Let's Art

[marianarira]

All the torso animated studies.

[catmask]

i wanted to make a little artfight goal sheet for everyone to use :'] i tried to keep it as beginner friendly as i could!

[catmask]

for reference...! these are my own personal goals, though it does not follow the general format i made, it is an example of what you could do!

[catmask]

i dont consider myself a 'fashion guru' by any means but one thing i will say is guys you dont need to know the specific brand an item you like is - you need to know what the item is called. very rarely does a brand matter, but knowing that pair of pants is called 'cargo' vs 'boot cut' or the names of dress styles is going to help you find clothes you like WAAAYYYY faster than brand shopping

[catmask]

this also goes for aesthetic or -core titles. 'y2k tank top' is going to get you resellers and fast fashion brands advertising to people looking to meet a current trend. 'thin strap crop tank top' is going to get you a diverse group of results and not upcharge you to hell and back

additionally, shop second hand when you can, second hand and thrift sites typically organize clothes by the cut and color. theyll be more affordable than a depop seller curating you a style to sell you

[daftpatience]

useful terminology for different kinds of clothing shapes :)

[cutabello]

here are more terms! these are all from enérie. it is a really good blog that has lots of fashion terminology and it's a good mix of menswear and womenswear! they also have a book as well compiling all their diagrams. you could also look into getting a visual fashion dictionary for terms as well!

[artfromsaturn]

Sorry I meant to say there any Copic maker brush for CSP?

Fun Fact: It's been at least five years since I picked up a true Copic marker, so I'm not sure if I'm the best for this. I'll do my best! @ anyone reading this, feel free to suggest your favorites too. :o

This will be different since there will be GIFs for this to show you what they draw like. Marker feeling is just as important as marker look. I'll have the non-gif versions at the bottom to compensate for color loss. I'm going to recommend one paid set, then the rest are free, so you can scroll down if you don't have cash to spare.

Originally, one of the most popular CSP Copics was Wren's alcohol Makers - based on Copics themselves, texture & everything.

They're now 5$ on Gumroad. The original set was just 2 brushes & a texture IIRC, now it's several brushes & textures. If you like how they look, grab 'em here.

There's also Michael Guimont's set for 4$ which I haven't tried, but he did great with his pencil set so I'm guessing it's also quality. I also love this set by Frankentoon Studios for 15$, but the markers are a bit more messy than classic copics!

Ok, now the free stuff. There's 2 strategies for markers: make a brush with a texture, or make brushes and then a texture to put on top of it. You'll see what I mean below.

Gloomsugar's makers feel nice to me. They have a nice subtle texture & mix well, and are gentle to the touch. I changed the bottom to be on "normal" instead of "darken" blending mode.

Crm's marker set (sorry for forgetting the R in the name there) takes the second approach: a marker texture on top.

These are soft, normal mixing brushes that come with 2 textures to use on top. I think it's a great compromise if you want blending without compromising texture, but it's a bit hard to get used to.

This method can be done with any paper texture you own. Like so:

Mine (Real Textures Pack), Crm's textures in the Marker pack above, & this texture set to the blending mode overlay here. Again, this is the best way to make sure you get the nice melting feeling of alcohol markers digitally without worrying about losing texture. Or you could like alcohol markers without the texture period, so a general brush is the best compromise.

The Nu Markers used to be on the CSP Asset Store, but got taken down once someone finally noticed the thumbnail was Jet Set Radio fanart ;w;

They're archived here and hopefully he'll reupload them on CSP Assets again too. They're on the dry side, so it may or may not be what you're looking for. Great look, though.

The other two on CSP assets are this set that got popular recently & this marker for 10cp I like. The first one I haven't played with as much but do enjoy from a glance, the second is nice but I'm not sure if it is what you're looking for.

Off of CSP Assets, there's these markers from Halftone Hospital:

Originally for Photoshop, these actually import great to CSP. They do not have blending, but you can add it in of course. Nice, smooth, fun.

Lastly, I don't think this is what you're looking for, but the burnout ink set on Photoshop is a ton of fun:

I just really adore the texture and feel of these. Lots of fun. I am pretty sure I had to adjust the brush stroke gap from like 1.0 to the default "narrow" instead since that slows brushes down. :v

I'm not sure if these are what you're looking for, but I hope they help!

