Just a Berry named Chewy
✨always accepting commissions✨
WIP: The Telling of Bees (Webnovel)
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Digital Commisions: https://ko-fi.com/chewytheberry
Sokoto state, a majority Muslim state in north-west Nigeria was bombed on Christmas day.
It is still unclear how many bombs were dropped and where. Confirmed is a bomb dropped on a Mosque in Jabo, killing 5 people.
Trump has claimed that this is in retaliation of the "Christian genocide" happening in Nigeria, committed by "radical Islamists" of the ISIL (ISIS), and the specific choosing of Christmas day was to reify that this is a religious based retaliation.
This Christmas, I am in Nigeria. My family is majority Christian. We are without fear of being persecuted on the basis of our religion. So, what is going on?
There is no Christian genocide in Nigeria. Nigeria is a complex country that faces a lot of violence, exploitation and subsequent neglect from our government. But it is not Christians being targeted in our country. This insidious piece of misinformation has been dutifully organised by US officials for months and gained steam on platforms like X and Truth Social.
I do not believe though, that this action was done to fight Islamic terrorists or protect Nigerian Christians. The reason being:
Sokoto state is not a state with ISIL activity.
This is another display of US throwing its weight around, conveniently, onto the most oil-rich country in Africa.
Do not believe everything the US tells you about its foreign affairs. The US will gladly spill blood on the flimsiest of justifications just to continue gorging its empire.
Please keep love in your hearts for the Nigerian people.
What was the first thing you did when you learnt drawing? Any tips for beginners please?
Not trying to be funny, but I... kept drawing. The biggest motivation was that I wanted to draw my favorite blorbos and I wanted to do it myself.
I did have some formal training in middle school when I had the opportunity to attend art camp at a local college, but I quickly learned formal art training just doesn't work for me (I can't keep focus in a studio setting). So, I had to figure a lot out on my own.
Early on, I knew I had to learn anatomy since I wanted to draw people, so that's where I focused on. I used to spend time at the library in the art book section learning the basics, but now we have access to soooo many resources online like Proko.com, youtube artists like DrawlikeaSir, samdoesart, sycra, Ethan Becker, and sinix design just to name a few.
Someone on reddit was kind enough to share a google drive full of art books: [here] and [here].
Sometimes it's intimidating to learn everything, but I found it's easier to take small steps when learning something new. Start off with the foundation, then work your way up. After that, never stop learning!
Some people think there’s an arbitrary marker where you’re finally a self-taught artist, that you eventually reach a point where you’re done with your art education. But I think we spend our whole lives learning, so my goal for my 37th year on earth is to start being a committed self-teaching artist.
I have so many interests I want to improve and learn that I can’t predict what my progress or end result will look like, but some of the things I want to explore are:
Sketching and drawing
Coloring techniques and color theory
Painting with watercolor and gouache
Painting on the Procreate app
Creative Journaling
Handwriting, hand lettering, and calligraphy
So I dug up a bunch of books and videos to make up a curriculum and planned out my own DIY art degree to start learning them all!
