juuuuuunk, so much juuuunk

A dump for tutorials, references and stuff. [[[Some Common Tags: pony(?), tutorial, artadvice, ref, guide, anatomy, reference, tools, clothing, photo, scenery, painting, color, colour, animal, wings, hands, skeleton, frame, brushes, furry, fashion, collection, links, book, fabric, process, construction, composition, technique]]] Some of the stuff early on were untagged though.

[c-rowlesblogs]

Man, I’m kind of bummed out that the best resources for deer anatomy and body language are all on hunting sites. I mean, it makes sense, but it’s still kind of disorienting to be reading along and then have a description end with like, “…so if you see the buck’s ears do that, stay still and keep your gear from making noise”. I’m not crouching in the grass with a compound bow, I’m just an artist! I just want to draw a bunch of fake fictional deer and deer-adjacent creatures, not put on some forest camo and hunt me a Big Antler Boy or w/e in real life!! 

Yeesh, I bet I’m going to get targeted ads about hunting equipment now. Just another way that the Research Struggle can be really real sometimes.

[hallowedtalon-deactivated202104]

Here are amazing deer skeletal references by Rico LeBrun! They were created during production of Disney’s Bambi, to help aid the artists.

The link to download the images in their full glory:

http://www.michaelspornanimation.com/splog/?p=1548

[c-rowlesblogs]

Oh whoa, thank you so much!! This is awesome. I’ve seen some of these drawings before, but never the full set!

Edit: oh wow I just looked at the URL and it’s.. hmm. Hmmmmmmmm

Unsure.jpeg but thanks for the images in the post

[alberolingarn-deactivated202102]

@c-rowlesblogs it’s OK, we’re gonna be OK

[c-rowlesblogs]

Oh my god

[gallusrostromegalus]

[celestial-fang]

Sharing the number one trick for a good composition that I always use in illustrations :3

[spiderrrling]

I am a(n):

⚪ Male

⚪ Female

🔘 Writer

Looking for

⚪ Boyfriend

⚪ Girlfriend

🔘 An incredibly specific word that I can't remember

[what-even-is-thiss]

*wakes up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat*

WAIT IT’S CALLED A THROW PILLOW

[holorifle]

here is a super helpful website for this kinda thing!

the first result isn’t always the one you’re looking for but when you press enter it’ll give you a ton of words related to your query that’ll probably have what you’re wanting, or something better

here’s some examples:

[carry-on-my-wayward-butt]

thanks op

[lazysmirk]

Just in case you forget this exists.

It exists.

[dragonofdarknesschaos]

With those “when you want to design a character but you don’t know color theory” posts flying around I thought this would be relevant again.

[secretsivekept]

SLAMs THE REBLOG BUTTON

[niyarest]

there’s also Coolors website that gives you randomized palettes!

[tf2humbug]

Don’t forget ColourLovers, either! It’s a social media-esque site where you can browse tons of palettes and share your own.

You can browse the most popular ones or search for certain colors, themes, and even specific hex codes!

When you find one you like, you can download a wallpaper swatch of it and also select the specific colors it uses to look at more palettes that use those same ones.

ColourLovers is my go-to for when I’m having trouble coming up with a color scheme! It’s also been around for over a decade, so there’s plenty to browse through.

[i-see-light-blog]

Character Development Questions: Hard Mode

Does your character have siblings or family members in their age group? Which one are they closest with?

What is/was your character’s relationship with their mother like?

What is/was your character’s relationship with their father like?

Has your character ever witnessed something that fundamentally changed them? If so, does anyone else know?

On an average day, what can be found in your character’s pockets?

Does your character have recurring themes in their dreams?

Does your character have recurring themes in their nightmares?

Has your character ever fired a gun? If so, what was their first target?

Is your character’s current socioeconomic status different than it was when they were growing up?

Does your character feel more comfortable with more clothing, or with less clothing?

In what situation was your character the most afraid they’ve ever been?

In what situation was your character the most calm they’ve ever been?

Is your character bothered by the sight of blood? If so, in what way?

Does your character remember names or faces easier?

Is your character preoccupied with money or material possession? Why or why not?

Which does your character idealize most: happiness or success?

What was your character’s favorite toy as a child?

Is your character more likely to admire wisdom, or ambition in others?

What is your character’s biggest relationship flaw? Has this flaw destroyed relationships for them before?

In what ways does your character compare themselves to others? Do they do this for the sake of self-validation, or self-criticism?

