Latest Posts by basket-of-references - Page 3

These brushes aren’t the most complex, but they are what I made on the fly to make drawing hair easier, instead of hand drawing every detail like I’ve done most of my life lmao.

You can find the png files for a bitmap here, along with screenshots of my settings [I use this brush in Medibang Paint Pro, a free art program]. My settings use it as a scatter watercolour, I think it works well with the watercolor for color blending but you could theoretically use it just as a scatter.

Though, the brush settings are something not that important: the size, particle size, scatter strength, opacity, compliment, and color mixing are all things I change frequently when working.

Free to use, just don’t claim as your own. If you want to support me, you can leave a tip at my Kofi.

Part 2 of cino art tips is some basic tips on shape and silhouette design which are also principles I think about a lot :)

(also i'm so sorry i chose comic sans to write this in idk what i was thinking but i already flattened the layers)

i don't have any other obvious tips off the top of my head rn but feel free to ask anything you are curious about! i love getting asks uwu

so a lot of artists talk abt same face syndrome and like yeah practice diverse faces but nobody talks about same body syndrome nearly as much like…if all you can draw are twiggy skinny boys with no variation other then height  and only draw hourglass girls with big boobs then like…you’re not a great artist and you really need to practice other body types because when i see a line up of characters that are all twinks and hourglass figure girls and theres no fat characters theres no muscular characters theres nothing but just skinny twiggy boys and girls with wide hips and big boobs then its like wheres the flavor wheres the variation not everyone looks like that and if anyone bitches and whines about “ohhh its hard to draw fat people” “ohhh its hard to draw big strong burly men” “oh its hard to draw a fat strong woman” “its hard drawing a muscular girl!” then fucking practice. you arnt going to learn to draw these body types if all you draw are skinny boys and hourglass girls and you’ll never improve and i dont feel any sympathy for you

Here it is, my long winded tutorial, complete with some step by step action. I see a lot of people talk about wanting to diversify their artwork but not knowing how. This is my help to you. You really should take the time to invest in learning diverse eye shapes as diverse artwork always makes you a better artist. And frankly I’m really tired of drawing tutorials that talk up character diversity but only have the stereotypical “one Asian eye”.

I did some step by steps for those three diagrams, but I actually got them from this blog which has 14 of those examples! (Bonus: it’s a makeup blog so if you need help with that or want some idea of how to shade these eyes, there ya go)

Very happy to finally post my second tutorial ! You guys have been so kind the last time and I really hope this helps some of you in your art path 🙇‍♀️

Made this lil thing to celebrate hitting 1500 followers on twitter.

hehe

monkey brain like round number  

Just a reminder about fatphotoref.com—it exists!! I'll be updating with new photos next week and hopefully more regularly after that. Request access by going to bit.ly/fpraccess 💙🧜‍♀️ happy mer may!

i love love love the way you paint back lighting!! do you have any tips/ a step by step for the way you do it?

ended up making a whole painting just to break it down and explain my general process for subjects lit from behind so heres that + a timelapse!

main thing for drawing anything with a strong light source behind is to make the main subject Darker and more desaturated to convey that the light is behind them rather than to their sides (face cant be properly lit if the light is behind). Also making the Main highlight the brightest hue in the image helps to intensify it. I tend to use teeth/eyes as a good comparison point

some people have a tendency to make the sclera white out of habit but darkening that+ the rest of the whites helps the image read as Darker compared to the brighter highlight

I feel stupid for asking this so im using anon, but how do you draw the hijab? Whenever I try it looks like an egg www

also, Ramadan Mubarak! May Allah bless you

Don’t feel stupid for asking! Drawing is hard no matter what you’re drawing, so don’t be afraid to ask for help^^ But honestly even I feel like the best of my hijabis look a little egg-like, and that’s okay!

