ohh i was just talking about this today on a discord server! i found keeping consistency among the entire sequence to be a bit tricky at first, so using onion skin on the first stage, then editing it further, then repeating it for the next stage and so on so forth, helped a lot.

the most 'intimidating' for me is TF art that mostly focuses on sensory stuff.... portraying that just with drawings, or even with speech bubbles is so hard!!

the onionskin method is really useful, I definitely want to cover that!
And yeah, it's definitely extremely tricky to capture something as abstract as sensory stuff in a visual medium. It definitely takes a lot of outside-the-box thinking.

Oh man I made a tutorial on TF ages ago on tumblr lol. I think I uploaded a copy here way in the back of my gallery somewhere. I don't think anyone else has really tried to explain it as a whole, but it'd be neat to see something a bit more thought through than what my teenage brain came up with out there.

I'd say the hardest things to really understand is making the blend between two forms still read well and look "correct" even if there's an element of body horror involved. A really janky in-between can break a good TF no matter how refined the artstyle is. And I do think you're one of the best in the biz for that particular aspect.

I'd definitely be interested in checking that out, even if it's not very well thought out!

and it's very true that there's a type of uncanniness that works, and a type that doesn't. The difference is really subjective and abstract, but the kind of thing where you can generally tell the difference immediately when looking at it.
It's definitely something I'll have to think about in order to pinpoint a logical distinction, because for me rn i think it comes down to fiddling with details that don't look quite right, until I think it looks arbitrarily better.

https://www.furaffinity.net/view/11400061/ Oof this thing is more than 10 years old. I don't even completely agree with a few things it says anymore :P

Definitely an interesting read with a lot of good points! I can't say I agree with everything on it either, but there's still a lot of nuance in there!

Probably figuring out how and where to put the two forms together. Like, how TF’d should they be, which parts should be more TF’d than others, that sort of thing.

Yeah, I know what you mean! There's a lot of variables to think about when planning out stuff like that, especially when it comes to making sure it's clear who is turning into what.

Yeah! What makes it harder for me in particular is that I’m not great at visualizing whatever it is I want to draw. Half the time I have no clue what my piece will look like until I’m like 85% of the way through making it. With mid-TF stuff, especially, that tends to be an issue qwp

What is hard is to know which of the body parts of a mid tf works for the mid tf Art. I cannot just randomly select a human body part and make it tfed.
Some sort of composition in the TF basically

There's definitely a lot you have to consider with that; like how to make the transition seem smooth while also making sure it's clear who's turning into what.

Probably doing good or interesting posing, especially if its going from bipedal to quad, as well doing clothes ripping / tearing

This is definitely a big one; posing a character is hard enough without weird mid-tf proportions. And also making sure the pose isn't covering up the most interesting parts of the TF.
and clothing is definitely something I still struggle with! it's deceptively difficult.

I struggle with clothes tearing. It's something I've been working on regarding growth and other types of art, but there's something about how different materials tear that I just don't feel I imply well on the form.

On the other hand, what I do love is absolutely wrenching proportions to force a composition. The uncomfortable stages in between are what I enjoy puzzling over the most. To me, the unappealing part IS appealing, and I know I'm probably in the minority about that.

You're definitely not alone in that! There's definitely a fun problem-solving factor to mid-tf stages. I imagine TFing would be a pretty uncomfortable experience, so it's fitting to add discomforting visuals to illustrate that!

I think the most difficult part is colour balancing and posing. my style is pretty rigid and I'm one of those people who can't really visualise things, so that's why I'm not great at posing. colours are difficult because I don't put linework in between the changed and unchanged parts, so colours that look too similar or have similar brightness need to be completely changed. I also have to dull colours to sell that old cartoon effect which is naturally not good if the character or creature has bright colours by design.

Colors are a good point that i've not seen anyone else mention! I end up having that problem quite a bit. Not only is it difficult when there's not enough color contrast; some colors just look yucky blended into eachother.

