#it’s not even a new artstyle it’s just a different pen and way to draw hair

[sea-jello]

it me fr

alternately:

[squidpedia]

What was it like for you starting out as a beginner artist? How did you improve?

I mostly just incessantly practiced, experimented, and observed a lot for as long as I can remember. I grew up on a lot of videos going over tips and techniques for beginner artists and mostly just observed their processes and would try to bring them into my art. Othertimes I would just constantly experiment with my artstyle (what if I made the shoulders more defined, what if I changed the size of how I draw eyes, what if tried drawing different body types, what if I tried a pose with a lot more foreshortening etc etc). I tried to push myself a bit further everytime like maybe spending more time on the overall piece, adding backgrounds, drawing multiple people interacting. Drawing challenges also helped a lot I think since they pushed me out of my comfort zone or forced me to approach my art in different way than what I was used to. Things like “draw something using only one line and not lifting your pen from the paper”, or “create a bunch of random shapes using a colored marker and then turn them into characters/objects”, or even just dtiys challenges were great for this. A lot of the drawings I made from these didn’t really end up being things I was super proud of after finishing them, but thats fine since I still learned a lot and they still helped with improving. A lot of it was honestly just not being afraid to draw something I might not be happy with later in the name of getting that practice in and trying new things all the time.

I hope this is helpful, but I’m not too sure so I’m sorry if it isn’t, this is the best way I could think of summarizing it!

[daily-ethoslab]

For the feedback on the brush: I personally think it makes your art seem a little more cartoon-ish, which I think suits your style (which is amazing by the way, I just wanna, wanna squish) (Also! The brush reminds me of the artstyle in Gravity falls)

I know the kinda struggle one may have with the line weight (I use brushes like these all the time, they can absolutely get frustrating at times)

I know tons of artists (or rather artsytles) that use a brush that doesn't vary depending on how fast you draw with in or how much pressure you're putting on it, and it doesn't look cheap at all!

I think the other brush looks very good as well, but if I had to choose, I actually think I'd rather have the new one that doesn't vary depending on how you draw (I personally would draw thicker lineart with a brush like that, or atleast on the outside, but you do you and your art is amazing :] )

Long story short: I like both very much, your artstyle is squishy, and respect you've been doing this for 500 days and have literally been one of the hughlights of my day (I don't watch Etho too often, probably should, but still :D)

This ask made me think so much about like my art style and like why does the pixel brush just.. feels better. I think it has to do with my transition from sketch to line work

Heres a random sketch (not the best example but work with me.) Both are pretty expressive i think

And here’s the line work with both of them. I noticed with the line work one I was so focused on trying to make some of the line weight makes sense that I lost some of the expressiveness of the original sketch. Meanwhile with the other one i was able to keep some of that expressiveness??

Idk, this is just for me. I love using brush pens in real life but i think with digital art I tend to be overly perfectionist. Meanwhile with traditional art i have a mindset of “if it’s on the paper it stays on the paper” So im less likely to be all focused on mistakes? Idk if this is even true, it could be a completely different reason that i didnt catch when i was drawing but this is my best guess atm. ALSO TYSM FJDSKFSJESKD honestly im just happy that other people are still interested in my silly little ethos and people are willing to give feedback on my art and help me improve. Thank u for such a detailed ask :3

[barrel-of-bones-and-brain-worms]

By heavens your artstyle is chefs kiss. Any tips for a new struggling artist

Thank you. I've never had my art called that before. I've been drawing since I was young and I've trialed and errored my way to this point so here's what I did.

One, I suggest drawing a lot. Draw, doodle, sketch, whatever. The experience will help you get better by itself. It's practice and that practice will help you learn what you like to draw, how you like to do it, and help develop your style.

Two, try different mediums. Traditional pencil art, painting, digital, charcoal, marker, pen, whiteboard, etc. This will also help you develop your style and aid in your practice. You'll learn what you like to use the most and what you don't. Even if you don't find anything in particular you like it's the experience and exercise that will aid in your art. Each medium requires different techniques. I personally use traditional pencil, digital, and I paint sometimes but I'm usually up to trying something new.

Three, study character anatomy and use references. References will give you the idea of what you're trying to draw looks like or is based on. You don't have to use them all of the time because I sure don't but they are helpful. Knowing basic anatomy of what your drawing helps a bunch. I know that when I went from not using any anatomy sketching to when I did I got better. Doing a simple stick figure with some squares and circles for the main body/head and marking where the joints/features were cause a jump of improvement in my art. It doesn't have to be anything complicated. I suggest looking up basic anatomy for drawing videos or pictures, they'll explain it better than I can. Once you understand anatomy you can apply to all different styles.