[ohcorny]

today's comic advice posting from the big boy published graphic novelist: stop thoughtlessly shading your comics. stop it. i see you reaching for the multiply layer, i see you selecting that slightly purple, slightly blue color to add shadows to the edges of your characters. oh my god get your hand away from the airbrush.

comics is a storytelling medium, which means that it's also a medium for conveying information. you are conveying information about the scene to me.

what information is your shading conveying, and what does that contribute to the scene? i mean, ideally you're telling me where the light is coming from, but...do i actually have to care about that? if the lighting isn't key to the mood of the scene...does it need to be there?

we're outside. things would have shadows, because there's a light source (The Sun) but don't you understand that just from the fact the characters are clearly drawn outside? does putting soft shadows under their arms and at the bottoms of their shirts convey that better? or is it already clear without that?

we're inside. there's probably some light coming in from the window, or maybe from a bulb in the ceiling. is there a mood you want to convey with the scene? is the light source contributing to the mood? is the light only coming in from the window, to remind us the room is dark? is there a spotlight on someone? is the lighting significant? if it's not, what is the shading telling me that i couldn't otherwise guess?

and in the same realm of that previous comic example i just used, and this one i will be explicitly prescriptivist about--if you MUST include shading, please don't put it on the panels where the characters are doing the big cartoonish expressions. it doesn't look good. it Just doesn't look good. you're turning a 2 dimensional shape into a 3 dimensional object for no reason other than 'well i did it to the rest of the comic' and it looks bad. it draws attention to itself, it makes everything stiff and constructed, you lose the animation inherent to the gesture. you are doing disney vhs cover shit to me.

but this all isn't to say that you should never ever involve shading in your comics. but it's more that you need to use it intelligently, not just because you think it 'would' be there. there 'would' be one million more wrinkles in everybody's shirts than we ever want to draw and nobody's advising you to do that in comics. but if there should be one million wrinkles in a shirt, to draw attention to the fact that it's wrinkled, that's a different story.

and comics are about telling a story.

if you found this advice useful, or liked the look of the examples i was using, you should read my comic.

[donutsbagels]

Okay I JUST realized I never posted these on here—- BUT BASICALLY, about a year and a half ago I started doing these experimental black hairstyle posts that were threads long on Twitter, to give artists a source of inspo for their black ocs whose hair they wanted to try something new with! There’s more to black hair than just the selected styles portrayed in media, and I thought it would be fun to show people how much texture, shape, fades, length, and style can be combined when drawing black hair—-cause it’s a kind of manipulation our hair can do irl! The OG thread from when I made these a year ago were lost with the hacking of my original Twitter account (@/bagels_donuts) but I’ve since reuploaded the whole thread to my new Twitter (@/ItsDonutsFR)! I hope artists on tumblr find these useful, sorry it took me so long to post them here😭🙏🏾 I’ll upload them all in parts!

Part 1: Long masc hairstyles + playing with fades

Post by @donutsbagels · 7 images

💬 2  🔁 715  ❤️ 1008 · Part 2: shape, style, and length with femme styles!

[artfromsaturn]

greetings and salutations

the intoxicate pencil set got deleted recently, ya have it?

massive ginormous unfathomable thanks in advance

Salutations, friend! Not me personally, but this nice person has uploaded them with a few other sets too:

Link to tweet with DL below them.

Funny thing, I'm actually very particular with pencils and that's why I've made so many. Sketching is an important step, always be comfortable & modify your brushes to your liking. 👍

[musubiarte]

The other day I was surfing the internet and I found this specialized painting colour wheel, it shows how real paint colours relate to each other. 

Outside: the purest/brightest colours.

Inside: naturally muted or earthy colors, like browns and ochres.

The Center: dark neutral tones used for mixing shadows.

The Lines: the lines connect colors that are opposites, if you mix them you neutralize the tone creating clean grays or browns instead of muddy puddles.

I want to share this with you because I think it is really illustrative!

Reference: “Quiller Wheel” by Stephen Quiller

[saphushia]

btw. i made this quick guide of some of the natural size and proportion reference points in the human body. of course this all varies even irl, and you can stylize however you want, so ymmv but thought it might be helpful for some folks.

