PhantasmicDream

Draw responsibly, We get in the habit of believing that practicing a lot will help us improve with art (or anything in general) and while maybe this is true, it's always good to know when to stop. Taking breaks is important and will be good for you in the long run. Drawing for hours in one sitting is bound to give you some problems, mostly being pains. Pains cause be either neck, back, arm, wrist, and fingers. What can you do to limit the chances of pains? Taking breaks; they could be in between drawings or even half way through one! Take some time to do some stretches, before you start drawing or during one of your breaks. Feeling a little sort in your drawing arm? Can always running it under some cold water, or sticking your arm (up to the elbow) in a bucket full of cold water. Try drawing with more of your arm instead of just with the wrist. Working on a small surface (or being in a small area) may be hard to do full arm motions, but even just a little bit can help put less strain on your wrist. Here's a video that shows off some stretches you can do, or you can look up some other. And remember to not push yourself with too hard of stretches! Cause you don't want to pull something cause you to hurt yourself. Don't forget to drink lots of water and to eat food!! xP

Another drawing relating to my 80s AU. Where else would you hide an alien but inside your own apartment room... Sneaking through the building was easier said than done. The other day I pulled something in my right (dominant) hand making it so any sort of pressure on my thumb would make the rest of my hand hurt.. and it was just a bad time in general, cause even typing a bit kinda hurt. So with that going on, I couldn't really draw... but I really wanted to because I had nothing else to day and was just really bored. So I thought why not draw with my other day, and honestly can't remember the last time I attempted to draw with my left hand... I don't know if you'd call it stubbornness or ambition... x3 So, first I did some gesture drawings to kinda of get the hang of holding something in my left hand Then I drew my slimegirl Dreamy Rockwall. Today I thought, maybe I'll continue to do gesture drawings with my left hand to get better... because I've always been afraid to have something bad happen to my hand causing me to never draw again... and I'm sure that's a normal fear some people have... right? My right hand is a little tender today, but I'm sure by tonight or tomorrow it'll be fine... doesn't hurt a whole when I try to do stuff at least. ^^'

Have you been doing art for a while, and you're thinking "damn, I really want to try and make some comics" well, here's some helpful suggests from me... someone who has a love-hate relationship with comics. Comic panels. There's isn't a specific size for comics these days, you can have traditional size of 6.63″ x 10.24″ (16.84 x 26.01 cm) have a comic strip like in a news paper (or for some online comics) which could be a horizontal or vertical rectangle shape or even squared! Strips are good for one shot comics, while pages are good for comics with a full on story, but at the end of the day you can do what ever. When making your panels you don't have to make it all "interesting shapes" throwing in an odd shaped panel in there once in a while can make the page more interesting to look at but you don't want to have too many on one page... or to have it happening to every page, variety is nice. Whenever your comic is having a "new scene" or location, it's good to have one panel be an "establishing shot"(or "establishing the scene") so the viewer can see where things are taking place. Here's an example of a page I did that has an establishing shot in the middle. Here's another one that has the shot at the end. But ofcourse, "one shot comics" or comics that don't have an overarching plot don't need to have a defined "establishing shot" here's an example Speech Bubbles. It's always a good idea to know where your want to have your speech bubbles. And personally, I'm the worst when if comes to it because I think about where to put them after the drawing... Why figure out placement for the speech bubbles before you draw? Sketching out a basic idea of where you want them will make the panels less crowded. You don't want to draw up your panel to then have your speech bubbles cover up most of it. Now, having the speech bubble being layered over a character isn't necessarily a bad thing too do, sometimes you have to do with when you have a "close-up" shot of the character where else would the bubble go? But it's good to have some rhyme and reason to it. Try to avoid BIG! speech bubbles with a lot of text in it, instead break up the text into two or more speech bubbles and connect them And remember, not ever panel needs to have text in it, sometimes you need to have the visuals do the talking. And example of a minor speech bubble overlapping. What is a comic but a page turning movie. I personally think of the layout of drawing for panels (and sometimes drawings in general) as scenes from a movie. How would a camera be placed in the type of scene that is happening? When having characters interacting with each other in a scene, you don't want to cross the 180° line. you can have the view changing from showing both of them in a midshot, to showing one character talking at the time... but once you flip the camera view to the other side (pass the 180 line) you can throw the whole scene off. This would be similar things they do with shows filmed in front of a live audience, because if the camera passes that line you can see the audience. A time when you can break this could be when the scene is breaking up or they're no longer talking. Pretty much you'll have to keep thinking if the shots make sense. Here's an example of showing the camera changing view and following the character. Angles Bird's Eye - These are views looking straight down from above. Cause use this for a sort of "establishing shot" or if you have a character up high (like in a plane) looking down. High Angle - To make things "look small" You can use this sort of angle to make a character feel small, they are at their lowest point, will they make out of their situation. You're looking down at them. Eye Level - A very neutral shot. Having no really emotion to it, it's the basic shot you'd use to have characters having a conversation and such. Low Angle - To make things "look big" You can use this short of angle to have the character feel like they're towering over another character (or the viewer) Putting a character in this angle you're putting the character in a higher stature. You're looking up at them. Oblique Angle - It's is titled (a bit askew). This can make the view feel that something is off, or not right (maybe something bad is about to happen) This can also be used to show that a character is intoxicated. Shots Medium Shot - it's very neutral (similar to the "Eye Level" angle), it's the most commonly used shot from chatting to romance! Long/Full Shot - This shows the character's full body, gives the viewer an idea of where the scene is happening. This can be used as "establishing the setting" Extreme Long Shot - This too can be used as "establishing the setting" as well, but too a more epic scale. The Extreme Long Shot reveals more than a Long/Full shot, these shots are used more for outside scenes. Close-up Shot - Used to show off the emotion of the character in the scene. Deep Focus Shot - Similar to the Long/Full shot, but everything is in focus (where in other shots part of the scenes can be blurred)

