hello artists ♡ I spent a long while putting this google doc masterlist together, and I hope it can be useful to others. If you know of any good resources to add, feel free to send me an ask!
these are resources that have helped me along the way 🌱
The books I’d recommend the most in this collection
⭐Morpho Series
⭐Stonehouse’s Anatomy
⭐Color & Light
⭐The Art of Over the Garden Wall
⭐Kim Jung Gi Sketch Collection
⭐Art & Fear
⭐Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
⭐Force
⭐Henry Hensche Color Study
⭐Anatomy for the Artist
⭐Anatomy for Sculptors
⭐Manga Materials⭐
₊˚ ✧ ━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚
Bonus! My art notes when I draw
Be free in your mild, no walls define you ~
🌱Sketch🌱
Ugly sketches are normal. The sketch is just thinking on paper.
- use a small marker/watercolor brush to build up form
- construction over clean line-work
- don't be afraid to do multiple sketches, variety helps get your hand loosen up and you'll be surprised what you come up with as you go along.
🖊️Linework🖊️
Confident lines come from confident strokes, not perfect accuracy.
One line ≠ one stroke. It’s fine to try a line 5+ times.
- turn your canvas as you draw
- use more curve than you think, exaggeration looks livelier than accuracy
- line-weight = thicker where shadows hit, thinner on lights
- when lining, think of sculpting out the form
- zoom in to do line-work
- use reference on Procreate to have a zoomed out version
- border the outside
🌓Values🌓
- dark and lightest value on the main focal point
🎨Coloring🎨
- color like you're coloring a coloring book
- intuitive drawing - values first, darkest and lightest values on the focal point
- use moodboards for reference
- detailing- check details and add watermark
🌈💡✨☀️Feeling stuck? ☀️✨💡🌈
You’re not blocked, you’re tired.
- go for a walk, drink some tea or caffeine
- look at pinterest moodboards
- look at adopts on deviantArt and pinterest
- find prompts and moodboards on pinterest
- listen to my playlists
- read/watch tutorials online
- automatic drawing
- reference studies (reference other artists and life drawing)
- look through favorites on deviantArt, or in my inspiration folders
- draw with a candle or dim light for cozy vibes
- set a 5-minute timer to break perfection paralysis
💛 MINDSET SHIFTS EVERY ARTIST NEEDS 💛
“I don’t have to be original. I just have to be expressive.”
“My style shows up naturally when I stop forcing it.”
“Bad drawings are compost—everything grows from them.”
“My art isn’t behind. It’s on its timeline.”
“Every artist I admire has hated their art at some point.”
✏️ Anatomy & Posing Tips
- gesture first, anatomy second
- keep the spine fluid, not straight
- think in bean shapes, not outlines
- overlap lines = depth
- push the pose 10% more than you think
- mini mantra: “If the gesture is alive, the drawing is alive.”
🌾 Emotional & Creative Regulation
make art you want to look at, not art you think you “should” make
boredom = your brain asking for inspiration
frustration = your brain trying to level up
mood affects drawing
it’s okay to draw comfort characters 100 times
List of 120 unique fantasy jobs to give to your fantasy characters. Writers save this!
