pinterest however is the rampant reposting and lack of proper credits for images, which can make things dicey depending on how you wish to use the references you find. For personal studies this isn't really an issue, but for any sort of professional or paid work is something to be aware of just for the sake of accountability.

* For those who are 18+, porn photography of real people also offers an incredible wealth of visual resources for fat bodies and how they interact with gravity/movement/etc. The variety of positions and angles offer many opportunities to study human anatomy, and it's a pretty well-known fact that drawing NSFW art can be an important learning experience for those struggling with drawing anatomy. In the end, it depends on your personal level of comfort with viewing/drawing explicit images, but it's not something you should completely overlook.

Last but not least, look at the work of artists you admire who draw fat people! While I typically recommend sticking to photo references for learning anatomy, studying artist's portrayals of fat people is also incredibly helpful for learning different tactics for simplifying and/or stylizing fat bodies to better fit ones own style. There are also plenty of artists who've crafted tutorials detailing their approach to drawing fat folks, so I highly recommend you check them out as well! I hope the resources I've linked here can help you in your studies, and feel free to drop another ask if you have any more questions! I'm planning on posting a tutorial on how I do studies for fat people soon, so that will be an additional resource for you once I've got it posted!

[cali]

Do you have any tips for the beginners artist? Are there any good books? Videos? You're so talented, so I was just wondering

surely there are good resources but im not good to ask for that cuz i never really did any formal art training and i mostly hate any vids or books about this. personally a lot of art guide stuff feels too forceful in what they think is right and trying to get u to do it like they do which can ruin your mind and make ur art boring as fuck. theres a lot of established art theory that is very useful and makes ur stuff better, but personally diving straight into learning all of it all the time is just not interesting to me so i dont do it. as a result im still a novice in a lot of the technical aspects of art liek anatomy shadows whatever but i think im good at the conceptual. and i just draw conceptual stuff and whenever something comes up like i get recommended a youtube tutorial for color theory or something about values and im in the mood for it i watch it and try and integrate but i really dont stress about aquiring all that stuff and u dont need to either that hard.

i think every artist ever will tell you that the best thing to learn it is just doing it even if it sucks a little and im sorry but i will say the same thing. howeverrrrrrrrr i think something new i can add is redraw a lot. i dont know if this works for everybody but it does for me. i very rarely ever draw stuff off of photo references or things infront of me other than if i need an object in a pic. but for practice i like picking out a lot of "finished" art i like and then redraw it fast and turn it into my own thing halfway thru. a lot of the time i notice little things that the artist did, that i wouldnt normally do and that stuff just sticks in my memory for forever and can potentially integrate itself into future pics. and cuz ur doing it off artists that u like u r not being pressured into directions that dont fit ur heart, but stuff u look up to anyways. i dont post these redraws cuz they arent distinct enough to warrant it but heres an example

another example!:, my rei pic from february also started off like that, i looked at a pic that had qualities i liked (particularly the deranged anime look) and i redrew and skewed it into my own thang.

i think just generally i can say: look at a lot of art and think about art a lot and draw whatever even if its not good yet... that makes u better

[mensobrush]

its like almost 12 am where im at but fuck it imma ask; if you don't mind do you have any show/book/series recs? most specifically art related bc whelp im just someone wanting to draw and your style is really clean and i lowkey kinda want to diversify my art so uh.

yeh.

Oh BOY have I got a list for you my friend

SHOWS: I'm not too sure about shows that would teach you art necessarily, but i know of a few that are ABOUT art and artists (forgive me because most of these are all anime lol):

1. Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! - super cute anime about three high school girls working together to create an animated short film, there's a concept artist, animator, and manager and they have such distinct personalities! Highly recommend for anyone wanting to go into those fields 2. Blue Period - manga and upcoming anime about high school students trying to get into Japan's best fine art colleges. Lots of deep shit about what being an artist is about and delves into struggles like impostor syndrome and shit. Had to stop reading the manga because it hit too close to home and gave me nam flashbacks

3. Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki Kun - definitely less on the art side and more of a shoujo between a mangaka and his assistant - super cute

The next few are shows that aren't about art, but have distinct/outstanding art, animation, or cinematography and i highly recommend them for artists to watch:

4. Ping Pong the Animation - probably the most distinctive anime in terms of art style, definitely worth taking a look at!

5. Mob Psycho - highly mainstream but the animation for that anime is insane, especially for fight scenes!

6. Godless - live action western/cowboy limited series on Netflix, probably the show with the best cinematography I've ever seen

BOOKS

This I can probably give more info on! Keep in mind that most of these are geared toward concept art/illustration since that's what I mainly do, but all artists can benefit from having these:

1. Framed Ink and Framed Ink 2 by Marcos Mateu-Mestre - Books on composition, lighting, and storytelling! Must have for people interested in illustration and creating full pieces, and it goes into storyboarding as well!

2. How To Draw by Scott Robertson - THE book on perspective (disgusting, i know, but if you're a character person and you want to level up, perspective is worth learning)! It's definitely more on the advanced side, so I don't recommend it for beginners!

3. Stonehouse's Anatomy by Seok Jung Hyun - I don't personally own this one but I've heard VERY good things about it! I think it's also a pretty advanced level book, but feel free to challenge yourself if you wanna get it!

4. Bammes and Bridgman - Gottfried Bammes and George Bridgman are the people to go to when you're first wanting to get into human anatomy! They focus less on scientific latin muscle names or whatever and more on the gesture of the figure and simplifying body parts into simple shapes that are easy to put in perspective! You can get pdfs of their books for free online or buy them off amazon.

