vampireantihero

[vampireantihero]

I haven't posted anything here in a long time. Too many social media platforms.

#not art

[vampireantihero]

Words for Skin Tone | How to Describe Skin Color

We discussed the issues describing People of Color by means of food in Part I of this guide, which brought rise to even more questions, mostly along the lines of “So, if food’s not an option, what can I use?” Well, I was just getting to that!

This final portion focuses on describing skin tone, with photo and passage examples provided throughout. I hope to cover everything from the use of straight-forward description to the more creatively-inclined, keeping in mind the questions we’ve received on this topic.

Standard Description

Basic Colors

Pictured above: Black, Brown, Beige, White, Pink.

“She had brown skin.”

This is a perfectly fine description that, while not providing the most detail, works well and will never become cliché.

Describing characters’ skin as simply brown or beige works on its own, though it’s not particularly telling just from the range in brown alone.

Complex Colors

These are more rarely used words that actually “mean” their color. Some of these have multiple meanings, so you’ll want to look into those to determine what other associations a word might have.

Pictured above: Umber, Sepia, Ochre, Russet, Terra-cotta, Gold, Tawny, Taupe, Khaki, Fawn.

Complex colors work well alone, though often pair well with a basic color in regards to narrowing down shade/tone.

For example: Golden brown, russet brown, tawny beige…

As some of these are on the “rare” side, sliding in a definition of the word within the sentence itself may help readers who are unfamiliar with the term visualize the color without seeking a dictionary.

“He was tall and slim, his skin a russet, reddish-brown.”

Comparisons to familiar colors or visuals are also helpful:

“His skin was an ochre color, much like the mellow-brown light that bathed the forest.”

Modifiers

Modifiers, often adjectives, make partial changes to a word.The following words are descriptors in reference to skin tone.

Dark - Deep - Rich - Cool

Warm - Medium - Tan

Fair - Light - Pale

Rich Black, Dark brown, Warm beige, Pale pink…

If you’re looking to get more specific than “brown,” modifiers narrow down shade further.

Keep in mind that these modifiers are not exactly colors.

As an already brown-skinned person, I get tan from a lot of sun and resultingly become a darker, deeper brown. I turn a pale, more yellow-brown in the winter.

While best used in combination with a color, I suppose words like “tan” “fair” and “light” do work alone; just note that tan is less likely to be taken for “naturally tan” and much more likely a tanned White person.

Calling someone “dark” as description on its own is offensive to some and also ambiguous. (See: Describing Skin as Dark)

Undertones

Undertones are the colors beneath the skin, seeing as skin isn’t just one even color but has more subdued tones within the dominating palette.

pictured above: warm / earth undertones: yellow, golden, copper, olive, bronze, orange, orange-red, coral | cool / jewel undertones: pink, red, blue, blue-red, rose, magenta, sapphire, silver. 

Mentioning the undertones within a character’s skin is an even more precise way to denote skin tone.

As shown, there’s a difference between say, brown skin with warm orange-red undertones (Kelly Rowland) and brown skin with cool, jewel undertones (Rutina Wesley).

“A dazzling smile revealed the bronze glow at her cheeks.”

“He always looked as if he’d ran a mile, a constant tinge of pink under his tawny skin.”

Standard Description Passage

“Farah’s skin, always fawn, had burned and freckled under the summer’s sun. Even at the cusp of autumn, an uneven tan clung to her skin like burrs. So unlike the smooth, red-brown ochre of her mother, which the sun had richened to a blessing.”

-From my story “Where Summer Ends” featured in Strange Little Girls

Here the state of skin also gives insight on character.

Note my use of “fawn” in regards to multiple meaning and association. While fawn is a color, it’s also a small, timid deer, which describes this very traumatized character of mine perfectly.

Though I use standard descriptions of skin tone more in my writing, at the same time I’m no stranger to creative descriptions, and do enjoy the occasional artsy detail of a character.

Creative Description

Whether compared to night-cast rivers or day’s first light…I actually enjoy seeing Characters of Colors dressed in artful detail.

I’ve read loads of descriptions in my day of white characters and their “smooth rose-tinged ivory skin”, while the PoC, if there, are reduced to something from a candy bowl or a Starbucks drink, so to actually read of PoC described in lavish detail can be somewhat of a treat.

