On to the next

 

Kinda ridic how much of a struggle this was for a portrait. Or is that...every time? 😂

Line art test

 Well ummm, another first for everything? 😂 For a first shot at making comics (or sequential art of any kind for that matter, besides the one equally amateur shot at storyboarding almost 10 years ago), I think the panel logic most definitely needs a tender edit. But whatever man, the test was for line art. Let's see if this goes anywhere 🤣

Can you hear me?

 It's strange because it feels I work super slowly, super inefficiently, make tons of mistakes, could have streamlined everything so much better overall, and yet...somehow I'm still finding more free time than before? What is constant, though, is the frustration.

More. I need...more.

Romeo, King of Puppets

 "Pity we have to meet like this, though."

This game's aesthetic hits me in the spot so hard 😭😭😭

Avatar Academy

Art test for Nickelodeon's trainee program. Possibly another turning point if this flies 😂

Shadow

 

I'm not actually interested in Marika that much. All along it was just an excuse to draw more of this guy *-*

Update: Got removed from the official ER subreddit because mods marked this (and the last one with Marika) as AI. Guess it's another backhand-compliment-signifier that I've made it??? But if so, where are all my follows? :( :( :( Here's to hoping the appeal goes through and that FromSoft (if they ever actually look) dun also think am just a sham 😭😭😭

 

Update update: omg LOL 

There I have it, the reality check I needed to keep my head out of the clouds. Keep at it Jing, you ain't there yet, just as you always knew 💪

What is a "good picture"?

Translated from a gem found on bilibili, in a note-to-self format.

Before an artist starts, you can bet that they had (1) an idea of the effect they would like to achieve, which for sure was based on (2) an impression of something they saw or experienced. If they were successful in (re)creating that effect/impression, they will think, "this looks good". Any audience who similarly likes the same (2) impression/look will also think, "this looks good". At that point, the piece is a success. It is that simple.

What we mean by (2) is not a specific image, but an established pattern/formula. Therefore, when a picture "does not look good", it simply means it failed to properly match any pattern or formula. Conversely, if any formula/pattern is correctly applied, the picture will  "look good". Furthermore, the same base image can be edited to create multiple looks, each following a different formula, and all of them will "look good".

Some examples of patterns/formulae (screenshots from video): 

 I. Environmental/Atmospheric: dark subject, light background, bright rim light

 

This is prob the most common one in digital art these days and can be seen when atmosphere and mood dictate the piece, e.g. League splash art. Environmental light overrides local colors. Multitudes of looks/moods can be created branching from this basic formula. 

II. Classical: light subject, dark background, bright rim light

 "Classical" in the sense of old timey portraits, e.g. Sargent. Commonly seen in character-centric situations such as character sheets, card illustrations, etc. Local colors remain bright and clear. What if you want to do a daylight scene where the sky is bright? Simply use blue (which, inherent to the hue, has the darkest value of all hues). 

But the above are simply the level 1 basics. At level 2, we can mix and match between the above two broad rules by introducing new lights.

In these more complex lighting scenarios, it becomes mandatory to change up your background to constantly contrast with the subject/foreground. Above the +++ line, we have bright foreground/dark bg. Below the line, things flip to dark fg/bright bg. Bg always needs to serve the fg through contrast.

Marika, Maliketh

 

Take two! Better than last time but man, feeling the limits :/ 

How dare work get in the way? People tryna keep on a schedule over here

Making June count

 

Hitting it close...but it happened

Also this marks the first time some rando removed the sig/watermark and claimed the thing as theirs. Now I know I've made it 😂😂😂

First King

 

Struggled as usual, then slowed down, regrouped, and reevaluated the state of things (once more). I think I'm aight 😂

I'd have followed you anywhere

 

Feeling the shortcomings keenly with this one. I should have referenced more -_-

The moon of Nene

 

Striving to be more, but forever an uphill struggle

The name is Warp

 

The personal meaning of this one is a bit beyond the reach of words

You haven't lost. I...have lost

 Why is everything so difficult 😭😭😭

Let us be shattered, both

 

Mine other self

...Feels good to see improvement 😁 Also getting a better handle on editing so hopefully the process video this time is more watchable 😂

O brother, lord brother

 please die a true death

Wonder what DLC will bring us :D

Who's there?

Another shot. Animation best viewed looped on, say, insta or twitter or wherever else I upload.

Feeling like I'm reaching the limit of what I want to do in Photoshop 😂 If I ever finish the sequence I see in my head, it will have to move to a real animation program.

That Day

...How did this journey take so long? But I suppose all that matters is

we're here now.

Becoming Luna

 

Urrgggh doing the ko-fi thing for real for real now. Dipping in. Let's see if this actually takes off one day 😂😂😂