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[zero-affinity]

How I got “Good” at Anatomy

(I would’ve answered this privately, but I felt like it made sense to answer it public.)

My background as an figure-drawing artist

<<<LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!! :: >>

I pulled them all out. ALL my old sketchbooks. The current sketchbook total is 16.  (But not really, most aren’t completely filled because they are like special paper or whatever.) But the point is: I HAVE 16 sketchbooks. 

I draw constantly, which makes it very easy to improve.

1. Ask yourself: Where am I at?

Clearly I didn’t pop outta the womb with skill for anatomy. No one does.

Here is a survivng drawing from elementary school:

This is some elementary school crap. I hid hands so i didn’t have to draw them, long skirts to i didnt have to draw legs, and figures would only ever face forward. 

These drawings are from eighth grade.

My figures were resembling human but just not looking… right. I was drawing figures that looked choppy and oddly placed.  I rarely drew from reference or from real life.

But by the end of eighth grade I began expanding my reference. I began to practice different angles, foreshortening and drawing from reality.

My drawings were still odd looking and disproportionate but I was making the attempt to improve. 

The only way to improve at anything is being able to identify what you need to improve. Stop avoiding it, stop puting hands behind backs. Draw them. Those drawings are gonna suck. They are. But the 80th time you draw those hands, they won’t. 

2. DRAW FROM REAL LIFE !!

The summer into 9th grade, I took an actual art class for the first time, and

 I began doing figure drawings. Exercises where I was given 30 seconds to draw a figure. I was terrible at it.

Later that summer, I took a trip to the National Gallery of Art and drew some statues, easy, still-life figures. I liked these. I had no time limit.

a. Before you start drawing from people, draw from reference. Non-moving reference. Focus on the shapes. The shading. Focus on the details.

b. But, as you begin to draw real people, focus on the main idea of the figure. Don’t focus on details or being 1000% accurate.  Don’t focus on drawing textures or individual strands of hair.

Focus on getting the natural motion of human movement. Focus on the large details, position of the body, clothes folds.

Recently, I’ve been addicted to drawing from real life. I’ll fill entire pages of just figures of other students in my classes. My drawings aren’t always good, because they don’t need to be. 

If you are able to practice both details and main ideas, your drawings will become for natural and realitstic. 

3. Draw A LOT; Think A lot

(Draw constantly, the best way to improve is to do it a lot. Not a deep concept.)

But what I mean by think a lot is the easy part. When you’re out doing your thing, look at people, look at light and shapes, or what ever you want to draw. Think about how you would draw it. Where the light is coming from, how far apart things are. Stuff like that.

Here is a list of Tutorials that I have in my bookmarks.

SenshiStock Pose Generator (no nude figures)

Ideal Body Types Throught History (Women)

go through the video 

just pause at any moment and draw

I would suggest drawing from anything regarding “100 Years of…” Typically they have good body type and racial variation, along with moving models. (BuzzFeed is most reliable though.)

But there are other channels: Glamour Magazine: 100 years of Women’s Underwear 

(only mildy awkward to watch, but this model moves around a lot)

Helpful Art Masterlists

http://veesdumpingrounds.tumblr.com/reference http://kelpls.tumblr.com/helpfulthig

tldr: Figure out what ur shit at, and work on it. Draw from real sources. Focus on details when doing still life. Focus of important elements when drawing from moving figures. 

Hope this helped! 

[zero-affinity]

cheap commissions!!!

hey guys ! im currently looking for a second job, because the one i have now doesnt pay much, and i thought maybe i could open up super cheap commissions for a little while, just as a way to hopefully have a bit of money until i can find a secure job!

its super important that i save up money so i can move out of my abusive family’s house, so i REALLY appreciate anybody who can commission me !

im only offering sketchy art this time around (like the drawing below), and since its a bit of a messy art style, the prices are super discounted! 

headshot - $2 half body - $4 full body - $6

if interested, please send me an ask on tumblr, and i’ll give you my paypal information <3

[zero-affinity]

the distinction between “crafts” and “fine art” is probably driven by misogyny and the devaluation of women’s labor

[zero-affinity]

Current mood. 

