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#i know im an artist & the only way to improve is to get off my comfort zone & allow mistakes & ugly pieces to exist
re-bee-key · 9 months
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Just watched the Tumblr Live QnA Panel, and here's some of my thoughts:
* Had to toggle on Tumblr Live to watch and agree to the terms.
The stream itself was a little low quality visually, not terrible, but either they used a low quality camera or streaming isn't up to the same quality as other sites like Tiktok
* the gifting feature that mimics Tiktok was obnoxious. Users that seem to use Tumblr Live a lot where using gifts very often. The gift icons would take up most of the screen covering chat.
Some people in chat suggested that the gifters were Staff plants to make the site seem more popular than it is. There is no way to verify if they are or are not. But these individuals talked in the chat about how they use Tumblr Live all the time, and some dont even have blogs they only use Live. Which is????
I don't like the gifting emojis. But i dont like them on Twitch or tiktok either, so shrug emoji, i guess
Questions Answered (that i remember)
* The Chronological Dashboard will stay. They mentioned this several times that tumblr, while they are going to improve the For You algorithm, the main Chronological Dashboard will not change.
* Tumblr Live apparently isn't blocked in Europe and is just waiting for approval, which is soon. They said it being blocked was misinformation. (Which i have no way to verify.)
* LGBTQA+ and specifically Trans content getting flagged or censored is a bug, apparently. They said it happens from time to time, but reporting should fix it. Users in the chat were unhappy with this answer since the issue has lasted for such a long time and doesn't seem or feel random. But they did not comment further.
* Tumblr posts being collapsable was not super addressed. They sort of skimmed over this question and just said that they try lots of new features to see what works and what doesn't. Apparently, there will be a toggle to turn this feature on or off.
* Tumblr Groups was addressed. It was shut down because not enough users used the feature.
Apparently, not many users use Tumblr Live either, but they want to keep working on it to make it appealing.
* Another bit about Tumblr Live. CEO essentially said they will not give the option to permanently toggle off the feature.
One user had asked if Tumblr had investors. CEO said, "Of course."
CEO did mention they "might" add a way to permanently turn off tumblr live. But it if they did, it would be a paid option over $20.
* One user commented that they are epileptic and that certain ads trigger their seizures because of the flashing colors and wanted to know what they would do for this issue. Tumblr CEO said "Well you could pay for No Ads."
CEO talked about paying to go ad free a lot. Saying only 25 thousand users pay for it at the moment.
Personally, it seems really irresponsible to suggest that the only way to fix an accessibility issue is for a user to pay money. As if disabled people dont have to pay enough as it is.
* I had asked if they were willing to work with more artists for Merch and Badges. They said they are working on it and there is a feature called Creatr that is set up to uplift creators and work with them on merch ideas.
I've never heard of Creatr. He seemed like we should have known what it was? Maybe they should promote that more. I know we all want more ways to support artists.
* More Badges and Achievements are coming. Apparently, a Legacy Badge that shows how long you've been on tumblr is in the works. (Im personally very excited about Badges.)
* Tumblr is thinking bout doing more QnA and even meet ups at different conventions and some even at the headquarters themselves. (They did not acknowledge questions that asked for a Headquarters video tour.)
Anyways, that was about all I can remember. Staff didn't record the panel, so hopefully, one of the other users did.
They talked about other random stuff. Calling out gifters specifically and rambling about donuts and books.
Oh, also, they brought a ball pit. Which is, yeah. Lol
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pinkwright · 1 year
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in pieces | shuri udaku.
◘ rapper/producer!shuri udaku x fem!singer/director!reader
ƸӜƷ
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trope – strangers 2 enemies 2 friends 2 lovers
inspo — in pieces by chlöe.
series warnings — mean!shuri, cold!reader, reader is rlly soft in love, her ex is all she's ever known so pls be gentle w her, toxic relationships, crybaby!reader, insults, gaslighting, yall the exes face claim is brent faiyaz LMFAO (i dont keep up w men so he was the first name to pop up), touchy!shuri, reader folds so bad so easily lol, cheating, reader is petty, relapses in judgement, reader is fucking talented, smitten shuri, vv soft but only later lol, reader can get bitchy, shuri rlly gets under her skin, bitter n spiteful reader, reader's manager is so tired of them, reader has her public persona nailed down, ppl rarely ever see the real her, t'challa is alive but their parents aren't, kissing, crying, dirty talk, strap slinger!shuri, fingering, thigh riding, smau elements, studio sessions, cunnilingus, taunting, edging, slut-shaming, possessive!shuri, sub!reader, dom!shuri, the media loves to dawg on reader for nothing, cursing, humiliation kink, bratty!reader, needy!reader, desperation, sexual identity crisis, patient!shuri, shuri likes to push ppl away, mentions of marriage/engagements, alcohol, anxiety, panic attacks, manipulation, clubbing, might have an open ending idk, there's probs more but oh well.
a/n — i have so many ideas dropping consecutively my bad yall LMFAO anyway this is my first series, n um im nervous badd but we move, i rlly like this idea and the skeleton of it so hopefully it comes off the way i would like it to so my perfectionist spirit can smile LMFAO (i find myself so funny sorry), anyway here’s the masterlist before i ramble more <3
dedications — @zayswriting – i’ve always avoided writing series (hence how i came up w sets LOL) but zay’s my inspo for series like that’s her shit so while the notion is still kinda daunting, she makes me feel like i can try to tackle it at least. @mbakuetshurisprincess constantly revising ur masterlist bc ur pen is just brilliant, u were also a huge inspo in getting me to write a series n u influence my version of shuri a lot. then a few people i admire that keep me posting n make me wanna improve; @saintwrld @vixentheplanet @verachii @naomis-daydream @marsolgy @inmyheadimobsessed <3
oke, that's the end of the sappiness.
⟢˚ @letitias-fav @barkbarkbo @shurismainbxtch @rxcently @shuriszn @lppriceisright @golooktheotherway @motheroffae @vampzxi @mysticalmarss @abenomeiiii @6-noir @izrinmabel1 @vexoshuri @ilovelulu @sookiesookie @ziayamikaelson @sapphicvqmpires @locoforshuri @ventingfanfics @melanated-queens @cuddl3s4shur1
ஜ.
no matter how many times i break, i put myself back together every damn time. oh, mm, can i be honest with you?
y/n l/n, a hyper-pop sensation that is at an all-time high in her career; her two-time grammy winning album, above her oscar-nominated directing debut cemented her as a force to be reckoned with, both in the music and film industry. and soon, in a swoon-worthy show of romance, she's flaunting an envy-worthy diamond ring graciously accompanied by a viral proposal from high school sweetheart and renowned artist, christopher brent wood.
engaged and flourishing, her world is almost too perfect to be true, tainted by the pink shades of blinding love that soon violently shatter at the hands of the only love she's ever known, the fractals painfully littering her being; heavy fragments that she can't seem to even begin piecing together.
in a battle of identity, self-expression, independence, and rebirth; the international superstar finds herself in a back-and-forth battle with herself and the people around her, finding that the dark pit she falls into, may not solely be the demise of her fairytale, but also the fall of the y/n l/n that the public came to know over the years; the catalyst to the redemption arc in finding who she really is, the girl she buried years ago.