Finally, experiment. Experiment. Experiment. Trial and error. You'll get better and learn more just by experimenting. Not all of these are going to work for you. Look up videos on art improvement and tips. Ask friends what they think. Draw a lot. Draw crazy stuff. Draw weird stuff. Draw in different styles. Do whatever feels right. Art is all about what you want and what you feel like. It's your creation so do what feels right.

Remember it's not always going to be perfect or go the way you want. It's a learning experience and with art you're always learning. Don't feel bad if something goes wrong or not the way you want. It's just a stepping stone on your path to becoming better.

[berrybelbakerycrackfic]

Alright, might as well get this out of the way for archival purposes, and also because I don't really feel like spacing these out into separate posts? Eh, maybe I just need to actually produce some more content for this, but getting all old content uploaded is productive in it's own right I suppose. Here's all the art of Maribel I would consider old and outdated. Some even before I came to the realization that "this is just essentially an AU isn't it". My first drawings were done on June 6th, 2023. There's some oddball oldies between then and like, 2/3 months ago where I now have a more consistent style to go toward(though still figuring stuff out), but considering how I held off on this post I might leave those till later.

First drawing, colored and uncolored. A clearly shocked look on her face, yet still cute(at least to me ;) ). Her long black T shirt and blue skirt are reminiscent of Madeline's jacket shape and color respectively, but the pumpkin hair shape thing I didn't decide upon until later. It's just orange here because of a common misconception that Madeline's hair is more orange than it is red. That wasn't intentional, but it did help differentiate the two.

I believe this half marker half pen doodle is the 2nd ever one. Honestly might redraw this one cus the idea of her shrugging like this definitely fits her character. Also with it's color removed like this the skirt and apron combo kind of looks like a maid dress, especially with how many frills I gave the skirt here

This was like a joke about her being self conscious of her weight but I think Maribel is actually the type to be fine with that. Speaking of that I have slimmed her down just a little bit between then and now.

when you want to make more drawings of your cool new idea for reddit but it's like 11 PM

I actually think this is one of the best portrayals of her character despite not having the pumpkin hairdo yet!

Though it does highlight a point where my artstyle(or more accurately, how I think of my artstyle) and Pizza Tower's art differs/clashes a bit, and that's with mouths. Typically I like to imagine giving characters smaller mouths and big eyes so they look more cute, but in Pizza Tower, Peppino and most of the other guys(even Gustavo partially) have big gaping jaws extending down their chins. It's been a bit of a hard thing to get around... While I'm at it, this art isn't this era of old, I made it more recently, but it does show Maribel with a more extended jaw. She's also really, really pissed off at something;

(don't ask why there's a cheese grater there I couldn't answer you if I tried)

Oh right, I almost forgot, the first time I tried to make a proper pizza tower style sprite for Maribel!

It sucks. This sucks so much. The refined sprite I would make later is so much better than this, just please stop looking; (the madeline sprite on the left was made by Ellisbros)

[conflitdecanard]

Hello, sorry if you've answered this question before, but what advice would you give to a absolute beginner learning to draw fantasy character illustration art? (Also do you draw while high? Since that is the only way I know how I can experience new methods of thought openly without judgement.)

Hallo (*°ｰ°)ﾉ

dxdezhjdhed I will answer this part right away: I don't consume any subtances :'D Drugs or alcohol or such

I don't know if I am the best at giving advices for such a general art topic but I will do my best (。_。) - Before all you should have fun - It may sound pretty... basic but if you draw stuff you enjoy, it will be easier to work ! It is motivating to do something you enjoy I would say

- Art style is a patchwork - It is how my art style is, I dunno if it works for many others but yah. My art style is a mix of details/parts I find really good. I took them and put them in my art style. You would not notice it because there is so many little details I took, my art style doesn't look like the artists' I took these details from. You can look for fantasy art you find pleasing. I have a channel in my personal discord where I put inspirations for my art. It can be just a detail or more details ( I would say to also save the source of the art ^^" As respect for the artist ) -There's many fantasy species and even more depictions of them- Fantasy characters is a pretty wide subject as not only artstyle will change how species look but people may have different ways of how they will represent these species too

‣For example: Firbolgs - I saw them as blueish/greyish giants with pink noses but for some years now, I draw them as cows-like humanoids from seeing people draw them as such and I just... loved this vision ! ‣ Or for goblins, I see people drawing them with tails and even whiskers ! I don't do tails or whiskers myself but it is different possible interpretations ! And the examples go on...