If something tragic or negative happens to your character, do they believe they may have caused or deserved it, or are they quick to blame others?

What does your character like in other people?

What does your character dislike in other people?

How quick is your character to trust someone else?

How quick is your character to suspect someone else? Does this change if they are close with that person?

How does your character behave around children?

How does your character normally deal with confrontation?

How quick or slow is your character to resort to physical violence in a confrontation?

What did your character dream of being or doing as a child? Did that dream come true?

What does your character find repulsive or disgusting?

Describe a scenario in which your character feels most comfortable.

Describe a scenario in which your character feels most uncomfortable.

In the face of criticism, is your character defensive, self-deprecating, or willing to improve?

Is your character more likely to keep trying a solution/method that didn’t work the first time, or immediately move on to a different solution/method?

How does your character behave around people they like?

How does your character behave around people they dislike?

Is your character more concerned with defending their honor, or protecting their status?

Is your character more likely to remove a problem/threat, or remove themselves from a problem/threat?

Has your character ever been bitten by an animal? How were they affected (or unaffected)?

How does your character treat people in service jobs?

Does your character feel that they deserve to have what they want, whether it be material or abstract, or do they feel they must earn it first?

Has your character ever had a parental figure who was not related to them?

Has your character ever had a dependent figure who was not related to them?

How easy or difficult is it for your character to say “I love you?” Can they say it without meaning it?

What does your character believe will happen to them after they die? Does this belief scare them?

[prrb]

How I pratice drawing things, now in a tutorial form. The shrimp photo I used is here Show me your shrimps if you do this uvu  PS: lots of engrish because foreign 

[chickahdee]

For reference later~

[resumespeak]

How to put “wrote fan-fiction” on your résumé:

Leveraged an inventory of established fictional character and setting elements to generate a disruptive custom-curated narrative entertainment asset.

[xeno-lalia]

I worked in HR, handling applications and interviews, and if someone turned in that string of techno babble nonsense, I would have rejected them out of hand.

A resume doesn’t need to sound fancy or overly technical, it needs to tell us why we should hire you.

“Independent novelist/writer” is more than sufficient here. If you want to express the skills that fan fiction taught you, something like, “creative writing, editing, and publication,” will get you a lot further than… Whatever that just was.

A resume should be tailored to the position, if you can afford the time and energy for that. But if not, then just think about what writing got fandom taught you. How to respond to criticism, how to present a professional pubic face, how to correct punished mistakes, creative thinking, project planning, persuasion via emotional leverage, html formatting, office suite fluency.

There are a lot of actual, marketable skills that go into fan fiction.

[fivewrites]

How to put “I was in a zine” on your resume

Writer:

Published short fiction stories for anthology collection

Able to write short fiction within a designated word count for layout purposes (900-1500 words, 1500-2000, 3000-5000)

Wrote short articles for independent publication

Assisted with editing short stories for publication

Able to reduce or expand written content based on layout needs

Able to check for basic spelling, grammar and syntax

Familiar with Microsoft Office and Google docs

Artist:

Produced full-colour digital illustration for independent magazine

Able to produce digital illustrations optimized for both online and print display

Produced full-colour 2-page spread for art anthology

Published 4-page short comic in anthology collection for charity

Able to transfer traditional art to digital illustration

Illustrated the cover (always brag if you’re on the cover) of an independent art publication

Familiar with professional illustration tools such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Clip Studio Paint and stylus tablet

Merch artist / graphic designer:

Designed 2″ clear decorative double-sided keychain charm as bonus sale item

Designed 5″ x 6″ sheet of graphic stickers included in art anthology

Able to design bold graphics that are measured for laser cutting production

Designed layouts for 65-page art and writing magazine, focusing on (art placement, text layout, etc)

Able to keep layout design simple and in accordance with the project director’s chosen theme

Created promotional art, icons and banners tailored for social media sites like Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, etc

Familiar with professional layout and design software such as Adobe Illustrator and InDesign

Running a zine

Produced an independent art and writing collection for sale / for charity

Managed (10, 20, 30) independent artists and writers out of over 500 applicants to create a short-run independent magazine

Worked in online sales and social media promotion selling an independent comics anthology

If it’s really spectacular you can brag about specific numbers

Our book raised over $4,000 for charity in under six months of production

We sold over 750 copies in two weeks of online sales

Produced a digital PDF and printed version of anthology, mailing to recipients all over the world

Communicated with printers and manufacturers of plastic accessories and paper goods, assembling professional packages of our merchandise for mailing.

