An awesome goal, and there is plenty here to reach out to for resources...all you gotta do is ask and I'm sure people will be able to help out with your goals. Ask any of us any time.

And Happy new year!

Thank you!
I'll be sure to ask around if I ever need anything!! :D

Woooo! Awesome goals! :D

If you have any watercolor questions I may be able to lend a paw. Or at least suggest a book or 3. :P Also know of plenty good free online resources that are helpful. The best way to learn your own personal style is just to play with 'em though. There are actually many different styles and approaches to the medium, and they gain and lose popularity over the decades, but, theyre all equally beautiful and valid. So, whatever you do, I'm certain it will be great! :) It's just an extremely temperamental medium, very delicate and demands its freedom. So, don't be too worried if it's a pain in the butt for a while. I know some odd tricks that have heled me, but I don't wanna tell you what to do,or overload you with info, so... yeah, if you need anything, give me a shout :D

For stuff like marker, if you need advice, I would send Porcelian_Dragon or TheLadySerpent a little note. They can both be busy with life, so it may take a bit to reply, but they're both extremely kind and helpful people. I know they'd be super happy to help you with any questions. Plus, I absolutely adore both of their art!!!

Also, what kinda pen/s you thinking of getting into? I kinda have a pen fetish (lol, nonsexual!!), so I am curious.

I adore your style, and think even though it is very toony, you've developed it very well, given it your own flair, and it pretty accurately captures anatomy. The facial expressions are absolutely fantastic,btw!! But I totally understand wanting to branch out and do new things. :) super healthy, super helpful, and really helps you to grow as an artist. You'll definitely learn something new, and may even be able bring it back to your toony style too.

If you want a book that may help you with perspective, placement, and anatomy, maybe look into Loomis's 'Figure Drawing for All It's Worth'. Perhaps it's too badic, but it is still helping me :) Plus, I think it may even be old enough now to be open source (*cough free cough*), but i may be wrong there... lol. sorry if i am. It's widely available for download though... x.x just gonna put that out there.

There's also a lot of really great books on animal drsawing/anatomy, such as Animal Drawing Anatomy and Action for Artists, and Ken Hultgren's The Art of Animal Drawing - Construction, Action Analysis, Caricature, among many other brilliant books

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain will always have a special spot on my bookshelf <3

lol, sorry... kinda rambling here... x.x

:) I'm actually planning on focusing more on anatomy, backgrounds, perspective, etc as well. So, it'll be really nice to see us both making progress toward the same goals, and see our progress! I'm excited!

Thanks for all the recommendation's! I'll be sure to look into them!!
I was planning on just doodling with ball point pens, but if you have any in mind let me know!
Yes! anatomy is always a must with me! there is no such thing as to many anatomy books! haha!
Perspective and placement has always been something weird to me. like, when I look at a book or tutorial with all different poses, angels and such I look them over and over and ask myself, when am I ever going to use this pose/angel? ha!

Thank you once again. I'll make sure to look into these!!

No prob!

I've done some drawing with a basic cheapo like, bic ball point pen, and surprisngly, you can do some great art even with that. The only thing to keep in mind is that the ink loves to gunk up on the ball nib, so keeping a napkin or spare piece of paper to wipe it off on from time to time is really handy. You can get some really awesome tonal values from ballpoint. If you press lightly it'll lie down a very light line, which you really can't achieve from any other kind of pen. From there you can build up the tone either by more hatching lines, or by adding more pressure. :) Try making a value scale just with a few different ballpoints and see how you like it, which pens work best for you, etc.

There are a ton of really great pens out there, depending on what you need. If you're looking for a hard, solid, even line, there are some great felt tip markers like copic multiliner, prismacolor premier, sakura pigma microns, just for some of the more popular brands. I'll be honest, I found the prismacolor pens to be not quite as great quality as the copics. Even with great care, the nibs split and break easily, and the pens also dry up quickly. But, that's just my experience. They actually make a really great line, when they're new! The nibs are a bit smoother than copic, so there's less scratchiness. However, copic pens feel a bit harder, and the nibs aren't as flexible, and they don't break, split, or mess up quite as easily. I tend to prefer the copics, because I really enjoy just how accurate they feel when I need a precise, fine line. I haven't tried the copic multiliner. :p I'll have to check those ones out. Of course these all come in various sizes, either individually or in sets. Tbh, you'll probably just want a fairly thin one for details, and a very thick one for big lines or covering large areas with solid black. If you need others, buy them as you need, instead of blowing money on a pack you won't end up utilizing often. idk,just my opinion. It is a lot of fun to play around with all of them though :3

