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FurSquared & Slow Output
General | Posted 3 months agoHey all! I'm just posting a little status update here.
Firstly, I went to FurSquared again this year. The date caught me by surprise, since it was moved forward compared to last year, but I managed to sneak over there on Sunday. It was a grand ol' time! I got to see the Otter Chaos set this year, which I missed out on last year since it's a Sunday event. The music was purty darned good.
Second, you may have noticed that my art output has slowed dramatically in the past several months. There are a few causes, but primarily, I've been lacking motivation, and also a bit busy. This extends to a lot of things, but it's hit my art pretty hard; three published pieces in a month and a half is pretty damned low. Now, to be fair to myself, I think that the quality and scope of my art has improved a fair bit in the last year, but I still don't like how infrequently I've been posting. I'll try to draw more consistently in the future!
That said, I've got one piece in the works at the moment. It's a Sybil piece that I'm really proud of so far, though sketching has taken a lot longer than usual because I've taken feedback on the sketches, leading to a lot of redrawing. Hopefully it'll be worth the wait!
Anyway, that's all from me, so stay classy out there.
- JustW
Firstly, I went to FurSquared again this year. The date caught me by surprise, since it was moved forward compared to last year, but I managed to sneak over there on Sunday. It was a grand ol' time! I got to see the Otter Chaos set this year, which I missed out on last year since it's a Sunday event. The music was purty darned good.
Second, you may have noticed that my art output has slowed dramatically in the past several months. There are a few causes, but primarily, I've been lacking motivation, and also a bit busy. This extends to a lot of things, but it's hit my art pretty hard; three published pieces in a month and a half is pretty damned low. Now, to be fair to myself, I think that the quality and scope of my art has improved a fair bit in the last year, but I still don't like how infrequently I've been posting. I'll try to draw more consistently in the future!
That said, I've got one piece in the works at the moment. It's a Sybil piece that I'm really proud of so far, though sketching has taken a lot longer than usual because I've taken feedback on the sketches, leading to a lot of redrawing. Hopefully it'll be worth the wait!
Anyway, that's all from me, so stay classy out there.
- JustW
Happy New Year! Plans for 2026
General | Posted 4 months agoHappy new year, and I hope you all had a swell holiday season in general.
First, some stats: across the whole year, I had 113 drawing sessions and published 60 finished pieces, plus some scraps. I also completely filled my sketchbook, started January 7 and finished December 31. Not too shabby, I'd say!
This year I'd like to improve my art in two main ways: I'd like to actually take the Drawabox course, and I'd also like to try experimenting with color; no clue when I'll get to them, but the sooner the better, methinks.
I'd also like to participate in more informal seasonal events a-la Renamonth/Inktober, but that's more just a little extra that I might or might not end up doing.
Anyway, here's to another good year. Cheers!
First, some stats: across the whole year, I had 113 drawing sessions and published 60 finished pieces, plus some scraps. I also completely filled my sketchbook, started January 7 and finished December 31. Not too shabby, I'd say!
This year I'd like to improve my art in two main ways: I'd like to actually take the Drawabox course, and I'd also like to try experimenting with color; no clue when I'll get to them, but the sooner the better, methinks.
I'd also like to participate in more informal seasonal events a-la Renamonth/Inktober, but that's more just a little extra that I might or might not end up doing.
Anyway, here's to another good year. Cheers!
My Inking Process
General | Posted 5 months agoGoo Devening!
The astute among you may have noticed that I've started uploading some fully inked pieces, and I've totally fallen for the results. The contrast is absolutely stunning, especially in-person, but the processes are all very new to me; I've not inked anything in well over a decade now, so I'm essentially learning everything from scratch.
That said, I'd like to describe the new processes I've come up with to make this sea change workable. Currently, I use 0.5mm fineliners, with a black sharpie reserved for bolder lines and large fills, which seem to be working rather well together. I also still sketch with graphite because I don't yet have the muscle memory or visualization/actualization skills to make a piece in one shot.
One rule I've held since I started uploading is that, once a piece is uploaded, it's finished, at which point the physical art will not be modified in any way. That right there would rule out uploading my sketches by default, but I am willing to make an exception for work-in-progress art. However, I'm also rather meticulous with the preservation of my art, which has given me a sort of aversion to directly overwriting my sketches with ink. Thankfully, I've managed to work around this.
Essentially what I do is digitize my art as normal, at which point I make a copy with heavily boosted contrast that I fit into a real-world-sized template. I then simply display that template on a spare computer monitor, tape a piece of paper directly on the thing, and trace it with a pencil. When I'm satisfied with that, I take the paper off of the monitor and ink it normally. I can also add minor details here, like the background of my most recent piece.
This all grants me a few benefits: for one, I get to keep my sketches, but it also gives me the liberty to make mistakes. Inking went a little rough? No big deal, just slap that monitor back on the desk and make another transfer, though I do still strive to get things right the first time. This also allows me to make my sketch at whichever size I'm comfortable with, then resize it to fit the template however I'd like. I can also use digital tools to massage the sketch a little if I see fit, like making a piece perfectly symmetrical.
There are some caveats, of course. For one, paper isn't actually flat. No shit, right? Not only is it not flat, but it never will be, since there's too much material, making it wavy. That makes the tracing step a lot harder than it would be with something like watercolor paper, which I may try out someday. Additionally, this means that I'm forced to get things more-or-less right in the sketch. Take my most recent piece for example: I got basically everything just right (with just a dash of digital symmetry, anyway)... except for the breasts. They were very awkward but I'd already inked them in, so I had to get clever. Instead of recreating the whole piece to fix a relatively small issue, I instead mocked up a fix directly on my template, traced it back out to paper, inked it, and meticulously cut it out with scissors to fit the real piece, finally sticking it on with clear tape. It's like a boob flipbook. This required a bit of clone stamping after digitization, but that's no sweat, and I personally think it turned out great, but boy would I love to never have to do that again.