Each month has its own focus:
Learning About Learning Art
Mark-making, Sketching, & Basic Shapes
Perspective
Figure Drawing & Anatomy
Gesture Drawing
Character Design
Color & Light
Composition
Landscapes & Environmental Design
Using Markers & Colored Pencils
Painting with Gouache & Watercolor
Digital Art
I don’t have a syllabus for the full year planned out yet, but here’s a rough draft of the materials and activities I want to try out for Quarter 1:
❄️ January ❄️
✨January Focus: Learning About Learning Art✨
📚 January Materials 📚
Drawabox.com: Lesson 0
[Book] Art & Fear by David Bayles
[Book] Debt Free Art Degree. Foundations in Drawing by Marco Bucci: Chapters: 1
[Book] Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards
[Book] How to Keep a Sketch Journal by Marisa Lewis
[Book] Sketching from the Imagination: An Insight into Creative Drawing by 3DTotal Publishing
[Book] Art Fundamentals: Theory in Practice by 3DTotal Publishing. Chapters: Fundamentals & Critical Thinking
[YouTube] Veritasium: The 4 Things it Takes to Be an Expert
[YouTube] Ian Roberts: 5 Principles to Master Anything
[YouTube] Proko: Getting Better Faster - Painting with 80/20 Rule
[YouTube] Proko: How to Hold and Control Your Pencil
[YouTube] Sycra: Iterative Drawing
[YouTube] Love Life Drawing: 10 Stages of Learning Any Art Skill
[YouTube] Love Life Drawing: Practice Like a Pro - How Steve Rude Improves
[YouTube] Sinix: Art Theory Tutorials Playlist
[YouTube] Sinix: Art Warm Up & Exercises
[YouTube] belartsy: the “right” way to start learning how to draw
[YouTube] Paintable: Sketching For Beginners
[YouTube] Marc Brunet: How to Draw Anything - The 7 Fundamentals
[YouTube] Marc Brunet: How to Draw Good Lineart
[YouTube] Marc Brunet: Stop Learning to Draw the Wrong Way
[YouTube] Marc Brunet: The Most Important Art Skill
[Book] The Lost Art of Handwriting by Brenna Jordan
[Book] Spencerian Handwriting: The Complete Collection of Theory and Practical Workbooks for Perfect Cursive and Hand Lettering by Platts Roger Spencer
[Workbook] New Spencerian Compendium Plate 2 Practice Sheets (Found on PDF Drive)
Hand lettering worksheets I made in Canva
This is by no means a comprehensive education, but I feel like I came up with a good introduction to the things I’m interested in. I’m not going to learn everything about all of these topics in just a year, and I know I'm not going to get through all the resources I found.
I also want to make this process as cheap as possible, so I’m using a lot of free stuff from YouTube and my local libraries. Many of the resources came from radiorunner’s Curriculum for the Solo Artist and suggestions I found through the almighty social media algorithms.
If your libraries can’t get the books on order or Inter-Library Loan, or if you’d rather just buy them to keep, I’m including Amazon affiliate links. (Many can be found as PDFs through other free methods but I definitely don’t recommend looking for the books on Demonoid, Mobilism, or PDF Drive.)
What do you think I'm missing? What do you think is too extra?
Learning is a life-long process, so even though I gave myself a year to restart, it’s just that: my restart.
We Don't Gatekeep Art Resources | A Comprehensive List
Here's a list of some of the tools/sites I currently use or have used previously for works/studies. I'll separate it into Software/Utility, Reference, and 'Other' which will be just general things that could help you map out things for your experience with art.
**[Free highlighted in pink, paid highlighted in green. Blue is variable/both. Prices Listed in USD]**
Software/Utility:
2D
Krita Painting app (PC) (my main digital art software on PC for 5+ yrs)
Clip Studio Paint [PC] [CSP 2.0+ allows for 3d modelling within the painting app and a lot of other cool features] [apparently allows up to 6 months free trial]
Procreate (12.99) [iPad/iPad Pro] (the GOAT)
Artstudio Pro [iPad/iPad Pro] (An alternative to Procreate if you enjoy the more traditional art app layout) -- I find this app handy when Procreate is lacking a feature I need, or vice versa. (you can easily transfer files between the two, but keep in mind Procreate's layer limit)
2D "Collaborative Painting/Drawing apps"
Magma Studio
Drawpile
Discord Whiteboard
Gartic Phone (Pretty decent for 2d animation practice, but has a hard limit on frames)
3D
Blender [3D Modelling, Sculpting + Layout] (PC)
Sculptris [PC] (it's an old unsupported version of Zbrush, but can help to get ideas out, and functions better than browser sculpting apps
Nomad Sculpt [iPad/iPad Pro] ($20) Works pretty well if you prefer a mobile setup, but it is a bit intense on the battery life and takes some getting used to
References + Study
Magic Poser [ PC and Mobile ] Has both free and paid versions, I've made do with just the lite version before
Artpose ($9.99) [Iphone + Steam]
Head Model Studio [IPhone] A 3D head, with both a basic blockout version for angles, and a paid version with more detail
Cubebrush [simply search "[keyword] pose reference pack"], they usually have good results + they frequently have sales!
