ART FAQ post for moblie

Since the very beginning, my ask-box/chat box is 98% filled with questions about what I do and I feel bad for spamming everyone’s dash with the same asks and mostly not having them answered one by one ;w ; So here’s a special section!

Q: What programs/tools do you use in drawing?

A: I use PAINT TOOL SAI and PHOTOSHOP. Sometimes sketching/playing with SKETCHBOOK PRO. I draw on a cintique.

Q: Any good tools we can use for beginners?

A: Actually, it doesn’t matter. Any brand of every tool would do so long as you’re comfortable using it. What matters is that you’re comfortable and it works for you. I make use of what I have. SAI and PS are the first programs introduced to me and I explored them. My intuos is my first tablet ’ v  ’ a grad gift from my mom and dada. If you’re a beginner and is looking to buy tools, everything you’re going to use is fine because you’ll get the hang of it. But of course having lotsa upgrades and extra features is better, but if it’s ok with you to spend then you can buy any expensive tools that’ll work well with you.

But I really don’t know what to buy and I’m not very sure, so can you be more specific? Fine boy. Buy Stuff that is WACOM (bc I’m just more familiar with it. They’re the expensive but professional brand. I suggest you start off with a Bamboo/Intuos. Cintique is hecka expensive but if you really like it, then that’s fine.

Just remember. Tools are just the stuff you use. They’re not really going to make you improve. This is a common problem with a lot of artists. They’d like to buy expensive and branded tools but end up not getting used to them/not getting anywhere/just showy. Practice is still the main meat.

Q: Since when did you begin to draw? How long did it take you to improve this much?

A: Ever since I held a pencil and stabbed the walls. I got serious when I reached high school and started drawing various genres. Drawing became my passion and I haven’t stopped.

Q: How old are you? You’re so talented! Maybe if I reach the same age, I’ll finally be good at drawing too.

A: I’m 21, but, dear, age is nothing. If you’re 12 right now and you’re serious with practicing your drawing, you’d be rich and famous at age 20. Talent is a booster, but it’s useless if you also don’t use it. It’s all in the matter of your will.

Q: How do you draw anatomy? How do you color? Will you ever do tutorials? What–no?? Why not?

A: FIRST. I gotta be honest. It’s a waste of time. For me. SECOND. Tutorials help very much, it isn’t bad but I’m never going to make one. Personally, I’d recommend you to self study. At some point, if I make a tutorial, I believe I’m teaching you backwards, that you’ll only learn “how” the thing is drawn like that and not “WHY” the thing is drawn like that. It’s like technical drawing. It’s not bad but, where’s the heart at?

TIPS ON SELF STUDY: Two main words is OBSERVE and PRACTICE. So pay attention.

Observing is very important. Get why the object that you draw is like that. When you start to draw it and something goes wrong, you can always get back on your reference. Collect loadsa references. Take pictures. Stare at objects and people until they think you’re creepy. Remember the tiniest details it has. Look at how other artists draw but not at the point where you’re already copying them, just figure out how they see the object they’re drawing. Feel the object. Understand why the object is round or squarish. OBSERVE. In the end, you’ll be able to pull off the thing in any way you want to draw it.

Practicing is the most important. I will never stop mentioning this because this is how I live. Draw the object until you get it right. If you see something wrong then ask yourself, what did I do wrong here? Once you find it, work on that over and over. Giving up because you can never draw it right? That’s out of the question. Don’t stop drawing till you get it right. Sketching doodles daily helps you get to your groove and so you can practice right. PRACTICEPRACTICEPRACTICE.

“Why? This doesn’t help us at all.”

Look. Like I said. Tutorials are technical step by step. Which is not wrong, but I REALLY want you to learn and manage to draw on your own way. Trust me, this works. If I’m dependent on step-by-step, then I’ll never understand what I’m drawing. Eventually, you’ll develop your style. Would you like a style that isn’t yours?      

“Not all tutorials are like that.”

They are not. I didn’t say it’s bad. They’re very helpful. I’m just not going to make one. Because if I’m going to give advice then this is what I really want you to know. From the deepest part of my arteries U -  U

Remember, this takes time. Probs years. Drawing is not magic. But it’s worth it. Also, you have to believe in yourself that you can manage.

P.S. If this made you think that it turned into a philosophy lesson, then just take it from me. Drawing is my passion and I’m not kidding around.      

Q: How did you get your line art so clean?

A: The usual “stroke-error-ctrl+z-stroke-error-ctrl+z-stroke-error-ctrl+z-stoke-YAY-I-GOT-IT-RIGHT” ;;;w;;;;

Q: How did you develop your style? I don’t know what my real style is, I don’t know if I even have one.

A: To me there’re two types of styles. The first is the one that comes out naturally. For example, we draw this apple in front of us together. When we’re done, our apples look different. Mine is realistic in blood red while yours has the stylized lumps in scarlet red. Thus, they’re still apples. This type of style is how your own eyes define the object you’re drawing. You don’t need to worry about that. What you need to focus on is the improvement of your drawings (perspective, proportions, details, etc) because once you’ve done that, you’ll be amazed on how your own style would look like ’ v  ’ Of course, practice is still applied. There’s no other way.

Second is how your drawings are made. Would it be Disney style? Anime? Realistic? Cartoons? Stylized? Line-less? What tools? Watercolor? Digital? Sketch? Inks?? This one is up to you. Which style would you enjoy drawing the most? What tools are really fun to use? GO CRAZY~!

