Finding Something

After seeing post like this 👇

And this gem 👇

As well as countless of others from the AI generator community. Just talking about how "inaccessible art" is, I decided why not show how wrong these guys are while also helping anyone who actually wants to learn.

Here is the first one ART TEACHERS! There are plenty online and in places like youtube.

📺Here is my list:

Proko (Free)

Marc Brunet (Free but he does have other classes for a cheap price. Use to work for Blizzard)

Aaron Rutten (free)

BoroCG (free)

Jesse J. Jones (free, talks about animating)

Jesus Conde (free)

Mohammed Agbadi (free, he gives some advice in some videos and talks about art)

Ross Draws (free, he does have other classes for a good price)

SamDoesArts (free, gives good advice and critiques)

Drawfee Show (free, they do give some good advice and great inspiration)

The Art of Aaron Blaise ( useful tips for digital art and animation. Was an animator for Disney)

Bobby Chiu ( useful tips and interviews with artist who are in the industry or making a living as artist)

Second part BOOKS, I have collected some books that have helped me and might help others.

📚Here is my list:

The "how to draw manga" series produced by Graphic-sha. These are for manga artist but they give great advice and information.

"Creating characters with personality" by Tom Bancroft. A great book that can help not just people who draw cartoons but also realistic ones. As it helps you with facial ques and how to make a character interesting.

"Albinus on anatomy" by Robert Beverly Hale and Terence Coyle. Great book to help someone learn basic anatomy.

"Artistic Anatomy" by Dr. Paul Richer and Robert Beverly Hale. A good book if you want to go further in-depth with anatomy.

"Directing the story" by Francis Glebas. A good book if you want to Story board or make comics.

"Animal Anatomy for Artists" by Eliot Goldfinger. A good book for if you want to draw animals or creatures.

"Constructive Anatomy: with almost 500 illustrations" by George B. Bridgman. A great book to help you block out shadows in your figures and see them in a more 3 diamantine way.

"Dynamic Anatomy: Revised and expand" by Burne Hogarth. A book that shows how to block out shapes and easily understand what you are looking out. When it comes to human subjects.

"An Atlas of animal anatomy for artist" by W. Ellenberger and H. Dittrich and H. Baum. This is another good one for people who want to draw animals or creatures.

Etherington Brothers, they make books and have a free blog with art tips.

As for Supplies, I recommend starting out cheap, buying Pencils and art paper at dollar tree or 5 below. For digital art, I recommend not starting with a screen art drawing tablet as they are more expensive.

For the Best art Tablet I recommend either Xp-pen, Bamboo or Huion. Some can range from about 40$ to the thousands.

💻As for art programs here is a list of Free to pay.

Clip Studio paint ( you can choose to pay once or sub and get updates)

Procreate ( pay once for $9.99)

Blender (for 3D modules/sculpting, ect Free)

PaintTool SAI (pay but has a 31 day free trail)

Krita (Free)

mypaint (free)

FireAlpaca (free)

Libresprite (free, for pixel art)

Those are the ones I can recall.

So do with this information as you will but as you can tell there are ways to learn how to become an artist, without breaking the bank. The only thing that might be stopping YOU from using any of these things, is YOU.

I have made time to learn to draw and many artist have too. Either in-between working two jobs or taking care of your family and a job or regular school and chores. YOU just have to take the time or use some time management, it really doesn't take long to practice for like an hour or less. YOU also don't have to do it every day, just once or three times a week is fine.

Gimp

✿ Strawberry MACRO & micro ✿

Two cursor packs I made for Cursorjam! I’ve been working on these on and off since last year so it’s nice to finally put them out into the world :3

Find the pattern here

Zhao Zhao (Chinese, b. 1982)

Constellations, 2021-2022

Constellations, 2017 (300 x 980 cm)

Embroidery on Silk???

this is NOT because of blocking screenshots, it's because of HOW streaming sites use your computer's hardware to optimise performance, which means the thing rendering the video and the thing capturing your screen aren't the SAME thing. so they can't talk together.

i love you all and i need you to stop writing trauma as a single breakdown scene in the rain after which the character is Healed and Ready to Love Again. that is NOT trauma :(

⊹ Trauma doesn't announce itself. it shows up as your character suddenly not being able to eat a specific food, or going very quiet in a loud room, or laughing at the wrong moment because their nervous system decided that was the appropriate response. it's mundane and weird and it makes no sense from the outside. the dramatic flashback sequence is the least realistic part. the most realistic part is your character suddenly needing to leave a grocery store for a reason they can't articulate.

