six views is usualy the most i can hope to get. I would not worry overly much about it. Do the art for you not for views on a webpage

I am gonna sound like an ass for saying this but I mean it in the most sincere way possible - Why did this take you 3 days? And do you mean 3 days as in 72 hours or three days as in a few hours each day for 3 days?

Are you using a pressure sensitive tablet to draw with? Do you use photoshop or another program? Would you like tips on faster working techniques?

Please, don't be disheartened. It is getting harder to "play the game" as time goes on and you just gotta play by the rules if you want to get views on a site like this. If you're not the one to draw porn, then you just gotta stay positive and productive and the views/favorites/comments will come. Advertising also goes a long way, too.

No, not 72 hours, just a few hours each day. I have ADD in that makes it hard for me to focus on things that take a considerable amount of time or mental effort for very long so anything more than inks and flat colors usually has to be broken up into sessions instead of doing it all in one go(which i think has a lot to do with why I don't improve as fast as I think I should be).

I do use a pressure sensitive tablet, but the nibs are starting to wear down and are going to need replacing soon. I mostly use Paint Tool SAI, with some post work in photoshop or GIMP. I definitely would not mind tips on how to work faster, and in generally I try not to shy away from any sort of pointers or critique, and they would be very much appreciated.

It's not that I mind drawing porn, I guess I just am not as inspired to draw it, and I don't think I'm very good at it, as I have to find rely heavily on references.

I try hard not to take it personally and get upset, it's just harder with certain pieces, especially the ones I do put more effort and thought into. I know I'm probably being silly, but this is mostly a product of current self-esteem issues and other issues I've been having with the furry fandom in general.

I guess I'm just not sure what the rules are anymore. Do you have any suggestions for advertising? Aside from doing FA advertising (I've been wanting to get space, but I haven't been able to afford it yet).

I can understand the ADD. I do not have it myself but I do find it hard to focus on artwork for a long period of time. I often ink a few lines, browze FA for a few minutes, ink a few more, etc. I don't think there is anything wrong with breaking work up into sessions, or perhaps also breaking it up into factory line production style if needed (sketch all day one day, ink all day the next, color+ finish up the next, etc.) and of course it all depends on each individual artist's needs. As far as improvement goes, you do have to have the drive for it, so at least you can see that you want improvement - some artists don't!

Your tablet should come with a few replacement nibs in the original packaging, so if you haven't already used those up, grab one to replace it. If your nibs are running down to fast, perhaps try adjusting your pressure sensitivity in your tablet driver options so you don't have to press so hard. Are you using a bamboo, by any chance? The new surface textures they have on those wear nibs down especially fast because they were made to emulate paper texture a bit more.

As for tips (for photoshop specifically) - what is your current process, and what tools do you use? Your lineart looks like you might be using a pen tool of some sort instead of a pressure sensitive brush. The paintbrush is much quicker than the inking pen tool, but takes some getting used to in order to get smooth lines that behave the way you wish. SAI is great for paintbrush inking because it has a built in stabilizer.

For coloring make sure your lineart has no holes and select the background area with the wand tool in photoshop. Select the lasso tool and right click over the image, and select invert selection from the drop down list. Now make a new layer under the lineart/inking layer and fill the selection with the main body color. Deselect, and over in the layer window, click the lock transparency button (looks like a little checkered box) to lock the fill area to where that is the only place you can color on in that layer. Now use the lasso tool to select areas that have markings and use the paintbucket tool to fill those areas. Smudge or paintbrush over the edges of different colors for texture effects.

For shading, create a new layer on top of the color layer but below the ink layer using cntrl+shift+n. Before pressing ok or enter, select the layer mask option (essentially creating a new layer that can only draw on areas that are colored underneath it). This will be your shading layer. I shade using a hard brush at 1% flow, with my brush setting at pressure sensitivity enabled for flow only, not opacity. I lower the whole layer's opacity for the intended effect. I also use the eraser at 1% flow for the intended effect.

