Twillie Art Things

[Twillie]

There's a number of things I could be working on, but in the midst of everything I've spent more time than I probably should have on character designs I may not even use in my comics.

Jonathon's birth parents \o/ They kinda stole away my focus this past weekend after some backstory ideas came to mind and made me want to create content for them xD Spent most of my time trying to solidify their designs, his dad especially. I've drawn him before, but he's always been a challenge to both resemble Jonathon and still have a unique face. The above sketch is probably the best I've drawn for him so far.

Here's a bunch of my experiments for him as well, albeit for a younger version of him (inspiration refs included):

I basically tried to use the hair of Drew Gooden and face of Rob Cantor to help bring together my mental image for the guy. Ended up ditching the hair idea, and by the end of these sketches I felt like I was just drawing Cantor xD I think drawing the older version of him was easier in part because I could give him a receding hairline, which solved the issue of looking too much like either Cantor or Jonathon. But these sketches were still helpful in figuring out what didn't work and narrowing my choices down to those made in the final sketch.

His mom's design I already felt pretty comfortable with after my past couple drawings of her, so I just did one sketch of her younger self to get reacquainted and to make some minor updates.

Whether I'll draw more of them or not, I don't know. Maybe I'll get more inspiration in the coming week, or it might be sometime further in the future that I return to them. But either way, I feel like I at least accomplished my main goal of creating designs for both of them that I'm happy with!

[Twillie]

The Chocolate Ball is in a few days, something I've been wanting to draw for. I also saw it a fitting occasion to bring in another idea I've had wherein I put Jonathon in a suit. A simple concept, but those can often be the most fun, and I like it because it's a whole Ordeal in itself.

I imagine the scenario is that Fyora is invited to the annual Chocolate Ball, and Jonathon and Lily come as part of her security. Faerieland formal wear for men usually involves dresses, but the Chocolate Ball has a very strict, much more traditional dress code, required Jonathon to wear a suit. This is the first one he's ever worn, and hopefully also the last. Just being able to find one that fits him was a Process that required a lot of customizations, and even now he still hates how it feels to wear.

Lily got off a bit easier, but she's still rather bored by the stuffy scene and the fact that she had to dress down for the event. They wouldn't let her wear any of her piercings or fun accessories.

Both hate the fact that they are surrounded by chocolate but unable to eat any of it while on duty.

Depending on how I spend my time this week, I may clean this sketch up and make it a finished piece. I can't submit it to the Art Gallery, but it'll still be a fun drawing to look back on :3

[Twillie]

Next day update~ Finally feel like I'm getting a handle on gamut masking, I like how this color palette is turning out. Next potential step is to add some background characters.

[Twillie]

And just in time for the Ball, it is finished!

I also finished a commission for Kat of her character, Reuben :3

[Twillie]

Speedrunning a potential piece for the Faerie Festival art gallery on Monday. This is how far I got on it today (background is just a placeholder), and I plan to finish up tomorrow:

Baelia's arm holding the lyre is an actual crime, but shhh it's alright no one has to notice.

[Twillie]

The final product!

[Twillie]

Drew a Taelia for the fun of it~

[Twillie]

Started this almost a week ago now, slowly adding to it. I don't have a clear end goal in mind for how it should look, so I've just been chipping away at it as I go and seeing what happens lol.

Scene is that Twillie has been invited to an outing with Jonathon's family who she's just recently met, and she's immediately intimidated and wanting to make a good impression~

[Twillie]

Time for another yearly art summary!

Compared to last year's, it looks like I had more focus on what I wanted to create this year, as every sketch here is related to some larger project. I remember at the start of 2022 I wanted to enter into Neopets' art gallery more often, something I kept up with for a few months before losing steam in May. I drew an entry for Hissi Day but never actually submitted it, and that was my last standalone Neopets piece from this year.

Come to think of it, I don't think my Shoyru piece was ever accepted into the gallery, and this month has quite a few random days, so I should resubmit it soon!

Summer was the sparsest season for artwork, but considering I was working on the Coming to Light arc at this time, it makes sense that I'd have little artwork outside of that. I had to go with sketches for June and August, although even then they still have full color and complete compositions to them. I'm proud that there are no months with only a couple rough sketches or no art at all, and that I was able to keep myself working on something each month.

September and October picked up the pace, especially with OC-tober. However, that's not a challenge I think I'll seriously attempt again in the future, as it took time away from my projects with little payoff. Although I stayed consistent with the challenge for maybe half of the month, I got little to no social media engagement overall, which I figure is the main point of it for most people. I think the most it gave me was more practice in following an art schedule.

