Compiled some basic information I know about drawing fat characters for beginners since I've been seeing more talk about absence of really basic traits in a lot of art lately.

Overview of some topics when it comes to drawing characters who are burn survivors.

DISCLAIMER. Please keep in mind that this is an introductory overview for drawing some burn scars and has a lot of generalizations in it, so not every “X is Z” statement will be true for Actual People. I'm calling this introductory because I hope to get people to actually do their own research before drawing disabled & visibly different characters rather than just making stuff up. Think of it as a starting point and take it with a grain of salt (especially if you have a very different art style from mine).

Talking about research and learning... don't make your burn survivor characters evil. Burn survivors are normal people and don't deserve to be constantly portrayed in such a way.

How to make modern era Kaneko rendering

I use user-made CSP tools listed here :

- Lineart -> https://assets.clip-studio.com/en-us/detail?id=2060489 (Can use the brush used for coloring too. As long it's a textured pencil with high sensitivity. It'll works)

- Coloring -> https://assets.clip-studio.com/en-us/detail?id=1761353 - Blend -> https://assets.clip-studio.com/en-us/detail?id=1391024

- Scan Dot Effect -> https://assets.clip-studio.com/en-us/detail?id=1687175

- Color Filter -> https://assets.clip-studio.com/en-us/detail?id=1732272 (Set at clip layer > Difference)

Rendering tutorial below :

our kid is asking me for help to learn how to draw eyes. i started putting a 'short tutorial' together for him and its now nine pages long and im not even done everything i wanted to say yet.

You got it

If your dialog feels flat, rewrite the scene pretending the characters cannot at any cost say exactly what they mean. No one says “I’m mad” but they can say it in 100 other ways.

Wrote a chapter but you dislike it? Rewrite it again from memory. That way you’re only remembering the main parts and can fill in extra details. My teacher who was a playwright literally writes every single script twice because of this.

Don’t overuse metaphors, or they lose their potency. Limit yourself.

Disclaimer: Though I have been using a cane for 6 years, I am not a doctor, nor am I by any means an expert. This guide is true to my experience, but there are as many ways to use a cane as there are cane users!

This guide will not include: White canes for blindness, crutches, walkers, or wheelchairs as I have no personal experience with these.

This is meant to be a general guide to get you started and avoid some common mishaps/misconceptions, but you absolutely should continue to do your own research outside of this guide!

The biggest recurring problem I've seen is using the cane on the wrong side. The cane goes on the opposite side of the pain! If your character has even-sided pain or needs it for balance/weakness, then use the cane in the non-dominant hand to keep the dominant hand free. Some cane users also switch sides to give their arm a rest!

A cane takes about 20% of your weight off the opposite leg. It should fit within your natural gait and become something of an extension of your body. If you need more weight off than 20%, then crutches, a walker, or a wheelchair is needed.

Putting more pressure on the cane, using it on the wrong side, or having it at the wrong height will make it less effective, and can cause long term damage to your body from improper pressure and posture. (Hugh Laurie genuinely hurt his body from years of using a cane wrong on House!)

(an animated GIF of a cane matching the natural walking gait. It turns red when pressure is placed on it.)

When going up and down stairs, there is an ideal standard: You want to use the handrail and the cane at the same time, or prioritize the handrail if it's only on one side. When going up stairs you lead with your good leg and follow with the cane and hurt leg together. When going down stairs you lead with the cane, then the good leg, and THEN the leg that needs help.

Realistically though, many people don't move out of the way for cane users to access the railing, many stairs don't have railings, and many are wet, rusty, or generally not ideal to grip.

In these cases, if you have a friend nearby, holding on to them is a good idea. Or, take it one step at a time carefully if you're alone.

Now we come to a very common mistake I see... Using fashion canes for medical use!

(These are 4 broad shapes, but there is INCREDIBLE variation in cane handles. Research heavily what will be best for your character's specific needs!)

The handle is the contact point for all the weight you're putting on your cane, and that pressure is being put onto your hand, wrist, and shoulder. So the shape is very important for long term use!

Knob handles (and very decorative handles) are not used for medical use for this reason. It adds extra stress to the body and can damage your hand to put constant pressure onto these painful shapes.

The weight of a cane is also incredibly important, as a heavier cane will cause wear on your body much faster. When you're using it all day, it gets heavy fast! If your character struggles with weakness, then they won't want a heavy cane if they can help it!

