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manasseh · 4 months

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learning how to draw! resources masterlists | Month 1 Part 2

Collections of videos, references, tips and takeaways and other helpful resources I've gathered on my drawing journey :)

To keep it concise, the list is curated down to include only things relevant to a months 'assignments', and only the resources that were the most helpful to me. My notes and takeaways will also be linked as seperate posts!

A) perspective basics Assignment (from Marc Brunet's 1 Year Plan): "Basics of Perspective (horizon line, vanishing line/point, simple volumes from different perspectives)"

[ ⊱ my notes & takeaways (types/styles of perspective drawing and their purpose, different learning goals, random tips, etc)]

most helpful videos ⊱ exercises from marc brunet's 30-day plan ⊱ the perspective assignments from 'what I learned in concept art school / term 1' - Nia Tora ⊱ 'understanding perspective' playlist by moderndayjames (honestly a one-stop! Goes into buildings, product design, more freehand work, MANY great takeaways) ⊱ 'understanding perspective drawing like kimjunggi' - dr. draw (simpler, fast-paced) ⊱ 'mastering freehand perspective' - conceptual ink academy (Nia Tora's school, great great channel for concept art!!)

boxes!! ⊱ 'how to rotate a box in perspective' by dr. Draw ⊱ 'divide a rectangle into perfect thirds' coils!! ⊱ 'how to draw foreshortening with the coil technique' ⊱ etherington brothers' perspective hoops post! ⊱ @beidak-art's perspective hoop brush to help with that

There's much more to add, but this was most helpful for me starting out this month - I will add onto this as I learn more. I took 'basic' very lightly! I dove into anything and kept what was way over my head after trying for later haha. Mainly some of the concepts from the concept art school video, and some of moderndayjames' series go pretty deep.

coming up: "DIY Curriculum", or how to make yourself a plan | Month 1 Assignment Resources: a) figure drawing / b) perspective basics [this post] / c) studies of art you like | Lists of Warm-ups, Exercises, and ideas for Drawing studies | Tools Recommendations | Lists of youtube channels eg I love so far | Maybe more :)

#drawing #learning how to draw #art #art education #artists on tumblr #learning artist #art resources #drawing resource #resources #masterlist #masterpost #perspective #perspective drawing #fundamentals #concept art

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sharpedgedfool · 4 months

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How do you go about designing the interiors/layout the backgrounds for your comics? They’re very intricate and stunning to look at! Do you make concept art? Use in-game or comic structures?

I’m especially impressed with the look of that Stardust Speedway space bar in TDSO, what was the creative process behind that one?

Hey, thanks! I've been trying to work on backgrounds more recently so thats super nice to here! I'll ramble a little bit and try explaining how I do it (apologies for the long post I'll hide it under a read more!)

Landscapes or outdoorsie areas I usually just freehand, but anything with buildings I use grids and stuff. I love interior design games or anything that lets you decorate so I've plenty practice just setting up scenes from that, but I use references and usually do a floorplan while thumbnailing so I can sort of play set designer. For individual pieces I try to draw from scratch or have really basic room grids set up, since I wont have to draw the same background like 20 times I can spend more time on it.

Heres the concept art I did for my big pirate drawing I did a while back, for this I did all of that background work from scratch. I used a ton of references and then just planned it all out by developing thumbnails and smoothing it out.

For comics though, to keep myself sane I've started using the sims 4 game to like create rooms and I pose them around and screenshot stuff, I usually use stand-in objects then draw over them to match the comic background. For the Stardust space bar I looked up the references from Sonic X as that's where it's from, and basically just re-created the shape of the building to use as a base - the bar was already designed so I'm just figuring out the proportions really.

Heres some pics of my notes and a screenshot I've used for TDSO to show u how I do that too! I do all my planning on paper then just use the sims to re-create what I've drawn in 3d!

The sims 4 base game is free to download so it's def super useful for cheesing it quickly for comics, but if ur looking for more specifics to properly learn perspective I highly recommend Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud (I think that's the one I'm thinking of lmao) it has a ton of good comic tips but the perspective section has helped me massively while I've been figuring this all out!