This might not make sense or be a bit of a ramble. Sorry for all the words.

There's a lot that goes into creating a TF piece, whether it be a sequence or a singular image. Personally I struggle somewhat with translating my style depending on the TF. My art style is in some ways already cartoonish. That's fine, but it does lead to trouble on the anatomy side of things. My humans aren't even really "human" in appearance when you get down to it. So having to figure out how that translates when they're transforming is a bit difficult. For example: since my cartoon humans aren't drawn with necks, I have to figure out how to make something work if it involves something neck-centric. I've been satisfied with what I've came up with before. It's just funny.

Another thing is just figuring out the trigger. When you do a lot of character transformation, trying to come up with a trigger that feels natural instead of just "water bottle that turns you into Star Fox" is important to me. Part of the fantasy to me is the justification. Even a decent reason can really elevate a TF piece for the same reasons it elevates non-kink fiction.

Dialogue, if you're going to include it, can also be a challenge. Writing is a whole other beast on its own and a rough patch of dialogue can make your work harder to swallow. I can't say I've perfected it either, kink writing is a very personal feeling, feels different from just drawing.

I also do the onion skin method when it comes to sequences, if that helps.

I can definitely relate to the style thing! I have a fairly cartoonish style myself, and I definitely find myself having to come up with unique ways to depict certain anatomy changes every now and then. Which can definitely be fun, but also challenging!

As for triggers and dialogue-- I'm the type of person who tends to overthink stuff like that if i let myself, and as a result I try not to worry about it too much unless I happen to think of something good. It can definitely add a lot of interest to a piece, but in my opinion a trigger that is shoehorned in just for the sake of having one, can actually detract from piece. So my advice for that would be to give it a bit of thought, but don't worry if you can't think of one! Often adding something as simple as a background, and giving a bit of thought as to what types of forces might be at play, can give enough context to make a TF piece narratively engaging for its purpose.

I do agree, there have been times where I just draw a transformation without any context as to why it happened. It's just as good to figure out whether or not it's necessary.

Always always anatomy. I can't practice it enough. A firm foundation in knowing how a human is supposed to look is a prerequisite to twisting them in interesting ways, which was always the fun part and came to me most easily.

this is very true. You really need to be able to draw a believable human, if you want to be able to draw a believable transformation!

getting the flow of the tf right, especially when doing a sequence. getting the progress of the tf right for each stage can be very tricky for me (and is mostly why i dont do them that often nowadays lol)

This is definitely harder than it looks! You've really gotta be able to visualize the process beforehand, which is much easier said than done.

First thing that comes to mind when it comes to mid-TF is depicting the patches of human skin in a way that adds to the overall appeal and makes it look more like a TF in progress (actually, this could be its own point, since I often find my mid-TFs look more like they stopped halfway rather than being still ongoing, though I've also come to like that idea anyway), rather than being too distracting or offputting, or covering up interesting parts of the new form's own patterns too much, and actually figuring out where to distribute those less transformed parts. Less of an issue for me when it comes to parts that usually look very different between forms, like fingers or toes, but with areas like the belly that don't change nearly as much it gives me a hard time. Sure, just doing it half-and-half could work, but I'm a fan of the body horror aspects that come with more directly mixed anatomy and it doesn't really feel right to draw mid-TF without that aspect. It's part of why I've shifted more towards post-TF over time, just to avoid the extra work and risk of things looking off in this regard.

The other thing that comes to mind, a bit more general, though it applies a lot to WG and to TF featuring multiple characters, or in TFs where clothing remains intact, is figuring out poses that show off all the interesting parts of the TF and don't have too much covered up. For example if a TF has a lot going on with the back but there's also a large belly I want some focus on, if the tail end is the main focus but I want the head (and the character's expression) to still be visible, or if multiple characters are TFing into large forms and I want to put them side-by-side without them covering each other up too much.