[taraxippos]

Had been thinking about this post (which is a fake excerpt from an imaginary narrative written to mock 'tumblr prose'), and how most "no actually this is good" comments are highlighting how the construction of individual sentences is interesting, how some of the language is evocative, how it Goes Hard. Because that post is written badly in a very thoughtful manner that focuses on core structural issues rather than going for low hanging fruit of poor technical proficiency with the written word, it is not bad in the most "obvious" of ways. So I think this is a legit learning opportunity, but also I don't want to dunk on anyone so instead I will just preach to the choir of My Followers.

But yeah like to be more constructive than just going "lol tumblr prose bad", really the issue in Large part that characterizes "tumblr prose" (which to be clear I don't think is a discrete thing and at most is a combination of several writing tendencies influenced by the medium of Online) comes down to the lack of real contrast in Any aspect of narrative construction, and an obsession with being quotable and constantly being at 100% of Going Hard (which go hand in hand).

In that post, the character voice is indistinct from that of the narration, and the characters quote one-liners that look Meaningful as excerpts and are borderline nonsensical as dialogue. There is no more than the faintest, most generic hints of characterization; these people exist as vague concepts to say deep words for the reader. The sentence length has little variation from its staccato beat, and so it is awkward to read and fails to complement the action or accomplish anything with the pacing (save for the slight slowdown when the torturer feels all that damp animal electricity). The timing is awkward and exaggeratedly dramatic. The description is a flowery kind of tryhard visceral and seems avoidant of describing anything too directly ("something dark and arterial" where there's nothing being accomplished by conveying uncertainty about what is currently gushing out of the injured character and the simple use of "blood splashed across the stones" would actually be 10x more effective), in a way that does disservice to what is supposed to be a torture scene, and leaves it weightless and ungrounded. In fairness to the people saying "this is good", that is MUCH easier to say when reading this fake excerpt as the standalone piece it actually is, but this kind of writing Cannot function in an actual narrative and is not what an excerpt from well constructed narrative fiction is going to look like basically ever.

It reflects a lot of very typical amateur writing issues that just about everyone has to grow out of (the minimal diversity in sentence length, simulated non-attention to scene pacing and timing), and issues common to fanfiction-influenced writing on social media (allergy to paragraph lengths of more than two sentences, little to no description of the characters or setting because, in fanfiction, the reader already knows their physical characteristics and mannerisms and it doesn't need to be lingered upon, Unlike In Original Fiction). But this particularly hits on an issue I think is semi-unique to narrative writing in the social media milieu, which is a focus on being quotable. This may not even be a conscious impulse at all But It's There. This kinda apparent terror of any moment not being as beautiful and hard hitting as possible (or for comedy, any moment not being A Joke). Everything "Goes Hard", so nothing actually does. A lot of "tumblr prose" type writing is less a narrative, more a string of quotes loosely assembled into narrative that vaguely gestures at things like Plot and Character. It substitutes depth for Suggestions of depth by utilizing stock symbolism without building it into the narrative, and by gesturing at weighty contexts without actually engaging with them. There can be little contrast or effective use of tone, pace, description when your story is a series of Hard Hitting Quotes.

I'm reading Watership Down right now and I think it's a great novel overall and can work as an example of how important it is to utilize contrast in your writing.

This segment is the lengthy first description of the titular down, which the rabbits are now encountering for the first time:

Adams is slowing the pace here to introduce us to the setting of the next segment of the book. The average sentence length is very long and keeps us lingering in the sensory detail, while still varied and thus smoothly readable. This new place is introduced by simultaneously conveying its physical description in vivid detail and conveying its feeling and character, and getting the most out of every described feature to do so. The thorn trees are "wind stunted". The air is "scented". The language takes on a very flowery character and heavily utilizes simile and metaphor. Woodland is "tumultuous with evening", sunlight filters through grass "like a wind" to the small creatures below, in contrast to laying "like a gold rind" on the hill when seen from a distance. This grandiose description is heavily functional and conveys both exhaustive physical detail and a feeling that this place is beautiful, awe inspiring to something like a rabbit, and full of life, though not without quiet hints of danger. It hits because Not Everything In The Book Is Described This Way. It means something that we're lingering like this and stopping to get a sense of this place on every possible level, and moving away from more direct, simple prose to convey the feeling of the place in depth.