1. Spellscribe: Weaves magic into ink, creating enchanted scrolls and spellbooks.
2. Dreamweaver: Shapes dreams, ensuring a peaceful slumber for all.
3. Star Cartographer: Maps constellations and celestial paths.
4. Potion Alchemist: Brews elixirs, love potions, and invisibility brews.
5. Whispering Wind Courier: Carries messages on ethereal zephyrs.
6. Crystal Harmonist: Plays melodies on gemstone xylophones.
7. Arcane Librarian: Guards forbidden tomes and ancient grimoires.
8. Stormcaller: Commands lightning and tempests.
9. Shadow Weaver: Manipulates shadows for stealth or illusion.
10. Fey Ambassador: Bridges the gap between humans and fae.
11. Time Tinkerer: Repairs temporal rifts and broken clocks.
12. Soul Gardener: Tends to souls in the afterlife.
13. Dragon Whisperer: Communicates with fire-breathing beasts.
14. Labyrinth Architect: Designs mazes with shifting walls.
15. Aetheronaut: Pilots airships through the skies.
16. Cauldron Chef: Cooks magical stews and enchanted pastries.
17. Goblin Negotiator: Haggles with mischievous goblins over stolen treasures.
18. Wisp Shepherd: Herds glowing wisps across moonlit meadows.
19. Constellation Painter: Dips brushes in stardust to create cosmic art.
20. Swordsmith of Destiny: Forges blades with prophetic properties.
21. Oracle of Riddles: Answers questions through cryptic puzzles.
22. Moss Whisperer: Encourages moss-covered stones to share their secrets.
23. Harvest Moon Dancer: Leads celestial dances during lunar eclipses.
24. Chimera Veterinarian: Cares for mythical hybrid creatures.
25. Lore Bard: Sings epic sagas of forgotten heroes.
26. Stardust Prospector: Mines cosmic minerals from fallen meteors.
27. Mistwalker: Guides lost souls through foggy moors.
28. Enchanted Cobbler: Crafts shoes that grant extraordinary abilities.
29. Celestial Clockmaker: Constructs timepieces powered by starlight.
30. Gargoyle Sculptor: Carves stone guardians with hidden sentience.
31. Wandmaker: Whittles wands from ancient tree branches.
32. Mermaid Translator: Deciphers underwater songs and sea whispers.
33. Nightshade Apothecary: Harvests moonflowers and midnight herbs.
34. Serpent Charmer: Mesmerizes serpents with haunting melodies.
35. Skyship Navigator: Charts courses through floating islands.
36. Frostfire Sculptor: Shapes ice and flame into ephemeral statues.
37. Cursed Cursebreaker: Lifts hexes and breaks enchantments.
38. Goblin Archaeologist: Digs up lost goblin civilizations.
39. Sylph Perfumer: Captures the essence of zephyrs in fragrances.
40. Mystic Cartographer: Maps hidden ley lines and magical nexuses.
41. Moonstone Miner: Extracts shards of moonlight from caverns.
42. Gryphon Trainer: Raises and trains majestic gryphons.
43. Candlemaker of Lost Hopes: Creates candles that reveal forgotten memories.
44. Starwhisper Cartographer: Maps cosmic phenomena—comets' paths, shooting star trails, and celestial alignments.
45. Gloomsmith: Crafts melancholic artifacts—music boxes that play haunting melodies, mirrors that reflect lost loves, and inkwells that pen tear-stained poetry.
46. Siren Songstress: Sings enchanting melodies by moonlit shores, luring sailors toward rocky fates or guiding them safely through treacherous waters.
47. Astral Weaver: Spins threads from stardust, creating cloaks that grant glimpses of alternate realities or tapestries that depict forgotten legends.
48. Cryptobotanist: Studies otherworldly flora—glow-in-the-dark mushrooms, singing vines, and moonblossoms that bloom only during eclipses.
49. Soothsayer: Reads the future in tea leaves, cloud formations, or the patterns of fireflies. Their predictions shape destinies.
50. Stormglass Sculptor: Carves intricate sculptures from stormglass—frozen lightning, raindrop chandeliers, and thunderstorm dioramas.
51. Wispkeeper: Tends to wisps—tiny, glowing spirits that flit through forests. They bottle wisp-light for healing potions.
52. Eidolon Portraitist: Paints portraits of ghosts, capturing their essence before they fade into oblivion.
53. Moss Oracle: Listens to moss-covered stones, deciphering their murmurs to reveal lost histories.
54. Labyrinth Minstrel: Wanders through shifting mazes, singing songs that guide lost travelers to safety.
55. Frostbite Healer: Extracts shards of moonlight from caverns.
56. Gryphon Trainer: Raises and trains majestic gryphons.
57. Candlemaker of Lost Hopes: Creates candles that reveal forgotten memories.
58. Starwhisper Cartographer: Maps cosmic phenomena—comets’ paths, shooting star trails, and celestial alignments. Their charts guide explorers to hidden constellations.
59. Gloomsmith: Crafts melancholic artifacts—music boxes that play haunting melodies, mirrors that reflect lost loves, and inkwells that pen tear-stained poetry.
60. Siren Songstress: Sings enchanting melodies by moonlit shores, luring sailors toward rocky fates or guiding them safely through treacherous waters.
61. Astral Weaver: Spins threads from stardust, creating cloaks that grant glimpses of alternate realities or tapestries that depict forgotten legends.
62. Cryptobotanist: Studies otherworldly flora—glow-in-the-dark mushrooms, singing vines, and moonblossoms that bloom only during eclipses.
63. Soothsayer: Reads the future in tea leaves, cloud formations, or the patterns of fireflies. Their predictions shape destinies.
64. Stormglass Sculptor: Carves intricate sculptures from stormglass—frozen lightning, raindrop chandeliers, and thunderstorm dioramas.
