Sindo's Square

I redid this list because broken links 💀

General Tips

Stretch your fingers and hands

Art is for fun

Never too late to start/improve

Tumblr radar! Submit your work!?

Using a tablet

Editing software: pictures & video

Moodboard resources

Comic pacing

Storyboarding techniques

Watercolor

Coloring

Color Theory (not children's hospital)

Resources: coloring things a different color

Gold

Dark Skin undertones

Dark Skin in pastel art

POC Blush tones

Eyes colors

Cohesive Color Palette

Lights and Colors

Human Anatomy

POSE REFERENCES

Eyes: pupil shape, direction

Wizard Battle poses

Romance poses

Shoulders

Tips for practicing anatomy

Proportional Limbs

Skeletons

Hair Directions

Afro, 4C hair

Cane use

Dingle dongles: male reproductive

Clothing

Long skirts

Traditional Chinese Hanfu (clothing reference)

Cultural clothes

CLOTHING REFERENCE

Sewing information

Animals

Horse -> Dragon

Snouts: dogs, cats, wolves, fox

Foot, paw, hoof

More

Drawing references sources

Art tutorial Masterlist

Another art tutorial Masterlist

Inspiration: father recreates son's art

Inspiration: Lights

ART BOOKS

Plants/flowers: North America, Hawaii, Patagonia

I don't usually make text post on this blog, but a nice artist I know was asking for tutorials a while back and I forgot to send some to them while in school. So here's a post on it since it's easiest to grab and go this way. :)

This list focuses on the basics. I'm focusing on the foundations of art, so medium is generally irrelevant and you can use physical or digital with these. You'll have to google more specific tutorials on things like character design and such.

One of the biggest pieces of advice I can give to you is strangely, introduce things to yourself one at a time. In art class, we took whole topics week by week. For high school, we did a few exercises then spent a week drawing/painting and doing your piece(s). For basic art 1 & 2 in college, we did 1-2 exercises and then did 1-2 drawings, followed by HW (which we turned in next week) and sketchbook practice (which she'd check at midpoints). For basic art lessons with a tutor, we did practice then our own art. You can see the pattern here - the point is don't be distressed if you don't get everything at once, or the lesson in 2 weeks, or the lesson in 3 years - we practice and do a lot over time, and you'll pick up on things you need to improve naturally and through help with others. Take time to be proud of your art in mini steps too, even if it's not the best! You tried and attempting to climb an obstacle over and over again before finally leapfrogging it is still progress to it.

Overall tutorials:

DrawABox.com is a site that's dedicated to art exercises and practicing when you can. They talk about the basics of art as well as how practice is important. It can get tough at times and it's ok to stop and do a balance of say those practices and doodles if you choose to try and do all of it's stuff - but you don't have to either. It's just a nice basic education done by some art nerds who like going hard.

Ethering Brothers - these guys are famous for their 40billion tutorials. If you need help on a specific idea, search their gallery and you'll likely find something.

Thundercluck's Art Fundamentals - She did a good huge ass tutorials on how things work, and it's the least overwhelming of the 3 I got in this section, so I suggest it as one of the first to look at for digital stuff.

A Bunch of Watercolor Tips!

I love working in watercolor, especially with lots of details, dramatic lighting, and vibrant colors. So, I get a lot of folks who ask me for tips and tricks…and here’s a big compilation of them!

P.S. Find my watercolors on Instagram and Twitter too :)

Understanding how the paint works:

The more watery the paint, the lighter it will dry

If you add a more watery color into a partially dry color, it will bloom (those spidery effects) outwards from the wet paint (the wet pain pushes the pigment of the semi-dry paint away

Some paints are “granulated” which means you can see the pigment in little spots (reds and blues do this a lot). This is okay, just roll with it! It’s a beautiful part of the medium.

More water means less control, but it’ll give you more of those unique watercolor effects like “blooms”

Brush tips:

Get one with a good point, as that will allow for clean lines (I use this in my art ALL the time!)

Lean towards using a bigger brush than you think you need. It’ll be more precise than you expect and that way you can paint a larger area before it dries. This allows for smoother gradients.

Synthetic and natural brushes both work well, but I find synthetic to hold more pigment and water, and to be more precise

Turn your paper as you work, so the brush tip is going along the edge of where you want to paint. Never paint with the middle/back of the brush as it won’t make a clean line.