This segment describes the rabbit Bigwig being found caught in a snare:

The prose here here has the opposite approach of the first excerpt. The language is concise, direct, and brutal. It only veers slightly away from the literal to describe Bigwig's voice as 'bubbling out' from his mouth, both conveying that the saliva and blood in his mouth is literally bubbling as he speaks, and implying the unsettling way his voice sounds as he's being strangled. The sentences are much shorter on the whole, as fit for the pacing of a tense and rapidly changing scene, and the timing closely complements the action - "There was a pause" not only conveys That There Was A Pause but interrupts the rhythm of this segment; the moment of uneasy stillness is echoed in the act of reading itself.

The scene this is excerpted from is extremely effective and does in fact Go Hard, it's well constructed in of itself but its effectiveness mostly lies in its place in the narrative. It's the culmination of a long, tense buildup as the reader becomes more aware that something is deeply Wrong about the place the rabbits are in, and the payoff is effective in being blunt and visceral, which hits because Not Everything In The Book Is Described This Way. Nothing about these excerpts are particularly quotable because that is actually not what good narrative writing is about.

[razzafrazzle]

[image description: a page showing off a set of striped texture brushes for clip studio paint. end id]

presenting my first (and hopefully only) paid brush set for clip studio paint!! i made each of the lines in the textures by hand during a (kinda rough honestly) arm tremor episode, and now YOU can embrace imperfection and support a disabled artist at the same time! just $1.50 for all four brushes!

check 'em out right here!

[ratbuchet]

psa for fellow formal wear enthusiasts

[carmahnart]

Hey y’all I have an announcement! My web app that I’ve been working on, Afro Index, is now live! It’s a visual reference library of Black hairstyles, for artist, animators, writers, and anyone who wants to learn more about them!

Check it out at afroindex.org! 💛✨

Afro Index – Black Hairstyle Reference Library

A reference library for Black hairstyles with accurate naming, structured filtering, and curated reference images.

[catmask]

our kid is asking me for help to learn how to draw eyes. i started putting a 'short tutorial' together for him and its now nine pages long and im not even done everything i wanted to say yet.

ive never really made a tutorial before, do you guys have anything more you think i could show him how to do? im planning on getting into eyebrows, eye expressions, and maybe the proportions of the eye in the human face...?

[writingwithfolklore]

Writing Resources to use instead of AI

For coming up with character names:

Behind the name (my absolute fav)

Allows you to choose the origin of where you want the name to be from, whether you want a more feminine vs masculine vs androgenous name (as voted by users), random surname generator, and clicking on the name gives you important info like if there are any famous people with the same name, where it’s from, how common it is, and how people tend to see it, etc.

You can also search their name database by letter or meaning or origin, so if you know you want a character who has a name/surname that starts with an A from Ireland, there’s a whole list for you to choose from.

Census sites

Especially useful if you’re looking for a name from a specific place and/or time period. Just search “(country) census (year)” and you’ll find a database of real people who lived in that place at that time. No one can ever call your names unrealistic again.

For coming up with place names:

Fantasy name generator

This site can basically come up with any name for any person, place, or thing you might ever need. There are also specific generators for different fandoms if you’re looking to make an OC in an established world.

For finding that one word on the tip of your tongue:

One Look Thesaurus

This is my go-to. Not only can you find synonyms like a regular thesaurus, but you can also describe words like “unhappy smile” or “quiet laugh” to find the more specific word you’re looking for.

For coming up with ideas:

Word cloud

When I need to inspire a new idea, I write down all the things I’m interested in (hauntings, academia, lesbians, etc.) and put them into a word cloud to shuffle them next to each other. Sometimes seeing a concept in a new context can spark new ideas!

WWF Discord

This is my discord channel (shameless plug) for when you need to brainstorm off other people but don’t have anyone irl to talk to. We’re also happy to read and give feedback on writing, answer writing questions, or just chat!

