#process talk

[twinroomies]

nah, dude, I’m talking about this

OHHH, that. Yeah, that bump really is noticeable, huh? Despite how it might look, there's no vector work or anything on these pieces, those nice clean shapes are all carved by hand, that's probably where the two lines connected. Man, can't unsee it now, good catch.

[formulabitte]

Think I can pretty comfortably say that I’m back to writing. I still having some days where I just cannot get my fingers to move over the keyboard at all, but it’s better than before.

[catsharky]

I am in awe of how consistently your draw characters faces?????? i struggle a lot with that, may i inquire if you have any tips to share on that front???

Sure! This took a little bit because I wanted to put some visuals together.

Unfortunately, as it always is with art, the main tip is just... practice. Not in the sense that you have to sit down and do drills, but in that the more times you draw a character, the more consistent they'll naturally start to look because you won't be figuring out how you want to draw them on the fly. Even I struggle to keep a character consistent when I first start drawing them, and it usually takes me a little bit to settle on how I want them to look. If you look back at my earlier Mass Effect comics, my Shepard looked quite a bit different then to how I draw her now. And I know it can be hard to get a sense of time from something like tumblr posts, but those changes happened across a span of six months. So be patient with yourself!

As for specifics though, I'd say the main thing that can help with consistency is to think of it less as one big whole and break it down into smaller pieces. What features need to be there for a character to read as that character? If you take something away, does it still look like them? How do their features differ from another character's?

For example, I compared Ember with my Shepard and tried to point out what goes through my mind and what I think about when I'm drawing them (besides obvious things like hairstyle/horns):

Additionally, reference!! Reference makes such a big difference. Any time I'm drawing a character, I'll pull up previous drawings I've done of them so I can check how I drew them before. I also have a small standing mirror that sits on my desk. If I'm not sure how something should look? I can just look at my own face to get an idea of what should be going on.

On top of all that (though this is something that won't apply to most original characters), because Ember is based on my in-game BG3 Tav I just have a big folder of screenshots that I've taken of her that I look at whenever I'm drawing her. I've never posted what she looks like in-game, but here she is:

(I love her so much)

I do something similar for most existing characters I draw. I have folders for each of them that are just a bunch of reference images of them at different angles, so I never have to wonder how something should look.

I hope this helps at least a little, and if anyone wants more specifics about anything, feel free to ask!

[lesboard-arts]

Heyyoo!

This is my art blog! I post a variety of mediums, including traditional, digital, and 3d modeling. <3

My request box is open, but please just assume I won't finish them, I have big motivation issues.

Eyestrain is tagged with Eyestrain Cw, Flashing will be tagged with Flashing Tw. If you have a specific tag you wish for me to use please send me an ask

There's some other old art at my main (@lesboard) but I don't feel like putting it here since its either old or forsaken and I don't like forsaken anymore.

[viperiumprime]

New Process post on ko-fi! I talk through thoughts on this landscape piece

I try and blog at least once a month on there, I think it’s good practice to think critically about how you create!

[drsteggy]

So I was mulling over how to do this freaky new arm Link has and so far I’ve rejected body paint as no one has time for that and considered a glove.

I had purchased a pair of cheap silk ones but I don’t think they will stand up to what I plan to do. I saw at least 3 Links at MagFest with the arm and all of them appeared to be using a glove from a company called We Love Colors that makes tights and arm wear and stuff that cosplayers love but they didn’t sit right with me.

So I’m like I’ll just make my own and I’ll use that stretch mesh stuff dancers use on their costumes.

Well stretch mesh is here and about to go in the wash. I got a blue that should work as a base but I think I’m going to need to paint it. I want to prioritize my Skyloft stuff this week and I have some repairs to make to Gerudo Link too.

And then I dove back into TOTK Link.

[sunrainstarsmoon]

the wild thing about trying to write a book is how many people you have to just make up. bam! a person. bam! another person. gave her an ex-husband, there’s yet another person. populating a whole world even in vague paintstrokes is blowing my mind with every new character.