Still, be mindful when you get creative with your character descriptions. Too many frills can become purple-prose-like, so do what feels right for your writing when and where. Not every character or scene warrants a creative description, either. Especially if they’re not even a secondary character.

Using a combination of color descriptions from standard to creative is probably a better method than straight creative. But again, do what’s good for your tale.

Natural Settings - Sky

Pictured above: Harvest Moon -Twilight, Fall/Autumn Leaves, Clay, Desert/Sahara, Sunlight - Sunrise - Sunset - Afterglow - Dawn- Day- Daybreak, Field - Prairie - Wheat, Mountain/Cliff, Beach/Sand/Straw/Hay.

Now before you run off to compare your heroine’s skin to the harvest moon or a cliff side, think about the associations to your words.

When I think cliff, I think of jagged, perilous, rough. I hear sand and picture grainy, yet smooth. Calm. mellow.

So consider your character and what you see fit to compare them to.

Also consider whose perspective you’re describing them from. Someone describing a person they revere or admire may have a more pleasant, loftier description than someone who can’t stand the person.

“Her face was like the fire-gold glow of dawn, lifting my gaze, drawing me in.”

“She had a sandy complexion, smooth and tawny.”

Even creative descriptions tend to draw help from your standard words.

Flowers

Pictured above: Calla lilies, Western Coneflower, Hazel Fay, Hibiscus, Freesia, Rose

It was a bit difficult to find flowers to my liking that didn’t have a 20 character name or wasn’t called something like “chocolate silk” so these are the finalists. 

You’ll definitely want to avoid purple-prose here.

Also be aware of flowers that most might’ve never heard of. Roses are easy, as most know the look and coloring(s) of this plant. But Western coneflowers? Calla lilies? Maybe not so much.

“He entered the cottage in a huff, cheeks a blushing brown like the flowers Nana planted right under my window. Hazel Fay she called them, was it?”

Assorted Plants & Nature

Pictured above: Cattails, Seashell, Driftwood, Pinecone, Acorn, Amber

These ones are kinda odd. Perhaps because I’ve never seen these in comparison to skin tone, With the exception of amber.

At least they’re common enough that most may have an idea what you’re talking about at the mention of “pinecone." 

I suggest reading out your sentences aloud to get a better feel of how it’ll sounds.

"Auburn hair swept past pointed ears, set around a face like an acorn both in shape and shade.”

I pictured some tree-dwelling being or person from a fantasy world in this example, which makes the comparison more appropriate.

I don’t suggest using a comparison just “cuz you can” but actually being thoughtful about what you’re comparing your character to and how it applies to your character and/or setting.

Wood

Pictured above: Mahogany, Walnut, Chestnut, Golden Oak, Ash

Wood can be an iffy description for skin tone. Not only due to several of them having “foody” terminology within their names, but again, associations.

Some people would prefer not to compare/be compared to wood at all, so get opinions, try it aloud, and make sure it’s appropriate to the character if you do use it.

“The old warlock’s skin was a deep shade of mahogany, his stare serious and firm as it held mine.”

Metals

Pictured above: Platinum, Copper, Brass, Gold, Bronze

Copper skin, brass-colored skin, golden skin…

I’ve even heard variations of these used before by comparison to an object of the same properties/coloring, such as penny for copper.

These also work well with modifiers.

“The dress of fine white silks popped against the deep bronze of her skin.”

Gemstones - Minerals

Pictured above: Onyx, Obsidian, Sard, Topaz, Carnelian, Smoky Quartz, Rutile, Pyrite, Citrine, Gypsum

These are trickier to use. As with some complex colors, the writer will have to get us to understand what most of these look like.

If you use these, or any more rare description, consider if it actually “fits” the book or scene.

Even if you’re able to get us to picture what “rutile” looks like, why are you using this description as opposed to something else? Have that answer for yourself.

“His skin reminded her of the topaz ring her father wore at his finger, a gleaming stone of brown, mellow facades.” 

Physical Description

Physical character description can be more than skin tone.

Show us hair, eyes, noses, mouth, hands…body posture, body shape, skin texture… though not necessarily all of those nor at once.

Describing features also helps indicate race, especially if your character has some traits common within the race they are, such as afro hair to a Black character.