#ask #oriontag #this was so long im sorry but I realised I've never gotten to share these notes before! exciting haha

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lizardsarecute · 7 months

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Made a lot of comic progress that I've been really proud of, but it's more on the technical learning side lol

Clip studio has some really seamless comic workflows built into the program, it's really nice

re-organized the Chapter 5 file from group folders to CSP's webtoon template. I can swap pages around freely, batch save and export all the pages at once. Copypaste elements between pages with ease. so fucking good ugh. It takes more time to set up, but the payoff is incredible and I'm so glad I caught it this early. Plus the vertical overview makes planning compositions to the script so much easier, because it will be an accurate reflection of the comic when posted on ao3. Looking at the old group folders again and man. This was definitely a pain. Fucken...hiding and unhiding folders and trying to imagine pages in a vertical layout. how tf did I live like this.

csp has a dialogue balloon tool that can automatically link the bubble to text where you can edit them together and separately. I took some time copying my cleanup pen's settings to the freehand balloon pen so it looks more in style

Also made a font for my handwriting, so it would match the style from earlier chapters. Just cleaner and more editable. Don't have to erase and rewrite so the hands get more drawing time. Nice.

I've had Lazy Nezumi for *checks notes*....almost 3 years now. It's a windows app that's for line stabilization but it's my go to for perspective rulers since it's so robust. I haven't actually used it as much until now. And learning how to do perspective manually actually helped a Lot in deep-diving into this program. So yeah, spend a week making boxes and cylinders with this app in csp and building things. (if you made it this far here's a bonus wip pep workshop. She had me watching a lot of interesting videos of things I did not understand)

Setup a whole bunch of auto actions for repetitive tasks. We'll definitely continue to add onto this as we go.

I'm also continuing to build up my reference library from the models in-game. There's so much and I am so thrilled about seeing all the models and bg assets in detail.

on the writing side, I've pretty much laid out the whole plot line and the important beats out. Have several pages of first draft dialogue for all of them too. I am having such a good time! I love learning shit like this!! This year has probably been the most fulfilling year I've had artistically in a long long time--Thanks game!!!

(me getting lost in the sauce of detail work. "ah yes, THIS is my happy place")

#personal #lac blog #hell yeah progress #i am so happy! time to unspoiler those pages and draw more!

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orowyrm · 19 days

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Gahhh i love how you draw, do you have any tips for drawing people?

WAH IM FLATTERED ANON!!!!!

i’m not the greatest at art advice because a lot of my artistic process has been me just kinda winging it until something sticks in a way i like, the main reason i’ve gravitated towards a more painterly style rather than hard lineart is that i enjoy the process of refining details out of vague shapes….. the thing that’s helped me the most has been seeking out references. trace over screenshots to get a feel for a characters face shape, use stock photos to block out poses, atuff like that… and don’t be afraid to let ur art be messy. something i feel gives pretty good insight to how i approach art is when i compare a rough sketch/colorblocking to the finished product (like so!)

color swatching too is something i’ve found pretty invaluable when it comes to portrait style painting like i’ve been doing recently, building up a palette to work with can be super helpful, especially when you’re trying to simplify or stylize those features

working out an even middle tone and a few darker accent/outline colors can even make unshaded/blocked out art like this feel a lot more rounded out than black lineart over flats most of the time…

i have no idea if any of this makes sense LMAO i have a really hard time putting anything relating to my artistic process into words … my number one tip will always be to collect references and do lots of studies and warmups until you feel confident freehanding a character w/o double checking 👍 i tend to obsessively draw one guy over and over for days at a time anyway due to my mental illness so that’s worked out for me anyway LMAO. hope this helps mwah mwah

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hellertears · 1 year

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uhh hi. i started drawing again recently and ive been trying to make good art of characters specifically, but i feel like it's... cheating? if i use photographic reference and trace it. ok a lot of people say it's not,but i just wanted to ask your personal open here, bc hey, you draw cool stuff, and your anatomy in drawings is very good. so yeah, should i try to not trace? or maybe only post things i didn't trace? and do you have like... any tips, maybe. a word of wisdom or two. (either way, thanks for reading, love your works)

hello!! thank you so much for liking my art, i appreciate it a lot!!❤️

oh boy i know the topic of tracing is very touchy in the art community and when i first started making art i was too stuck up on the whole cheating thing you mentioned so i completely discarded it. these last couple years though i have to admit that i warmed up to this method and i have to say it really really helps!

