Lamb Animation Test !! (: With Sound Version

Queen Snowfall: A Haiku

The queen of IceWings,

With regal scales of shining

White is Queen Snowfall.

(Image not mine, all rights go to the owners)

Love your art! What's your shading process / any tips? I really like how vibrant it is

Thank you!! also sorry this is a long post

I usually start painting the character after I already have a background, super sketchy or with a placeholder (a photo usually), just so i know what colors to use

I fill the character with a color from the BG or a similar color and use the multiply blending mode

then i paint the lights on another layer with the "add glow" blending mode (i also pick the color depending on the bg).

I add another multiply layer for anything that needs to be darker, like stuff under the characters clothes

I paint a line with a saturated color between the lights and shadows, for example i added a bright red for the cape and light purple for their skin (? this is subsurface scattering, it doesnt happen on every surface but i like how it looks so i use it on everything lol.

Then i paint the lineart a similar color to each part of the character or you can paint it all red and use multiply

that's basically it

some tips (these are just things that work for me)

I think is better to paint the lights, not the shadows. it helps to see the shapes of the thing/character you're drawing better (its what i did with lambert ⬆️)

Draw backgrounds, i think it makes every drawing look more interesting and its easier to decide the lighting for the character, if you dont want to draw anything detailed you can paint something simple and blur it

i really recommend to start with a thumbnail, experiment with colors, perspective, composition, etc. before actually starting the drawing thumbnails of this post

this tip is something that everyone has heard before but use references, real life references like photographs for perspective and lighting, 3d models for anatomy and perspective, paintings to see how other artists stylize objects, bgs or characters. use references for everything

this tip is super important for me: check the values of your drawing, (lower the saturation, with the lineart hidden) if it isnt readable/ doesnt look good in black and white it most likely wont look good with colors (this depends on artstyle and personal preference tho)

Acrylic "Portal" painting, by Steven Novak

The thing about woodpeckers tongue wrapping around their head is that it helps them when they bang their head against the tree a thousand times. If I remember correctly it works as a cushion to protect from brain injury. I would like a concussion proof skull please

Visit the End!

A Minecraft travel poster

(Posters/stickers/etc on my redbubble!)

Show, don’t tell

"Show, don’t tell" means letting readers experience a story through actions, senses, and dialogue instead of outright explaining things. Here are some practical tips to achieve that:

1. Use Sensory Details

Tell: "The room was cold."

Show: "Her breath puffed in faint clouds, and she shivered as frost clung to the edges of the window."

Tell: "He was scared."

Show: "His hands trembled, and his heart thudded so loudly he was sure they could hear it too."

2. Focus on Actions

Tell: "She was angry."

Show: "She slammed the mug onto the counter, coffee sloshing over the rim as her jaw clenched."

Tell: "He was exhausted."

Show: "He stumbled through the door, collapsing onto the couch without even bothering to remove his shoes."

3. Use Dialogue

What characters say and how they say it can reveal their emotions, intentions, or traits.

Tell: "She was worried about the storm."

Show: "Do you think it'll reach us?" she asked, her voice tight, her fingers twisting the hem of her shirt.

4. Show Internal Conflict Through Thoughts or Reactions

Tell: "He was jealous of his friend."

Show: "As his friend held up the trophy, he forced a smile, swallowing the bitter lump rising in his throat."

5. Describe the Environment to Reflect Mood

Use the setting to mirror or hint at emotions or themes.

Tell: "The town was eerie."

Show: "Empty streets stretched into the mist, and the only sound was the faint creak of a weathered sign swinging in the wind."

6. Let Readers Infer Through Context

Give enough clues for the reader to piece things together without spelling it out.

Tell: "The man was a thief."

Show: "He moved through the crowd, fingers brushing pockets, his hand darting away with a glint of gold."

7. Use Subtext in Interactions

What’s left unsaid can reveal as much as what’s spoken.

Tell: "They were uncomfortable around each other."

Show: "He avoided her eyes, pretending to study the painting on the wall. She smoothed her dress for the third time, her fingers fumbling with the hem."

8. Compare to Relatable Experiences

Use metaphors, similes, or comparisons to make an emotion or situation vivid.

Tell: "The mountain was huge."

Show: "The mountain loomed above them, its peak disappearing into the clouds, as if it pierced the heavens."

Practice Example:

Tell: "The village had been destroyed by the fire."

Show: "Charred beams jutted from the rubble like broken ribs, the acrid smell of ash lingering in the air. A child's shoe lay half-buried in the soot, its leather curled from the heat."

Time for another request: Moonwatcher, suggested by @steve-the-dino! For this one I thought it’d be fun to try drawing Moon in both my retro style and my “normal” style with some of my own WoF headcanons. My style isn’t super consistent, so I took the opportunity to try out some new brushes and techniques.

Retro moon has been simplified a little since the last time I drew her. She no longer has spikes on her head, and the small line of spikes on her tail have been replaced with three large ones. I like to give her the same heart-shaped nose that I give Clearsight, and big, soft eyes. I think in a Bluth movie, she’d be portrayed as introverted, bashful, and kind—perhaps to a fault.

My personal Moon design looks a LOT different. Her colors are far less saturated, and I like to give her a bit of iridescence, as she’s said to be multicolored in the books. I also make the scales on her back very light as if she’s always being washed in moonlight. I like to think that NightWings look otherworldly compared to other tribes, so instead of horns, I give them an alien-looking crest. I think the next time I draw Moon I’m going to give her a lot more purple. A lot of people portray her as green because of the cover, but I think in the books she was described as purple and blue!

In both designs, I give Moon green eyes and bright silver scales. In retro drawings, I’d make her about the same size as the rest of the Jade Winglet, but otherwise I headcanon NightWings being one of the smaller tribes. Moon is bigger than the average NightWing in both height and build, since she grew up in the rainforest instead of on the volcano. Large, round shapes can portray both softness and strength, and while the former certainly applies to Moon, I think she’s physically quite adept as well.

I like the body shape

Progress sketches of Miller

logo design concept for the definitely-not-evil organization from our fallout rp. kinda pleased with it 👍