theelfdruid - Tumblr blog

theelfdruid · 8 years

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Subtitle: Everything I’ve learned so far.

*more added on bottom of list*

made for a friend but I figure I’ll post it if it’ll help anyone ^-^

Probably will add to this every now and then if anything new comes up.

All links marked as “❤”

Most link to written tutorials but some are videos. Scroll over links to see if it’s a video in case there’s a reason why you can’t watch them.

Also posted on Deviantart

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❧ Super helpful tutorials made by other people:

The shrimp method (How to draw anything) ❤

Colour turtle ❤

Background composition ❤

Colour theory ❤

Perspective trix for the needy & lazy ❤

Step by step digital painting ❤

Action line ❤

Perspective tutorial ❤

All of these video tutorials ❤

All of these resources ❤

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❧ Human anatomy basics:

Hair ❤

Hair types ❤

Head ❤

Face ❤

Eye and eyebrow ❤

Ear ❤

Nose ❤

Mouth ❤

Chin ❤

Neck ❤

Shoulder ❤

Forearm ❤

Arm ❤

Hand ❤

Finger ❤

Back ❤

Breasts ❤

Chest ❤

Hips ❤

Butt ❤

Vagina ❤

Penis ❤

Legs ❤

Knees ❤

Feet ❤

Skeleton ❤

Body type ❤

Weight gain + loss ❤

Age ❤

Skin ❤

Average female face ❤

Average male face ❤

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❧ Quotes:

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The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark. -Michelangelo

“If you don’t know what colour to use, use black” -Pablo Picasso

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“The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” -Aristotle

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“The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.” -Pablo Picasso

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“Go and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here. Make. Good. Art.” -Neil Gaiman

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“No one’s better than me. I’m not better than anyone. ” -Carlos Santana

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“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” -Pablo Picasso

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“If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” -Vincent Van Gogh

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❧ Advice:

Loose grip = better for your hand & better precision while drawing.

If your hand hurts after a short amount of time drawing your grip is too tight.

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Colour is a very personal thing. It has a lot to do with the way you see colours and the way you feel about those colours. So as much as things like colour theory are important, you’re the one choosing the colours, you’re in control.

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People who say things like “a poor workman blames his tools” really need to stop. Your tools make a big difference, there is no denying that. Anyone who’s ever tried Roseart crayons knows using them it’s like hammering in a nail with your bare hands, there are easier ways of doing things.

Of course this doesn’t mean you’ll draw better with more expensive tools but it does mean that if you don’t like using a particular pen/brush/software/etc there’s no use continuing to use it. It’s distracting, makes you feel worse about your art and you’ll be more likely to just not draw anything at all.

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Experiment that’s all. Just keep experimenting with things until you find out what you like. (guess that can also be life advice)

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You can always improve. This doesn’t mean you’ll never be good, it only means you can get better even if you’re an expert.

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Okay let me use this quote as a start off point “The enemy of art is the absence of limitations.” -Orson Welles. This might sound counter-intuitive but it’s very true. Your brain can only handle a few things at once, if you’re told to draw anything you want you’ll most likely draw something like a cat or dog or a house, things that are very normal to you, things that you’ve probably drawn a hundred times before because when you’re faced with too many options you’ll most likely pick the simplest and most familiar things to you.

Give yourself limitations when you’re drawing. Before you draw start with a theme or palette (etc) to let your mind relax and boost your creativity. (of course you don’t have to do this every time you draw, just when you want to draw but have no ideas.)

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Write down/sketch your ideas as soon as you get them because chances are you won’t remember them. Not that you can’t change your mind about it later, it’s just good to know they’re there and you haven’t forgotten anything.

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If you feel like there’s something not quite right about your drawing, take a break. Come back to it the next day even. If you focus on something too long it messes with your judgement.

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You don’t have to show anyone what you’ve drawn. It’s your business what you draw so draw anything you want.

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Chances are you’ll come across people who have no idea about anything to do with art but still tell you how to do it/ what you’re doing wrong. These people aren’t worth listening too. Ignore their advice.

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There’s no problem with learning from tutorials, absolutely none. It’s just one of the ways people learn. It’s the same with art classes or anything similar. If you learn from it then keep doing it, but if you’re not then don’t.

The best tip I can offer about tutorials is if you don’t like the art style of the person who made the tutorial there’s no reason to learn their techniques. Study artists who have art styles you like and figure out what it is you like about them. (their use of colours, emotion conveyed, etc)

And honestly if you’re a good artist and you’ve never used tutorials or been to art classes, good for you, but it’s nothing to be smug about and no one is a lesser artist for using them.

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❧ Referencing:

I made a mini tutorial on how to reference here ❤

Here’s one on how to use them another way ❤

Also see ‘Tracing vs referencing' ❤

also these are a couple great sites for references

Humans ❤

Animals ❤

Plants ❤

Objects + architecture ❤

Everything all together ❤

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❧ Things that are really good to focus on and practice in your drawing:

-Light & shade ❤

-Wind ❤

-Reflection ❤

-Perspective ❤

-Movement ❤

-Composition ❤

-Emotion ❤

-Mood ❤

-Values ❤

-Texture ❤

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❧ Warm ups and practice

If you don’t know about gesture drawing here’s a tutorial ❤

If you do, this site is good for it ❤

Draw shapes, draw lines, draw random squiggles, whatever helps you warm up.

