Latest Posts by menta1tan - Page 4

if my pitched-down, chopped-up remix of the wii shop channel theme gets stuck in ur head as much as the original gets stuck in mine, then i’ve accomplished my goal. if not then fuck u

Hi! I'm such a big fan of your art, you're a big inspiration to me :) I was wondering, any advice on developing OCs? I love yours so much (especially the WATSA characters), and I was wondering if you had any tips on improving/developing original characters. Again, thanks for creating such great artwork ❤

Thank you!! i’m flattered that you like my ocs so much! 

And hm.. yeah that’s been one of my struggles for years. Here’s a few links to posts that i’ve saved that might help:

brainstorming

random trait generator 

conflict ideas

face diversity exercise

writing tips

website that helps build ocs. you can save your progress there too!

oc masterpost that i reblogged a million years ago

character flaws

 45 questions to answer about your ocs

But mostly, for me, it takes years to get a character where i want them to be. And a lot of times, I adopt themes/little quirks from things that I like, and incorporate them into my ocs. Like for example, Florence’s obsession with drag racing. I kinda added that in, after the 4th time of completing gta v haha. Also, I add a lot of myself into my characters. The main trio (Riley, Florence, and Stellone) all share parts of my personality. 

Write what you know! And don’t be afraid to add conflict. It’s a big part of what makes your characters relatable. An exercise i do sometimes is I think of a conflict (let’s say, ran out of gas when on a road trip), and I think about how each character would react to the situation. Do they get frustrated right away? Do they start panicking, or are they a problem solver? 

I also like to make my characters as diverse as possible. One way to do this is to think of them in a line up. Height, weight, race, culture, body language, clothing style, etc. It’s all really important to think about when trying to make each character unique. You can also take it one step further, and turn them into silhouettes. If you can tell the difference between each, you’re on the right track! 

These are just a few things I’ve learned from developing my own ocs. I’ve just barely scraped the surface. I hope this helps a little bit!! Good luck :+D

FREE ART PROGRAMS

So recently I came across a fellow artist who was struggling to find a free art program, and considering dropping the large amount of money for a Photoshop license. I know not everyone can afford such an expensive program, so I’ve compiled a list of programs with no cost to download and use.

Keep in mind all computers are different, so not all will work for everyone. Also, I’ve only ever used Windows, so for the most part, I’m not sure if everything will work for Mac. if in doubt check the website linked.

Photoshop CS2 - (Windows, not sure about Mac.)

FireAlpaca - (Windows and Mac)

Sketchbook Copic Edition - (Windows and Mac)

GIMP - (Windows) (Mac)

Paint tool SAI [cracked]  - (Windows) (Mac)

Paint tool SAI 2 beta - (tumblr post on said program)

iPaint - (Mac)

Paintbrush - (Mac)

Pencil - (Windows, Mac)

Paint.NET - (Windows)

Seashore [still in development, ver 0.5] - (Mac)

ChocoFlop - (Mac)

Inkscape - (Mac and Windows)

ArtRage [Demo] - (Mac and Windows)

OpenCanvas 1.1[must pay for 2.0] - (Windows, not sure about Mac.)

MyPaint - (Windows)

Krita - (Windows)

Vectorian [Supports Animation] - (Windows)

Pixia[Japanese, some English versions] - (Windows)

Asperite - (Windows)

Chasys Draw IES - (Windows)

SmoothDraw - (Windows)

TwistedBrush Open Studio - (Windows)

BOUNS - CTRL+Paint [Great for teaching all kinds of stuff, like how to use digital programs.]

If you know more free programs, please add onto this!