There's also brush pens... x.x oh man... I have had zero luck with these things. I've tried so many brands. American and Japanese pens. Some are too hard and inflexible, some just wanna flop all over the place, if the nib is damaged it's useless, most aren't refillable, some require expensive refill packs. I have never been able to get a good line from these things. They like to bounce off the paper, if that makes any sense at all. Some people do some beautiful work with them though! :D And if you can get the hang of them, they're wonderful for varied line weight, tapered line points, and have a great flowing feeling. They can be super beautiful. If you can find one that works for you, treasure the gem you've discovered! haha, and maybe let me know what kind it is, so I can try~ hehehe. I've heard that copic markers have a brush nib, and that they're quite nice, but I haven't tried them because I feel like they're kinda out of my pricerange x.x I'll have to look into that again. They actually make a ton of different kinds of pens, and some people really swear by copic.

It used to be, and to an extent still is, that people rave about prismacolor. Their colored pencils are definitely nice, and their markers are nice, but their pens are a bit below my expectations. I guess it's like comparing crayola grade, to student grade, to artist grade watercolors. Crayola grade is like, worst of the worst, but you can still get decent effects from it if you really really know your medium and its intricacies. Student grade is definitely a step up in both price and quality. I'd honestly say that prismacolor supplies are at about student grade in quality... They are beautiful, and create amazing things, especially in comparison to cheaper supplies. However, actual artist grade supplies are not that much more expensive, and have far superior quality. The pigment is may be richer, the delivery device (such as the waxy "lead" carrying the pigment) may be smoother, or blend better, or some other thing you may be looking for. Blah, I'm not trying to put down prismacolor supplies. They're awesome! And they're typically much cheaper than higher grade supplies. :) So, if you want that, go for it.

I really enjoy a dip nib style pen. There are so many different nibs, for different specific jobs, so it's both a bit intimidating to get into, as well as rather liberating in a way. You can achieve awesome variation in line width with most nibs. Some more than others, but that also depends on their intended use. You also have complete control over your ink! You can use a waterproof ink and watercolor/marker right over it with no worries. You could use a water soluble ink, and get a line that flows and blends with your watercolor (or may give different effects, depending on what kind of markers you use). Changing colors in as easy as opening another jar. You can water down your ink for a softer tone. mix them for new colors. etc. There's a lot of different brands, and styles, and yeah... I'm still getting into it, and I don't really have a ton of answers here yet.. But, I can share the info I have gathered if you're interested. :p

x.x I hope I haven't talked your ear off.

There's just sooooo many options, and they're all so fun!! :D

Also, this just came out. http://www.amazon.com/Pen-Ink-Drawi...../dp/0997046538

Alphonso Dunn has been doing free tutorials on youtube for a while now, and really helped inspire me in both pan and ink as well as watercolor. I adore his down to earth attitude, as well as his approach to art. He's a wonderful person. :) Maybe check out some of the stuff on his youtube channel.

:p Since I just heard about the book coming out last month I haven't had a chance to check it out yet. I'm trying to decide if I can afford it now or not. hahaha... >.< once I can, I'll definitely be buying it, mostly because I wanna help show my support for his work. But I know it's going to be full of awesome and detailed info, just because that's how he is.

Thanks for all the tips! I'll be sure to look in a couple of those!

Yeah, I currently am using Prisma colored pencils, and I love them, but I wasn't to sure about their other stuff, I've heard only bits and pieces and most wasn't all good. so I'm glad to hear it straight up. ha!
I've seen a lot of artist use Copic markers, and I've been very interested in those; however since I didn't use markers a whole lot, I never had the motivation to buy some. I intend to use them though for when I start up my PayPal and begin commissions and such. I think they would be a nice smooth tool to work with.
Wow, I didn't realize there were so many different pens to work with. thanks for the recommendations! I'll be sure to look for the right ones!

This Alphonso dude, he's interesting. I like his methods, and I'm considering on buying the book. XD

:) nice. I'm just glad to share his channel with people. he's a great guy.

:p i use prisma pencils too, but ive been buying a few faber castels here and there. This vid is basically everything I have found to be true about both brands.

https://youtu.be/WH0tz1NyvPk

it's a little tldr... but, actually full of info