How comprehensive you decide to get is up to you. I wouldn’t overdo it and get specific to every mole and birthmark. Noting defining characteristics is good, though, like slightly spaced front teeth, curls that stay flopping in their face, hands freckled with sunspots…

General Tips

Indicate Race Early: I suggest indicators of race be made at the earliest convenience within the writing, with more hints threaded throughout here and there.

Get Creative On Your Own: Obviously, I couldn’t cover every proper color or comparison in which has been “approved” to use for your characters’ skin color, so it’s up to you to use discretion when seeking other ways and shades to describe skin tone.

Skin Color May Not Be Enough: Describing skin tone isn’t always enough to indicate someone’s ethnicity. As timeless cases with readers equating brown to “dark white” or something, more indicators of race may be needed.

Describe White characters and PoC Alike: You should describe the race and/or skin tone of your white characters just as you do your Characters of Color. If you don’t, you risk implying that White is the default human being and PoC are the “Other”).

PSA: Don’t use “Colored.” Based on some asks we’ve received using this word, I’d like to say that unless you or your character is a racist grandmama from the 1960s, do not call People of Color “colored” please. 

Not Sure Where to Start? You really can’t go wrong using basic colors for your skin descriptions. It’s actually what many people prefer and works best for most writing. Personally, I tend to describe my characters using a combo of basic colors + modifiers, with mentions of undertones at times. I do like to veer into more creative descriptions on occasion.

Want some alternatives to “skin” or “skin color”? Try: Appearance, blend, blush, cast, coloring, complexion, flush, glow, hue, overtone, palette, pigmentation, rinse, shade, sheen, spectrum, tinge, tint, tone, undertone, value, wash.

Skin Tone Resources

List of Color Names

The Color Thesaurus

Skin Undertone & Color Matching

Tips and Words on Describing Skin

Photos: Undertones Described (Modifiers included)

Online Thesaurus (try colors, such as “red” & “brown”)

Don’t Call me Pastries: Creative Skin Tones w/ pics I 

Writing & Description Guides

WWC Featured Description Posts

WWC Guide: Words to Describe Hair

Writing with Color: Description & Skin Color Tags

7 Offensive Mistakes Well-intentioned Writers Make

I tried to be as comprehensive as possible with this guide, but if you have a question regarding describing skin color that hasn’t been answered within part I or II of this guide, or have more questions after reading this post, feel free to ask!

~ Mod Colette

[vampireantihero]

Steampunk Gun Update

I added a bit more shine! What do you think?

Here's some of the process from the first pass of painting.

#art #my art #my stuff #digital art #draw every day #youtube #artists on tumblr #steampunk #steampunk gun #artists on youtube #queer artist #lgbtq+ artist #concept art #weapon design #Youtube

[vampireantihero]

Sorry for my quiet lately. A fresh new art vlog hit the shelf today!

#art #my art #my stuff #digital art #artists on tumblr #draw every day #youtube #art vlog #Youtube

[vampireantihero]

Resources For Writing Deaf, Mute, or Blind Characters

Despite the fact that I am not deaf, mute, or blind myself, one of the most common questions I receive is how to portray characters with these disabilities in fiction.

As such, I’ve compiled the resources I’ve accumulated (from real life deaf, mute, or blind people) into a handy masterlist.

Deaf Characters:

Deaf characters masterpost

Deaf dialogue thread

Dialogue with signing characters (also applies to mute characters.)

A deaf author’s advice on deaf characters

Dialogue between deaf characters

Mute Characters

Life as a Mute

My Silent Summer:  Life as a Mute

What It’s Like Being Mute

21 People Reveal What It’s Really Like To Be Mute

I am a 20 year old Mute, ask me anything at all!

Blind Characters:

The 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Blind Characters.

@referenceforwriters masterpost of resources for writing/playing blind characters.

The youtube channel of the wonderful Tommy Edison, a man blind from birth with great insight into the depiction of blind people and their lives.

An Absolute Write thread on the depiction of blind characters, with lots of different viewpoints and some great tips.

And finally, this short, handy masterpost of resources for writing blind characters.

Characters Who Are Blind in One Eye

4 Ways Life Looks Shockingly Different With One Eye

Learning to Live With One Eye

Adapting to the Loss of an Eye

Adapting to Eye Loss and Monocular Vision

Monocular Depth Perception

Deaf-Blind Characters

What Is It Like To Be Deafblind?