65. Wispkeeper: Tends to wisps—tiny, glowing spirits that flit through forests. They bottle wisp-light for healing potions.
66. Eidolon Portraitist: Paints portraits of ghosts, capturing their essence before they fade into oblivion.
67. Moss Oracle: Listens to moss-covered stones, deciphering their murmurs to reveal lost histories.
68. Labyrinth Minstrel: Wanders through shifting mazes, singing songs that guide lost travelers to safety.
69. Frostbite Healer: Treats frostbitten extremities with salves made from frost sprites’ tears.
70. Chalice Enchanter: Carves runes into crystal goblets, infusing each sip with memories or emotions.
71. Goblin Archaeologist: Digs up lost goblin civilizations, unearthing rusty gadgets and cryptic hieroglyphs.
72. Sylph Perfumer: Captures the essence of zephyrs in fragrances—dawn mist, thunderstorm ozone, and moonrise musk.
73. Mystic Cartographer: Maps hidden ley lines and magical nexuses. Their charts reveal portals and ley-gates.
74. Moonstone Miner: Extracts shards of moonlight from caverns, which can be used for enchantments or as lantern fuel.
75. Gryphon Trainer: Raises and trains majestic gryphons for aerial patrols or epic quests.
76. Candlemaker of Whispers: Crafts candles that flicker with spectral flames, allowing communication with the departed.
77. Stardust Prospector: Mines cosmic minerals from fallen meteors—star iron, comet opals, and nebula gems.
78. Golem Animator: Breathes life into clay and stone constructs, imbuing them with purpose.
79. Wraith Whisperer: Communicates with restless spirits, negotiating unfinished business.
80. Celestial Navigator: Guides ships by star charts, steering vessels through astral currents.
81. Chaos Theorist: Predicts chaotic events using butterfly-wing equations, preventing or exploiting chaos.
82. Fairy Ring Dancer: Enters mystical circles to converse with fairies, striking bargains or seeking wisdom.
83. Banshee Lullaby Singer: Soothes grieving souls with haunting songs, easing their passage to the beyond.
84. Goblin Diplomat: Negotiates peace treaties between realms, balancing goblin mischief and human interests.
85. Veilwalker: Steps between dimensions using shimmering veils, exploring parallel worlds.
86. Moonshard Weaver: Threads moonstone shards into cloaks that grant moonwalking abilities.
87. Gryphon Whisperer: Communicates with gryphons through empathic bonds.
88. Cursed Curator: Collects cursed artifacts, safeguarding them in hidden vaults.
89. Sphinx Riddler: Poses enigmas to travelers seeking wisdom, granting answers in exchange for riddles.
90. Bard of Echoes: Sings songs that echo through time, preserving forgotten tales.
91. Goblin Inventor: Constructs whimsical gadgets—umbrellas that predict rain, shoes that dance, and hats that translate squirrel chatter.
92. Serpent Astronomer: Studies cosmic serpents—constellations that writhe across the sky.
120. Starforged Smith: Hammers star fragments into celestial armor and swords.
🎉 WOOHOO, YOU MADE IT TO THE END! 🎉
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For general graphics: use GIMP
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Something like this would be so colossally helpful. I'm sick and tired of trying to research specific clothing from any given culture and being met with either racist stereotypical costumes worn by yt people or ai generated garbage nonsense, and trying to be hyper specific with searches yields fuck all. Like I generally just cannot trust the legitimacy of most search results at this point. It's extremely frustrating. If there are good resources for this then they're buried deep under all the other bullshit, and idk where to start looking.
another addition as far as physical media goes there is the encyclopedia of national dress (that i still need to buy myself bc this kind of thing is super important to my sort of fantasy designing) but yes i do agree i wish there was EVEN MORE documentation on this
More notes.
They are not in order by the way. There is still more stuff to say about the world building/drawing/exploring topic. I just haven't gotten to these notes yet.
This one is about lights but it's in progress as well. Feedback is welcomed
Alrighty, here's my first bit of fanart for 2024! Asha and Starboy from Disney's Wish - more specifically, Wish's concept art :''') I haven't seen the movie, but I think I can confidently say that I would've been more interested in seeing it if they'd kept the romance/soulmate dynamic from the early concepts.
