HiPOD 22 Apr 2022: Layers To The West Of Gale Crater

how to improve drawing kinda fast:

ditch lineart for a bit (this way its easier to part with things that aren’t working)

use a REALLY thin brush

copy, copy, copy art you think is ✨art goals✨

don’t post that stuff tho :O

if you need to trace at first, thats fine lol but break away from that eventually!! you gotta train your eyes to draw what you see, spatial awareness is very important

copy hands, poses, expressions, anything you wanna get better at

don’t copy from refs that are way too simple to be used as a “master study”, like from the calarts shows etc.

copy from stuff thats kinda complex bc if you learn how to draw it in that complex way, you can always simplify it if you want ^^

im pretty sure this is how many of us have become obsessed with hip dips details LOL

if something looks off, flip ur canvas, mess with ur sketch, or even delete (or hide) parts of the sketch and try again. if you drew it once, u can draw it again. (erase or hold up the page to the light backwards if drawing on paper)

being cool with parting with your sketch if its not working will make you a better artist

youre allowed to frankenstein refs together lol (a hand from here, a mouth from there…)

if youre having trouble making your sketches look like theres actual shapes, try shading :D

literally the only reason i shade now is to show the shapes of objects in more of a painterly way (its not just for paintings btw, its just easier to describe it that way)

try new things that youre excited about like perspective, anatomy, blah blah

copy!!!! while youre copying it’s gonna be cool to see how much you remember when you try it on your own

scribble a doodle as often as you can, not like urgently, but like as something to look forward to (like how lots of ppl look forward to wordle everyday lol)

this list can apply to anyone but its fine if you wanna take some advice and leave some if it doesn’t work out. this list is mostly just to get you comfortable with sketching and learning, not performing.

I mention that “not performing” thing bc its easy to want to please social media platforms because that attention and validation can feel amazing! 

but its also addicting because many of us crave being in a community and talking to ppl who like the same things we do

there are many communities out there from artist youtubers, artist streamers, etc. and many of them have discords and stuff and it might be fun to join! and/or join fandom ones if u want ^^ 

that way you have something thats not bound by if ig decides to not show your post to your followers or something

there’s also lots of other platforms that aren’t social media based specifically for artist communities too!

with this said, please be safe! never give out private info and you’re always free to block/report ppl who make u uncomfortable or ask weird things. 

on the topic of being in communities… reblog art you like! comment the nice things youre thinking in the tags or in an actual comment! share art you like on your ig story!

firstly, this is great for making friends

secondly, the artist cant read ur mind so they don’t hear anything nice youre saying :(

comments can be so motivating!! hearing nice things from my mutuals about my art feels great bc of that authentic human connection we’ve all been missing for like 2 years now

if i see a mutual drawing something and i think “omg they did amazing with the expression!” i write it (ive also been told i leave comments as if im talking and its kinda funny to read sometimes xD)

its channeling “girls support girls” culture in a way lol we’re our best when we’re lifting each other up <3

luv ya, be safe!! and draw lots of things!! :D

add stuff that’s helped you improve kinda fast if u want too! if we put all our brain cells together we’ll be unstoppable heheh

Writing Tips

Descriptions in Between Dialogue

✧

⤠ how characters interact with the environment

⇝ moving something, picking something up, looking somewhere

⤠ how the environment interacts with the characters

⇝ weather, other character’s actions or movements

⤠ gestures

⇝ facial expressions, body language

⤠ shifts in position

⇝ standing, sitting, leaning, shifting weight, crossing arms/legs

⤠ physical reactions

⇝ body temperature, fidgeting, heart rate, character quirks

⤠ environmental descriptions

⇝ descriptions using the five senses, setting, character’s appearances

⤠ internal dialogue

⇝ emotional reaction to what was said, reflection of past experiences, connections to other characters/settings/actions

➵ I want to reiterate… descriptions using the five senses ; when in doubt, think of the five senses your character is experiencing and pick what best moves the story forward

Herschel’s view of new stars and molecular clouds by europeanspaceagency

Three types of rainforests: Boreal, Tropical and Temperate.

Pink Robin Bird

The pink robin is a small passerine bird native to southeastern Australia.

Its natural habitats are cool temperate forests of far southeastern Australia.

