[blue-ten]

Trakoclock asked:

Hey, if you don’t mind sharing, I’ve always wondered how you got that soft celling look on your characters in your comic. Any tips? I’m currently working on my own comic and I kind of want to go for a less harsh form of cell shading. Thanks!

A couple people have asked about the way I color things and I’ve been meaning to post a tutorial on it :]. I’ve never been too good at describing my process, but I hope this helps!

[chqngeup]

[itsphotoshop]

COLOR PALETTE MASTERPOST by forbiddenforest

So today I felt like sharing some useful websites that provide pre-made color palettes (left side), as well as sites that allow you to create custom ones (right side). They can be used for graphic design, themes, art, interior design, or just something pretty to look at.

Adobe Kubler (Explore)

Chromaa

Color-Collective

Just Jaimee Daily Color Inspiration

Design Seeds

Adobe Kubler (Create)

Color Scheme Designer

Color Palette Generator (paste the URL of an image and it will automatically generate a pallet that matches the image)

Color Hunter (upload an image and it will automatically generate a pallet that matches the image)

Colllor

I hope you find this useful (and please like or reblog if you did)! Enjoy :)

[eristhenat]

hey nat, can i ask you what a masters study is? you talked about it a while ago when you streamed and i'm curious. if i had to guess it would be studying 'the masters' (artists) but i'm curios about what you learned from it etc. c:

Hi anon! : D

First off, I strongly recommend this video by Anthony Jones which will likely explain the whole thing much better than I will.

What is a master study?

Pretty much what you mentioned - studying the technique of Master Painters (or other artists) to see how they work and help improve your own work! It’s a really efficient way to improve your own skills, if you do it right.

How do I do one?

First off, you’ve gotta pick some masters that you like. They should be well known and (probably) dead. Some of my favourites are Sargent, Bouguereau, Waterhouse, Rubens and Winterhalter, though I have many more. It’s a really good idea to go see works in person (if you can) at Museums, but for studying purposes Wikipedia, Google Art Project and Art Renewal have a lot of good quality digital images.

Next, try to identify what it is you want to learn from the image you’ve found. I’ve not done a master study in a while because I’m lazy but here’s some I did a while ago!

This (left) is a study of Rubens’ Night Scene (right). I picked the image because I wanted to study the lighting and the mark-making. Although you could call this a copy, the ‘study’ part (where you actually analyse the subject and learn) comes from really thinking about what you want to learn from the copy and what you will apply to your own work.

It can be really tempting just to mindlessly copy from a master painter - this won’t help you much! Try to deconstruct how they worked, instead, and avoid digital ‘cheats’ like colour picking and tracing, except for to check your work.

Apply your knowledge

The easiest way to be sure you’re making a ‘study’ and not a ‘copy’ is to try applying the principles you’ve learned to your own painting, or to try to reproduce the painting from memory afterwards! If you don’t apply the knowledge, your study will be worthless.

I made this (really old ha ha) painting based on my study of Rubens’ piece!

Deconstruct your subject

So, different paintings are good for studying different things. You can do master studies of linework or construction too - like Bridgeman or Loomis’ lines. But always focus on what it is you’re trying to learn. You don’t always need to do a copy - instead, in these studies of a painting by Winterhalter (far right), I chose elements of the painting to deconstruct (the colour scheme, the composition and values), and made images that aren’t copies, but rather deconstructions.

You should try not to spend too much time on your studies either - this reduces the temptation to copy. These studies (below) are rough, but focus on shapes and colour. Remember, the important thing isn’t making a pretty picture, it’s learning something!

It can often be frustrating to do master studies, because the skill difference will be so far apart, but by comparing your study to the painting, you can often spot some really critical problems in your own work! For example, this Bouguereau study (left) really helped me with learning how to paint hair and also how to wrap my brush strokes around the form. I then applied this in the portrait on the right!