This is also part of why sword canes aren't usually very viable for medical use (along with them usually being knob handles) is that swords are extra weight!

However, a small knife or perhaps a retractable blade hidden within the base might be viable even for weak characters.

Bases have a lot of variability as well, and the modern standard is generally adjustable bases. Adjustable canes are very handy if your character regularly changes shoe height, for instance (gotta keep the height at your hip!)

Canes help on most terrain with their standard base and structure. But for some terrain, you might want a different base, or to forego the cane entirely! This article covers it pretty well.

Many cane users decorate their canes! Stickers are incredibly common, and painting canes is relatively common as well! You'll also see people replacing the standard wrist strap with a personalized one, or even adding a small charm to the ring the strap connects to. (nothing too large, or it gets annoying as the cane is swinging around everywhere)

(my canes, for reference)

If your character uses a cane full time, then they might also have multiple canes that look different aesthetically to match their outfits!

When it comes to practical things outside of the cane, you reasonably only have one hand available while it's being used. Many people will hook their cane onto their arm or let it dangle on the strap (if they have one) while using their cane arm, but it's often significantly less convenient than 2 hands. But, if you need 2 hands, then it's either setting the cane down or letting it hang!

For this reason, optimizing one handed use is ideal! Keeping bags/items on the side of your free hand helps keep your items accessible.

When sitting, the cane either leans against a wall or table, goes under the chair, or hooks onto the back of the chair. (It often falls when hanging off of a chair, in my experience)

When getting up, the user will either use their cane to help them balance/support as they stand, or get up and then grab their cane. This depends on what it's being used for (balance vs pain when walking, for instance!)

That's everything I can think of for now. Thank you for reading my long-but-absolutely-not-comprehensive list of things to keep in mind when writing or drawing a cane user!

A white cane "fits" the person if when held vertically, it reaches around chest height. Any shorter is NOT functional.

When using a white cane, regardless of the type of tip (there are many tip variations! I use the jumbo roller myself, and most use some type of roller because it's the easiest on varied terrain! More on this later.) you should be holding it almost like you would imagine holding a sword? Your thumb shouldn't cross your fingers, and your wrist is kinda outwards-ish, though not straight to the front (unless stairs but. Don't. Draw that. Be kind to yourself it's hard enough to remember the proper stair form and most of us just kinda wing it anyways, if we're bothering to use "correct form" at all in general lol.) Also, and this was surprising to me when I was learning, but you hold the cane in front of your lower stomach; not to the side like a supportive cane. You want it to be positioned at the center of your body to get the correct range for "seeing" the ground!

I mentioned different tip types, and there are too many to cover them all, but the main two you see are just the default pencil tip (very few actually use this, but it's what you see on TV, the one where they tap the ground. The cane comes with one naturally and it can be detached for another tip.) and various rollers with different sizes and shapes (there's marshmallow, jumbo roller, a "normal" roller? I can't remember all their names tbh I found one I liked and I never went back lol). With roller types, you literally just sweep back and forth, letting the roller--uh--roll along the ground. The pencil tip is also a similar sweeping motion, but you tap the ground to either side. You always sweep the opposite direction you step; the rhythm is very important. Your sweep shouldn't be so wide that it obstructs people trying to pass you, but it goes a bit wider than just the distance of your feet to give a little extra "sight". ALSO the strap should be around your wrist at ALL times bc if you fling that thing you or someone else is gonna have a bad time.

There are some other techniques for going alongside a curb or a wall, techniques for going upstairs (ugh the worst you have to fuckin cross yourself and pray to Holy Mary first it's stupidly complicated no one does it) but the main sweeping motion is the most common. Also, when a person with a white cane is standing mostly stationary, they can tap and/or roll the cane around them to feel for things.

Most canes I've seen can be folded and unfolded; again, most of us don't do it "correctly" because who has the time, but ALWAYS AT LEAST DO IT VERTICALLY. Opening your cane horizontally is a hazard to anyone you can't see; these things are metal and hurt. So always open vertically, even if you're being sloppy (like me lmao I unloop it and hold it vertically and let it fall and snap into place; very satisfying.)

On that note, if a person with a white cane is sitting and doesn't plan to go anywhere for a bit, they will very likely fold up their cane and put it in their lap or bag, depending on the situation. Nobody sits their with their full ass cane standing at attention during a meeting; they would at least lean it against a wall, but most of us prefer to have it on us at all times so folding it is better. You can look up videos on how they fold and unfold, I'm sure.

