Questions under the cut (I DELETED MY FIRST POST, WHAT A FUCKING MUPPET!!! T___T All the questions are gone…)
1) Anonymous: How do you manage to come up with so many different ideas for
your journey of a man of letters, and the life of bucky barnes blogs? I
want to start something like that, possibly, if only for my enjoyment,
but idk what to do, or how I would keep up something like that
Hi anon!
Interesting questions that are going to require a long and boring answer, I’m sorry in advance.
How do you manage to come up with so many different ideas for your
journey of a man of letters, and the life of bucky barnes blogs?
You mean the concept of the blogs or the ideas that inspire each post?
The blogs:
For Journal of a Man of Letters,
it seemed rather obvious because the show canon itself was heading
toward a Sam’s diary. Sam is canonically a Man of Letters and his dad
had a journal too. Writing, documenting, archiving, runs in the family.
In addition, when I had the idea, the “Men of Letters” story arc had
just been introduced in the show so, it was kinda obvious. However, I’m
gonna be frank, I had no idea it would become this big, with longs fics
and so many illustrations even if now I’m going to reduce the length of
the fics a lot.
For Bucky Barnes’ Instagram, I wanted to do something funny, that would be less rigid than Journal of a Man of Letters
(because it’s very close to canon) and that would be more focused on
art than fics (let’s face it, I’m an artist, not a real writer). I drew
for this artwork called Barnes, Rogers, for the love of God
a side artwork that was a pic taken by Bucky for his imaginary
Instagram. I thought it would be a good idea to develop the concept a
bit further, creating a “real” Instagram for Bucky where he would post
photos of his life with Steve. A diary would have been a bit boring (to
do as an artist, not as a concept per say), a comic too time consuming.
An Instagram was just PERFECT! In addition, it just fitted the character
so well. Bucky has been deprived of his memories during years so taking
photos is a way to document his life and to keep a trace of every
moment he’s spending with Steve or even of mundane things like enjoying
an ice cream or going to the beach. Also, I wanted to draw cute Stucky
:3
The ideas:
For the ideas themselves, it’s different on both blogs.
For Journal of a Man of Letters,
I’m very close to canon, so the ideas come episode after episode. I
also add headcanon, tiny stuff here and there, like for instance, the
fact that Sam enjoyed playing with his father’s dog tags when he was a
kid or that he had to clean his first murder scene when he was 14
(you’ll see that next week). I’m gonna be frank, some episodes don’t
inspire me a lot so I try to find a tiny element in the ep that is going
to sparkle an idea. I’ve been a fan for 6 years so I must admit that
ideas come pretty naturally.
For Bucky’s Instagram, the ideas
come from a bit everywhere: headcanon, real people’s instagrams
(particularly selfies and travels), tiny or important elements from
canon (the Captain America’s expo, Steve enjoying to run and work out),
pages from the comics. For instance I’m thinking of sending the boys to
Algeria for a mission. Why Algeria? Because Batroc in Captain America - The Winter Soldier is
introduced as an Algerian mercenary, so it’s not going to be difficult
to invent an arc where the Avengers will have something to do in Algeria
because Batroc’s friends are still active there. You see how I work?
One sentence from the movie will become a series of 3-4 artworks.
Also what I like to do with Bucky’s Instagram is taking the viewer through a roller coaster of emotions. Here’s a cute image for you. Here’s a another cute image for you.
And suddenly BAM! Something sad and disturbing because I don’t want you
to forget that Bucky stayed hostage and was tortured during 70 years.
He can’t have a 100% happy life and his recovery will take time. I
always try to keep this balance between happy and unhappy posts when I
think about the schedule.
However, whether it’s for The life of BB or JOAMOL, when I have an idea, I WRITE IT DOWN. Paper, note application in my phone, Word document. Whatever works.
I want to start something like that, possibly, if only for my enjoyment,
but idk what to do, or how I would keep up something like that
I’m
not gonna lie, this kind of project is not a sprint, it’s a marathon, a
long run. It’s something that requires a minimum of involvement and
yes, you have to constantly find ideas and devote time to it.