⊱ ───── .✶˖⋆࿐ ──── ⊰
➺ CHAPTERS LIST.
[ characters ]
prologue : someone’s calling (chlöe)
— after a lengthy hiatus of absolute silence, y/n drops an ominous track w an even more intriguing visualizer, unrecognizable from her usual sweet hyper pop princess look n sound, n the internet wilds; the rebrand peaking an important person's interest.
...coming soon
one : pray it away
— after facing public humiliation from a cheating scandal that had put y/n in the spotlight she comes back into the spotlight w a haunting single n performance that sparks large controversy along with its acclaim; she meets a certain face that she sasses off too in response to her attitude.
...coming soon
two : body do
— after announcing the drop of her debut album y/n is set on a artist rebrand n her manager knows just the person; so she meets world renowned director/producer shuri udaku who directs her visualiser n the bad blood cause tension to spill.
...coming soon
three : i don’t mind + worried
— y/n l/n new maneater cutthroat persona has the internet fawning over her so imagine their shock when she shows up to the grammys w the same man that was the driving factor to her vicious rebrand n shuri gets a glimpse into the real personality behind the scrutinised pop sensation.
...coming soon
four : for the night
— a glimpse into shuri’s true thoughts about the girl she swears she can’t stand.
...coming soon
five : make it look easy
— when y/n finally tackles the song she couldn't face, the internet starts to rethink their view on the girl they've scrutinised n criticised for the entirety of her career n shuri finds it harder to cut deeper into the broken-down girl.
...coming soon
six : looze u
— y/n can’t stop the flood of emotions that overtake her when she confronts the man who broke her heart, opening the floor for hurtful truths n violent words that leave her reeling in her memories.
...coming soon
seven : told ya + cheatback
— the officially single superstar thinks she deserves a night out seeing as her album debut draws nearer by the day, n the fun night out has surprising outcomes.
...coming soon
eight : heart on my sleeve
– when shuri spits her meanest words yet to the softening star, y/n finds herself pathetically adding a track to her album minutes before its release, much to her fans’ concern n the producer feels stuck in limbo.
...coming soon
epilogue : in pieces
— while the successful album drop feels like a weight lifted off of her chest especially w/ an upcoming oscar performance; she can’t help but find the weight replaced by a certain pretty-eyed producer. 
...coming soon
⊱ ───── .✶˖⋆࿐ ──── ⊰
hold me when, hold me when i'm in pieces.
ஜ.
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mrghostrat · 4 months
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Okay I cant -- I need to say it out loud.
I am 100% sure, at this point, you are my favourite artist so far. And I have to honestly thank you for a lot of stuff so let me get to the point before my anxiety takes me back --
I came across you less than a month ago. I don't remember if I saw your art before reading your fictions (Mon Horrible Cherì was my first) or the other way around, but both inspired me so much I can't describe it properly. Art itself is my absolute weak spot. In my past years I always struggled working on that, I was never happy with my results, and mostly had drawn to pay bills than for my own happyness. In the end I hated it at the point that every line I drew was a cut on my hand instead of a moment of joy. And that was horrendous.
But then I came across your art, at some point - and I was amazed. Your style is something I wished to achieve years ago, or very similar to that at least, so I was totally into looking for more, and more, and more. I can't produce art of that quality, but for the first time I wasn't envious of another artist's ability and talent, I was just... Amazed. I felt very happy, can't say why, but your style totally fascinated me. It still do. Anytime you post something new it gives me a shot of serotonine, it makes me feel happy and inspires me to get back on my Huion and draw something too. I started to push it through everyday, and in less than a month I grew a lot. You don't know that, but you pushed me into art with a passion I didn't had since I was 16, and I turned 30 couple months ago. Now it gives me joy everytime I draw. It doesn't matter if the art I produce is no good, or if I change my style everytime (I'm trying a lot of styles right now), the only thing that matter is the way I feel when I sit here and just let my inspiration go. And I feel happy. Happy to draw. Happy to experiment. Happy to share. Somehow I don't feel ashamed of my art anymore, and I was for a long time. I improved so much in these weeks. I watched carefully almost all of your timelapses (I am in love with all of them btw) and followed your tutorials more than once. Your examples, the way you work, is just inspirational for me. I've seen someone was thankful to you for the way you use references and says people out there to do it too: I want to thank you for that too. References was a taboo until last month for me, and I was SO wrong! Those helps so much!
So, well. I am not sure I wrote this all correctly, english is not my native language (I'm italian) and I may have done some mistakes, well, I do not care. I just hope I was able to express you my gratitude for all you did for me - I had to let you know how much this means to me everyday.
Oh also: I love every part of your art, but I could stare at your linearts for days and never get bored by that. And the way you color! Don't make me start on that. I could speak for hours. Not sure you'll want that, believe me.
So, thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for making me believe in myself again. Thank you for giving me back my passion. Thank you for reminding me everyday I can draw for myself, for my own happyness. And thank you for making me happy.
You are a great artist.
Thank you! <3
i put off replying to this because i wanted to draw you something, but i just haven't had the energy after work and dont want u to think im ignoring you 😭
but i dont have WORDS. i'm so fucking proud of you. i'm so happy for you. browsing your blog and seeing the sheer amount of art and AUs you're making is so inspiring. your happiness is contagious and i hope you only continue to grow, and continue to foster all that joy for art.
thank you <3
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rogueddie · 14 days
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with the hp/ jk thing. the defenders always go 'separate the art from the artist, only interact with fanon, only read fanfic, it's not hp, its a different era, but using her world and characters'
she has said any support for her work is supporting her and her ideals. even if they just interact with fanon its still promoting hp, and supporting her.
they bend over backwards to justify continuing to support the work of a raging bigot and holocaust denier.
and they bring up 'but its my special interest' it was a lot of peoples special interest for a long time. including mine for over 15 years. but then she started to get more vocal with her hatred, and i started noticing her bigotry in her work, and became more educated on it. i eased myself off of it, it's hard, but its possible.
im also trans in the uk. everytime i hear her name it sends a chill through me in fear of what is coming next. a lot of people, especially Americans, don't realize how much power and influence she has here. she is incredibly rich and she is a household name, almost everyone has heard of her
but it shows where their priorities stand. they're all about standing up for the little guy, for promoting the rights of marginalized people, until it's their entertainment on the line. they'd rather keep their comfort thing than do what they're otherwise preaching.
i hope you can stay as safe as possible, and i hope something changes for the better for people like us soon <3
All of this! You put it perfectly!
