#my character development during covid was learning lineart

[oonaluna-art]

Original vs Updated Tokens I created for my brother's Edge of the Empire character.

#my character development during covid was learning lineart #bothan #star wars oc #edge of the empire #eote #edge of quarentine #taurick duv'key

[cqtlatte]

damn your art style is so pleasing to the eye :0

do you use any particular art software, brushes or technique? I'm a beginner at digital art, so I'll take all the advice I can. thank you for your time!

Hi anon!! Thank you so much, it really means the world to me <3

There’s so many tangents I can go on to give different advice for you, I think because we often think there’s a concrete formula to improve. I hope the advice I give here will help down the road, and that I don’t sound too all over the place here! (lol)

As for programs and such, I use Clip Studio Paint EX. I used to be a PRO user for quite some time but upgraded for the extra features (mostly for webtoon creators/animators), it isn’t a necessary switch at all if you only want to focus on illustration.

Paint tool SAI is also a good lightweight alternative! Before I got a better laptop, my old HP couldn’t really handle CSP; it lagged a whole bunch.

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I tend to jump around a LOT between brushes to toy around with effects and stuff, so it’s hard to give a specific set, however I use these the most:

https://assets.clip-studio.com/en-us/detail?id=1697201

https://graphixly.com/products/theonewithbear-sumi-brush-pack-for-clip-studio-paint

Along with the darker pencil (default brush in CSP)

and a few brushes from the DAUB brush pack.

I don’t use every single brush in every set all the time either though! Usually when it comes to picking brushes for yourself, it 100% relies on how comfortable you are with using them. You'll definitely know what feels good for you, and what doesn't when you try them out!

Some people (like me) enjoy more textured brushes, and others are comfy with clean brushes for lineart, and others like soft watercolor brushes or oil brushes.

Don’t be afraid to tweak brushes either! It takes some time to learn how to do this, but there are lots of tutorials out there.

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I think the most important thing is to first find something that you enjoy drawing/painting a lot, and experimenting a bunch on that. Don’t be afraid to try new things!! You don’t always have to follow the basic workflow of sketch > lineart > color > shading. Mix it up a bit! Include colors in your sketches, paint over your sketches if you don’t like doing lineart! If you do like making super clean lineart, work on different types of lines to make it more fun! Art is like a form of play and messing around, it shouldn’t feel stressful. Be willing to make lots of bad art (even though that can be hard sometimes), so that in the future there’ll be less bad art and tons of good art! Don’t worry too much on developing a style, since this will come naturally the more you draw.

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(also, a word to those who post art on social media!) -

Don’t ever forget to draw what YOU enjoy, rather than focusing on what you think others would like to see!

For a long time before this year I felt like I was constantly hitting a brick wall, and I didn’t know why I didn’t like drawing as much as I used to, and why my character art felt so boring to me. When the covid pandemic hit, I was forced to take a loooong look at my art, and decide ‘I still have a long way to go..’

Something clicked when I sat down to work on some acrylic paintings on canvas for my uni portfolio: I wasn’t allowed to include fanart, since the university didn’t accept that. I also didn’t want to only include digital art either, so that I could add some variety! So, I painted.

I was forced to think more about colors (something I was neglecting, since it’s much easier to color digitally and hit the undo button 10000000 times when I wasn’t happy with something)

During that time, I found that I really REALLY liked painting landscapes and working with bright colors, so I also started to incorporate that into my digital art. Turns out other people enjoyed that as much as I loved creating it, so from there on out, I’ve just been toying around and experimenting on new things ever since!

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Anyway I hope this doesn’t sound too abstract. This is my first time giving formal advice so my brain is going into overdrive mode.

#asks #I decided to include the last bit for new and veteran artists :) I hope it helps those feeling stumped and art blocked #We're all learning after all!