The
starting point is on what character your project is going to based on
and what do YOU want to do. Writing? Drawing? You have to think about
this. For instance, Steve Rogers is an artist, you can create a Steve’s
“sketchbook diary”. It just fits!
You can start by posting
“secretly” (without tagging your posts) to see how it goes, how you feel
about this project, if it needs adjustment…or to be dropped because
it’s not what you wanted in the first place. When you are ready,
advertise your project, tell your friends and boom! Share your
enthusiasm with the World Wide Web! ^^
But always keep in mind
one thing: you have to enjoy yourself. If one day it becomes a chore,
just drop it. And that’s what I’ll do one day. I’m not gonna carry one The Life of BB during 10 years! xD
Voilà! I hope I helped you a bit. In short:
write down your ideas (that can be sparkled by everything and
anything), take tiny elements from canon and explore them ,and have fun
with headcanons.
Good luck to you anon and sorry about this long answer in frenglish! T___T
**
2) Anonymous: Hello! I remembered you saying before that you’ve illustrated
book covers, and I was wondering if you could show some of them? I also
want to get into that sort of industry when I’m older, but I have no
idea how to get noticed or what to do to actually get into it, and was
wondering if you could tell me some tips? Or at least what you did to
get into it?
Hi anon!
I remembered you saying before that you’ve illustrated book covers, and I was wondering if you could show some of them?
I
can show you but what I’m gonna link you here is pretty old and is VERY
different from what I’m drawing today. I did cover for a company called
Riptide Publishing. Here’s is their DA Gallery, browse it and you should find my covers there (you also have categories on the side).
However,
I’m not super proud of some of these covers because at the time, I had a
very slow computer, an old Sony Vaio, and I was working on Photoshop
CS4 who was SLOW AS FUCK, so slow that sometimes, I had to downgrade to
Photoshop CS so that the computer would stop freezing every time I was
launching the PS filter gallery. I could have done a FAR better job if I
had CS6 and the computer I have right now. I think I used the combo
“new computer + CS6″ in only 1 or 2 covers. I feel bad for the guys at
Riptide who were sweethearts because when I look at some of these covers
I see flaws but I guess that you are always your worst critic and that
they are not that bad (or they wouldn’t have hired me!) :/
What I’m doing now is really closer to this or this.
Black line art and a lot of skulls, fractals, and negative space, but I
can’t show you the covers ybecause I publish under my real name and I’m
not gonna break my number one rule: Tumblr is Tumblr, Real life is real
life. I don’t mix the two. I think there must be only 5 people in the
whole fandom who know my name (and it’s not even the long and complete
version of it because let’s face it, my name would make you win 400
points in one round if you play Scrabble)
Or at least what you did to get into it?
At
the beginning absolutely nothing. I was contacted directly by the
publishing companies who were interested in my art. They discovered my
work through Deviant Art, mainly. Then I started to write myself to
companies by sending my portfolio. I also do wedding invitation but for
this particular thing, it’s the word of mouth that worked the best.
I have no idea how to get noticed or what to do to actually get into it, and was wondering if you could tell me some tips?
I’m giving you tips from the POV of someone who has never been to an art school so…^^;;
First,
a well organized gallery/website/Tumblr/DA (one or two or them, not
everything) that shows what you can do. Don’t hesitate to replace
artworks you are not satisfied with anymore. Also, remember: people are
lazy, they hate scrolling or have to spend more than 10 seconds looking
for your drawings. So everything has to be clear. Name, contact, who you
are, portfolio, list of former clients.
You also have to
contact people by yourself, sending your portfolio, asking them if their
company is looking for an artist for drawing their covers. It also
works for magazines. You can read this article written by an art teacher and called Ask the Art Professor: How do you get people to notice your artwork online?
Also,
I don’t know about where you live but as far as I’m concerned, in
France, some companies prefer that you have a particular status (for
taxes). Here, it’s “auto-entrepreneur” but basically it corresponds to
“freelance worker”.
