Emily eyes

 

I love to brainstorm ideas. But after browsing Pixiv for the first time in years I realized something: I'm not very spontaneous. Not every artwork has to have a deep meaning behind it. Maybe I just want to draw some pretty looking eyes. This is my first attempt in a long time at being spontaneous. I've started coloring her already and I'm very excited about it. 

Emily practice

 Coloring practice featuring Emily. I used a coloring tutorial from Pixiv. 

Summer road

 Some scenery practice from earlier this month. 

The goal is to paint everything as deliberately as possible to avoid overworking the image. I was going to continue but decided I like it the way it is. 

Kitties

 

Practicing different kinds of kitties just to see what sticks

Anya practice

 

Used screencap for reference. Her design is so cute!!

Princess Peach

 So obsessed with this art style from some promotional kiddie book around the time Mario 64 came out. I love the art style because it's no BS. Just gets straight to the point. How do I obtain this power!!?

Notes on Iterative Drawing

 Iterative Drawing by Sycra

Iterative drawing is the fastest way to improve.

Notes

• Link to video

• I made abridged notes from the transcript.

• My personal notes

• Introduction

• This technique is all about developing your brain from being purely analytical to having intuitive mileage built in

• Especially good for people who are analytical and not quite as intuitive 

• Breaks the habit of overthinking things

• Anything you have trained by repetition starts off analytical but becomes intuitive 

• Applies to any skill

• When you dream, everything looks correct. But when you draw on the page, it’s difficult to carry that information over.

• Learning a new language at first is very analytical: learning the alphabet and basic vocabulary, but with time you become fluent. I.e. It becomes intuitive!

• “You just have to practice”

• You need mileage, but for someone who is analytical, it's vague to just say “draw a lot and you'll get better”

• What if I draw and I put in a ton of mileage and I do this for two years and I still suck? This is why I didn’t improve much for years.

• Let's say you want to practice drawing a figure with a non-iterative approach. You map everything out meticulously and draw as best as you can.

• This, as he mentions, is inefficient. See the pottery class anecdote from Art and Fear.

• “Don't try to create and analyze at the same time. They're different processes.”

• I recently found this advice online and it opened my eyes to a new way of making art.

• You can’t effectively do both at the same time

• The iterative cycle allows for both processes to work together.

• Iterative training

• What is interesting to you? What do you really want to do?

• Without using a reference, draw your chosen subject based on how you remember it. The first iteration is based on instinct. 

• Next, look at it and ask yourself what went wrong; what went right. Ask yourself, why isn’t this working?

• Compare your iterations to each other: “Aha- so that's what I was missing!”

• After this reflecting process, start the next iteration.

• Even a minor difference means you've already fixed something!

• Making repetition worthwhile

• Each iteration is mileage.

• Practicing iterative exercises every day helps accumulate mileage quicker

• This frees you from being stuck in one way of doing things and allows for more creativity.

• Moving from an analytical mindset to an intuitive one

• The left and right sides of the brain build a connection when firing in close duration to each other. This bridge-building is what helps you retain information and improve over time.

• These experimental iterations over time will help you naturally connect things together

• Next time you draw from imagination you will remember what you have learned

• If you’ve done something many times instead of questioning and struggling, you will intuitively know what looks right.

• It is absolutely worth it to write about each art piece.

• Analyze after reaching significant milestones. 

• What looks good so far? 

• What needs to be addressed? 

• What steps do I plan to take moving forward? 

• List references that demonstrate the desired effects.

Artist Bio

• What I do: Hobbyist artist, constantly hopping from obsession to obsession and always experimenting. I alternate between character art and scenery painting.
• Age: Child at heart but old enough to remember AIM.
• Think of me whenever you see an owl.
• Ultimate goal: Write and draw the story that has existed in my head for years.
• Favorite artist: Louis Wain. He drew trippy and colorful cartoon cats.
• Vintage aesthetic, not vintage values! Victorian, Edwardian, and Art Deco.
• Shiny, sparkly, colorful stained glass, because monkey brain likes shiny things. 
• Creepy-cute and odd but playful, like ghost children haunting a gothic cathedral

Straight-haired Emily

 

Some recent coloring practice with Emily. 
I've started using linework with a slightly rough texture to emulate the feel of drawing traditionally. It adds a nice touch of character to any drawing. I'm always hopping between mediums from this to that.

Wedding Peach

 

Some drawing, art style and coloring practice with Princess Peach, because I've fallen in love with her adorable design. I'm not super thrilled with how this came out, but it taught me some lessons for next time, so overall it was a valuable experience.

Experiment: Airbrushing style

Some experimental airbrushing art I've done recently. Inspired by Louis Wain, Nintendo 64, and low poly art in general.

Eileen

 

Practicing my goal art style with Eileen

Pensive Henry

Silent Hill 4 is my favorite anime, guys!

November check-in

Let’s get the yucky parts out of the way first: I am feeling burnt out lately and I’m not sure why. I’m looking into ways to practice self-care that will also get me back on track. I haven’t been making much art this month which bums me out, but I just haven’t been that interested and I’m not going to force that. This will pass and I’m going to enjoy doing other things in the meantime... such as what’s listed below!

I went to a rock and mineral show earlier this month. It costs a few dollars to get in, but it was worth it. So many shiny rocks and crystals! I purchased a few small pieces for my collection and I’m hoping to make some miniature terrariums to showcase them. At some point I’d like to post some pictures.

We also enjoyed the quintessential fall activity of visiting the cider mill! Take your whole family, go on a nature hike and be rewarded with donuts and cider at the end. They also had a petting zoo. The weather was perfect that day! And just recently, we had an outdoor pumpkin painting party with some friends on a glorious October day.

Enjoying the fall 2022 anime lineup. I’m watching: Mob Psycho 100 III, Chainsaw Man, Spy x Family, Golden Kamuy, and To Your Eternity. Wouldn’t be surprised if I forgot to list them all because there’s so much to keep up with. I borrowed Big O, and the aesthetic is just absolutely my jam. I also borrowed Sailor Moon which I have never watched. Only watched the first episode, so the verdict isn’t in yet.  

I’ve been into podcasts for roughly a year now, but I’ve finally found some shows that I really truly enjoy. A special shoutout to 99% Invisible which is about art and design, with tons of mind-blowing facts about stuff you never really think about; Obitchuary, as well as My Favorite Murder, are two shows that are both morbid and funny; No Stupid Questions is thought provoking and they always stay on topic. 

While I didn’t do much art this month, I have made good progress on the story I’m writing. This is a victory for me because I’ve been talking about writing this story for well over ten years. I worked on Act 1 (out of 3) this month. My goal for November is to work on the meat and potatoes of the story, Act 2. I’m really scared, but I know I can do this!!! The plan is to establish the foundation and main plot beats, and then when I draw the comic I can add all the fun little details along the way.  Trying not to get too caught up in the planning stage.... But creative writing is so hard for me! I would even say that making this comic is my ultimate life goal. 

On a very related topic, I’m currently reading Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud and taking very detailed notes on it. This book is absolutely mind-blowing and my only regret is not reading this book way earlier in life. It focuses on the design and philosophy of comic-making and that’s exactly what I’m here for. Plus I love the way he draws himself as a cartoon character!