5. Any art book from games that you like - art books are literally a gift from amitabha y'all, they are so insightful into the concepting for games and some of them (coughs the Ghost of Tsushima one coughs) have ALL BANGER art in there and there's NO MISSES

The next ones are again, not necessarily art tutorial books but books with insane art in them:

6. Vagabond/anything by Takehiko Inoue - this man is a fucking god, a legend, his art is so fucking good and delicious and it never misses and he's cracked out of his mind and

SERIES

I don't really know what you mean by "series" so I'll just use this as an opportunity to highlight "series" of videos/channels that are highly helpful for artists:

1. 10 Minutes to Better Painting by Marco Bucci - Marco Bucci's videos are fucking awesome in general, but his 10 Minutes to Better Painting series condenses painting concepts into something concise and easily digestible, and they're incredibly helpful for general painting skills.

2. Proko's Anatomy Series - again, Proko is a great resource for everything art related but he specializes in anatomy and is probably the best resource for people starting out and wanting to jump into anatomy.

3. Draftsmen Podcast - Podcast by Proko and Marshall Vandruff, less direct art tutorials but more talking about artist mindsets (which is just as if no more important than practicing technique)

4. Sinix - not a series, but a channel on youtube! Sinix is great at condensing complicated shit into simple to understand, short videos! He also graduated from my college hehehe

5. Rossdraws - another alum from my school ;) I have many mixed opinions on Rossdraws, but he's pretty good for beginner artists! And his videos are fun to watch so there's that

I might add more onto this as i think of them but these are all I can think of off the top of my head! hope this helps :)

[godbirdart]

Hey I follow you on twitter!!! YOUR ART IS HELLA GORGEOUS AND IM HELLA JEALOUS!! I have a few questions for you if you don't mind :) 1. how old were you when you started gettin into art and 2. any tips for someone like me to be better at creating characters and getting better at digital art and just in general?

aAAA tHANK YOU!!!!! i’m sorry this reply is 3000 years late!!!

I’ve literally been always drawing. Like, ever since I could remember, I’ve been drawing and creating OCs and generally just vibin off in my own little world. [so easily a couple decades of just doodling]

with creating characters, especially when you’re just getting into the swing of it, you gotta let your creative brain derive influence from existing media. loads of artists feel compelled to be 110% original right out the gate, and this actually does more to hinder their creative flow since they won’t let themselves experiment and take inspiration from existing ideas. it’s not BAD to want to be original, just don’t ever make that your primary focus when designing.

take when I first started character design for example [if i could really call it that, i was just making OCs for shits and giggles at that age] I was particularly influenced by two primary things.101 Dalmatians, because that was my childhood obsession, and Cardcaptor Sakura

The result? a spotless Dalmatian OC named Saraberos. Here she is:

while spotless Dalmatians had been “done” and that big jewel around her neck [as well as her name] was Very reminiscent of Keroberos, she ended up her own adequately unique thing!! You just gotta take what you love, mash it all together and apply it in a fun new way!

The same can be said about getting better at digital art!

Regardless whether its digital or traditional, getting better at art is something all artists strive for; but in trying to outdo our previous pieces we tend to forget that art is not a race.

A few key things I’ve personally helpful to remember while bettering myself:

watching/referring to tutorials is not cheating

using references is not cheating

other artists are your friends, not your competition

let yourself draw bad

every drawing you make, completed or not, is another little itty bit of experience towards your art goal[s]

it’s okay to play with art styles that aren’t yours, just don’t trace/plagiarize someone else’s work

always sign and/or watermark your work

never ever EVER value your art based on how much interaction it gets on social media. you’re still building your platform and bettering your skill. give it time and both will grow.

there will ALWAYS be artists younger and more talented than you; try not to take this to heart. they have access to art resources you yourself probably didn’t at their age. [tablets didn’t exist when I started, that’s for sure]

If you want to get better with digital art specifically, watch tutorials on Youtube! Ask artists about what brushes and programs they use! I personally use Clip Studio Paint for all my work. It regularly goes on sale, and unlike Photoshop [which I do not recommend ANYONE to use, don’t do it, do not give Adobe your money] you only need to pay for the program once. Clip Studio also boasts a huge catalog of art resources created by other artists that you can download and use to your heart’s content. Sometimes you have to pay for things, but you can usually find really really good brushes for free. Clip Studio should really give me money for how much I boast about their software to everyone fkljgld

Also, don’t be afraid to draw inspiration from your artist peers. If you see someone drawing something that makes you nod your head and say “huh, I wanna draw like that”, then do it! Do art studies! Experiment! Draw good! Draw bad! The world ends at your horizons, so don’t be afraid to grasp your pen and create!!

[meeedeee]

Vidding Linkspam May 28, 2019

I make monthly Vidding Linkspam posts on my Dreamwidth blog. Look under the “Linkspam” tag.

Announcements: Vid Recs: Submit Your Favorite Vids       http://VidRecs.com Now open. Got Recs?

Announcements: LilacEdits — If you are a video editor on YouTube you can join...  If you are a video editor on YouTube you can join my Multifemale collab I just started :)

Announcements: EoV | Elements of Vidding Contest | Round One: Why We Vid  Remember that contest I was tweeting about a few weeks ago? Well, it's finally happening! Join now! https://t.co/9i9jK2UBZJ

Announcements: Looking for Vidders : Calling UK/Italian Vidders Looking for Vidders I'm at the early stages of developing a documentary on Vidding. I am looking for UK or Italian based Vidders willing to appear in the documentary and talk about their passion for Vidding. As a former Vidder I want to highlight how it can be entertaining for the audience to see their favourite shows in a new way and also how it offers the artists a chance to be creative as well. Many thanks, Carlotta Montella.

