the room of chaos

[nargessi]

“دل به دل راه داره There is telepathy between hearts”

—

This is an Afghan proverb.

Dil ba dil ra dara.

[techycutie]

one day i’ll have the cool display i’ve always wanted

[aatoast]

What a cute drawing! Always fun to see how artists plan/sketch out their displays, and be inspired!

[chuuface]

I built it! Most artists make them themselves using PVC piping, which you can buy at Lowe’s or some other home improvement store. They’ll cut it for you to any size, so you can build them in a lot of different ways. You can also get the ends threaded so that the connecting pieces screw on, rather than just squeezing on (mine aren’t threaded and it sucks haha). You’ll also need clamps or vices to hold them to the table; most of the people I know use these:

If you ever go to an AA with them you can see that lots of artists have developed different structure designs. I wouldn’t recommend mine, because the legs just make sure it doesn’t tip toward the customer when it falls over haha; it has to have at least one leg clamped on the side. Here are some of the structures I’ve tried or seen:

My current; anything with legs, btw, takes up space on your table, which is bad if you have lots of stuff (but good if you don’t have that much stuff so it doesn’t look as empty haha):

I used this at Snafucon:

I think this is the standard that most people do:

Shared my friends version of this at AX; it went over once or twice because the under table was bad for our clamps; we figured out it was more stable if we flipped the rubber yellow parts of the clamp mouth backward so they couldn’t slide out:

I just learned this one this year and a friend says it’s very stable; I don’t know if they use two more clamps on the front but I would imagine not:

Some important points:

-Make sure you know the length  of the table. If your top length pipe is too long, you’re screwed.

-Make sure you factor in the added height of the clamp base if there is a height limit for displays at your con (AX has this). A clamp adds an extra 2-3 inches to your display height and if you only measure your piping your display will be too tall.

-Whatever you do, make sure it’s stable. Don’t put it up wobbly and just think, “oh I’ll just be careful.” Wind will come from somewhere, you’ll be helping someone and get distracted, or customers will bump it and poke it and pull on it no matter what you do, so you want to make sure it can’t fall over. Keep the clamps on the back or sides of the table, not where customers (or their children) can bump them or mess with them. Keep in mind that your customers at cons are incredibly excited and usually distracted, that’s the nature of cons, so you’re really responsible for your own stuff here.

[nice-worm-deactivated20200906]

reblog the money pigeon for a financially stable future

[secondlina]

I reblog  the money pigeon because I love him.

[crazycatsiren]

Praised be to Aphrodite and may she smile upon my fortune! 🕊

[kelpls]

idk if you did that already but can you do a tutorial on shirt collars? i just can't get them right ;w; thank you

[kelpls]

Hi~ I was in the middle of browsing you helpfulthings stuffs and wondering if you have some tips about headphones and earphones^^ Thanks a bunch in advance if you are willing to do one ^^

not limited to the above examples and as always it’s best to google up some rl refs to get a hang of the general shape and how it fits on a head!

[kelpls]

I wonder if you can help me drawing an umbrella? I'm sorry if it's too much >_<;; your tutorials are helpful!

us e a proper circle tool or your umbrella will be lopsided like mine LOL 

here’s a ref of umbrellas and u can find more on google YEAH!! 

[kelpls]

ahh im sorry if youve gotten this before but could you do a tutorial on how the head connects to the neck/neck connects to the shoulders?? i saw a small tutorial on shoulders but it was more about how to draw than than how to connect them to the head and the rest of the body u_u

a lot of people asked about necks but i don’t  much to say so i covered a little of the muscles too HERE”S A MORE DETAILED muscle diagram if you’re interested! don’t overwork the neck muscles bc in a lot of people they actually don’t rly show up at all ALSO I tend to draw longer necks out of habit ,some people have shorter necks

REAL LIFE REFS ARE THE BEST GO STARE AT SOME NECKS 

[kelpls]

Do you ever have that thing where you can draw a face just fine from 3/4 angle in facing one side, but if you try the same thing facing the other side it looks silly? It happens to me all the time and it's kind of hard to not notice that I never draw anyone facing the right.