Yes, but depending on how you practice can make a difference. Practice something where you keep making the same mistake doesn't help you improve which was something mentioned in the video gangelwaefre shared. Taking an amount of time to just draw/practice and doing nothing else could help keep the skills you learned to stick I'm your mind. But you're right, there isn't really a fast way to improve faster. Everyone's learning and skill rate varies in time

Oh yeah. That's a very good video, and I imagine he has a lot more! Honestly, there's just a lot of good videos about art on YouTube for people to watch. This is one that I like to share with people who want to "improve fast" It may repeat some points made before (or you may have already heard) but really the main thing about it is, when practicing take sometime to just practice and not to multitask.

LIVE AGAIN!! Old thread from 2015.... With more people joining the forums to post their artworks, maybe it's time to bring this around again. Do people have different pointers for others? Or perhaps you want to leave something you're struggling with and having someone help you fix it up? We have artists of different levels and different skills, it'd be interesting to hear what people have to say. UwU Some of my old points are still on good stands... I think? Some basic examples of what the male figure would have. A sort of visual example of some things I said in my old post, about measurements. Trying to figure out how to get a better understanding of the human figure? me too Something to do for practice and personal use is drawing over references! If you do digital art, you can past the ref on it's own layer, lower the opacity of it... and then on a new layer you want to block out the simple shapes you see. This will give you a better idea of 'structure' and less about the details. Most of the time when we try to draw people, we get all caught up with the small details. If you're a traditional artist, you can always print out the refs, using a light box or a window you can place the ref on it then your paper over top then proceed to block out shapes. You can also use tracing paper. After doing that process for some time, you can start looking a ref and block out the shapes separately instead of drawing over top of the ref. Drawing backgrounds? Grids are your friends... it'd give your a better idea of what the ground would be, where your horizon line is, and it'll be easier to make '3D' shapes. When drawing a scene? What can make it interesting? Why it's placement! Know what you want your main focus is, and try to make everything else draw your eye to it (you don't have to do this everytime, it varies on what your drawing). Shapes and perspective are good to keep in mind as well. What is in your background, mid-ground, and foreground? Your "main focus" doesn't always have to be in the foreground. UwU Drawing clothing seams can make outfits more interesting. Not every picture needs an intense background, even a simple shape with colour can do. And a most importantly, we all start off somewhere. The want to continue and improve can take you a long way! A drawing a did back in 2010 I'm always up for doing redlining artworks or just helping with any questions. SO do be afraid to post something here or just DM me. For example, this would be what "redlining" is

To Lazz, What is the best way to prepare a corpse?

Aww, hearing people taking interest or just seemingly excited to interact with my character in game feels my heart with glee. UwU And it's cool, it was a very stressful round at that part... and maybe people's first encounters with me in game are cursed. xD And honestly, I didn't think it was supposed to be a backhanded comment in anyway, but it was fun to take things the wrong way. ^^' And ingame while playing I understood what you were going for cause the context ingame, and remember someone else mentioning how much of a caring captain you were! ^-^ Also, to make note I use " phantasmicdream " for pretty much everything online related.

