comics be like

TRUTH. What you need is imagination, and you don’t need to go anywhere to use it.

Yeah, sure, seeing new things is helpful as a fantasy writer. But. Don’t make the mistake of assuming that exposure to new things is the same as traveling. You know what else exposes you to new things?  The internet. Documentaries. Books. Freaking Youtube. So when you’re bored of cats and cooking tutorials, go on an adventure!

You wanna write create some fantasy creatures but don’t know where to start? Go check out some videos The Weird Creatures Earth has Had.

Want some inspiration for your Super Evil Villain’s Villanous Deeds?

Or maybe you want some weird locations to kick start your Fantasy World Terraforming?

Or maybe you need knowledge of bunches of historical places and cities and cultures?

But maybe you’re basing fantasy on the modern world?

Okay but lets say you want to start from the same inspiration as GRRM? (and part two!)

That’s just the stuff I could quickly grab. Things I’m subscribed to, that I know offhand. There is So. Much. Stuff. Online.

The best thing about the internet is that it means its not just the fortunate sons that get to learn, and explore and imagine and write. We get to see stories from all over the place, from all sorts of people, who bring All Kinds of New Ideas.

I like you.

i hate that every time i look for color studies and tips to improve my art and make it more dynamic and interesting all that comes up are rudimentary explanations of the color wheel that explain it to me like im in 1st grade and just now discovering my primary colors

“red and green are opposites 🥰” cool now how do i paint a tree with pinks and blues without it looking like a child’s finger painting or incongruous blobs of rainbow vomit

ok i can’t explain it very well but im looking for tips and techniques for rendering art like

with specifically the highlights and colors being hues that compliment each other, don’t distract from the scene, and make it more interesting/visually appealing

is it too much to ask

gonna drop some sources I have saved on Pinterest! I don't know if these all link back to the original sources so apologies for that

cohesive but still contrasting

This kind of talks about color and composition

This is a bit about landscape specifically

Values & composition

Contrast in composition

Balance in colors & values

This one's more for palette building but I think it's useful and can be applied to the other ones

Cohesion within compositions/lighting

"Chromatic fringe" - I also see people using this with shading, they bring in a transition color that is a different hue than the base color or shadow, it makes it so that less vibrancy is lost and it doesn't get muddy!

This one specifically has a lot of process behind the style of painting you're looking for!

Also one of my favorite artists who makes bright and colorful art like this is Not Sorry Art on TikTok & YouTube, her website is here and it's<3 my fav. She has some videos where you can see her process

With the oranges painting you put as an example, I noticed they painted the lighter values more toward yellow - they also exaggerated the hues of the undertones of the photo, so I'm guessing they either did it in their head or bumped the saturation up to get a closer look! I really love these paintings you shared and I definitely share your desire to paint/draw like that :)

thanks this is super helpful! /gen

It is not the prettiest but here is a little chart I made of skin tones.

The idea is to eye-drop anywhere on the chart to get a unique skin tone instead of getting stuck in the loop of “white, tan, dark”.

Edit in 2021! Due to some (very valid) critique, I just wanted to slap a little edit on this to let people know I’m keeping it up and pinned to avoid being asked where it is on the daily, but very much encourage people to check out other skin tone references. I’m keeping it pinned so it’s easy to find! I appreciate so much the positive feedback this thing has gotten, but more than that, I appreciate the conversations it has sparked and the negative feedback that has come with it, inspiring more people to diversify their art! For better references please check out this really amazing twitter post!

Since I’ve started using a cane, I’ve noticed a lot of actors & cartoonists aren’t sure how to depict characters with them! Here’s a simple cheat sheet to help.

As a cane user myself, this isn’t always true. I use a cane on my weaker side and it works better for me personally with my mobility. I broke my left foot in college and use a cane on my left side. Could also be due to being right handed, so that my dominant hand is free to open doors and stuff

I sincerely hope every artist gets to have the experience of falling in love with their art someday. even if you have to fight for it. i think we all deserve to look at the result of our creativity all giddy and go holy shit, I loved making this! I love the lines I put down and the colors I used and the indulgences I’ve taken. I love seeing things I liked and taking it for my own, pushing and molding and playing. I can’t wait to do it again

a lot of people asked about how I approach poses: how I keep them feeling “fluid” or “alive. Is it just muscle memory/lots of practice? How do I make things “simple yet dynamic”?

basically it comes down to understanding body language, lots of practice/study, and getting out of your comfort zone.

It’s kind of difficult to articulate!! It’s important to me for people to FEEL my art rather than see it, if that makes sense. Understanding anatomy is important, but getting caught up in the realism can make it stiff… try and stay loose

Support me on PATREON or Ko-fi 💕

You all liked the video a lot so I checked their channel for another one, go check them out

This is "I leaned my crutches against something and they immediately fucking fell over" erasure

Arcane animators self referencing!

This animator got to use his son for young Ekko's reference and it's so damn sweet!!

Imagine acting up this incredibly heart-wrenching scene in your lounge to a rolled up sock on a bag... They gave it their all too!

This scene's acting fidelity is incredible! Especially the shakiness of Ekko's movement to punch Jinx...

YES!!!

okay so I've been really struggling with art (digital, traditional, painting, sketching, animation, etc.) and I grew up in a SHITTY time for new artists on the internet cuz there was so much discourse about reffrenceing and bases and "style theft" and "pose theft" and

EVERYTHING WAS BAD OKAY?

and that turned me away from self referencing and even using references at all in my work in fear of accidently "stealing" something from another artist. (cuz we used the same reference/had similar ideas/poses)

But it is so useful!!!!

Using references can teach you so much about the smallest shit you wouldn't have noticed before. even just tracing references for practice teaches you some of the shapes that are common in the drawing, as well as giving you a decent composition of it in general.

Also getting over the fact that I can be as expressive and exaggerated in these self references as a want/need to be.

And sometimes it's better to see an overreaction and tone it down than to not see enough emotion and have to guess what more of it would look like.

some notes on drawing fat bodies in a stylized or cartoony art style! i tried to explain and illustrate things i keep in mind while drawing :)

Ways to describe Hair Colors