.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.☆.*｡･ﾟ✫*..✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.☆.*｡･ﾟ✫*. time-saving digital art tips for ALL artists!! .✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.☆.*｡･ﾟ✫*..✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.☆.*｡･ﾟ✫*. ✧ hello everyone!! this is a pouncing cat (well @-CinnamonSticks- on scratch, you can call me either)!! welcome back to another project, and thanks for dropping by today!! every view is appreciated!! ✧ before we begin, i have a few side notes (don't i always tehe!!)-- the quality of the picture isn't great because of the canvas size. for better quality, you can check it out under my toyhou.se page (A_Pouncing_Cat)!! also the image is watermarked pouncing because that is what i go by on every website except scratch (youtube and toyhou.se). and finally-- OH MY GATO!! WE DID IT!! WE GOT 2,000+!?!?!? LIKE WHATTTT!!!! THAT IS INCREDIBLE THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!! to celebrate, i figured i would do something that would hopefully be helpful to you guys, and teach you some of my art ways!! OWO schanzy!! (notice: i am not a professional artist at all. XD i haven't gone to art school or anything fancy, so this is all just from personal experience.) .✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.☆.*｡･ﾟ✫*..✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.☆.*｡･ﾟ✫*. 1. your program!! this one is simply something that comes in handy in the long run. (most of these tips will revolve around utilizing some tools within art programs other than scratch, so it is good to have one on hand.) before you start developing content, whether it be on scratch, youtube, toyhou.se, etc. you want to have a reliable art program. one of the most common questions i get is what art program i use, and i use medibang paint (32 bit)!! for animation, i use firealpaca, because i can use onion skin mode-- but that's a story for animation tips!! if you are worried about paying for a program, you don't have to. medibang paint and firealpaca are both free, and as long as you get them from the proper source, the official website, you should have no problems with scams/tracking, etc. getting a program that has more tools than the average scratch editor is great as it provides easy space for improvement, as well as a boost of self-confidence knowing you have this at your fingertips. 2. your style!! this is the hardest thing to narrow down, but once you have it, you are set up for future success!! for me, i think i had to go through at least 8 different styles before i settled on the one i have now, and i have successfully kept this style for about 2 1/2 years. you don't want to have a style that looks just like someone else's, so a great idea is to look at a few artists you like, and then combine some things from each style into something new and your own. on top of this, one of the greatest things i have done to develop my style is to also design characters using it, even if you never plan to use those characters again. this helps artists to discover the "signature pieces" you will have in all of your art, no matter the character. after you are settled with your style, you definitely, no matter how horrible it seems, need to try drawing something different. if you started out with cats, perhaps move along to humans, etc. gonna move to n&c for more room!! :3
#3. patterns now, this doesn't apply to all artists as it often depends on their style, but it is something i find incredibly useful, and quite satisfying to work with. on all of my characters, their clothing is something super fun to work with. i love to add patterns to their clothing pieces, whether it be small spots on the shirts, a granulated texture on a leather jacket, or long lines on jeans. this is also super easy to do, and takes a short amount of time for a quick result. if you are using an art program, i recommend turning on "Protect Alpha" in the layers section so you cannot color outside the lines with the pattern. then, use tools like rotation symmetry, normal pens, fading pens, etc. to add different effects to the areas on your art. however, you don't want to go overboard!! i don't recommend using patterns on fur, skin, or too much on hair. since those parts usually take up most of the piece, adding too much texture can push people away. #4. lighting/shading this is definitely my favorite part of the drawing process (other than sketching) because it literally transforms your drawing from a color-picked image from your reference to an entire, put-together piece. what i like to do is mainly focus on lighting and less on shading. this is because i use copied layers of my .png drawing and the "Protect Alpha" tool to add gradients from light to dark. then, i love to go over my drawing using things like stipple and airbrush tools to add more unique lighting. on top of this, you can put your lighting layer under the "Add" effect. this works like a charm to make your airbrush strokes look like real light. you also would like to focus on areas that produce light themselves, such as sparkles of metallic objects. however-- do not use airbrush tool at all for shading, only lighting!! it often ends up looking way too dark and can ruin a beautiful piece!! #5. backgrounds this is not something i used to focus on, but i am so glad i started working on them. the best thing you can do to create a cohesive background is simply not using a plain one. you likely won't be as attracted to a drawing that has a plain pink background, rather than one that blends in with the featured piece/character. another tip within this is to make sure your background "works". it wouldn't make sense for my character, dalton here, to be up, sitting on a cloud with rainbows. instead, since he is from District 7, it does make sense to put him in a forest, like i have done. also be sure to blend in your background with your character using similar lighting and shading tools, as well as a complimentary color palette. if it begins to distract your eyes from the main focus too much, the blur tool is always helpful to have. and that's about it. please let me know if you have questions, i had to leave out a lot due to the limit of text in the description. ':D i hope you have enjoyed, and since you made it this far, here is the QOTP (question of the project)!! Q. have you read the hunger games?? if so, who is your favorite character?? if you are a true fan, be sure to check out this, where you can learn even more about my character, dalton, featured in the art of this project!! https://toyhou.se/~literature/18537.the-100th-games-a-hunger-games-book .✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.☆.*｡･ﾟ✫*..✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.☆.*｡･ﾟ✫*. credits music -- unstoppable -- the score, thanks to @stealth23 art -- @-CinnamonSticks- (pouncing) character -- @-CinnamonSticks- (pouncing) fonts -- both from fontspace!! i used the "don't click me" and the "dragons and chickens" fonts!! .✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.☆.*｡･ﾟ✫*..✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.☆.*｡･ﾟ✫*.
