[Patron-Only Feed] Where to from here, I wonder?

A few pieces here and there, though most of last week was dedicated to the Concept Art & Discussion, which pertained to the Bodyslide Girl, so most of the sketches were for that. Don't forget to check out the Dropbox Archive if you have access to it.

Plans for the Week

• Illustration - Summer Bikini Link
• NSFW Sketch Suggestions

Twitter

It seems as though I'm committing to wasting less time on Twitter, which has been a source of stress more than anything else for me lately. That means I'll post less stupid crap and prioritize creating, and I'll seek to improve the quality of my interactions with the world elsewhere, like Discord and live streams.

With Twitter being the most accessible outlet to consuming my content, I should just focus on providing said content. That being said, I'm not very happy with Twitter's new changes, so I should be less reliant on it for my work. The new layout crops out a lot of the images that are posted, so I'll have to think about how that interacts with my work.

Improving

Y'know something? I don't like my skill level as an artist, and I'd like to see some noticeable improvement in the next several months. I'm referring to my technical skill just as much as I am the refinement of my style. 

I'll spent the next few months studying other artists and experimenting, but plan to brush up on my fundamentals too.

Current Developments

My watercolour-like style has proven popular, so I don't think that I will be abandoning it. I'd like to refine and make it more visually impressive, however. So that it can be stronger and better suited to being considered "finished".

I've made some minor adjustments with my recent work, though it's a bit subtle.

Rather than using white for the background, I've used something more closely resembling toned paper. Although still a bright value, it's not bright enough to create stark contrast between itself and the paint. It serves the purpose of a mid-tone, or a medium value that allows for both dark & light colours on top. Because my paint is transparent, the paper will show through the colours, thus unifying the colours more than a white background would.

Notice how, in the image above, the bright triangle above her eye appears less extreme in the toned paper variant? All of the paint is transparent, but it's easier to notice where there's absolutely no paint. Also notice how the bounce light on the right stands out more because it's brighter than the paper itself?

I'm also trying to apply additional layers of glazing, or thin layers of semi-transparent paint, so that there is less contrast in the subject, itself. This prevents the tone of the paper from contrasting too strongly against the shadows. In previous works, the lightest parts of the skin would be the white of the paper, and this approach helps to dilute that. 

This work is a few steps away from feeling truly natural, and I'm considering incorporating a greater variety of texture and brush trips. Perhaps even the grain of paper. We'll see.

More Plans?

In terms of direction, I'm thinking about producing some sort of product by the end of the year. I don't know what I will do, or if anything will come from these ideas, but they are things that I am thinking about right now.

Sketchie Book Brellom #4

If you haven't seen my previous sketchbooks, then you might not know what this is. It's pretty much just a collection of 100+ pages containing sketches, various works, and commentary. It's sort of a mini version of what eventually became my earliest Patreon experience.

You can purchase them via my Gumroad & Sellfy. However, if you're a $7 Patron or higher, then you can access them via the Dropbox Archive.  

If I went this route, I'd expect a December release window. I'd need ample time to generate enough material before I can even begin organizing & designing the product.

Elayne Beaumont Project?

Elayne isn't among my most popular characters, but she is a noteworthy one. I should be nurturing the idea to generate further interest. I'm not entirely sure what I would do, however, since the idea only just came to me.

I think it might be cool to have something released for October 31st. Don't you think? That is less than 3 months from now though… So that might be cutting it close.

Anyway, that's enough for this update. I'll think about these things some more. Thank you for your support! 

Don't forget to eat & sleep.