Hope that helps and that I answered your question! c;

More tutorials available on Patreon! c:

[archivep-deactivated20140121]

[ohcarararara]

OH MY GOD PAY, BLESS YOUR FACE.

I actually get asked to see a lot of portfolio’s while I’m at cons. And while I LOVE looking at other people’s art and offering critiques if they ask, it’s sort of cringe-y to be handed a messy stack of papers or something. Nice portfolio’s look so much more professional!

[baixinha-su]

thank you!

[margueritesauvage]

When Comics Hurt: Artists on Their Drawing Injuries

Being a comic book artist is a physically taxing job, and many comics artists are living one injury away from economic disaster.

“Drawing hurts”

[writerswritecompany]

How To Write Great Dialogue

Modern novels are filled with dialogue. More than 50% of your book should be filled with characters talking to each other. Beginner novelists are often afraid of dialogue and they should be.

Writing dialogue is complicated. An author has to give the impression that characters are speaking as if they existed in a real world. However, ‘real world’ dialogue is the kiss of death in a novel. Real life has no plot. Most everyday conversations have no point. They exist for the sake of appearances. They are made up of exchanging greetings and pleasantries. Small talk is just that and has no place in your novel.

Writing Tip: An interesting way to test this for yourself is to tape a series of conversations and write them down exactly as the words are spoken. You will find people ramble on. They repeat what they have said, they struggle to find words, their grammar is terrible, and they talk ‘at’ each other. 

How do authors only include dialogue that is necessary?

One way is to read a variety of novels published in the last 10 years. Examine the dialogue. Good authors only include what is necessary for the story. Sometimes this means dialogue has been pared down to the minimum but this is necessary. Never include unnecessary conversations. Readers expect every conversation to be significant. Unnecessary conversations are the red herrings of the dialogue universe.

The Three Reasons

Authors should remember that there are three reasons for including dialogue in a novel.

Dialogue should move a plot forward. ‘Let’s go.’ is better than ‘Peter said that they should go.’

Dialogue should reveal character. Every word your character uses shows the sort of person he or she is.

Dialogue should provide information. Treat this one with care. There is a fine line between revealing important facts and boring the reader with details. Do not allow your characters to ‘tell’ in dialogue. Rather use a short summary.

The Supporting Act

Remember that people don’t just utter words when they interact. They act, they move, and they use body language - intentionally or unintentionally. Friends may walk or drink coffee as they speak. A young mother may jump up to prevent her child from crawling away. A woman may cross her arms as she listens to her husband.

Writing Tip: Introduce a habit with dialogue. Your villain might flip a coin when he speaks. Your love interest might smoke when he or she speaks.

Said

Novelists should ignore the many posts suggesting 50 words to use instead of ‘said’. Said is perfect. It shows the reader who is speaking. It keeps the reader focused on the dialogue. When characters mutter, proffer, utter, cry, growl, and grin words, the author just looks silly.

Writing tip: Read your dialogue out loud. Your tongue will trip over all the nonsense words. Remove them.

Accents and Dialect

Follow speech patterns rather than misspelling words. It takes a dedicated reader to muddle through idiosyncratic vernacular. Add the odd foreign word to show the speaker is not English.

Like everything else in writing, perfecting dialogue takes practise. Write every day, and include dialogue in that writing if you can.

Image created by Writers Write at Someecards

 by Amanda Patterson

Source: Writers Write

[almosthappiness]

Writing Tip: Novel Cards

Hello, All,

If you have a trouble with your many bubbling ideas, I have a technique which may help you keep all of your thoughts organized and recorded. 

When you have an idea you would like to use in your work, but you don’t know where or when it can fit in, write it down! You are a writer and made to write, and I can’t stress enough how important it is to keep all of those newly blossoming concepts together in a neat pile. 

How I handle my ideas are with notecards, which I call “Novel Cards.” You can have as many as you want for whatever topic. Here are some examples:

Chapter Cards - they tell the main plot happenings for any chapter you come up with. These cards are solid. You know when they will happen and what will happen.