And hey, if you don't have an interest in porn no big deal! Just be understanding that a lot of the viewers here do. You shouldn't be expected to change what interests you for other people. That's downright impossible! Also, don't let sharing your artwork affect your self esteem - you should already know that you are badass without even posting anything online or hanging it in a gallery. The reason is because you are part of a group of few people (in retrospect to the whole world's population) that can create something from nothing. Even a humble doodle is a unique creation that wasn't in the world before you drew it. Love for creation should be your motivation, not a number counter on a screen. =)

As for "rules" I was speaking figuratively - as the rules are subjective. It depends entirely on the game you are playing. Are you drawing for fun, personal fulfillment, money, or something else (or a mix of a few reasons?). The answer to that question will determine what "rules" would be good to play by in order to get the most out of your effort and experience.

heh my tablet is a hand-me-down so I don't have the original packaging, and I think my friend who owned it before me had already used the replacement nibs up. It's an old old tablet. I've had it for maybe 3 or 4 years now, and it looks well loved but works so. :P It's a Graphire 4, they hadn't yet released the bamboo when the original owner bought it. I actually really like the feel of the bamboo because it emulates paper so well (I use them in class).

My current process is to sketch either on paper or right into SAI, then use the Pen or Brush tool (I had an older version that didn't have a pen tool, just brush and air brush, but the current version I'm using the brush actually has brush texture and works much different, so I switched to the new pen tool which acts like the old brush (no texture, but you could adjust the size and minimum size. It also doesn't blend with colors right next or underneath it unless you use the water tool.) Usually I use the tool set to a wider max pixels than the majority of my lines should be, and set the minimum width to 1 pixel. So, usually I end up with 14-20 pixels max, 1 pixel minimum. I'm not sure what my settings were set at while doing this piece though.

Ah I've used the fill tool for the character, but I haven't tried your technique for shading before, I'll have to try it on my next digital piece to see how I like it.

I figured you were speaking figuratively, I just meant that I've been a bit at a loss in trying to gain exposure and the like. I guess my motivations boil down to, making art is fun for me, and art is one of the few things I can actually focus on (and am good at), and I've wanted to work in the animation industry since I was just a kid (and I'm still trying to achieve that goal, I'm getting ready to transfer into an actual art school instead of JC) and drawing and art seem to be the basis for a lot of my friendships, in that most of my friends either like drawing, like looking at art, or are like me and trying to be professional artists as well.

I really appreciate you commenting here and sharing your advice, it's actually really helped to cheer me up a lot. :3

Sounds like you've got some good techniques under your belt already! =)

As for the nibs, I think a replacement pack is around $15 from wacom, but you might find some cheaper on ebay or amazon. Steep price, I know. @.@

As for exposure, I was having similar problems with it so I picked up a book, "Breaking into Freelance Illustration: by Holly Dewolf. It reaffirmed many things that I had speculated to be true. Some of the main ways to gain exposure are to be productive and consistent in your workflow, maintain your online galleries regularly, become an expert in a field (like make tutorials, or helpful images, or just post your own studies - they might help someone else!), and contribute to your community (give out free lineart, maybe do some livestreams/ustreams, answer questions, share more about your artistic journey and musings) - do these things and you will become an inspiration to many!

It really looks like you have a good start and a good perspective on your future goals. Keep a healthy outlook and set realistic short-term goals that will accumulate to your collective success in the long run. In so many words, you can do it! =)

7&9

I Dun get a whole lot of views either myself, but I just kind of shrug it off. I like seeing your stuff posted even if I do clam up a lot :(

Thank you sweety! :3

Also, also, your cards are almost done, they just need some colors!

^_^ I'll be looking forward to them! And I promise I do look, even if I dont always say wordthings.

I am so sorry.....:( Me too- I am getting less and less active on here, and I'm going to eventually leave. I feel like I'm getting too old for this.

Well it's up to 24 now.

If you want attention for the clean stuff, go to DA, but don't just cross-post. Schmooze. Cross-post to groups, ask for pointers, teach what you know, trade galleries. It's a lot easier there than it is here (at least it seems like it) for reasons I can't entirely explain. o_O;

The only reason I know you exist is because of I think Luxie mentioning you a loooooong time ago. It's a matter of getting your name out -- and drawing alone, porn or not, isn't enough to do that anymore.