Naariel Illustrations

Finally!! This bad boy can hold so much advice.

Learn how to price yourself fairly, avoid burnout, and build a sustainable art career with the Ultimate Artist Guide, available in LESS THAN THREE WEEKS?!

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fountain in italy

This is what I tried to explain to US platforms like Patreon when they suspended my account for having a nude statue as the background image: I live in Europe, I can go and see a nude statue within a 5 minutes walk. Children can see them, they're not in some 18+ container. I will never understand those policies.

I recently learned that, a few years ago, the Vienna Tourism Board had such a problem with this that they opened an OnlyFans for their museums.

I hate this aspect of US culture and want to fight it viciously

I hate this aspect

of US culture and want to

fight it viciously

Beep boop! I look for accidental haiku posts. Sometimes I mess up.

I want to tell a story to the artists and would-be artists out there.

When I was 19, I made a large oil painting of the nerd I would eventually marry. I poured all my attention and care into this painting. It's the only art I have from back then that still holds up as a work I'm proud of today.

I entered it into a judged show at the local art center. It got an honorable mention. I went to see the show with my beloved model. One of the judges came up to talk to me, and highlighted that all the judges really liked the painting. It would have placed, except, you see, the feet were incorrect. They were too wide and short, and if I just studied a bit more anatomy-

I called over my future wife, and asked her to take off her shoe. Being already very used to humoring me, she did. The judge looked at her very short, very wide little foot. Exactly as I'd lovingly rendered it. I would never edit her appearance in any way.

The judge looked me in the eye, and to his credit, he really looked like he meant it when he said "Oh I'm so sorry."

Anyways the moral of the story is that all of those anatomy books that teach you proportions are either showing you averages, or a very specific idea of an idealized body. Actual bodies are much more varied than that.

So don't forget to draw from observation, and remember that humans aren't mass produced mannequins. Delight in our variation. Because it's supposed to be there.

my last polaroid of 2020

My Love and My Joy are available as prints on our online shop, Tannenbaum Press until Nov 15th (‘24)! Two more days….!

A signature doesn't ruin your art. It enhances it. It's your calling card. The final touch. The dot over the i. Your seal of approval. It’s your way of saying, regardless of where it may end up; “I made this.” This sort of identifying ownership is important.

sometimes nature needs to get taken care of too, y'know

18+ EXPLICIT

how do you do, fellow tumblrinos

excited to share that I've been working on something big for my fellow artists. for too long I have seen new (and old!) creatives struggle with navigating the wonders and woes of being an artist in the modern era of internet. No more. It’s time you learn from my mistakes.

What started out as a simple tutorial has grown into a full-sized book; my Ultimate Artist Guide. she’ll be arriving January 2025.