⊹ The body keeps score and it keeps it in the strangest places. a particular smell. the quality of light at a certain time of day. a tone of voice that sounds like someone who hurt them. your traumatised character doesn't think "this reminds me of the bad thing." their heart rate spikes and they don't know why. they feel wrong and they can't locate the feeling. they're irritable for three days and only later, if ever, do they make the connection. write the disconnection. it's more honest.

⊹ trauma also does not make people universally sympathetic and wise. it makes some people controlling. some people funny at inappropriate times. some people very good in a crisis and completely unable to handle a normal day. some people are generously kind to strangers and absolutely terrible to people they love. trauma shapes behaviour in contradictory, inconvenient ways that don't resolve into a lesson. your traumatised character can be difficult to like. that's not a flaw in the writing. that's the WRITING.

New sewing patterns <Eendje> & <Biggetje> Accessory bag / Novelty bag

New 2 patterns are released from Waffle Patterns. Meet the Accessory bags Rubber Duck <Eendje> and Piggy Bank <Biggetje> sewing patterns. They are the sister patterns of my <Pinguin> and <Walvis> bags. This time the theme is toy box. They are part of the fun animal-shaped novelty bag series.

They can be made with relatively small amounts of fabric. So using up your leftover fabric or patchwork will be a nice idea. They will be a fun project, but also suitable as surprising gifts for your friends or family. I see a lot of my customers are making my accessory bags for gifts.

I had a lot of fun making and designing these toybox-inspired items. I hope you enjoy and have fun making those as well.

<design>

-Eendje Rubber ducky-shaped novelty bag. You can store small things like candies or a coin purse from the zipper opening on the top. The opening width is about 12cm. The bag size is about 22cm tall and 38cm long. The wings are small patch pockets. Use a hand strap as a pouch or clutch, or a long strap for a shoulder/crossbody bag.

-Biggetje Piggy bank-shaped accessory bag. It has a 20cm wide zipper opening on the center top and a 15cm zipper pocket on one side. You can store small things like a mobile phone. The bag size is about 20cm tall and 33cm long. It has handles, but can be skipped. The yellow sample in the photos is without handles. The shoulder strap can be attached. It includes a bonus wing pattern. You can attach to the body and make a pigasus, or an angel wing bag charm.

Both Ducky and Piggy are shaped with fiber fill stuffing. The inside bag sizes are not really functional, so they are not suitable for serious luggage. Also, they are not designed for children's toys.

<fabric recommendation>

<Shell> The patterns are drafted for woven fabrics. Mid-heavy weight woven fabrics are suitable, like duck, twill, denim, canvas, or décor weight fabric, etc. Since they are fun accessory bags, choosing lovely looking fabric as your design intention will be the best. Please use your imagination and play with the idea and design!

Depending on your fabric, I recommend considering using additional interfacing or interlining on the whole bag panels for adding extra strength or body. Some of my samples are interfaced or interlined.

<Lining> Lining fabrics are used for the inside of the bags and the pockets. Plain cotton or linen will be suitable and reasonable.

<Sample fabrics in the photos>

- Yellow samples Shell ; Soft mid-weight faux leather. It's a leftover of Walvis and Pïnguin bags. I think this is decor/interior fabric. Since it cannot be interfaced or ironed, I skipped interfacing. For places that needed support like zipper parts, I added thin ribbon or strips of lining fabric. I love how the fabric looks, but handling it was a bit difficult. Pins or rippers cannot be used for these materials, so I used clips or scotch tape instead. Lining ; poly mixed blouse fabric

- White samples Shell ; Thick canvas with wax coating, originally for outdoor items. This one also cannot be interfaced or ironed. But strong enough for skipping interfacing, it can also not be pinned, so I used clips. I heard a stapler is handy for basting this kind of tough fabric. I did not try, but maybe it will be an option if the hole of the staple is not really visible. Lining ; plain cotton. The colours are matched with the zipper colours.

- White corduroy Shell ; Mixed cotton corduroy. I love the texture. But it is a bit too soft for a bag. I interlined the body parts with thin quilted lining. It was easier to handle than others. Lining ; plain cotton.

Various webbings or tapes are needed for the handles, straps, or other details. If you cannot find the perfect colour or width, making those with the same or contrast fabrics is an option.