Going Deaf and Blind in a City of Noise and Lights

Deaf and Blind by 30

Sarita is Blind, Deaf, and Employed (video)

Born Deaf and Blind, This Eritrean American Graduated Harvard Law School (video)

A Day of a Deaf Blind Person

Lesser Known Things About Being Deafblind

How the Deaf-Blind Communicate

Early Interactions With Children Who Are Deaf-Blind

Raising a DeafBlind Baby

If you have any more resources to add, let me know!  I’ll be adding to this post as I find more resources.

I hope this helps, and happy writing!  <3

#not mine #writing resources #not art

[vampireantihero]

Hey y'all! It's been a minute since I've posted, sorry about that. Here's some steampunk pistols I designed for my mentorship with Hardy Fowler -- already I can see some really big improvements in my presentation and design skills! Hardy is a fantastic mentor and it's been an absolute pleasure working with both him and the other students in the Octo8 design house.

The one with the clock was the first version, and the one without is the one I did after some feedback.

Hope everyone's well!

#my art #art #my stuff #digital art #draw every day #artists on tumblr #concept art #steampunk #steampunk gun #steampunk pistol #prop concept #prop design #weapon design

[vampireantihero]

(Newsletter) Typed this on Wednesday, it's Friday.

Hello everyone! Welcome back to the Night Garden. There is no bi-weekly schedule today, and I apologize for that. This is also going to be a very, very short newsletter. 

I have a larger project that is hidden behind a non-disclosure agreement, and started a mentorship last week. The theatre is on full swing towards our next show, and I have been working on marketing materials for that. The theatre also has had some unexpected things fall from it, that as an assistant director I've had to put more attention to. 

I think, in the interest of not losing my mind, I'll be going dark for a little while! The schedule is going away for now, and the weekly Youtube video is going to be on pause. For now, I'll be working on Youtube things when I can and uploading on the Friday after the video is finished. 

Things will go back to normal with the schedule and Youtube uploads after the first week of November. I will post small updates like this one when I have the time to. I promise, I'm not going away! There will be Youtube videos from time to time when I can swing it, small pieces and homework that can go into my portfolio will make it up onto the website and Instagram. 

This isn't a goodbye, it is a see-you-later. I say every time I sign off of a Youtube video, or a newsletter, that life is hard, and that we need to be able to remember to take care of ourselves. This is me practicing what I preach.

So, take care of yourselves. Drink your water, and remember to do what you can. Don't forget, I love you. 

#my stuff #art newsletter #hiatus

[vampireantihero]

Concept art by H.R. Giger for Alien (1979)

#not mine #inspiration

[vampireantihero]

Background painting practice 🫶

#not mine #art

[vampireantihero]

Art Tip: How I Beat Art Block (By Changing My Scenery)

Good morning, Changelings! Here's this week's video-- a short one, because of some time management issues, but I'll be talking a little bit about that on Monday in the newsletter. I hope that you'll enjoy! This one's a bit shorter than typical; about 6 minutes.

#art #my art #my stuff #draw every day #art block #artists on tumblr #artists on youtube #traditional art #drawing #sketching #art tip #art tips #art advice #Youtube

[vampireantihero]

The last portion of the Under Strange Suns render is up to view! Let me know what you think of the piece. This was a fun one!

#art #my art #digital art #artists on tumblr #artists on youtube #my stuff #draw every day #youtube #dark #fantasy #sci-fi #environment design #environment art #contest #under strange suns #timelapse #speedpaint #time lapse #speed paint #clip studio paint #Youtube

[vampireantihero]

Come What May, Let’s Do Our Best! (Newsletter)

Hey everyone! I hope you’ve had a lovely past two weeks. I’m feeling fairly positive myself, though there is a lot going on for me! I’ve been working hard on some theatre projects, had an in-person selling event, I’m gearing up for my mentorship, and navigating some deadlines, so it’s nice to take a minute to sit down and connect with you all!

