pet_ijwt retweeted
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- CONFIDENCE. Nothing ever felt right, and with every drawing I was using a new brush I had no idea how to use. Nothing ever felt “me”. I had to stop and focus on what I wanted to show and in the end it’s gotta be sexy and passionate, it doesn’t matter if I spent too long on thin lineart and blending ugly colours you can hardly see. I want to focus on the feeling. I know my anatomy, I know my perspectives and composition, I know I am competent, I just didn’t trust myself and was too insecure to go big. It’s the same me but juiced up and more free. I like the big bold lineart and the fun shapes and colours in my rendering, when before I was afraid to stand out, and had so many ideas I thought I had to use that didn’t work
In the end, it doesn’t matter how big you are or the years you have under your belt, we are all artists who are learning. We are unique individuals on our personal journeys, with different styles no better or worse than the next person, because our art belongs to us, and that’s what makes it fun. Sorry to yap but i've been thinking a lot. It's been a tough couple of years personally. I had an epiphany earlier this year that I wanted to do better, even if it meant starting again.
pet_ijwt retweeted
I'll explain on main because I can fit my words in.
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- STUDYING, improving rather than winging it, watching videos and tutorials on the style I wanted to settle in and what I was inspired by (comic book, grungy, cel-shaded etc). It feels like a chore, but it’s there for a reason. Learning to pull back from the muddy rendering and realistic faces to instead imply detail and let you fill in the gaps rather than doing too much. I had a lot of issues tackling what I wanted for years, and lost it in favour of slipping into the uncanny valley and going overboard. I do this in my spare time and never gave myself the time to focus. I struggled and changed up a lot for years, but I feel happier here.
- LINEART. The “textured pen” on CSP carries most of the weight, and i’ll sketch the illusion of detail instead of being perfect. Zoom in and it looks messy but it’s about the bigger picture. I was afraid of boldness and using black to detail. It’s insane how quickly you can do details that look really good with just shape language instead of being perfect and uniform. Being able to actually SEE my art is a bonus lol.
- TEXTURES and bold colours. Halftones and textures on CSP are my besties right now. It’s insane how much you can fill in the dead space of a scene with random squiggles and default texture brushes. I want to avoid blending and soft brushes as it doesn’t work for me. I was relying on muted, desaturated colours, and focused too hard on the little things.
- 3D MODELS and PNGs/stamps were a crutch. A helpful tool, of course, but I fell into a rabbit hole of perfectionism and relied on it too much, feeling self conscious about any flaw. I knew it looked stiff and it got worse, and even though I might use them for small items, furniture and backgrounds, I will prioritise my own hand even if I make mistakes on the way.