tracing poses has actually helped me a lot to get more familiar with anatomy and build muscle memory with how things should be so i 100% suggest it!! of course, practicing with just looking at the references on the side is also absolutely great but you'll notice yourself that your hand will work with much more comfort once you've spent a good chunk of time studying poses and anatomy, tracing, and just doing freehand sketches to make yourself feel more familiar with everything!

and as for the posting part, it's completely fine to post whatever you create as long as it's not traced art of other artists of course!

it all comes down to one key-word that everyone is sick of hearing tho and that's to *practice*!!! it won't go to waste i guarantee it!!

good luck with everything you do anon, i hope this will help you <3

#okay many words im so sorry #rina.txt

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mojo-chojo · 9 months

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for the ask game 4, 21 or 23?

4. Man, theres so many things, like i like human bodies but sometimes i struggle to draw elbows and knees, like not the position but the shape itself. Feet are also hard as fuck, hands are the worst when i'm tired and the back from above. also shoulders when you push them forward are hard as fuck because even if it IS correct it doesnt look correct sometimes. Also dark skin is hard to shade, but then i saw in a tutorial that you should focus on the lighting more than shading and it opened my third eye and now i can do it more decently. Tho the problem is, that now after coloring darker skin tones i forgot how to do pale blue-ish skin😭

and then dont get me started on backgrounds. i started to love doing them freehand style but i dont have enough skills to make it work yet and i cant combine them with my clean lineart characters and im trying to find a solution that sits right with me.

21. oh i love art styles that look nothing like mine but theres simply too many of them. i do try to copy them occasionally and sometimes i learn something new and sometimes it doesnt stick with me. you can find these on instagram↓

@/sevenchiart does buildings and objects

i also love how @/pearfleur and @/iraville draw plants and trees

i love how @/eleeza draws people, just the lines are so delicate and gorgeous

i also really like @/zukich's wonky spikey lineart and vibrant colors

i also love @/faunwood's little creatures?!?!? theyre so smol and cute?!?!?!?

i absolutely love how @/xafeelgood draws men. i just love how they draw older men especially.

i also like how @heartsl0b draws rooms and ambients. theyre so chaotically colorful and i cant stop watching their speedpaints

also i cry everytime i see @/littleulvar's critical role fanart its so gorgeous what

23. i used to use them a lot more but after i learned how to paint i started using them way less and mostly just use multiply with shading from time to time or screen or color dodge if i want text to pop

#anon ask answer #ask game

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incarniunknown · 1 year

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So many projects...

Captain of the Black Templars

A small kitbash to get a more unique looking leader for my little Black Templar troop. The sword was taken from a Sisters of Battle Paragon Warsuit box.

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Thunder Wolves Captains

Small assortment of the five Leaders of the first five companies of my Space Wolves successor chapter, the Thunder Wolves.

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Thunder Wolves Seventh Company

A Captain of the Thunder Wolves' Trackers (seventh company) and four battle brothers. The company is made up of six "packs", consisiting of five men each.

The Trackers are elite warriors who excel in infiltrations and assassinations rather than frontal assaults. The company's name pays homage to the ability of each Tracker to perfectly read and follow even the most minute of tracks.

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Thunder Wolves Wrath Guard

Equipped with spears and axes and clad in heavy intercessor armour, the Wrath Guard draws from all Thunder Wolves' companies. It is the Wrath Guard's task to serve as a body guard for the Chapter Master.

The Wrath Guard uses the chapter's old colour scheme as a way to remember and honour their fallen brothers who died before the chapter's Primaris resurrection.

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Dark Angels Successor

I still need a name for this chapter.

This entire project started because I got a Dreadnought and painted it while listening to the audiobook version of "Descent of Angels". Now I have developed a deep love for the Dark Angels and swiftly decided this Dreadnought would be the first piece of my Dark Angels successor.

And to think I only bought the Dreadnought because I wanted to do some freehand...