TLDR: A good portfolio (if you are on Tumblr: tag properly), contacting companies, working hard and if necessary having a status.
**
3) Anonymous: Hi! I have a quick question, how do you sketch someone of colour? (I’m using ink and pencil)
But, you know anon, I’m only half joking here. For both Caucasian
skins and let’s say Black skins (because it’s not the only type of
complexion when it comes to people of color obviously), you have to
choose your palette and then…you go. This palette will depend on the
complexion of the skin, of course, but also the lighting, the
atmosphere, etc..For instance, you have this interesting post about black skin under different lightings. As far as palettes are concerned, you can use this chart
and it doesn’t matter that you are using inks and pencils, it will be
useful to you. You start by the lighter tones and you built the textures
layer after layer (and I’m not speaking about Photoshop layers here,
I’m speaking of layers of colors).
You can watch this YouTube video by artist Eric T. Francis called how to paint dark skins and locks.
It’s acrylic paintings but the way the artist work can be applied to
inks and pencils. He goes from lighter tones to dark, before adding some
highlights that reveal the volumes of the portrait.
So in
short, learn about color theory, palettes and shading. Once you know
about palettes and lighting, you won’t think in terms of skin complexion
but in terms of palettes. You’ll choose your inks and pencils
accordingly. You won’t go directly for the brown pencil to draw a Black
person for instance because under a certain lighting, Black skin can be
blue, hell it can be purple! You’ll think, “Ok, what palette? What lighting? For what skin texture?” and it will make things easier for you as an artist.
Also, you can look for tutorials on YouTube on hair, like this one, still by E.T Francis on how to draw curly hair.
I
only talked about Black people in my answer regarding POC to give you
an example, to stay focused, and not being lost in too much examples and
links but what I’m saying about palettes, hair, shadows and highlights
stands for every kind of person. You also have to learn to observe,
that’s the most important thing, that’s why I think that one of the
posts above about about black skin under different lightings
is extremely useful. Also, when in doubt, Google. You’ll have all types
of models under tons of different lightings, from the African American
under the light of an Autumn afternoon to the Japanese girl going back
home at night and lit by a street sign in Osaka, to the Algerian going
to the beach and looking at the sunset in Oran.
If what I wrote here is not enough, you have tons of tuts on Youtube.
Thanks for your message anon and good night ♥
**
4) Anonymous: Do you know if any of the actors had seen TLOBB or JOAMOL? It would be so cool if they have!
Hi anon :)
Honestly, I hope they don’t. I like it when my
fandom projects remains FANDOM projects, that’s why it drives me
absolutely mad when people tag the artists or send them my works,
particularly the slash ones. T__T
As far as Journal of a Man of Letters
is concerned, I think that some members of the cast saw the artworks
(because they were reposted on FB). Lauren Tom even reposted one on her
Twitter, and Osric on his FB (if I’m not wrong). Misha saw some of my
works too but I’m not sure they were from JOAMOL.
As the artworks are Gen and SFW, it doesn’t bother me that
much even if I’m not a fan of this kind of exposure: it brings a
terrible amount of trolls to my inbox. That’s also the reason why I make
a difference between a fan bringing a Gen artwork to a con for having
it signed and people who contact the actors to let them know about my
work: when an actor retweet or reblog me, I have more hate messages and
more trolls, whereas when a fan show my work during a con, it’s
harmless.
As far as The Life of BB is concerned, JFC, I
hope that the actors didn’t see my art! It’s a slash project so I
prefer that it stays a fandom stuff for obvious reason. When some people
tag Sebastian Stan on Instagram, I delete their messages right away.
T___T
It would be so cool if they have!
Oh
no. I prefer staying in my little corner of the fandom, particularly
when it comes to Slash project like The Life of BB. I hope you
understand ^^
Thanks a lot for your message anon, happy October!
**
5) Anonymous: So, I looked through all your links, and I found quite a few
of my own, but I’m not sure how skin colours would work with a colour
palette, would they be added to it in an orange-y or red sort of colour,
then the saturation and hues changed to make the actual skin colour?