Line of Action [Good for Gesture practice + daily sketching], also has other resources built in.
Quickposes Similar to Line of action, more geared toward anatomy
Drawabox | Perspective Fundamentals Improvement modules (Suggested by @taffingspy )
Sketchfab, this skull in particular is useful, but there is other models that can help you study anatomy as well.
Pinterest can be good, you just have to be careful, usually you're better off just finding reference pack if you have the money, sometimes certain creators have freebies as well
Artstation Marketplace can be decent [make sure to turn on the Aye-Eye filter so it doesn't feed you trash], a colleague of mine recommended this head model for practicing facial blocking, there is also this free version without lighting.
Local Art Museums [Unironically good for studying old "master work" if you're into that, or even just getting some inspiration]
Brushes + Other Useful software:
I personally have used both of these brush packs before making my own
(I actually don't know how to share my daily brush set because I frequently switch between Krita, Procreate, and ASP, but once I figure that out I'll be sure to do that lol)
Marc Brunet's Starter brush pack [Technically free but supporting him for this if you like it is ideal, there's some good brushes]
Dave Greco Brush Pack [$3]
Gumroad in general is a good place to find brushes and art resources. *Note; for Krita specifically, brush packs are a bit weird, so it may require you to find different packs, or import them in a particular way
Artist Youtubers/Creators that helped me improve/guide me along as a self-taught artist from when I first started digital art to where I am today:
Proko
Marco Bucci
Sinix Design
Sycra
Hardy Fowler
Lighting Mentor
Winged Canvas
Moderndayjames
Swatches
Chommang_drawing
Marc Brunet (YTartschool)
+ Observing a lot of speedpaint art by people whose work I enjoy on social media/youtube, trying to dissect their processes
If you've gotten this far, first of all, congrats, you can read a lot, and second of all, thank you for reading and I hope this helps! I'll continue to come back and update this if I find any new resources in the future, or if my processes change :)
As well as countless of others from the AI generator community. Just talking about how "inaccessible art" is, I decided why not show how wrong these guys are while also helping anyone who actually wants to learn.
Here is the first one ART TEACHERS! There are plenty online and in places like youtube.
📺Here is my list:
Proko (Free)
Marc Brunet (Free but he does have other classes for a cheap price. Use to work for Blizzard)
Aaron Rutten (free)
BoroCG (free)
Jesse J. Jones (free, talks about animating)
Jesus Conde (free)
Mohammed Agbadi (free, he gives some advice in some videos and talks about art)
Ross Draws (free, he does have other classes for a good price)
SamDoesArts (free, gives good advice and critiques)
Drawfee Show (free, they do give some good advice and great inspiration)
The Art of Aaron Blaise ( useful tips for digital art and animation. Was an animator for Disney)
Bobby Chiu ( useful tips and interviews with artist who are in the industry or making a living as artist)
Second part BOOKS, I have collected some books that have helped me and might help others.
📚Here is my list:
The "how to draw manga" series produced by Graphic-sha. These are for manga artist but they give great advice and information.
"Creating characters with personality" by Tom Bancroft. A great book that can help not just people who draw cartoons but also realistic ones. As it helps you with facial ques and how to make a character interesting.
"Albinus on anatomy" by Robert Beverly Hale and Terence Coyle. Great book to help someone learn basic anatomy.
"Artistic Anatomy" by Dr. Paul Richer and Robert Beverly Hale. A good book if you want to go further in-depth with anatomy.
"Directing the story" by Francis Glebas. A good book if you want to Story board or make comics.
"Animal Anatomy for Artists" by Eliot Goldfinger. A good book for if you want to draw animals or creatures.
"Constructive Anatomy: with almost 500 illustrations" by George B. Bridgman. A great book to help you block out shadows in your figures and see them in a more 3 diamantine way.
