sketchy sketchy art blog

MIRA IS TOTALLY NONCHALANT AND CHILL ABOUT HER FIRST VALENTINES DAY WITH HER GIRLFRIENDS ACTUALLY

ITS JUST A STUPID TRADITION OR WHATEVER

SHE DID NOT BUY OUT 5 ENTIRE FLORISTS FOR THE WORLDS BIGGEST BOUQUET

Please read this twitter thread and then stay FAR AWAY from the people being described…

https://twitter.com/aj_spinner_/status/1557083021949505549

The tl:dr; version: These people want you to “file the serial numbers off” your fanfic and publish it with them.

The catch: If the IP owners ever come after you, you’re on your own… and you have to pay the publisher damages! (Not to mention the IP owner…)

Also: their advances are CRAP. Also: Your advance (such as it is) is obtained by crowdfunding. WTF!!!

So:

AVOID AVOID AVOID. Dear sweet THOTH on his e-scooter, stay away from these people.

ETA: Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware has looked at the contract and declared it “completely incoherent and inadequate”.  

In all my art classes, I was never taught HOW to use the various tools of art.

Like yes, form, and shape and space and color theory and figure drawing is important, but so is KNOWING what different tools do.

I’m 29 and I JUST learned this past month that India Ink is fucking waterproof when it dries. Why is this important? Because I can line something in India Ink and then go over it with watercolors. And that has CHANGED the ENTIRE way I art and the ease I can create with.

heres some of mine, pls take with a grain of salt im a total gotdamn amateur:

a lot of the time, the ability for colored ink to bleed will vary wildly WITHIN A SINGLE BRAND OF COLORED INKS. my cobalts bleed like fucking CRAZY compared to my reds, which, when u reference manuscripts that tend to put white ink ON TOP of either red or blue… you see where shit gets real and real annoying. 

u can buy an aeresol, fully transparent workable sealant for like 5-10 dollars at your local art store. when i realize a piece ive been working on needs a color on TOP of a bleed happy ink, i give it a layer of this stuff. trouble is it CAN warp the paper so its important as soon as it dries to use heavy things (paperweights, books) to counteract the paper curling.

WD40, found at your local hardware store, will remove Sharpie marker from almost any hard surface. 

 Acrylic inks will show brush strokes in large areas but are waterproof and quick-drying. 

 Acrylic gouache is vivid, fluid, dried matte, is UTTERLY opaque on black paper, handles exactly like watercolor, and is waterproof. 

Putting an oil painting in the sun will turn the yellowed portions back to their original white and wont hurt the painting. 

 Cheap acrylic paintings will bleach out if left in the sun - get UV protectant spray or varnish. Nicer acrylic paints are less prone to sun bleaching, but they still do. Plan accordingly. Oil paints are much less prone to this. 

Solvent-based markers blend together MUSH MORE SMOOTHLY than alcohol-based markers. 

There is an acrylic paint medium for literally every effect you can conceivably think of (fabric paint medium, gloss medium, fluid medium, sand medium, fast-dying/slow-drying medium, etc.). 

 If you’re going to buy student-grade paint to save cash, buy earth-tones (burnt sienna, ochre, etc.); they are made with cheap pigments already, and you wont tell a difference. You WILL tell a difference between student-grade and artist-grade bright colors (all yellows, blues, and reds). 

If you’re working with markers but aren’t using marker paper, you need to switch. Markers don’t blend on printer paper, they just layer (even expensive markers). 

If you want a glass palette for paint mixing but don’t want to shell out the cash, buy a giant picture frame at Goodwill, take the glass out, and electrical tape it to a piece of foam board the same size for stability. 

 Hog bristle brushes are for oil paint, sable brushes are for watercolor, and synthetic brushes are for acrylic and oil (but not watercolor because synthetic bristles can’t absorb water). 

- Palette knives are for mixing paint and TRUST ME you want to learn how to use them. When you mix with your brush you loose paint and it’s hard in your brushes.