Conventions: FanWorks 2019 Vidding Panels! Vidding Panels at the Fanworks Convention, Aug 2019

Conventions: Looking for vids to Vienna Teng songs! https://fairestcat.dreamwidth.org/660760.html                                                         I'm VJing a Vid Show of vids to Vienna Teng songs at FanworksCon in August. I pitched it as "Come Out and Level Up: Narratives of Resistance as sung by Vienna Teng" but I'm taking a very broad definition of "resistance."

Meta: The mentor ship of vidding communities https://twitter.com/redimine/status/1128666188454801408 The mentor ship of vidding communities, either directly or through observation, is one of those things I really like about fandom I just wanted to draw attention to today. Thanks for the help and inspiration throughout the years!

Meta; "Vidding doesn’t have the accessibility of fan art or the group mentality of fan fic https://twitter.com/redimine/status/1131206313390805000 Vidding doesn’t have the accessibility of fan art or the group mentality of fan fic. Vidding asks a lot from it’s participants and, honestly? Unless someone already gravitates towards fan vids it can be incredibly hard to draw other’s interest.

Meta: "Vidding history is fascinating https://twitter.com/redimine/status/1131216530501451776 Vidding history is fascinating; in the begging my foremothers ran collectives because you'd need up to four or more VCRs and who could afford that?! Best to drag your fellow club members into learning how to trick technology into doing what you want.

Meta: vidders who see & hear music as movement & color https://twitter.com/Bonibaru/status/1132780458494910464 Reading it made me think of @Lumi_nation and other fellow vidders who see & hear music as movement & color, hear color as music, and so on. There are many of us. We don’t often talk about it outside of con suites and panels, but we exist in our special little universes

Meta: my youtube is almost to 500 subscribers... https://legalizesupercorp.tumblr.com/post/184993271630/my-youtube-is-almost-to-500-subscri… my youtube is almost to 500 subscribers....I’ve been making videos for like 11-12 years even though I took a break for like 4 years, but I’ve been working really hard, and even though I know that’s not a lot compared to the thousands other people have, but I’m really proud of myself for getting close to the milestone.

Meta: what is the ettiquette...… for making fanvids with fanart? https://skulkingwriter.tumblr.com/post/184443576987/dnd-and-other-mostly-audio-fandoms-wha… what is the ettiquette...… for making fanvids with fanart? What do you do, do you seek out and ask permission from each the artist to use their art in the vid? Is that a thing we do? Or do we assume if it’s online it’s OK and credit at the end? Asking permission seems like the polite thing to do. It also seems… very labour intensive.

Meta: making money from fanvidding is unethical.   https://vimesbootstheory.tumblr.com/post/184950631342/hi-hello-making-money-from-fanviddin… #vidding #if I see another commissions post I swom to jon #it's not your goddamn footage

Meta: Vidder Feelings https://redscullyrevival.tumblr.com/post/185061507310/vidder-feelings I’ve got a lot of feelings about fan vids, as I am to have after finishing a project, and how it’s one of the

Meta: vid_bingo | Vidding Chatter                                                                     https://vid-bingo.dreamwidth.org/3441.html                                                             Recently a lot of my DW and twitter feed have been discussing the Plotters vs. Pantsers approach to writing and it made me think about how I approach vidding. Sometimes I plan things out and sometimes I fly by the seat of my pants.

Meta: fail_fandomanon | FFA DW Post 1084 - Explain a canon from a vid/AMV   https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/368136.html?thread=2150748168#cmt2150748168 I think we haven't played this game for a while.  1. Someone posts a vid or AMV whether it be accurate ore misleading regarding canon content  2. People who haven't seen the canon watch the video and try to explain what the canon is about

Meta: fail_fandomanon | FFA DW Post 1086 - Explain a canon from a vid/AMV   https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/368886.html?thread=2153807862#cmt2153807862 Explain a canon from a vid/AMV  Link a vid and others will explain the canon

Meta: Vidding Talk at Wiscon 2019 https://morgandawn.dreamwidth.org/1657257.html There’s nothing stopping fanvids, say, from being nominated for the Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form at the Hugos.  — SamHainPress reporting from Wiscon 2019

Meta: The appeal of fanvids (post from 2007)                 https://emily-shore.livejournal.com/119154.html?format=light Working on my list of ten desert island vids got me thinking about what it is that I love about vids. For me, an important part of the appeal is the chance that they offer me to see through other people's eyes.

Meta: Humble Opinions on Good Vidding (post from 2007) https://vidding.livejournal.com/1032639.html?format=light In my opinion, to understand how you make a good video, you have to take a step back and not look so much at what people have done but why.

Meta:Understanding Both Halves of Your Audience (post from 2008) https://morgandawn.dreamwidth.org/792472.html   I have this idea for a panel...Vidders: Understanding Both Halves of Your Audience. And it would be a vastly over-simplified panel dividing the vidding audience into two "vastly oversimplified and somewhat random but let's just play along" groups: Kinetic Viewers and Narrative Viewers.

