Jules of Nature
almost home
he wasn't even looking at me and he found me
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Today's Document
blake kathryn
wallacepolsom
if i look back, i am lost
tumblr dot com
DEAR READER
"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
2025 on Tumblr: Trends That Defined the Year
Three Goblin Art
★
❣ Chile in a Photography ❣
KIROKAZE
taylor price
ellievsbear
untitled
Sweet Seals For You, Always
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@fuegossketchbook
Papercraft commission of Jester, Caleb, Nott, and Essek (and Frumpkin)! I've been moseying my way through Critical Role and having a lot of fun listening, and was thus very excited for my first time making art of any of the Mighty Nein! (I haven't reached Essek yet but I'm really looking forward to him :D) Plus I always have enormous fun with multi-figure compositions, so this one was extra delightful to make!
Artfight reminders now that the event is close !
This is an art GIFTING game ! Do not attack people expecting revenges. You do not owe anyone revenges !
Always COMMENT on every attack you receive ! It doesnt have to be a big wall of text for as long as you thank whoever draws for you, it's the bear minimum :] (note: if an attack is malicious just report and block)
Enjoy and have fun ! Artfight is a fun event meant to spend a good time. Do not feel pressured into doing lot of attacks !
Make sure to read one's permissions ! Everyone cares about their boundaries so please respect them. If you're unsure just ask !
STAY HYDRATED AND TAKE CARE !! It's really hot in some countries so remember to drink water, take a break every now and then, stretch if you're sitting for a while and go outside a bit :]
Bring your pencils and battle me~ https://artfight.net/~FuegoPhilippe
*blaring kazoo noises* BEHOLD!!!! https://artfight.net/~FuegoPhilippe
Aurora Borealis (Lapland, Finland)
the problem with autism is sometimes you want to do something (brave) but you need someone to gently walk you through each step so you know what will happen. and people don’t like doing that
i had to phone a taxi today, scary
every time i see this post i think of that person who posted on reddit that they wanted to go to subway for the first time but they were scared they would say the wrong thing so someone gave them step by step instructions for the entire process and what all the choices would be and when they would ask what question and i just think
someone will
someone out there will see you and say "yes. the world is scary. but let me hold your hand and show you how to do it anyways"
everyone needs that someone, and everyone can be that someone
The subreddit r/explainlikeimscared is a surprisingly good resource for this. People are always very kind and thorough from what I've seen, and I spend a decent amount of time there giving walkthroughs and answering questions when I know the process.
Know what I’m salty about?
In all my art classes, I was never taught HOW to use the various tools of art.
Like yes, form, and shape and space and color theory and figure drawing is important, but so is KNOWING what different tools do.
I’m 29 and I JUST learned this past month that India Ink is fucking waterproof when it dries. Why is this important? Because I can line something in India Ink and then go over it with watercolors. And that has CHANGED the ENTIRE way I art and the ease I can create with.
tldr: Art Teachers: teach your students what different tools do. PLEASE.
WAIT INDIA INK JS WATERPROOF ONCE IT DRIES????? THE ENTIRE REASON IVE AVOIDED MARKERS MY ENTIRE LIFE IS BECAUSE JNK BLEEDS AND YOURE TELLING ME INDIA INK IS
F U C K I N G W A T E R P R O O F
yall calligraphers out there this is extremely fuckin important if u wanna get into illumination shenanigans because i swear to you there will b discoveries like these^
heres some of mine, pls take with a grain of salt im a total gotdamn amateur:
a lot of the time, the ability for colored ink to bleed will vary wildly WITHIN A SINGLE BRAND OF COLORED INKS. my cobalts bleed like fucking CRAZY compared to my reds, which, when u reference manuscripts that tend to put white ink ON TOP of either red or blue… you see where shit gets real and real annoying.
u can buy an aeresol, fully transparent workable sealant for like 5-10 dollars at your local art store. when i realize a piece ive been working on needs a color on TOP of a bleed happy ink, i give it a layer of this stuff. trouble is it CAN warp the paper so its important as soon as it dries to use heavy things (paperweights, books) to counteract the paper curling.
ink solvent, like koh i noor’s rapido-eeze, is only compatible with SOME inks, but will work on most acrylics. If you happen to be working with sturdy vellum that you have pre-sealed, it can be possible to literally use ink solvent to wipe away your calligraphy mistake like a goddamn bounty commercial
Shit I Learned Working At Dick Blick:
WD40, found at your local hardware store, will remove Sharpie marker from almost any hard surface.
Acrylic inks will show brush strokes in large areas but are waterproof and quick-drying.
