MONDO COOL

luc ❋ 20s ❋ he & they

art tag

personal website

ko-fi

you can use my fanart as icons/headers/layout etc, credit appreciated. please don't repost my work (including to pinterest) without asking!

commissions are currently closed

As a sort of catch-all answer: ultimately, most errors with coloring darker skintones come down to having under-developed observational skills. The thing that is going to help you more than anything I have to say is looking at people with darker skin and doing studies of what you see.

For example, a lot of people mentioned not noticing the palm and lips coloration tips. Obviously I am bound to more easily notice features I see on myself every day, but things like these really just boil down to making an effort to look at reference. At a point, you have to stop using other people's art (including mine!) as your sole reference point vs looking at the subject matter as it exists in real life. Even my own art is bound to have some bias, or some stylistic quirk that omits detail, makes it inaccurate, etc etc. You have to study from real life. Figure drawing in person if you have access to it, online if you don't.

(people have also voiced feeling, afraid? of referencing and studying... You live in a time with unprecedented access to reference material, and you don't have to post everything you draw, especially things that are purely educational/practice. nobody is going to get you I promise ok?)

If you're asking about makeup (I get asked about the optics of bright pink lipstick on dark skin a lot) you should just look up how darker skinned people do their own makeup in those colors. Looking up something like 'pink lipstick dark skin tutorials' for example would give you good reference.

Can I show you my oc for feedback on whether it's a good depiction or not? Unfortunately I would prefer not receiving asks like this. I get a lot of them, and simply don't have the time/energy generally.

What you're asking for is something similar to a sensitivity reader; this is a skill and service, and I am just some guy who is not trained in that sort of critique.

And at the end of the day, I don't want your art to meet my personal standards. I am not the end all be all of depicting dark skin, and again nobody's work including my own is going to be 100% free of bias. There are a few basic don'ts, but there is no 'perfect depiction'. My goal is for you to develop your own skills of observation and critical thought. Ask someone you trust and know personally, or put out a general call for input vs coming to someone who hasn't solicited it.

plus, like, i'm going to be honest, a lot of people doing this send me totally inoffensive art and maybe have an overactive feeling of guilt about drawing other types of people? People think that there are 100 what not to do rules when really it's more like 10. It's fine. If someone does have critique, it is probably not going to be a huge deal. Most big callouts for stuff like whitewashing are artificially inflamed due to the nature of social media. nobody is going to get you.

What if I'm coloring an undead character that would have an ashy skintone - imo making them greyish is fine in that context! If you're going for a natural, healthy skin color, that's when to avoid colors like grey. I have my own black oc who I color slightly 'off' to convey sickliness.

What if I have a pastel/desaturated coloring style? - You should still challenge yourself to make dark skin work in that context. But with pastel, what really matters is contrast and value.

I'm going to use this splatoon/sanrio art as an example-- Marina is whitewashed here on the left, because her skin is very light in relation to the darkest colors in the drawing, the lineart and the black parts of her clothes. On the right is a quick edit. the image overall is still pastel styled, but it's closer to her actual color.

Can I repost/translate this post? yeah, no need to ask. Please don't change my wording too much, but go for it.

Well I have dark skin and I AM grey in real life (low quality phone selfie attached) please be so serious rn

Unfortunately colorist biases exist even in camera and image processing technology, and not all photographs are 1:1 to real life, especially low quality phone camera images. You are not grey in real life; if you have skin with more melanin and a cooler undertone, most cameras with automatic white balancing are going to be bad at capturing this.

Adding Deadlock charms to my shop! Orders will be open for 2 weeks, ending 6/1.

Charms are 3 inches tall and printed on colored acrylic!

(These are also available as stickers!)

NORTH AMERICA SHOP LINK

thanks! I kinda forget other people can see that section lol

selling a medieval beast-y catgirl adopt! $100 obo, message to claim!

Revisited a 2019 piece! happy season 2 confirmation

(speedpaint)