- DO NOT FIX YOUR ARTWORK WITH HAIRSPRAY. If you’re proud of your work and want to keep it, buy the actual spray fix. Hairspray is not archival in the slightest and will damage your work.

- On top of that, be careful how you store your work. Newsprint is handy and cheap, but also not acid-free and it will yellow your paper. Foamboard? Matboard? Also not always acid-free (but you can get them acid-free).

- There is no food-safe paint. Period. There are lots of ways you can decorate pottery that aren’t glazes, but only glazes are food safe (and even some of those aren’t).

- Also not food safe: Polymer clay (sculpey), air dry clay, oil-based clay, ceramics that have not been glaze fired, oil pastels, sharpie, glues of any kind, or mod podge (even the ‘dishwasher safe’ kind).

- Don’t even get me started on mod podge. It’s not consistent. It’s not archival. It’s not a sealant, it’s a glue (setting aside some of the weird hyper-specific ones they make that I’ve literally never seen in real life).

- If your glue isn’t archival or at least acid-free, don’t use it in your artwork.

- There are so many different kinds of paper out there, just go try them. But also make sure you know if it’s acid-free or not (it probably is).

- Marker paper is usually 15 to 20 lbs. News print is usually 30 to 35 lbs. Tracing paper is usually 25 lbs. Rice paper can range from 20 to 50 lbs. Printer paper is 20 lbs. Vellum paper is usually 48 to 55 lbs. Sketchbook paper is usually 50 to 60 lbs. Drawing paper is usually 70 to 80 lbs. Cardstock can range from 50 to 110 lbs. Charcoal paper is usually 50 to 65 lbs. Pastel paper can range from 70 lbs to board. Bristol paper can range from 50 lbs to board. Mixed media paper can range from 90 to 140 lbs. Printmaking paper can range from lbs 90 to 300 lbs. Watercolor paper can range from 90 to 500 lbs.

- The heavier and rougher the paper is, the more it will absorb. If you’re using a paper too smooth for your medium it will take forever to dry and may smudge. If you’re using a paper too light for your medium, it will warp and curl.

- If you’re working heavily with water, you need to stretch your paper (aka seal down your edges of the paper to a hard, water resistant surface). If you don’t like doing that because it’s a hassle, buy a watercolor block instead of a pad/individual peices.

- If you’re working on a thicker paper, and make a mistake that your can’t erase or cover- you can scrape and/or cut it out! With a really sharp exacto knife, you can very CAREFULLY remove the top layer of paper fibers on most paper.

- DO NOT USE ACRYLIC AS BODY PAINT. It’s plastic.

- If you paint with oil, buy a silicoil jar. It’s the best $10 you’ve ever spent.

- Acrylic paint is basically water-based plastic. It will basically fuse with anything plastic (like a plastic palette), and will not stick to anything oil-based.

Hey, wanna know how to write realistic dialogue? Wanna know how to go about building a world? Wanna know how writing is your greatest foundational asset to your comic?

Join me on August 21st! There will also be prizes 🔥 Register here: workshop.graphixly.com

I’m very excited to talk about writing as it’s easily my favorite part of comics and what I’m most passionate about! I’ll be trying to demystify it, as I know a lot of comic makers are a bit afraid of it.

Summary: Ana’s life from her days in the Egyptian Army, where she meets her wife, up until Recall when she is reunited with Fareeha. [Ana/OC-centric] -x-

photo source

-x-

Read more in the links above!

(“How’s your… special friend doing?” Mermista had asked when they returned from their trip, and once Adora had ascertained that she did mean Catra, had wandered away contemplating the phrase. Catra is special to her, and Catra is her friend. It had seemed to fit.

Until she said it in front of Netossa, who proceeded to lose her shit.)