Like many brightly coloured robins it is sexually dimorphic.

Measuring 5.3 in in length, the robin has a small, thin, black bill, and dark brown eyes and legs.

The male has a distinctive white forehead spot and pink breast, with grey-black upperparts, wings and tail. The belly is white.

Its range is the forests of southern Victoria and neighbouring parts of South Australia and New South Wales, and Tasmania.

Pink Robin Bird

Art Tips for Vibrant Lighting

Some tips and tricks for getting glowy, beautiful, vibrant lighting effects…especially in traditional art, with no ctrl+z! The example piece is a watercolor work in progress of mine and, if you’re familiar with watercolor, you know it’s super unforgiving. What you put down stays!

Tip 1: Create a thumbnail

Do a very loose, messy sketch of your illustration. This helps define the composition, but it can also help you pick where your light is coming from and what colors you’ll use for it. This way, you can reference the light source and colors while you’re painting!

Even if you’re working digitally, this creates a great color key you can turn back to. You can make a thumbnail digitally or traditionally. 

This thumbnail only took about 20 minutes…and it’s saved so many headaches during the painting process. 

When you have a thumbnail, the rest of your painting is just a translation of those colors with a better technique. 

Tips:

Feel free to make many thumbnails! This is the easiest step to revise and repeat.

Use a photo for inspiration for your color scheme. I used clouds in the evening as color references. 

Play around with layers and effects (like overlay, multiply). This can help you figure out new colors that you can then try to capture traditionally!

Tip 2: Don’t forget about your lines!

Line art is important for gradients! I did mine first, so I had to consider the glow effect too. It’s a bit blurry (as its a screenshot from a reel, lol), but you can see yellows to dark browns and blacks. This established the glow from the start!

Tips:

Consider using a media you can get gradients in. I used acryla gouache here, but ink, watercolor, and even markers can work well! 

If it’s hard to visualize highlights in line art, do the lines after with pen or paint! Adding shadows and highlights that way can be easier. 

Tip 3: Start with big gradients first

Once you have your sketch on paper finished, start with large gradients! This helps define your light source and keep your whole composition making sense. 

Here, I started with the background sky, then added in the shadow coming off the wing before doing anything else. Take note of how helpful the thumbnail was in helping me lay this all out, too!

Tip 4: Think warm to cool

See how both the hair and wings move from warm (yellow/browns) to cool colors (blues, payne’s grey)? This is a surefire way to keep the strong light source and make it look like the light is glowing!

Tips:

This is all about keeping the colors close to your light source, so if your light source is cool (like the moon), your highlights are cool and your shadows are warm tones. The key is just to keep it consistent! 

Lighting isn’t just light to dark gradients. It’s also warm to cool/cool to warm!

Think about all the spots the light catches (like that one front feather on the left top). It takes a lot of thinking through, but it’ll make a huge impact! (Remember, you can always revisit your thumbnail or add more details in there)

Don’t forget about reflected light, bouncing off another surface. It’ll be more subtle than the main light source, but still there!

Final Tips:

Love those gradients! Watercolor is meant for beautiful gradients, so use multiple colors for a glow. The feathers in the light go from yellow ochre to prussian blue to payne’s grey.

Start with the highlights first, then work into the shadows! Above, the skin isn’t even painted with shadows yet, because I wanted to get the lighting first.

This is just a WIP right now, but I hope these tips help! If you want to follow, I’ll be posting more progress pics (and the finished illustration soon too). :D

My: Instagram | Twitter

“Welcome to Snackbeard’s Sandbar and Krill And Other DelicaSeas and Delights!”

When snacktime beckons in the deep sea, salmon snailfish wiggle wiggle those little chin-fins (which are actually modified pectoral fins) in the sand—but it’s all in good taste. Those whiskers are covered in tastebuds, and can help them sus out small crustaceans, like amphipods and crabs, hidden in the muck!

Your writing will always feel awkward to you, because you wrote it.

Your plot twists will always feel predictable, because you created them.

Your stories will always feel a bit boring to you, because you read them a million times.

They won't feel like that for your reader.

my color tips pdf is now available ! i had a lot of fun with this, i hope you enjoy ^^

BUY HERE or HERE