This tutorial is already taking so goddamn long, so I’m just gonna link my coloring and shading tutorial I did a month ago 😭😭

Gosh, I hope what I wrote made sense 😅 But thank you so much for the well wishes! Happy Ramadan (Eid Mubarak at this point WAHHH), and the same to you, may you and your loved ones have many blessings!!

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES

Winchester Meg's Hijab Drawing Tutorial

Souratgar's Hijab Drawing Tutorial

General Tips for Drawing and Shading Fabrics

[ Download Link ]

As promised, it’s finally here! Thank you to all of my patrons for not only the support that made this possible, but for giving me the confidence to work on a big project like this.

Rather than providing any drawing instruction, what this writeup aims to do is help you learn to unpack the decisions being made in a given composition, and articulate what elements in a piece are responsible for its impact. Being able to isolate these qualities in your own art and art that inspires you opens up avenues for improvement regardless of medium, style, or technical skill. This is the first of hopefully many PWYW art ‘tutorials’ from me. 

I hope you all enjoy! 

New tutorials by me

Okay guys, here's the best drawing advice I can possibly give to someone struggling to find their "style" or is just a beginner in general. Now when I say this you'll probably think it sounds overly simple and stupid as shit, but please trust me on this.

Take your paper, take your pencil, a vague idea of what you want to draw, and just go fucking ham. Do not sit there forever slowly sketching and erasing every 30 seconds. Do not waste time second-guessing yourself. Draw something, and if you think it looks like shit, draw it again, slightly differently. Again, I repeat, don't take your time with this. Just go for it and don't stop. Now, that second drawing might still look like shit, but I bet you it's slightly better. Keep doing this. Whatever you liked about the last drawing, stick with it. Separate the aspects you like from the aspects you don't.

Now, every artist learns differently, but for me and many others, this simple trick works wonders, 'cause guess what guys, focusing too much on your little mistakes is what's holding you back. So stop it. I'll reword it one last time just to make sure you get it through your head. When you're just starting out, trying to find your groove,

don't 👏 overanalyze 👏 your 👏 mistakes! 👏

A couple art tips I wish someone had told me when I was starting out:

FOR ALL AGES BECAUSE YOU CAN START ART WHENEVER YOU WANT AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE YOUNG

If you want to draw people then one of the best ways to improve is to become a little narcissistic and repeatedly draw yourself. You are someone that you'll always have reference to and don't need to feel bad about lacking skill when drawing.

If you want to draw in a cartoon or anime style then first draw realistically so you can form a better understanding of proportions, movement, and perspective. This may not be true for or helpful to everyone but I know many that it has been helpful for.

Quit looking up poses on the internet and model your own poses, you coward! You can choose the angle of the camera and the exact position you want each piece of your body in!

Don't fully render an image in your mind. Think of one or two elements of the piece and let the rest flow for best results. Not many people can replicate what was in their head, you'll be less upset if you keep your ideas and inspiration vague.

“How do I become a better artist?”

By knowing what you want to become better at making art of and practicing.

”uh- that’s a really vague answer actually and [indignant response about how artists should be better at helping that hasn’t been original since that one post talked about it years ago etc etc]”

Okay and that’s fair but can I in response then request people ask less vague questions? Because, coming from an anonymous messenger, whom I know nothing about, not what their current level is, not what their end goal is, not what art style exactly they want to get better in… how are we supposed to help someone who seems to ask what the magic secret is to unlock their artist powers is? Which none of us know either! That’s something that’s deeply personal and subjective, something everyone has to figure out for themselves.

It’s completely different from when someone asks us for advice or tips on something specific, like how light falls on different objects, how to recreate that in different art styles and with different media. Or tips for drawings faces that are more realistic or more cartoony or more anime, etc. Or tips for drawing landscapes. Maybe a step by step guide of how a specific artist draws their specific style. What tips did we follow when we were starting out, what helped us to get to the style we use today. You can ask most of your favourite artists for any specific tips, and they’ll give them to you happily!