Moment Cards - these cards are for scenes or ideas that you know will happen, but when it will is not clear yet. These cards are fluid, they are open to change and some are more detailed than others.

Character Cards - these cards cover characters who will be introduced or who you do not know well yet. They might not even have a name!

Dialogue Cards - these cards capture all of the witty or dramatic discourse between characters that may have an unclear space in the story but you definitely want to include.

You can create these cards for any topic, from a person to a thing to a planet. The more platforms you play with your story through the clearer it will become, but don’t forget that the best way to “learn” your story is just by writing it! 

[maxkirin]

Hello, writerly friends~ ♥︎

My Writing Advice Masterpost is back! Now featuring the best questions and answers from the last three years, along with all of the videos from my writing advice YouTube Channel!

This post will be updated every week with new writing advice videos, playlists, and responses! So, make sure to bookmark THIS page and follow my blog (maxkirin.tumblr.com) so you don’t miss a thing!

Writing Advice Compilations

The NaNoWriMo Survival Guide

Writer’s Life Vlogs (Newest Episode: Max Nerds Out)

WRITERS UNITE! A book of writing advice, inspiration, and tips! Written with the help of 248 Tumblr authors. FREE DOWNLOAD!

Writing Exercises & Prompts

Virtual Writing Academy (Newest Episode: Age & Character)

Daily Story Seed

Daily Weird Prompt

Daily Character Question

Your Writing Horoscope (Retired)

“Can I publish a story based on one of your prompts?”

Did you know that I have published a book of Story Seeds? Sounds interesting? You can learn more about it HERE! c;

Motivation & Inspiration

Daily Writer Positivity

How to Regain the Motivation to Finish Your Novel (Video)

The Truth About Talent, NaNoWriMo Pep Talk (Video)

Overcoming Your Inner *Perfectionist* (Video)

How to Finish Your First Novel (M. Kirin’s Origin Story)

M. Kirin’s Top 3 Tips for NaNoWriMo

The 7 Cardinal Rules of Writing Life

Neil Gaiman’s “Make Good Art” Speech

Neil Gaiman’s 8 Rules of Writing

Elizabeth Gilbert’s Inspirational Speech on the ‘Genius’

What Confidence Is and Is NOT

“I’m afraid writing is a waste of time”

“I’m half-way through this book and I’m stuck”

Stop Trying to Impress People

Stop Trying to Make Your Parents Proud of your Writing

Your Parents Disapprove of Your Writing?

You’re Not The Worst Writer In The World

English Not Your First Language? Neither is Mine

Are You Worried Nobody Will Take You Seriously?

Dealing with Hate and Harsh Criticism

Why You Need to Develop a Thick Skin

Feeling Down About Your Writing?

“I am not as good as other writers” (and other lies)

Be A Little Delusional

Planning, Outlining, and Getting Started

How to Plan Your Novel (Video)

The Best Distraction-Free Writing Software (Video)

Best Apps for Writers: Evernote (Video)

TOP 5 TIPS for Writers Using Evernote (Video)

The NaNoWriMo Survival Guide (Video)

TOP 3 TIPS for Getting in the Mood to Write! (Video)

How Much World-Building is Enough? (Video)

The *Right* Time to be Critical of Your Writing (Video)

Overcoming the Fear of Getting it “Wrong" (Video)

The Story-Idea Test

M. Kirin’s Click-n-Drag Story Generator

Which outlining method is the best?

"I want to write a book but I have no idea where to start”

M. Kirin’s Secret for Starting books, and Finishing Them

M. Kirin’s Top 3 Tips to Start Writing and Never Stopping

Tips for writing Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Paranormal

M. Kirin’s #1 Tip For Improving Your Writing

Let’s Talk About: Show VS Tell

The Difference Between Character & Plot (The Marcy Rule)

Dialogue

TOP 3 TIPS for Writing Dialogue (Video)

The Art of Writing Dialogue Tags (Video)

M. Kirin talks about authentic dialogue

The grammatical side of dialogue

How do I write numbers in dialogue?