Obviously, white canes are distinguishable by their red tip; vice versa, it is not legally considered a white cane without a red tip. If there are exceptions to this rule I don't know them; it's important they are identifiable to drivers especially, because the fine for hitting someone with a blind cane is extra bad even if it wasn't their fault.

I'm not sure if any of this was helpful or wanted, and I don't have helpful pictures unfortunately, but I know I always get kind of annoyed when I see blind canes in media and it's very clear no research was done. ON THAT NOTE; 70% of people who use a white cane have SOME level of vision. With some special computer software, zoom features, and general adaptability, I do okay visually on the internet and don't necessarily seem impaired at first glance. However, a white cane was registered for me because my sight issues have led to some dangerous scenarios where I could have gotten hurt, or hurt someone else, and in the end it's a safety device. I might be able to watch a movie on my laptop (with the screen less than a foot from my face, and still blurry), but if I can't see the depth of the curb, or an electric car that makes very little sound comes whizzing by, or (this DID happen) a baby in a stroller crosses in front of me on a busy street where my eyes aren't registering the details of the visual "busyness" and I nearly fall on top of said baby except for my then boyfriend absolutely clotheslining me in the chest moments before baby squashing--yeah, a white cane becomes a safety precaution.

Free Handwritten Font 

Wanted to share a font that I made! It will work on a computer, or tablet, etc! I use iFont to install them on my iPad ☺︎

Key features include:

lowercase & uppercase

basic punctuation

numbers

otf & ttf files

Download free here!

Thank you for checking this out! If you have any questions and issues, please let me know.

LETTERERS – THOSE UNSUNG HEROES – LEARNED THAT BY VARYING THE WEIGHT OF THE TEXT AND USING EXCLAMATION POINTS AND DOUBLE-DASHES, THEY COULD MAKE THE COMICS EASIER TO READ, WHILE EXPRESSING EMPHASIS TO ENHANCE THE ACTION-PACKED DIALOGUE! 

IN THE HANDS OF A GOOD WRITER AND LETTERER TEAM, THE EMPHASIZED WORDS ARE NOT RANDOM, BUT INSTEAD WORDS THAT WOULD BE STRESSED IN NATURAL SPEECH. THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE STRESS CAN CHANGE THE MEANING OF THE SENTENCE! 

I made a thing! I was thinking about this for a few days - because I realized that when I was young, I was also frustrated about being given the same advice over and over - without really knowing what it meant!!

Here’s 5 techniques which I have done before which have helped me grow as an artist, which are good for 5-minute warmups or just straight up challenges for your sketchbook! 

Obviously, these are not the ONLY techniques - they’re just the ones I find most fun! And maybe they’re not the most ‘correct’ ones out there, but it’s better than another comic about practicing more, right? 

I made a walkthrough of my process for drawing faceted stones! Judging by the timestamps from the screenshots I took, drawing this one stone took an hour and three minutes, although I know I went and checked tumblr a couple times while I was working, so let’s just call it an hour.

Now MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

This walkthrough assumes you already know how to use layer masks, clone stamp, and lasso tool. There’s also one part where I didn’t label it, but I inverted the selection so I could keep my lines consistent. It’s in the third image.

Unfortunately I can’t really help with colour choice and the actual colouring of the pinwheel shape that makes of the back facets, but you can kind of see that I tended to colour with lines that cut across the facets and and kept the outer parts of the facets darker. It would probably be best to find a reference to work from!

This particular cut of stone is called the ‘brilliant’ cut.

There’s actually a lot of internal reflection business that goes on in a stone, but I elected to ingore all of it since at a distance you can’t really tell anyway.

‘You must include a cover letter’ does not mean ‘write a single line about why you want this position’. If you can’t be bothered to write at least one actual paragraphs about why you want this job, I can’t be bothered to read your CV.

Don’t bother including a list of your interests if all you can think of is ‘socialising with friends’ and ‘listening to music’. Everyone likes those things. Unless you can explain why the stuff you do enriches you as a person and a candidate (e.g. playing an instrument or a sport shows dedication and discipline) then I honestly don’t care how you spend your time. I won’t be looking at your CV thinking ‘huh, they haven’t included their interests, they must have none’, I’m just looking for what you have included.