Built a custom digital storefront and navigated professional market and payment systems including Paypal and Tictail / Bigcartel / Wix etc

Created promotional events to boost sales, including raffles and giveaways over social media

Organized participants through mass emails and use of social media posts on tumblr and twitter

Familiar with organizational software such as Microsoft Excel, Google spreadsheets and Trello

[fivewrites]

Added some more

[etheringtonbrothers]

For those of you that like everything neatly organised, here’s links to EVERY ONE of my first 150 how to THINK when you draw TUTORIALS, in ALPHABETICAL ORDER for #SkillUpSunday! Enjoy, link, pin, share! Cheers! Lorenzo! How to draw ANGRY EXPRESSIONS How to draw BIRD HEADS How to draw BOOKS How to draw BOXES How to draw BREAKING GLASS How to draw BRICKWORK How to draw CABLES and WIRES How to draw CAR CHASES How to draw CATERPILLAR TRACKS How to draw CAVES How to draw CHARACTERS (3-SHAPES) How to draw CHARACTERS (FLIPPED-SHAPES) How to draw CHARACTER SHAPES How to draw COMIC COVERS How to draw COMPOSITION How to draw CROSS-CONTOURS How to draw EARS How to draw FABRIC How to draw FEET & SHOES How to draw FEMALE HANDS PART ONE How to draw FEMALE HANDS PART TWO How to draw FOREGROUND MIDGROUND BACKGROUND How to draw GAME BUILDINGS How to draw GEMS and CRYSTALS How to draw GIRL’S HAIR How to draw GRASS How to draw HAIR (1940s styles) How to draw HAPPY EXPRESSIONS How to draw HORNS How to draw HORSE HEADS How to draw IMPACT DEBRIS How to draw IN 3D How to draw INTEGRATING LOGOS How to draw INTERIOR BASICS How to draw IN-WORLD TYPOGRAPHY How to draw JUNGLE PLANT CLUSTERS How to draw JUNK HOUSES How to draw LAMP POSTS How to draw LAVA How to draw LIGHTNING and ELECTRICITY How to draw MECHANICAL DETAILS How to draw MUSHROOMS and FUNGUS How to draw MONSTER HEADS How to draw MONSTER TENTACLES How to draw MOUNTAINS How to draw NEGATIVE SPACE How to draw NEWSPAPERS How to draw NOSES How to draw PERSPECTIVE BOXES How to draw PIGS How to draw POD HOUSES How to draw POURING LIQUID How to draw ROBOT ARMS How to draw ROCK FORMATIONS How to draw RUNNING FIGURES How to draw SAUSAGE DOGS How to draw SEA WEED   How to draw SHADOW COMPOSITION How to draw SHOULDER ARMOUR How to draw SIEGE WEAPONS How to draw SILHOUETTE THUMBNAILS How to draw SMOKE EFFECTS How to draw SNOW How to draw SPACE BIKES How to draw SQUIRRELS How to draw STICK FIGURES How to draw THE HORIZON How to draw TIKI STATUES How to draw TREASURE CHESTS How to draw TREE BARK How to draw TREE ROOTS How to draw VEHICLES How to draw VINTAGE PLANES How to draw WATER How to draw WOODEN HOUSES

[kvebox]

Woke up at 2am and couldn’t fall back asleep so I made a tutorial on the Photoshop techniques I use most frequently. Starting with the sketch:

adjustment layers: specifically the hue/saturation slider in this case, allows you to color correct quickly

lasso tool: for sharp edges!

alpha lock: useful for painting within a pre-defined area (especially useful when painting characters)

x (hotkey) : toggle between foreground + background colors- let’s you easily blend between 2 colors

ctrl/cmd click : quickly change current active layer. Especially useful if you’re burdened with too many layers (or just very disorganized)

clipping mask: similar to alpha lock, but can add details without changing/ painting directly on the previous layer. I often use them to test out + apply gradients.

layer styles: I didn’t use any in this image, but the possibilities for layer styles endless, from simply adding a quick outline (useful for die cut demarcations when making stickers!) to creating more seemingly complex appearances. Here’s a gif of Nick Carver using layer styles (a combo of drop shadows + inner shadows) to quickly make the illusion of snow but with simple strokes.

ending on this:

[stacyjeanlee]

Awesome

[keyblack]

hi there! I been watching your whole dog facial differences discussion (if that makes any sense lol) but i was wondering if you have tips for drawing dog like faces from a front view. I have a hard time figuring out how to draw creatures with muzzles in forward facing position, so any advice you may have would be great!

