ask hamotzi! @askhamotzi - Tumblr Blog

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hey there! i always admire your journal spreads, and i was wondering if you have a fav shop or a brand when it comes to stickers?

oh thank you!! i get my stickers from a large variety of places, like different etsy shops or local stores near me. but one of my favorite stickers brands is Gorogoro Nyansuke!

Hello hamotzi! I have chosen you as one of the artists I am researching for school work but sadly I am unable to find the info I need 😔, would you be okay with me asking you about the context (when/where/why, inspirations/influences etc,,,) and processes with how you make your collage pieces? Hopes this makes sense sorry to bother 🙏🙏🫶

yes sure!! the best way is to email me at [email protected] to make sure i see it! :)

Hi I have a question about commissions I couldn't find the answer to on your doc! How much is multiple poses of the same pet?

hi there! it depends on how many poses! i count each separate pose as a separate drawing, so that's how the pricing on my doc applies :)

Hi did you draw this?

yes i did!

hey i just came across ur stuff and it's sooooo slay.. do u sell prints anywhere? i'd pay for digital downloads too if u don't :o

thank you!! currently i only sell a few prints on redbubble! if there's something you'd like me to add i can do that, or i charge a small fee if there's something you'd like to get printed on your own. :)

where do you find these vintage address books :0

anywhere you can buy vintage/antique things! i get mine on ebay, etsy, you can also look on mercari or poshmark, or flea markets!

Where did you get your fruit stickers for your planner? (Like the mango)

if you mean the mango on the spread with the painted apple and flowers, that was from a supermarket advertisement! i get tons of those in the mail and cut out a lot of the fruits and veggies to glue into my sketchbooks :)

Hello! I just wanted to say I love your art and looking at your alphabet sketchbook brought me a LOT of joy

I really like how you do your compositions too (that’s something I really struggle with) and I wanted to know if you had any tips!

It’s okay if you don’t answer tho, thanks for brightening my day still :D

oh thank you so much, that makes me so happy to hear!!

for composition it's a lot of eyeballing and testing things out to see if they look/feel right. but here are some more specific tips!

i like to think of my compositions as a collection of differently sized shapes. sometimes 1 big shape with smaller variously sized shapes surrounding it, sometimes all evenly spaced shapes that are varying or similar-sized. keeping in mind the sizes of your elements, you can place them in a way that makes the page feel balanced

i also consider color! oftentimes i have some kind of color palette in mind and that can help you figure out a composition (like if you want a focal point to have a lot of color, and you want to carry that color around in smaller areas around the page, or if you want the colors to be evenly distributed around the page, etc.)

having a good balance of positive and negative space (sometimes i can go a little crazy with the collage but i think busy compositions can be fun too if things are placed purposefully)

try to eliminate tangents

remember the rule of thirds! it's not a rule you HAVE to follow all the time, but it's a good way to help you place where you want a focal point to go

this isn't really a tip, but the medium you work in can be inspiration for different compositions! if i'm working in something 3d like string or cut paper, it's going to challenge me to come up with something different than i might choose for a painting

in general, this is great project for practicing composition! every book is 26 different prompts, and i'm always trying new compositions to keep things fresh and try something new! they're not always super successful but it's great practice regardless, so i recommend doing something like this if you want fun practice! :)

and thank you so much for your kind message!!

I wanted to send a little fanmail and tell you how enchanted I am by your alphabet sketchbooks (the first one especially)!! The colored pencil colors are so luminous, and I love how you switch between more literal and conceptual/abstract words to illustrate, and the collagey mixed media bits and the palm-sized old book are so so charming and perfectly up my alley :))) I hope this isn't too much, but I feel like I would see that book in a gallery and spend my entire visit staring at it up close. I hope someday I'll have the patience and skill to create something for myself that makes me feel this way. all the best to you <3

this is so incredibly sweet, thank you so much for this message!! :') it would be such a dream to have these in a gallery somehow haha! it means a lot to me that you feel so strongly about these and that they feel inspiring to you, they've been so fun for me to make and such a nice ongoing personal project. thank you so much and i wish you all the best as well! :') <3

Can you give a link to the Amos and the water serpent thing? I really like the story!

thank you!! here you go!

Just wanted to say I love the way you draw the faces! Have a lovely day!

thank you so much!! hope you have a lovely day too! ☺️

Hi! I’m trying to draw an older dog for a poster to help him find a home, but I’ve never drawn dogs before, so I was wondering if you had any tips? I’d love to hear what your process is and if you started learning from somewhere! (A certain YouTube channel, a book, self taught, etc!) I think my biggest problem is the anatomy in positions other than standing :0

hmm i started drawing dogs when i was very little! i was inspired by cartoons i liked, real dogs, and my own stuffed animals sometimes. when i was younger, Youtube wasn't really on my radar, and i don't think it was a place that had all the drawing resources that it does now! i had a few how-to-draw books but i never found those very helpful in gaining an actual understanding of an animal's anatomy.

it was a matter of practicing on my own over many years and using real dogs as reference, while bringing in elements of what i liked about cartoon animals. over time i became more familiar with their anatomy, what their bodies could do, or positions they would often be found in. I loved dogs so I was usually looking at some kind of dog related thing lol! so i would recommend starting to practice by observing real dogs and drawing them. even just googling photos of dogs in different positions and drawing from those will be helpful.

i'm sorry i don't have any specific tips! i think the best way to learn to draw anything is to start from the real thing and practice drawing it over and over!

missing the pink eyed boy

omg <3 i was thinking this exact same thing and just did a little illustration of him in my sketchbook the other day 😭 i should draw him more!! i'm glad you still think of him!!

Hello! I was wondering what shapes you use to draw cats and how you use the squish and stretch when drawing them.

Also important question! Can I use your art as a reference when drawing cats? I understand if not.

Anyway Thank You for answering if you decide to! Have a good day!

( ◠‿◠ )

hi there! so sorry for my late reply, i was away on vacation for a while.

i'm not sure what you mean by shapes! i tend to use a circle with a cross over it to mark where i want the head and eye direction to be, but from there i just draw! i've been drawing animals for almost my whole life and have a good understanding of their anatomy so i go ahead and draw the body without using shapes as a sketch. let me know if i'm misunderstanding your question though!!

as for referencing my art, it just depends on how you're referencing it! i don't allow any kind of tracing or copying, but if you're using it as inspiration and your work doesn't look like my work, then i'm fine with it!

thanks so much for the question and hope you have a good day too! :)

Hello! Was wondering if you were still accepting commission requests? Thank you

hi there, not currently! i closed earlier today, but i will open again after i finish this batch of commissions so you'll have another shot! :) thanks so much for your interest!!

Howdy! I stumbled upon your blog via Amos And The Water Serpent (absolutely wonderful comic btw), and I just wanted to say how much I love your work! You manage to pack so much feeling into your art!

I don't really have a question, just wanted to show my support, so that's all! Have a nice day!

oh thank you so much!! i really appreciate this message a lot, making sure my work has a lot of feeling to it is one of my goals. i'm surprised this comic is going around so long after i made it too! thanks for sending this, i hope you have a nice day too! :)

I have no clue what happened, but i thought you deactivated until I saw your Amos and the Water Snake comic again! I’m so glad you’re still creating amazing art in such a cute and charming style! Best wishes!

oh haha i'm sorry!! i never deactivated, i'm just not very active on tumblr anymore! i need to get back to uploading on here as regularly as i do on instagram and twitter. but thank you so much, i really appreciate it!! i'm surprised that comic has started going around again!

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