Please choose suitable interfacing/parts for your design and shell fabrics. I strongly recommend checking actual material samples as much as possible and experimenting with your fabrics before starting the project. If you cannot choose some details, please remember that making actual samples with actual fabrics is the best way to confirm.

<Other>

If you want to make the bags bigger or smaller, I think printing the pattern pieces with scaling will work. But you need to adjust the seam allowances or other details.

I used some readymade shoulder straps, but you can make them yourself, too. I made some with paracord, and I like them!

Please check the listing pages for more details. > Eendje -Rubber ducky bag, Biggetje -Piggy bank bag.

********************* The sewing patterns include the fully illustrated instructions (Rubber duck Eendje 9 pages, Piggy Bank Biggetje 11pages) and all the sewing processes are described with detailed pics. The pattern files are available for both home printers (A4 or US letter) and copyshop(A1 format).

You can check other photos of these models on my Flickr page.

The Accessory bag <Eendje> , and <Biggetje> PDF sewing patterns are available here. Also in the Etsy shop.

Special discount price until 28th May. 2026 (CEST) with other popular patterns. No discount code is needed! The sale page is here.

Happy sewing!

(Japanese post here 日本語ポストはこちら).

**********************

New sewing patterns <Eendje> & <Biggetje> Accessory bag / Novelty bag

New 2 patterns are released from Waffle Patterns. Meet the Accessory bags Rubber Duck <Eendje> and Piggy Bank <Biggetje> sewing patterns. They are the sister patterns of my <Pinguin> and <Walvis> bags. This time the theme is toy box. They are part of the fun animal-shaped novelty bag series.

They can be made with relatively small amounts of fabric. So using up your leftover fabric or patchwork will be a nice idea. They will be a fun project, but also suitable as surprising gifts for your friends or family. I see a lot of my customers are making my accessory bags for gifts.

I had a lot of fun making and designing these toybox-inspired items. I hope you enjoy and have fun making those as well.

<design>

-Eendje Rubber ducky-shaped novelty bag. You can store small things like candies or a coin purse from the zipper opening on the top. The opening width is about 12cm. The bag size is about 22cm tall and 38cm long. The wings are small patch pockets. Use a hand strap as a pouch or clutch, or a long strap for a shoulder/crossbody bag.

-Biggetje Piggy bank-shaped accessory bag. It has a 20cm wide zipper opening on the center top and a 15cm zipper pocket on one side. You can store small things like a mobile phone. The bag size is about 20cm tall and 33cm long. It has handles, but can be skipped. The yellow sample in the photos is without handles. The shoulder strap can be attached. It includes a bonus wing pattern. You can attach to the body and make a pigasus, or an angel wing bag charm.

Both Ducky and Piggy are shaped with fiber fill stuffing. The inside bag sizes are not really functional, so they are not suitable for serious luggage. Also, they are not designed for children's toys.

<fabric recommendation>

<Shell> The patterns are drafted for woven fabrics. Mid-heavy weight woven fabrics are suitable, like duck, twill, denim, canvas, or décor weight fabric, etc. Since they are fun accessory bags, choosing lovely looking fabric as your design intention will be the best. Please use your imagination and play with the idea and design!

Depending on your fabric, I recommend considering using additional interfacing or interlining on the whole bag panels for adding extra strength or body. Some of my samples are interfaced or interlined.

<Lining> Lining fabrics are used for the inside of the bags and the pockets. Plain cotton or linen will be suitable and reasonable.

<Sample fabrics in the photos>

- Yellow samples Shell ; Soft mid-weight faux leather. It's a leftover of Walvis and Pïnguin bags. I think this is decor/interior fabric. Since it cannot be interfaced or ironed, I skipped interfacing. For places that needed support like zipper parts, I added thin ribbon or strips of lining fabric. I love how the fabric looks, but handling it was a bit difficult. Pins or rippers cannot be used for these materials, so I used clips or scotch tape instead. Lining ; poly mixed blouse fabric

- White samples Shell ; Thick canvas with wax coating, originally for outdoor items. This one also cannot be interfaced or ironed. But strong enough for skipping interfacing, it can also not be pinned, so I used clips. I heard a stapler is handy for basting this kind of tough fabric. I did not try, but maybe it will be an option if the hole of the staple is not really visible. Lining ; plain cotton. The colours are matched with the zipper colours.