I've definitely been lenient with them, given my own hyperfixation on Stranger Things, which has its own issues, but she's been getting so extremely bad recently that I can't fucking stand it anymore.
When the popularity and monetary support of Harry Potter is something she uses as a defense, something that other transphobes use to levy her name as a battering ram, you have no excuse.
You can so easily keep all that shit offline! Read the books in the privacy of your home! Stop funding her transphobia! Stop willingly allowing her to weaponize your "special interest" to discriminate against a minority group that is being seriously threatened right now! TRANS PEOPLE ARE BEING MURDERED!
Sure, a lot of people have distance and "but I'm American" as a defense for their ignorance- but she's been quoted by a GOP senator while they blocked a vote on an LGBT bill, so no, they don't actually.
And, sure, a lot of people don't think she's actually transphobic- but being ignorant can only last so long before you look like a liar or an idiot. Especially when she's spending £70,000 on challanging "the definition of woman", which seems to me an obvious attempt to delegitimize GRCs (Gender Recognition Certificates).
Just in case there is someone coming across this who doesn't think JK Rowling is actually transphobic, I'd recommend this video that Matt Bernstein made with Contrapoints (which still misses a couple points, but Contrapoints also has a great video on jkr).
I hope you stay safe too. And I am confident that things will change and improve for us in the near future. We are the easy target right now, but it will not stay that way forever.
The transphobes are loud but they are not the popular opinion. We have a community and I know that there will always be people who have our backs while we fight for our safety and freedom. People will listen, and we will move forward.
Wishing you the best x
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blneobin · 4 months
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Mark Pakin appreciation post cause why not
THIS IS MARK.
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Hes a cutie and I am convinced we are buddies (I have never met this man irl in my life)
teensy background on him, he was a professional badminton player before he decided he wanted to try out acting.. which btw an insane move cause we saw him play in Starlympics, mans have SKILLS!!
Like everyone, he started with a tiny role to test the waters. Yall wanna know what was his first role was??
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He was Teh’s college roommate in I Promised You The Moon!! *sidenote @ MARK PAKIN BRING BACK THE LONG WAVY HAIR PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE
This was way before BKPP was as huge as they are now but still!! What an iconic debut amirite!!
Anyway, I wanted to write an appreciation post cause we saw with our very own eyes how fast he grew as an actor. In just a year he played 4 characters who are in very different age groups going through very different things. Not an easy task to pull off but he did it. He did it all so well!!!
We got Mark as a high schooler (Thiu in My School President)
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Mark played two dudes in their early 20s (Saleng in Moonlight Chicken & Nick in Only Friends)
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AND Mark ins his late 20s / late young-adulthood (Night in Last Twilight)
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this is ALL WITHIN A YEAR!! after the teeny role in IPYTM he immidiately got signed under GMM and got. to. WORK!
and this isn’t counting him originally getting casted in Cooking Crush before having to do a re-cast cause… well obviously he was over-booked.
What is up with the Marks of the world and wanting to be constantly busy??? We got Mark Lee debuting like 5 different groups + as a solo artist and now we got Mark Pakin who’s booked more roles than many actors whos been in the industry for as long as he has. LEARN TO TAKE A GOOD BREAK MY DUDES!!
anyway SKILLS!! This dude can act!! from playing a best friend whos fed up with his bestie being a loser over his crush to playing a guy committing crimes out of pure jealousy.. he has range and he improved a whole dang lot.
Compared to Mark in the warp effect where we saw him in like.. 10 scenes max.. to Mark as Night in Last Twilight which also about the same number of scenes ((so far)), he's done really good.
the greatest example is Mark as Nick.
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duuuude when I tell ya, whenever he popped those heart eyes at Boston I was convinced I knew exactly what he was feeling. He did great at conveying feelings through his eyes and subtle body movements. When he cried, I cried even though Nick was in the wrong.. like he did great!! When he was jealous, I was jealous. I might be an empath who tends to mirror other peoples emotions OR it could just be.. he is THAT good.
Maybe I'm biased or whatever but I believe he's one of the upcoming thai actors you gotta look out for cause.. bros been getting that bag, and he will continue to do so and I will happily watch any series or movies he'll be in.
Alrighty I'm off to take a nap now 😴💤
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im tagging a few people who listens to my rants because I love Mark and you should too. @dramalets @markpakin @drama-nonsense @mooniyuta @ayansbff
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ohshitsherry · 3 months
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do u have any advice on drawing humans? particularly their heads. ive really struggled to figure out a process that works for me but i really like how u draw so i was wondering how u do it i guess. also while i am here i would like to say i really like your artwork and what we know of your story so far :) it is intriguing and has given me motivation to improve my own stuff
IT MEANS A LOT ANON!
For drawing faces, most peoples issue when drawing It is to view It as a plain sphere (and also the main issue with the good old "how to draw anime faces" tutorial). Faces have depth, and different planes. You must be aware of those planes (not all of them, but the basic ones, at least) and learn how to rotate them as If they were a 3d object.
I've learned this through a lot of bullshitting and It took me a long while to get this down decently, but, if you want to master It quickly, the way is to "trace" and break down pictures of REAL people (unless you want to specifically study an artists stylization method) into their core shapes.
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As you get used to It, you don't have to draw out this base each time (i don't either) but to simply be aware of the planes existence and understand where everything would fall down. Im using a drawing of my own to demonstrate how you should be able to roughly break It down similarly:
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The reason human faces are particularly so hard to draw initially is that, as familiar as we are with It, it can easily fall into the uncanny valley effect. That's why you should be aware on how to stylize it. If you stylize only one specific trait, or stylize everything except a specific major trait - that's where it tends to look off putting. Of course, you can bend this """rule""" and use it for your favour!
I think the easiest and most efficient way through a good stylization (for most people) is to alter the shapes and size of the facial planes we see in the base ive shown above. I can't quite explain It into words, specially since style is such a personal thing that you just must mess around with to develop, but i have made some examples:
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This method actually works for absolutely anything, and i mean anything, really! Furries, feral animals and even objects (specially fun to mess around with in mecha art!). The only real difference is that the "planes" come in vastly different shapes and density. With a good session of photo breakdowns, though, specially as you gather experience, you can always find the core shapes out by yourself.