Sure: it’s the same process!  Start with a reference picture.

Here’s a wolf I found on Google Images.  Now, here’s a study I did of that wolf – bear in mind that I did NOT trace; I observed and drew what I could see.

Then, caricature.

Then, caricature again.

Lather, rinse, and repeat until you’ve got a result you like.

If it helps, try not to focus on the fact that there’s a muzzle – instead, look at how the shapes of key features (eyes, nose, mouth, etc.) appear from the front-on view.  A muzzle pushes the nose and mouth much lower down on the face… but you don’t really see the edges of the muzzle itself.

[keyblack]

I did a bit more, to elaborate my point further.  Some folks were asking about how one could distinguish between a maned wolf and a fox, so I did that… and then I did a hyena, too, for good measure.

(I am now aware that a hyena is technically not a dog, but because it bears similar physical characteristics to canines, it gets to be included too! :D)

[keyblack]

It’s not my job to make everyone happy.

I shared an art tip yesterday.  Got some good, positive responses on it.

I also got a lot of surprisingly negative, antagonistic feedback on it, too.  Lots of people who claimed that what I was saying was “dumb,” and that I should let people draw “however they want.”

Never did I claim to STOP people from drawing what they want.

What I did was to share an art tip.  A very valid one, at that.  It was not a personal attack on anyone, and it was not offensive or demanding in any way. (Red text and an exclamation mark do not count as antagonistic, guys.)

I’ve had people saying, “but it was unsolicited!  You’re a professional artist so you should expect critique; many of these folks online aren’t looking for critique and are just drawing for fun!”  While that’s true, I submit to you: what if it had been solicited?  What if somebody had specifically asked for advice on the do’s and don’t’s of character design?  Should I then not post the advice because of the thousands of other people who might see it who weren’t the person who asked for it?  Should I restrict how I respond because of them?

I make art.  Folks who follow me know that.  By and large, many of them are artists themselves, and frequently ask about my process and for other advice on this blog.  Art advice is not unheard of on this blog (or on my personal); in fact it is very common.  It’s not suddenly NOT OKAY for me to post advice on my blog just because it’s unprompted. It’s my blog and my art – if folks don’t care for it, they’re not required to follow me, and they’re not required to pay attention to my posts that they don’t like.  (Just like with anything else online – if you don’t like it, you’re not required to engage with it.)

If you’re not looking to improve your art (I did get a few responses saying so), then art tips are very clearly not aimed at you.  Art tips are aimed at people looking to improve their art.

They are not specifically engineered to make you feel bad.  If you feel attacked, perhaps because the advice hits too close to home, then I’m sorry to hear that.  But I did not attack you, and you really have no grounds on which to take issue with me personally.

I’m going to keep sharing art tips whenever I feel like it.  Whether or not specific people heed them or know how to handle them isn’t my problem.

[keyblack]

Something that I see a lot of in artists online who tend towards “furry” characters is this general cartoony caricature of a dog-person… but every one of them looks the same, whether a dog, wolf, fox, whatever.  So I did a very (very) quick sketch illustrating how this “generic human-dog” face could be improved to clarify what the devil your audience is looking at!

Not all dogs look the same… and very, VERY few, if ANY, have a muzzle that bulges out after the forehead before tapering to the nose. The muzzle is a gentle taper from the slope and small (SMALL!!) bump of the forehead to the tip of the little black gumdrop.  The exact shape of this muzzle depends on what kind of dog you’re drawing!

And by God, please – not every dog has satellite dishes for ears.

Study the original animal you’re referencing, and try to figure out what the key recognizeable features of that animal are, BEFORE trying to caricature them!

[negamewtwo]

Hey, how about letting furry artists draw their fursonas the way they want

[keyblack-hl]

It’s art tips coming from a professional artist, fam. Not a personal attack. You can choose to ignore it if you want, but that doesn’t change that what I’ve said here are valid tips.

[little-leona]

Hey, op, I get they’re pro tips, but some people like cartoon and unrealistic wolves. As an artist, doing strictly one type of realistic or caricature would suck; much less having everyone else do it to. I honestly enjoy some of the originality of cartoonistic animals like that. Plus, some artists aren’t at level you are in drawing. Cut some slack, dude. Just saying

[keyblack]

Here’s another example, then.

These are all uber-cartoonified, uber-exaggerated animals.  And yet, there is no question what animal each one of them is, unless you simply haven’t seen the original animals before.