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Blood Angels

Once I am done, I will sell this little army on ebay. I mostly started it because I had some unpainted, easy-to-build Space Marines. And I wanted to try out the new red ink I got!

I might do some freehand on the tank. And I will have to darken the red because the way it is now is way too strong for my liking, even for Blood Angels.

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Chaos Space Marines

Another project I intend to sell on ebay once finished.

I am not really interested in collecting Chaos Space Marines, but I really wanted to paint some! They look really fun to paint, and so far I have enjoyed it greatly! I also used the antique gold pigment from Green Stuff World for the first time on these guys and now I am in love. If you can get your hands on that pigment, do it!

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And I think that's all. At least for now lol

I still have a ton of unpainted (but primed) minis, but most of those are individuals rather than group projects. I don't play the game nor am I interested in doing so in the future, so I kinda just dick around and paint a lot of individual Space Marines. But tackling some bigger projects has been real fun so far! I just hope I will actually finish them eventually lol

#warhammer 40000 #warhammer 40k #miniature painting #space marines #adeptus astartes #blood angels #dark angels #black templars #space wolves #chaos space marines

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glamfellens · 1 year

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4.) and 15.) for the Artist asks!

4. Favourite things to draw?

its outfits i love designing outfits and doing wardrobe studies!!!! especially when it's fantasy or historical i just really enjoy gathering sources and taking a characters personality and history and preferences into account when coming up with outfits yeeeee

15. Biggest artist pet peeve?

in general it's when people claim that tracing doesn't help you learn how to draw when it definitely does lol. like as long as you're not tracing other artists work then i think its a good way to get a grasp on shapes and build ur confidence until u can try it freehand

artist asks

#i am in the italian renaissance pinterest trenches rn doing another wardrobe for aeres. Lmao #thank u for the ask!!! <3

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queen-ch3rry · 2 years

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Thoughts on Art - a small essay thing

This is something that has been going through my mind quite a lot since I've been learning ways to be better at my drawing, painting, and creation process.

How is it art seems to be the only topic where there is only “one right way” to do it? Have you ever noticed this?

A kind friend (shoutout @garnets-and-dragons!!) introduced me to an interesting art "hack," the “grid drawing method.” I literally never knew about it. For those unfamiliar with what this is, it constitutes drawing a grid onto a reference photography, then transferring the grid in proper scale to a paper or digital canvas. You draw what you see in each box however accurate you choose to, as the artist.

Personal opinion: this has brought a great deal of joy back into my creative life. Actually, that's nearly an understatement. As a perfectionist my nature (probably stemming way back to my childhood if I think long enough), I typically never love a lot of my art. Not an intense “I'm so very proud of this” type of feeling. Because I see everything I get wrong, the struggles, the lack of grounding an idea onto paper/etc. Combine this with the painful lingering headaches I've had as a side effect from my COVID shot last summer, and art very, very quickly felt like torture when it didn't go right.

Especially with cars. Unlike animals, which can be built up with a uniform concept of circles building on other shapes, cars are all different. As soon as I figure out how to draw one of my OCs, I want to draw another who looks entirely different (year and model playing hugely into this too) and it's back to square one again. This is what scared me so much doing commissions, and prevented me from accepting modern cars or body types I wasn't familiar with.

Back on topic… learning how to use even a rough, vague idea of a grid has helped me become happy with my art. I can plot exactly how I want the character to look and then build a background (yay, new skills!!) around it. It actually works together! I believe now I can tackle all of the major ideas for character scenes that have been rattling around in my head for YEARS.

Yet.

Even though quick research proves Leonardo da Vinci, ancient Egyptians, and many other highly respected classic and legendary artists used grids, plumb lines, and other methods to “short cut” a tedious, wholly freehanded, no guides at all, sketch… the internet is ablaze with controversy and I have seen equally positive and negative thoughts. The negative is very black and white:

“If you use a grid to draw, you clearly have no talent.” “Anyone good enough should never have to use this.” “This is cheating.” “You're not a real artist if you use this method. Shame on you.” “This is glorified dot-to-dot for adults.”

Let's take a step back… I'm not defending myself or anyone who uses any “guides” right now. This is just an unbiased view.