It is a bit like the paragraph above but here it is more about fantasy characters yah. If you find a way a species is draw even if it is not how it is show in " official fantasy books ", if you enjoy it and it will bring you joy then that's how you will have that species draw. Who listen to every details in handbooks anyway... /lh

- Don't compare yourself to others - Again. Pretty basic. And not easy at all to do for many, I know that myself oh my gosh... It is in part with having fun. You will not have fun putting expectations on yourself FROM yourself... It is good to have a goal but do not try to be EXACTLY like someone else. You are you and what you create is good enough. <:)

- Real life is also a good place to find inspiration - For personal designs or adoptables, I will often use stuff I saw outside or just thought about. Like: - Ragdoll bunny plushies, I had one I adored as a kid. I could do something around that yeh... - Tadpoles are so interesting ! Oh swamp goblins do exist uh ! - Ayah... This character from that movie really gave me gender emotions growing up. Hmm... I could use his hairstyle as inspiration, I loved that part the most yeh. - I'm watching videos about bugs. I'm learning about them and I could do stuff around what I learned and saw ! I'm really about using stuff you enjoy hehe :')

- You do not have to finish a piece or make it complex to make said art good - That's an advice I got from a friend recently. I would think only arts I have finished fully or put enough work into were " worth " posting. He told me just doodles/sketches are good enough too. Art is art. Art is what you create. You create ? You're an artist. It is pretty simple if you ask me.

- You don't have to post or show every art you did - I would say to experiment and don't try to make it good everytime. You can just let the pen glide across the canvas and just draw what you want just cuz you wanna try to draw it. Nobody can make something good right away when they never done it before. It is like... testing if an ink pen works ! You would probably just make a random scribble to see if there's still ink in it, if it still work yeh. You can just warm up and test stuff around and keep these for yourself. I do recommand to keep even little tests so you can look at them later, for inspiration or just to remember how far you have come ! o(^▽^)o

~

+ Not a general advice but a way of creating by just letting go I enjoy doing as a kind of exercice and game + Something I do WAY more on paper than digital is to... just start doodling and sketching without any real end goal in mind. I will start with a thought and just doodle stuff from it, like: - I think of the ragdoll bunny plushie of my childhood and just start stuff around it - Starting maybe with the plushie of my memories as best as I can, then maybe actual bunnies wearing the cute clothes my plushie wore, then maybe make the bunnies stand on two legs and have an anatomy more like my plushie had etc. I don't think or try of making it good, it helps me relax and let go. Empty my head from the day to day stress and anxiety. I will most likely never show these doodles to anyone. But here yeah it is more a me exercice and I don't say you have to follow it. And you have no obligations to follow any advices above too dhezhud (╯▽╰ ) Again I am no teacher and I believe everyone is different so not every advices or tutorial will work for everybody but it costs nothing to try ! Just be kind to yourself always ;w; @anony990

[decaffeinatedartisthug]

Pro-tips for baby artists

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[dreamaredoodle]

hey there Dream!! hope you don’t mind me asking, but do you have any advice for beginner artists? I’m hoping to improve on my skills!! thank you!! :)

Sure! I can give some advice according to my experience, and most are not much different from what you’ll find in other art blogs, but hopefully, you’ll find something useful.

Use References! I can’t stress this enough. You want to draw someone in a specific pose? look for a reference pic or make one yourself. Clothing? look for a reference. Objects, animals plants? look for a reference. There’s nothing wrong with using references, it will make your work look better and helps learn how to draw too!

Do not avoid drawing the things you are not good at yet. If you struggle with hands, draw the hands even if they look weird and broken. The only way you have to improve at something is by doing it over and over (aside from using references). 

Art while rested will look different from art when tired. I don’t know how big of a universal experience is this, but I’ve noticed that how good the results with my art is, is very tied up with both my physical and emotional state.

If something looks bad but you can’t pinpoint what, let it rest, do something else and go back to the drawing later, usually with a rested head you’ll be able to spot the problem faster. Fliping your canvas also helps a lot, I’d recommend doing it in early states like the sketch, since it’s easier to change stuff then.