[zero-affinity]

art cheats

hello i am here today to not lose track of the art cheats i have discovered over the years. what i call art cheat is actually a cool filter/coloring style/way to shade/etc. that singlehandedly makes art like 20 times better

80’s anime style

glitch effect

glow effects

adding colors to grayscale paintings

foreshortening ( coil )

foreshortening ( perspective )

clipping group (lines)

clipping group (colors)

dramatic lighting ( GOOD )

shading metal

lighting faces

that is all for today, do stay tuned as i am always hunting for cool shit like this

[zero-affinity]

How I draw eyes

This is the thing I get asked about the most so here’s an honest try.

[zero-affinity]

From “100 Tuesday Tips”. They face profile. Learn it, use it, but don’t abuse it (especially in storyboard). They are very clear, but don’t overdo it, because eye contact with other characters and the audience is key to getting to know a character. Norm #grizandnorm #tuesdaytips

[zero-affinity]

@charcoalfeathers was interested in how I did some dewdrops with mainly layer effects so here’s a tutorial of sorts. I mentioned painting them by hand being a real tedious deal and this way is much quicker, easier, allows the drops to change as your base layers do, and applies the effect and changes to every dewdrop at once. Handy! So here’s the steps for each image, under the cut bc it got kinda long:

Keep reading

[zero-affinity]

I always struggled drawing hands before anyone told me what to do. So here is a HANDy dandy drawing reference to see the steps on an actual hand. There are three big muscles in the palm. The thumb lump is most important because without it you’ll never even get the shape right. Circle up the knuckles and draw bendy lines (red) to connect them. Make sure the fingers go from medium-tall-short-shortest just slightly (index=>pinky finger). Notice the big red squareish shape around the palm-that’s the first thing I do. Note: every infer has 2 knuckles don’t forget the thumb does too…just in a weird way.

[zero-affinity]

Lowpoly commissions are open!

Studies are finished, time to pay student loans!

Here’s a small catalog of simple lowpoly 3d models i can do just for you!

My prices are in euros cos i’m european but don’t let that stop you!

If you’re interested come talk to me, we’ll figure out the details together :>

-SIMPLE SCULPTURE: 20€ per piece

5 places available

A simple ol’ fashion lowpoly thingy, delivered in a 100 to 150 frames .gif

For 5€ i can do additional textures for your sculpture: if for exemple you want three cats with 3 different furs, i won’t charge you for a every cat, just for the new colors.

Also i you want to 3d print your sculpture, i will make sure it’s possible, for no extra charge, and give you the .obj and the texture and you can go to your, er, local printer and do it :)

exemples:

-SIMPLE BLOBBY SCULPTURE: 25€ per piece

5 places available

Delivered in a 100 to 150 frames .gif

Same thing for the textures, only 5€ for additional textures (unless they’re reeally simple, like for the lamas under, we’ll talk about it)

exemples:

(last one was a blob commission for birdhism.com, who is a beautiful person)

ANIMATED SCULPTURE: 40€

3 places available

Delivered in a 100 to 150 frames .gif

I will, with all the love and passion a human is capable of, rig and skin your sculpture. I can then do a simple walk, or an idle, nothing to complicated. 

For an additional 5€ i can give you the Maya™ rig and you can animate it yourself (you’ll have to know one or two things about animating in maya though) [I charge extra cos i’ll have to create nice controllers so you can animate]

exemples:

YER OWN BLOB! 40€

2 places available

I will do a smooth blob (my one eyed creatures) with the design you want!

PEPAKURA: 60€

2 places available

Simple small white low poly pepakura. I will spread out the sculpture you want and make a paper pattern with instructions for you to build it at home!

SUPER SMOOTH MENU 60-120€

1 place available

A beautiful smooth yet simple sculpture. The price will depend on the complexity desired. And for 20€ I can then make it so you can print it in 3d.

Voila!

If there are things you didn’t understand please don’t hesitate to leave a message in my inbox or message me (don’t anon or i will be unable to answer)!

The process will go like this: you ask for something, i do a rough sketch for us to agree on, and then i do the sculpture, probably checking in from time to time to show you the advancement. You gimme the money (through paypal) and i send you the gif, or a dropbox link :)

Also, small footnote, but if you want to support artists and are hesitating between me and someone who is desperate need for money (for any reason, rent to pay, medical bills, etc) your support should obviously go to the the last person. I need to pay my student loans but i’m not about to get thrown out of my home (yet).

Thanks in advance! I hope this works!

[zero-affinity]

Finally, after all the hubbub, the first semester is over. And although like all the other art school newbies I still have a lot to learn, there are still a few tips and tricks that I can supply for anyone starting in the winter semester!

