NEZ

Oh hi || Character design and illustration || [email protected] || https://www.inprnt.com/gallery/nezumiyasha/ || https://ko-fi.com/nn_ee_zz

[nn-ee-zz]

Hi hello!

I don't know where to begin, your art is genuinely among the most impactful and beautiful art I've ever come across. It's so very obvious how much you pour love and passion into your characters, I've been coming back to simply just. stare. at your work for the last couple of days (not to sound like a creep haha), before finally gathering the courage to send in this ask.

I wanna say thank you, first of all, for sharing your art. I've recently picked up a pen to start learning how to draw, and was overwhelmed by the amount of content I had to study. I was really close to just dropping it altogether, but coming across this blog and seeing all your pieces and the symbolism, the horror and the underlying beauty, it inspired me to keep trying, in the hopes that one day I can also make creative works like these.

Since I've fallen quite in love with your work, and I hope I'm not being a bother in doing this, but I wanted to also ask if you have any advice for total art babies such as myself? A general direction we should take to? Is art school needed in order to master this creative field? Thanks so much again for your time

Oh hello anon! Thank you for stopping by and for remaining to watch my work so attentively. Thank you also for being so brave and approaching me, it's not a bother at all. I will take your compliments to heart and hopefully repay you equally in the form of advice. I tried to make it as solid but easy to understand as I could, feel free to ask any questions below.

SIMPLE GUIDE FOR STARTING YOUR ART JOURNEY

YOUR MATERIALS - Don't aim for expensive materials. Buy what you won't feel afriad of ''wasting'', because you will make many drawings that won't satisfy you fully. You can't be afraid of letting that sketchbook look ugly, you should be afraid of letting it look empty. Despite not being a beginner, I still stand for this advice and my sketchbooks are bellow 5Eu and I use materials students use in school, like a normal mechanical pencil, regular pencils, and a white eraser. I highly recommend you start your journey with traditional art, with the simple materials I mentioned above. The lack of ctlr x will build confidence within you and it will show in every medium you pick, even digital. It's easier on the eyes as well.

DRAWING IS FUN - Oh how tedious it is to study! So in the very beginning in your art journey having fun is important, because it will be a force that will nourish you thro the most difficult tasks. You can have fun in redrawing the things you like (I redrew visual novel sprites back in my day), study cosplayers and anime/action figures (they're great because they're stylized while being spatially accurate, since they're a 3D object), draw the characters you like (which can be made easier if you can create them on any character-making game and take screenshots of them interacting. If not, just take screenshots of movie or cartoon scenes you like and draws them like that. Can be original characters or not)

FIND SOMEONE TO SEE IT - While not obligatory it is a great source of tenacity to have someone see and react positively to your art. Social media is not necessarily the ideal place for it because it leads to numeral comparisons and self-doubts (you can join, but have a steady and confident mindset). What I mean is a small group of friends that will always interact with your art. I recommend writers with ocs, since they rarely see their characters visually. They will encourage you immensely and their reactions are priceless

DRAW DAILY - Oh how tedious it is to study! Where to start? I recommend you take any picture you like online (preferably a photograph) and re-draw it. What did you struggle with? Write it down in the corner and make that your next drawing goal. I once did that and realized I wasn't good at dynamism, then I re-draw an action photo the next day. The I realized I wasn't confident in drawing faces so I made Vogue cover studies the next day. So on and so forth. You don't have to make every day a grand piece (there were days where I only drew kneecaps or ears) but doing it every day, even for as little as 30 min, does take somewhere

FINISH WHAT YOU DRAW - Even if it's just a sketch, take that sketch to completion. The start-to-finish is a journey you have to experience, you can't leave it for ''when I'm good enough''.