- White corduroy Shell ; Mixed cotton corduroy. I love the texture. But it is a bit too soft for a bag. I interlined the body parts with thin quilted lining. It was easier to handle than others. Lining ; plain cotton.

Various webbings or tapes are needed for the handles, straps, or other details. If you cannot find the perfect colour or width, making those with the same or contrast fabrics is an option.

Please choose suitable interfacing/parts for your design and shell fabrics. I strongly recommend checking actual material samples as much as possible and experimenting with your fabrics before starting the project. If you cannot choose some details, please remember that making actual samples with actual fabrics is the best way to confirm.

<Other>

If you want to make the bags bigger or smaller, I think printing the pattern pieces with scaling will work. But you need to adjust the seam allowances or other details.

I used some readymade shoulder straps, but you can make them yourself, too. I made some with paracord, and I like them!

Please check the listing pages for more details. > Eendje -Rubber ducky bag, Biggetje -Piggy bank bag.

********************* The sewing patterns include the fully illustrated instructions (Rubber duck Eendje 9 pages, Piggy Bank Biggetje 11pages) and all the sewing processes are described with detailed pics. The pattern files are available for both home printers (A4 or US letter) and copyshop(A1 format).

You can check other photos of these models on my Flickr page.

The Accessory bag <Eendje> , and <Biggetje> PDF sewing patterns are available here. Also in the Etsy shop.

Special discount price until 28th May. 2026 (CEST) with other popular patterns. No discount code is needed! The sale page is here.

Happy sewing!

(Japanese post here 日本語ポストはこちら).

**********************

Fat Horse No. 4

It’s the year of the horse and I’ve always been a horse girl at heart, so I’m finally taking advantage of the excuse to fill the world with fat little horses! These felted friends are about the size (and shape!) of an apple, and if you happen to have any apples to share I’m sure they’d help you out!

Flexible feather armor

This thing has been out of print for like, 26 years and some of us want to make chubby classic pikachu so uh... I figure it's okay to share bc it's kinda hard to get your hands on the remaining physical copies.

Bonus points: Aelith made some embroidery/applique files for it too

This is FREE, please don't pay for the pattern.

Only the EMBROIDERY is paid.

so, ways to get around this:

turn off AI results. they're literally nonsense to us

don't use pinterest because the sources/provenance is often hard to trace

a standard internet search can be okay, but museum collections are the top tier (list of collections below this list)

instead of broad terms like victorian, regency, tudor, renaissance etc. try using the decade you're looking for. if you're not sure of what decade it is but have a vague image in your head, look on the fashion history timeline and just jump around until you find it. but even changing to e.g. 19th century will give better results than victorian

including terms like womenswear/menswear, daywear, formal wear, evening wear, court dress should increase the value of your search too

including "fashion plates" in your search can give you a nice impression of the intended silhouettes of the era. some of these might be a little stylised but will show you what was considered in vogue

for pre-fashion plate eras or things like makeup and styling, you'll have to look at portraiture or manuscripts. these are harder to actually find what you're looking for, but searching museum collections and limiting results to specific date ranges will be your friend

when looking at art, do bear in mind sometimes artists would paint fabric extra flow-y to show off their skills. it might not have been exactly like that in terms of fabric weight or drape. so, a pinch of salt required!

if you find something on image search where the provenance is dubious, reverse image search and you might find a source! i've been able to trace random pinterest images to real sources, but this does take a lot of time and effort and is often not worth the headache

some online resources and museum collections:

fashion history timeline is an invaluable resource if you're trying to get a feel for everything and should be your first port of call. it'll also link to good examples

the met has a vast number of extant examples of clothing, as well as fashion plates

costume institute fashion plates is a subcollection of the met for fashion plates (1800s-1922)

v&a also has many extant garments, fashion plates, and incredible articles on clothing and aesthetics. read the details of the objects because they'll often reveal a lot about the piece

lacma is good for C19th-20th pieces

nypl digital collection for photographs

national portrait gallery or similar for portraiture, or literally any museum in your country that has historical art

national museums scotland can be useful situationally but might be oddly specific

stout style history is a great collection for finding image references for fat people wearing historical clothes. survival bias of a lot of museum pieces tends towards smaller clothing that couldn't be repurposed, but this aims to counter that. it's not sortable, but is still a really nice resource

wikimedia commons is surprisingly handy! and the images, if you should need to link/repost them, are public domain

auction websites sound like a funny one to recommend. some won't have mannequins and some will. just look up historical garment auctions and you'll find some!