Before I get too far into my general ramblings, here is the schedule for the next two weeks:

First In-Person Vending Event / Selling Merch

I mentioned in our last letter that I was doing my first in-person vending event on July 30th. Unfortunately, I didn’t think to take any pictures, but it was a fun time! One of my friends was at the event, showing off their ball pythons. I got to hold my friend’s small snake for most of the event because she’s young and a little bitey, and they were showing off their bigger snake to people so that they could pet and hold him. This event was both free to attend and free to vend, and I made about $35. Not bad for an event that I threw together an inventory for on short notice, without having anything for the theme of the event.

I do not know how often I will wind up doing in-person events, or if I will actively seek them out in the near future. I don’t keep a lot of inventory on hand because it is expensive to make and in the past has not sold very well, so I don’t want to throw money at the wall and see what sticks. That being said, if people local to me want me to do local events, I will do my best to please! If I do do events in the future, I think I will be sticking with smaller merch items such as stickers, patches, and pins. My prints do not sell when I have them.

That being said, I will put some limited time posters and art prints in the shop, to be made-to-print by a vendor, and have them available online. Maybe in the future I will have prints at in person events, but for now, I want to avoid it for cost and lack of interest. For right now, stickers are still going to be print-on-demand as well, but when I’m more solid on the idea of whether or not I’ll keep doing in-person events and if there’s more of an interest in my sticker designs, I’ll switch to having physical inventory and managing it myself. But for now, what I’m doing works, I think. Let me know if you’d be interested in seeing me at local events, and I will make an effort to show up to them!

Website Maintenance

I feel like it may be time to change some things up with the website. I want it to come off as a more professional portfolio than just a place where I throw all of my artwork. Because of this, I want to shake some things up and redesign the site— this will be happening over the course of the next week, and I will do my best to have all of the content still accessible throughout the process, but some things may go down for a little while. Please be patient with me as I work on this redesign.

New Merch

As you can see, I’ll have a sneak peek for paid members at some new merch designs. Without giving too much away, these designs will be focused on astrology and astrological events.

Just like the website, I feel like my merch needs something. It feels like time to refresh things a little bit, and it’s been quite a long time since I’ve released anything that’s merch oriented. I am quite interested in astrology, tarot, cryptids, and various spooky things, and I want to start putting some things together to reflect that in my work. With my most recent piece (down in the Under Strange Suns section), I think I’m starting to finally take a step in the right direction. I’m finding more and more that the stuff I’m really interested in and like to draw fall under the category of dark fantasy, witchy, and the supernatural, so you’ll see some more stuff like that popping up.

I also personally like to journal quite a bit, and want to start talking about that more in my videos and vlogs. This will also reflect in my merch choices — I’m planning on mainly focusing on stickers, but I also eventually want to release patterned paper and washi tapes in the shop. We’ll see as time goes on.

Digital Painting Studio

The week of the 14th is when my mentorship starts with Digital Painting Studio. In case you don’t know, Hardy Fowler is the artist that runs it and is quite an amazing one at that. Just like with medical professionals or writers, one of the best things that you can do for your artwork is to regularly study with others, learn from more experienced people, and experiment with methods that are new to you or workflows that change up how you approach things.

Because of this, I don’t know exactly what Youtube or other ventures will look like. I may be a bit less active during this mentorship, or I may be about the same. We’ll see how things go. I’ll have more information either in the next newsletter or the one after it. Either way, I’m excited. I can see a huge level up in my skills this year, and I’m excited to learn within this mentorship and find even more growth this year.

Tarot Design Vlogs / Youtube Topics

So, the tarot project is under way again. This week’s Youtube upload is the last week of the Under Strange Suns contest entry, so I hope that you all enjoy seeing the final process. But, next week’s Youtube video will be centered around traditional sketching and I’ll be working on the tarot project in that one. When I originally put together the next few weeks on the content calendar, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to be sketching, but now I think I have a pretty good grip on what I want to do. Like it or not, I ideate faster on paper and can get sketches and thumbnails done in larger quantities that way. Because I want to work on the details of the minor arcana first, I’ll be doing it traditionally. This means that the sketching will probably be focused pretty heavily on suit variants, and maybe composition of some of the cards.