Not everything has to be a masterpiece or clean shaded art. Sketches can be as good as clean line art, one is not superior to the other, it’s good to know how to shade and do a clean line, but if you enjoy leaving you'd art with a messy line then go for it, that’s just as good.

It’s ok to take inspiration from how other artists draw certain things. If you struggle to do the face, look for different artists and how they do it, try different approaches until you find something that feels right. As long as you don't trace over the other artist's drawing or try to copy it to the last detail, it’s ok to take inspiration from other people/content.

Don’t obsess over developing “your own art style”, it will eventually happen, and very likely will change over the years. No one has a 100% original style, we are always taking conscious or unconscious inspiration from the content we consume. My advice would be to try different things and don’t obsess over trying to make it exactly like [insert specific artstyle here]. 

There is no one “Right way/ Wrong way” to draw things, yes there’s proportions and other rules that can help your drawing look better, but there is no “the right way to draw faces is starting with a  circle, if you start with the eyes then you are doing it wrong”. 

Draw things that are not meant to be finished pieces. You having trouble drawing arms? draw a lot of different arms attached to no bodies.

Do not delete your sketches!!! You don’t like how it looks? Hide the layer and open a new one, but keep all those drawings. On a similar note, a good exercise is drawing by hand with an ink pen, so you can’t erase what you draw. 

Everyone has a different learning curve, some go super fast in a week and then might have a year of no progress. Others get baby steps and can’t see a big improvement until months after. So sometimes you’ll feel stuck, and feel you are not moving forward, or that this or that person is going faster than you, but the only thing you can do is keep practicing and moving forward at your own speed, and that’s ok!

I can’t think of much else right now, but I hope this helps you out in some way! Good luck!

[windedfmp]

Reflection

What Primary and Secondary research did I do?

For my primary and secondary research, I focused on reviewing and playing online multiplayer games that offer a variety of designs and characters. I also looked over articles, books and interviewed the game design students about their designing process. 

How did my research help me to develop ideas?

My research helped me plan out my process and give me inspiration for my own set of characters. The research also helped me on how I should go about the designing process and how to make my designs fit the role that they were given. 

What games have I looked at?

The games I focused on were massively multiplayer online (MMO) games as they have multiple characters to choose from unlike regular single player games. For example, League of legends has over 134 (dated in march 2017) characters and even more designs in the form of  “skins” (When you can change the outfit or appearance of a specific character). I have also looked at a designer by the name of Fumito Ueda, due to his designs being almost revolutionary in the gaming industry. 

How did they inspire and influence my work?

Fumito Ueda inspired me to be a little bit more unique with my work, despite wanting to keep my designs simple. Fortnite inspired me to keep my characters in a human form instead of experimenting with different creatures. 

What were my initial ideas?

My initial ideas were to have four characters, one for each class in a classic MMO games. I had a basic idea of having two male and two female characters so a can explore more with the different genders. Each character was given a basic description for me to follow while designing. 

How have I developed those ideas?

My ideas for my characters developed throughout the whole designing process. For example, I wanted one of my characters to be draped in an Ox skin, but later changed it to a wolf for practical reasons. I have also changed my outcome, from being posters for the game to prints of the characters to show them off in a dramatic way. Instead of doing four prints, I decided to do only three as I was running short on time for the project. 

What materials and techniques have I used?

For my prints, I used both digital and traditional techniques to create the finished outcomes. All my line art and sketches were done in pen and ink while I coloured and edited the pieces in photoshop for the finished outcome. I have also experimented with different materials and other multi medias.  For example, I embodied one of my prints and stuck it in my sketchbook as an example of my experimentation with materials and different techniques.  

Which materials and techniques were the most successful?

I found that my pencil and ink sketches were the most successful as they helped me shape my characters into what I wanted them to look like in certain poses and facial expressions. Editing in photoshop also really transformed my prints from a drawing into a quality print with dramatic lighting and a serious mood to the image. I also added shading and depth into my prints while using photoshop to help create the mood. 

How/ why did I choose the techniques and materials for my final outcome?

I chose to mix digital and traditional techniques of drawing to bring more variety and originality in my prints instead of just doing all of it in photoshop or illustrator. This gave the line art more texture as well as the texture of the paper showing up in the final piece. I find this more aesthetically pleasing instead of having just a clean cut print which would not suit any of my rugged, feral, boisterous characters.  

Do my final outcomes communicate my intended messages?