Bold of you to assume anything wholesome is going on. lol

Huzzah!!! ^-^

Been in the mood to draw up more of my 80s AU (alternate universe) For those who missed it or just new viewing this post, my 80s AU was created back in the summer. which I'll sneak in the post I made into a spoiler. While drawing the scenes for this setting, they haven't been in any specific order. So I'm thinking at this moment and time I'll collect the ones I've created and place them in order. [New drawing] - The scientist at Nanotrasen has stumbled across what they believe to be a different dimensional space, which currently have the nickname "Bluespace". They figured out that throwing something in it, it would go somewhere. And with the right kind of settings they can pull things to themselves. After playing around with it sending random things like fruit to places on earth and then trying to bring it back (which sometimes they do, sometimes it's something else) they felt like exploring more. First they changed the reach to see if they could place or get things from the Moon. But why not further? One the scientist turned up the dials and ended up pulling a sea creature from Qerrballak. Why, this isn't something they've ever seen before... what other things could be in this location? Sometime late they tried it again (because if course they had to take the time to deal with the creature they just brought though) they ended up pulling through a Skrell (Zeke). How shocking and unbelievable. Months have gone by after the events that took place at Nanotrasen. And in this small town, a new Detective has arrived. In what appears to quiet/sleepy town, Jonah assumes that a lot wont be going on here and cant wait till his contract that stationed him here would end so he could find somewhere better to live. Weeks gone by, and he's gotten more adjusted to the area. Chatting with his "neighbours" that live in the same apartment building as he does, and getting long distant phone calls from his mother (or just family in general) to see how he's settling in and how work is going. Life just seem basic and normal at this point. Jonah starts hearing rumours about Nanotrasen. Mostly about how they're evil and doing inhumane experiments. Jonah just passed it off as people in this town are crazy and will make up anything. Eventually curiosity struck him, what kinds of things are they doing there? He's passed by it a few times, and has never seen anyone enter or leave the building. So why not plan out his own investigation. After a bunch planning and secrecy, Jonah sneaks into the facility, through a window of what appeared to the be a locker room. Grabbing one of the coats hanging around and feeling the pockets of others... he found a key card that someone left behind that belonged to a "Dr. A. Jonas" This was around the third room and checked out, and out of everything would have never expected to see an alien... it was just so surreal. [New drawing] -Jonah, being taken back a bit that this humanoid looking being spoke English back to him. Decided to help Zeke out, after he proposed the idea of, if you let me out of here, I can tell you everything I know. Jonah realizing that this is a horrible idea, came to the conclusion that he's already in deep shit already, so they planned to make it look like Zeke broke out on his own... Not sure yet on what I'm going to do when I draw up new scenes... we'll see ^^"

I and I'm sure many others enjoy hearing tall tales, whether they are about why your shouldn't suck your thumb to princess being locked up in a tower. Something can be intriguing about them, where did they originated from? Why were they told? Is there a deeper meaning behind them? This got me thinking... what would some of these kinds of stories be for the setting in SS13. What would these alien species tell for stories? Would humans still believe or tell some of the same stories we hear today or would they have new ones? So, my boyfriend and I decided to come up with a few different myths. I also welcome anyone to share their own ideas as well! •Skrellian Myths• •The following names may be loose translations• The Deep Water Skrell In the large bodies of water on Qerrballak (Jargon 4) there's going to be a lot of areas where it's "deep water" they're places most people can't reach to and probably would never be able to reach to whether the technology is good enough. In these dark, cold, and high pressured place, what kinds of things could be living there? Ancient and huge beings that noone really knows ago? Are these areas so far gone that nothing can live there? Or is there a possible society living in the deeps that were able to adapt to their surrounds? "Deep Water Skrell" they're told the be more monstrous looking Skrell. Having a more elongated figure being much taller than the average Skrell. They're described to have longer than average limbs, needle like teeth, piercing black eyes, external gills, fins, and webbed and claw liked hands. They have long thin tendrils that normally floats along behind them. Stories about them can vary, but many Skrell believe them to be cannibalistic in nature. It leaves a lot of them wondering, are they real? Can some like them really be living out there? Or are these just part of stories to tell children at night? The Sea Witch What may look like a poor innocent Skrell trapped in the dirt or tangled out in seaweed/kelp may actually be a "sea witch". The Sea Witch is portrayed to have two appearance, one of a young Skrellian maiden while the other being her true form. While her Skrellian appearance is described to be soft and draped in gold jewels, her true form is more thinly. Instead of having three tendrils, she's told to have many small ones, she has a single eye and a sideways mouth that when open reveals rows of many teeth (much like a leech). It is said that she's rooted in areas with high levels of seaweed/kelp, in the original telling she's unable to move from her location but uses her illusions to lure people to her. If luring doesn't work, she controls the seaweed/kelp around her to pull people in. In some other tellings of her, it's told that she can travel through the roots however it is an unpopular telling. The Sea Witch can be seen with a Skrellian baby, in one story it was said that the child was her's before she became a sea witch. That she was a regular Skrell seeking a way to bring back the baby, but it never worked. In more common tellings she would find away to kidnap the baby. What happened to these babies depended on the type of story that was being told. Sometimes it's told that she takes care of them as if they were her own. Other times it's told that she'd eat them or used them for a ritual. Many who have crossed paths with the Sea Witch don't always get away. You can always bribe or make a deal to get out from her grasp, however they doesn't always go as planned. Maybe she does a backstabbing move with the deal, or it can feel like an impossible task to achieve. What this really comes down to is, you should be careful when going through any sort of areas with high levels of seaweed/kelp. Stone Siren (needs a better name) The "Stone Siren" luring travelers in by her song and her "enchanting" appearance. The Stone Siren is described to have tentacles instead of tendrils, a webbed or fin like area from her arms to sides giving her a sort of 'winged' look, and what may seem like a tail at first but really a cord like flesh attaching her to her giant stone crab half. In some portrayals she's attached to the crab by the legs instead of the the "flesh cord". She can be seen wearing fine jewels and lavish attire. It is told that if the "Stone Siren" places a kiss on you that you yourself would turn to stone. This would then lead the to crab part of the Siren to devour you whole. In stories she is mentioned to be located in areas that boarder shallow waters, giver her the option to find people both above and under water. It's said that she's most active during "twilight" and "daybreak" while the rest of the time she's most likely sleeping. Skrell who believe in these stories may advise you on what time is best to travel to the shallow water and than you should never travel alone. •Human's Myths• Ghost Towns (Mars) While colonizing on Mars would have been a big deal for humanity, there would have been many failed attempts a doing so. With a few failed colonization, these areas on Mars may have been left aside and possible forgotten about. Some people may believe that these areas are mostly likely haunted by the original settlers. People who may find themselves still living on Earth believing the Mars is just a cursed planet. Some would believe that If Mars used to have water on it but rejected it, then it'll soon reject humanity living on it too. These people may believe there's sort of pattern happening, and "doomsday" is bound to happen on Mars someday. The Dead Astronaut For people who live on the (Earth's) Moon, and some people who live on Mars, may hear or tell stories of "The Dead Astronaut". Normally portrayed as a Human Skeleton in an old/retro style space suit. People believe that his appearing to places or showing himself to people is some sort of warning. However the warning is never clear. In stories he's told to give off a cold and "Ancient" presence, and that when (or if) he speaks it sounds like whispers echoing around the area.