Acrylic gouache is vivid, fluid, dried matte, is UTTERLY opaque on black paper, handles exactly like watercolor, and is waterproof.
Putting an oil painting in the sun will turn the yellowed portions back to their original white and wont hurt the painting.
Cheap acrylic paintings will bleach out if left in the sun - get UV protectant spray or varnish. Nicer acrylic paints are less prone to sun bleaching, but they still do. Plan accordingly. Oil paints are much less prone to this.
Solvent-based markers blend together MUSH MORE SMOOTHLY than alcohol-based markers.
There is an acrylic paint medium for literally every effect you can conceivably think of (fabric paint medium, gloss medium, fluid medium, sand medium, fast-dying/slow-drying medium, etc.).
If you’re going to buy student-grade paint to save cash, buy earth-tones (burnt sienna, ochre, etc.); they are made with cheap pigments already, and you wont tell a difference. You WILL tell a difference between student-grade and artist-grade bright colors (all yellows, blues, and reds).
If you’re working with markers but aren’t using marker paper, you need to switch. Markers don’t blend on printer paper, they just layer (even expensive markers).
If you want a glass palette for paint mixing but don’t want to shell out the cash, buy a giant picture frame at Goodwill, take the glass out, and electrical tape it to a piece of foam board the same size for stability.
Hog bristle brushes are for oil paint, sable brushes are for watercolor, and synthetic brushes are for acrylic and oil (but not watercolor because synthetic bristles can’t absorb water).
If you’re going to splurge on any aspect of your creation, splurge on the paper. Get the good stuff - crappy markers/paint/pencils look good on good paper, but not the other way around. (There is more, but these are the big ticket items)
Some more, also from working at Dick Blick:
- Palette knives are for mixing paint and TRUST ME you want to learn how to use them. When you mix with your brush you loose paint and it’s hard in your brushes.
- DO NOT FIX YOUR ARTWORK WITH HAIRSPRAY. If you’re proud of your work and want to keep it, buy the actual spray fix. Hairspray is not archival in the slightest and will damage your work.
- On top of that, be careful how you store your work. Newsprint is handy and cheap, but also not acid-free and it will yellow your paper. Foamboard? Matboard? Also not always acid-free (but you can get them acid-free).
- There is no food-safe paint. Period. There are lots of ways you can decorate pottery that aren’t glazes, but only glazes are food safe (and even some of those aren’t).
- Also not food safe: Polymer clay (sculpey), air dry clay, oil-based clay, ceramics that have not been glaze fired, oil pastels, sharpie, glues of any kind, or mod podge (even the ‘dishwasher safe’ kind).
- Don’t even get me started on mod podge. It’s not consistent. It’s not archival. It’s not a sealant, it’s a glue (setting aside some of the weird hyper-specific ones they make that I’ve literally never seen in real life).
- If your glue isn’t archival or at least acid-free, don’t use it in your artwork.
- There are so many different kinds of paper out there, just go try them. But also make sure you know if it’s acid-free or not (it probably is).
- Marker paper is usually 15 to 20 lbs. News print is usually 30 to 35 lbs. Tracing paper is usually 25 lbs. Rice paper can range from 20 to 50 lbs. Printer paper is 20 lbs. Vellum paper is usually 48 to 55 lbs. Sketchbook paper is usually 50 to 60 lbs. Drawing paper is usually 70 to 80 lbs. Cardstock can range from 50 to 110 lbs. Charcoal paper is usually 50 to 65 lbs. Pastel paper can range from 70 lbs to board. Bristol paper can range from 50 lbs to board. Mixed media paper can range from 90 to 140 lbs. Printmaking paper can range from lbs 90 to 300 lbs. Watercolor paper can range from 90 to 500 lbs.
- The heavier and rougher the paper is, the more it will absorb. If you’re using a paper too smooth for your medium it will take forever to dry and may smudge. If you’re using a paper too light for your medium, it will warp and curl.
- If you’re working heavily with water, you need to stretch your paper (aka seal down your edges of the paper to a hard, water resistant surface). If you don’t like doing that because it’s a hassle, buy a watercolor block instead of a pad/individual peices.
- If you’re working on a thicker paper, and make a mistake that your can’t erase or cover- you can scrape and/or cut it out! With a really sharp exacto knife, you can very CAREFULLY remove the top layer of paper fibers on most paper.
- DO NOT USE ACRYLIC AS BODY PAINT. It’s plastic.
- If you paint with oil, buy a silicoil jar. It’s the best $10 you’ve ever spent.
- Acrylic paint is basically water-based plastic. It will basically fuse with anything plastic (like a plastic palette), and will not stick to anything oil-based.