YEAH I used to have this problem a lot and my current default is still left facing people LIKE IF YOU POINTED A GUN AT MY HEAD AND SAID DRAW ME ATHING I’LL PROBABLY DRAW YOU A LEFT FACING DUDE 

The most practical solution would be to use construction lines to get the features right I THInk?

If you’re really used to drawing faces facing one side it’s hard to draw them facing the other cause it’s like doing a mirror of what you’re used to and THAT”S UNNATURAL KINDA like writing backwards 

But with practice it will come naturally enough! It’s always easy to avoid drawing a thing jsut because it’s hard or it looks off, but it takes a lot of bad drawings to make a good one SO KEEP AT IT! Personally I do this thing where if I’ve drawn a picture of a dude facing left I try to draw a dude facing right for my next picture and then left again and so on

TIPS: -TRY DRAWING THE EYES/NOSE/mouth facing right without the face YEAH JUST LOTS OF FLOATING EYES and mouths everywhere

-if you can’t get the face shape right, break it down and do it in shapes

-good way to practice is to do couple pics cause (generally) if the two chars are interacting they’ll be be facing opposite directions 

IN A WAY you’re learning how to draw the head/face again SO have patience with yourself and your brain! Practice lots and you’ll be drawing people facing left or right with no trouble at alll

[kelpls]

hi kel, you're one of my favorite artists right now! i would like to ask you something. i haven't drawn seriously in years and i'm just starting again but i'm so old and there's a lot of younger artists who are so muuuuch better than me so it's hard to motivate myself so can you please give tips on how i can improve my drawing skills? thanks a bunch and i love you! :D

Ah oh gosh I totally get how a skilled younger artist can be de-motivating, but seriously, DON”T LET THAT BOTHER YOU!! Art isn’t a race or competition and the only person you should worry about is yourself because you’re the one setting your own FINISH LINE!! 

I think people should remember that usually if an artist is skilled, REGARDLESS OF AGE, it’s because they’ve put lots of HARD WORK INTO IT (even if you don’t see it) and THAT should be your motivation, TO PUT IN THAT AMOUNT OF HARD WORK!

1) Try to draw everyday, even if it’s just doodles! It’s standard advice, but personally i think it’s very true!! I feel like the time where I improved the most was the year where I drew nearly every day.

2) Work on the basics, like you can get by without studying anatomy/ color etc, but if you do it WILL help a lot! Don’t feel like you have to learn it all at once, just start on whatever interests you most first and branch out from there!!

3) Step out of your comfort zone. AND BY THIS i don’t mean draw things you don’t enjoy, you can totally keep drawing what you like while still stepping out of your comfort zone. EG. IF YOU LIKE TO DRAW BUTTS, it’s okay I think to draw lots of butts, but try different things each time! LIKE draw a round butt one day and a flat one the next, TRY PAINTING A BUTT, or try a realistic butt!! DRAW TH EBUTT FROM THE TOP from the side, don’t just draw butts facing left! 

4) DON”T BE AFRAID TO USE REFERENCE.. using reference helps to build up your own knowledge as an artist and YOU KNOW WHEN YOU FIND YOURSELF WONDERING ‘how do i draw a foot’, don’t just cut off the foot or hide it behind an object! GOOGLE ‘FEET’ and grab all the references you need!! Using your imagination is great but you need to have some knowledge to build your imagination off on! 

5) Draw things you enjoy!!! MOTIVATION isn’t going to come from anyone but yourself, so make sure you’re having fun when you draw! 