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❧ Possible reasons for artblock and remedies:

-Stress. Sometimes there are certain times when stress is for whatever reason unavoidable. It’s a difficult thing to deal with and there can be a lot of different reasons why you’re stressed. Take breaks, try yoga or something that’s more of a workout like boxing if it helps, meditation, anything that helps you feel better is a good start. Try writing down everything that’s making you stressed so you can get more of a perspective on why you’re stressed and deal with the smaller problems first. Things like cleaning your room/house or fixing something that’s been bothering you can help a lot. There’s also this helpful list if you wants some more ideas ❤

-Depression. *groans* don’t get me started. Depression is a big deal and I have no idea what the best way to help it is. Maybe time. Maybe feeling useful. Maybe leaving your current life situation. Depression makes the simplest things difficult so the main thing to remember is to put your health before your art. Art will wait for you and be there when you’re ready, it always does.

There’s also this masterpost on depression if you’d like to have a look ❤

-Feeling inadequate. This might sound like a strange thing to say… It’s kind of a good thing. You are wanting to improve and that’s great. It’s safe to say everyone experiences this multiple times in their life at some point but what you need to keep reminding yourself is, if you know you love doing something then you’re on the right track so stick to it.

-Feeling Un-motivated. Make an inspiration folder and go on a picture finding search to fill it with anything that makes you want to draw. Learning something new always helps for this as well so read/watch tutorials or someone drawing/painting.

-Not having ideas. Surprisingly easy fix most of the time. Use a random generator like this ❤ or start some kind of art challenge to get you started.

-Boredom. (or being bored with the way you draw) Try using a different medium like sculpting or pixel art, anything you don’t normally do. Surprisingly changing your image can help as well so getting a new hairstyle/colour, anything like that can work.

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❧ Selling art:

Don’t under charge for your work. It doesn’t matter how much you love to draw, you shouldn’t have to under charge for your work. You’re not only charging for the piece its self but for your skills as an artist and for the time and effort you put into it.

“So how much do i charge?” This question is one of the more difficult ones to answer. It can depend on the demand and the time it takes for you to make, etc. So this is just a basic list of things to ask yourself before you decide how much you should be charging.

-'How much time do I spend making it?’

-'How much am I willing to work for?’

-'How much do other artists charge?’ (not always relevant but something to consider)

-'What kind of customers will i get?'

-'What is the customer going to use my art for?’ (if it’s for a personal thing it’s no problem but if it’s commercial and they’re going to use it on multiple occasions profiting from it, either charge more or work something out where they have to pay you each time it’s used)

Don’t worry if you realise you’ve been undercharging for your work because it’s part of the process of finding out what’s right for you.

If someone challenges you on your prices or says you’re charging too much remember this

“If you like what I do, this is what I charge. If you don’t want to pay it, you don’t have to buy it.”

Visual examples work better than descriptions. Show what you’re willing to draw and what kinds of commissions you offer with the prices listed. It can be laid out however you like. Here’s an example ❤

Additional payments. Something to consider is are you going to charge more per added character or for a detailed background anything else that requires more work than your set price.

Make a check-list for commissioners to fill out. Not always necessary but can be a good thing to have. Things like “character: background: outfit: ” anything that you would usually ask them.

Some people might ask you to copy or trace something. I have absolutely no idea why people want something that’s traced but don’t do it. I promise you won’t like working with the client and you won’t be proud of your work at all.

Explain when you expect to receive payment. Either before you start, after you show them sketches or when the whole project is completed. In this case just do whatever feels right to you. But keep tabs on who hasn’t played because there are some people that think they can get away with not paying. (just something to be aware of)

There will be people who try to get things for free. Ignore people who say things like “I wish could have something like this but i don’t have money :( ” please, please, please don’t respond to these people with anything other than something along the lines of “Thank you, maybe next time :)” because the only reason they’re saying that is because they want it cheep or free. These people aren’t your customers, don’t worry about supplying to them.

Also along those lines, if someone asks you to do work for them for free and “maybe they’ll hire/pay you” if they like your work is bullshit. They’re conning you. What they do once they get your designs is tell you they’ve decided not to hire/pay you when they’ve actually stolen your design and get their designers to finish/alter it. DON’T TRUST THESE PEOPLE.

Have a paypal or something similar set up. This is completely necessary unless you’re working with someone face to face.

You can decide whether or not to work with someone. If whoever is commissioning you is making you feel uncomfortable or asking too much or is trying to make you do anything you don’t want to, you don’t have to work with them. It’s entirely your choice.

Little bit more commission advice by someone else ❤

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❧ More stuff added by others: added by fruitncreme - What is talent? ❤

- Anatomy, Manga to realistic and perspective ❤

- Poses ❤

- Anatomy and proportions ❤

- Folds and wrinkles ❤

- Tips and tricks ❤

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❀ Hope this helped ❀

Feel free to add to this list if you have any other advice or tutorials you think would be helpful

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