Editing & Revision

M. Kirin’s Top 5 Revision Tips

How to Love and Care for Your Beta Readers

M. Kirin’s (subjective) secret recipe for the second draft

When is the best time to edit a story?

M. Kirin Talks About Editing, and Speeding Up Your Story

M. Kirin Uses Evernote to Revise Books

“Kill Your Darlings” VS “Cut What You Love”

Writing Killer Plot-Twists and Mystery Novels

“How long is a Rough Draft compared to the Finished Draft?”

Hot-Button Issues

Let’s Talk About: Titles! (Video)

Let’s Talk About: Filler (Video)

Let’s Talk About: Purple Prose (Video)

Let’s Talk About: Pacing (Video)

Let’s Talk About: Deus Ex Machina

Let’s Talk About: Coincidence in Writing

Realism is a dirty word

Racist & homophobic language in fiction

Inaccuracy in Fiction (Video)

M. Kirin drops a few bombs on ‘creative vocabulary’

“I want to write but I don’t have the time”

Is it bad to have too many LGBTQIA or POC characters?

“My antagonist is POC/LGBTQIA, is this bad?”

“All my characters are LGBTQIA, is this bad?”

When to let go of a story

Is it rational to be afraid of what people will think of you?

Let’s Lightly Talk About: Plagiarism & Copyright

Writing About Things You Have Never Experienced

“Do you need to go to college/university to be a good writer?”

My book is similar to something already out, what do I do?

General Advice

M. Kirin’s Cure For Writer’s Block (and Life Block)

Overcoming Writer’s Block: The First Sentence (Video)

The Writer’s Tool Box (Video)

3 Practical Tips for Writing More (Video)

Which POV (Point of View) is the Best? (Video)

Getting to Know Your Characters (Video)

Keeping the Plot Twist Secret! (Video)

A [Strange] Tip For Writing More! (Video)

#1 Tip for Writing Memorable Characters (Video)

1.5 Tips for Hard-Hitting Writing (Video)

3 Ways to Add Character to Narration (Video)

Foreshadowing & Being Subtle (Video)

Writing Advice from: The Walking Dead (Video)

Writing Advice from: Aldnoah.Zero (Video)

World-Building Tips: Dystopian (Video)

World-Building Tips: Fantasy & Science Fiction (Video)

World-Building Tips: Life After the Apocalypse (Video)

World-Building Tips: Government & The Human Element (Video)

World-Building Tips: Spicing Up The Real World (Video)

Using Real People as Inspiration (Video)

When Should The Book End? (Video)

Writing Better Characters: The ‘Flawed’ Myth (Video)

Writing Better Characters: Unlikable Protagonists (Video)

TOP 3 TIPS for Writing a Large Cast of Characters (Video)

Overcoming the First Sentence (Again) (and Again)

Let’s Talk About: Pen Names!

Let’s Talk About: Reactive VS Proactive Characters

Let’s Talk About: Transitioning Smoothly From Scene to Scene

Let’s Talk About: Writing The Climax (& Resolution)

Let’s Talk About: Writing The End

Let’s Talk About: Spies

Let’s Make a Title (To A Story You Haven’t Finished)

The 10-Minute Rule

Making Boring Scenes FUN to Write!

Stories are like children

Let’s Talk About Titles (And Then Talk Some More)

M. Kirin Reveals the ‘Secret’ Behind Style

How much description/scenery is too much?

How can I write faster?

I want my readers to love my characters

I think my book may be too short for my genre

I killed one of my main characters by mistake, what do I do?

M. Kirin’s Writing Advice for Fleshing out Romantic Relationships

A warning about character names and meanings

Past or present tense?

