Intro:

I like to create across many art forms. I draw digitally and traditionally, make animations on Scratch, and I’m learning more about Blender. I sew plushies and outfits, cook and bake, write short RPs, lyrics, and poems, and study psychology to better help others.

Using many different tools helps each art form grow the others, understanding fabric, characters in 3D space, anatomy, writing, and drawing all connect.

So please allow me the chance to put some goodness into the world.

Go out there, create, spread kindness, and have a great day.

Now, let’s get into the drawing tips:

• Don’t use pure black for shading or outlines, it makes things look too bold. A way to hack your art and get a great outline/shade color is to take the color of your choice, layer it over itself, and set it to Overlay or Multiply. If you're willing, you can also use color theory: Use a complementary color, or another color midway between (Complementary example: 🟪🟨 | Midway example: 🟪🟥)

• Eyes and hair don’t always need outlines, sometimes they’re better without them. Inside the hair, yes, you can include some outlines to make shapes clear. However, from what I’ve found, simply changing colors between sections works just as well. There are no outlines in the real world, it’s all lighting. So creating effects that make outlines a little softer is almost always a good idea.

• Keep it simple. Art can be tiring if you're pushing yourself too hard all the time. Every once in a while, slow down. Simplify. The simplest characters can be the most interesting. Get the big details on first, the lack of clutter will be your hero (Bonus: If you're creating your first character, be your own hero. Complicating it does not always make it cooler. Sometimes it can, but it's best to have a base first. Learn the silhouette, that’s how you know your character is recognizable.)