But anyways, here's my take on Star's design, and also a little cheek kiss for Asha! :D Also, I never made an official "Happy New Year" post, so I just wanted to say thank you all for your support in my art and writing endeavours! I hope this year is a kind one for you, and may all your wishes come true <333
As someone who took etiquette lessons, politeness is an incredibly effective tool for disarming bigots. You can either force them to reconsider their words/actions by directly and calmly confronting their behavior (by using the rules of society in your favor), or you can dip entirely while they appear to be in the wrong.
Both options are great.
Because the thing is, when bigots pick fights, they are 100% counting on you to get louder than them. Or meaner. They want you to react emotionally and provide fodder for their 'You're Too Emotionally Immature To Understand' cannon.
What they aren't expecting you to do is say one of the following phrases in a polite, concerned tone:
Are you okay?
That's not the kind of language I was raised to use with others.
Do you need a moment to think on why that wasn't acceptable?
This is no way to engage in intelligent conversation. Please try that again in a kinder tone if you'd like this to continue. (I really like this one because it lets you turn their public-shame rhetoric around)
For those of you who'd are spiteful and/or dealing with Fundamentalists/Evangelicals/generally shitty Christians:
What's happening in your life to cause you this much anger? I can't imagine hurting so badly that I need to hurt other people.
Who taught you it was acceptable to treat other people this way? Certainly not the Jesus I remember.
Whatever happened to 'judge not lest ye be judged'?
If I talked like that in front of my parents or grandparents I would be ashamed.
I think there's something you need to pray on before we try and have this conversation.
And my all time favorite:
"It sounds to me like there are some seriously dark and angry forces at work in your heart."
(Nothing stops a Christian bigot in their tracks faster than implying the Devil is causing their bigotry. But you MUST be calm, polite, and gentle with your tone and wording. It is absolutely fair to twist the rules and play them at their own game, but you gotta play hard.)
TLDR: It's much faster to use etiquette, politeness, and rhetoric reversal when eviscerating idiots online and in person, because they aren't expecting you to weaponize their behaviors back in their direction. Don't get angry, get spitefully polite! :)
OK KIDS IMA TEACH YOU HOW TO MAKE YOUR LINE-ART MESH WITH YOUR ART BETTER AND LOOK SOFT™
OK SO I PREPARED A QUICK DOODLE FOR THIS TUTORIAL SO I APOLOGIZE FOR ANY ANATOMICAL MISTAKES
I’m gonna show you how to turn your art from this, to this
The one on the right is much softer, right? Here’s how you do it.
For this I’m using MediBang, but you can use this technique on any art platform that allows layers, layer settings (especially overlay), gaussian blur (or just a general blur), and layer clipping.
Here we go.
We’re gonna start with good ol’ Pidge here. After you’ve finished all of your coloring and shading and linework and such, you’re going to want to
1) make sure all of your linework is on the same layer.
2) turn off the lineart layer so that you can only see the coloring you did. It can be pretty messy and horrifying, I know, but you won’t have to look at it for that long. once you’ve done that, make sure there is no background layer. Sometimes it’s just white and you forget it’s there but make sure you turn it off or this won’t work right.
3) export a transparent png of just the color part. It should look like this:
See, gross right? it looks so nakey without the lines.
3) now you need to import the nakey.png back into the original document, right under where the lineart layer is (which should still be turned off). The purpose of this is to get all the color layers together in an easy way so that it’s easy to modify.
4) This is where it starts to get fun. you’re gonna Gaussian blur the heckie out of the color layer that you just imported. the amount you blur it should be kinda proportionate to the thickness of your lineart. Don’t blur it at max if your lineart is 2 pixels thick, and don’t blur it so little that you can barely tell if you have 20 pixel thick lineart. You can always go back and blur it more if it doesn’t look right.
This is kinda what it should look like now.
5) ok so now, turn the lineart layer back on, and duplicate it. Then move one line layer below the color layer, so theres one on the bottom and one on top, like a lineart sandwich. like this:
6) now, clip the color layer to the lineart layer below.
7) This is the part where it actually starts to look COOL. Set the top lineart layer to overlay, in the layer settings. once that’s done, it should look like… this!
We’re getting somewhere! Doesn’t it mesh with the colors a lot better now? It’s not perfect yet tho. See how her mouth kinda disappeared? Well we’re gonna fix that up and any other parts that look a bit wonky.
8) Before you touch it up, make sure you play with the layer opacity of the top lineart and color layers. Some pieces may look better if you tone down the lineart layer, some look better if you bring the color layer down a bit. Play around until you find what works. For me here, it looked best to put the top lineart layer at 73%. Again, whatever looks best.
