... I need to fix this... and soon x.x.

So... yeah... the world hasn't exploded, which is good. However... in my personal future, there are some rather grim tidings... which sucks.

But... those are beside the point. I want to get back into things, to get better, to git gud, but it's hard without input to do so. I've tried throwing something into Weasyl's critique request... thingie, but nothing came of it, and the last time I asked for advice... same thing.

Where do I go, or what could I say to ask for critique / advice to get better? Or... don't bother asking for advice and just plow ahead, hoping something sticks?

I wish I could commission some of you awesome peeps... but I have no way of sending monies at the moment :(.

... I really do, but it's really hard & draining doing this in silence.

They say ask and ye shall receive. I've asked several times for advice on how to improve, and I receive nothing.

Is it who I'm asking, what I'm doing, what I'm asking, where I'm asking... or is it that I'm not a popfur, and thus am not worthy to be asking for advice...

I'm not quite sure how to proceed at the moment...

This has been bugging me a lot.

How the heck do you some of you get really smooth coloring / shading? What programs / techniques do you use?

Every time I try it, I end up getting really bad hard edges, or it never seems to work out right. Even trying to follow tutorials doesn't work out...

Well... it's technically tomorrow, but whatever :P.

I WANT A FREE PICTURE FROM EVERYONE!

Just kidding :P,

I may consider streaming in the future. Any suggestions on places to do it?

If it means anything, I'd likely be using OBS for broadcasting.

I need to take a break and say hi / post more arts to you guys again.

I'm still here... but work and things keep getting in the way.

But... seriously... it's like some people want this place to have 24/7 uptime with perfect security. I'm well aware of the nature of the exploit... seems odd to call security breach on an image handler. Only 4 I watched jumped... oh well.

On another note... this place needs a way to automatically unwatch closed accounts, and de-list deleted favorites.

I will be there saturday :)

Yup... it's my hatching day...

Also... suggestions on how to create reference sheets for multiple characters?

I'm trying to come up with some additional characters, and needed an excuse for attempting to draw couples (Still a pain by the way). I tend to prefer Ungulates / Deer like things for some reason >.>.

So far, I've got Dawn (White-Tail Deer), Hetairai (Gemsbok), and a couple of guys I forgot the species and names of.

However, more ideas may help! :D

I'll get back into things someday. Hard to find inspiration for some reason...

Life doesn't help either :(

I feel like I need to improve a lot more... still. Hands always suck, and I'm still stuck trying out body shapes. Couples... I dunno.

Coloring is out of the question at the moment... dunno what all to try out there. Watching streams on the computer I'm currently on is near impossible, and... well... I tend to get very dejected watching (usually left with more questions, plus one bad experience).

Just frittering nights away tweaking sketches, trying poses... but I dunno who or what to put to them. New characters? I dunno... I do think I need more males... and maybe some species variety (All I have are ungulates >.>).

If I wanted to stream art, what would be a good place? Also... what software do you guys recommend? I currently have OBS.

Going to be there on Saturday. Hope to see some of you guys there.

I'm still here. Been sketching intermittently, but haven't produced anything worthy of posting. Still feel like I need to improve a lot to get anywhere here...

What do you guys do to get inspired to actually finish something? I'm curious....

... permitted anyone reads this. All I hear are 'abandon ship' klaxons...

Journal title says it all.

Edit: I don't see a 'Check / Uncheck all' button, and the 'global select all' button under journals isn't working.

Furthermore, the automatic image switch when mousing over thumbnails on a users page doesn't work either.

Am I missing something?

Edit 2: Never mind. Browser update fixed it.

... still 1920 x 1080 ^^;

Also to try and draw more.

... but I like sketching more than inking and coloring. Feels like I get more done... >.>

So... I've figured out how to somewhat get back into things. Basically going to try and draw at least 30 minutes a day. I may not post the results... but it's something!

So far, it's like getting back onto a bike after many years. You don't forget how to do it... but some things are still a pain.

Nuff said

I'm probably going to get flak for saying this, but It's something that I've been thinking about. This isn't directed towards anyone. It's just a general observation.

TL:DR version: I understand and respect the decision. However, there may be a long-term, underlying issue.

----

So... I keep seeing people partially migrating to Paetron, and it kind of bothers me.

On the one hand, I understand the decision and rationale. People have to make money in some capacity to survive. If you can turn your hobby into a job, while keeping it a hobby, then it's wonderful. In this case, getting paid by donations and supporting fans, and supplying them with artwork and exclusive / uncensored content as a thanks.

On the other hand, I see this creating another problem, and it's not the 'self-paywall' idea that's generally cited. I see an issue of fragmentation.

Consider that there's a pool of people, all of whom want to monetarily support and see their favorite artists unbridled work. Said artist goes to a Paetron setup, and receives support. That's good. However, as more of them move to the same setup, the pool of monetary support begins to spread thinner. This leads people having to pick and choose who to support, and who let go. As one critic put it in a different medium; I love Branston pickle, but it was spread to thin, and there weren't any particularly chunky bits. Effectively, there's so many to choose from that a decision is either impossible, or so broad that it may as well be nil (AKA: How do you distribute a small amount to a large group). This isn't factoring in those who would like to support their favorite artists, but have no means (either monetarily or logistically) to do so.

The more I see artists move that way, the more I worry this is ultimately going to dissolve, leaving the artists back in the same boat they used to be in.

Getting paid for your craft by donations, and reward the people that donate with unedited stuff, with no chance of anyone else seeing it. I don't fully agree with that decision, but I will respect it, and wish them the best of luck in their endeavors.

~NN

I'm still trying to get my muse / confidence back for drawing, but I have no ideas outside of just plopping my butt down and doing it.

What are your guys' muses / inspirations?

I swear I backed it up on disk somewhere...