• Is using CTRL-Z when doing digital art cheating? (You can instantly remove a mistake!) • Is digital art itself no form of art because you can have potentially thousands of resources at hand that don't cost a fifth of what traditional art supplies can? • Are erasers in trad. art cheating? (You ought to be good enough to not use one at all. right? If we listen to the “grid and plumb line” critics) • Is using Photoshop cheating?? It can completely change an image to be unrecognizable from its former self. Action sets do all the work for you. Yet that's considered an art form.

Or, let's not look at art at all.

• Is using spellcheck cheating? • Is hiring an editor to comb over your manuscript cheating? • Does using a dictionary or thesaurus mean you have 0 literary skill if you don't know the meaning or synonym/antonym for a single word yet can construct a good story otherwise? • Does using a calculator mean you're an idiot with zero skills? Hey, even if you don't understand math, what shame is there in using a calculator?? None!

I would think the answer is NO to all of these things.

So, why is there this huge controversy with art? You can only do it ONE WAY which is deemed “correct” (by who?) and deviating means… you have no talent?

I have a bit of a hard time swallowing that using mathematical measurements to make art I'm truly excited about continuing for the first time in literally years means I'm not a “real” creative person. The grid does only one percent of the work for me.

• I have to fill it in however detailed I chose. It's not a preprinted coloring page, after all. • I have to transform certain areas to fit a cartoony look. • I have to remember what I've learned so far for value, saturation and hue to color it in a way that's either believable or at the least, appealing, to my eyes and a viewer. • I have to hand draw all of my background elements in (again using value, saturation and hue to look nice)

How does using one single tool make an artist a cheater? Using a grid as an aid is not tracing a photo line for line and passing it off as my own creation. A grid doesn't even equal a flawless result! Nor is it the way too common art theft that populates the world where someone steals someone else's art, recolors it (or not) and “now it's mine.”

End thoughts: I hope any creator that uses a tool (ruler, grid, plumb line, compass, French curve, etc.) to make them feel happy and satisfied for potentially the first time in their life with their work doesn't get beaten down by the critics. People who say you're a “baby” or “fool” because you can't do things the way they do it doesn't mean anyone's way is right or wrong. And being severe and hurtful in their opinions is the kind of insensitivity a person with a low self-esteem in what they do does not need to hear.

I wish everyone to create freely, in whichever way works for them (minus outright theft) and can understand there's a whole lot more to life than what one person says is right or wrong.

Oh, and about this one person who said “anyone who has to use a grid has no talent?” Someone asked them if they could draw. They said yes. They drew hyper realistically. Did amazing portraits, in their words. Next was inquired: “I want to see/Show me your art.” By 5 different people.

The person who cried foul about “tools equal cheating” oddly enough refused to share any art, any links, anything at all. Their account was completely empty.

Kind of makes you wonder if they were a troll just trying to hurt others, doesn't it?

— Ginger (V16ClassyCaddy.art)

#ginger speaks #v16classycaddyart #art stuff #grid drawing #art hacks #haters back off #art time art time

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amuseoffyre · 2 years

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Writing asks :)

4. What’s a word that makes you go absolutely feral?

33. Do you practice any other art besides writing? Does that art ever tie into your writing, or is it entirely separate?

38. What is something about your writing process YOU think is Really Weird? If you are comfortable, please share. If you’re not comfortable, what do you think cats say about us?

What’s a word that makes you go absolutely feral?

Thanks to Beatrix Potter, I have loved "soporific" since I was 5 years old, before I knew how to use it in a sentence.

Do you practice any other art besides writing? Does that art ever tie into your writing, or is it entirely separate?

Yes. Too many. I make miniature dioramas in book nooks. I sew. I make bags. I made jewellery. I build seaglass ornaments and lamps. I do block printing. Right now, within eyeshot, I have a painting in acrylics, a drawing in coloured pencils, the prepped pattern and fabric for a bag and the base of a rug I'm making. But it never overlaps with fic because my drawing style is not one that works with drawing characters freehand.

What is something about your writing process YOU think is Really Weird? If you are comfortable, please share. If you’re not comfortable, what do you think cats say about us?

