Only1☺️

I draw you look / artist https://only1art.taplink.ws

[only1artblog]

About coloring

What did “coloring” mean to me before?
You pick a color, slap it onto a layer set to Normal, and boom — done.

Now everything is different.

Have you ever tried coloring using Multiply, Overlay, Color Dodge, or Soft Light?
Because I have… and it’s beautiful.

1️⃣ Black & white
2️⃣ Damn it — I completely forgot to save the final result, but here’s an in-between stage 🥺

[only1artblog]

Че кого, ребят!

Yep, starting the morning with Russian — and that’s it for today 😄

So, quick update.

I’ve started a new course. It’s *ten months long*.

No idea if I’ll survive it till the end, but hey — I paid for it, so I’m in.

And here’s my first homework:

1️⃣ Creating my own brushes (done)

2️⃣ Creating my own color palette (done — and honestly, I’m shocked at how fun this is)

3️⃣ Painting a cube in rose gold using a gradient map.

By the way, someone once told me about gradient maps, and now they showed up in the course.

This thing is amazing (done)

4️⃣ A simple landscape (not done yet)

[only1artblog]

Many people start drawing because they want to preserve something — a moment, a mood, a person.

To capture things exactly the way they feel *right now*.

At some point, I reached a moment where I wanted to move from drawing “a bit of everything” to the hardest thing of all… portraits.

I clearly remember my first impulse:

“Alright, I’ll draw a person.”

I sat down, drew… and then just stared at it in total disbelief, asking myself:

“WHY DID THIS TURN OUT SO BAD?” 😩

After that attempt, I took a long break.

For several years, I drew literally anything *except* portraits.

But this thought stayed stuck in my head like concrete:

“After this drawing… would I be able to draw a portrait?”

And the answer was always obvious.

No. Nope.

Then one day, completely by accident, my wife came across an ad for an adult art class — call it a course, a workshop, whatever — focused on portrait drawing.

She sent it to me immediately.

I messaged the teacher right away, signed up, and… off we went.

God bless 5B and 8B pencils.

So what did I learn from those classes?

Something very simple — and painfully honest:

👉 If you want to learn how to draw portraits, you have to sit down and draw portraits.

Not “someday.”

Not after “a few more drawings.”

Not after “improving your technique.”

Right now.

As rough, simple, or obvious as that sounds — that’s exactly how it works.

✏️ 1–3

This is my *before*.

Drawn purely out of curiosity, without skill or training.

Just for fun, for laughs, about five years ago.

✏️

And this is my *after*.

Or rather, my “in progress.”

In total, I’ve studied for about ~57 hours.

I attended for roughly a year, once or twice a month, since I was working a lot.

My wife says it looks pretty damn good — and that my skills are growing fast.

Next step: drawing portraits digitally 🤫

But that’s a secret

[only1artblog]

😼 Look who I’m drawing.

Lyutik — not the bard 😄

My cat son 🐾

[only1artblog]

💁🏻‍♂️ What I realized about human faces while learning to draw portraits

1. Drawing a portrait isn’t the hard part.

Finding someone willing to pay for it is.

P.S. I do draw portraits for money — feel free to DM me if you want one.

Yes, I’m desperate. Yes, tell your friends. Thanks.

2. Every face is different.

And I don’t mean “different people have different faces.”

I mean: even one face isn’t symmetrical.

Like… at all.

So if one eye doesn’t look right — stop thinking they must be identical.

Just draw the second one. They’re never twins.

3. Every face is a story.

Soft shadows, tiny wrinkles under the eyes — they show what a person’s been through.

A smile tells you how they meet the world.

The eyes whisper how much they trust it.

Your job is not to copy a face… but to capture the story behind it.

4. We’re not Van Gogh, Picasso, or even… Eduard Kichigin.

Copying a portrait = ruining a portrait.

Always start with construction. Always.

Yes, it’s boring. Yes, you’ll want to skip it.

But when the structure is right — the rest becomes so much easier.

5. And the most important part:

If you can’t draw portraits yet, but you want to —

start right now.

Everything comes with practice. For real.

[only1artblog]

Morning hustle

[only1artblog]

2016.

I was a proud self-taught artist who believed YouTube could replace any art academy.

2025.

Still self-taught… but now I’ve paid for a course — and wow, I actually learned something 😅

The internet loves saying: “Courses are pointless, everything is on YouTube.”
I used to agree. Not anymore.

I finally decided to try a course — and in just one month I learned more than in the last four years.
Videos and books are great, but when you get stuck… who helps you?
Exactly: a mentor.

That’s when I realized the difference:
YouTube gives you info.
Courses give you understanding.