- Acrylic paint and house paint are not the same thing and you cannot mix them together. Acrylic paint is made from a water-based acrylic polymer, and house paint is almost always latex and can come both water-soluable and not.
@pamelab has this amazing reference crossed your dash yet?
I got more (I haven’t worked at Dick Blick, but I worked as a colour pencil / ink artist for over a decade):
Coloured pencils can be very waxy and leave a crayon-like waxy residue behind, which you will notice most when burnishing (pressing down very hard). Prismacolors are famous for this, Derwent Studio does it among the least (Derwent Artist does it more, Derwent Lightfast is oil based and Derwent Procolor is a Prisma dupe). If you tried expensive coloured pencils and didn’t like how they felt or looked, the waxiness might be the issue! You may love it or hate it, try lots of different kinds. You almost never need Caran D'ache unless you have money to burn or you’re a professional artist re: pencils.
Soft pastels are among the most pigmented mediums there are other than straight pigment. If you buy Schmincke and drop it on the carpet and step on it, especially a carpet, you will have to buy a new carpet. Only use high quality soft pastels in areas where the surfaces don’t matter so much if they stain!
Not all ink felt-tip markers are made equal. Micron is superficially waterproof, but will not stand up to repeated heavy washes of water or brush rubbing. Artline Drawing System can stand up to several washes of water. Don’t trust whether it says waterfast, water resistant, or waterproof outright, test it based on how you want to use it.
A malleable eraser is your best friend if you ever work with any kind of pencils, pastels, charcoal, graphite etc.
Cheap coloured pencils will sometimes have inclusions in the lead that will literally scratch your paper. Often what makes some of these cheap is often the wood quality, which means the pencil lead will crack more often as a result.
If you ever want to experiment in sketching with lead pencils, HB to 6B+ indicate the darkness/creaminess of the graphite! 2B is a very nice place to start with sketching, HB is excellent for technical sketching, and 6B is fantastic for deep black work but terrible for fine detail. Pacer/technical pencil leads often come in HB, B and 2B! Make sure you buy a lead density that you need. I prefer 2B in my technical pencils for thickness. Technical pencils also come in different lead thicknesses! You can create a lot of different drawing experiences by changing it up (and red leads can be fantastic too).
Good pastel paper will always have decent tooth on one side. Don’t bother with cartridge or worse, lithograph paper for something like soft pastels. Shell out for something with tooth. You will see the difference immediately.
Tortillons (and blending stumps) are smudge sticks for smudging soft pastels (some pastels still use toxic pigments and while we all smudge with our fingers sometimes we really shouldn’t do it all the time). You can buy them from the store, but you can also make your own by rough-tearing the edge off a piece of printer paper, or thinner watercolour paper, and then rolling it up and taping it. If you roll it very tightly, it behaves more like a tortillon. If you roll it more loosely so there’s a visible hole in the middle, it behaves more like a blending stump! These are great for blending in fine details.
Pencil extenders cost about $10-20 for two, and will extend the life of your coloured / graphite / pastel pencils until they’re nothing but nubs, while making them extremely comfortable to continue using. Derwent make two that suit all their range, but you should be able to find many kinds. Trust me, if you’re a heavy pencil user, it’s worth it.
You will almost always run out of white coloured pencil faster than any other colour, this is why many art stores will make it very easy for you to just stock up on white pencils. Do this if you’re getting into coloured pencil work!
Experiment with different coloured paper!
Acrylic pens should never be stored point down, but on their side. Black felt-tip pens like Microns should be stored pointing down, or on their side, but never pointing up. Make sure you know the best way to store your art pens!
If you’re working heavily with soft pastels, and have asthma or respiratory issues, mask up around the dust. Most soft pastels don’t use heavy metals anymore (but not all! I’m looking at you, Schmincke), but even so, inhaling dust is not a good idea. Make sure if you’re working on soft pastels you’re not blowing the dust away. If you’re not working with your paper upright, then tap the dust off if necessary.
being an artist is so goofy. you literally start looking at things and going 'oooh those are some good shapes' like some kind of toddler
Is that time of year again...
Session 14
The good aligned dragon Zion told to bring the keeper of the moment to it during the battle in the ballroom has found Astra and Ava, restoring them with the last bits of the moment's magic, allowing them to rejoin the group as they gather on the battleship that is to take them through a teleportation circle.
Olor's reinforcements arrive, crushing the teleporter and a battle against dragons ensue. Zion is revealed to be a silver dragon himself, holding Olor in place so she can not attack the others until she cheats with magic to get lose.