Honestly? The fact it's usually just me hitting my keyboard, no thoughts, very little forward planning if any. I make it up as I go along and yet, people tell me it seems to be so "well thought out" and so clever and I'm like "......yes..... thinking was a thing I did"

#writing #fanfic ho!#art

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johndibiase · 2 years

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Welp, I finally caved. After getting requests for a while I decided to draw Pam’s painting of Dunder Mifflin’s building on The Office. The original painting was a watercolor piece but I drew it, freehand, entirely with colored pencils (I even put Pam’s signature on it. Haha! Mine is hidden in the bushes on the right side). This was a really fun one to do! #jennafischer #theoffice #pambeesly #dundercon #officeladies #theofficetv #theofficenbc #dundermifflin #coloredpencil #buildingart #art #artist #artwork #scranton #officeladiespodcast #draw #drawing #freehand #secretary #instaart #pencil #love #recreation #portrait #pencildrawing #sketch #fanart #artistic #etsy #jjdart https://www.instagram.com/p/CgkNNW7uy53/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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k00293758 · 4 months

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3D Studies Seminar Part 2

I thought the architect Frank Gehry was so interesting in this. His sketches for the buildings weren’t typical super precise sketches that you’d see from architects now. They’re so freehanded you wouldn’t even think they’re from an architect. He more so bridges the gap between architecture and art. He captures a sense of movement that then gets translated into the buildings. I love how they can still portray the architects sense of fluidity in the drawing while also having the building be structurally sound. One of his works is the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.

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aiden-luchian · 1 year

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Beautiful Adaptation of a Hobby | Q&A

Mitchell Romani, an Endicott College student hailing from Fremont, New Hampshire, has always had a keen interest in the arts, particularly drawings and paintings. However, despite his passion, he never progressed past the casual level of creation. That is until he was introduced to the world of pottery and ceramics, which he quickly fell in love with. With the help of his community, Romani was able to take his artistry to the next level and cultivate a talent he never knew he had. Since his initial experience with ceramics, Romani has been giving back to the community that helped him discover his new favorite pastime. He began by gifting his pieces to friends and family, but soon found himself selling beautiful vases and other items in his neighborhood. His success has allowed him to pay back those who helped him along his ceramics journey, from the teacher who first introduced him to the medium to the friends who provided support and encouragement along the way. Romani's dedication and passion for ceramics have sculpted an unknown hobby into a beautiful piece of his life. He continues to experiment with new techniques and styles, pushing himself to grow as an artist. For Romani, ceramics have become much more than just a hobby; they are a source of joy and fulfillment that he plans to continue cultivating for years to come.

A Q&A with Mr. Romani

(Q is Aiden asking a question, A is Romani replying).

Q: How did you begin to be interested in pottery, and what inspired you to begin your “business”?

A: I started my senior year of high school. I spent a lot of time drawing and painting, but I got put into a ceramics class. I wasn’t very good at it at first, but the teacher offered to put me and my friends on the pottery wheel, rather than freehand sculpting, and so we started spending a lot of time using that tool. I didn't have a class at the end of the day during that semester, so we would have an extra hour to make stuff, and we got pretty good at it with that extra practice. It got to the point where we were making way too much pottery. I didn't want to have any more because it was building up in my house, so I decided that I should start giving pieces away and selling them in my small community.

Q: Can you describe the creative process while making pottery?

A: Usually I like to begin with a project in mind, and I always try to make something new. It does take trial and error, but usually I’m able to get the new form I want to make, and those are the pieces I usually like to keep. But sometimes, for example, vases are my favorite thing to make, so since I enjoy creating those I find myself with a little more than my house really needs. Usually, like the vase example, I like to give away pieces that I’ve made before. It’s nice to have fresh ideas in my house, because repetition can make it a tad boring.

Q: So when you make pottery, you paint them, correct?

A: Yeah of course, so you have to use a special paint called a “glaze,” and you use it after you fire the clay once. After firing the clay, it becomes solid so you can't manipulate it anymore like wet clay, and since it’s hard you can paint over it. You can make any kind of designs, and it's a lot of fun experimenting with different glazes because you can create a lot of different effects. Laying glazes can create different designs, so that everything can be a little different.

