beccatherose

Artist Interview with Dream Foundry

I was interviewed by Dream Foundry back in December about how I got started as a concept artist, what my day-to-day work looks like, and how to pickle some tasty, tasty beets.

Burnout Sucks: Early Signs and Solutions

Burnout is the woooorst.

Every artist I know has experienced burnout. It can sneak up on you regardless of how long you've been creating art, regardless of if you have a deadline or not, regardless of who you are and where you work. Burnout sucks.

Nothing is more disheartening than si...

Patreon pay-what-you-want/Medium/Tumblr/Artstation blog?

Hello once again, dear friends. (This is a free post, no one is charged for this.)

I've been having a LOT of discussions on Twitter with folks that enjoy my advice threads and enjoyed my Patreon content, but are frustrated with how scattered my advice is.

The way that I was previously...

If cards are charged, break will be in Dec instead of Nov!

Hello!

I got a notification that, despite putting the Patreon on pause for one month, cards are potentially being charged. I might have hit the pause button too late in the month, so I apologize for the confusion. 

If cards are charged, rather than trying to manage that on a person-to-p...

Taking a break for a month.

Edit: I do have a Kofi now if you'd like to leave tips for my Twitter rants!  

Hey everyone,

First of all- thank you to everyone that has been so incredibly supportive over the last few months. This Patreon has gott...

October AMA: Answers!

 Thank you to all of the $5+ Patrons that submitted questions! Please take all of this advice with a grain of salt as always.

If you'd like to submit questions next month, pledge just $5 a month (that's less than 2 Starbucks coffees!!) and you'll also get early access to digital art minitutor...

Blog: Choosing Colors

Colors are a HUGE topic when dipping your toes into painting and they can be really intimidating for new artists. I want to break down some basic color theory/psychology and explain my general approach to laying down the color foundation for a good design.

I want to preface this real quick ...

Personal Art Update: 05

WHEW. It has been a VERY busy past couple of weeks but I'm getting some me-art done while I can, including the shiny fancy new social media icon at the top of this. If I am able to finish the two illustrations below, you can expect to see at least one of them as process posts!

2018-09-19 23:17:55 +0000 UTC View Post

Freelance 101: Finding work

Consistently finding work is one of the toughest parts of starting to freelance. Even after a few years of experience, it can take time to find jobs that are a good match for your services. It requires a LOT of patience and perseverance until you have a strong client list. Here are some of the le...

September AMA: Answers!

 Thank you to all of the $5+ Patrons that submitted questions! Please take all of this advice with a grain of salt as always.

If you'd like to submit questions next month, pledge just $5 a month (that's less than 2 Starbucks coffees!!) and you'll also get early access to digital art mi...

Minitutorial: Drawing braids

Braids vary in size, weight, and silhouette, but this is a basic way to draw them when you're struggling to sketch them evenly! 

Freelance 101: Setting rates

I've been getting a lot of questions on Twitter about making freelance sustainable, so I'll be addressing the basics of freelancing in a few upcoming posts. I'm still relatively new to this but hopefully I can provide some insight! Blog posts (similar to the master studies post) will be treated l...

Personal Art Update: 04

Some of the fun stuff that I've been working on lately~

Brawn and Pyrah are the blacksmith and bowyer of the city Emerald Keep, and Brawn is one of our buddies in the upcoming heist session that we...

Blog: Master Studies

(Edit: Reposted because I messed up the early access)

So I admit... this isn't a tutorial as much of a blog post, but whatever. Let's talk master studies.

I recommend doing studies to every representational artist of any skill level. (Representational art = represents real ob...

General updates!

Hello!

So a few quick updates re: life/Patreon/etc. Work has been kicking in for me over the last few weeks, which is why content has slowed down quite a bit. I want to keep Patreon open and active, but I just wanted to put a head's up out there that frequency of posts will continue to be lower as...

Painting Translucent liquids

So! One of the tutorials requested in the last $10+ Patron request post was how to paint translucent liquids, such as for potions. I think the best approach on this is moreso "teach a man to fish" rather than to just say "here is the exact and only way to do it." 

All original referenc...

August AMA: Answers

Thank you to all of the $5+ Patrons that submitted questions! Please take all of this advice with a grain of salt as always.

If you'd like to submit questions next month, pledge just $5 a month (that's less than 2 Starbucks coffees!!) and you'll also get early access to digital art minitutorials!<...

Minitutorial: Un-boring-ifying Materials!

(GIF below) Sometimes you're painting a texture or surface and...it feels really boring and flat! OH NO. BUT WAIT! There are VERY easy ways to make a material feel alive and vivid, such as these 3 simple tools! Adding a secondary material, developing hue/saturation variation, and painting in surface...

Minitutorial: Painting Wood 101

Thank you to the $10+ Patrons that suggested focusing minitutorials on materials! I'm also doing one about taking that basic wood board and making it more interesting :) Coming soon!

Timelapse: Rendering Flora Design

I did some rough rendering on the tree design in this video, AKA Becca Tries To Figure Out How To Draw Leaves Five Times. Thanks for watching.

Minitutorial: Highlights/Values for Materials

So you're painting up an armor set for your elven paladin and getting frustrated. All the textures look off- your wood looks like plastic, your metals are hard to read and full of too much detail, what's the deal? 

Often, the issue with confusing/overrendered materials comes down to value. Ha...

Minitutorial: Swoopy Lines!

A simple demonstration of using asymmetrical lines in order to have more interesting shapes within designs! The more exaggerated the lines, the more movement and weight will be conveyed :) The little details go a long, long way!

July AMA: Answers

 Thank you to all of the $5+ Patrons that submitted questions! Please take all of this advice with a grain of salt as always.

 If you'd like to submit questions next month, pledge just $5 a month (that's less than 2 Starbucks coffees!!) and you'll also get early access to digital art min...

Personal Art Update: 03

I've been doing so much sketching lately!! The portrait I've started above and the sketch below are of our campaign's halfling rogue, Maela. It's still very early in the works, but I've had a lot of fun lately with characters and vibrant colors.

2018-06-30 21:22:21 +0000 UTC View Post

Timelapse: Berry Tree Lineart

I wanted to take a break from some of the projects that I was working on, so I did some flora studies that turned into a berry tree design! I'm hoping to paint it out further at some point, but for now, enjoy this quick timelapse video of the full lineart :D

Personal Art Update: 02

Herbalist NPC from our 5e campaign. Reggie and his winged serpent are the local source for medicinal herbs and various strains of smokeroot amongst the districtgoers and visitors of emerald keep. Laid ba...

Minitutorial: Drawing Contour Lines

Contour lines are drawn around the form of an object to clarify its volumetric shape. This is helpful to sketch in before painting when you're not sure about how something should be rendered, and it's a great exercise to practice working spacially while drawing! They're also helpful to use when a...

Process + PSD: Nott the Brave

Critical Role has done some amazing things for the DnD community. I'll admit I'm not the most religious listener, but I cannot overstate how much the fanart and characters and fellowship warm my heart. :3 As soon as I listened to the first episode of the new campaign, I *knew* that I had to draw Not...

Minitutorial: Painting Cuts/Slashes

Some simple steps to paint more believable cuts/slashes! It all comes down to clarifying the top and bottom planes of the slash, then adding some highlights and AO. 

Timelapse: Faun Portrait

I've been doing a lot of painting in grayscale! If you're struggling with conveying form, I really recommend trying it out. Stay really far zoomed out and always use the biggest brush that you can. It helps you work on the piece more cohesively than going in and painting every little detail. :D E...