"Dynamic Anatomy: Revised and expand" by Burne Hogarth. A book that shows how to block out shapes and easily understand what you are looking out. When it comes to human subjects.
"An Atlas of animal anatomy for artist" by W. Ellenberger and H. Dittrich and H. Baum. This is another good one for people who want to draw animals or creatures.
Etherington Brothers, they make books and have a free blog with art tips.
As for Supplies, I recommend starting out cheap, buying Pencils and art paper at dollar tree or 5 below. For digital art, I recommend not starting with a screen art drawing tablet as they are more expensive.
For the Best art Tablet I recommend either Xp-pen, Bamboo or Huion. Some can range from about 40$ to the thousands.
💻As for art programs here is a list of Free to pay.
Clip Studio paint ( you can choose to pay once or sub and get updates)
Procreate ( pay once for $9.99)
Blender (for 3D modules/sculpting, ect Free)
PaintTool SAI (pay but has a 31 day free trail)
Krita (Free)
mypaint (free)
FireAlpaca (free)
Libresprite (free, for pixel art)
Those are the ones I can recall.
So do with this information as you will but as you can tell there are ways to learn how to become an artist, without breaking the bank. The only thing that might be stopping YOU from using any of these things, is YOU.
I have made time to learn to draw and many artist have too. Either in-between working two jobs or taking care of your family and a job or regular school and chores. YOU just have to take the time or use some time management, it really doesn't take long to practice for like an hour or less. YOU also don't have to do it every day, just once or three times a week is fine.
Adding a few I feel deserve to be on here:
Art Prof: Art school teachers teaching Fine Art skills for free!
Sycra: Old but a classic and highly informative art channel. Free!
Kienan Lafferty: has a series called Concept Art Bootcamp that's extremely informative and good! Free!
Ethan Becker: On the edgier side but gives great professional tips for concept art and animation. Free!
Whyt Manga: Lots of comic making advice. Free!
Jake Parker: More comic advice and just art advice in general. Free!
30X40: Arcitecture videos that I find helpful for thinking about backgrounds and environments. Free!
Also just look up tutorials for anything you can think of, if you look through 2 or 3 you'll probably start seeing lots of useful stuff in the same vein!
holy fucking shit, I saw this thread on pinterest and have been trying to find it on tumbler for the past 15 minutes and I did it, YipPieEe!! (the pin did not include tags which made this whole ordeal more difficult and is one of the reasons I am celebrating this)
As well as countless of others from the AI generator community. Just talking about how "inaccessible art" is, I decided why not show how wrong these guys are while also helping anyone who actually wants to learn.
Here is the first one ART TEACHERS! There are plenty online and in places like youtube.
📺Here is my list:
Proko (Free, mostly teaches anatomy and how to draw people. But does have art talks and teaches the basics.)
Marc Brunet (Free but he does have other classes for a cheap price. Use to work for Blizzard and teaches you everything)
Aaron Rutten (free, tips about art, talks about art programs and the best products for digital art)
BoroCG (free, teaches a verity of art mediums from 3D modeling to digital painting. As well as some tips that can be used across styles)
Jesse J. Jones (free, talks about animating)
Jesus Conde (free, teaches digital painting and has classes in Spanish)
Mohammed Agbadi (free, he gives some advice in some videos and talks about art)
Ross Draws (free, he does have other classes for a good price. Mostly teaching character designs and simple backgrounds.)
SamDoesArts (free, gives good advice and critiques)
Drawfee Show (free, they do give some good advice and great inspiration)
The Art of Aaron Blaise ( useful tips for digital art and animation. Was an animator for Disney. Mostly nature art)
Bobby Chiu ( useful tips and interviews with artist who are in the industry or making a living as artist)
Sinix Design (has some tips on drawing people)
Winged canvas (art school for free on a verity of mediums)
Bob Ross (just a good time, learn how to paint, as well as how too relax when doing art. "there are no mistakes only happy accidents", this channel also provides tips from another artist)
Scott Christian Sava (Inspiration and provides tips and advice)
Pikat (art advice and critiques)
Drawbox (a suggested cheap online art school, made of a community of artist)
Skillshare (A cheap learning site that has art classes ranging from traditional to digital. As well as Animation and tutorials on art programs. All under one price, in the USA it's around $34 a month)
Human anatomy for artist (not a video or teacher but the site is full of awesome refs to practice and get better at anatomy)
Second part BOOKS, I have collected some books that have helped me and might help others.
