Sweet Mapple

For one year now (since listening to malevolent if I’m being honest) I’ve had a burning need to draw almost every day. And for the occasional day or two where I didn’t want to draw or couldn’t muster up something I wanted to draw I’d just do something else (usually Fromsoft games or playing piano)- I’ve found forcing it is never a good idea. (But that really wasn’t the question agh)

But when I do sit down to draw my driving force is truly The Character. Wanting to portray The Character in a hot way- in a badass way- in a sweet way- in a whump setting. Whichever of those flavors that speak to me in that moment.

Also-! I’ve found drawing for others really makes me motivated to get more complex ideas done. I get too anxious for commission work but if a buddy has a good idea it really makes me happy to draw it out. Sometimes coming up with ideas yourself is too difficult so others ideas can be so helpful! I’m so grateful for the suggestions I get cause it forces me to draw things I wouldn’t have considered. (basically all of my early smut stuff wouldn’t exist without me wanting to share it with my pals) (and that in itself is recursive, the practice drawing smut skyrocketed my anatomy knowledge giving me a greater ability to draw which also increased my want to draw because I could do things I had only dreamed of)

Also also- self admittedly I’m absolute shit at coming up with interesting poses and comp- so to work around that I started out doing a lot more comic pieces so the whole work is more focused on the story or idea rather than the individual composition and execution of a single picture. (Ie. If the comic needs me to show a character reacting a certain way- I’d do a close up of their expression and it allows me not to have to cook up a new pose, just portray what the comic needs for the story to progress) so I can have a few so-so panels but at least one or two that really gets me pumped

(Like below, the first page I was fighting for my life on the top and last panel but those two middle ones I was salivating for- just to get to Kayne’s reactions I had to draw those really difficult body angles (great practice and I never would have chosen those angles for a single composition) and the second page here was just bread and butter to me. Out of all 10 pages of the original comic I wanted to do that page the most- good enough can get you so far !!)

It’s led me to be more comfortable and confident in doing single comps. At the same time, I love how comics can accomplish true progression (the first picture below) but now since I’ve bleed and sweat over a multitude of bizarre poses for various comics I can accomplish the same goal of getting a feeling down on the page in an provocative way with just one drawing

God, alls this to say, I want to draw to get better to draw more difficult ideas and when I can finally draw more difficult ideas I get better and I want to draw more. My biggest tools in doing this was finding The Character (a true stalwart muse) and throwing myself upon the anvil of comics and anatomy study. And trusting my eye. I know not every one of my pieces is perfect- fuck no- but as long as I trust my eye in whether or not somthing looks good, I’m quite happy with it. And if it doesn’t look good to my eye, I could fix it or I’ll have to be content with how it is knowing it’s a little above my pay grade for where I am.

Fiction podcasts are a boon because if you can’t come up with an idea you can just cherry pick a favorite scene and tackle it :) and I always make a point to look at others art every single day. It’s so so so absurdly important to look at other people’s art and ask yourself questions. why do I like a piece? Why do the colors look so good? How do they draw their noses? What makes this piece obviously this artist? What do I gravitate toward? And last tidbit- the whole ‘kill your darling thing’ has really expanded my growth. Can’t really explain it but it’s allowed me to work much faster.