Here are some other past answers regarding how to approach a sketchbook and how to make studies fruitful

Post by @nn-ee-zz · 7 images

💬 1  🔁 29  ❤️ 140 · Hey nez! Ive DM'd you before and you opened my mind to re-examine how I think of design! My thought process about charac

Post by @nn-ee-zz · 6 images

💬 1  🔁 78  ❤️ 300 · hullo! your art is gorgeous and I love it. um, do- do you have any advice, or tips for wannabe artists? Thanks! Have a

Art school is not needed. I attended art university (it doesn't cost a bazillion dollars in my country) but that is aimed for people more advanced in their art journey. Everything I learned that allowed me to get in was available to me online and thro a few books here and there (which...can be probably found online as well). So with a sketchbook, pencils, and access online, the world of art is open to you!

Best of luck in your journey! Feel free to let me know if there's any other struggle I can help you with

[nn-ee-zz]

The passage of the seasons - Summer defeating Spring

Summer as blinding light, heatwaves, and fire

[nn-ee-zz]

''Poor Spring'' There’d be no Summer without Spring and she happily welcomes someone who surpasses her in this fight

[nn-ee-zz]

The passage of the seasons - Summer defeating Spring

Summer as blinding light, heatwaves, and fire

[nn-ee-zz]

What are your rules for reposting your art on tumblr with credit? I'm making a post with my favorite religious art and would like to include a few of your works if that's OK

I'm fine with credited reposts, thank you for asking!

Ocasional reminder for other, similar questiond:

-You can use my art as a profile pic/banner/wallpaper (no need to credit, just say it's mine if someone asks)

-You can use my art for RPG games, as long as it's a non-commercial endeavour

-You can use my art as tattoos. If you want to give me extra support and receive the complete files, email me ([email protected]) and you can send me whatever amount you'd like for a tattoo ticket

-You can use my art as inspo for your writing (tho ofc if you make your project comercial and become a trillionare I want to hear from you cough cough)

-Not a fan of people editing my art (altering colors, adding writing on top, putting filters). I can't stop you but I better not see it ever

-That being said, I make an exception for video edits. Just don't go too crazy

That is all that comes to my mind. Thank you for being respectful! I'm so open to things because nobody pushed any limits against me and I hope things continue that way!

[nn-ee-zz]

Designing in my style

A terrifying presence has entered the room

[nn-ee-zz]

You ever thought of making a book that incorporates your art or no?

Great question and timing

It is a thought that went thro my mind and I wonder; what do people wanna see within the book (besides the artworks)? The writing? The process? Tutrials? On what?

I'd love to know

[nn-ee-zz]

The passage of the seasons - Spring defeating Winter

Inspired by a short story in which Spring is embodied by a bring who faces winter and demands every living thing to awaken and fight to conquer a place on earth

[nn-ee-zz]

Hiya! I just found you about an hour ago, and feel relatively safe in commending you. First off, art is sending me into fits of euphoria, very love.

Second off, your demeanor is attractive, in the most respectful of ways. Very intelligent, and very very patient. I quite adore it.

Third off, Your art is actively healing religious trauma of mine, and I think that's worth noting, because it also reminded me why I seek out dark subject matter.

To remind me why I should return to love. Always.

I can't wait to see the next installation of anything you make. It's giving me hope and healing.

Hoping this message finds you happy, healthy, and safe. Thank you!

Hello! Another late ask reply

Firstly: thank you for being so happy over my art!

Secondly: it's on purpose! I noticed the way artists act becomes reflected in their audience, and I put an effort to be kind and patient so people can act that way too. Does that make sense? I just know that people are very engaged with what I do, comment very cleverly about it, and notice every detail, so I try to encourage that

Thirdly: that's a common sentiment I hear and it makes me feel peaceful. I do my religious art as a way to digest my own views and beliefs. I really never expected them to resonate with so many others (I truly thought people would think I'm being corny and ignore it!)

I can't wait to share! I'm going thro a bit of an art block at the moment and been focusing on work, but it's a normal phase. I always go thro it and I hope to find you here when I finally draw something new again. I actually am drawing something inspired by a short story about spring.