Is swearing okay? And other muthafuckin’ truths

“What emotion do you find hardest to write?”

“What writing software do you use?”

Communication, a must for collaborative works

Researching illegal things, cousin? I got just the thing for you!

Joss Whedon’s Top 10 Writing Tips

M. Kirin’s Tarot Cheat-Sheet

Writing Tips for Storytelling in Video-Games

Fair Use In Novels (by thedancingwriter​)

Publishing

Publishing Battle: Indie VS Traditional

“How do I turn my book into an eBook?”

Writing Music & Playlists

Top 10 Songs For Writers

Writing In The Dark (Unobtrusive)

Writing About Love

Writing & Fighting!

Writing About Horror

Royalty And Noble Blood (Medieval/Fantasy)

Digital Reality (Cyberpunk/Futuristic)

Lost In The Wild (Survival/Nature)

No Hero (Action/Anti-Heroes)

Mermaid Magic (Mysterious)

After The Bomb (Post-Apocalyptic/Dystopian)

Sorrow (Sad/Despair)

Upon Black Wings (Adventure/Dragons)

Haunted Mansion (Horror/Supernatural)

Childhood Friends (Happy/Uplifting)

In Time (Writing/Study Playlist)

Music For Writers: Portal 2 Soundtrack (FREE)

M. Kirin’s Favorite Music to Listen to While Writing

M. Kirin’s Secret For Making Playlists

Miscellaneous

M. Kirin’s 2014 AMA, Part 1 & Part 2 (Video)

The Kirin Games! M. Kirin’s characters murder each other in this Hunger Games simulation~ ;p (Video)

Max & Kitty Recommend: Top 10 Things You Should Read/Watch/Play Right Now! (Video)

Finally! An Ask-Meme for Writers! 

M. Kirin’s Philosophy for Running a Writing Blog

Last Updated: 06-20-15. Click HERE to see the latest update. Latest posts are in bold.

[nagranowrimo]

I'm so glad I participated in this. I didn't finish a script, but I worked more on plotting my webcomic in the past month than I have in the past several years. And I've continued to work on it, which is the important thing. 

So yeah, I had a great time with this and I'd love to participate again sometime (I'm also looking for other challenges that will get me working on my art since that also needs a lot of practice.)

[nagranowrimo]

First off, thank you for doing this.

I’ve had so much fun working on my projects. They are nowhere near done, so I’ll have some more work on them. I will surely post them once I believe they are ready to be shown.

I’m sure to participate again next time. 

[nagranowrimo]

Some Closing Thoughts

Hello Nagranowrimoers!

Maybe it’s just me but September went by in a flash! I want to congratulate everyone who did anything on their project, whether you completed several pages or just put a few ideas down on a napkin, you are a Nagranowrimo winner!

I really highly encourage everyone to check out the nagranowrimo tag and see how your fellow participants did. I am impressed with how much many of you accomplished, and I also commend those of you who shared how you didn’t quite met your expectations.

I knew going into this month I likely wouldn’t get a lot done, and unsurprisingly being busy with work and planning an international trip next month left me uninspired to do much on my nagranowrimo project. But I did post a couple thing on my art blog so I am coming out of this feeling somewhat accomplished.

As a mod, I also didn’t do as much as I had hoped but I do hope the few resources I did post were helpful and that all the past resources on the blog were helpful too!

Please feel free to submit your final progress reports here, and if you any photosets on your blog you’d like to see on nagranowrimo, send me the link via submission or fanmail and I’ll reblog it!

http://nagranowrimo.tumblr.com/submit

Thank you all so much for participating! I hope to host the next session in the first half of 2016!

I will also definitely post resources for National Novel Writing Month in November. And maybe we can form a Nanowrimo group made of nagranowrimo paticipants?