📚Here is my list:
The "how to draw manga" series produced by Graphic-sha. These are for manga artist but they give great advice and information.
"Creating characters with personality" by Tom Bancroft. A great book that can help not just people who draw cartoons but also realistic ones. As it helps you with facial ques and how to make a character interesting.
"Albinus on anatomy" by Robert Beverly Hale and Terence Coyle. Great book to help someone learn basic anatomy.
"Artistic Anatomy" by Dr. Paul Richer and Robert Beverly Hale. A good book if you want to go further in-depth with anatomy.
"Directing the story" by Francis Glebas. A good book if you want to Story board or make comics.
"Animal Anatomy for Artists" by Eliot Goldfinger. A good book for if you want to draw animals or creatures.
"Constructive Anatomy: with almost 500 illustrations" by George B. Bridgman. A great book to help you block out shadows in your figures and see them in a more 3 diamantine way.
"Dynamic Anatomy: Revised and expand" by Burne Hogarth. A book that shows how to block out shapes and easily understand what you are looking out. When it comes to human subjects.
"An Atlas of animal anatomy for artist" by W. Ellenberger and H. Dittrich and H. Baum. This is another good one for people who want to draw animals or creatures.
Etherington Brothers, they make books and have a free blog with art tips.
📝As for Supplies, I recommend starting out cheap, buying Pencils and art paper at dollar tree or 5 below. If you want to go fancy Michaels is always a good place for traditional supplies. They also get in some good sales and discounts. For digital art, I recommend not starting with a screen art drawing tablet as they are usually more expensive.
For the Best art Tablet I recommend either Xp-pen, Bamboo or Huion. Some can range from about 40$ to the thousands.
💻As for art programs here is a list of Free to pay.
Clip Studio paint ( you can choose to pay once or sub and get updates. Galaxy, Windows, macOS, iPad, iPhone, Android, or Chromebook device. )
Procreate ( pay once for $9.99 usd, IPAD & IPHONE ONLY)
Blender (for 3D modules/sculpting, animation and more. Free)
PaintTool SAI (pay but has a 31 day free trail)
Krita (Free)
mypaint (free)
FireAlpaca (free)
Aseprite ($19.99 usd but has a free trail, for pixel art Windows & macOS)
Drawpile (free and for if you want to draw with others)
IbisPaint (free, phone app ONLY)
Medibang (free, IPAD, Android and PC)
NOTE: Some of these can work on almost any computer like Clip and Sai but others will require a bit stronger computer like Blender. Please check their sites for if your computer is compatible.
So do with this information as you will but as you can tell there are ways to learn how to become an artist, without breaking the bank. The only thing that might be stopping YOU from using any of these things, is YOU.
I have made time to learn to draw and many artist have too. Either in-between working two jobs or taking care of your family and a job or regular school and chores. YOU just have to take the time or use some time management, it really doesn't take long to practice for like an hour or less. YOU also don't have to do it every day, just once or three times a week is fine.
Hope this was helpful and have a great day.
"also apologies for any spelling or grammar errors, I have Dyslexia and it makes my brain go XP when it comes to speech or writing"
Boosting this in case any of the programs and books suggested are useful.
All the photos on this tumblr ad the animal photo reference site I run is another resource available for artists to use!
As long as you’re not using AI to create your art, you can reference / trace / draw / recombine / make any sort of art you want, with any of the photos, for free.
There's also MORPHO, a really good book series on anatomy by Michel Lauricella, with very clear explanations and sketches!
And for pose references, there's @adorkastock who shares a ton of them for free, with different models and props, and her website is amazing <3 you can also buy pose packs from her.
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