Balancing transformed elements is definitely tricky! And is heavily dependent on the look you're going for.

As for elements where the change is less drastic, my advice would be to focus less on those elements, and more on the elements where the change is more interesting. You don't need to give equal attention to every aspect of a TF; people's eyes are going to be drawn to the more drastic elements of change, and if those changes read correctly, they will infer the rest of the transformation regardless of how obvious it is on its own. If that makes sense!

Posing, and figuring out which parts should be changing in that moment and which parts should already be changed to make a satisfying picture. Mid-TFs are hard!

Mid-TFs are extremely hard. It can be a major challenge to figure out which parts to change, while also trying to find a pose that highlights those parts. You often have to come up with them simultaneously, which isn't easy!

Getting a good transition between changing skin color / texture, and clothes tearing. Don't get me started on that

Yep, these both tend to be the banes of my existence. I'm definitely going to have to do a bit of extra research before I can properly write a guide on them, hehe

Making it look like the subject is changing, not simply drawing a midpoint between the beginning image and the ending image. If that makes any sense?

Giving the subject a sense of depth

Also, deciding what to add detail to, and what to use generalized impressions for.

That definitely makes sense to me! Making a static image look animated is an extremely abstract concept.

by depth, do you mean personality or spatially?

Spacially. Trying to depict a person turning from one thing into another as opposed to depicting an IMAGE of a person turning into an IMAGE of another thing.

That makes sense! Thinking about objects in a 3D space is important but also extremely difficult, especially in TF, 'cause the shapes are extra weird.

As an amateur tf artist, I normally struggle with the sketching/posing/design of the image at the start of the image, a.k.a starting from a blank page. It was and still is the biggest challenge for me, after that, coloring and rendering is easier, and most fun part for me!

As for the examples that you gave for mid-tf... yeah, it's basically all of them, I struggle to know where to exaclty start and how to implement a posture that makes sense for the context whilst also looking interesting, and appealing.

Definitely the most useful trick I've found thus far is to simplify the shapes so that they take form in the image making them easier to develop, although I struggle of with the poses looking stiff if I use this method.

I am a big fan of tf comics. Because they explore the before, during and after a tf. It feels like you can connect with it more and have bigger impact than just a single mid-tf image. However, as you might expect, mid tf are also important for tf comics.

The tf I draw are mostly character, creature and inanimate tfs and I am always enthusiastic about the idea of a character struggling to keep their former selves and adapt to their new bodies and situations :3


And I guess... an unspoken fear is spending too much time in a piece or drawing that a lot of people won't end up seeing. And thus preventing me from starting to draw in the first place. But this is for general art and not just tf art ^^>

So... as a tf artist, my current biggest hurdle so far is creating a tf image that has posing in a way that seems dynamic but not unrealistic or unappealing.

It's definitely incredibly useful to practice your drawing technique outside of TF, especially with things like structuring a pose. Posing for TF is generally way harder than it is for a non-TF drawing, because there are so many extra variables to consider, so it can definitely be extremely overwhelming to use TF art as a jumping-off point.
Once you get some of those basic principals down, adapting your technique for TF art comes a lot easier, and a lot less overwhelming.

Simplifying shapes is extremely useful! But in my experience, getting too technical about a drawing can make a pose even more stiff. Sometimes it can be really useful to just do a few really quick sketches of pose ideas, before you start drawing the final thing. Experimenting around and just scribbling a bit can be a really good way to come up with poses that are a bit more interesting and not quite as stiff. Utilizing a mixture of technical and organic techniques is ideal!

As for worrying about spending too much time, my advice is to spend exactly how much time you want to spend on a drawing. No more, no less. Let drawing be a hobby that you enjoy; that way it's not as soul-crushing if a drawing doesn't get as much attention as you expected. Plus, time spent drawing is never wasted, because you are creating something that did not exist previously, and developing a skill at the same time. The time will pass anyway, so you might as well spend it on something constructive!