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automatayaoi · 11 months
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*throws a dozen dress up clowns at your head* Character design!!! murder puppet apologism!!! chemicals turning frogs gay!!! its kero kero time!!!! i dont know how to type up a real bio so im just throwing tidbits fullspeed at your window and also partially me spitballing speghetti against the wall
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✨ their name is kero pierrot ofc, and they are a funny little frog clown married to arlequino hehe. keeping with the theme of commedia dell'arte their name is based off the character of the pierrot (and it's also a pun on keroppi since theyre my favorite sanrio character waha)
✨ the Pierrot was a tragic and lovesick figure, portrayed as naïve but endearing, often hiding their true feelings behind their jokes, and was a popular choice for romantic artists
✨ kero is a widdle bit fucked up in the brain zone but its FIIINE just slap a coat of face paint on there and ur good 8) Do not perceive the crushing mental illness behind the curtain
✨ grew up in america ofc, came to japan for reasons that turned out to be highly fallible (they maybe trust people a little too easily), refuses 2 talk abt this, they are however lacking in places to stay and money to spend so start of everything theyre Struggling A Little
✨ at this point they arent even kero really just Person...pathetic sopping wet frog you find under a rock. they had a special interest in clownery but always sort of put those kinds of thoughts to the side as more of a silly daydream than a goal they could achieve
✨ a clown without its nose have you ever seen anything so sad
✨ they first see masaru and the rest of the nakamichi circus when they saw them perform their street show (starting here), they just happened to be in the park at the time, and it's honestly the first time kero has felt happy since they Arrived in japan
✨ magic of the circus
✨ they spend the next few weeks going to the park and sorta following the nakamichi circus around to see more of their street shows, they don't really have much else to do anyway, they might as well spend some time having fun watching a circus act
✨ they attend so many that they actually start getting recognized by some of the circus members, especially masaru and shirogane since theyre very Perceptive. not a lot of details on those thoughts currently but masaru probably does his Main Protag/Therapist thing and gets to know kero
✨ BUT the way they actually join the nakamichi circus is during the performers meetup (starting here), kero goes to see their show again, but then things start Going Very Wrong and masaru's left by himself with no one to perform with. Little guy problems
✨ they've seen how much masaru and the others have been working and struggling in the past weeks, improving their street show, their cooperation with each other, and even if masaru hadn't talked to them they couldn't stand seeing something that made them so happy go down in flames like this
✨ SO! they hop in with vilma naota and mitsuushi to save the act! they don't have circus training like them so they can't do any fancy acts, but kero knows how to improv and roll with the punches, so they play off of the others as second zanni to liven up the show
✨ after that, i think they'd try to slip away quietly (kind of cant believe they did that) but masaru goes after them and asks them to join the circus!
✨ he knows that they wanted to be a clown, and even without formal training, he thinks having a western style clown will help the nakamichi circus stand out from the crowd! (also a call back to this moment in the manga when they went to see the straw circus)
✨ this is when they actually introduce themselves as Kero Pierrot to the others. there is no other name only Clown
✨ this has been a lot of masaru talk so far sorry he's my little buddy inflicted with main character disease. also i dont get a chance to meet my husband until like chapter 380 so i gotta be doin smth in the mean time
✨ from here on, kero sticks with the nakamichi circus as their new home :) they already knew a lot about clowning, but they really throw themselves into studying it as best they can (usually by spending hours at a library computer since most don't really have a textbook on clowns) and also training with the other members to sorta expand their repertoire. they get a lot better at the classic clown skills, your juggling, your balloon animals, what have you, BUT they also start to learn the cyr wheel!
✨ kero and masaru bond over doing circus training together. i give him a little noogie.
✨ they become pretty close with ryouko and lise too !! i jus love all my circus family i get them to play board games with me
✨ Peaceful Life (Until Its Not)
✨ this post as already gotten so long (and also i wanna reread some parts of the manga to refresh my mindself) so at some point i will expand on kero's feelings irt masaru running away and narumi joining nakamichi circus, but theres a couple other important points i want to make :V
✨ kero sorta takes a back seat with the rest of the nakamichi gang until they show up at kuroga village
✨ Specifically they join lise heima and ryouko in going to mont-saint-michel to follow masaru (they are NOT!!! letting these children go off on their own to fight!!!!)
💕 this is when they meet arlequino hehe 💕
✨ they stay by ryouko's side while they fucking Book It form the shirogane-o, and that's when they run into arle
💕 sorry ryouko but I'M the one who smiles at him 💕
✨ i should make a separate post of the manga panels i'm def in. and/or rewrite the scene as a fic which i might do at some point but just wait
💕 anyway this post is long enough so all you have to know is we get married and now hes my malewife Arlequino Pierrot 💕
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💕 tagging my karakuri buddies @dissonantyote @lameassboyfriend (i hope dats oke)
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stingerwanjiro · 1 year
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Heya Stinger. First off I just want to say I ADORE your work, from the different artstyles that somehow all blends well together, to the wacky vids n' comics you put out. They're all just so unique and distinguish from the other artists I've seen. Which is why I'd love to know your process when it comes to making these. What program do you use, what kind of brushes, your Inspirations, perhaps a few tips, etc. Keep up the good work and thanks 4 reading!!! :D
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helloe n thank ue for the kind wordz :,) the followin programs i use n how i use em Windows7 MsPaint - most of my drawings n sketching keyframes Micromedia Flash 8 - Animation Gimp - Coloring editing and coloring in grayscale pictures otherwise I dont rly have any custom anything I use standard stuff and the way I get the look of my drawings is just by gently and manually going through lines with the brushes till they get to the way I want em which is why I am still using the mouse to draw my stuff (grew up drawing w the mouse so im still used to it) as for inspiration I really am mostly influenced by stuff that ive watched growing up mostly early and late 90s stuff with some 2000 but i wudnt be able to pin point down the exact ones cause my mind goes to alot of places when I draw in general LAL im not sure what kind of tips you are asking for but if its regarding art id just say before anything if you wanna improve at art i def suggest studying real life and try to get a good solid foundation once you get a better grip on how to make things look somewhat realistic you get the hang of most things imo and while some artstyles look appealing I suggest not trying to base your entire art on someone elses artstyle (I most of the time only mess with artstyles to poke fun at people that obsess over such things) youll just limit yourself and get stuck be flexible n try to do a lil bit of everything in the end if you just try to get better at all times and try to understand art in general things tend to go pretty swell :J just make sure to do your own thing n dont try to be someone else its one things to be inspired n its another thing to just rip off just do you.