Ultimately, the rest of the process remains similar; digitization is unchanged, as are color grading and uploading. Art remains art, and I have a blast experimenting to create new smut for y'all, to which I say cheers, and that I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoy making it. Oh, and I still intend to make my fair share of pure graphite pieces still, so don't be upset if those are your favorites.
Stay classy,
- W
The astute among you may have noticed that I've started uploading some fully inked pieces, and I've totally fallen for the results. The contrast is absolutely stunning, especially in-person, but the processes are all very new to me; I've not inked anything in well over a decade now, so I'm essentially learning everything from scratch.
That said, I'd like to describe the new processes I've come up with to make this sea change workable. Currently, I use 0.5mm fineliners, with a black sharpie reserved for bolder lines and large fills, which seem to be working rather well together. I also still sketch with graphite because I don't yet have the muscle memory or visualization/actualization skills to make a piece in one shot.
One rule I've held since I started uploading is that, once a piece is uploaded, it's finished, at which point the physical art will not be modified in any way. That right there would rule out uploading my sketches by default, but I am willing to make an exception for work-in-progress art. However, I'm also rather meticulous with the preservation of my art, which has given me a sort of aversion to directly overwriting my sketches with ink. Thankfully, I've managed to work around this.
Essentially what I do is digitize my art as normal, at which point I make a copy with heavily boosted contrast that I fit into a real-world-sized template. I then simply display that template on a spare computer monitor, tape a piece of paper directly on the thing, and trace it with a pencil. When I'm satisfied with that, I take the paper off of the monitor and ink it normally. I can also add minor details here, like the background of my most recent piece.
This all grants me a few benefits: for one, I get to keep my sketches, but it also gives me the liberty to make mistakes. Inking went a little rough? No big deal, just slap that monitor back on the desk and make another transfer, though I do still strive to get things right the first time. This also allows me to make my sketch at whichever size I'm comfortable with, then resize it to fit the template however I'd like. I can also use digital tools to massage the sketch a little if I see fit, like making a piece perfectly symmetrical.
There are some caveats, of course. For one, paper isn't actually flat. No shit, right? Not only is it not flat, but it never will be, since there's too much material, making it wavy. That makes the tracing step a lot harder than it would be with something like watercolor paper, which I may try out someday. Additionally, this means that I'm forced to get things more-or-less right in the sketch. Take my most recent piece for example: I got basically everything just right (with just a dash of digital symmetry, anyway)... except for the breasts. They were very awkward but I'd already inked them in, so I had to get clever. Instead of recreating the whole piece to fix a relatively small issue, I instead mocked up a fix directly on my template, traced it back out to paper, inked it, and meticulously cut it out with scissors to fit the real piece, finally sticking it on with clear tape. It's like a boob flipbook. This required a bit of clone stamping after digitization, but that's no sweat, and I personally think it turned out great, but boy would I love to never have to do that again.
Ultimately, the rest of the process remains similar; digitization is unchanged, as are color grading and uploading. Art remains art, and I have a blast experimenting to create new smut for y'all, to which I say cheers, and that I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoy making it. Oh, and I still intend to make my fair share of pure graphite pieces still, so don't be upset if those are your favorites.
Stay classy,
- W
Tapped Out, Feeling Better
General | Posted 7 months agoHello all.
I've been in an art slump since early June of this year, where each consecutive piece has left my mood more sour than the last. I've felt creatively bankrupt, and while this isn't exactly a novel feeling for me–I've never known myself to be particularly imaginative, after all–it has been compounded by a perceived lack of meaningful art progress gnawing at my soul.
It's a terrible feeling, really, to struggle with a hobby to the point of willfully procrastinating it; a fantastic idea would draw me eagerly to my art desk only for the session to morph into 60 minutes of music and a general feeling of apathy while I'd second-guess the idea all the way to death because it felt unattainable. I want to improve, and indeed I can look through my art and see a mountain of real, genuine progress, and yet my process feels as unsure and inconsistent as ever.
But I'm feeling better now. After a month of drawing just about nothing, I'm back with great ideas and the will to put 'em in their place. On the paper. And the internet. Aw yeah.
As always, you all have my eternal gratitude for the support, and seeing people enjoy my art always brings a smile to my face.
-W
I've been in an art slump since early June of this year, where each consecutive piece has left my mood more sour than the last. I've felt creatively bankrupt, and while this isn't exactly a novel feeling for me–I've never known myself to be particularly imaginative, after all–it has been compounded by a perceived lack of meaningful art progress gnawing at my soul.
It's a terrible feeling, really, to struggle with a hobby to the point of willfully procrastinating it; a fantastic idea would draw me eagerly to my art desk only for the session to morph into 60 minutes of music and a general feeling of apathy while I'd second-guess the idea all the way to death because it felt unattainable. I want to improve, and indeed I can look through my art and see a mountain of real, genuine progress, and yet my process feels as unsure and inconsistent as ever.
But I'm feeling better now. After a month of drawing just about nothing, I'm back with great ideas and the will to put 'em in their place. On the paper. And the internet. Aw yeah.
As always, you all have my eternal gratitude for the support, and seeing people enjoy my art always brings a smile to my face.
-W
Caught Up
General | Posted 11 months agoI'm caught up on uploads with my Inkbunny. From now on, art will be uploaded here at the same time, though the quality will still be reduced here due to site limitations.
10 Years?!
General | Posted a year agoI can't even count that high.
