Wilde Art

Adult. Learning Pixel Artistry. Told my mom I was starting an art blog. better start making art.

[tauniewilde]

Ive been following a few (a bunch) of other art blogs and I don't have many posts, so I feel like I should disclaim.

I'm a real person! I made this blog to post my art, but I haven't really found a flow to making any so there isn't much here. I'll figure it out eventually.

[tauniewilde]

Based on Saint11's art tutorials, link in source

I continue to practice stretching my frustration tolerance and not letting my desire for perfectionism stop me from creating. The tutorial example I was follow isn't very defined, so feel like I over worked mine in some places and that probably works against me. Better to do something poorly than not at all.

[tauniewilde]

Here's the first piece I've completed without following a guide of some sort. While I like some parts of it quite a bit, over all I can see that it's a bit sloppy and and I didn't manage the color gradient as well as I would have like. However, it was still fun to make, and did a lot for my confidence to just sit and work on something. I feel I'm still at the point where putting anything on the canvas at all is a learning experience and no effort is really wasted regardless of the result. And in this case, patience and stamina is also something I am lacking.

Ultimately I don't think I like this method of creating clouds, although I've seen it managed beautifully when implemented slightly differently. I might continue to with this and similar methods for awhile regardless, because i think it still has a lot to teach me even if I eventually move on to something else. I also think there's as much value in deciding which methods and styles don't suit me as there is in finding the ones that do.

[tauniewilde]

Me trying to draw a sky vignette: I've never looked up once in my life. what is this a cloud that you speak of?

[tauniewilde]

Taking a break from drawing. I think I've landed on what i need to practice pretty neatly, so I should be able to renew my efforts with more focus... Just gotta get over this migraine first. Worst one I've had in several months and my brain is full of BEES!

[tauniewilde]

I have to admit, I'm sort of losing my mind trying to draw forget-me-nots of all things. I was going to stick to landscapes for a little bit, but I went through the #meet the artist tag and was really enamored with the style introductions. I don't have a strong enough sense of self to have any idea of what I'd even put on mine, but it's such a cute idea.

I don't understand why pixel art line work is so challenging! Well, actually I do, but if I were drawing with pencils I would be done already; I love love love drawing flowers! I wonder if the issue isn't so much with drawing as it is with my expectations of times? Well, it would be both for sure.

Maybe I should invest in some pencils just so I can remind myself that struggling with learning a new skill isn't diminishing my other skills...

oh well, the horrors (of learning a new skill) persist but so do I.

[tauniewilde]

I've spent the last 4 or so days trying to figure out winstitch.

I finally landed on the most sensible solution to my problem. I would guess that the 4 day migraine finally relented and the brain fog suddenly cleared. It's only a guess, tho, because the fog has settled once again for a new round of migraine highs and lows. Still, we persist.

The sensible solution is to pre-establish the color palette you want to use in winstitch first to limit the seemingly vibes based interpretation of the image it will do later. This wont stop it from messing up the image, but at least fixing the chart will be much easier with with a pre-approved color list.

This brings me one step closer to fixing the pattern for The Elk of Birch and Bone cross-stitch fanart I edited. I initially posted it to my casual re-blog account, but I didn't really want to dedicate that blog to art so I will likely remove it to repost here. Here's me waving to let people know I'm not stealing it from myself and also a progress update ig.

I went through a lot of effort to ensure that the pattern I edited was available to use freely because that is the standard set by the circles of the cross-stitch community that I am adjacent to (and I agree with them.) I suspect that the og creator passed away as her website on the way back machine is vastly different from what is there now. I think associating my fanart with a dedicated art blog will make it easier for me to make sure people know about the og credits even if they get lost as it gets passed around.

Today I'm going to take a break from messing around with winstitch and do more art. The other reason I haven't reposted it yet is because I think it's a little messy. The more I learn about pixel art the easier it will be to clean up in a way that feels satisfying. The original pattern was monochrome, and when I colored it I left it block-y because I intended to crochet it into a wall tapestry and figured I couldn't do fine color changes. The cross-stitch version doesn't need to be so limited and could be better.

[tauniewilde]

made by following pixelrocket's "Summer Sunset Pixel Art Tutorial". Link in source.

Multi-state power outage in the midwest today. Fortunately the power's back on! Spent a while cleaning and making dinner in case it went out again, but so far so good. I'm exhausted from the drama and yesterday's migraine, so I didn't spend as long on this as it probably needed to look good. I spent a good while trying to figure out different short cuts and where things are in the aseprite menus, tho, so that's already a win under the circumstances. I might try it again tomorrow after my dr's appointment.