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rocma · 9 months
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art vent, kind of makes me look like a shallow person
FOR clarification i'm 20. turning 21 in two months. yippee! what an eye opener
the point of trying to profit your art, especially using your art to help fund for survival since you were 11 - you realize that while you want to improve your art for yourself, you're so consciously aware of what parts would appeal to strangers who see your art.
because you don't want to appeal to others to enjoy your art, you want to appeal to others to garner money and funds. i've ebegged on this site for almost a decade, on so many different accounts and even used my art as much as i could to get even more money. to pay bills, to pay for food, to help my mother in medical emergencies. since i was only 11 years old, by the way. a lot of the time, while it is a huge part of my reason to keep improving -- i don't actually think of reasons such as improving my art because 'i want to go to college' 'i want to be better' as much as my main reason being: i want this to sell to people.
that being said, my art style is something im so happy with right now for myself. but i think like. you have to really make your art your signature. that way, people will want to buy what you can give them. but algorithm is just, so hard to fight with now. the heartbreaking part is that, even if i'm at my 'peak' in art.
and my art has always been my one consistent interest, thats never faded. it's apart of my daily life. my routine, my medicine, my hobby, my enjoyment. i need this to live in many different ways. whether it be for providing my funds via commissions, coping art for trauma, or generally to express my happiness for things in my head, etc. i need this hobby or i will die. its the one skill ive had my entire life thats stuck, and its something i'm *good* at. and i've kept up with it to this day.
my art looks consistently good. flattering. i would say at some points it feels.. professional, sometimes. i am consistently proud and satisfied with my art and haven't struggled on pieces as much as i used to several years ago. it took me 2 months to come up with illustrations. now ive been pumping them out with ease. commissions are so much faster. quicker. ive really upgraded. i'm efficient, quick, and my stylization journey has been amazing.
yet..
this has been the hardest i've ever fucking struggled to make money, ever. since i was 11 years old. i've never.. had so much difficulty. i feel spoiled, honestly, when i know so many other artists struggle filling commissions too. but i've always had good fortune, i guess. good luck. but not since the year began. it's been so hard to fill in requests, so hard to fill slots. even when my prices are cheaper, it's still so hard. which is crazy, because 2 years ago i was consistently filling slots like crazy. i had consistent income, for the most part. i was able to help my family, avoid eviction, pay for water, clothes, food. emergencies like car wrecks, medical stuff -- god, its insane how much my art has helped me. it's scary. to think about what woulld happen if i didnt have this skill.
back then, like my art looked like this in 2021.
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i look back and i wonder. this is fine, its definitely my art style. but how did i makee so much money off of stuff like this? so much more than i do now? i still draw fanart, and my art's been getting better. i think its honestly just bad luck, or maybe algorithm has flopped a lot of my stuff. either way, it's sort of humbling. Extremely humbling, that even with all this improvement - it still may not be enough to get me anywhere. i've never struggled before, trying to open commissions even when ive always focused on original content primarily. i know its hard to get popularity when you only draw ocs, but ive been fine for the most part. getting by, until lately.
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i think i'll just have to keep working harder. see what people enjoy, but its just really ego crushingi think. And i could care less about popularity or anything. i think the really awful part is that im just stressed all the time about how i can keep making money off of this when its been so hard to even fill slots, let alone gaining peoples interests. Is this competition related? is this just a shit time for artists? am i just flopping. Who knows.. ohwell. ill survive
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SORRY I DISAPPEARED
Hello there! It has been way too long since i updated you guys on how i've been doing, and i've probably only got myself to blame on this one. But i have FANtastic news to share! (get it? Cus i'm fan? Genious, i know.) I finally managed to get a job! And a decent one this time, no more cleaning mediocre school halls for me! (Horrayyy!)
So this entire hiatus hasnt been for nothing, i've been very hard at work finally being able to persue the thing i love the most, writting! Now i can officially call myself a journalist instead of an amature blogger. The self-improvement sure is real, love to see it. Sadly, I am constantly restricted from putting my heart and soul onto the paper in favor of transmitting what could be classified as useless information to whoever is bored enough to watch the news. And that constant restrain has made me miss the days of the good ol' Fan blog, so i guess you could say that's the reason i'm here. I've missed writting whatever i want to without the need to always double or triple check my work, its fun to not worry if every single word i type fits into my current streams of thought and stuff like that. But you don't wanna hear about all of that do you? You wanna hear about the funny stories! The authentic work experience i have gained! Atleast i hope so, because if not then youre probably in the wrong blog. But if that IS what you came here for, bluckle up bukaroo because im about to tell all about the working woes and friendly foes!
First off the job aplication process was VERY off-putting, my 2 future bosses took care of the interview and they asked... odd questions. They were also always a little too...rude. But thats ok! Nothing that i havent already handled. On the job i have met some interesting personalities such as suitcase! (I was given permission to state her name, duh) suitcase is very kind and funny, but she also has social anxiety, which is weird considering she is one of the few reporters we have, the type that usually goes out, interviews others and deals with harsh weather conditions for some reason. Suitcase is always busy going from one place to another so she can grab the needed fotage, and since im normally the one who writtes her scripts, i get to go with her sometimes! The news channel utilises this totally not ominous and cramped mini-van to cary all of the needed equipment and people. Surprisingly enough, my supervisor is the one who drives the van! She's quite chill, her voice is so smooth that i have to stop myself from yawning when i'm around her. Dont get on her bad side though, i once saw her almost yell at our make-up artist. Speaking of that, they both have some weird relationship going on, i genuinely have no idea if they are friends or enemies and at this point i am too scared to ask suitcase about it.
Working there is pretty chill, i tecnically dont need to phisically be there but hey, a bit more of social interaction wouldnt hurt. Besides, i wouldnt have met suitcase if i only sent my scripts via e-mail! So its a win-win! What else do i have to say abt work? Hmmm.... oh yea! I have a funny story to share!
On my first few days, suitcase told me that the make-up artist was an extreme chatter-box that preferably likes to "spill the tea" on everyone. But if you've been following this blog for a while now, you'd know that im not really good with understanding these types of frases, so for the longest time i thought that this guy actually spilled tea on people on porpose. (he looks really refined, so i just assumed he would be the kind of guy to like tea) So i, being extremelly cautious to not get tea on my lovely red paper, avoided him for like 5 days straight! He eventually caught on and complained to suitcase about it, she then told me so, and i explained my conundrum to her. After she explained what the frase actually meant, we couldnt stop laughting! I never actually apologised to the guy, i sure hope he doesnt hold grudges!
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yakeisoda · 2 months
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Hello, just wanna start this off by saying that I love your art. I've decided to ask my favourite artists for art tips as I wanna get into it, but no matter what I do it never looks right. So, any tips?