[nagranowrimo]

Okay been awhile since the last report. So I've gotten outlines done and characters, but these past few weeks have been busy with helping my grandmother and the shit that goes on in the household that I've just get drained emotionally and creatively. Bad enough that I've been bouncing around with other ideas and projects.

The problem with me is that I try to do so much with other things be it family, friends, ideas, and so on that I get burnt out by it all. Also worrying about other personal matters doesn't help either. But I am determine to start this comic even if it kills me. I should actually thank this blog for starting that drive.

And with that this would be end of line for me.

-Chronicler-

[nagranowrimo]

Sad news

I wanted to wait out and see what happens since I still have till the 7th, but from the looks of things, it isn't getting sorted out very soon.

I will be unable to finish the project in time as the computer I use to make it has completely given up on life. I'm working on getting it fixed but I don't think it will be up in time.

So I guess I'm throwing my hands up in defeat no thanks to technology.

Eventually the pilot will be finished and everyone will be able to read it. I would love to show you what I have! If I had it with me. I haven't lost it, it's just this computer doesn't have access to the dropbox folder right now. 

Anyways, if any of you want to keep updated with Fractured Parallel, its Teaser is back to its old schedule of being up by November 15th. (Technology competence depending...)

I was really excited to get this done on time... I'm sorry.

[nagranowrimo]

Though this month has been busy getting things sorted out, I did manage to finish my written outline!  I have all pages laid out in text, and though I wanted to have them sketched out as well, I'm happy with the progress I've gotten done! I did, however, finish coming up with the character designs of the two main characters, so I decided to compile my work on their designs into one picture!  I thought that showing the process of their creation would be an interesting viewing.  One of them went through very drastic changes, though the other barely changed at all from first conception. 

Though I probably won't get too much more done this month, I'm excited to keep this project going, and I really think it's something I can viably finish!  I'm super happy I worked on it.

[nagranowrimo]

I reached my goal today of 6 completed pages (though I got to say I did fail at staying on task and only doing things that were relevant to the project)  and I'm going to see if I can't squeeze in one more over the weekend!

Thank you for hosting this and getting me off my butt and moving forward :)

I've posted the finished pages on comicfury with a mirror on tumblr.

[nagranowrimo]

Well, this month hasn’t been going exactly as expected but I’m still pretty happy with my progress so far. My goal was to have a full script for my first of two comic ideas. Well, I ended up getting a lot of the beginning of the sequel plotted out as well as making progress with worldbuilding and lore that apply to both stories. The last few days I’ve gotten into a groove of outlining the first story though, and I’m pleased to say that it has a beginning, a middle, and an end. I’ve got a reasonably detailed outline with occasional bits of dialogue and scene direction.  I’ve already cut this story down to something like a third of what it used to be, and I’ve cut a bunch of characters out as well. I’m still worried it’s going to be too long and unwieldy. My art and paneling both need a lot of work, so right now it’s a little hard to say how many chapters of comic my outline is going to correspond to.  Also, I found the fonts that I want to use for the title and text as well as

this awesome collection of images

. I’ve been really needing to work on drawing buildings and I think that these will be super helpful. There are also a lot of cool textures and miscellaneous images that I think will be fun to incorporate.  I also just realized that the Notebook Layout view in microsoft word is super useful. It’s basically like a word document but with tabs. I’ve got my detailed outline organized by section, and then a few other tabs for general worldbuilding, chapter titles and theme music, and stuff like that.  My goal for the next week is to have a completely finished draft of the outline and then whatever scripting I end up getting done.

(from tricksterish)

[nagranowrimo]

End of Week 3

Yikes, September is kinda flying by, isn’t it? We have already reached the end of week 3, if you are so inclined, please submit your weekly progress reports here:

http://nagranowrimo.tumblr.com/submit

Any links to useful resources are always welcome as well.

Also make sure to check out the nagranowrimo tag!

We’re now going into our final week, so whether you are right on target with your monthly goal, or are lagging a little bit, there’s still time to really get into it this week and finish strong!