Here’s A Super Quick Wing Tut For A Friend Who Really Wants To Draw The Bird Dude From BNHA. 

so playing andromeda and drawing kaleans got me thinkin’ on another minor complaint i have about ME and it’s this:

dang they can’t figure out how to make digitigrade legs work on a humanoid character and they end up adding extra joints to the legs to try to make it make sense

like i watched the animation cycle of that angara working out at the resistance camp and when he started doing crunches and his legs made an M shape i was just like smdh

i mean i think they handle it better with the angara since they have those weird little hand-feet (angara are so cute i cannot stand it) but the worst offender is probably the salarians

anyway i love the concept of humanoids with digitigrade legs so here’s some notes about it. it’s not beautifully formatted or anything but maybe it’s helpful!

basically the main thing to get out of your mind is that you’re not going for “backwards knees.” i am sure backwards knees could work and would be an interesting design, but it’s gonna change how this character moves and sits, it’s gonna affect the character’s center-of-gravity, it’s gonna be a much bigger overhaul of the anatomy than creating a digitigrade leg requires.

when you’re thinking of a digitigrade leg as having backwards knees, it’s probably because the joint you’re thinking of as the knee is actually the ankle

both plantigrade and digitigrade legs will have four major points of articulation: the hip the knee the ankle the toes and a digitigrade leg isn’t a plantigrade leg backwards, but on its tiptoes:

that’s basically all you gotta do! then you exaggerate the effects by changing the proportions of the leg, starting with making the knee-ankle length shorter, and the ankle-toe length longer.

the benefit of drawing digitigrade characters like this is that they can sit in chairs without looking ridiculous!

and finally, if your character doesn’t have paws or hooves or talons, they probably want to wear shoes! hell, even if they do they still might wear shoes. the ground is nasty! think this through and let it be another cool design opportunity. a good place to start if you’re stuck is looking at wedge heels, then drawing them without the heel!

aaaand here’s some aliens

now get outta here and draw some weird-ass legs aight

Back muscles!

SKELETAL LANDMARKS 

shoulder blades: most of the upper back muscles attach to them directly, placement is affected by the arms. They can get obscured on very muscular backs, but most people these are the most dominant features!

7th cervical vertebra: neck bone that sticks out in most people, it sits in the center of that diamond shaped tendon in the middle of the trapezius

Also, obviously always keep the general shape of the ribcage and spine in mind, it was too much of a pain to draw them all in lol.

BACK MUSCLES

Erector Spinae: make the column-like structures around the spine, they extend all the way up to the neck, but you really only see the bottom part.

Latissimus Dorsi: are very thin, so most of the time you only see the structures underneath (such as the erector spinae). But when flexed, (for example, when climbing), you can see here on Jimmy Webb’s back that swooping curve it makes under the armpits.

The lats are also responsible for most of a person’s upper body strength and are the “V” shaped part of the back. For example, it’s how Bruce Lee was so strong despite being a small guy. Just look at those wings, man.

Infraspinatus, Teres Minor, and Teres Major: sit on the shoulder blade itself, and connects it to the top of the arm bone. These are responsible for a lot of the crazy shapes you see in bodybuilders’ backs.

Underneath them is the serratus anterior, which technically isn’t a back muscle but sits on the side of the ribs. These form that zig-zag pattern on the ribs that makes people look super ripped when visible with the external obliques, both wrapping around the sides of the torso. They’re not technically back muscles but fill out the silhouette, so it’s good to keep them in mind.

the glutes/butt muscles… they go farther up the back than one might assume and they, along with the pelvis, do affect the surface appearance of the lower back.

Rhomboid: simple shape, attaches from the inner edge of the shoulder blades to the middle of the spine at the 7th cervical vetebra to about the 4th or 5th thoracic vetebra. It does not overlap with the latissimus dorsi

Trapezius: divided roughly in the top, middle, and bottom sections. The top is quite thick and cylindrical and makes the sloping shape from the neck to the shoulders.

The bottom part is very thin; like the latissimus dorsi, the forms underneath it are visible when relaxed, making the rhomboid visible if it is flexed and the traps are not. Also not where the bottom part’s tendons attach to the shoulder blades; it outlines the curve of the shoulder blades even in people who are covered in brains muscles.

When fully flexed, it doesn’t taper into a point, but makes a small “w” shape at the bottom.

The 7th cervical vertebra sits at the center of the diamond-shaped tendons between the first and second sections of the trapezius. This part appears recessed in very muscular people.

Deltoid: not really a back muscle, but they overlap with the Infraspinatus and insert into the upper ridge of the shoulder blades, so it’s good to see how they interact with the others.

Ah, now for an example, featuring Thor himself. Note the curve where the traps meet the shoulder blades, the diamond-shaped tendon, and the rough “w” shaped contour of the lower back. Also note the two dimples, which is formed by the pelvis bones. They tend to be more prominent in women, although they are found in both men and women.