A lot of the coming months will be focusing on the tarot designs and/or teaching moments that I can do with those designs, though I may also take breaks throughout to talk about something else for a while. I also have my mentorship starting in a few weeks, and I want to be able to talk about the merits of that after I take it. One of the things I’ve thought about doing with these tarot cards is really slowing down and making teaching content with them. I’ve been largely focusing on speed paints since February because of some hard situations that have been going on this year, but I want to get back to my original goal of teaching art while I’m creating. You’ll see more educational stuff popping up in the next several weeks, including the tarot designs within. I may even talk about what the cards mean as I’m drawing if people are interested in that sort of thing.

Fiverr

I’ve been slightly overwhelmed with deadlines the past few weeks, and also still need to compile some examples for my Fiverr gigs. I know I keep saying “I’ll have these up soon,” but please bare with me! I promise the Fiverr gigs will be up and running by the end of September at the very latest. I want to make sure that I set it up right and that my examples are easy to understand for each gig. I also want to make sure I’m pricing things in such a way that is fair to me and not setting unrealistic expectations for the projects.

Under Strange Suns

I officially uploaded my entry to the contest on Friday, August 4th. I’m nervous. Contest always seem to really trigger my anxiety, though I’m not sure why. As anxious as I am, I’ll be fine whether I place or not. I enjoyed the prompt and I enjoyed the process, and seeing my growth between last years’ entry and this year’s entry is more than enough validation for me. That being said, here’s my final entry:

What do you think? I worked pretty hard on it and it went through several tweaks before I was happy with it, but by the end I was really ecstatic with the results. I got a lot of feedback from friends and other artists, and they really helped me push this piece to the next level.

In Case You Missed It

Here’s a summary of the last two weeks, in case you missed what was happening. Most of what happened I’ve already talked about or shared earlier in this newsletter, but here’s what’s left:

The first in-person show was a success.

There hasn’t been many daily studies the last two weeks, because of deadlines, but here’s what was done:

The last two week's youtube videos:

Closing Thoughts

So, we’ve hit the “until next time” portion of the letter. I’m sorry most of the newsletter this time around was waiting and plans instead of actions. Hopefully the next one is a little bit more focused on action than plans, instead. I say a lot that it’s okay to not get everything done, or that things can sometimes run away from you, but I have a hard time extending that to myself sometimes. So, I promise to not be so hard on myself while in this transition period. Remember to do the same. I love you all. Make sure that you take care of yourselves, drink your water, and do what you can.

#my stuff #artists on tumblr #art newsletter #newsletter #biweekly newsletter #blog #art blog #update #Youtube

[vampireantihero]

#not art #environmental science #this is awesome! Go LEGO! #LEGO

[vampireantihero]

Forgot to post this yesterday-- part 2 of the Under Strange Suns vlog! Check it out :)

I also finished this on Friday, despite myself. So, here's the final version:

I might post part 3 early instead of a Friday upload. We'll see.

#art #my art #my stuff #digital art #artists on tumblr #draw every day #digital illustration #lgbt artist #artists on youtube #art vlog #Youtube #environment art #concept art

[vampireantihero]

I'm back to daily studies after a bit of a break. This week: Dynamic sketching and bugs! This was yester'day, July 31st. I love drawing bugs and this guy was no different, but I kind of dropped the ball on the dynamic sketching side of things.

I'll try to do some more angles today on a different bug, but that may mean I'll need to look up more than one reference. We'll see!

It you'd like to know more about dynamic sketching, look up Peter Han, he teaches the method!

#art #my art #digital art #daily study #draw every day #artists on tumblr #my stuff #bug #insect #sketch #daily sketch #digital sketch

[vampireantihero]

Part 1 of the rendering process for this -- sorry for the week off! I was out of state. Next week's video will be the rest of this render; probably slightly longer as well.

#art #my art #digital art #artists on tumblr #draw every day #my stuff #contest wip #under strange suns #environment art #landscape art #artists on youtube #youtube #art vlog #speedpaint #my artwork #Youtube

[vampireantihero]

I'm back from vacation! This was some concept art I started before I left, but I couldn't quite finish it before I did, so I finished it off yesterday.

Door to the Fates' Lair is a concept art piece for On Broken Wings. OBW is a story I've been developing for a long time, and for a while I tried to develop it into a comic. I'm not sure if I'll still go that direction, but it's fun to develop areas I haven't developed quite yet.

#art #my art #my stuff #digital art #artists on tumblr #draw every day #concept art #concept design #environment art #environment design #background art #stylized