Post-Anime Training Montage

Hello internet, etc.

So I just wanted to point a little something out... In the past year, my graphite portraits have suddenly and vastly improved. Mysterious. I haven't [yet] achieved hyper-realism, but it's getting there, which is a faaar cry from portraits I did in 2017. I wasn't really sure at first why my art rapidly looked so much better, but in the comparison shot below, I captured a theory of mine:

Last year, my drawings still had that manga-esque influence, even when combined with realistic elements. I used one Papermate pencil, one plain white eraser, and a fine enough sharpener (never underestimate the power of a pencil sharpener!!). Now, I used every single one of these tools to create the drawing on the right:

- 4 art pencils: 2H, HB, 2B, and 4B

- Plain white eraser

- Kneadable eraser

- Good ol' sharpener (xtra sharpp)

- Tortillion (that rolled paper thing. Good for blending small/precise areas)

- 2 small nylon brushes (one fluffy, one shaped flat/round)

- Sandpaper block (makes graphite dust to brush evenly over wide surfaces) (also files down pencil tips, but be careful not to damage the surface of your paper with a jagged pencil tip after...)

- Big coarse-bristled brush (for brushing away eraser dust without using my hand. No more smudging/staining)

- Flashlight (I draw ~everywhere~. Gotta keep that sweet lighting with me)

These tools, paired with about 12 more months of drawing practice, resulted in a little something like this:

I dunno about you, but I see a slight improvement.

Not only this, but I've tried falling into the habit of applying as much detail and patience into every aspect of the drawing. This may or may not be because I'm simply in a real artsy-obsessive mood lately.

TL;DR use more tools! Even if you only have a few HB pencils and a basic eraser, try using a paintbrush to blend a sharp edge, or a scrap of sandpaper to grate pencil dust over a large area.

(Also, prAcTiCe. This isn't some cheap Instagram life hack.)

Byefonow,

-nesso

Random drawings

Konichiwa, hallo, ciao, 'sup.

I felt like posting something, but I didn't really have any step-by-steps or new ideas to talk about. And so, I gathered a bunch of stuff I've drawn recently to stick in my blog! I don't have much to say about these pieces individually, so imma just glomp em all here with a short description for each pic.

I wanted to study my tabby cat, Mojo, a little bit. This is a collection of very quick sketches, captured in motion or in memory... I've never been great at drawing cats, so this was a good exercise for me.

 I've been seriously considering applying to a publishing company as an illustrator. While I'm writing my ~*~graphic~novel~*~, this can be one of my jobs on the side. They've asked for pictures of children--presumably for kids' books--so hey. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of kids, I can still draw 'em, right?

Okay, so fun fact here. That little kid with the horse up top? Here she is, all grown up, as the co-protagonist of my current project. Wowee! #GlowUp!

Protag #2, even more grown up than he looks in the actual current events of the story. His hair is longer, he has no beard, and he's a real skinny-squishy kinda guy, you know? Mr. Buff Macho Man up here appears like fifty years into the future; long story (heh).

This was one of my first completed digital artworks, like, ever. Honestly, there's not much that I particularly like about it... I also kinda feel like I should've kept his face blank, for some reason. Maybe I'll go back and redo it someday. Anyway, I LOVE the way I did his hair. FABULOUS.

And what better way to end this off than a series of Final Fantasy XV portraits? Mah bois are back. (I feel like Gladio's telling an embarrassing story about Chocobo-Butt Prompto here. Noct and Iggy are all there for roasting the poor kid.)

Remember when I said this wasn't a gaming fanart blog? 
Yeahhh. 
I lie.


Okay, so story time! I totally thought that the new Sabrina spinoff was already on air, but apparently it isn't? I live under a rock. Anyway, I was a BG actor on the set twice this last week, and it turns out the main guy was on a show I used to watch All The Time as a tween. Not gonna name any names in case it's all hush-hush rn. Maybe it's already leaked. Maybe nobody cares. I dunno. Still won't squeak. (The world will find out soon enough.)

So yeah, that was pretty cool! I felt POSITIVELY AWESTRUCK in his GODLY PRESENCE or whatever.


Anyway, that's my post. Ta-daaa!

Sayonara, strudeldusseldorf, ciao, later.

-nessa