I was interviewed by Dream Foundry back in December about how I got started as a concept artist, what my day-to-day work looks like, and how to pickle some tasty, tasty beets.
2019-01-30 18:09:24 +0000 UTC View Post
Burnout is the woooorst.
Every artist I know has experienced burnout. It can sneak up on you regardless of how long you've been creating art, regardless of if you have a deadline or not, regardless of who you are and where you work. Burnout sucks.
Nothing is more disheartening than sitting down to work on a project you love, and immediately being overwhelmed with dread or anxiety... but burnout comes in many forms, and it has early symptoms that appear far before you're in panic a...
2019-01-28 17:51:41 +0000 UTC View PostHello once again, dear friends. (This is a free post, no one is charged for this.)
I've been having a LOT of discussions on Twitter with folks that enjoy my advice threads and enjoyed my Patreon content, but are frustrated with how scattered my advice is.
The way that I was previously using Patreon made me put too much pressure on myself. It was awesome, but stressful...but I have a lot of stuff on here that I wouldn't want to delete, and I do like the structure of the posts and a...
2019-01-13 21:42:26 +0000 UTC View PostHello!
I got a notification that, despite putting the Patreon on pause for one month, cards are potentially being charged. I might have hit the pause button too late in the month, so I apologize for the confusion.
If cards are charged, rather than trying to manage that on a person-to-person basis, I will take a break in December rather than November. Content will continue to come out as long as cash is flowin.
Thanks to everyone sending supportive messages and kind word...
2018-11-01 23:14:34 +0000 UTC View PostEdit: I do have a Kofi now if you'd like to leave tips for my Twitter rants!
Hey everyone,
First of all- thank you to everyone that has been so incredibly supportive over the last few months. This Patreon has gotten me through a LOT financially and has lifted a lot of weight while I've been transitioning around work-wise.
I'm currently not able to do enough personal work to feel like I can commit to putt...
2018-10-30 21:24:11 +0000 UTC View Post
Thank you to all of the $5+ Patrons that submitted questions! Please take all of this advice with a grain of salt as always.
If you'd like to submit questions next month, pledge just $5 a month (that's less than 2 Starbucks coffees!!) and you'll also get early access to digital art minitutorials!
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youngizzik asks: I recently had an,,, interesting, interaction with one of my professors about the TellTale layoffs, games unionizing and poor management... 2018-10-12 21:33:24 +0000 UTC View Post
Colors are a HUGE topic when dipping your toes into painting and they can be really intimidating for new artists. I want to break down some basic color theory/psychology and explain my general approach to laying down the color foundation for a good design.
I want to preface this real quick and say that all color, at the end of the day, is best when it's experimental. Don't feel like you have to abide by some weird old "rules" or follow a formula that you don't like. Mess around, try new...
2018-10-03 16:22:42 +0000 UTC View Post
WHEW. It has been a VERY busy past couple of weeks but I'm getting some me-art done while I can, including the shiny fancy new social media icon at the top of this. If I am able to finish the two illustrations below, you can expect to see at least one of them as process posts!
This cat witch illustration has been in the back of my mind the last several months. I started this piece wayyy back in...
2018-09-19 23:17:55 +0000 UTC View Post
Consistently finding work is one of the toughest parts of starting to freelance. Even after a few years of experience, it can take time to find jobs that are a good match for your services. It requires a LOT of patience and perseverance until you have a strong client list. Here are some of the lessons I've learned regarding seeking out freelance work.
In-house experience
I highly recommend, if possible, getting studio experience before doing freelance. Seriously. ...
2018-09-15 20:04:10 +0000 UTC View Post
Thank you to all of the $5+ Patrons that submitted questions! Please take all of this advice with a grain of salt as always.
If you'd like to submit questions next month, pledge just $5 a month (that's less than 2 Starbucks coffees!!) and you'll also get early access to digital art minitutorials!
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kulbit asks: i recently found out that it's better to work on bigger canvas so there's more pixels to work with so what do you think is a good can... 2018-09-11 18:00:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Braids vary in size, weight, and silhouette, but this is a basic way to draw them when you're struggling to sketch them evenly!
2018-09-10 17:44:06 +0000 UTC View Post
I've been getting a lot of questions on Twitter about making freelance sustainable, so I'll be addressing the basics of freelancing in a few upcoming posts. I'm still relatively new to this but hopefully I can provide some insight! Blog posts (similar to the master studies post) will be treated like tutorials: early access for $5+, and open to suggestions for $10+ Patrons. Thanks!
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"What should I charge?" is one of the biggest questions among artists that are se...
2018-09-07 19:57:49 +0000 UTC View Post
Some of the fun stuff that I've been working on lately~
Brawn and Pyrah are the blacksmith and bowyer of the city Emerald Keep, and Brawn is one of our buddies in the upcoming heist session that we've been prepping for. A few weeks ago, Ebony tried to charm Brawn into giving us discounts annnnnd I'm not allowed back in the shop anymore.
2018-08-29 21:35:41 +0000 UTC
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(Edit: Reposted because I messed up the early access)
So I admit... this isn't a tutorial as much of a blog post, but whatever. Let's talk master studies.
I recommend doing studies to every representational artist of any skill level. (Representational art = represents real objects in the real world. AKA, not abstract.) The basic questions:
1. becca wtf is a master study
A master study is a drawing/painting/sculpt/etc in which the artist (you) ...
2018-08-25 18:40:03 +0000 UTC View PostHello!