9) Now, to touch it up, you’re going to draw on the color layer in the center of the lineart sandwich. I suggest picking the color of the shaded part in whatever area you’re fixing (for the mouth I think I picked the color from her cheek, but for the top of the shirt I used the color from the shaded part. Whatever looks good). Just airbrush it around that general area until you’re satisfies with how it looks (remember, the color layer is clipped so it wont look like a mess when you’re coloring all over the place).
Once you’re done, it should look a little more clean. like this!
(oh yeah also I gave her glasses after, since I didn’t want them so be softened at all)
Nice! now if you’d like to complete the Soft™ look, give it a pastel background that matches your shading, (remember that background layer I yelled at you to get rid of earlier? He can come back now), slap on a filter, (here I just filled a layer with purple, put it on top, and put the layer setting at “screen”), add your watermark and voila!
Look at this Soft™ kid.
I hope that was helpful to those of you that asked, I’ve never done a tutorial before so if there is anything that’s unclear, feel free to message me or let me know and I’ll clarify it for you! And if you use my tutorial, tag me in it or send me a linky-dink! I’d love to see how you do.
Here is a large compilation of resources based on what you guys told me you struggle with the most when writing romance. This ranges from creating a healthy romance to inspire other people to seek the right kind of love, finding inspiration to write, writing realistic scenes, and many other topics. I hope that you find this useful!
Healthy & Realistic Romance
How to write strong character relationships
How To Write Realistic Romance
Realistic Romance
Writing Realistic Love Relationships
LGB Relationships
Romantic Subplots
Writing a Romance Novel
How to Avoid Forced Romantic Sub-Plot
Subtle Signs of Love
Love at First Sight and the Stages of Love
Using Timelines to Pace Romantic Relationships
Avoiding the Cheesy Stuff
Building an Organic Romance
Writing Healthy Couples In Fiction
Cliches & Tropes To Avoid
What’s Missing In The Modern Romance Heroine
Romance- The deal with triangles.
Writing a quality love triangle
Writing 101- love triangles
The problem with love triangles
Massive List Of Romance Tropes
Massive List Of Friendship Tropes
Things About Romance Learned From TV
Cliches To Avoid Or Reconstruct
Writing Emotional Scenes Without Melodrama
Friendship to Love
Enemies to Lovers
Female Characters To Avoid
Romance Scenes & NSFW Resources
Handling the Risqué Parts of Writing Romance
The Big Book Of Writing Sex
Twenty Steps To Writing Great Love Scenes
Ten Essentials To Writing Love Scenes
Sizzling, Sensuous and Steamy: How to Write Love Scenes
Keeping it Sweet While Turning Up the Heat
Kissing Scenes
Sexual Tension
Delicate and Relevant Sex Scenes
Types Of Kisses
Five Flirting Styles
Flirting Types
Obvious Flirting Signs
How To Flirt
Writing Flirty Things
Words To Use In Sex Scenes
Synonyms For Private Bits
Things For Beginners
Tips for Beginning Romance Writers
5 Tips To Writing Engaging Romance
How To Write From The Opposite Gender’s Point Of View
Writing Gender Specific Dialogue
How to Write a Romance Novel: The Keys to Conflict
Masterpost of my English translations of the main story. If you can, please support the creators by buying the official releases here. In case of wishing to re-translate this into other languages, contact me here. If anyone is feeling generous, please consider donating to my Ko-fi or PayPal. ( ╹◡╹)っ’･*
Without saying “I’m sorry.”
1. “I wish I could help but my plate is pretty full right now.”
2. “I have said yes to too many things lately and I’m honestly overwhelmed at the moment.”
3. “I am not accepting any new tasks right now.” (I use this a lot and even though it is firm, I get positive responses because it’s relatable).
4. “I am over-committed right now, but I hope you find the help you need.”
5. “That’s my night to spend time with my family but thank you for asking me.”
6. “I’d love to but my schedule is packed right now.”
7. “That’s not a good day/time for me.”
8. “That’s not really my area, but thank you for thinking of me.”
9. “I’m honored but I can’t this time.”
10. “Thank you but this isn’t something I’m able to take on right now.”
11. “I am needed somewhere else that day, but thank you.”
12. “I am limiting my commitments right now.”
13. “I am honestly not able to dedicate the time right now.”
14. If you are disabled: “Spoons are low, so today is not a good day for this.” (try using “bandwidth” instead of “spoons” if you are not disabled so we can preserve the meaning of “spoons.”)
15. “That’s not a good fit for me, but (offer a genuine alternative).”