HELLO TYSM!!! ngl i dont think im the best 4 this question im also kinda in a rut rn where im not really satisfied w my art n craving more progress and improvement but im getting there somewhat but very slowly! (ive been this way for a rly long time naow) this might be long but im gna try n throw in the things ik, sorry if my thoughts r messy im not the best in articulating stuff :')
i think a good way to start off is to find out what skill you lack the most or what you want to improve the most on, say for ex: u wna focus on getting better at composition for illustrations, then a good way to improve them is to learn about the composition rules (ex: rule of 3rds, etc), look for any scenes in films/animation or photographies and storybooks , study them and recreate it! go crazy !! ive done a study on a friend's picture before, and have asked my friends if i can use their photographies as practice!
looking for inspiration will also improve ur visual library, they can help u find what u wna put in ur art ! like perhaps certain color palettes or styles, it's best to look at different mediums of art instead of focusing only on one, sometimes u can find techniques meant 4 u! (ex: of this is my friend who used to be a watercolor artist, ive observed them using watercolor techniques when they were still new to digital art! basically mix n match whatever feels good/convenient 4 u :] )
disciplining urself is also good to have more improvement! i have trouble w this the most ever since bc its hard 2 focus if no one is like there to monitor u (in my experience), if u rly wna make progress u have to squeeze in some art practice time in ur schedule, it can be around 15-30 mins or even 3 hrs, completely up to you! (rmb to take breaks!). you can give urself deadlines if that will help n maybe timers too!
my prof always said "Proper practice makes perfect", so it's also best to practice with a clear goal in mind, take notes on the things u lack and if ur watching any art tutorials/speedpaints, take notes of those too! it's good to have something specific in mind so u wont get lost n u wud know what u wna do! it helps u retain info as well so u can look back on stuff, to avoid overwhelming urself u can just focus on small bits first, ex: in anatomy, u can focus on the head area first, break it down to drawing eyes and noses, etc! then u can move onto the torso area!
USE REFS!!!! make use of pinterest or any other refs u can find, cannot stress this enuf go crazyyy w references, make a moodboard full of referencess n go crazzyy w them!! i used to not like doing this bc i just head straight in to drawing bc thats what i was used to but art college trained me 2 use refs bc they help so very much, theyre like ur guideline for what u wna make so u have a clear goal in mind, also photobashing seems like a great practice too never tried it but yes it can help when ur planning an illustration/concept art!
^above also applies to art styles! go crazy n experiment w them!! i think its so very fun to explore diff art styles n not stick to 1, again this depends on u but having a different range of artworks is rly fun, u can go from very pastel soft colors n style, to smth very vibrant n sharp, to smth like dark n chalky-sketchy kind of vibe if im making sense T__T, basically go wild!! go crazy!! dont let urself sit in 1 box! hop into other boxes !! or wear all of them!! or poke holes in the box n add stuff to the box or wear a circle!! trust me it looks so fun if u put different artworks uve made side by side n go wow i did that!!
also create small thumbnails 4 illustration! its really best to plan ahead art too, as i said i used to just head straight in n not plan but ive learned to absolutely enjoy planning making art! collecting refs n seeing what kind of composition goes n what colors wud work is so very fun actually! it rly helps a lot
theres also this one post i lost the link, but basically it shows how much progress u can make if u make loose sketches vs full on rendered illustrations vs a mix of both, again this depends entirely on u bc things r different for everyone! i think that post is really good for teaching abt art progress (if any1 knows where it is pls do link!), i think focusing on sketches n practice is better tho bc it helps u draw more freely n loosely! i think that speeds up ur process more as well n doesnt make u lose interest immediately compared 2 focusing on finishing 1 big rendered illust (talking from experience) but then again its different for every1 so honestly just experiment n see what feels right for u!
i wna say tho that although it is good to make sure ur drawing looks right its also good to just let yourself draw freely, i think what matters is that u understood the structures of something and as long as ur able to apply that in ur own way i think thats gud! i think drawing freely helps u draw more fluidly? like having more expression is what i mean. ive gotten into the "i have 2 make this look right" hole before n i noticed it made my art look stiff, so highlyy recommend doing gesture drawing n life studies! rmb to have fun when practicing n learning,
dont pressure urself too much! enjoy the experience :] ! messy sketches r good!! not everything has to look good or perfect! my sketchbooks from way back were just doodles, pencil sketches no color mostly, theres an occasional lined one w markers , ballpen, n some highlighters, n my drawings were either smth funny that happened w me n frens with our personas or making ocs for my faves or ocs for me in general!
ur sketchbook doesnt have to look pretty its like ur diary but its art ykno! ur thoughts in visual form for the day! (again all up to u as long as u have fun! its all different 4 everyone!)
anw tysm again!! sorry if this was all over the place HAHSAW i tried my best but these r the tips i keep in mind most of the time or the ones i hold closest to me n that i try to apply as much as i cud! if u need anything else clarified just lmk! not the best w words but hopefully it helps :'')! most of the stuff i mentioned here i also need to take into practice HAHWHAW so mb its gud 4 me to write this down so i can finally push myself to do stuff,
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capricioussun · 3 months
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don't feel bad about self reblogs, it's always awesome to see your art on my dash and I'm sure I'm not alone with this!
Awe, that's very sweet of you to say!
Tbth i have a really strange relationship with posting online – on one hand, I love just posting whatever and really really enjoy interacting with others, but on the other hand, I'm not sure if it's RSD or what, but i experience like. Social recoil? Where i tend to immediately regret and/or worry over the perception of stuff i post (way more than would be considered normal), especially with posts or reblogs that hardly really garner any interaction at all.
I know it's normal for artists of all kinds to be disheartened by things like that, and I don't necessarily create for others, but that is why i post it online- i mean...why else would you? I see that a lot, people feeling poorly about low interaction, and others trying to encourage them by telling them to make art for themselves and to not worry about it, but that's always come across a little odd to me. No, you probably shouldn't be doing something if you're only doing it for attention, but isn't interaction the point of sharing the things you make online?
Especially so in the case of people who really want to make a living being an artist in their chosen "field". To some degree, you do have to treat it like a business. You do have to sell yourself and try to "grow your audience" if you have any chance of making any sort of income at all, just like any self employment type of job. It feels condescending to see others tell artists who get frustrated with social media constantly doing things to make it harder to have any reach at all that they should care less about the algorithm or numbers when a lot of these people don't have a choice. It feels like hardly a day goes by I don't see posts on twitter or tumblr of someone taking emergency commissions just to cover rent or food for a few days.
Got a bit off topic there, but i sort of rest in a very strange place with my art in that, skill level wise, I'm very much an amateur, but due to Life Issues I won't get into, I can't hold a "normal" job, and I've been constantly kind of battling myself for a couple years now on how to approach trying to make Doing Art Online my career.
