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realizing that sticking to the "do it bad" "do it scared" mentality implies theres also a "do it bored"

#Im #TRYINNNN #Me with colours #they make my head hurt #I can’t use lines colours are SOLIDS

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hey fellow artists I know that we all want to create huge beautiful peices with dynamic poses all the time but sometimes you just gotta draw a guy just kinda standing there. For your mental health I guess.

#Biting the pen as we fucking speak

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I haven’t posted anything in years, but since I’ve gotten into Star Wars a few months ago I’ve managed to put pencil to paper again! This is all to say:

Thank you @mandalorianbrainweasel for posting “beautiful without our war paint”, because I loved the way Alpha takes care of Fox from beginning to end!

#So when I started sketching this pose and was like ‘you know what this reminds me of…?’ #I decided to dedicate it to them. #Maybe Alpha is carrying Fox back to rest after their respective classes (and why is Fox wearing half armour? *vulnerability metaphor*) #star wars #alpha 17 #commander fox #Edit to add one more tag for others’ filtering purposes: #cloneshipping

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Last Line Challenge

Rules: in a new post, show the last line you wrote (or drew) and tag as many people as there are words (or as many as you feel like). 

Thank you @omaano for tagging me!!!🥳🤩🤩🥰 (note: my main is @lesquatrechevrons, but @quatredraws is were I put art only)

Apologies for the delay, I have not shared or posted in years so it took me a while to find the courage to share! 🥲

In turn I’m tagging a few mutuals from a bunch of fandoms, I'd love to see what you guys are up to (writing or drawing!): @hollyand-writes @atimeofbeing @avalencias @heliocharis @autodiscothings @saintsideways @korblez @saltfieldsandroses @isaksbestpillow @dumpsterhipster as well as anyone else that feels like showing their stuff, tag me! :D

On the 24th I was still reeling from reading Time in the Hourless Houses by Blackkatmagic so I wanted to a) figure out how to draw Xanatos as well as his son, Granta:

I only managed the above at the end of a few hours of trying (at first from memory, and then from a few studies of Daniel Wu as a base), which you can see under the read more!

You can tell the struggling, but it was the first time I looked at it and used it as a level up process rather than deleting it:

#Star Wars #xanatos du crion #granta omega #WIPs #last line meme #thank you so much Omaano! I appreciate it so much!!

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emoji asks! 🎶and 💖!!

Leo!!!! Its been forever, I always send you best vibes when I see lighthouses ❤️❤️

🎶 Do you listen to music/podcasts/audiobooks/podfics while you draw? What have you been listening to lately?

100% music! I can’t focus on podcasts so I listen when I don’t mind not understanding the content (I catch up on meta pieces after). Music wise depends on the subject: often I put epic/orchestral, but lately I’ve been really into clone wars fix its so I have the silliest pop playlist to listen to! (To better visualise the fix it. I gotta channel happy to draw softTM)

💖 What made you start drawing? 

Oh god, there was not one day as a kid I wouldn’t draw! I found it much easier than writing (as in, the shape of letters). I would tell myself little tales while illustrating the key concepts (fairytale style). But teenage hood kind of threw me in for a loop, so now I try to make the most of a new fandom when something grips me, and I try not to bet myself up much in the years when I can’t make much. 

#Thank u so much for letting me ramble #and your painting style is phenomenal!! Like Fran it’s great to see how your art evolved over time #it’s like a proper portraits painter style - amazing 🤩 #asks #atimeofbeing

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🍷 👀 🧐 for the asks! (Also hiiiiiii)

Fran!! It’s been 3 centuries!! Big hug!!! ❤️❤️

🍷 Do you drink and draw?

Only water! Mostly because I don’t drink at all (never got the taste for it), and im too afraid of spilling sweet drinks on my devices (again!!! There is no glory in fighting for my Warranty 🤣)

👀 Do you have someone who you can go to when you need another set of eyes on an image?

I’m very shy when it comes to that! Especially in the last few years where I had no consistent practice. But I try to ask my partner because she spots very good inconsistencies that my eye has gotten accustomed to!

🧐 Do you spend much time researching and finding references for your images?

Omg yes!! 🤣 even the years when I’m not drawing I keep on accumulating references, mostly in a photo folder but also on tumblr. The bulk of my tags is actually all VibesTM and references of characters and stories! I get very shy when it comes to look up specific face casts for characters though, so I try to use actors whose job is like. Their face. But even then!!!

#Thank u so much!! #also omg I caught up on your art and it’s SO GOOD #the way you use colours is like. So good. Love seeing how it evolved through time #and anatomy!! Joy is stored I the… soft!! #asks #Avalencias

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For the emoji asks, 🛒 and 🤔?

Omg thank you for the question!! I missed asking/answering ask games on tumblr, so thank you!! ❤️❤️❤️

🛒 What are some common things you incorporate in your images? Themes, feels, scenes, color palettes, etc.