Meta: I’m frustrated with a vid project so I’m gonna https://redscullyrevival.tumblr.com/post/184509182140/im-frustrated-with-a-vid-project-so-… I’m frustrated with a vid project so I’m gonna blab to myself even though I’ve got my outline and concept written - maybe I’ll find some vein I’ve yet to tap this time around, I dunno. .....I’m making a ToS Star Trek vid with the concept being three layers of how the women of Star Trek are often times “bad”

Missing — I know this is a really long shot, but did you... https://mollyamory-again.tumblr.com/post/184790779123/i-know-this-is-a-really-long-shot-bu… did you ever happen to see a Pirates of the Caribbean fanvid set to "Walk the Walk" by Poe? I loved it

Technical: Best editing codec working in Lightworks & Windows? https://vidding.dreamwidth.org/390754.html For vidders who work in Windows and use Lightworks to edit, what codec works best for your editing? And what software do you use to convert your various kinds of source files into that desired codec?

Technical: Keeping Track Of Your Source                 https://teamhousestark.tumblr.com/post/185083799421/fanvideo-makers @ fanvideo makers Especially if your fandom has a shitton of source material (say, eight seasons, lol) how do you remember what episode different things happened in? Have you watched it a ton of times, do you keep a wiki open when making videos, or what?

Technical: The Ultimate Guide to Get Started As A Vidder (from 2016)   https://thedailyfandom.com/vidding-ultimate-guide/  We have done plenty of research and added our own experience as vidders to create this super guide to get you started in this wonderful fan activity. This tutorial will help both beginners with no notions of vidding and pro vidders who are looking for some complementary tips and resources.

[amadeyus]

30 questions (LONG POST)

rules: answer 30 questions and tag 10 people 

Tagged by @ginevraslovegood , thank you <333 bahdude

tagging: @themusicalbookworm , @hushpiper , @trash-god , @kittychako , @omeinfreund , @tserpillum , @quietcelt, @lindowyn, @xleviiiix, @erensjaegerbombs

# following: 202

# of followers: >10 :))))) i like to keep it a zekecret on the tumblosphere but if we’re mutuals/we’ve talked before i can tell u in DMs if you’re really curious

average hours of sleep: uhhh honestly i think it’s anywhere from like 6-10 hours (although i try to aim for 7-8 hours) 

lucky number: i feel like it’s 4 (i found out in grade 3 that it was 4 where you had to like add up certain numbers together and I FORGOT THE PROCEDURE but it’s shaped a lot of my thoughts/perspectives) even though 4 in chinese it sounds similar to the word for death (四 sounds really similar to 死; same pronounciation different tone) so idk man

instruments: when i was younger i played the guitar and piano but then in grade 9 i realized the performance arts isn’t really my thing and ever since i’ve been specializing in the visual arts (art™) and in applied arts (design)

what are you wearing: a white to black gradient shirt with a forest image + jeans cause im cold

dream job: to be an industrial designer while having 1) a good work/life balance 2) professional and personal fulfillment 3) to be able to make meaningful and helpful work and 4) to like the work i make

(if that doesn’t work out i have a contingency plan to become a motion graphics animator because i also like animation and it’s another creative career that pays relatively well)

dream trip: tbh any country with good food, clean air, nice scenery (and preferrably with some design background too) would be nice - i’d like to go to amsterdam someday for those reasons

birthday: jan 11 (so triple 1s ayyyyy and also todoroki shouto’s bday)

height: same height as jean kirstein pre-time skip (idk about his post-time skip height tho)

gender/pronouns: i’ve gone by she/her my entire life but i’m also a-okay with they/them pronouns if you don’t remember

other blogs: hooo boiiii here they are:

photoshopshit (a photoshop resources & tutorial blog)

fyshingeki (an snk fansite blog)

lonekorra (my atla/lok side blog; abandoned indefinitely)

surveyedcorps (my snk side blog; abandoned indefinitely)

momoweek (a side blog for yaoyorozu momo week; COMING SOON AND STAY TUNED :)))

nicknames: my tol hs friend and i call each other tree bc tolness

star sign: i’m a caprisun capricorn

time: 6:51pm

favorite bands: bastille, florence + the machine (they aRE a band righttt), fall out boy, imagine dragons, onerepublic, kalafina, ling tosite sigure

favorite artist: sia, p!nk, aimer, mika kobayashi

favorite tumblr artist: for visual art, i really love works by @drinkyourfuckingmilk , @alemanriq , and @lolakasa <- all these artists draw quality snk art and i love their styles and how they draw facial expressions in general. for performance artist im love @themusicalbookworm gio’s stuff bc she writes songs about characters/ships for fmab/bnha (and sometimes snk) and how cool is that omg (i especially love her song about momo called stardust veins)

song stuck in your head: the bnha ost that played during momo’s and shouto’s final exam and in other scenes but it’s real nice it’s called the threat of offense and defense i recommend listening

last movie you watched: COCO

last show you watched: m a n i don’t even remember what show i watched the last time, i think maybe orphan black s5? since i finished the series

why did you make your blog: originally my friend was like you should join! and bc my smol self was ignorant i said okay and it started out as like..... an aesthetic blog?? (i don’t even know if it’s considered that but i just reblogged a buncha things that looked visually nice...like watermelons) and then when i was introduced to the fandom part of the tumblosphere, i became a YA-lit/TV shows multifandom blog + ATLA (im love atla), THEN IN GRADE 9 I WATCHED SNK and i lived to see myself become a multifandom anime blog that’s mostly snk

what do you post: mostly snk, atla/lok, fmab, bnha and misc non fandom stuffs (and also lotsa snk gfx and animations for original content™)

