Ask me a question! (+6)

Would anyone be interested in a FAQ from me, regarding regulations, techniques, what I use and so on??

Please comment with a question you would like to ask me regarding my art (heck, it can even be 'do you draw a shape to start with?' or something simple)

Feel free to ask more than one, I'd be more than happy to answer questions you have :3
So ask away to your hearts content, I'd love to see this filled up with loads of questions

I will update this with every question I get, then just make a whole new journal with the whole FAQ on it

Thanks
XcubX
Xxx



In order of being asked:

Q. Do you do collabs?

A. Hm. Collabs are generally for friends only (especially those on dA that I can contact otherwise) but ask me and I'll see if anything can be arranged. The thing with collabs is that they are somewhat hard to transfer from person to person if it is traditional work, and I'm not very good at digital work
Send me a note or something telling me what you would like to do art-wise and transfer-wise and I'll get back to you as soon as.


Q. Do you do art trades?

A. It depends on what I have and how much I have to do, but can always ask me, or I will ask you! You can check my DevID for recent information or my signature. 
At the moment, art trades are on hold until I finish this batch of 8 pieces, and do all the homework I have to. I haven't uploaded a piece of personal art so I really would like some time for my own art again


Q. What materials do you use?

A. I am a traditional artist, but occasionally I will submit a digital piece using MS Paint, Sumo Paint, or even photoshop. 
Usually I use the regular HB pencil for the sketch, nothing to fancy for the basics. When I get to outlining, I use Uni Pins (0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.5 because redfern broke my 0.8 XD )
When I colour my art, I have a 36 set of Derwent coloursoft pencils, and a 24 set of Derwent drawing pencils, and I love them all (:
For paper, unless I use paint or coffee, I use standard white a4 printer paper or a page in my sketchbook which is an off-white. 


Q. When did you seriously start drawing?

A. Actually, not that long ago, I have been on deviantart for about a year and a half, so that has increased my regularity of drawing. I have old Zelda pictures from about year 5 (when I was 10), but since I went to secondary school, i regained my passion for art. 


Q. What is your technique (step-by-step) for your traditional art?

A. Long answer... Wolf as example

1. Know what you are drawing. Have reference pictures if you need them, or a real life animal you can study.

2. Start with a basic sketch. Neatness doesn't matter, just get the idea onto paper. Sketch lightly and quickly. I normally draw a circle for the head, shoulders and hips, and sometimes a spine to show the movement and rough leg shapes. 

3. Draw over the sketch in more detail, adding features like eyes, ears, paws, tail, wings or whatever. Don't draw with a heavy hand, you will need to erase it after you are happy with it. A tip I picked up is 'use mirrors!' seeing the art the other way round gives a fresh view of the image, and should look as even backwards and it does normally. 

4. Add more detail, like fur, eye detail, bones, muscles, maybe a rough guide for markings. When you are happy, you can start the outlining.

5. Go over the image as smoothly and cleanly as you can using your choice of pen (I normally use 0.3 or 0.2) try not to make any mistakes, this is the no-go-back zone!

6. Erase the pencil lines after the ink has dried and you can start colouring. I start with a base coat, the main colour/s stroking lightly I the direction of fur. After that, maybe use a darker colour, and go over the base, adding more detail and realism to the picture as you go. Use a range of colours in a range if hardness. Finally, add shadows in the appropriate places, colour the eye/s and any other areas you may have missed, add a background of your choice, and you're done!


Q. What animals do you enjoy drawing most?

A. Some of my favourite animals are wolves, dolphins, horses, dragons, other canines, deer and felines. But i love the majority of animals, so I don't really mind what ideas as long as I have a good reference. My strongest drawings are most likely to be favourite animals of mine. 


Q. Do you ever draw people?

A. I really fail at drawing noses and mouths and I don't really enjoy drawing people. I also suck at anatomy even though i have looked at books and references, i just cant get it right but unless its for homework or I'm up for a challenge, I don't draw people. 


Q. Are you interested in manga/anime?

A. Sorry for all you out there, but I am not a fan of Japanese things, but the style of the comics and cartoons are interesting. Anyway, I've got Natsune-Summer-Sound for that  


Q. Do you like drawing backgrounds?

A.  It depends on the subject, but normally, no. I feel like backgrounds take the focus away from the character, so normally I would do a pale background like blue for sky, or shadows etc. 


Q. When you were younger, were you inspired by a particular artist?

A. The first artist I found on deviantart was Moundfreek as at the time, but i quickly found the more popular artists like WildSpiritWolf and Culpeo-Fox
When I wasn't on dA, google was my artist. I used to search a keyword and have a look at all the pics I liked, and YouTube picture videos too my old favourite is called 'midna and link: you and me' a song by lifehouse :3


Q. What would you recommend for people who have just begun to draw?

A. Be inspired by everything around you, start simple and with things you like, take photos and use as many resources as you can. Simple styles like Disney and other cartoons are good practice, but don't trace them, it just shows that you can completely copy over someone else's work rather than draw for yourself. 


Q. How do you decide what to draw?

A. I take a lot of inspiration from music, other artists, films, books, photos, dreams, all sorts of experiences. I made hyervi based on a book and movie 'I am number four'. I just felt like drawing some kind of creature, and she was born :3


Q. How much time do you spend drawing (generally)?

A. I try to get time for drawing every day, but because I'm in the middle of secondary school, theres homework, projects, tests,  as well as my social life (which is kinda nonexistent)
I try and get any trades or prizes done by the weekend, so I can get it uploaded to dA  


Q. Are you planning to make a comic of any kind?

A. To be honest, I don't think I could cope with a full story comic, but i would like to make a short comic at some point. 
I am going to write and finish at least one story (or book) in my lifetime, but it may be a while before I get back to story writing


Q. Do you use reference pictures for poses?

A. I used to a lot, to browse images for ideas and such, but I have less and less as I came on dA. I hate art theft and artists claiming they drew the originals, so if I do reference an image or picture, I provide a link to the picture and/or artist. 
Art block is hell. I hate it, no ideas in your head, you have to wrack the Internet and your brains to get out of it.