Q: Where do you get materials apart from using the ones available at school?

A: There's a place in Maine, I think it's called Portland Pottery Co.

Q: Do you have it shipped after buying online or do you actually go to Maine?

A: I go get it.

Q: So you drive all the way up to Maine?

A: Yes!

Q: So would you say that pottery is something you go out of your way to do instead of just a fun hobby?

A: Yes, even though it is a fun hobby it also is fun to dedicate your craft too. It’s always really satisfying when you get a new piece that you really really envisioned and its awesome seeing it come to life.

Q: Could you walk me through the typical clay making process? Like a vase?

A: So you start with a big block of clay and depending on the size you have to portion parts of it off.

Q: So you just pick it apart or do you cut it..?

A: Yeah, you cut it apart and weighing it based on how big you want the piece to be, then you wedge it, which is like forming it into a sort of torpedo shape and it gets rid of all the bubbles and inconsistencies in the clay, and make it easy to throw onto the wheel.

Q: What's the wheel, exactly?

A: The wheel is a platform that rotates as you sculpt the clay

Q: Oh, so that way everything can be symmetrical?

A: Yeah, exactly. So after you put it on the wheel, you need tools and water, like sponges and scrapers so you can stylize the piece and shape it better. You have to wet the clay because it drags on your hands as it spins and it hurts a bit. You first make a hole in the middle and drag your fingers straight up, and after that you can manipulate it however. Then you have to let it dry, which usually only takes like a day, maybe even less. Then you fire it in the kiln, which usually takes a few days depending on the size of the piece. After that you get to choose glazes and patterns, and after you glaze it you fire it a second time. Then you have your piece!

Q: So you began this as a school/hobby thing, how did it turn into a sort of community business? A: Eventually, once I had so many pieces, we (his family) never used them since there were already so many pieces around the house. I even had extra to bring here to college, like bowls I use for my jewelry and a mug for coffee. Extra pieces were just lying around, and my aunts and uncles always asked me if they were for sale, so I was like yeah why not? I don't use them. So I decided to start giving some out.

Q: So since this is technically not a “real business” and mainly a niche part of your community, how do people find out about your talents? How does word spread that Mr. Romani makes pottery?

A: So, in that senior year of high school, I was kind of infamous for being in the art and ceramics room all the time. I had multiple art classes apart from just ceramics, so sometimes I’d just do ceramics in my other art classes, with permission from the teacher. Everybody knew I was in the ceramics room though, and the teachers put up my pieces around the school occasionally. I also post a bunch of my pieces on social media, and in a small town just about everyone follows everyone, so word spreads quickly. Also family coming over was sort of self explanatory because they'd see it around the house.

Q: So are there future plans? I know it's difficult to keep it up during college.

A: I would love to keep this going throughout my life, and not just at home, but at the moment home is about the only place I can do it. I'd like to do it more often, and it would be beneficial to me because practice makes perfect.

Q: Does being a student affect your pottery career?

A: Definitely. I'm not really able to make much here at college. There is a studio but I'm not sure if and when I'm supposed to use it. I've made one piece here but it's not even finished, and I don't know when the group is meeting again to finish it, but hopefully I can finish it before the end of the year.

Q: What's your favorite piece you've made?

A: That's a tough question. It's probably a tie between two things. One of them was two pieces that I messed up, because when I was trimming, I poked a hole in the bottom by accident and I didnt know what to do. I didn't know what to do with it because obviously a vase with a hole in the bottom is useless, so I put it on top of one of my other pieces and formed it together so it combined into a huge tall vase and I think the glazes I used came out perfectly, like a blue and black which is one of my favorite combos. Black always works really well with other colors. And the other one is a little different. We used a firing process called “raku,” which is a different process. All it is instead of the big kiln, it goes into a different type of kiln where you take it out while it's glowing hot, and you put different stuff all over it, like copper and it melts onto the piece. So you take it out when it's burning hot and you can search stuff onto it, like feathers and stuff for designs.

Q: So it's like branding kind of but the opposite way because the piece is hot instead of the imprint?

