This Is What Happens When You Name Your Pokemon Before You Know What It Evolves Into.

Steve and Jake

disclaimer: I am east asian. if anyone who is not white sees anything wrong with my phrasing, inaccuracies, or insensitivity, or something I missed, please feel free to add on. I’m just one person with one perspective; none of what I say should be taken as The Singular way to draw an Asian character. if you havent done so already, please take the effort to expand your view of Asian culture outside this one tutorial.

if a white person reblogs this and adds something stupid I’m going to bite and kick you like a wild animal

Tips to freelance illustrators to avoid being screwed over

Hello! I’m Gabrielle Ragusi. I’ve been a freelance illustrator for years now and, as many other freelancers, I had to deal with difficult situations in the past - recent past. These situations come with the job (for everyone), but they can be easily avoided… if only I had known this sooner!

This post doesn’t paint a pretty picture of the one client, but know that I refer to a very small percentage of people (the clients I work with are actually great). 

Yet, the one client exists and these tips might help you face them.

When The One Client tries to screw you over.

From time to time, clients will try to have their way with unforeseeable requests and demands at work started and, quite often, at work done.

Solution: State your terms.

Before starting a project, even a sketch, I strongly suggest sending a contract or a simple Terms of Agreement document in which you state everything: commission process, revisions, payment method, ownership… This way they won’t be able to make up some half-ass excuse for their demands.

Also, you don’t have to be overly generous. If the client asks for extra revisions, ask for extra payment. The extra money will cover the extra time you spent on the project, so don’t feel guilty about it.

When The One Client sells bad ideas or asks for the wrong revisions.

Clients may know what they want, but they also might try to sell ideas that you know won’t work or ask for revisions that won’t make the project look any better. They won’t consciously bamboozle you, but the project has your name on it and judgement will come with the audience feedback.

Solution: You’re the artist in this project, so speak your mind. Giving your clients alternatives and your opinion helps the client know that you care about the project and that you know your stuff. You want the best for your client.

When The One Client wants you to work on spec.

Solution: Don’t.

On-spec work is a bad idea. If clients contact me, I take for granted they’ve seen my portfolio and know what I do, but if you’re just starting as a professional, my suggestion is to ask for a minimum upfront payment.

The power to say yes doesn’t always apply.

This isn’t about The One Client but about our own ‘Yes’, when inside we’re screaming ‘Hell no’, screwing us over. 

Yes is not always good. When in doubt, think about your lack of time, disinterest in the project and all those things that lead to bad results!

If you don’t have time to work on a new commission, say no. If the project isn’t your cup of tea, say no.

Also, not all clients are jerks, so if you explain you don’t have time to work on another project right now but they like your portfolio, it’s possible that they will contact you again in the future or ask for your time schedule.

(Don’t) Assume that clients know your art style.

This one is tricky and has a lot to do with the first stage of commissions and my personal experience. When clients contact me for the first time, most have seen my portfolio and know what I do. They contact me because of what I do and how I do it. When these clients say “I love your work”, I naturally assume they’ve seen my portfolio.

But when there are no signals that the person contacting me has seen my work, I can’t assume. This happened just a few weeks ago with a client who asked for my availability to illustrate a book after seeing an illustration of mine (the book was about faeries, my illustration had faeries). Problem is I assumed they knew my work, but they didn’t. What happened is that they asked me to work on spec, I said no and gave them a minimum quote for an initial sketch instead. Feedback received, I finally understood they hadn’t in fact seen my portfolio, although I’m not sure where they found my email address.

I don’t have a real solution to this kind of situation other than not assuming things. I guess it’s a matter of dealing with The One Client once again.

Payment fees are covered by the client, always.

If you receive payments through PayPal and similar services, I’m sure you know about the fees.

Unfortunately, I found the solution to this only a couple of years ago - looking back at all the money PayPal took from me in fees, I want to cry (living in Europe and working with clients based anywhere in the world, these fees vary, from 2,9% to 4,5% + small transfer fees). 

Now I send all invoices myself (I don’t let clients send money my way on their own) and I add a tax that covers PayPal or Stripe’s fees to the project’s quote: this is not money that ends up in my pocket, it’s money that PayPal takes, mind you.

My final advice is: be professional. 

The One Client will try your patience, but don’t lose your composure. Even in disagreement, be professional, offer your thoughts and compromise if necessary. If the project is successful, The One Client will be happy. You want your clients to be happy.

I hope you’ll find this post helpful!

Peace out,

Gabrielle

Follow me on Instagram - ArtStation - YouTube

mirage apex legends doodle before bed

Undertale - Hot Dog French Fries (Extended Version)

Hard to believe it’s been a year already… I guess you all asked for this

Up on Youtube for better quality https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BwygBWGhRQ

Credits: Original song ‘Skeletons’ by DomFera  Choreography for the first dance section by @brakken 

Do you happen to have any tips for drawing horns?

Hi, Anon! I’ll definitely try my best. Horns are a little tricky since they’re so subjective and the styles/textures vary so drastically.

Mostly I’m going to be talking about texture here and I’ll try to keep it simple since they’re time consuming to draw.

Smooth horns are great and easy, can come in any and all shapes, but if you want to add more interest and character to the horns, it all comes down to how you texture them.  Here’s a simple smooth horn. It’s okay, it’s basic, but it works and will especially work better once it’s colored if it has a sheen or a matte look.

You can add simple lines to it to give it a bit more interest, but you can take it farther than just the cylinder look like drawn here. The lines give it the easy, quick illusion of being more dimensional, but it’s not the most interesting or dynamic.

You can play with the lines however you like to give the horns more uniqueness, such as a line down the center to sort of pinch it inwards. Still more dynamic than the smooth horn, but more interesting than the rounded one.

You can leave the lines as they are for an easier horn, or take it a step farther and use them as guides to texture them. This is where it gets fun, but time consuming. Definitely look up references of what you want to go for if you’re not sure. I highly recommend Ram, Ibex or Antelope references, Antelope being my favorite. They have so much texture to them in the forum of smaller and larger ridges, so here’s a horn based loosely (artistic liberties taken) off a mix of Ram and Antelope.

Getting into plates which are my favorite, there’s little to reference off of. Here’s a more dynamic, spiky look with plates using the guide lines as a base to get an ideal direction you want the horn to shape into.

Just take your guide lines and then extend outward. Add as little or as much wear, tear and damage as you want. Horns can get dry and crack, they can take a hit and break, age can cause grooves, your imagination’s the limit.

Outside of plates, you can look up any horned animal to get ideas for texture, anything from steer to deer and elk (if you want to get more into the antlered look), or mix and match textures from a few horn styles you like. Hope this helps! Sorry I can’t go more in depth, but I tried to explain it as best as I know how. Good luck with your horns!

practice 🍁

Animal Crossing dialogue font

For a while now, the Humming font has been extremely difficult to get a hold of, kind of why I ended up just making my own by combining images together, it works, but it’s not perfect..

However, after digging into the files for Amiibo Festival of all things, I managed to find a clean version of the humming font, already in .otf format!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vHY_Qwcgxuee1jhcG3_9Mt4X-MFB77Sf/view?usp=sharing

Please enjoy, no credit is needed!

I wish to travel somewhere in the world with my family! or tons of books!

reblog and make a wish! this was removed from tumbrl due to “violating one or more of Tumblr’s Community Guidelines”, but since my wish came true the first time, I’m putting it back. :)