last thing you googled: “manic episode” because i wanted to know what it was called in chinese

ao3: surveyedcorps (i don’t write, but that’s my account so you’ll see me liking/bookmarking/subscribing as that url)

do you ever get asks: sometimes haha

how did you get the idea for your url: ok so since getting one word canon urls are a rat race, i was brainstorming a bunch of canon urls that might be available. and since places are less likely to be taken (shiganshina and trostdistrict were taken iirc), i was like oooh stohessdistrict is the place of focus for some episodes/chapters and voila it has become my current url

favorite food: SO MANY but across the board (no matter the cuisine/preparation) i love noodles a lot. so tbh i would choose like yunnan cold noodles at this restaurant i frequent bc im love it so m u c h

last book you read: my driving theory book

top 3 fictional universes: i’m really intrigued by/invested in the ATLA/LOK, BNHA, and SNK universes

[incendavery]

gosh, thank you! that is so sweet??? I hope you (and any other of my followers who celebrate!) have/had a very happy Eid!💖 💕

on another note, I’ve finally gotten around to cleaning out my askbox! under the cut is almost every ask I’ve gotten that i haven’t answered in the past.... I’m not sure. it’s been a WHILE though.

as a warning, there’s all sorts of stuff, and it’s all untagged! also also, if you sent one of these asks and want me to remove it, just let me know!

yes!! @fuckaspunk IS super sweet and talented and i AM very lucky to have them! and I’ve heard from reliable sources that the feeling is mutual~~💕

i’m glad my comics make you feel less alone; that’s a rough situation you’re in. i really hope you find yourself in a better environment soon!

thank you!!!💕

thank you for understanding! and yes, aidan is a huge help to me??? even when they’re not answering asks, they’re always supporting me in some way, whether that’s making sure I’ve eaten enough, or talking me through my anxiety, or all the other ways they’re there for me every single day💕💕

ok, my tips are!!:

draw as much as possible! even if it’s just lines and shapes with no meaning, you’re still developing your hand/eye skills

BUT: dont draw if you’re not feeling it! if you’re feeling fried, it’s better to take a break. go on a walk to somewhere scenic, read your favorite book, listen to some new music, hang out with friends, or just take a nap! rest up and find some inspiration! you can come back to your sketchbook when you feel energized again

draw stuff that you like! you’ll improve way faster if you’re passionate about what you’re doing

look at art you like with a critical eye. try to examine the different components and figure out what you think works or doesn’t work. try incorporation those components into your own work

read a lot of tutorials and other resources, but take what they say with a grain of salt

ultimately, remember that the only real rule to drawing is that doing it should make you happy

good luck!! i do my best not to pick, but it’s a real struggle; i have lots of scars from it too. ;v; im cheering for you!!!

ALWAYS!!!! if you do, please show me!! my notifications get real busy, but anyone is welcome to IM me any time!

thank you! i actually get very worried about my style; i tend to admire artists with complex linework and delicate shading, so i often feel my style is far to simple! so thank you!!

that is really high praise????? gosh??!?!?!? best of luck with the next three years; i hope you grow to be someone you like even better than me!

thank you!!

peanut time is the best!! i haven’t gotten to do a proper one in a while though ;-; i’ve mostly been feeding the crows on my way back home from night shifts, when i give them the reject eggs from the continental breakfast.

wow, neat!! chickens are so wonderful; i cont wait until i can have some of my own :>

dont be nervous! i know i can be hard to get ahold of over the internet (bc i get overwhelmed easily) and hard to talk with irl (bc i get so nervous and interacting w ppl doesn’t come naturally to me AT ALL) but honestly i?? love making new friends??!

thank you!!? im thankful every day that someone as radient as aidan is in my life for the long haul

thank you!!!!!!!💕

i completely feel that? its ok to hit rough patches! just do your best!!

i dont remember what i felt bad about but THANK YOU💕💕

honestly its done me worlds of good to share my art?? hearing people talk about how they go through all the same shit i do makes me feel so much less alone, especially on the toughest days! so i guess thank you, and thank you?

youre welcome!!!! :>

huh!! i dont know much about shoegaze (other than thinking abt that post abt the guy who pronounced it like fugazi I THINK ABT THAT EVERY TIME) but thats real neat!! im glad youve found something that works for you!!

hey, neat middle name! and youre very welcome; i hope things have been looking up for you since you sent this?💕

i dont remember when this was from but im currently doing really well with my meds!! i switched to a combination of lexapro in the morning and benadryl in the evening, and its been working super well!✨

thank you??!! ;o; i would love to see all your favorite birds!!

hey, right back atcha!!!

:0

ty!!!

hey. thank YOU

you’re absolutely not bothering me! thank you so much!!