I don’t know all these characters’ names; I haven’t yet watched the show.  But we’ve got two dog characters as examples right here: a hyena and a red fox.  You can tell exactly which one is which just by a glance.

Exaggeration and cartoonification doesn’t mean ignoring the source material. If I were to further cartoonify my examples above:

And to give a more “anthro” example, which I shared in another post:

Both dogs are still easily distinguishable for what they are, even with their features as exaggerated as this.

Like, I’m an animator and character designer by trade.  I’m not unfamiliar with cartooning.  Regardless of drawing style, whether realistic or cartoony, the same principles apply: if you’re trying to make a character resemble something, you have to figure out what about that thing is recognizable and use it to your advantage.  Show, don’t tell.

I’m not trying to start fights.  I’m just trying to share some insight that might help people improve their character designing skills.  I know not everybody is on the same level – that’s the whole point of me and other artists making art tips like this, so that other people can learn.

[keyblack]

I feel like a lot of the backlash towards that furry post kinda reminds of the classic 'style' problem. How sometimes people will draw something that is incorrect and say "It's just my art style!" But there's a difference between choosing a style and not being as skilled. The later you don't quite know the rules and as a result it looks wrong. Just as if a character doesn't convey what you want (a wolf furry from a fox furry) then it doesn't matter what your 'style' is you still have a problem.

MY POINT EXACTLY, YES.

[keyblack]

Some people are countering my advice by positing, “well what if it’s a made-up critter? Then it doesn’t matter if it’s based on real animal anatomy!”

Actually, it does. Even moreso, arguably. If your creature is made-up, then you have to invent how it moves, how it’s built… how that all functions on a living, breathing creature. There is no better reference for that than observation of real creatures that share traits with the thing you’re inventing.

This creature I’ve drawn here is nonexistent. It’s some kind of cute fluffy thing which you’d never see in real life. But its anatomy is based on real creatures. I referenced the anatomy of a rabbit, a fennec fox, and a pomeranian to create this creature – the result is an animal that you could imagine moving believably, just by looking at a still image of it.

If you don’t reference real animals’ anatomy, you run the risk of making something that just doesn’t make any physical sense. And your audience can pick up on that – don’t assume they won’t notice. Audiences are far more perceptive than creators give them credit for.

So really, there’s no excuse – put the extra effort in. Do your research. Do your studying. THEN get to designing.

[keyblack]

in regards to your furry post. while I agree you should know what you're drawing and to reference the animals you're basing characters off of the examples of doing it better that you gave are very "feral" (for lack of a better term) and not anthro at all like your original complaint was. so while I see what you're getting at, I don't think that your example advice is quite matching with what you're trying to get across since you specified it as an issue with furry art and not just animals

So I didn’t make the examples “furry” enough?  Okay.

The principle still applies.

The point I was making is that the general animalistic features still should be based on the original animals.  It’s up to you to then push them towards more humanoid proportions as you see fit, but you should still keep in mind the base animal.

I spat this anthro duo of a wolf and fox out in, like, twenty seconds, since I had the springboard of my original animal studies to base them on.  Again – these are just examples.  I’m by no means claiming my style of drawing is the be-all, end-all.  But my point is, at the end of the day, people should be able to tell what your character is based on.  You wouldn’t look at wolf-man here and think he’s anything but a wolf (or perhaps an Alaskan Malamute, since we’re getting farther and thicker from wolf proportions with this caricature), and you wouldn’t look at that foxy lady and think she’s anything but a fox.

I based their animalistic features on the specific features of a wolf and fox respectively – I didn’t just slap ears and snouts on them and call it a day.

[keyblack]

Something that I see a lot of in artists online who tend towards “furry” characters is this general cartoony caricature of a dog-person… but every one of them looks the same, whether a dog, wolf, fox, whatever.  So I did a very (very) quick sketch illustrating how this “generic human-dog” face could be improved to clarify what the devil your audience is looking at!

Not all dogs look the same… and very, VERY few, if ANY, have a muzzle that bulges out after the forehead before tapering to the nose. The muzzle is a gentle taper from the slope and small (SMALL!!) bump of the forehead to the tip of the little black gumdrop.  The exact shape of this muzzle depends on what kind of dog you’re drawing!

And by God, please – not every dog has satellite dishes for ears.

Study the original animal you’re referencing, and try to figure out what the key recognizeable features of that animal are, BEFORE trying to caricature them!