I need to put in the work to improve my art so i can not just post more frequently but hopefully get more commission work (which i would honestly also enjoy, I love making things for others, it's one of my favorite things about being able to post online), but i also want to improve my skill level so i can make the things I want to as well (I'm also unfortunately plagued by the Kind Of Wants To Do Everything desires and also want to make plush, music, 3D and live 2D models, and I'd love to get into streaming proper at some point).
So aaallllll of this to say, self reblogging is a big thing for artists on tumblr these days, esp as i see more and more talk about how low interactions gotten on here in the past few years, it's rough! But i also feel like im not...skilled(?) enough to do Proper Online Artist things. I guess. Which is dumb but ah I do not control the chokehold whichever mental issue has on me
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thecoolerliauditore · 8 months
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HEY ANON! Idk what it is but im feeling super duper extra forgiving and kind today so I've decided to actually type up a response to that ask but im answering it like this cus i don't wanna subject my followers to having to scroll thru what u wrote 👍
stuff below the cut (heed the warnings in the tags)
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this is the context, for those curious
FIRST OFF this is so so so SO not okay to send to anyone but ESPECIALLY not a stranger on the internet. Anon you are so lucky I am as comfortable as I am reading and talking about depression/suicide and (I hope) you didn't send this to someone who it could potentially trigger and that I am as normal as I am and not someone who would respond to this callously.
This is such a jump from "i don't draw good", nobody on this website is your therapist or your parent and nobody owes you the time of day to hear you vent. You really don't deserve a response at all but I am doing this because 1. I am nice and very very bored and 2. I believe I used to kind of be like you so I'm somewhat sympathetic.
That being said re: the 'draw more' comic
Anon not everything is about you or directly addressed to you. The message of that comic isn't to just draw more (if anything, mindlessly grinding art isn't the most productive studying you can do once you reach a certain skill level imo), it's to illustrate your mindset and why it's flawed.
The artist in that comic is frustrated with their own progress and skill only because they cannot see the 100x amount of work their more experienced counterpart put in. That doesn't mean their own effort doesn't matter, it just means they have no sense of scale and don't understand why, when they've done so much, they aren't as skilled as those around them.
It's this mindset that inevitably leads to the assumption that other people are just born more talented or didn't have to work as hard for their skills when they certainly did (this might not have been what you intended to say but using words like "life is unfair" paints a very specific impression). Which is. Frustrating, you could imagine, for those of us who have pushed through that period of growth only to be met with "oh woe is me, not blessed by the art muse like your holiness".
I put that there because your message reminded me of it. The last thing it's meant to be is a direct message towards You to Draw More.
re: learning art
My guy nobody is happy with their art straight away. I wasn't happy with my art for like. 6 years.
Learning art is as much of a mental battle as it is a physical one. The improvement over time chart is something I've tried to keep in mind for years when it comes to those "dip" periods in which it suddenly feels like you suck.
I've seen quite a few people touch on it in recent years but the first time I saw it was in this Sycra video.
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Just like a bad mental health day due to seasonal depression I found it much easier to bear once I could sense a 'dip' period incoming and braced myself for it. I even.. kind of learned to enjoy it and accept it as part of my growth process because it was a sign I was going to improve enormously in the coming month or so. but that might just be me lol.
Eitherway, hope this helps 👍speaking of that though
re: depression/suicide/mental health
Let's be honest with ourselves here there is something much deeper going on with you in your life if Drawing Pictures gets you feeling suicidal.
Art isn't this all or nothing thing, you're allowed to take breaks for years and then come back fresh, you're allowed to start drawing at age 98. There's no expiry date on it. It's not professional gymnastics.
What I'm trying to illustrate here is that art is clearly a symptom of a bigger problem in your life that has you taking this attitude with yourself and the way you talk is doing anything but helping your case. You know what's especially unhelpful tho is venting to faceless block man artists on tumblr about this who don't know your personal circumstances or like.. who you are at all. seriously.
This is a problem you're going to have to fix yourself. "seek therapy" is the stock standard answer that we would all love to accept but that isn't realistic for alot of obvious reasons. I can't say what would work for you but personally I'd advise looking to online free mental health resources (forums like reddit are a last resort but if you can find the right space for that then what works works).
If you want an artsy spin on it I'd recommend literally any number of artists' youtube videos on their artistic journeys and their own struggles with impostor syndrome, insecurities, depression, etc. Off the top of my head I recall Jazza has made a few over the years and i adore these marco bucci videos in particular.
The bottom line is that you're going to have to help yourself, Anon. You can't expect others to make themselves smaller to make you more comfortable, you have to create that space for yourself.
We can all uplift each other but no one's going to respond kindly if you come out of the gate downplaying everyone else's efforts.
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florallychaotic · 8 months
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The 100 Live Blogging
Alright yall, I'm gonna take a dive back into the only show aimed at teens that I watched as a teen. Everyone had their one CW show and this was mine. Separate posts will be made for separate watching sessions but episodes done in the same watching session will be added as reblogs. Block the tag "alli watches the 100" if you don't want this on your dash (no shame to ya)
Episode 1x01 Pilot
We are off to a bad start Netflix started playing suits when I opened it for some fucking reason
Right off the bat, Eliza Taylor's American accent isn't bad at all, but it's got the American vocal fry that I hate
Also it's really funny to me that the lead actors of this show have names that are near identical to people who are way more famous than them (Eliza Taylor and Bob Morely)
Not a good sign that the UK part of the Ark, the spaceship these people are staying post apocalypse, looks like it has cardboard on the exterior
Juvenile offenders call lockup "the sky box" which is was teenagers are never in charge of naming things
CW dialogue exposition my beloathed
Wells got himself arrested not for Clarke, but in my headcannon, that The 99 isn't as good of a title
My only solace for having to deal with Finn is that unlike the first time I watched this show, I know he dies instead of just wishing for it
Ah season one Bellamy hair, it makes him look like a middle school teacher
You see I hate CW dialogue but I also absolutely would have screamed "We're back bitches" if I was the first person back on earth in a century
Cue too on the nose pop song, radioactive by imagine dragons
I swear to god a solid 20% of Finn's dialogue is calling Clarke princess and im supposed to like him?
I will say off the bat Bellamy is the best character because so far he's the least clichéd and most interesting lol. Meanwhile I can't wait for his sister Octavia to be a good character because she does, she does get better but for now....yikes
Monty!!! Monty best boy!!!
FUCKED UP DEER MY BELOVED!!! TWO HEADED DEER WOOHOO!!!
I dont know how to explain it, everything on the Ark...like it doesn't look greenscreened but it does look weirdly hazy like it's not there??