On a course, the teacher explains, the mentor breaks things down, and the pieces finally click.
Plus, you get a new portfolio piece — sometimes your first real, polished artwork. Huge win.

Why was I self-taught?
🧑‍🎨 No money.
And yes, self-learning is fun — you explore, fail, repeat. Feels like an adventure.

But there are no deadlines.
On a course, you have pace, feedback, discipline — annoying sometimes, but it actually pushes you forward.

And yes, knowledge costs money.
But self-learning “for free” often costs years and a lot of chaos.

🎨 My conclusion:
A course won’t make you an artist.
But it will make you grow way faster.
Both paths have pros and cons — the trick is choosing what works for you.

Have you taken art courses?
Are you Team Self-Study or Team Mentor? 👇

[only1artblog]

🪾 I’m sure you’ve heard this line: “A real artist can make a masterpiece even with a stick.”
And meanwhile some newbie won’t create anything great even with the fanciest brushes. So yeah, it seems obvious — it’s not the tools, it’s the artist.

BUT. Yep, my dear reader, there’s a big fat “BUT.” And I learned that the hard way.

So here’s the story of how I got myself a new, way more advanced tablet — a 13-inch iPad. Before that I had the old 10.2, a trusty dude that served me well for years.
I’m not gonna go into the specs — you probably know all that better than I do. I’ll just talk about how it felt.

And let me tell you, my senses went 😳🤯
Like… the difference is insane. It doesn’t feel like the next model — it feels like a whole new universe.

Alright, let’s get to it. I’ve got a couple of things I always check when judging a tablet.

First — how many layers I can get on the canvas size I actually like.
On the old 10.2 I got around 60-something layers, and it already started lagging. On the 13-inch I hit 144 (!) and just stopped because I didn’t even need more.
And yeah, you might say: “Just make the canvas smaller — you’ll get more layers.”
But no. I don’t want smaller! I want full-size paintings, not little doodles.

Second — the render.
(Yes, I can officially use the word now. I’m fancy.)
On the 10.2, you zoom in twice and boom — pixels.
On the 13? Only on the fourth zoom. That’s a whole different league.

Third — size and comfort.
Before, sometimes I just didn’t even want to pick up the tablet — it felt cramped, awkward, my hand had no space to move, and I constantly had to hold the tablet in place.
Now? Freedom! I can draw however I want, no limits.

So yeah. Long story short: I bought a new tablet. And holy crap, it’s awesome.

Now I’m curious… have you ever had that moment when a gadget or tool just breathes new life into you?
Doesn’t have to be a tablet — maybe a guitar, camera, brush, laptop, whatever.
That feeling of: “Finally! This is comfy, this is fun, and now I actually want to create.”

Share your stories in the comments — I’d love to compare vibes!

[only1artblog]

Here we go again

[only1artblog]

I have redrawn the sketch of my old art. This is The goblin-seller. But magical seller, not usual

Are you wanna look at my first art on this topic?

[only1artblog]

Inktober 2024 3 Boots

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Inktober 2024 2

[only1artblog]

Inktober 2024 / 1

[only1artblog]

Spelled warrior

This character is seasoned in battles, defending her country with the help of magic and martial art. She is tall, she has upright and curly hair. She has a lot of scars, which she gives from battles

[only1artblog]

I begin to show arts, which not were shown earlier.

I drew this art long ago. Perhaps, pair years ago. My girlfriend presents me the book about drawing characters. And this book has challenges. Inspiration like before, I don't have, but rewatching my old arts is so cool. It gives me motivation

Short biography this art

Gnome-alchemist

This gnome first from his family refused hummer and apron of blacksmith and gives himself alchemy

You can see step by step on the right

#арт #алхимия #гном #искусство #рисунок #вдохновение #творчество #старыеработы #мотивация #книга #задания #художник #креатив #картинка #ArtJourney #GnomeAlchemist #CreativeInspiration #DrawingChallenge #OldArtRevival #MotivationThroughArt #CharacterDesign #ArtisticExpression #SketchingMemories #AlchemyArt #FantasyIllustration #ArtLife #DigitalArtCommunity #FanArtFriday#ArtMotivation

[only1artblog]

So, Hello, folk!

You don't know me, and I don't know you

Come on fixed it!

I'm an artist from Russia. I am planning to show you my works, videos(I have a YouTube channel)((can you subscribe on me? please 😟)) and other interesting things

I have my started works now. You can see them in this post

In conclusion, I want to say WELCOME TO YOU

I hope we will be together for long here

[only1artblog]

Today while I was draw, l watch anime Bakuman. And I so happy for these guys. They can be published in a cool magazine

I can to joy for myself, but for it I need your subscribe on my youtube channel

And poses

Link: https://youtube.com/@only1art?si=WRhxr6W0krnTFJre