Meryli

Fantasy illustrator. Learning to be social and/or media.

[merylimakes]

Hello, sir.

[merylimakes]

New Year's Resolution: celebrate the things that bring me joy more often!

Not sure I'll finish this doodle, but there will be more like it, dangit.

[merylimakes]

I love art nouveau. (Something about the way color is layered with big thick lines. Modern, but not modern.)

Ever so often, I try my take on the art style again. Started this piece before all the chaos, so it's a little…disjointed? Not quite right? But I finished it, and it's mostly good, so I thought I'd post. And try not to gush too much about art I like.

[merylimakes]

If you ever have to move out of your room or office, wherever you keep your art supplies…be careful about where you put them. Or you'll end up like me! I did do a bit of drawing in the interim, though, and drawing on paper got me to thinking more about comic-style art. It's a skill I'm far away from, and something I'd like to practice, if I ever want to make comics again.

[merylimakes]

"That's it, that's where you are." . Both characters were put into one fanart contest, which got me to thinking...is there anything Lynx and Fu Xuan have in common? If they did, I would draw both! My answer was: the stars. What separates them is what binds them.

[merylimakes]

Speedpaint Week 8

2 months! And I'm no better at backgrounds. Background + character in 90 minutes is too much for me. Somebody can do it, I'm not that good. But I am getting a little faster, and a little better at not letting myself come back for tweaks. That part might take the most practice for me. I'd like to figure out what to focus on in my art, what is worth my time and what is a waste. My longest running problem is wasting time on things that don't matter. And if there's anything we're all limited on…it's time.

[merylimakes]

Speedpaint Week 7

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More speedpaints (weeks 5 and 6). Life has been a bit of a mess these days, so they're adding up more slowly than I'd like. But hobby time adds up, bit by bit.

[merylimakes]

Week 4

This week was a lesson in…making it work. I ran out of time, so rather than redo anything, I piddled with color sliders and contrast and added a few highlights and threw my hands up. I need to learn to do that more.

[merylimakes]

Week 3 . I'm still roughly hitting my 90 minute limit (it's tough to make myself stop working)…this week was a bit of a cheat though. I redid an older, simpler version of this piece from a few years ago. (Concept art for a comic I never got far on.) Had to fudge a lot to get this done, too, but that's what a challenge is for! Learning to fudge things is a special skill.

[merylimakes]

Doing weekly paintings now. 90 minutes each. Fast as I can make something OKAY enough to post… Practicing things I'm bad at, until I'm less bad at them. And faster at being less bad at them. If you go fast, you have less time to second guess yourself. :)

[merylimakes]

"Won't you take a card? The hand you hold…surely you know it well." . I need to start writing down how long I work on things…because I lost track of time with this one. Been VERY busy, but if you write it down, it doesn't matter! (Maybe a layer for notes?) After this there will be a couple of posts here and there as I start work on a little micro comic I'm working on.

Aside from building out my portfolio I decided on some skills I want to build, and comic work is pretty high up the list. But it takes practice! So I'm writing teeny tiny stories and seeing what I can do with them.

[merylimakes]

I've heard a few times about the idea of 'failing quickly'. The point being to figure out if something is going to work as fast as possible, and if it's not, move on.

Before any of that, you have to figure out if you are a planner, or a do'er. If you plan, plan enough, but don't let it consume you. (Very easy, I know.) And if you do, fail quickly. I have a bad habit of assuming I've done enough before it's time to make the final piece. So I spend too many hours making something that I'm not happy with before realizing I should have quit, and tried again. (The social media algorithm monster is not helpful here.)

The trick, I think, is finding your middle ground. If you want to/feel you need to post often, find something you can make quickly, efficiently. And the rest of the time be methodical. I know I've read about artists having lists of steps they follow to keep themselves in line… I may have to make a list for next time. And set a timer.

[merylimakes]

"If only the darkness were so beautiful…" . It's almost the end of the month! And almost halfway through the year. About the time my productivity for the year peaks.

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Direct sequel bros.

Sequels can be so interesting. They're a dumping ground for unused ideas, and kind of a treasure trove for it. (Majora's Mask is still my favorite, though.) I'm going in pretty much blind to TotK, and very much looking forward to it. If you plan on picking it up, hope you have fun!

[merylimakes]

Merm sketches.

Second one is one I've already finished, I just never posted the sketch anywhere. I drew the first around the same time...and I'd like to see what it turns out like! Goals.

[merylimakes]

Happy Mermday~

Maybe more posts later in the month... I'm bad about finding time to finish things. 😅