In the end it is the resurrected Ava that lands the final blow on the white feathered dragon, her body dropped off the airship before the captain opens her own temporary teleportation circle to take the ship through to the neighboring land of Dunia.
Session 12
Olor is given permission to speak during the ceremony. The man who granted it is killed for failing to make all the members of the council side with her, and she breaks the core of the floating cities - the moment. The party must run as the city falls from the sky, avoiding the many guards put under her control by magic.
Session 13
Ava and Astra goes back to Olor's room to retrieve the kobold servant and the piece of Astra's horn Olor had taken. It is laid in a trap that summons her back to her rooms and the three fight until Ava is down and Astra is held over the balcony, a message sent through her to someone back home to take the girl and kill the tree, leaving her the only one knowing what is coming for her daughter and the silver leaf tree keeping the land's magic in place as she plummets down.
Session 10
A promise and an apology given leads to a stronger bond. In return it gains a vote from a minister in the upcoming ceremony deciding who to side with in the war.
Session 11
A stolen crown is returned to its true heiress. The truth of what it is like to live in that land under a tyrant comes out. Olor, the representative of the opposing nation to the players leaves the ballroom in shock and embarrassment.
2023 was a very D&D year. In turn this hobby of mine has got me better at doing monochrome scenes and layout which is always nice to be decent at.
Session 8
In which one fool who is used to getting whatever he wants tries to take what belongs to another, causing the foolish act of vengeance, breaking a priceless violin.
Session 9
Where a silly quest for pancakes leads Zion to see a very forgettable servant add a strange red spice to the food. A saddened prince is offered a deal from Olor and the seer makes two new friends in Ava and Astra.
For those of you who know how to roman numerals: my DM made the cover for session 5, hence why it is missing from my posts.
Session six and it is time to split the party. During the different countries performances in the auditorium, when it gets to Olor's time to shine she shifts to her dragon form to dive in and out of walls. It is a great show. Especially the part where she tries to bait our party to attack her is showing just how close she can snap her jaws at the prince without it counting as violent aggression. After all, it was just a fun little performance~ Meanwhile Zion, druid and master of sneaking through castles, is taking the tiefling Astra with him to try and find the item Olor wanted to trade for her broken horn. The gift which upon our arrival was given from our nation to the queen of Akraidusia, the lady of the setting drawn.
Session seven Zion and Astra are in the heart of Akraidusia, the secret chamber where all the gifts were taken to, and our DM's says, "you realize in this moment, there is no lady of the setting dawn." because...there is no treasure room. Only the magic which consumes gifts of great value to keep Akraidusia afloat in the sky. And in order to pass the guardians, Astra and Zion must offer up their own. Princess Velaene also has a heart-to-heart chat with Zenaida, possibly turning one of Olor's allies against her.
Drawings I'm doing for the current D&D arc with one of my groups.
The first image depicts Kelroxa the white dragonborn, who we picked up in the previous arc blowing up a factory. Her big size makes sneaking difficult, but no one was allowed to go anywhere alone after Zion had his head messed with by Olor, so Kelroxa and Zion (my character) is off on a stealth mission to find out where the dragons they saw earlier in the morning might have landed.
The second image is a three way split of the three most interesting things that happened in our fourth session; Zion's meeting with the minister of Warfare and Fashion, who was very interested in his masks. She really wanted to buy one, know who his supplier was. In fact, she was so excited that her pupils shifted shape for a brief second... Prince Kaius, being tired of his team not trusting him or listening properly, ditching his guard to go flying on a small, modded airship with princeps Radiant. The two barreling through the fog at breakneck speeds. And last, but not least, Olor. Swirling that deep red liquid in a vial, promising Princess Velaine that it will heal her sister, guaranteed, but just like when she told Astra she could get her broken horn back, it comes at a price...
Some images I've done for my D&D groups current arc where we are going to another nation's fancy "re commitment ceremony" in order to make political connections. Oh, and the lackey of the dragon who declared war on us is there too.
The first image depicts the gifts each of the visiting nations offered upon arriving, as well as Zion the moonelf (my character) and Astra the tiefling looking over the railing of the sky ship taking them down to the floating island which holds Akraidusia's grand palace.
The second image depicts the Akraidusian seer and the various interactions that happened during the first evening at the party. Two tabaxi from Dunia having a strange reaction to hearing the name of one of their delegates, prince Kaius making a new friend in council member Radiant, Astra speaking to her fellow priests of her faith about her homelands strange aversion to her new home all of a sudden, princess Velaine being egged on by the woman who have been given her mother's crown by the tyrant dragon's lackey and Zion who ran into Olor, the lackey, and remembers none of the conversation they had.