[tauniewilde]

Been thinking a lot about what I want out of an art blog. I do this a lot, writing out complex thoughts in tumblr posts hoping to find the point somewhere. It's interesting being an artist who only thinks in words. I've been told I need to "work on that" whatever that means. I don't think there's a cure of aphantasia, but that's an unrelated tangent. I'll just drop it all below a cut so it's easy to ignore.

My late teens and early twenties were deeply marred by severe depression which I've been fortunate to leave behind as I've grown older. One of the casualties of my struggles was my love for creating art and confidence in my own... I don't want to say talent. My talents are middling at best! It took me a long time to be comfortable with that. My confidence in my ability to learn and develop skills in whatever it was I was passionate about was... wounded... because I had no passion for anything at all.

It's not a sob story, really, it's not unique. It's just depression. The older I got the easier it got until sometime after thirty things kind of clicked in a way that was.... very very soothing. Though I admit, it occurred at the same time I was recovering from severe burn out, so who knows. I know, now, I am the sort of person who is supremely suited to be a jack of all trades. My skills (at anything, anything at all) are middling because I don't develop them. I never had the time, which felt unfair, but? Also, they were fine? are fine? It's fine. I'm fine.

Picking up digital art has revealed what was probably my true underlying issue with any art at all-- a low frustration tolerance. I think I gave up too early. You know? right at the point where theory clicks in the mind but hasn't quite shown up in your hands yet? It's nothing insurmountable, but life really got in the way.

...falling from one crisis to the next with the barest bones support system for over a decade has been very hard...

So, what now? What am i looking for?

I think pixel art is beautiful. I already own a computer, so the primary barrier is my own commitment to learning something new. Pixel art also happens to align very nicely with my mother's primary hobby; cross-stitch. I think I would really like to spend time creating beautiful things. That I can share some of them with tumblr and some with my own family does feel very nice.

Maybe that's it then. I think I need to spend some time being soup. like a chrysalis. just experiencing the highs and lows of creating art. Excuse the sudden metaphors, the migraine medication is kicking in. From this I want to be able to encourage other artists, and maybe people in general. I mean, the world is a mess, but it was more than likely a mess this whole time. And that whole time we have had Art. Art is still here and so are you and so am I. It would be nice to create a space that uplifts people and join spaces that uplift people. I think we're stronger together.

and maybe I think that's what art is for.

well. for me.

[tauniewilde]

Made by following pixelrocket's "5-Minute Pixelart Night Sky Tutorial. Step-by-Step for Beginners." Link in source.

Thank goodness there was a 5 minute tutorial after restarting the last one like a gazillion times. 5 minutes doesn't seem long enough to really learn something, but it's all a matter of perspective I suppose. Just getting used to tools and possibilities is still extremely valuable.

[tauniewilde]

created by following pixelrocket's "Step-By-Step Space Pixelart Tutorial for Beginners." link in source.

Finally finished this! I'm not at all happy with it, but that's probably just because I spent too long looking at it. I tried going with a "less is more" approach and somehow didn't end up with any less? Sounds exactly right. Anyway, I still learned something, so we shall continue to persevere.

[tauniewilde]

Restarting on this tutorial IS proving to be annoyingly fruitless. It's not even meaningfully different from the first tutorial. It's honestly just a different color palette. I've been trying to create less of a "spray" texture for the nebula, and I don't feel that that's been especially difficult to do (whether or not it's 'good' being kind of irrelevant right now.) I just can't get the individual layers to come together as a group in a way that's satisfactory.

Since I'm still at the point where all practice is good practice regardless of the outcome I've been trying not to be too picky or too upset if I can't achieve something. I think the issue is a combination of something more functional-- such as fucking up the rule of thirds, my current theory --and just a bad adhd+headache day.

I really wanted finish another piece today, but I'm not sure if I will.

[tauniewilde]

Practice piece created by following pixelrockets "Step-By-Step Space Pixelart Tutorial for Beginners." Link in source

I moved on to a different tutorial (I'm not doing them in order) and once again got carried away with a dither brush. Something about it is fun and satisfying. Unfortunately, I ended up confusing myself and decided to start the tutorial over. I still like it tho, so here it is.

Ultimately, i'm supposed to be creating nebula. I'm not so sure that that effort is quite so successful. I think it looks less nebulous and more like fire or sea spray. what do you think?

[tauniewilde]

Practice piece created by following Pixelrocket's, "Beginner Friendly Space Scene in Realtime" tutorial on yt. link in source.

I've been struggling with using color digitally, so while line art seems pretty straight forward I've decided to skip sprites for now. I really enjoyed creating the light/dark nebula, but struggled with the planet a little more than seemed necessary. I decided to call it done so I could do some dishes and move on to a different tutorial.

[tauniewilde]

Ep, Beep, Forgot I had this blog now it's gonna be my art blog!