The actor for Kane has a very bad American accent, it's so far up his nose it's like he's sick lol
Love the random girl who yelled "It's water!!!" When it started raining
Begging this society to stop using the term "floated" for executed it sounds so fucking stupid
Kane absolutely said the word "majority" instead of "maturity" and that's the take they used for some reason
Clarke is a beautiful artist and normally I don't wanna be the person to question this but how does she know what the Arc du Triumph is
Kane please don't say you're willing to "take us down to a cosmic Adam and Eve" to your female co-worker clearly both you and the writers don't realize how extra creepy that it
This show really likes shot to shot scenes where the camera is just panned up a little so you can see up the actor's nose and it's so awkward
I dont want to be that person, but I think it's very telling that Abby (Clarke's mother)'s best friend is an Asian woman who is still unnamed despite having more lines than multiple white characters who are already named. Like this show is quite diverse and it's not going to be fun rewatching and seeing how poorly they handled that diversity.
Director: "okay can you boys just improv for a moment to delay the scene so we can have the big moment at the chorus of the song?" Actors: "Sure boss!"
What!?!?! You're not alone on Earth?!?! I never would have seen that coming! /s
Final rating: 7/10 despite its flaws I'm far too interested to not continue. What shot Jasper?? Idk! It's a fun lord of the flies story that is really interesting if only its dialogue was better
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mjulmjul · 2 years
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hey! i am consistently in awe of your work, i genuinely adore it (I’d love to get prints of some of your pieces if that’s available anywhere 👀) but im writing to ask abt your technique and brushes! Im new to digital art, and i wanna create the sort of effect you make and i cannot for the life of me figure out how to do it! you have these strokes that look sort of like charcoal but also paint? also refracted light???? idk what program u use or anything and im just a noob still learning how to get the most out of the brushes that come w procreate, but even if you’re using a different program and stuff, I’d love to see if there’s anyway i can translate that effect somehow to the tools I’m using. It’s really cool stuff!! im sorry if you’ve already answered this somewhere 😅
hey! ok first off take anything i say with a grain of salt because 1. i'm self taught 2. there are many many ways to do art, there's no One Right Way. experiment and settle on what works best for you!
atm I basically only use procreate on ipad with an apple pencil.
I've compiled the brushes I use most into this post click here, I'd say download some sets and try them out! this seems to be a bit of an unpopular opinion because I regularly see advice to stick to the basic brushes however if you were making traditional art you wouldn't unnecessarily limit yourself to the cheapest brushes/paints either (assuming you could afford everything), so. go ham.
the main technique I use is a pretty common one where I use a big textured brush and then use a base color layer + clipping masks (you can google how to use these) or selection tool to get sharp edges. so I'll make a selection of the shape I want to paint and then paint within that selection. i often do this with light strokes and/or the brush on lower opacity so i'll keep texture. if you look at concept artists on instagram you'll see this technique used a lot too :) 'edge control' is a term to google to find more about hard/soft edges and how they'll improve your art!
for the light, even for digital art I would very very much recommend james gurney's book 'color and light' because it teaches you almost all you need to know about, well, color and light, and you can apply these principles to digital art too. it's well worth the price but if you can't afford it then there are perhaps some copies to be found online ;) for the actual method in procreate, I like to use layers on the add and screen blending modes, sparingly, and NOT with white highlights but with the actual color of the light e.g. yellow, blue-ish, etc. for stuff like wings, it's usually multiple layers stacked on top of each other!
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(i am not organized)
as a final note i will add that i painted traditionally for years before starting digital art, so i do think that'll have influenced my approach in a couple ways because i basically took all that knowledge and methods into digital rather than starting from scratch.
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hesitantadrien · 1 year
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I decided to redraw an old fandom piece as an original, to use as a portfolio piece, because I'm really struggling to create new art. The only fandomy thing about it is what the character is wearing, and I've always liked the piece, so it seemed like a prime candidate for a redraw. It's essentially a bust in a style similar to art nouveau. Nothing groundbreaking, but it looks nice and I'm hoping it'll help me feel more confident in making something that is actually new.
It feels so strange though. I opened the file, made it mostly transparent, and went to start drawing a circle for where the head should be under the details... But it feels like im tracing someone else's work. Not in a "this is cheating" or "I feel guilty reusing my old art" way, because it's not and I don't-- I think this is a solid strategy to revive the very, very dead artistic drive I once had. The piece is just so different from my current "work" (or maybe lack thereof) that it feels like a different person made it.
Everything I've made, or more accurately tried to make, for the past several years has been made mostly out of desperation. I'm desperate to get into a school, get a degree, get out of my shitty job and into something less shitty at the least. It's killed my creativity over and over, I feel like the very few finished pieces I have made really do look and feel desperate and stressed, that it comes through no matter the subject. Everything recent is poisoned by the pressure of making something good enough to warrant scholarship, to so thoroughly impress someone I haven't met yet that they'll save me from my own miserable life.
This older piece was made because I wanted to make it. Because I thought it looked nice, because it was fun. I knew it wouldn't be for a portfolio ever, and though I wanted it to get social media attention, the stakes were exceedingly low. I wasn't happy with my life when I drew that piece either, but I remember making art all the time, I remember it being easier, something to do for fun. I say I remember it, because I know it was true once, but I don't remember what that feels like anymore.
This isn't burnout, this is something else. I'm 29, trans and too poor to transition, have living relatives but no "family" other than my partner and my best friend, and my life savings is $250 in a jar. I have no degree and seemingly no options, I'm more or less paycheck to paycheck. I work full time and my mental health is so horrific that there's little time for me to complete basic tasks, like eating and cleaning, let alone time to dedicate to practicing art and making new pieces I genuinely want to make. I filled out fafsa and qualify for less than 12k student aid, over 9k of which is just direct loans. I'm already in 10k student debt from being pressured to go to a shitty university fresh out of highschool a decade ago, and my credit score isn't great. I don't want more loans even if I could get them, but I don't have the talent or experience to get an art job without a degree. I don't have a real portfolio, my art is painfully obviously student level. I don't know what to do. I desperately need top surgery and I feel like I'm constantly putting off everything else in my life because I haven't "accomplished" either of these things, because I should be saving for one or the other, because everything costs thousands of dollars and I bring home like $400 a week killing myself slowly in retail.
I have a significant breakdown about my life almost every other week now. I'm really trying to go through the motions of what I should do to improve things, but it's exhausting. Instead of daydreaming about the life I want anymore, I just daydream about joining a cult so I wouldn't have to think anymore (I'm jealous of the Jesus people, it's a new low for me!) or think about really elaborate, convoluted ways to die (there are so many fascinating poisons!) I know I can't live like this forever, but I don't know how to make my life better fast enough. I really do want it to get better.
I guess if anyone sees this and has been in my shoes and lived to tell the tale, tell me what I'm missing. And for the love of god, don't say it's patience.
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