I hope you're doing well anon! Thank you!

[nn-ee-zz]

I hope this comes across as a compliment, because that's how I mean it: I love horror, it is my favourite genre. I also have religious trauma. Seeing your art with religious themes and really dark and twisted imagery feels like you've looked right into my eyes and seen straight into my core and pulled out everything I hide and said "I see you and I love you".

This ask has been sitting in my box for a bit because I keep coming back to read it so often, but it's finally time to answer because I feel it's unfair to leave anon without a reply

That is a beautiful thing to say, and one of the most impactful compliments I've gotten. Especially because I've felt the same way with my favorite art so I know how special and intense it is

Thank you anon. I always draw for myself, I just happen to share it online, and it's very comforting knowing so many people understand. Makes the world feel so humane!

Sorry that you waited so long for a reply, I hope you still like my art!

[nn-ee-zz]

I'm sorry for the silence. I've been art blocked and suffering thro artistic growing pains. It will pass but agh, the struggles

[nn-ee-zz]

I post this every 2 years and them compare the answers because I'm studious and curious like that. I wish the hamster wasn't crying

[nn-ee-zz]

Do you have plans to finish the Major Arcana? I know that you've moved on to things like sins and virtues (your sins look SO COOL!!), but i was just curious if that meant you're not longer interested/focusing on tarot. Don't feel any pressure, its just a genuine question. Have a great day!

Is it true? Are people yearning for more tarot cards? Do you want to see my designs at cards more times, over and over again? It did not became repetitive?

I will say nothing as not to jinx it but it is in the back of my mind. Even if it's trouble, I did not give up at all

[nn-ee-zz]

Hello and good evening,

I am writing a TTRPG campaign and your art / explanation of your Seven deadly Sins interpretations really caught my eye. Is it alright if I use that art / those designs during boss encounters? I will, of course, ensure my players know who made them and where more of your art can be found. Cheers! (Anon because my players follow my blog lmao)

Oh anon but what if your players follow my blog too?! This post will make every player suspicious of their DM right now

Also yes. I remind everyone from time to time that they can use my designs for RPG games as long as they're not monetary endeavors. A lot of people use my design as enemies, NPCs, and some even as playable characters for themselves.

Tho rarely do people share what they do with my characters and how people react. Come on guys, I'm nosy!

You are free to use my very cool toys to play with your friends

Cheers!

[nn-ee-zz]

I have surprisingly been getting messages from people asking whether I'd do a post about my design notes for the deadly seven sins. Alright then, here goes;

Design Notes; The Seven Deadly Sins

Greed points at everything they want and grasps anything they can. Their true form is unseen. Their own hand partially blinds them. Different eyes puncture their crown, stolen from others. They float, detached from all. Their stick is sharpened at both ends

It is the first and oldest design, dating back to 2023

The stick sharpened at both ends is a reference to Lord of the Flies (in the book, one end of the stick goes into the earth while the other holds a severed head) I wanted it to symbolize violence

Sloth exists in a wrapped cloth that provides comfort but muffles all sensations. Sloth doesnt see, speak nor hear. The cloth overwhelms them. They are bound by a rope whose edge reaches inside their confinement, giving them the ability to free themselves if so desired.

I made an extra effort to put the rope within Sloth's control, to avoid associating inertion from mental illness to laziness

I wrapped my Blajah plushie with a bed sheet and used my robe's belt as rope to get a picture reference for the upper body. Despite eerie origins, my designs come into paper with a lot of silly methods.

Pride exists inside a golden, hollow statue. Their gaze is set upon a cracked book of pages set in stone. Their laurel crown is sharpened to the point of horns. Pride can be set free if they break the outer shell that binds them with the gavel they use to condemn others.

The pose and clothing is a reference to the painting The School of Athens, by Raphael.