A: Yeah exactly. Then you put it into a barrel and put the lid over it, so the smoke and everything encapsulates everything. I made it have a really cool color too, like a turquoise blue gradient into a pink and it turns into literally gold by the end of it.

Q: So that sounds super complicated, is this one of the more difficult things to do?

A: Yeah, the firing process is way harder and longer than usual and it's really easy to mess up. I really liked that piece because it was one of the only ones that made it all the way through the process.

Q: So when you sell pieces, how do you base your prices?

A: So obviously I wont charge my family, but like when I sell it to my neighbors or people in my town it's usually between $25-50 depending on the size and the time it took. It usually never gets to $50, because that's super expensive for something I enjoy doing. It also depends on the materials and stuff, like any business.

Q: Do you use your own pieces a lot?

A: Yeah I do, I use my mugs literally every day. Another piece that gets a lot of use is this whiskey glass that I made for my dad for fathers day. So he uses it obviously, not me.

Q: Were your teachers a main factor?

A: 100%. My ceramics teacher was a huge influence on me, and her encouragement was what kept me going from the beginning. Once, she wanted us to experience a factory type of day where we would make a ton of mugs in one day to see what real production is like. I think we made like 12 mugs and we gave them out to our favorite teachers.

Q: That's so cool, and it kind of gives insight to how a business works?

A: Yeah, especially learning consistency, because that's huge in ceramics, but it's also cool knowing every piece is sort of unique too.

Q: Lastly, how do you deal with pottery you're not happy with?

A: So one thing my teacher did really well was teach us that you can't always get it right. When she didnt like a piece, she would literally smash it right there in front of us. This way, you can get your frustration out, accept that not every piece is going to be perfect, and you can always try again.

Aiden: That's so cool! Thank you so much!

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tillzzy · 1 year

Text

07.02.23

Logo Experimentations

After doing some basic research on other designers and how they have created their own websites and personal branding, this inspired me to begin creating my own designs. I wanted to start with logo designing as this can be used as a base for my website in terms of colour, typeface and design in general.

I wanted to create a funky and loud logo that stands out but still represents me as a person. I decided to take inspiration from this packaging design I had found through my research from the typeface unit in term one and use the style and motion of the lettering in my own design.

initial drafts and sketches

I began designing my type by just freehand drawing the lettering without a grid just for a basic idea of how I wanted the shapes to interact. I then placed the design I preferred onto a grid background and slightly adjusted the sizing and spacing of the letters. I really like how the y wraps around the upper Z as the Y has a lower descender which interrupts the composition of the logo. I wanted to use the name that I use for my design instagram account as I feel that ‘tillzzy’ is a unique brand name that describes me quite well.

using a grid to finalise layout and sizing of letters

I then used a grid to finalise the shape of the letters and made sure to design in black and white to ensure all areas and mistakes can easily be spotted. Colour can sometimes take away from logo designs at first so it is good to build from a black and white colour scheme. I also have yet to decide the colour scheme I intend to use for my branding.

adding a design elements

as there was a space in between the Zs and the L I wanted to fill this space to create a more busy composition and also use the opportunity to add an additional design aspect that gives more personality. I started with adding a sparkle element however this felt quite basic and didn’t say much about me as a person. I then thought using plants would help add more as I love plants and have done a few projects already around nature and sustainability. I started with a simple flower drawing which was inspired by one of my favourite illustrators - Poppy Crew. I then thought instead of a flower using inspiration from the plants in my room. My favourite plant I have is my swiss cheese plant and sits on my desk as I work so I felt that this was a good option to tell more about my design process and myself in general. I really like this addition to the logo and I think it isn’t too much where it would overwhelm viewers but has enough to catch people’s attention. Once I add colour it will start to bring this to life a bit more.

I think now I should start bringing my illustrations into illustrator to clean up the line work and convert the logo into a vector based design. Also this will allow me to explore and start thinking about colour a bit more for my website. I also think experimenting with already existing typefaces for my logo instead of hand drawing the headings will help as it will create consistency and the opportunity to use the chosen typeface in other aspects of my website. I could hand draw these which could enhance the connotation of my website being illustrative but having consistency could help create a cleaner and more professional finish. I will explore both options when it comes to it

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