We Must Be Proud is She-Ra Charity Pride Zine! 🌈

Not only is it a zine dedicated to helping LGBTQ+ folks, it is also a love letter to the entirety of She-Ra and The Princesses of Power, as well as the crew who worked tirelessly to make television history. Help us celebrate the accomplishments of the show, and stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ Community. Parades may be cancelled, but Pride is all-year-round! This zine has been a labor of love by 18 artists in the hopes of raising money for Trans and LGBTQ+ organizations during pride month. Pre-orders are open on Indiegogo! We launched the campaign on May 20th and have been overwhelmed by the support so far!

Pre-order with us today !

Donations will be sent to three charities depending on funding: SRLP, 3rdWaveProject and TransLifeline! CONTRIBUTORS / ARTISTS :

Firnella ( Organizer)

@artofkace​

@artmaggiezine​

@snersona​

@bibinella​

@elimnebe​

@summerfelldraws​

@hydenari​

@bevsi​ 

supersappho

Monn_ney

zephyrzion

mickncheese

@lesly-oh​

junvii_arts

fizzledlines

piningpotato

springmaidens

NOTES :

PIN RE-STOCK, Saturday May 23rd, 12pm (noon) EST !!! We will be adding a new pin tier for everyone who missed out the first time around! We are restocking 200 pins, and this is the FINAL RESTOCK! So be sure to get one if you can!! 

There’s more info on the zine, tiers, and charities on the Indiegogo campaign page!

The zine itself is digital only due to the current state of the world and to make it more accessible!

We just completely sold out of all 200 Catradora restock pins in less than half an hour and we couldn’t be more floored by the support and compassion we’ve received from you all!

Thank you so very much for this, we will be striving to do more for you and our LGBTQIA+ charities these next 24 campaign days! We couldn’t have made it here without you!

And for folks who haven’t checked it out, although we may be out of pins you can still pre-order a copy of We Must Be Proud and check out the rest of our perks at Indiegogo right -> here!

Stay tuned for more updates!

Hello, Starlight.

Preorders for “Steven Universe Forever: I Can’t Believe We’ve Come so Far” are now LIVE!

Access our Kickstarter Page Here.

“Steven Universe Forever” is a Fanzine put together by a group of fans who wanted to pay homage to this amazing show that delighted us for so many years. And who can talk about Steven Universe without thinking of your favorite song moment?

In Steven Universe Forever: I can’t Believe We’ve Come So Far, +50 artists come together to illustrate ALL Steven Universe Songs - which yes, includes Steven Universe: The Movie and Steven Universe Future! From We Are The Crystal Gems to Giant Woman, Peace And Love On The Planet Earth, Here We Are In The Future, Being Human, Love Like You and so much more, we’ll be illustrating a total of 80 songs!

In Italy, which so far has a very high mortality rate (around 7%), and where they have so far only tested people with symptoms, the infection rates by age group compared to their percentage of the population looks like this:

In South Korea, which so far has a mortality rate below 1% of all confirmed cases, and where they’ve been doing far more widespread testing, including people without symptoms, the infection rates by age group compared to their percentage of the population looks like this:

The lower relative death rate reported in SK is at least partly the result of doing far more tests. So far SK has done almost 250,000 COVID tests, the highest of any country outside China, which means approximately 5% of their total population has been tested. Italy is next, at 86,000 tests, but has a population slightly higher than SK, so their testing rate works out to 1.4%. But the more significant takeaway is that by doing more tests, SK is identifying more cases that are either asymptomatic, or that are mild, and these are the ones most likely to occur in younger, healthier people. The fact that almost 30% of their cases are in people in their 20s, means that there are a lot of asymptomatic or low-symptomatic but contagious young adults there, and likely in other countries too, and that they are actually more likely to have contracted COVID than other groups. There are some other possible confounding factors (e.g. it might be that people in their 20s in SK are being tested at an unusually high rate compared to other groups, etc.) that we don’t know, but it’s still a very striking finding. Only people in their 50s have infection rates that somewhat exceed their percentage of the population, and the difference is far less pronounced.