I enjoy affection and fashion! I love over the top dresses, historical costumes, armours (hence why I have a lot of past gideon the ninth art, and why the mandalorian and the clone wars are pushing all my happy buttons), and I do my damnedest to shove all this on shippy drawings! Dancing, fighting, sleeping (the intimacy of napping together? Not even spicy, just the safe comfort of sleep??), these are all things I’ve loved drawing and I hope to draw more of.

I’ll be honest, I only do limited colours in my sketches. I struggle immensely with colours. It’s something I’ve taken painting classes in even, but texture and colours are a far away goal for me at the moment! 

For the future I would love to be able to do more reference sheets, or big groups art… but that requires colour! 

🤔 Do you plan out things like values, colors, and composition or fly by the seat of your pants?

Very related to the question above, anything that is not anatomy work or poses overwhelms me very easily - I can break down a body into shapes, I can chase fabric folding, I can do visage studies to learn a specific face, but anything past that my brain shortcuts. One of my painting classes teachers once took the charcoal away from me (during a value class), because I had passed the point of good piece into overworked territory. The goal is high, but I’ll keep on working for it (a palette with more than two colours) 🫣

#Sorry for the ramble and thank you so much!! ❤️❤️❤️ #I love your art too you truly join excellent anatomy with dreamy colour usage #you even draw landscapes!!! And big mechas!! Truly a goal for me #Asks #Cacodaemonia

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💋🌞

Thank you so much for dropping by, Anon!! ❤️❤️❤️

💋 Drawing characters smooching—do you enjoy it or hate it?

I enjoy the idea but technically it’s a raging bastard to draw, ngl. I try to follow the ‘heart advice’ (two heads close look like a heart), but whatever happens between nose and mouth is a mystery. I’ll keep on trying though!! I have plans!!! 🫣🤞

🌞 Do you have a preferred time of day to draw?

I actually don’t have a time! I am trying to rebuild the practice (after like, 3 years of not really managing much), but I find it easier when I’m travelling - the idea of being able to squeeze something out of time when  I don’t have other things to do is great. Otherwise I feel like I should be working more, or household stuff, or etc. (I miss having long train journeys! It would net me a lot of learning every week!)

#Thank you again!!! #Feel free to share your answers too!! (Anon if you prefer!!) #asks

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Fan Artist Emoji Asks

Big thanks to @nottheweirdest, who created the Fanfic Writer Emoji Ask and gave me permission to use that as a template for a visual artist version! This ask game is for visual artists, and while the questions most often ask about drawing or sketching, just substitute your preferred medium.

😅 What's a sketch or finished image you've created that you're a smidge embarrassed exists?

🥺 Is there a certain type of moment or common interaction between characters that never fails to put you in your feels when you draw it?

🤡 What sketch or detail in an image have you drawn that made you laugh?

😈 Have you ever created an image or added some detail just to be playfully mean to the viewer?

👀 Do you have someone who you can go to when you need another set of eyes on an image?

🛒 What are some common things you incorporate in your images? Themes, feels, scenes, color palettes, etc.

🎢 Which of your images would you call your wildest ride?

✨ Give you and your art a compliment. Go on now. You know you deserve it. 😉

💋 Drawing characters smooching—do you enjoy it or hate it?

🎶 Do you listen to music/podcasts/audiobooks/podfics while you draw? What have you been listening to lately?

🛠 What traditional media or digital programs do you use to draw?

⛔ Do you have an image you started but scrapped?

🙋‍♀️ Do any irl people know you make fan art?

🍦 What's the sweetest image you've created so far?

🍷 Do you drink and draw?

🍆 Do you draw spicy stuff? If so, what's your favorite nsfw image?

🌞 Do you have a preferred time of day to draw?

💖 What made you start drawing? 

💌 How do you feel about comments and feedback?

❌ What's something you would never draw?

💲 Would you ever open commissions? 

🧐 Do you spend much time researching and finding references for your images?

🏆 What's your most popular image? 

🎃 Do you create images for certain holidays? What is your favorite holiday-inspired image?

🎯 Has anyone ever guessed a handy trick or shortcut you used in an image? Care to share which?

📖 How do you feel about fics based on you art?

📈 How many fan art images have you created?

🤔 Do you plan out things like values, colors, and composition or fly by the seat of your pants?

🎨 Tell me about an upcoming wip, please!

🤗 What advice would you give to new fan artists who are just getting started?

🤩 Who is your favorite character to draw? 

💞 Who is your comfort character? Not necessarily your favorite to draw, but one that always makes you feel a little better.

🧠 When drawing [character name], what about them is hardest to draw? (askers, don't forget to specify the character!)

🤲 Would you please share a wip? Maybe a sketch or a small preview of an image?