!!!!!!!!!!

hey, nice! im glad you like both me and my music!

gosh thanks?!?!

she is the most beautiful and handsome!!!!!!!!!!!! i love her! thank you from both of us!!!!

aw, gosh! im sure i like you too!!

this was from.... A WHILE AGO.... but youre welcome?? i just wish i could have done more

hey, thank you so much!!!!!

thank YOU and a very very belated merry christmas!!!

that does make sense!! reconciling friendships and crushes is tricky business. the best i can say to you is to be as honest and open with each other as you can

i dont personally get those, but ive heard of people experiencing them as a sideeffect when coming off or switching meds

i think these two are part of the same message? but oh man yeah that sucks when ppl are misgendering you AND hitting on you at the same time. on a different note, ive never heard of using a corset to stim before! neat!

i mean, 1. depression doesn’t care if you have a “””good””” reason and 2. ive literally never met anyone w depression (including myself) who thinks that they do have a “””good””” reason for having it. thats the insidious part of depression, is that it makes you think that theres nothing wrong and that its all just you not measuring up in some way

so i guess that would make you.... someone with depression?

real BAD

💕 💖 💞  💓  💗

not yet haha THANK YOU

hey, im glad you like it!! since this blog has gotten so big, its kinda my happy place to be? (for anyone wondering, my reblog blog/personal is @spinels!

that IS a fun fact!! thank you!

it’s absolutely ok! i get a little bitter when people take my work WAY out of context (for example, straight people removing the caption that says “im just really gay” before tagging their bf/gf) but i am 100% ok and happy with people relating to my work in a different way than i intended (ex: a comic i made about being ashamed of my derma getting reblogged by someone struggling to be ok w their visible burn scars)

hoo gosh, thank you!!

glad to have you here!! im glad people can relate to some of the weirdly specific shit i write about tbh???

i’m sorry its taken so long for me to get back to you; that a terrible situation

if you have a teacher you trust, i would absolutely bring it up to them. that is 100% not an ok thing for those kids to be doing. at all.

im glad you at least have your friends that support you! 

:0 WAIT is this someone i know through ucsc?? :0 :0 :0

HA 

aaaa thank you! that is high praise ;v;

i have no words; this is such a touching message. thank you so much ;v;

this is belated but!! the main creative community i can recommend is kzsc, the radio station! i had a real cool time there, and its a great way to make friends and connect with ppl of all sorts! :0

yeah, its totally normal! ive had roommates ive been super tight with, and roommates who i barely ever hung around with. its natural! i doubt you’ll finish college w/o finding a roomie that you get ~The Roomie Experience~ with though, even if its like a housemate or s/t!! ;0

i’ve never been told that, actually! neat!! (and wow?? i cant believe i inspire ppl.... wow......... what a concept tbh??)

oh yikes... i do hope youre feeling better :( im glad my comics can help a little bit at least!

💕 💖 💞  💓  💗!!!

HUGS

i dont remember what this was in reference to, but good to know?

also good to know!?

i think the crows and jays do! i dunno about the squirrels and other birds. and thank you!!

the youth gang..... i love it..... how good???!

i wrote about getting yuri right here! he’s a southern alligator lizard and i love him to bits. 

heres a pic of the Long Boy doin his thing:

hey neat! i’m glad youve chosen a lame you can be proud of!!💖

ive never heard of that!! wow

what play is this?? :0 :0 :0 im so curious now!!

oh SHUCKS...,,,,,,,,,, ;v;

hahahaha omg thank u

i dont actually have any more of them interacting, unfortunately! the owl isnt one specific person, like a lot of my characters are meant to represent. the owl more represents as a whole all the people i run into in my life that i am very very gay for.

thank you!!!

youre very welcome! im glad you feel better!!!!

aaa gosh thank you!!!

hhhhfgh ive gotten less of it recently BUT YEAH that was bad times™️ 

thanks for the info!!! :0

no problem! a lot of the credit honestly goes to @fuckaspunk, who is always keeping me updated on that sort of stuff.

i didn’t know that! a lot of the symbolism seems to come from multiple sources sometimes, from what ive seen?

aaaa gosh omg thank you ;v;

aw thank you???!!

nice!!! oct 24 bdays go!!!

thank you!! it really does mean a lot actually!!!!!!!

of course?? antisemitism cant be ignored in this fight

aw, thats so cute! id love to hear what headcanons you have tbh???

hey thanks?! this is really cool to hear, tbh. i try to be positive most of the time, but im not going to like,,, kid myself when im not feeling it and im glad that other people can appreciate that too, ya know?

wow!!

(this one!) thank you i love that one too???!

hey, im glad you found your way here!! thank you so much!!!

aaaa ty! 

hmmm i have two leopard geckos, and they made very good beginning lizards for me and aidan! but i would maybe ask someone a bit more experienced than me, like @kaijutegu​ or @wheremyscalesslither​!!

thank you!!

one day at a time! (but seriously, thank you!!)

yummy yummy sauce...... ty!!!

awww, gosh! thank you!?

AAAA TY BOTH I GET SO SELF-CONSCIOUS ABT MY VOICE,,,,, ;o;

:0 i havent watched that, but it sounds rly cool!!

i like that fun fact a lot! ty!!

pae stands for paerlin, which is what @fuckaspunk​‘s internet handle used to be! i used it to refer to them on my blog in secret back when they still didnt know i had a crush on them.... ;//v//;

aaaaa thank you!!!  ;o;

nice nice nice ty!!

>:0 get back down here!! (jk that’s rly neat! highfive!!) 

those are all good words that i like!! thank you!!!!

i dont know anything about him, but i looked him up and i guess i can see it?!

@fishcrow is really cool! ive never really interacted with them, but im p sure were mutuals...? anyway yeah their comics are rly cute and cool!

that is me! thank you; i hope things go well for you as well!

hello to you too!

aaaa ty!!! tbh the number of nice anons i get way way way outnumbers the mean ones <3

thank you! thank YOU for existing!