Being mettalic, the book only reflects back themselves. Even if you interpret it as stone, it would still work since the pages remain static

I like to imagine the rotten legs dragging their heavy statue shell around. Ever since I was little I have a strange fear of statues moving

Gluttony is a stomach, living and consuming themselves within their confinment. They’re not represented by an underweight or overweight person; it had to be something everyone has. Their scale is purposefully unspecified; because everyones is different.

The design resembles the Horseman of Famine because gluttony and famine are connected; the excessive hoarding by some people causes famine to others. They're like two different plates on a scale

While the basic representation is just fat, I never considered drawing an underweight person to counter it and appear subversive. When talking to a friend recovering from an eating disorder they mentioned how cheap and uncomfortable it is when people use extreme thinness just for the sake of horror and I have to agree. I always avoid drawing real bodies for horror

Lust is the only one who tries to disguise itself with a human appearance, tho it has too many hands. One hand to beckon, one to threaten, and one to silence you. It kneels because not all of its victims are adults. It lives undercover and invites you in as well

Many asked about the fourth hand: it's the one you only notice afterwards and are left wondering what it means, whether it's an innocent gesture or not. How it made you feel.

It has 2 other variation designs. While what I made before is beautiful, it is not unsettling enough. It has the artstlye of an angel rather than something human and dangerous

I settled on the design after a passage in the book Second-Hand Time, by Svetlana Alexievitch. It was a passage about a teen abused by a military squad, killed when she got pregnant, and mocked over how underveloped her body was. Because of that my original idea was to have Lust wearing military boots, but that would restrict the concept too much. I thought that drawing would make that passage less haunting to me, but to no avail.

Envy is a slowly burning and constricted heart. It covers its identity with a mirror; the more it seeks to resemble the reflection of others the less it will resemble itself. But even the reflection is broken, inaccurate, and unsatisfactory.

Many have said the concept looks like a chrysalis or a flower bud, unable to flourish. I like when people interpret my drawings, they often find beautiful meanings that escaped me

I pondered whether to paint the mirror in front of them black, to symbolize phone screens, but decided against it because it would blend into the background

Least popular design but one where people have told me ''I cant stop thinking about it'' the most, which made me cherish it a lot

Wrath is not a beast acting ravenous, but a human thing slowly crawling towards you. All of their actions are justified by the halo they claim to be righteous. The closer they get, the more they shed their humane appearance

It was a challenge to make wrath differ from someone being rightfully angry. It applies to all designs; how to portray dangerous excess to very common and not entirely wrong emotions.

Wrath has no legs. Nothing to stand on

''Little by little, it turned into that wild fury in which the eyes camouflage with a black veil, the fists contract with a tremedous force and your very teeth find the enemy'' Roughly translated quote by Nikolai Gumilev that I kept in mind while designing it. Amazing writer

That is all I can remember at the moment. Hopefully it saciates everyone's curiosity and not ruin the magic and mystery. Thank you very much for your interest. I will see you soon, when it's time for the Seven Heavenly Virtues

[nn-ee-zz]

How do you standout with your angel and devil desgins in a world thats kinda flooded with a lot of people own interpretations of angels and demons.

"Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it" C.S.Lewis

As simple as it sounds, the secret is drawing what you want in a way that moves you first and foremost, without considering any audience in mind. Theoretically, there's only one of you so you will be original without any effort

[nn-ee-zz]

Hi, I fell into a deep rabbit hole of looking at all of your arts and noticed that so many books that you have read and took inspiration from sound so interesting! I haven't read most of them and would love to start, but I do not know where to begin,, Do you have any favorites that you would definitely suggest reading??

Hey!

My advice for people who want to read good books but are unsure where to start: start with the classics. Find a big list of classics and read the ones that sound interesting (not all of them will). From then on you will discover which type of literature moves you the most, and branch out further into that niche.

I discovered that I really like eastern european literature, more specifically psychological fiction. So here are things that moved me, and likely, have moved my art.