Try to find the back muscles on other people yourself, and then GET DRAWING

(PS, Generally it’s best to be able to simplify the forms instead of trying to render straight away - that’s how you know you really internalized the anatomy! I… honestly still don’t understand the back enough to do that yet, hence the lack of examples, unlike with the forearms post. But nonetheless, I hope that this is still useful as a general reference. I know it’s helped me at least remember what the different parts are, even if I don’t yet have a grasp of how they interact in motion!)

so quite a lot of people expressed interest in a guide to lion dance! and since the lunar new year is coming up in a couple weeks, which means everyone’s exposure to lions is probably going to increase, i figured i’d go ahead and make it! right click + open in new tab to fullview, etc etc, i hope it’s helpful, although if you only take one thing away from this powerpoint, it’s this: lions are not dragons

disclaimer: i learned fut san style at an american university, and the senior members of the troupe were almost all from hong kong and taiwan, so most of my knowledge is drawn from what they taught me. lion dance varies widely depending on the style and the country of origin, and many schools do things differently! this is just an attempt to establish a baseline and give you a really basic intro to one of my favorite art forms. :)

I’ve been using your Arcana tutorials as a reference for a self-insert character. But I’m having trouble coloring the tulle bathrobe, the see-through cloth as well as it’s general texture. Any advice?

What luck. I literally just finished redrawing Isha’s bath sprite.

Note: I use Clip Studio Paint but this method works with any program that has layers and layer styles.

First off, some things I noticed when deconstructing how to draw them.

My Process:

Note about the bottom half: Despite being more opaque, there’s a slight gradient and transparency to it. This can be achieved by airbrushing a very light eraser on the edges of the base colour layer

As for the texture, you can use a worn paper texture on top of this colouring set to “overlay”

How to Draw Hands by zephy.fr

Support the artist and follow them on instagram!

leggie tutorial!!!

art resource masterpost! (2019)

A list of links to all the art resources I’ve compiled since I was thirteen, from Tumblr/Twitter/googling around. They’re not all specifically drawing-related but I’ve personally found them helpful to my art + actively used or learned from each of them. Links marked with a star (★) are ones I use often, or find the most helpful!

compare heights of human figures

textures

hairstyle photos, search by colour/style/etc.

★ pinterest of tons of character design & anatomy ref boards

models.com: just modelling news/photography but nice for portrait reference + diverse faces

★ tons of tips on drawing: @grizandnorm​ and also @etheringtonbrothers​ (also on twitter and instagram)

tips for drawing backgrounds (layout & perspective) - thomas romain

selective colour tool in photoshop (helps balance out colours) - @genicecream

going from B&W to colour using photoshop curves - @genicecream

quickposes: pose library for figure & gesture drawing practice, timed drawing

wetcanvas: forum for object/still life photo references

tons of varied human poses, can sort by pose type/age/body type/etc. (warning for nudity)

★ lookbook.nu: fashion lookbook, can sort outfits by style, occasion, etc.

timed and randomized photo references for figure drawing (warning: nudity)

easy lineart in photoshop - @okolnir

guide for facial expressions - @lackadaisy

tons of pose photography, categorized by pose - senshistock (deviantart)

more timed photo references: figure drawing, animal drawing, hands and feet, faces

★ PDF of the animator’s survival kit by richard williams: comprehensive book on animation fundamentals

adobe kuler: adjustable colour wheel, creates cohesive 5-colour palettes

★ perspective grid in photoshop - @chuwenjie​

interactive 3d models: human models & wooden figurine

youtube playlist of various art tutorials/speedpaints/etc. - @erinye

integrating lineart into flat colours - @dinduarte

twitter thread of general art resources (technical/fundamental skills) - @jovaline​

tips on drawing backgrounds - @jovaline​

simple nighttime lighting - @japhers​

tips for drawing kissing - @mud-muffin

★ mapcrunch: randomized (or editable) google street view, great for environment photo reference

catalogue of theater costumes sorted by clothing item/time period, great for historical clothing reference

google’s we wear culture: information about & catalogue of fashion/design/art collections

one perfect shot database: film screencaps, can organize by shot 

typefilmgrab: more movie shots

stretches to stop artist back pain (more important than half this list)

dynamic clouds - @amiamihan​

avoiding empty/“dead” spaces in comic panels - @hammpix​ 

tips on simplifying drawings for clarity - @hammpix

guide on making webcomics - @velinxi

twitter thread of storyboard/comic art resources - @nilaffle​

creating depth and distance in backgrounds - @mathiaszamecki​

★ croquiscafe: youtube channel that simulates figure drawing sessions (warning: nudity)

★ large PDF of storyboarding tips - @jimmortensen

another colour picker for harmonious colours

★ google drive folder of art book PDFs (anatomy & figure drawing) - @jijidraws

designdoll (free program for download): adjustable 3d human figures, better quality than online sites

shading colour tips

hey yall its me the Art Mom™ to help you shade pretty

rule 1: DO NOT SHADE WITH BLACK. EVER. IT NEVER LOOKS GOOD. 

red- shade with a slightly darker shade of purple

orange- slightly darker and more saturated shade of red

yellow- i think like..a peach could work but make it a really light peach

green- shade with darker and less saturated shade of blue or teal

blue- shade with purple

purple- a shade thats darker than the purple you’re using and maybe a little pink (MAYBE blue)

pink- darker shade of red

white- a really light lavender or blue..or i guess any really light colour??

black- okay listen dont use pure black to colour anything unless you want to leave it with flat colours because you cant really shade black lol

grey- a slightly darker shade of purple or blue (less saturated)

brown- slightly darker and less saturated shade of purple or red

aaaaand thats all i got lol. let me know if there is anything i should add to this list!!

do you have any tips for drawing a nose when the face is front facing?

This was really fast but I hope this helps:

Depending on the shape of the nose, the way you chose to render the contour lines will change.  I used Rose, Quazky, and Glasner as examples in the lower right corner there.  For TH, I generally don’t render the bottom of the nose with a line but with a shadow for simplicity’s sake.  I hope that makes sense.

PS - I made a new brush for rendering technical drawings and I love it. *A*

Just random and for like cartoons not real life