Do Things on your Days Off

If your program is like mine, you will have a couple days a week that you don't have any classes. Those days are a gift, and they are meant for working on projects and assignments that are due. (Of course, I highly recommend listening to loud music and staying in your PJ’s while working.) 

Look After Your Materials

Art supplies are expensive! Every class has a list a mile long for materials required. Lots of the time though, you can make the materials last and carry them over to other classes. For example, in a studio practice class, we are required to buy super expensive paint that we don't use much, but that is also used in painting classes throughout the whole year!

Pay Attention to Your Own Mental Health

Making art is exhausting. In the first year, there is a lot of emphasis put on learning technical skills, but concept development is also evaluated. In many cases, art is just as much emotional as it is about skill, and making art is emotionally exhausting. Look after yourself. Chugging vodka at 2 am and working twelve hours straight on a painting may be super edgy, but it’s not at all healthy.

Talk to People

No one knows the struggle of being an artist better than another artist. Having a few artist friends in your classes will help you blow off steam. Bounce ideas off of each other, joke about assignments, complain about profs (we’ve all done it. it’s okay.), go to galleries together, etc!

Don’t Take Everything Too Seriously

Remember why you are becoming an artist. Whatever your individual reasons, deep down you are in art school because you love art. Remember that. There is always a way to find fun or humour in your work. Don’t let art school turn you into a pretentious snob. Have fun.

Keep Your Work

So far this semester, I've made a staggering amount of art. Seriously, the sheer quantity of the work still shocks me when I see the pile. KEEP ALL OF YOUR WORK. Not only is it usually required to submit work again at the end of the term, but you never know what pieces you may want to use in a portfolio or as part of a larger work or series! Bag it up, keep it in a closet or a basement (or a pile in the corner of your room hehe).

Good luck next semester for everyone who is continuing their art education, or just beginning it!  

[zero-affinity]

[zero-affinity]

Tuesday Tips - The Mask Helps to figure out the shape of eyes in perspective by thinking of its surrounding area instead of guessing it. -Norm #tuesdaytips #100tuesdaytips #grizandnorm #themask #drawingtutorial #drawingtips #arttutorial

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my sweet boii tervor from castlevania

[zero-affinity]

Look guys, I don’t want to name names or cause any unnecessary drama, but you know when you see some fanart and you can tell the artist really loves the characters and some deep part of them connects emotionally with their story and it shows in their treatment of the material? I love that. 

[zero-affinity]

I feel like a lot of people on this site should learn to just acknowledge that things like art, music, and writing take time and practice. It takes lots of dedication, and also encouragement from an audience. When someone posts a guitar cover they worked on, or a new medium they’re trying out, it doesn’t have to look as though they’ve done it for years. They worked hard. They tried something new. It takes time.

But some of you are just out for blood. Like really, desperately want to make someone cry. You’re the type of people who hear a kid play hot cross buns on recorder and make some snide comment. And all it shows is your complete lack of respect and awareness for how much time and effort go into the things you consume.

Professional and amateur artists are not always “gifted” in the sense that pen meets paper and the next eternally beautiful piece is born.

It’s years of constant awkward doodles with stiff posture and uneven features. It’s getting the nose right *for once* and posting it even though the hands look awful.

It’s posting a cover of a friend’s favorite song, because they love it, and tried it–even though their voice cracks.

It’s writing the stereotypical fluff prompt while you learn about the character you’re writing. No matter how many meet cutes that takes.

So why, why are you all so shitty about that? Have you never tried anything? Are you afraid to? I’d be. I’d be terrified to try anything new knowing people like you existed. Waiting for me to post something in proud of, only to rip it apart.

But people try anyway. They post things, sometimes things the won’t like 10 mins after it’s done. But hey, they tried. And they showed the world, visibly, how they are attempting to broaden their horizons. Don’t shrink theirs because yours is so narrow. And when you’re ready to be mature, and try some of the things you’re critiquing, I hope you have the courage to post it too, and join us, and grow with us, like an enthusiast should.

[zero-affinity]

Do you any tips about using ms paint?

I think I have few tips

#1Use 500x500 px or bigger canvas size. Any smaller size will make a brush look messy and shit.Here look:

Can you see the difference?? Lineart in 600x600 px is so much smoother

#2

#3

#4 RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON YOU NEED IT

#5

*:・ﾟ✧it’s like manga : *✧・ﾟ

that’s all tbh

i hope this was somewhat helpful