But this whole thing of artists getting shit because anons ask them vaguely how is become artist gooder…. We don’t know the secret either! We give you the secret we DO know: know what you want, do research, practice until it’s second nature. That YOU don’t accept that as a good enough answer is because you might not have been specific enough. And it’s unfair that artists have to take shit because of it.

How to Transformer: Part 2

Vehicle Art Tutorial

Featuring @littleyarngoblin's car; Carwen 🚙

Flyer Art Tutorial coming soon!

Ko-fi

HOW TO TRANSFORMER: Part 1

Trust me, I'm a professional designer :)

Artist, please feel free to add your favorite details that I missed. I'm working on an illustrated/art tutorial version.

PART 2 UP NOW!!

I am sad and I want to make you sad. I don’t know why but I love herm’s expression here. so much

Rooftop Pool / Step by step 😎

👉  Patreon / Instagram / Twitter / YouTube / Discord

How to draw Black characters. Because it's way too obvious when you drew a white person and gave them Black skin.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRg6YsKN/

-fae

"and the centry owl stood guard, protector of all in need." TFE, S1E13

Love love love Nightshade's new form 🦉

I compiled a reference for all my artist homies, and myself~

being a self-taught artist with no formal training is having done art seriously since you were a young teenager and only finding out that you’re supposed to do warm up sketches every time you’re about to work on serious art when you’re fuckin twenty-five

Art Tutorial Preview

This one was a short weekly tutorial briefly talking about gesture drawing, shapes and how to reference. Next week I’ll do a reference sheet with dynamic poses, I didn’t get to it this week cause I ran out of time. Anyways I hoped this helped some people!

Yo! Get full access to all my tutorials/references through: Patreon: [https://www.patreon.com/lunaartgallery] or Paypal Order: the 10$ package will get you 15 items of anything available on my Patreon, emailed directly to you.

Thank you~!

Just a quick thing I put together. This blew my fucking MIND when my anatomy teacher pointed it out. My drawings instantly got better. You might know it (good for you, I wish I knew it before too T_T) or you might not and it might help you get better.

I think the most heartbreaking thing is…writing does take practice. You’re probably not going to be at your best when you start out. The worst part about writing is that you’re going to be very shaky and probably pretty bad before you can get pretty good. Writing, like all forms of art, takes practice and discipline and willingness to try and keep going, no matter how difficult it may seem. And it can suck! We all know that! Creative ruts and writers block are tough but inevitable aspects of the process of writing. But just know that if you’re not satisfied with your work now, it only means that you’re going to be even better in the future. One day you’ll be able to look back at your work and go, “wow this kinda sucks, but that just means that I’ve gotten better now!” Writing takes time. You’re not gonna get good overnight. So keep going! Keep pushing! You only get better from here :)

I have made a pay-what-you-want zine about... How To Make Zines!

I go over my entire process, so you too can learn how to supplement your income with zines. Please give it a look, and share if you find it helpful!

HEY THIS IS IMPORTANT whats your favorite place to find drawing references?

I forgot I have to be active here so here’s my Twitter tutorial on how to draw folds I made a while back to help a friend!

do you have any advice on character design?

watch The Sopranos

U use colors in such a enrichening way, how do you do that may I ask??

thank you so much! 💕

this answer is going to be a little long.

the first thing, i think, is that it's very common to think of color as a means to an end, as just another type of information about a drawing: i'm using brown on the hair to show that the hair is brown, i'm using green to show that the characters are standing in grass.

but if color is information, then we can use it to say a lot more than just the basic facts of a drawing!

if you love drawing but want to get better with color, you have to learn to love color, too.

to want to know everything about how color works, to explore what different colors mean to you, to try and try and try again.

because, and this is the kicker:

ALL COLORS ARE RELATED TO EACH OTHER!

