The Bean Stack

All shot practically using real lighting, figures and cotton wool lit with an orange light for the fire.

This fabulous bitch

She makes a shit ton of poses (like 16,000 or some crazy nonsense).  I used this lovely lady to draw so much as a teen.  Whether it was some nerdy pose for my Mary Sue as fuck OCs

or for full on fight sequences

or for tragic deaths of my OCs in the arms of a totally OOC main protagonist.  

this bitch hooked me up.  

And with the wildest, craziest stuff that you could see in your head but had no way or resources to reasonably draw like

or this

or this

DUDE!  INASNE SHIT!!  So I was using her for a pose reference and decided, you know what, I owe this bitch some cash.  Lemme dole it out for her.  BUT then, I looked and saw she only has 286 fucking patrons!!  This chick gives out free shit and spends countless hours arranging these shoots and setting this stuff up.  

I’ll fork up the cash, SenshiStock.  You’re worth it.  

ideas of exercises to help with your practical art skills, as well as things to keep in mind while making art and new ways to find inspiration:

draw every day

recreate a drawing you did before, but better

draw something using only simple geometric shapes

do studies of famous artworks

listen to artists explain their work, it’s super interesting

take life drawing classes (or use online photo resources)

find an artwork you love, and work out why

draw caricatures of friends

set a 1 minute timer and draw an object as quickly as possible

draw something you can’t see, eg. music, emotion

research artists you admire and find out how they work

think about composition: what stands out, what recedes etc.

find a famous artwork you hate and work out why

sit outside and draw the landscape

copy a photo exactly

draw a scene from a film

draw the contours of an object not the outline

visit an art exhibition near you

draw your bedroom

look up tutorials online - there’s so many useful ones!

practise creating contrast between light and dark in pictures

research colour theory

do a self portrait

learn about art history! Research different movements etc.

try a new medium

consider the feeling you want to portray with the artwork

draw without looking at the page

draw a character from a book you’ve read

draw something you don’t usually draw

look at your pictures in the mirror to help you see problems better

follow artists and galleries on instagram for inspo

draw an ugly object in a beautiful way

try using only bold, bright colours

plan your colour palette before starting an artwork, and stick to it!

if you usually work in 2D, make something in 3D

always remember to add shadows

draw an object which is important to you

use 5 lines to depict an object, make every line count

draw using negative space

always draw from life when possible!

think carefully about which direction the light is coming from

study proportions and anatomy!! 

draw your pet

research items symbolic meanings in art

make an art blog to compile images that inspire you

draw using only straight lines

try accentuating any subtle colours in an image

draw models from fashion websites

sketch with friends! They always have great ideas

keep drawing even if you find it hard, you improve with every mistake!

{my art masterpost might also be useful to you} 

L: Forgot to share that I started learning Live2D Cubism rigging, and it’s going well so far. By “going well,” I mean I still haven’t abandoned the idea of trying to make a VTuber for myself. I chose Tilazis for his relatively simple design, but boy, why the fuck am I always trying to overdo things and start rigging stuff for toggles or using blend shapes out of nowhere? Yeah, that gave me some experience, but what kind of experience exactly—extensive pain in the ass? Yeah, that’s totally about me.