digital art archive (2024)

woohoo!! another year for the books! I did a ton of traditional sketches this time, focusing mainly on portraits and confident lines (I sketched in pen a ton). I actually started taking commissions this november (if you're interested), super exciting >_<

this year wasn't without its drawbacks, though. at one point I decided to get a glass paperlike screen protector for my tablet, but it totally ruined my pressure settings and made my lines have clear waves no matter what I did. my lineart suffered as a result, but I identified the issue and know I know that screen protectors aren't for me!!

as always, the changing signatures on each piece are a result of my own indecisiveness and crossposting on multiple blogs and platforms.

without further ado:

*ੈ✩‧₊˚2024 *ੈ✩‧₊˚

(january) made this little comic over on my marvel blog !! tried to give the lineart a lino print-esque look. you can see I'm back to using the scratchboard brush again. really love the blocky and sharp shapes here :3

(february) omniscient reader's viewpoint hyprfixation hit me hard and fast because I picked up reading it again after a long break. I tried for a different style here, hence the monoline brush and more delicate shading. you can still see some scrathcy-ness in my lineart... I have this issue whenever I use a thin brush. don't know if it's a line confidence issue I need to work on or if it's just because these kinds of brushes don't suit my style.

I used to stick to strictly cell shading with no soft edges, but here I referenced the ORV webtoon style to practise the softer look O(∩_∩)O

(march) more ORV!! I really liked this new way of rendering hair and I've stuck to it since. I'm using the softer shading I learned before, too. not using the monoline brush anymore, so my lines are less scratchy.

(april-may) took a long break from digital work and didn't post for a while. did lots of traditional studies, and finished a sketchbook I've been using since april 2022!! 

I was really into ORV (I still am, but I was on another level here) so a lot of my work had that theme :3

(june) first jojo's bizarre adventure fanart in a while!! wanted to return to it for nostalgia's sake. I'll be honest though, I kinda hate this piece (╬▔皿▔)╯ it took me so long... it was such a struggle... the rendering on the hair and clothing is nonsensical and I don't like how I combined charcoal brushes and smooth, digital ones. 

I love Dio's purple scarf, though. that and the background are this work's only redeeming qualities to me. I think I might try redrawing the whole thing later on

(july) now for a piece I ADOREE... made it for this year's Art Fight! I took the reference photo myself using a flashlight and a dark closet. it really paid off, I think!! I reeled back the charcoal here and changed the brush I was using to this artist's pencil (I don't think it's available anymore), I'm still using it for sketches :D

the reason this piece is black and white is because I'm not very good at dramatic lighting, so juggling values AND hues in the same piece was too daunting. I think going achromatic was a good choice ^_^

(august) it was a little bit of a flop month... still struggling with lineart. a bit after this point the screen protector started hindering my progress. I think I hit a wall in terms of skill level, too :(

(september) took some art rqs on my marvel blog and finished this beast in the meantime. an ORV and faith: the unholy trinity crossover!! the colours look much better in my files, but tumblr crunched the quality real bad. I tentatively experimented with lighting, colours, and composition here and I really like the result (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ) even though the lineart is a little out of character for me

(october) tumblr ruined my colours again... I tried new ways to shade and followed a couple tutorials: one on pinterest that I can't find and another one here

my love/hate relationship with monoline brushes continues, and it looks like 'love' won out this time!!

(november) more fun with the gel pen brush on procreate :D I made an alt. version of it with increased stabilization and that helped a ton. my lines are much cleaner

always fun to experiment with facial features and drawing on-model!! I wish the composition here was better, though. you may notice this becoming a common theme (touching on this later I promise)

(december) a spideypool commission I got to do! really really happy with it! tried refining the sketch instead of doing lineart. the process could use some work but the final piece turned out great >:] I like how I posed the characters!!

now I get to touch on everything I foreshadowed!!! yes, my compositions and shading need work. my anatomy isn't perfect, either, but I want to focus on those two areas in the next year. I'm done agonizing over lineart brushes ╰（‵□′）╯ I don't even need to do lineart the traditional way!! I promise to try new techniques and teach myself proper colour theory, form, and lighting.

it's a tall order, and I don't expect to be a master painter by 2026, but by the end I hope to feel more confident and free when I colour.

I've reached a point where I'm being held back by my process. I can't get past my poor compositions + lineart and my work always feels incomplete or unsightly because I. don't really know how to colour and shade. I've been getting away with using guesswork and redementary knowledge, but it's time for me to actually learn my stuff.

wishing myself + every artist out there good luck on our goals for 2025!! may we improve and have fun while we're at it ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