Daydreaming About My Book:

Person A: “How could you?! You know how they feel about you!”

Person B: “…Has it ever occurred to you that how I feel, matters too?”

Hi! I got sent over here by Bamsara to ask your opinions on a good starter/durable drawing tablet! Honestly probably woulda come over here anyways ‘cause I follow you both!

yEAAAAAAAAAAS I got so many starter tablets under my belt. (Note, these are all pen tablets, not DISPLAY tablets so if you'd like any info on those I'd be happy to help!)

I personally started with a Wacom Intuos (kept it for about 12 years before I threw it), and honestly there's a lot of positives and negatives with it. On the upside, it is ASTOUNDINGLY durable, it's a great size for transportation, and Wacom is a well-known and otherwise trustworthy brand. On the downside, Wacom has been notorious for not updating drivers on older products, the pen pressure leaves a lot to be desired, and Wacom's pricing is usually on the upper end.

A good follow-up for a similar price is the Huion HS610 series, it's also one of my personal favorites. It's got quite a larger capture area than the Intuos, they're extremely lightweight, the drivers update frequently (even for out of date models), the pen pressure is utterly divine, and the amount of accessories included makes up for the slightly steeper price. On the downside, because of it's larger size, it is a bit more difficult to travel with, but if you draw primarily from home it's a very good fit.

And if neither of these brands do it for you, the XP-Pen's 01 V2 might be a good fit (and on sale for $47.99 right now!). While I haven't personally owned this one, it was one I did quite a bit of research on when looking for a replacement when my Intuos started giving me trouble a while back. The Deco series comes in multiple sizes, colors, and wired/wireless settings (look for the series on the website, I've only linked the 01 V2), they come with multiple accessories and adapters for both PC and mobile phone use, the pen pressure has been relatively well reviewed, and the price beats out both Wacom and Huion. Unfortunately, because I haven't personally owned this one I can't speak on the drawbacks of the tablet, but from what I see they're a well reviewed brand overall.

Hope this helps!

Eyelashes are on that premium subscription 😩

When drawing robotic parts, how do you keep the shapes organic but also keeping the feeling that they're made of metal? :o

Probably the balance between natural and unnatural shapes!

Like this:

It is pretty much a mix of human anatomy and the sharp edges and gaps commonly found in mechanic joints. In Beatrix's case, her arms are not jointed in the same way a human arm is, however they function as one. They mimic an organic form in 80% of sillhouette.

Aside from color and lighting variations, there's a trick using lineart. Notice that bodies have wrinkles where the skin twists and stretches to accommodate the muscle, tendons and bones underneath. Mechanisms have "wrinkles" of their own, except they show that parts are detachable and far more rigid in comparison. There's also a symmetrical look to them not usually found in organic matter!

eat drink sleep play

Writing advice from my uni teachers:

If your dialog feels flat, rewrite the scene pretending the characters cannot at any cost say exactly what they mean. No one says “I’m mad” but they can say it in 100 other ways.

Wrote a chapter but you dislike it? Rewrite it again from memory. That way you’re only remembering the main parts and can fill in extra details. My teacher who was a playwright literally writes every single script twice because of this.

Don’t overuse metaphors, or they lose their potency. Limit yourself.

Before you write your novel, write a page of anything from your characters POV so you can get their voice right. Do this for every main character introduced.

Person A: "Your family is quite... unique."

Person B: "You can say batshit, I don't mind. They'd probably be flattered if you did actually."

Person A: "I take it this is common behaviour for them then?"

Person B: "Very.... Still sure you want in on this? Now that you know what they're like..."

Person A: "...I won't lie, it'll take some getting use to... but honestly? I already prefer the way yours behave as opposed to mine. As intense as they were, they at least seemed to genuinely care about each other..."

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This page... Spiritually and physically tested me. While I LOVE doing backgrounds and perspective work, lighting and coloring this nearly put me into a coma🤣

Mystic Flour Cookie

Whohowuououhoho art moots? :3