It's great to see some drawings coming from you again. Traditional art/sketches is always a fun time. And I love that these are in a Harry Potter themed note book. lol

Yays!! Glad to see you started up an art thread. ^-^

Blue nobility? How perfect because i am a self proclaimed Queen

Yum yum

Yas! xD

When playing rounds, sometimes certain "scenes" stick out to me... Sometimes they're interesting other times they're just random. ^^' So, this round I joined in a bit late (probably 5 to 15 minutes late?) Playing as my boy Zeke as the NT Rep, after getting set up and ready went straight to the bridge... Right away there was a random civilian in there- great. Little did I know that this vox civilian was going to be the bane of my existence. They were thrown out of the bridge, but every now and then found a way to sneak back on. The station's power went out rather early in the shift do to a power sink... So of course more people would try to sneak on the bridge again, and I was temporarily stuck in the bar (with an Irish coffee). Finally got out of the bar thanks to someone on the outside having a crowbar. Back to the bridge, people were being thrown out... Because they were allowed there. With the power back ago, one of the civilians were taken to the cells for trespassing onto the Captain's office, and the vox from earlier was ranning around in the bridge hiding in a potted plant. Calling security a few times to come an arrest them... Took them awhile to get there... And the power went out shortly for a second time (but of course wasn't off long) Finally an officer finally came for that vox, and the Capitan said to give them 15minutes. After I told my boyfriend this round, he mentioned that she in a backhanded way just called Zeke "petty" and personally I thought it was hilarious! Unfortunately I don't remember names very well, and didn't think to write it down anywhere... But I have a feeling it was a Katlyn.... something? ^^'

Cradle vox like baby. *Nods

To be honest, I don't know why we update the year for ingame. Lol

Happy New Year every one! Here's hoping for a great year with some awesome folks, and more arts!! And we just won't question why these characters are celebrating 2020 when it's *looks at the Wikipedia* 2562..

Drawing something wholesome again... Cause its been a while. And what's more wholesome that my smol Churchy AU In relation to about thread talking about making your character more fantasy/DnD we have Bard Zeke

Merry Christmas || Happy Holidays

Confliction is an appropriate response! Lol Yee! After sketching that up, I thought maybe checking out different shells to draw up to give me some more inspiration for buildings. ^-^

Last week I caught a cold and just the other day it finally passed! Yay! And of course in my sick and delusional state,I was struck with a genius idea for a drawing. I am infact, a comedy genius. god I need a nap. In my now level minded self, here's some concept sketches of me planning out what some of the underwater cities of Qerrballak would look like. Plus like, underwater pods look like a fish? I think yes, noone can kill my dream for this!!