So a few quick updates re: life/Patreon/etc. Work has been kicking in for me over the last few weeks, which is why content has slowed down quite a bit. I want to keep Patreon open and active, but I just wanted to put a head's up out there that frequency of posts will continue to be lower as I'm working since contracts take priority. If the less often updates aren't for you, that's okay! No hard feelings. Lowering your pledge or whatever is totally fine. I gotchu. I'll still be posting, ...
2018-08-18 23:59:15 +0000 UTC View Post
So! One of the tutorials requested in the last $10+ Patron request post was how to paint translucent liquids, such as for potions. I think the best approach on this is moreso "teach a man to fish" rather than to just say "here is the exact and only way to do it."
All original reference comes back to real life. If you're not sure how to paint something, find something that demonstrates what you're trying to replicate.
So let's talk about juice.
What makes ju...
2018-08-12 21:16:06 +0000 UTC View Post
Thank you to all of the $5+ Patrons that submitted questions! Please take all of this advice with a grain of salt as always.
If you'd like to submit questions next month, pledge just $5 a month (that's less than 2 Starbucks coffees!!) and you'll also get early access to digital art minitutorials!
~~~~~~~~~
Thorne asks: How do you get yourself out of a rut? There are definitely times or days I feel off when creating art and that the work I am producing isn’t up ... 2018-08-11 21:13:28 +0000 UTC View Post
(GIF below) Sometimes you're painting a texture or surface and...it feels really boring and flat! OH NO. BUT WAIT! There are VERY easy ways to make a material feel alive and vivid, such as these 3 simple tools! Adding a secondary material, developing hue/saturation variation, and painting in surfaces imperfections like scratches, lumps, and bumps can breathe life into a painting. This was entirely painted with the hard round default brush in Photoshop.
2018-07-29 03:15:18 +0000 UTC
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Thank you to the $10+ Patrons that suggested focusing minitutorials on materials! I'm also doing one about taking that basic wood board and making it more interesting :) Coming soon!
I did some rough rendering on the tree design in this video, AKA Becca Tries To Figure Out How To Draw Leaves Five Times. Thanks for watching.
2018-07-25 17:38:49 +0000 UTC View Post
So you're painting up an armor set for your elven paladin and getting frustrated. All the textures look off- your wood looks like plastic, your metals are hard to read and full of too much detail, what's the deal?
Often, the issue with confusing/overrendered materials comes down to value. Having a clear, carefully controlled value range from dark to light is one of the most important parts of rendering form and surface information, especially at the same time.
In the content sugges...
2018-07-22 16:13:18 +0000 UTC View Post
A simple demonstration of using asymmetrical lines in order to have more interesting shapes within designs! The more exaggerated the lines, the more movement and weight will be conveyed :) The little details go a long, long way!
2018-07-17 18:08:52 +0000 UTC View Post
Thank you to all of the $5+ Patrons that submitted questions! Please take all of this advice with a grain of salt as always.
If you'd like to submit questions next month, pledge just $5 a month (that's less than 2 Starbucks coffees!!) and you'll also get early access to digital art minitutorials!.
I'm just going to jump right in because there's a lot to talk about, so strap in, yall!
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Erin asks: "My question: Do you have any general tip... 2018-07-09 15:33:27 +0000 UTC View Post
I've been doing so much sketching lately!! The portrait I've started above and the sketch below are of our campaign's halfling rogue, Maela. It's still very early in the works, but I've had a lot of fun lately with characters and vibrant colors.
I'd been trying to figure out what I wanted my next creature painting to be, and I think I've settled on wanting to paint a kirin! The first...
2018-06-30 21:22:21 +0000 UTC View Post
I wanted to take a break from some of the projects that I was working on, so I did some flora studies that turned into a berry tree design! I'm hoping to paint it out further at some point, but for now, enjoy this quick timelapse video of the full lineart :D
2018-06-26 17:23:50 +0000 UTC View Post
Herbalist NPC from our 5e campaign. Reggie and his winged serpent are the local source for medicinal herbs and various strains of smokeroot amongst the districtgoers and visitors of emerald keep. Laid back, friendly, and trusting, he’s one of our group’s favorites within the city walls.
Contour lines are drawn around the form of an object to clarify its volumetric shape. This is helpful to sketch in before painting when you're not sure about how something should be rendered, and it's a great exercise to practice working spacially while drawing! They're also helpful to use when adding details so you know the features you're drawing are sitting on the form correctly, conforming to the surface beneath it well.
This is part one, I'm planning on doing at least one more version...
Critical Role has done some amazing things for the DnD community. I'll admit I'm not the most religious listener, but I cannot overstate how much the fanart and characters and fellowship warm my heart. :3 As soon as I listened to the first episode of the new campaign, I *knew* that I had to draw Nott. I immediately had the image in my head of a sneaky, goofy goblin with a bag of gold and a shit-eating grin.
I've always had some intense impostor syndrome over painting characters, and this was w...
2018-06-20 20:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Some simple steps to paint more believable cuts/slashes! It all comes down to clarifying the top and bottom planes of the slash, then adding some highlights and AO.
2018-06-19 19:00:00 +0000 UTC View Post
I've been doing a lot of painting in grayscale! If you're struggling with conveying form, I really recommend trying it out. Stay really far zoomed out and always use the biggest brush that you can. It helps you work on the piece more cohesively than going in and painting every little detail. :D Enjoy!