November was another, albeit briefer, period of little art, so that I could recover from OC-tober. Managed to end the month with another Blossoms arc, though, which leads us to now \o/

I'm excited to enter the new year with this current Blossoms arc (as I'm sure I'll finish it up in January sometime) and see how much further the story will continue! I also look forward to future inspirations and the drawings that will come of them, and I hope for another fruitful year! :3

[Twillie]

I was inspired to make a button for my Neo comics, like those clickables you might find on userlookups that lead to a themed petpage!

Not my first foray into this (did I ever post my first ever attempt that I made however long ago? if not I'll post it now...)

This most recent button went through a lot of versions and failed ideas, and there's still some changes I'd likely make to it. Namely, I want to make the text more readable and make the whole thing less bottom heavy. That being said, I actually do like how it's turned out, and I think I prefer its simplicity to the more ambitious ideas I originally had. I don't have any immediate use for a button, but I guess in the event I ever need one, this will be waiting in the wings lol.

I also updated the art to a standalone comic idea, which I also don't think I've posted before. Here's the updated version:

Not sure if it's the most realized punchline, but the multiple moms joke inspired the comic, and I also wanted to have fun with a few character details like Jonathon's colorful vocabulary and his more exaggerated expressions. In the original sketch, I was also experimenting with a new style of nose for him, although I've since dropped it as I felt it limited the expressions I could give him. Here's the original, if you were curious:

SPOILER: Click to show

[Twillie]

The word searches in the NT comic section got me thinking about what a Blossoms word search might look like, and then I got a fun idea to do a little trolling >w>

This is a real word search with 15 solutions, so feel free to play along! You may find some words to be less serious than others, but is the true answer hidden somewhere in here? Find out!

Answer key:

SPOILER: Click to show

The Real Taelia

Key Quest

Heart

Ancient Beast

Kaia

Curse

Just a Tree

Taelia Token

Surveillance

NeoQuest

Kanrik

Alien Magic

Sloth

Power of Love

Shenkuu Guardian

[Twillie]

I don't remember exactly how, but on Discord there was mention of Jonathon turning into a dark Faerie, I think as a joke plot twist wherein he takes control of Terror Mountain for himself. I thought that'd make for a cool look, so I've been having fun sketching out some possible designs haha.

[tarulliah]

you're art is AWESOME, like your comics! mine isn't nearly as awesome (the following is a picture of me with my favorite pet, SEAGLA55)

[Twillie]

Dec 24, 2022 19:18:21 GMT -5 tarulliah said:

you're art is AWESOME, like your comics! mine isn't nearly as awesome (the following is a picture of me with my favorite pet, SEAGLA55)
View Attachment

Aw, there's no need to put your own art down! Art's all about practice and persistence, and the fact that you're drawing is already one step ahead many others! You're on the right track, so you don't need to stress about where you are in your art journey compared to others.

I like the emotion in your piece, and both you and Seaglass have a relaxed, at peace posture, which can be difficult to achieve. The shape of the hair is also nice, and that combined with the coloring gives it a soft texture. I love drawing and looking at illustrated hair anyway, so that's where my eyes were immediately drawn to.

But thanks on the compliments for my comics and art in general! It means a lot that you've taken the time to read my stuff, and I'm glad that you enjoy it :3 To answer your question, I draw all of my comics digitally with the art program Clip Studio Paint and a Microsoft Surface Pro, which is a two-in-one tablet and laptop that lets me draw on the screen directly. Originally I drew everything by hand and scanned my comics onto the computer to color them, and when I first switched to digital I used a Wacom drawing tablet and Photoshop Elements, which came with the tablet purchase. 

If you're ever interested in trying digital art, I'd recommend a tablet to start with as they're not as big an investment as a new laptop or something like a Cintiq. There are some you can find under $100 that can still provide a quality experience. There's also free art programs like Gimp or Krita that you can try out, either to draw from scratch in or to color and edit traditional drawings.

[tarulliah]

thank you so much! I also like drawing hair, it's usually the second thing I draw, and I am really good at eyes, too. I find drawing people in profile the most easy, because I have trouble with the mouth and nose


I'll try that! thank you for the suggestion!


AND of course I have read your series! when I read something I like, on the internet or in real life I tend to read it several times over in a row so that I can savor it more  

SPOILER: Click to show

I really like your series. I've read them all the way through at least ten times already