HUMANITY AS ENDLESSLY MULTI-FACETED

Crime and Punishment, and The Brothers Karamazov are 10000% worthy of the titles of best novels of all time. I haven't heard of anyone who read TBK and didn't consider one of the best books ever. However, they're huge and if you want a smaller dose of the same effect, here are some books:

-The House of the Dead - Dostoievsky - The narrator is fascinated with a mysterious man and learns much more about him once he finds his abandoned notes, in which he recalls his experience in a siberian labor camp. Did you know it's semi-autobiographical and Dostoievsky himself was impriosoned for years?

-A Country Doctor's Notebook - Bulgakov - Imagine being in your 20s and after gratuation your job is being the main doctor in a rural hospital? It all seemed so simple in class, but now someone is actively bleeding out in front of you and you're the one in charge.

Also likely semi-autobiographical (Bulgakov did work as a doctor)

-Ward Nº6 - Chekhov (yeah the gun one) - A chief doctor of a rundown rural hospital finds himself fascinated by one of the patients of the mental ward, who is not as insane as people assume he is. More I won't say to avoid runing the experience.

SOMETHING UNREAL IS HAPPENING

The Portrait - Gogol - An art student finds a mysterious and magnetic painting. Who is it? Who painted it? Why is the painting guiding him towards wealth?

Master and Margarita - Bulgakov - The literal devil and his entourage visit soviet Moscow. The book was only fully published decades after the death of the author. One of the best novels of all time . If you love the vibes of my religious art, this one is for you.

HUMANITY IS CHAOTIC AND ENDLESSLY FUN

The Village Stepanchikovo - Dostoievsky - The literary form of that meme that goes ''wow these people are weird thank god im the only normal here''. A strong contender that Dostoievsky is not bleakness and misery, it is awareness of chaos and the discovery of humor in any mad situation

I WANT MY HEART TORN OUT

Every book by Svetlana Alexievitch - The most memorable quote out of all five, to me, is ''I feel sorry for everyone who reads this book, and anyone who doesn't'' A collection of accounts from survivors of war and disaster that showcases everything of humanity. This collection will burn your soul to the ground but from those ashes something beautiful will grow, if you read it attentively.

In order: The Unwomanly Face of War, Last Witnesses, Zinky Boys, Voices of Chernobyl, Second-hand Time

A Faint Heart - Dostoievsky - A young man's friend seems to have it all; youth, a stable job, a beautiful bride. Yet something is amiss. He begins to act uneasy, torn, guilty. What could possibly be haunting his best friend?

I am prepared to stand in court and to write a full essay to prove to everyone that this indeed is a queer story.

Morphine - Bulgakov - A young doctor receives a letter from one a friend/collegue ''I'm gravely ill. I don't want anyone's help but yours''. What ensues is a description of one's spiral down into addiction.

Often included in A Country Doctor's Notebook because many argue it belongs to the collection. Many disagree due to sharp change in tone, but I feel like it belongs as an extra and well worthy the attention. Did you know Bulgakov also suffered thro morphone addiction?

Here are some starters. It's a pleasure to talk about books. I love reading (and writing) and I genuinely believe that if you read many good stories you yourself will become a better storyteller and your art will connect with people more emotionally. I hope at least some of these works caught your attention.

Thank you!

[nn-ee-zz]

You could do manifestations of cities - like LA as this rail-thin sun-baked thing with a camera head and idk a tinsel feather boa or something? It could be super global and you could really play with the age of things like if Rome was made of stone that’s so old it shouldn’t be holding up any more and newer stone that’s crumbling — for Paris you could do something with the catacombs because what other city has an inescapable labyrinth made of so many bones it’s not even funny right under it

Idk I just love personifications of things and I’m SO excited to see what you do next

OH OR you could do planets :)

That is a very fun idea and I don't think I ever seen anyone draw it. Which makes me wonder why won't you take it for yourself? Get it done! Put your visions on paper, anon!

When it comes to planets I did consider it but right now, in the midst of all my projects in progress, it's just a far shadow in the future