[from this post about how to use a color wheel]

i think it's common for people to talk about complementary colors and that's helpful when you're starting out with coloring, but i feel that it can become very limiting when it's treated like a rule and can obscure the fact that all colors are related to each other. it's called a color wheel because there is no beginning or end!

for example, take this drawing:

in this drawing, i'm using colors from all over:

but by just rearranging them slightly and throwing them against a black background like in the drawing, you can see how they're actually relating to each other and not nearly as random as they may seem at first glance!

[these notes are from this post where i break down how muted or "ugly" colors pull an image together] all colors are related to each other in some way, and that means that

YOU MUST DETERMINE WHAT EACH COLOR MEANS TO YOU, AND IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO CONVEY THAT MEANING TO YOUR AUDIENCE.

for example, to me green can be uncomfortable and overwhelming, energetic and edgy, calm and natural, or fearful and tense. but no matter how it makes me feel, it's my responsibility to convey my relationship to green to whoever even glances at my drawing.

sure you can use commonly held ideas about colors [red = angry, blue = sad], but this shorthand is also limiting. if everyone used these commonly held ideas about color, there would be no room for experimentation or interesting, wild color choices! and colors mean different things to everyone-- that's what makes everyone's colorful art so different and so cool!!

another thing to note about those green drawings: each one is using a specific type of green.

the one with reigen leans blue-green, which creates a cool-colored image. meanwhile, reigen is warmer tones, which almost makes it seem like he's overheating when he's thrown against such a cool-toned background, which further expresses his discomfort!

the dimple!mob drawing is like a sprite or mountain dew-green, which encourages the feeling of electricity or energy. it's a cool yellowish-green.

the one of mob floating is a warmer yellowish-green, to suggest sunny warmth without drawing sun rays.

the divine tree arc drawing is a lot of reddish-greens, which can suggest a sickliness.

experiment with color combinations and different shades and hues! explore what these different types of colors mean to you!

so now let's get into the nitty gritty of color choice. the following images are from my free pdf about color, composition, and intuitive drawing:

the main takeaways from these pages are:

consider simplifying your colors! more colors does not necessarily equal a better drawing.

see how much a single color can do! can you use it in multiple places on your drawing? what meaning can you ascribe to the colors you're using?

consider creating a concept for your colors and a few rules to guide your piece! a lot of great drawings can fall apart because the coloring concept was too vague or because there weren't enough rules or guidelines to keep the image coherent.

are your colors saturated enough? are the different colors you're using fighting for the viewer's attention? do you have focal points in your art, and if so, are the colors you're using reinforcing those focal points?

use the tools at your disposal! color-picking, color balance, overlay layers. it can feel important to try to prove something by hand-picking every color, but even when i hand-pick my colors i almost always check them with color balance anyway to make sure i'm picking the best colors possible.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SUFFER FOR ART. PLEASE use everything that is available to you, and make sure that you are aligned with what brings you joy when you're making art!

i wanted to show an example of a drawing i've done that is doing way too much vs a drawing that is simpler but more balanced:

on the left, the colors are interesting but the background is too strong and is competing with the actual drawing for attention. on the right, the clear background and simple coloring create a cute, easy to read, successful image! this is what i mean when i say that colors can fight for the viewer's attention and mess up a good drawing.

my final secret is that i rarely shade with or use white, black, or grays. i don't think this is a rule that you have to follow, but i like it because it pushes me to figure out what colors will go best with each other, and i think this single tip has strengthened my understanding of color immensely. however, there are a lot of beautiful art styles that shade with and use pure white, black, and gray. you have to decide what you love!

and

STUDY!!!

look at other people's art, color pick it, and make a palette based on their art! look at how they represent values through color, how they shade, etc. study your favorite artists' work!! you will learn so much!!

i hope this was helpful! if you have any more follow-up questions or if there's something that you want to know that i didn't explain here, please don't hesitate to ask!

‪How to draw water surfaces. From Jack Hamm’s Drawing Scenery (1972).