The main question I asked myself when drawing a comic about a girl turning into a dog was whether her relationship with her boyfriend would be considered zoophilia.

Realistically I think it depends on whether or not the girl retains her sapience, and also who you ask.
But there's no way I'll be opening that can of worms in the guide xD

I tried to look up tutorials or some tf art that inspired me, but all I did was make "cute and adorable" art. Some of them commissioned me back then, but sometimes others were not interested in "cute things" due to my style, what do you think? ;w;

One thing that I give some importance is the expression of the person being transformed. Are they happy, scared, excited, conformed? Sometimes you can even see a change in expression during the TF sequence, or even turning from scared to neutral indicating mind wipe (although I am more of a fan of keeping your consciousness).

Related to emotions, I often think what happens after tf. Will the character survive alone? Because of this I value tf art where the transformed person is taken care of at the end, either by meeting someone from their transformed species or by having the person that transformed them beside them.

things like that are certainly very useful for establishing a narrative! Which can really make a TF drawing stand out.

Continuity's the big one for me; of course, the onionskin method helps up to a point, but if you're trying to get in a lot of different poses, or a comic layout that focuses on particular parts of the anatomy in different panels, it can only do so much.

I think for me, the most challenging part has always been trying to find the right balance of form shift for a tf.

To be more specific, it can be difficult to decide WHAT to show, because it really varies a lot depending on what/how much I have to work with. If it's going to be a one image piece, how do I get the most "bang" for the limited visual. If it's a short sequence, what should I focus on to give the most effective "flow" both story/visual-wise, but also for the body, what to focus on, what is not as important, etc.

And trying to find the right balance of changing features in general I still find a bit tricky. How do I make sure it is fairly clear what part is changing into the "new" thing, and how do I make sure it is clear that it is going from "form 1" to "form 2" and not from 2 to 1, etc.

I would also say that another aspect of a tf that can be rather difficult to showcase is "time". Giving a viewer a sense of how long the change is taking to go through. Is it happening rapidly? Is it happening slowly? Or is it somewhere in between. Does it only take handful of seconds to complete, or is it taking minutes, hours, etc. Showing falling clothes gives a sense of "speed" but more in between rates of change are harder to show, especially if there's only a single image, or one image and a panel.

Oh, and one more I would say I tend to find to be a fair bit tricky, beyond the general "mid change forms", is more specifically the mid change face. How far/much to change a face, and how to showcase expression that we can still "understand", being we "read" faces based on the human face/expressions, it can be hard to have the face no longer be human, or even losing "face" to it, but still have some element of expression/expressiveness to it.

Nowadays, I've largely figured a lot of these out, or at least do all right "figuring" them out, lol, but I know that these are still the areas that can have me "stumped" for a while. SO I figured I would throw them out there ^^. I think a guide, or some general "help" with things like that is a great idea, so am glad to hear that you're thinkin of making one!

I always find myself taking the longest on the face, especially if I'm doing a mid-TF. It takes a lot of trial and error to get just the right facial expression, especially when the underlying face shape is changing.

Consistency (specifically when it comes to the rate of change) is another sticking point for me. I haven't done sequences in quite a long while, but I feel like they tend to draw out my weak points when it comes to that. There's only so much anatomical jank you can hand/paw/plunger-wave away by calling it a mid-TF ahaha ^^;

ey i wish i'd seen this sooner, but it's been so fun & awesome reading all the answers!!!

the part i get hung up on the most is making sure the wacky in-between stages of a TF look "right" even when theyre in a completely impossible body horror state. but i think what rly grabs me, personally, about good TF is selling the *emotion* & the overwhelming *sensory* response, and when i think ive done my best work, those are what kinda... carry me thru the technical, anatomical part. like if the TF is expressed thru expression & gesture effectively enough to get the *FEELING* across it matters less if the anatomy is wonky