Letters from Somnolescent

 

Tag: art

People’s drawings and visual art.


December 29, 2023

Happy Five Years: Further Down the Artsy Rabbit Hole

mariteaux

Happy extra image that didn't make it into the proper post!

January 2024 marks two whole years of me taking art seriously. I read back through last year’s art retrospective, and I’m guessing it was partly that one year of progress isn’t a lot in all reality and partly that what progress I did make in 2022 was bumpy (as tends to happen when you start learning a new skill), but I was surprised at how tentative I sounded. I ended off that post with a big fat “pretty good for a first attempt ^^”, if you catch my drift:

It’s good to appreciate how far you’ve come though. In one year, from practically nothing, I’ve made some pretty damn good progress. I think by next year, I’ll have something really special.

Thankfully, if 2022 was the year of trying to draw anything at all, 2023 has been the year of learning to draw confidently. I used to get plagued by a feeling of every drawing being a fluke, that it was just because I had someone’s actual art off to the side while I drew that I made it look anything like what it was supposed to, but I don’t get that anymore. I actually really like what I draw now! It still looks amateurish in spots, but that’s starting to taper off, I think.

Not to say I don’t still have a long way to go, but for actually properly enjoying what I do and feeling confident in it, this year has been very good to me. I understand eyes and snoots now, for one thing… Let’s go back through some highlights of this year, like we did last year, and have a bit more positive to say this time around, shall we?


August 6, 2023

art fight 2023 (first blood)

fiveducks

Hey! Been a while. Been a weird year.

I participated in Art Fight for the first time last month. Call it part of my “being less of a hermit” arc. Which is funny because I dropped Twitter and barely pay any attention to any other social media. (I did say less of a hermit.)

But enough about the downfall of the modern internet, I’m here to talk about Art Fight. Which also wound up having drama, funnily enough, though I didn’t pay much attention.

Tags: art, art fight,

February 3, 2023

Four Becomes Five: My First Year in Art

mariteaux

Leaning Wyn redraw from February 2023

I’ve been fooling with the idea of doing art since early 2021, but January 2022 was when I officially started. That’s when I drew some scrunkly Wyns for Caby and tried my best to sketch out a whole ton of the ideas I’ve had lying around for, I dunno, years at that point.

It’s taken a lot of nerves and a lot of personal growth to get here (plus practice), but I can pretty confidently say I’m getting somewhere with it now. For the big one year (give or take a month), I’m gonna show off five (or maybe more?) drawings from throughout 2022 and mix memories and art critique. Everyone gather in a circle now.


November 13, 2022

behind the scenes

devon

I actually meant to post this around… two months ago? Unfortunately some other factors caused a massive delay, but it’s time to finish this finally. Some pieces from Art Fight I wanted to talk about because I feel they are worth talking about.

Tags: art, art fight,

September 24, 2022

Protecting and Surviving Against the AI Art Menace

mariteaux

AI-generated buildings

It’s a controversial topic. AI-generated art, “this does not exist” sites, and the possibility that robots with the ability to “draw” will make artists obsolete, or at least, ruin the market for gigging artists who need that attention to live and pay bills.

Thankfully, I see it more optimistically than most. It is a menace, and you should take action if it affects you–but don’t let it discourage you. If you’re browsing around DeviantART or suchlike, here’s how to spot it and how to combat it.

Since I’m mostly involved in character design and character art, that’s what I’ll be focusing on. Apply to your medium of landscapes or photography or suchlike as applicable.

Tags: art, technology,

August 19, 2022

wi(s)p: five years in and one page up

fiveducks

As an average 20-something Canadian, you’ve got enough on your plate—rent’s going up, you can’t afford gas for that van you bought last summer, the ghost in your apartment insists on watching you pee, and you’re not 100% sure what to do now that you’ve dropped out of college. Twice.

Tags: art,

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