Well its getting about 1 year since I got a tablet and really got into drawing. So I figure this would be a good time to reflect on my experiences.

In the beginning, it was fun. I met a lot of cool people. Sadly, nobody seemed as enthusiastic about drawing as I was then. Some of the interesting people I met were from Anime Discovery Project at the UW, in particular, ~AnimeDaisuki seemed cool and tried to get me more involved in the community, but sadly alas there was a freshman there who was completely egocentric and after talking to him and msging him on DA I just thought I was too old to deal with this shit and just didnt bother to go back. Oh well, there was a cute girl there too.

Following my journey of the tablet. The first person to ever reply to my enthusiasm in drawing, and I totally envy his style is ~pantsu-pirate. He also introduced me to the whole pchat concept, although it was more of just using a whiteboard with a limited graphics log, so you would have to clear about every 15 minutes or so. Every once in a while I drag him into a pchat session.

Eventually I started going to Niko's pchat on a daily basis. I saw a lot of good artists, but the only person willing to take me under their wing was Vento, who has no DA. He's a student in an animation major in Canada (I forget the school name). Through his encouragement I was able to broaden my view of drawing.

Now I have quite a few friends in the pchat community. And pchat is the only thing that keeps me in drawing because then I don't have to think about posting my work on DA in order for people to see it. Of course this makes me halfass my work so I can produce something cool within like 30 minutes. But that's my style, I don't have the patience of a real artist yet.

However, past month, I got a full time job as a research engineer for a software company so I do not have that much time to draw. That and I have been playing the new Warhammer MMO. So almost any time im at home not doing anything im playing that game. However that game has a nice mechanic that I can just idle and wait in a pvp queue then I'll just draw while I wait to get processed. Speaking of which, I'm on the clock right now! I need to get back to work

Until next year,

G

Theres a fine line between delusion and dementia.

And im right on it.

Greetings observer3249810432132,

Heres the deal. I have never attended any art class or been in anything related that would be instructive to how to improve my artistic ability. Instead, I am creating an experiment, where I am asking the wondering ones on DA for advise and critique, in just about everything I post. I will absorb your advise and reflect it in my later drawings. If I feel that the advise you have given was meaningful in my journey to eudaimonia, I will write a tidbit about ya down below as well as describe how you helped me!.

------ GREAT PEOPLE --------

- she has an amazing talent to make a color palate look like it did a line of coke before jumping onto the canvas. Amazing work, nonetheless.

Ein helped me realize the importance of using enormous resolutions to work in and being able to fine tune detail using many of the photoshop tools.

- his painting skills are by far some of the best stuff I've seen. Not only is his character conception good but his ability to add breathtaking landscapes and backgrounds is truly remarkable. Now go visit his him!

Licheus once said, everyman is the architect to his own fortune. Okay, he didn't say that, but he introduced me to Open Canvas, and the great horrors of color theory. I have been using Open Canvas ever since I started and I really like it. Probably the most important thing he mentioned was that you never see pure color unless its reflected off a highlight, normally everything is inbetween the balance of the pure color, the grays, and black.

- this methodical young man has great artwork, but the best stuff I admire coming from his submissions is watching his work in progress, where his work literally looks like the painting is leaping out of the monitor at you. I don't know if he is aware of that lol.

Ryuuen uh.. did something, I'll remember later..

- A strong supporter and a great mentor, don't let her age fool you, she has more wisdom and advise than a pack of wild art gurus. (Okay, something like that lol). Her own work is best described as ... criminally cute. (feel free to make up your assumptions from that statement )

nikki here, was very helpful to show me how to color in clothing that flows in and out, and how highlights and shading should effect the objects in general. Also introduced an interesting way to draw hands (which I still suck at lol)

Prior to being introduced to deviantart I really never found myself motivated to draw or improve. I guess that you can say when you see your current skill set, and you are able to compare to those around you (in the ether). It is then that you are able to reflect on your own technique and skill. I found myself striving to become better once I was able to discover that there are a lot more artists around me than just me and the best. Now if only I could become the master imitator and mimic the *best* down to the last detail!

My personal philosophy: clothing optional.. (ok bad joke, sorry Will Ferrell).
My new goal on deviant art is to establish a social link (<- haha persona..) between the artists that are on DA that have the same art style that I am aiming for. For there are many ways to learn, some by book, some by a habituation (uhh.. practice, practice, practice), and some by the ability to observe and repeat. Of course, It is not limited to one but there are different qualities to the learning curve and I believe the quality of being able to see someone do what you want to do in person is much more gratifying (is that the word I want?, probably not). For those that are at all familiar with ethical philosophy, the same argument is given between the qualities of pleasures described by John Stewart Mill.

Anyways with that said, I need to get back to work, I might expand on this later

Where oh where does my drawing talent come from (or lack there of). Practice lines, huge erasers, and hallucinations beyond the rabbit hole. This journal entry is conceptually the the possible action between me and the brink of insanity.

What do people think about achieving their goals and desires. Is the correct ethical philosophy deontology, utilitarianism or virtue ethics?. What else could possibly contribute to the meaning of human flourishing which Aristotle termed eudaimonia. Apparently, my philosophy grade downright says, Im smoking crack and need to stop drawing in class and pay more attention!

.. no really, it says that on my last paper.

Hmm..

So ..

Anyone got any good tutorials for cleaning up a scan? I can't seem to find the right google target for figuring that type of stuff out.

Apparently I need to make a roundtrip from a seperate site in order to process this hack. Unfortunately it still does not work yet.

Hello everyone.

I do not have much experience in cleaning up my drawings and adding colors, If anyone has any recommended tutorials or is willing to walk me through it over time, please message me!

Also, my utensils of choice are mechanical pencil (.05) and a enormous eraser. If you also have good recommendations in art tools for drawing manga, also let me know!

-gc

Journal entries..

Well I am relatively new to this site so I am still exploring what I can do.