:0 chocolate croissant, here i come!!!

thank you!!!!!!💕

its literally my pleasure!!!

aaa ty!!! 💕💕

hehe im glad! 

sldf;j;sfjdklfdslfjs thank you so much?????? what a compliment omg gosh

yeah!! i have a hard time on settling what class id be, but i feel like id be a heart player! 

ohh um! im not sure which pens youre referring to, but if you mean the ones I use for my comics, i color them with Winsor & Newton ProMarkers, and I do the lines with a purple fine-point Sakura Gelly Roll Classic pen! i also use micron pens of all different sizes and colors in some of my non-diary comic art!

aww thank you so much!!

:0 :) :0 !!!!!!

ty!!! ive grown to love him very much as well!!

thank you! i hope you are doing well also!!

i love them very much?!! id put a picture but i dont have one with all four of them so instead imagine me lying on the floor crying abt how much i love them bc thats me basically every day

you dont mean......

?!?!?!?!?!?!

awwww ty!!!

HEY WOW

aaa gosh thank you!💕

DOUBLE FOLLOW

gay dragons combine the best of both very good things: gay and dragons. im glad you appreciate them w me tysm ;v;

aaa what a lovely message! ty💕

3rd-shift-working, depression-having, corvid-loving solidarity fistbumnp!!!!

huh! ive never heard of that; ill check it out maybe!!

ah im really glad? tysm!!💕

my understanding is that it helps people who have text-to-speech readers? but im honestly not as well informed on that as i should be! 

hell yeah!!!! 

gosh!!!!!

hnmngnhng youve probably already made a decision but i just gotta say.........shadow rulez

delicious!!

i havent!! i really want to though!

oh man ALL THE TIME. i usually try to either reality check with someone i trust, or to do an activity thats easy and i know i can do, or both!

i love andre and karl!!! its actually a huge influence on me and my art tbh??? 

i had a good (and safe) trip! ty!!!

hey, thank you!!!

oh jeez thats bad :( i think this was in response to when i needed to wait between med refills?

i cant give a precise reason, tbh! when it comes to whats lucky, i just sort of.... go with my gut, ya know?

thank you!! 👍

that sure sounds like insomnia! its almost hard for me to say tbh, bc ive had trouble sleeping for as long as i can remember, so NOT having trouble sleeping is bizarre and unrealistic to me haha... but i think the bottom line is, if its interrupting your daily routine and making it hard for you to have enough energy, then its something you should look into remedies for!

:0 :0 :0

ohhh how nice! ill give it a try! :>

omg,,,, nope, just me!

thank you!!!!!!

honestly? thats such a good way to look at it i love the idea of my blog as a big zine

always!!!!! go for it!!!

hey, thank you so much!!!!!

omg, thats so great! thank you!

im so glad; thank you!!!

thank you so much!💖 (and mexico, neat! i love hearing where people are following from??)

aaaaaaaaaaaa ;//v//; thank you??? i get so happy whenever ppl tell me they like my singing aaaaaaa

aw, hey, no worries! money is all well and good, but in some ways, messages like this mean just as much!

its cool that comic gave you plural feels! im def not a system though :> 

its tricky, isnt it? i still feel like im no good at it lmao

LISTEN,,, there is a 99.9999% chance i wont notice, and a 100% chance i wont judge. reblog away! 

THANK YOU ARENT THEY THE BEST I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

thank you!! i hope you have a good day as well!

aaa ty!!💖

aa ty! (what a cool name!!! im kind jealous ngl!)

awww thank you💖

i do my best! i just worry when im not active, bc i tend to connect my self-worth to my output (;^; )

aaaaa ty!! 💖

!!!!!!!!!!!! omg wow i love being called a pretty boy???? ty???????

hey, neat! crow high-five!

aw, thank you!!! 💖

im doing my best! thank you so much, messages like this really help when im in a place like that tbh ;v;

gosh this is so sweet? thank you so muhc !!?

thank you all!! im sorry that saying thank you over and over sounds so repetitive, but i truely do mean it for every one of you!!!

i am..... one of those things!

well thank you!!

ohoho~✨

thank you! and honestly im sure it does??

hey, cool! good for you!!!!!!! and ty!!

aw gosh thank you!💖

hey, wow! thats super cool; thank you so much!

(i dont follow the first person i followed on tumblr anymore.... they became a hockey blog rip haha)

aaaah, thank you so much!!

almost???

i do!! drunken lullabies is an absolute banger!!!!!!!!!!

i am!!!! thank you!!

aw, ty!!! 💖

hee hee, thank you! 

my biggest tip honestly?? have someone who can be by your side to help you with... basically everything... during your recovery. bc trust me, i was n o t  a v a i l a b l e. i spent a lot of my recovery playing 2048 at the same time as watching tv, bc doing both at once distracted me from how much the bandages itched.

thank you!! (i think this was in reference to getting top surgery!)

how shitty??????? yikes. i hope your supervisor has your back??? bc wow????

hey!!! thank you!!! i draw all my comics traditionally on paper! im not sure what you mean by the writing though? if you mean the word bubbles, i do those by hand on paper too!

I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND THAT FEELING,,,, im so happy ppl talk to me, but i get really nervous about saying the wrong thing. 

when i’m down, i usually crave validation. i like being reminded about things ive done right! i also like gentle reality checks, like, ‘hey: this is the situation, this is what we can do about it. ok? ok’

i unfortunately dont have any!! i had a couple at one point, but they’ve since been lost to the depths of my old laptop. and hey, thank you so much!!

now thats a nifty trick!! im terrible at telling all my white tablets from each other lmao

!!!!!!! ITS ME!!!!!!!!

maybe you just need some space? i know i sometimes temporarily block people i know, if i need some private space or if i dont trust myself to keep cool and solve problems constructively. do what you need to do to feel at ease, and go from there, ya know?

thank you!!!

its,,,, up somewhere above in this monster post lmao i,m so sorry,,,,

thank you so much!!!