There’s one common problem about deciding on your style tho. It’s when you look at other artist’s styles and think that they’re so much better than what you’re going to make. THAT’S NEVER TRUE. No style is bad because it’s a STYLE. Don’t compare yourself with other people’s styles, it’s giving you a negative thinking that’s making you uninspired, for both wanting to make a style and moving on to practice drawing. Believe in your art and believe in yourself. You’re still a cutie baby bud that’s about to bloom into a heLLA GIANT MONSTER DAFFODIL that’s gonna rule the world UWU      

Golly, your style is your freedom! So basically just go all out and let it go!  

Q: Coloring is hard. How would you know the right colors?

A: This is a hard thing to answer to be honest. I just choose the right colors and match them with the rest. It’s the matter of mood, I guess?

Q: How do you know the right shading?

A: Find your source of light and put your shading opposite to where that light is. Don’t ignore the shape of the object so only shade the necessary parts.

Q: Can you share us your brush settings?

A: No need. Use any of the default tools and play with the density. Sometimes, it depends on the brush? I don’t have particular brushes, I play around on the settings and use em differently on each piece. SAI is a great program for coloring. You can make and play with the advanced settings of your brushes.  

Q: Do you put effects on your drawings?

A: Of course! Digital wise >w < it’s called rendering. I use Photoshop for that.

Q: Do you have any traditional drawings you can share?

A: I suck. I sometimes doodle on paper but color and finish them digitally. I post pencil sketches occasionally tho.

Q: Who are your idols? Inspiration?

A: There are lots of great artists I’ve known and inspire me differently but the only mangakas that pushed me to my style is Adachitoka (Noragami), Hiramoto Akira (Kangoku Gakuen), and Takeshi Obata (Death Note)

Q: You make your characters hot all the time juST WHY

A: I’m originally the type who’s really into drawing attractive characters. Since the very very beginning.

Q: I’m not trying to be a dick but is it me or are your characters all look the same

A: Yeah I admit. Same concept with anime and people with art styles, yeah pretty much. Or probs I’ve been drawing the same character for over a year now and hasn’t improved when I moved on to a character that may or may not be EXACTLY similar to him. Give me a break  

Q: How do you get the expressions right? The poses? Yeah, yeah, I know it’s “observe” and “practice” but how do you get this right and it’s so hard??

A: TBH, same boat. We may have studied anatomy but this one’s harder considering, it’s not just the pose, we gotta make it convincing. One way is to get reference poses. Copy the pose, bUT NOT TRAce the exact thing, you won’t learn from that. Another way is to act it out. Do the pose and you can look at yourself in front of the mirror. I usually do that. Especially with facial expressions, I always have a mirror with me lol xDD with the knowledge of anatomy and proportions, go pull it out thru drawing. Ye it’s weird but, it works for some reason?? I learned this from animation school, since you REALLY have to be good at drawing poses or the movements won’t work ;w ; one of the things is to feel it, act it out, it helps so much!

Q: Should I pursue with art? My parents/everyone say that it’s useless in life if I chose it, but I REALLY wanna attend art school. What do I do?

A: Then go to art school ‘ v  ‘ it’s either that or live a life of regret. This is not new to us artists. Everywhere you go, you’ll always hear those. Is it cuz we artists only have fun doing our hobbies? We get paid a little because it’s only art? Please. Ppl shouldn’t be living in nice houses, wear nice clothes, or even watch TV without art. HECK, they shouldn’t even use the word “beautiful” if they don’t appreciate it xDD

Honestly, being an artist is the same as any ol day jobs. If you’re an office lady, you gotta work hard to get yourself a promotion right? If you’re an engineer, you gotta invent something new to sell it and make money out of it. If you’re a lawyer, you can also be a judge. Same as artists Uw U Disney was only a part-time cartoonist and only earned pennies for each drawing he made. That man didn’t even go to art school BUT DAMN LOOK AT HIS LEGACY. DISNEY IS A FRIGGIN LABEL YOU’LL NEVER MISS. My parents are same. They sold sculptures and now they own a company. I’m jobless but I’m doing commissions. My earnings are unexpectedly higher than my actual salary in my previous job that people who mock me because I only draw cartoons/anime caN ALL JUST rot (ahem sorry).

You see, being an artist is not really different, but we gotta work our butts off to make the most out of our art, especially that we know people are just going to mock us because we’re “artists” :/ You can pursue with art. Prove it to your parents and to everyone else.    

Q: I wanna go to art school! But what should I take? I wanna learn how to draw well.

A: It depends on the field you’re interested in. Look for the course that provides most of the subjects that you’ll like to take. I took animation. I learned how to draw poses well, also acting, animating, storytelling, and film making. But you know, if you just like to draw well, then it’s just self-discipline. There are things I do that art school didn’t teach me. Actually, I think I only learned less than half, the rest of the things I learned is from internship (the programs I attended have taught me more actually) and practice. Oh and lotsa research ‘ w  ‘ so yes, SELF STUDY!

Q: Will you ever animate for us?

A: I will only animate IF I feel like it. Animation is hard AF you can’t just request that so casually Y ^  Y

Q: It’s hard to draw xxxxxx! How do you draw him?

A: Send me an ask and I can show you a how-to (this is different from a tutorial tho) if I miss this, literally means, I did miss it ;;;w;;;;;

Sorry if some of em tones sounds rude but I guess you got my point. Anything else that isn’t from here will be answered if I didn’t miss the message.

Thank you my angels! Stay fab!! ~(UW U~)