Even if you apply online, I can see the filename you used for your CV. Filenames that don’t include YOUR name are annoying. Filenames like ‘CV - media’ tell me that you’ve got several CVs you send off depending on the kind of job advertised and that you probably didn’t tailor it for this position. ‘[Full name] CV’ is best.

USE. A. PDF. All the meta information, including how long you worked on it, when you created it, times, etc, is right there in a Word doc. PDFs are far more professional looking and clean and mean that I can’t make any (unconscious or not) decisions about you based on information about the file.

I don’t care what the duties in your previous unrelated jobs were unless you can tell me why they’re useful to this job. If you worked in a shop, and you’re applying for an office job which involves talking to lots of people, don’t give me a list of stuff you did, write a sentence about how much you enjoyed working in a team to help everyone you interacted with and did your best to make them leave the shop with a smile. I want to know what makes you happy in a job, because I want you to be happy within the job I’m advertising.

Does the application pack say who you’ll be reporting to? Can you find their name on the company website? Address your application to them. It’s super easy and shows that you give enough of a shit to google something. 95% of people don’t do this.

Tell me who you are. Tell me what makes you want to get up in the morning and go to work and feel fulfilled. Tell me what you’re looking for, not just what you think I’m looking for.

I will skim your CV. If you have a bunch of bullet points, make every one of them count. Make the first one the best one. If it’s not interesting to you, it’s probably not interesting to me. I’m overworked and tired. Make my job easy.

“I work well in a team or individually” okay cool, you and everyone else. If the job means you’ll be part of a big team, talk about how much you love teamwork and how collaborating with people is the best way to solve problems. If the job requires lots of independence, talk about how you are great at taking direction and running with it, and how you have the confidence to follow your own ideas and seek out the insight of others when necessary. I am profoundly uninterested in cookie-cutter statements. I want to know how you actually work, not how a teacher once told you you should work.

For an entry-level role, tell me how you’re looking forward to growing and developing and learning as much as you can. I will hire genuine enthusiasm and drive over cherry-picked skills any day. You can teach someone to use Excel, but you can’t teach someone to give a shit. It makes a real difference.

This is my advice for small, independent orgs like charities, etc. We usually don’t go through agencies, and the person reading through the applications is usually the person who will manage you, so it helps if you can give them a real sense of who you are and how you’ll grab hold of that entry level position and give it all you’ve got. This stuff might not apply to big companies with actual HR departments - it’s up to you to figure out the culture and what they’re looking for and mirror it. Do they use buzzwords? Use the same buzzwords! Do they write in a friendly, informal way? Do the same! And remember, 95% of job hunting (beyond who you know and flat-out nepotism, ugh) is luck. If you keep getting rejected, it’s not because you suck. You might just need a different approach, or it might just take the right pair of eyes landing on your CV.

And if you get rejected, it’s worthwhile asking why. You’ve already been rejected, the worst has already happened, there’s really nothing bad that can come out of you asking them for some constructive feedback (politely, informally, “if it isn’t too much trouble”). Pretty much all of us have been hopeless jobseekers at one point or another. We know it’s shitty and hard and soul-crushing. Friendliness goes a long way. Even if it’s just one line like “your cover letter wasn’t inspiring" at least you know where to start.

Like “cool cool we’ve got this perfect hero now to just sprinkle on some Irritability and Trust Issues then microwave for 6 minutes on high until Done”

But I’ve personally found it feels a lot more useful to just… think of the flaws as the Good Traits except bad this time

The protagonist is loyal? Maybe that means they have a hard time recognizing toxic relationships and are easily manipulated by those they want to trust

The hero is compassionate? Maybe they work too hard and overextend themselves trying to help people and then they refuse to ask for help when they need it themselves for fear of burdening others

They’re dedicated to their ideals? Maybe they’re also too stubborn to know when to quit and they have trouble apologizing for their mistakes

If they’re creative, they can also be flighty. If they’re confident, they can be arrogant. If they’re brave, they might be reckless. If they’re smart, they could be condescending. Protective can become controlling, and someone who’s carefree could very well also be emotionally distant

How to draw Dreadlocs!

See Part One: Rendering Natural Black Hair Coming Up Next: VOTE by sending to my Ask box!  (Until March 1st). Feel free to suggest any style or subject matter within drawing natural hair!

Questions? Comments? Tell me all about it!