I’m sorry if the advice is kinda generic SWEATS.. but personally that’s what I think helped me improve so far. I WISH you all the best anon, IT”S GREAT TO HEAR THAT you’re getting back into drawing! <3

[kelpls]

hello! first of all I want to thank you so much for all of your tutorials - I love them and you're just super awesome! *w* um, but I always have trouble figuring out what to do with backgrounds ... I love your art because the backgrounds are very pleasing to the eye and soft looking! are there any tips you can give me for backgrounds? ;w;

omigosh i get this question a lot but I DON”T REALLY UNDERSTAND WHY BC I Don’t rly draw bgs?? HAHAHA UMM Idk what kind of BGS you mean but for simple backgrounds, I generally just use 3 types

I personally don’t like using the photoshop gradient tool bc i think it looks rly flat SO I DO IT MANUALLY USING A NICE TEXTURED BRUSH

if you are struggling w choosing nice colors for a gradient you can always just make use of the layer effects yeah! OVERLAY USULALY WORKS WELL W MOST COLORS if it’s a light bg and multiply is good if ur looking for something darker

and i guess the last option would just be to slap a texture or pattern onto the background!! YOU CAN DO THIS USING PHOTSHOP EFFECTS or manually with a textured pic  THESE 2 are my favorite though:

u can mix and match the 3 to get cool effects EG ADD TEXTure to the shape or whatever AND YEAH OFC YOU CAN DO LOTS OF OTHER THINGS AS WELL but these are the 3 types i use most often !!

IF you mean like complicated backgrounds I don’t really have much advice besides looking at actual pictures of scenery and stuff.. and when you draw DON”T BE INTIMIDATED!! BUILD THINGS UP SLOWLY like draw a box > add smaller boxes > add detail

I FEEL LIKE IM EXPLAINING IT RLY BADLY LIES DOWN i hope this helps you out a little ? ?

[kelpls]

Hi, Kel. Lately, I've started comparing myself to other artists on here, and I can't tell you how miserable I've been. I no longer look at my art with pride and instead I hate it. I don't like this feeling because I am seriously considering to stop drawing completely because how I'm hurting myself by comparing my art with others. How do you avoid that? How do I motivate myself to stay strong and not give up? So sorry for such a long ask

I think comparing yourself to other people is unavoidable, especially with the internet and sharing sites like tumblr, and I don’t necessarily think it’s a BAD thing to compare, bc that’s what helps you identify your own strengths and weaknesses as an artist. 

OK:1) WHEN YOU see a piece of work online or anywhere, remember this is the product of LOTS OF TIME AND EFFORT, not just the sketches that go into this particular drawing, not just something the artist magically spits out; It’s the effort of all the years the artist has spent drawing and working on their art.

2) If you like someone’s art, THINK about why you like it, don’t just go: oh this person’s art is so much better than mine. THINK about how they got those colors and how you can incorporate that into your work. It also doesn’t hurt to ask the artist.

3) YOU HAVE TO PUT IN WORK if you want results. It doesn’t matter if you’re drawing for fun, or for school/work, IF YOU want to get better, the answer is always the same, you gotta keep on drawing.

4) HAVE PATIENCE. You will not get immediate results with art and if you continuously strive for quick results, you will only get more frustrated and upset with yourself.

5) REMEMBER that no one can draw like you. Even if someone copies your drawings line for line, it still won’t be exactly the same, SO HEY, with every drawing you’re adding something absolutely unique to the art world. You have BOTH strengths and weaknesses, so don’t be so quick to dismiss what you can do in favor of what you might not be so good at.

There will always be someone better than you and if people used that as a reason to give up on art, we will be missing out on a lot of amazing artists, SO STAY STRONG ANON, keep on drawing and I know you will get to where you want to be someday

[kelpls]

hhhhh your art is so beautiful u v u. I'm wondering if you could do some references on backs? Of course only if you have time and feel like doing so o v o;;;

forgive my handwriting I HOPE THIS HELPS A LITTLE BC IM NOT RLY SURE IF IT MAKES SENSE also here are some pics of rl backs which you can also locate via google 1,2,3,4,5(nsfw bc butt) 

[kelpls]

Your ears and nose are the same height and start/end at the same level

i was really confused at first HAHA BUT I THINK YOU”RE REFERRING to that thing i did on faces a long time ago- and yeah it isn’t 100% accurate bc I drew the lines wrong (it should have been curved arnd the face), but there are people whose faces don’t fit the standard nose=ear ratio (they aren’t the majority though I’m not sure why I used that as an example LOL )

oops in hindsight the first pic fits into the other ratio better

and ofc people with equal nose/ear ratio:

SO YEAH! When i did that head tutorial thing i didn’t look at a wide enough range of people and that’s definitely a mistake on my part cause faces are super cool and have all sorts of varieties, though as you can see from the examples, sometimes it’s only a very slight difference

EDIT: OH vythefirst brought up that the tilt of the head should be taken note of (like for that first dude) AND OFC THE ear=nose ratio is still a very hel pful guide to use when drawing faces and it def applies in most situations!