Hi anon :)
Glad you found the links useful, however, I’m sorry,
I don’t understand your question about skin color palettes. They work
like any palette, with a base colors and secondary colors. You have tons
of “ready-to-use” palettes on Deviant Art that can help you a lot with
skin tones if you want:
Skin tones palettes
Skin palettes
Skin, a chart
Skin, the basics
Skin reference
All
these palettes are “day light palettes”, if you are working under a
different light (night, sunset, etc..), then you can use the
hue/saturation command to change the colors even if, as far as I’m
concerned, I prefer working with a defined palette from the start and
use hue/saturation as less as possible.
I hope it helped and that it was close from what you wanted to know. Have a great weekend ♥
**
6) Anonymous: I know you mostly do digital art/ illustrating basically, but
I always find your traditional art very fascinating. Any tips on how to
colour nicely, using Pencils? Or some good Watercolour tips? I’m so so
bad with watercolour, it just seems hopeless no matter how hard I try.
Hi anon :)
I’m so so bad with watercolour, it just seems hopeless no matter how hard I try.
Watercolor
is, IMO, a very difficult medium. You have to use the right brushes,
the right paper, the right amount of water to obtain the effects you
want. It requires particular skills but don’t worry, these skills comes
with time. I must admit that for me, one of the main difficulties is to
obtain a uniform texture, without dark areas or stains. Controlling the
right amount of water can also be a problem.
If watercolor are really too difficult, you can use watercolor pencils.
Any tips on how to colour nicely, using Pencils? Or some good Watercolour tips?
Ok, quick tips at random:
I
rarely use the two, watercolor and pencils, separately. I love using
both in my art, doing the main part of the work with watercolors and
details with color pencils (+ the construction lines).
I love
Prismacolor pencils because they are very thick and opaque. Sometimes I
also use Conté pencils because they are more dry (I use Conté because
it’s what we have in France. Use whatever brand you have in your
country, you don’t need something sophisticated). I sharpen my Prisma
with a pencil sharpener because they are fragile and the Conté with a
knife (BE CAREFUL°__° See: The Art of Sharpening Pencils)
I use Copic markers for some details and sometimes skins.
Even
if I love watercolors, I have a preference for color inks. They are
more opaque and the colors pop more. But it’s a question of personal
preference, some people prefer the very soft rendering of watercolors.
I’m not a fan of very grainy watercolor paper but here again, it’s question of preference.
Built your textures, layer after layers, SLOWLY, with a light hand. You need patience for both medium.
Now,
the process (for a portrait for instance). I hope I’ll manage to
explain how I work because it’s not easy for me to explain my drawing
process in English.
First, I chose a good reference photo (whatever the subject). When I work in watercolor I
love being able to see all the details of a picture so I don’t choose a
crappy screenshot for instance. Promo photos are great. Same for landscapes, cars, etc, of course.
On a watercolor paper (usually 300g), I draw a light sketch with a
pencil (HB or 2H). Then, I start with a very light wash over the whole
skin. I use a ochre-sepia. Next, I apply a light wash of pink near the
eyes, the nose, and under the chin. I use a big large brush.
Then, I apply purple and a bit of cobalt blue in areas where you have
shadows. It depends on the lighting of course but purple gives good
results in my opinion. More rarely, I use light green too. I add washes
of light pink and sepia (or sienna) all over the skin. I carry on
building the skin tones little by little, layer after layer, with washes of pink, ochre, and
brown.
I use the same technique for hair and clothes except that for hair, I
use a very thin brush to draw every strand separately.
That’s it for watercolor: I switch to Copic markers and work on all
the details, add some shadows here and there, particularly in the eyes,
at the corner of the mouth. Next, I add the last details with
Prismacolor pencil and a bit of pink pastel for the cheeks.
Voilà, I hope it was clear and easy to understand :S If it’s not enough, you can check
10 watercolor tips for beginners
Watercolor tips for beginners by John Lovett
Watercolor tutorial, eye study
Video: Color Pencils 101
Color pencils tips
Voilà! I hope it helped and remember :)