😬 Which of your images would you be most horrified for friends, family, or coworkers to stumble upon? 

🎉 What leads you to consider an image a success?

✅ What's something that appears in your images over and over and over again, even if you don't mean to?

🖼️ Would you ever want to turn making art into a career?

⌛ How long does it take you to complete a sketch versus a finished image?

🤯 What's an aspect of images with which you struggle (ex. human figures, backgrounds, hands, animals, cars, etc.)?

💔 Is there an image of yours that broke your heart?

💥 How do you feel about criticism? 

🤭 Do you have a favorite tag to use when posting your art?

🥰 How do you feel about viewer interaction? Are you open to receiving questions about your images?

#Oh this is fun!

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HOW TO GLAZE YOUR WORK WITHOUT A GOOD PC(or on mobile)/TIPS TO MAKE IT LESS VISIBLE

Glaze your work online on:

Cara app. It requires you to sign up but it is actually a good place for your portfolio. Glazing takes 3 minutes per image and doesn't require anything but an internet connection compared to 20-30 minutes if your pc doesn't have a good graphic card. There IS a daily limit of 9 pictures tho. Glazed art will be sent to you after it's done, by email. It took me 30 minutes to glaze 9 images on a default setting. Cara app is also a space SPECIFICALLY for human artists and the team does everything in their power to ensure it stays that way.

WebGlaze. This one is a little bit more complicated, as you will need to get approval from the Glaze team themselves, to ensure you're not another AI tech bro(which, go fuck yourself if you are). You can do it through their twitter, through the same Cara app(the easiest way) or send them an email(takes the longest). For more details read on their website.

Unfortunately there are no ways that I know of to use Nightshade YET, as it's quite new. Cara.app definitely works on implementing it into their posting system tho!

Now for the tips to make it less visible(the examples contain only nightshade's rendering, sorry for that!):

Heavy textures. My biggest tip by far. Noise, textured brushes or just an overlay layer, everything works well. Preferably, choose the ones that are "crispy" and aren't blurred. It won't really help to hide rough edges of glaze/nightshade if you blur it. You can use more traditional textures too, like watercolor, canvas, paper etc. Play with it.

Colour variety. Some brushes and settings allow you to change the colour you use just slightly with every stroke you make(colour jitter I believe?). If you dislike the process of it while drawing, you can clip a new layer to your colour art and just add it on top. Saves from the "rainbow-y" texture that glaze/nightshade overlays.

Gradients(in combination with textures work very well). Glaze/nightshade is more visible on low contrast/very light/very dark artworks. Try implementing a simple routine of adding more contrast to your art, even to the doodles. Just adding a neutral-coloured bg with a darker textured gradient already is going to look better than just plain, sterile digital colour.

And finally, if you dislike how glaze did the job, just try to glaze/shade it again. Sometimes it's more visible, sometimes it's more subtle, it's just luck. Try again, compare, and choose the one you like the most. REMEMBER TO GLAZE/SHADE AFTER YOU MADE ALL THE CHANGES, NOT BEFORE!!

If you have any more info feel free to add to this post!!

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opens box that reads "i wanna draw again". inside lies a note. the note says, "mental illness and difficult circumstances have taken years of interest, accessibility, and skill away from me. i want to forgive myself for that. i want to heal my relationship to my hobbies. i want to feel connected to something that once made me feel good, but the cyclic discouragement is difficult to overcome." i turn over the note. on the back it reads "wannta drawe sexy bodies awooga"

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#Putting this on my art blog like I’m lighting a candle in the dark

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Just to make a point, every time I finished a panel of this I would export it as a PNG on the perceptual setting and use it as a color reference for the next panel

IT'S BAD

PLEASE CHECK YOUR COLOR SETTINGS

EDIT: If you're still having problems, it might help to switch from "Save/Save as" to "Export (as a) Single Layer". Just. Make SURE the box labeled "Expression Color" is set to RGB. I've been messing with this all day, and it looks like this combination of settings will allow exported PNGs to maintain their colors perfectly. To you. So far both Discord and Toyhouse still only display desaturated images and I cannot for the life of me figure out why

#as prev said: #the colours getting more desaturated as you go is masterful storytelling

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GOD I just want to be CREATIVE but all my energy is being used to survive

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I wanted to put a quote from the books, but at the end of the day the point of these two is to be wrapped up in each other like the worst Gordian knot and that’s it on that

#trust them to get me out of this long block at least for the time it takes to draw them #I actually wanted to draw arcane but I’ve got too many feelings so GtN is easier for now #anyway no background we die like men #gideon the ninth #harrow the ninth #the locked tomb trilogy #quatredraws

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That feeling when you go digging into your years’ sketches and you find some good stuff and you’re like Pikachu face

#yes it was a bunch of Gideon the ninth #and more #pers