[kelpls]

hi! i was wondering if you have any tips for staying within the lines when painting? or do you just erase anything that goes out of line?

I’m a very messy painter so i usually draw the lines in after I paint the colors

[kelpls]

any tutorials/references u recommend for self-taught artists? my goal is to make fanart and some original stuff. u inspire me a lot :)

HELLO anons and THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR KIND WORDS! I think it’s hard to recommend specific tutorials bc I feel like what works for one person might not always work for another, but here are some good general resources I enjoy!!

This pinterest has A LOT of tutorials and references

Andrew Loomis’ books are gorgeous to look at and helpful!

YOUTUBE and gumroad are great resources, you can find a lot of helpful anatomy guides/ tutorials/ process videos on there e.g. proko, this video by steve huston, life drawing stuff etc AND here’s a list of some tutorials available on Gumroad

FOR Color, I’ve found this site and this site to be really good!

I also really like these tutorials HERE and HERE

AND some other art books I’ve found helpful are Anatomy for sculptors, Steve Huston’s figure drawing for artists, and michael hampton’s stuff!

LAST BUT NOT LEAST don’t be afraid to use photo references!!! IT WILL REALLY HELP

 I hope some of these might give you a place to start!!! FEEL FREE TO DROP ME ANOTHER MESSAGE if you couldn’t find what you wanted!!

[kelpls]

I struggle a lot with art. I literally can't do anything decently except trace. I feel like everything I create on my own is just laughable, and objectively? It sorta is. I just. I try so SO hard to follow tutorials and practice and I just never get better and it's so frustrating and depressing and i dont know what to do. I want to get better but i just never improve i cant afford to take classes and it feels like i'll never be able to create anything worth looking at. what should i do? Sorry.

Don’t feel like u have to apologize anon! It definitely is hard to keep going when you can’t see your own improvement, especially when you’re working hard at it, but please don’t give up! I personally believe that everyone can draw & improve, and it’s all a matter of finding what sort of learning works for you. There are plenty of free resources online, so taking classes are definitely not your only option. It’s hard for me to give specific advice without knowing you but maybe you could try:

Breaking down your goal into smaller goals i.e. This week I’m going to learn how to draw an eye rather than something like I want to be good at anatomy

Practice with a purpose! Even if you’re doing a trace to learn, think about what you’re tracing, so that you can apply it to your art. i.e. when you’re drawing the nose -> how is it positioned on the face? How close are the eyes to the nose? How far is the nose from the chin and the forehead? -> The next time you try drawing it on your own, you’ll have all these landmarks and notes in mind to figure out where it goes!

If tutorials don’t work for you, that’s ok!! Often tutorials are understanding how another artist does things, and sometimes that’s not always the easiest way to learn how to do it yourself. Look for other methods of learning, and try to find what’s best suited to you. e.g. videos/ step by step instruction/ books/ studies etc

If the end result looks bad, that’s ok!! Don’t get down on yourself, try to figure out WHY it looks bad/ What you don’t like about it, and avoid doing the same things in the future. i.e. the face is lopsided bc I drew one eye too high up (i do that a lot LOL)

Draw slowly! Tbh i struggle with this a lot bc I like to get things quickly done, but i’ve realized that it helps a lot to think about the lines you’re putting down as you draw. LOOK at your reference, how does the line go? Does it actually curve that way or am I just rushing to put the line down there? It’s ok if u have to erase a line 20 times, sometimes that’s what you have to do to get it right!! Be patient with yourself!! 

I know this is all very general advice but I hope it helps you out a little? Feel free to drop me a message via tumblr messenger too if you want I’M HAPPY to give you resources/ help you out with your art!