For visualizing places and characters:

Pinterest

Pinterest can at times be a bit too sterile for my tastes, but if you use the right words, you can find more realistic photos of places. For example, adding “aesthetic” after basically any word will bring up a more broad collection of photos to help you flesh out places.

This is also a great way to find photos of people and fashion to help visualize characters. I’m bad at describing clothes, so I usually collect photos of outfits to help me know what my characters are wearing. Searching up “character inspiration” will collect more interesting photos and drawings of people who might not exactly be of our world.

(However, to make Pinterest not show you AI results, you have to go into your settings and check the “reduce AI” box. Luckily, it does mostly work.)

Death to Stock

Like pinterest but completely AI free (hooray!) Only drawback is that you have to pay a monthly subscription (about $20 CAD).

Cosmos

Very similar to pinterest but slightly more "artsy". I'm not super familiar with this one but I believe all the photos are human and you can save them and create collections with a free account.

Dupe Photos

Royalty-free stock image site with very Pinterest-core photos!

Minecraft

If you haven’t built your entire fictional city in Minecraft instead of writing, why not? It’s fun.

The Sims

This one is dual purpose because you can not only create your characters in Create a Sim, but you can design their houses. If you really want to go for it, you can bulldoze all the lots in your town and build your world from scratch.

For checking grammar:

Grammar Girl

Easy to follow definitions and examples, and if you learn better by listening, every article comes with a podcast to follow along with instead.

Grammar Monster

This one is my favourite for checking grammar rules because there’s tons of examples in graphics that helps for any situation.

Reedsy

Among other things, reedsy can connect you to professional editors within your budget.

For writing advice:

One Stop for Writers

This one was recommended from my discord channel and has all sorts of tutorials and resources for the writing craft.

My Blog Directory

Another shameless plug, but if you need writing advice on something specific, you can search through my directory to see if it’s there. If it isn’t, you can always send me an ask about it!

For an alternative to Google Docs:

Ellipsus

Think google docs but without AI. Yay!

(will update this list with any more suggestions or resources I discover 😊)

[just-a-readthrough]

A great resource

[tastylemonbread]

a lot of artists dont know how to draw bullets and to be real it bothers me a lot. here's my simple guide on bullets

[ghoulfacts]

Special shoutout to the DavidPro Phantom Blood opening where the bullets are fully brass, flush with the casing, no rim, perfectly undisturbed primer, and fired whole out of some webleys.

[v4l-p4l]

raising you this

[ghoulfacts]

12ga Recursionshot

[phaeton-flier]

You chumps don't know about 65% more bullet per bullet spring system

[liketolaugh-writes]

Trauma Surgery: What a Gun Shot Wound Patient Can Expect in the Operating Room and Intensive Care Unit — AFFIRM at The Aspen Institute

If you are ever unfortunate enough to be the victim of gun violence, it is quite possible that you may not hear the word “gunshot wound” men

thanks, this is the most useless medical article i've ever read

fails to explain any of the medical procedures involved

gives no specifics on monitors, medications, or expected complications

a bizarre mixture of vague and graphic

mostly just emphasizes how much work it is to save lives

literally finishes with a 100% 'try not to get shot'

i'm just trying to find out how surgeons repair gunshot wounds, man. i assume it's not with fucking magic

[liketolaugh-writes]

i finally remembered that google is better than duckduckgo

source here (warning, it's a study) (geared toward war zones)

second source (for in hospitals)

for all y'all writers, this is what professionals might do for severe injuries:

in the field:

wound clamp (exactly what it sounds like, mostly for field use rather than operating rooms)

fill with expanding foam (for horrific internal bleeding) (this does seem to need to be taken out later)

hemostatic agents (you inject them and the patient stops bleeding) (i thought this was a sci-fi trope but apparently it's real) (there are lots of types so i didn't link anything specific)

readily available: ACS Stop the Bleed kits include tourniquets and hemostatic gauze

in a hospital:

argon laser beam (coagulates blood)

electrocautery

magic scalpel that seals the wound as it cuts

honorary mention:

inflate abdomen to make surgery easier (???) (was mentioned in study but apparently literally no one did this)

REBOA (i didn't understand this procedure so i didn't include it)

this information was stupidly difficult to find so i'm sharing it here