My final outcomes main purpose was to show off my characters in a certain way to portray their personality through the way they were drawn. For example, My two moody characters had a greyscale styled print, while my brave and heroic character, Odin, had a vibrant watercolour base. 

Did I make any changes in my design development that altered my final outcomes? Why?

I made many but small design changes to each of my characters to either make them look more appealing or to be practical for their role. For example, I changed Ocolotts race from Asian to African American. I also changed Odin’s hair from a dusty brown to pure white. These design alts were for aesthetic only. Some, however, were to make their appearance more fitting for their role. For example, Frida wears pants instead of a skirt so she has more mobility. Willow keeps her hair short so she can’t be grabbed and it wont get in her face. 

Are my final outcomes successful? How/Why? Why not?

I believe my final outcomes are successful because each one of my characters have a unique aspect to them, which make them no normal human character. The prints are also drawn and portrayed in a dramatic light, to give the characters more of a serious feel. I also used one of my prints for colour experimentation and used watercolours for a base. 

What new skills, knowledge, techniques and processes have I learned?

My skills on photoshop have improved due to the editing on my prints. I have learnt new tools on photoshop that I can use in the future for other projects to produce more high quality outcomes. I have also improved in painting with watercolour and human anatomy drawing. My artstyle changed dramatically because of this project, so I am able to draw humans more accurately and confidently. I have also learnt of embroidery and how you can use it to turn a plain drawing into something unique and interesting to look at. 

Is there anything I could have done differently to make my project more successful?

I would have done more quality prints for each of my characters. Due to lack of time, I was only able to do three prints instead of four, one for each character. I would have also liked to be more wild with my designs by making non human characters but following the classic MMO games, a large amount of their characters are human or have very human-like features. 

Did I meet the requirements of the project brief?

I believe I met all the requirements to this projects brief. I designed four original characters, completed my research and created 3 prints to show off my designs. I also dedicated multiple pages to each character to experiment with their designs. 

[russell-crowe]

things i wish i’d known when i started out with digital art:

An Unwanted Text Post By Yours Truly (no, real talk, if even one person reads this and gets some advice out of it my work here is already done) 1. brushes are your identity for real. take the time to download and get to know brushes. life’s bigger than just the default round brush at different opacities. also, definitely take the time to get to know brushes, and if you’re really trying to figure out if one brush works for you, try and make an entire piece with just that drawing. that way you use it in a variety of ways and you can figure out what works best. (no required, but it made me fall in love with my default brush <3) 2. EXPERIMENT! i’m not kidding. if i had started experimenting much earlier I could’ve maybe been much further. get new layers, ctrl+z all the mistakes you fucking make.. it doesn’t matter. just be bold and brave and try things. 3. think about your colour scheme i actually got this from ‘euclase’, a very skilled digital artist. it might sound stupid.. but think about what you want to achieve first. do you want contrasting colours? if yes, where? where does the light hit? or do you want an ‘older’ look? if you can’t find this immediately, you can always put some filters and stuff on the reference pic to see if it gives you any inspiration. or look at a picture that already has what you want to draw, because that might be easier. of course try to challenge yourself, so i’d only suggest that as a point to start out with or a last result. the most fun is still to make stuff up as you go. you can try to train using different colours than the ‘standard’ colours by doing colour palette challenges, they’re so much fun! 4. look at other artists one way to develop your artstyle is by looking at what you like. it’ll give you a bit of a guideline. you don’t need to flat-out copy it, but it’ll give you an insight in how things work. plus, it’ll never be 100% the same. there will be differences, and you’ve got to embrace that what sets you apart (I for one love looking at ‘alicexz’ her work, but you wouldn’t be able to tell im massively inspired by her by my work, if that makes sense) 5. it’s not about the materials you don’t need the most expensive stuff. i worked for a long time on a pen tablet from the lidl. though i would recommend getting a (second hand) wacom: they have easy access to drivers and replacement parts and i’d say their pens are definitely making me able to draw smoother lines. you also don’t need photoshop. every program is different with different settings, and you might find what works for you better outside of photoshop. and most of all: never, ever give up. i have yet to dig up my old drawings, but well.. my first drawing (ironically one of nicolas cage) was terrible and a disgrace and ugly, but it was the start of something. it takes time to get used to your tablet and to your program. it takes time develop certain skills. be patient, try to keep yourself motivated, and most of all: if you ever hit a real wall (because there will be times where you feel like smashing your head in), take a walk.. take a break, save your ps file for another day.. you don’t have to be good in one day.