For detailed spots, use a small pointed/round brush and not very watery paint. This’ll give you the most control.

Supplies tips:

Paper matters! So much! If there’s one thing to invest it, it’s good paper. I love Arches, but I’ve heard Baohong is great and cheaper too. 

Hot press paper will dry quick and doesn’t allow for a lot of blending, and leaves crisp lines. It’s smooth, so good for lines. 

Cold press paper allows for blending and dries at a moderate speed, but has some texture to it

Rough press paper has a lot of texture, but will allow for a lot of smooth blending

Student grade watercolors are totally fine, they just have a little less pigment to binder ratio–so you might need to use more paint to get a vibrant color. I found Cotman watercolors to be a good starting set (some people prefer pans rather than tubes, though)

Have a big broad palette, so you can mix lots of colors without them running into each other. I use a flat pan, and then have a smaller palette with separated spots for mixing larger color batches

The thicker the paper, the less it will warp (I love 300-400lb). Optionally, you can learn to stretch watercolor paper before painting to prevent warping! 

Masking fluid can be SO helpful if you want to protect spots from getting paint on them (you can also use masking tape to cover larger areas). But fyi, these both almost always contain latex–so watch out if you have an allergy!

To use masking fluid, buy a “ruling pen” that you can dip in the fluid. It’s a weird metal contraption that can tighten and loosen to make lines. This way, you avoid ruining your brushes with the liquid. 

Color tips:

You’ll keep your colors vibrant by using few layers. In the pieces I shared above, I used basically three layers max (besides a few deep shadows or tiny details)! 

Don’t be afraid to blend while it’s still wet, by adding in a new pigment–just keep in mind it will bloom out if your new pigment is wetter than the color on the paper already

All layers are transparent, so keep color theory in mind. If you have golden skin and paint purple over it, you’ll get a more brown tone, since they are complementary colors. 

Try not to use brown paints directly for skin colors (unless they are exact color you’re looking for). They tend to look too muddy, especially on darker skin. It’s more realistic to use a mixture of yellows (like yellow orchre or naples yellow), reds (like a nice magenta or rose) and blues to mix purple to darken the skin. This combo allows for more realistic highlights, shadows, and blushing/warmth! 

Never use grays or blacks to shade darker skin (unless it’s a very intentional and careful stylistic choice), it almost always makes the skin look ashy and unrealistic

Use a spare piece of watercolor paper to test the colors you mixed first, to see if it’s what you want

Keep this in mind when having a light source: if the light (and things lit by it) is warm in tone, the shadows will be cool. If the light is cool, the shadows will be warm. So, anytime you make a gradient, think of how it’s lit and go from warm to cool (or vice versus) depending on your lighting! 

It is actually okay to use colors straight from the tube/pan sometimes! Go for vibrancy. :) 

Lighting tips:

Work from light to dark, as you can’t lighten watercolor well once it’s put down

…but if you do need to lighten/remove a color, try wetting it with clean water and then lifting it up with a tissue! I’ve also heard a magic eraser works (wild)

Keep a dry tissue nearby for the above reason

Think of watercolor like working in multiply layers. They are transparent coatings of paint over each other! 

Want dramatic lighting? Check out this other tutorial I made!

Think through your lighting before you paint. Once you put watercolor down, it’s hard to go back…so mentally plan where you need to shade before you put your brush down. 

For deep shadows, sometimes you will need to use a lot of layers, especially if you’re avoiding black (which can work, but it can also create a blah visual pit). Layers here are really helpful!

Misc tips:

Try sketching with a colored pencil, so it isn’t as see through! (I like Prismacolor ColErase)

Or…draw your sketch and then roll a kneaded eraser over it to lighten it, so the pencil isn’t visible through the paint

Explore mixed media! I’ve done pen line art (microns) and then painted, and I’ve mixed acrylic and gouache for highlights and effects after the watercolor is done too. 

Let your work bloom sometimes! Roll with that unique beauty of watercolor. 

It can look really cool if you mix totally different colors alongside each other. Play with what it looks like to have an orange bloom in a blue spot, etc! :D

Play with fun effects! Drop alcohol, salt, or add plastic wrap that you leave to dry. These (and more) can all look really cool. 

You can paint in whatever style you want! It doesn’t have to be that typical watercolor look. Mine is really graphic and different, but it vibes with me!