WOW NO WORRIES??,,,,,,,,, INCREDIBLE 10/10???????

all four of these came right after i gave myself a hair cut and THANK YOU SO MUCH??? i live for validation and it feels so good to have my actions affirmed ;o;

[taehyung-the-baehyung]

Im on summer break rn and I have one more month to go!! I'm happy that I can sleep in and chill but I'm??so?? bored?? like yeah I can meet up with friends but I do that like 2 days a week and the rest is just ?? ahhh do you have any recs? anything to check out? anything to do?literally I don't care if it's a band, a book, a video, show, hobby or just a freaking baking recipe,, I need stuff to obsess over and I need lots of it ://

WHY IS THIS ME?

honestly, i’m the type of person that has to be learning something. i don’t miss homework and tests or anything, but i miss learning. so i’d say just go learn or do something new. go visit museums, drive around aimlessly and go wherever interests you, learn a new language, etc.! i’ll tell you what i’ve been doing and some other recs below the cut (cause it got kind of long 😅)

fill up my inbox ❣️

• i’ve been learning some html/css over at codeacademy and that’s a great website. i’ve always been interested by coding and i think theme makers here on tumblr are so talented. from the little html i’ve dealt with, it’s very intriguing so i want to get really good at it! i recommend learning coding, even if it’s a little bit. it’s a great job skill and to say you learned it yourself would be pretty cool. @roxiestheme & @magnusthemes are two of my favorite theme makers and a lot of the time these amazing theme makers will have tutorials or learning resources to help you out if you’re interested! 

• i’ve also been trying to learn some korean and keep myself brushed up on my italian, so i’ve been going through resources for both– watching movies and shows (kdramas are a great way to spend time, i tell ya :D). @bitesizekorean & @19tc are two my favorite korean langblrs and i’ve been taking italian for 6 years now so i just generally stick to reading news articles, finding netflix shows that have italian audio, etc. learning new languages is always fun, even if it’s just a couple basic phrases! italian, spanish, korean, hindi, etc. it’s all out there to learn! 

• i used to read a lot when i was younger but now the only thing i read is fanfic…which is perfectly fine, but i miss whizzing through entire books and not even blinking before picking up the next one! i had two months to read but i highkey procrastinated on this one…although finally last night i started a new book and am liking it so far. i recommend making a goal for yourself to finish x amount of books by the start of your semester! currently i’m reading china dolls by lisa see and up next will be behold the dreamers by imbolo mbue

• obviously i write a lot and lately i’ve been motivated by consistently seeing stories that i personally felt were better than mine. i’ve reached a point where i’m writing regularly but can’t see any improvement, so i’ve been doing writing exercises and reading a lot about writing. if you are interested in starting to write i highly highly recommend @writeworld and @lizard-is-writing on tumblr (you can always always always come to me as well! i may not be an expert but i can definitely be a supporter as you start!) i’ve also been reading bird by bird by anne lamott which i like because is really encourages me to stick to my writing and not abandon it out of discouragement (which i’ve done in the past…) i recommend trying to dabble in a new art or continue a passion of yours that you’ve always had! whether it’s writing prose, or poetry, drawing, calligraphy, painting, collaging, you name it– try something new with that creative brain of yours! go find things on pinterest if you need a little spark! moodboard making is also something fun you could try right here on tumblr that’s pretty popular! 

• another thing that is semi related to the one above is journaling! this helps me write everyday, but it also helps me sort out how i’m feeling and why. i’m a very self-reflective kind of person so although it’s always happening in my head, it’s great to have a place to really work through the way my mind works and articulate it. my favorite journals to use are these book journals which take old children’s books or novels and they insert journal pages between the original book pages. absolutely charming if you ask me. BUT i’ve been journaling for years so i have like a million and three filled journals and while i love looking through them, i thought it might be interesting to try out typing them as well so i’ve started one on tumblr, which makes my life easier since i’m basically always on this damn website xD it’s convenient so far, and i like that i can sort through things by tag. but i kind of prefer the physical journals so i might revert to my old ways…

• and lastly, i take only average care of myself. i don’t eat enough (i’m pescatarian and super picky so i’m like 80% sure i’m not getting enough protein) and i only workout when i feel like it (when i’m home anyway, i’m pretty good about it at college since the gym is literally like two feet away…). this summer one of my goals has been to really workout and learn about fitness. i watch a lot of youtubers and read up on basics about how certain foods can affect different parts of your body. tiffanyrotheworkouts have been my go-to at home workouts and abby pollock has been amazing in terms of teaching you about muscle groups and then going into certain workouts to use when you’re at the gym. i definitely recommend trying new things to keep yourself active! take walks by yourself around your neighborhood, go hiking, go for a run, head to the gym, dance around to your favorite music at home. i’ve always been bad at this, but i’m trying really hard to not stay planted in front of my laptop.

other things that are super fun to do:

• bake some desserts

• learn a recipe from a different culture of cuisine

• go to museums (one of my favorite things to do)

• explore your city / town and find those hidden spots that you end up loving 

• go on a bike trail

• find new music on spotify (always keeps me busy for a long time)

• go shopping and upgrade your wardrobe 

• learn photography

let me know what you decide to take on or if you discover something yourself to do! oh and here’s one more:

• talk to your favorite tumblrs! (aka i love interacting with y’all please come talk to me)