Steph C.

Someone’s pretending to be me in an attempt to scam people, just so you know! I’m sure you’re all too smart to fall for something so obvious though, hahaha. They should have used Feefall instead of Feeffal, way less obvious.

Also I haven’t done commissions in 8 years so… if a feef corners you and offers you a sweet deal on a commish, don’t let them take you to a secondary location.

"Make art for you. The way you want to.

Don’t listen to know-it-alls who try to make you feel bad because you don’t adhere to their definition of how an artist SHOULD make art. Those people typically don’t have a unique thought in their head anyhow and are intimidated by anyone who “colors outside of the lines.” But history has shown that the world THRIVES on those of us who don’t do things “the right way.”

We’re the “weird ones.”

The “troublemakers.”

The “rule breakers.”

"Make art for you. The way you want to.

Don’t listen to know-it-alls who try to make you feel bad because you don’t adhere to their definition of how an artist SHOULD make art. Those people typically don’t have a unique thought in their head anyhow and are intimidated by anyone who “colors outside of the lines.” But history has shown that the world THRIVES on those of us who don’t do things “the right way.”

We’re the “weird ones.”

The “troublemakers.”

The “rule breakers.”

but real ones born before the year 2000 and were there to experience LOST know the truth of this phenomenon

ahhh that's a question for Banshriek, I'm afraid! Though I've definitely learned a lot myself from working alongside them, so I'll do my best to provide my own tips!

1.) Thumbnails thumbnails thumbnails! Having a smaller version of your eventual finished piece is super helpful, it helps reduce the stress of 'getting it right the first time'. Yes, it takes a little extra time and effort, but it's a long-term investment for better results. And because they're small, they don't take a lot of time to throw together, and you don't run the risk of getting too sucked into the details!

2.) Always keep contrast and values in mind! Regardless of what kind of background you're drawing, who's in the scene, etc. understanding contrast and values is what will ultimately help you communicate the sense of scale and depth to your viewer.

If you're not sure if you're accomplishing strong values, use the desaturation trick! Take what you have painted and desaturate it. If the piece becomes unintelligible in black and grey, then you'll know you need to adjust the contrast more so that the colors can be distinguishable from one another. Here's an example using work from NieR: Automata-

You can see here how the values are used to define the space, from the light shining in through the broken ceiling to the darker foliage in the foreground.

3.) Build a reference library! You're an artist, not God, you can't make something out of nothing. If you're trying to draw a particular background, collect references! Study them! Recreate them in your style! Much of learning how to draw anything is simply a process of studying and researching. A great artist isn't necessarily someone who knows how to draw completely from memory - a great artist is someone who knows what resources and tools are at their disposal, and uses them to their fullest potential to create something new.

4.) In addition to the above, study from the works that you're inspired by. If you're going for a particular art style or 'vibe', find and research other artists who match it. A lot of art advice and tutorials tend to be tailored specifically to that artist's workflow or style, but passed off as 'general advice' as if it applies to every artist or project. But every artist is different, and so is every project, so a lot of this advice tends to come across as overwhelming as you look up hundreds of different tutorials that all have generally similar advice but different approaches and different results. What works for one project won't necessarily work for another. So that's why studying the projects you're inspired by can at least help give you a starting point in understanding what will work for your project.

Using my own work as an example, LR was obviously designed to emulate LO! But what works for LR wouldn't necessarily work for my other projects, like Time Gate, which is a more shonen-esque work. So what worked for developing LR isn't necessarily going to work for developing Time Gate. Some of it will transfer, but whatever doesn't, I have to make up for by studying works that Time Gate is specifically inspired by and trying to emulate (mostly manga and video games).

5.) Start bigger, refine smaller. Many people tend to get sucked into the process of detailing right away, but oftentimes, it results in them over-rendering in places they don't need to be, and most of all, it tends to waste energy and time. Block out your shapes and structures and composition first, with large brush sizes, and then from there go in and refine what actually needs refining.

6.) To add onto Point #4, work smarter, not harder. While many beautiful background work like what you're seeing above looks extremely highly detailed, the artist is often using tricks and workarounds to achieve that detail without actually putting in all that work. Sometimes it's through 3D models, sometimes it's through stamp and texture brushes, and sometimes it's just through tricking the viewer into filling the blanks themselves!

Sam Yang and WLOP are both great at this, what you see seems complicated and detailed, but when you actually zoom in and focus on those details in isolation, you'll notice that they're often very simple brush strokes!

The trick here is the intention, they might all seem 'random' but every brush stroke - even the simplest ones - are placed with intention. And most of all, both artists aren't afraid to let the audience fill in the blanks themselves. Our brains are way sneakier at that than we give them credit for! Much of what carries these environments is the sense of depth, which is more so achieved with - you guessed it - contrast and value, not necessarily detail.

This is also where textured brushes help, because textured brushes come with more 'variation' in their strokes, which can really help 'fill in' the detail without having to explicitly add detail by hand. Granted, they aren't a magic 'do it for you' tool, you still need to know how (and when) to use them, but I find they're a great way to add variation into your piece which can help break up the 'flatness' that people often experience in their backgrounds and compositions.

7.) Understand that comics naturally have a different workflow and demands than standalone illustrations. While the above advice still applies, it's largely using singular compositions as an example, and not comic pages, which demand a whole different workflow and set of expectations. Unlike most singular compositions, you'll often have to draw the same backgrounds over and over again, from different angles.

So again, this is where it's so, so important to learn how to work smarter and not harder. If you have a background that's going to show up repeatedly throughout the comic? Find or build a 3D model for it. Or do what animators do and paint stills of those backgrounds from different angles which you can reuse in future scenes.

One genius example of this is in City of Blank. The creator uses this establishing shot of the cast's apartment numerous times throughout the series, always showing a blank standing on the roof staring longingly into the distance.

And the sweetest part was that the creator actually addressed it! So what was originally an easy shortcut to establish a setting or show the passage of time became an actual plotline. During the most climactic part of the story, too, which is presumably leading up to its finale.

Like that's such an amazing thing that the creator DIDN'T EVEN NEED TO DO, but it made such a huge difference for the readers who have been following along since the beginning and awaiting the finale. A real proper send-off to something that was otherwise just a visual cheat code :')

And no, you don't necessarily have to commit to something like this, but as long as you're smart with how you integrate these tricks and shortcuts, most people won't even notice them. Some will even get attached to them, as evidenced above LOL

-------

THE COUNCIL WILL NOW DECIDE YOUR FATE

my contribution to this year's Polar Lights Zine, with proceeds benefiting the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition.

This one was so fun to paint! I thought I'd be taking a break from star themed stuff after spending waaaay too much time on the Star Projector Kickstarter but somehow I just ended up back to painting stars anyway lol

Like always, the HD image, hours long art videos, and PSD files will be DMed on Patreon on the 5th of each month. For now you can check out this short time lapse :)