In this edition, I answer questions regarding (amongst other comments):

  • where I get my ideas from
  • Raven’s tattoos
  • getting used to a tablet
  • my taste in music
  • drawing hair
  • learning anatomy
  • what I use in SAI
  • how long I take on a piece
  • my painting style



Do you ever feel like drawing but don’t know what do draw? / Where do you get your ideas from? By the way, I saw your stuff on http://theperksofbeingawallpaper.tumblr.com/ :D

Of course!  There are times when I have the urge to doodle but I’m not quite sure what it is I want to doodle, and I’ll probably sketch a bit without any point (dissatisfying).  But luckily, I suppose, my problem is that I have too many ideas/projects floating around in my head and I always have trouble choosing which one to lay down first.  I don’t really know where my ideas come from.. they pop up from all sorts of places.  And then they sit there for years and years until I let them out.  I have ideas I’ve wanted to draw ever since I was a kid!

(I love that wallpaper blog! :D)



hello there! im nicolas cuevas, my nick is asertijo, and im from, chile… XD i see one of yours in ffffound, then folow to your deviantart and then to your blog… your blog is amazing, and i found many pic wath inspirating me.. (like http://hismasterpiece.tumblr.com/) maybe we could talk more and exchange views of artwork …. anyway my deviantart is: http://asertijo.deviantart.com/ if you can take the tour and give me your opinion … so, you art is awesome… you have a lot of tallented and i wish the best! go ahead! (sorry my english XD) byee!

Hello Nicolas. :)  Thanks for the comment - I’m glad you found some inspiration on my blog.  I think it’s really cool that your gallery has such a diverse collection of artwork; it shows your versatility.  Keep at it!



Hiya, enjoy checking in on your blog and LOVE your art. Especially Raven. I have been planning to get a tattoo forever and cant decide on a design (I draw my own) I just wanted to know what was the inspiration behind Ravens tattoos and if they have any meaning. I love the designs, but dont worry I am not going to copy them.

Thank you!  Raven’s tattoos do carry a lot of meaning… :)  I can’t really say where the inspiration came from, since it’s been a while since I drew her tattoos.  I should redesign them.  I suppose I wanted a mixture between tribal and delicate/lace designs.



How did you figure out how to use your pen tablet? I’ve had mine for a couple months and it just feels foreign to me.

Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it soon! :)  It’s different for everybody.  I got used to my tablet after a few days, I think; I just kept sketching.  It was odd having to look at the screen, and having such a smooth surface to work on.  My friend still hadn’t gotten used to it after several months and out of frustration, decided to use a mouse for the rest of the year.  When he picked up his tablet again, he found it strangely easy to use.  So perhaps you should take a little break from it and see how you go?



hello! i like you. a lot. your art is really inspiring! i always find myself wanting to draw or paint after looking at your work. and i’ve always wondered, what kind of music do you listen to? (and don’t say everything! that’s waaayyy too broad! (:) adios amigas.

Hello!  Thank you. :)  I listen to ALL SORTS of music.  I really couldn’t pinpoint anything specific, though, so you can check out my Last.FM account — it’ll give you an indication of my current obsessions, as well as my longstanding favourites.  My taste in music is pretty damn diverse, though.  Depending on my mood, I might like to tap into some ambient music or perhaps indie, and others I’ll feel like singing along loudly to mindless pop songs, lol.



Hey Raven its Ghostie!! I been working on my art really hard like you told me to lmao Do you have any tips on drawing hair??

Heyy!  Sorry it took me so long to reply to this. :S Why didn’t you just ask me on twitter/DA or something? Lol.  Tips.. tips.  Well, always keep gravity and flow in mind.  Give it some life!  Let the hair bring out your character’s personality.  And.. I’m not sure.  Any specific questions?



Hey! I just want to say you are a HUGE inspiration to me. Every time I see one of your paintings, it really makes me want to practice and improve. You make me WANT to draw :) And your walkthrough and process animations really help me with my (non-existent) Photoshop skillz. So thank you for being you. P.S you’re awesome Hugs from an aspiring artist in South Africa! xoxo

Thank you so, so much!! :)  Hugs from an aspriing artist in Melbourne, haha.



I was thinking what to type in here but I don’t have any idea of what to write coz I just know you’re plain amazing, why is that? why do you cause that?

I.. uh.. you’re making me blush!



I’m here for one reason and one reason only - to let you know that you’re awesome. Never change.

Thank you… :) I won’t.



How did you learn the human anatomy? Whats one of the best ways to start on learning? And lastly, do you prefer life drawing over photo references? :3

Haha, I’m still learning human anatomy — I’ve a way to go.  But what I know so far is just stuff I’ve gleaned from observation, I suppose.  I find that using yourself as a reference is a great way to start learning anatomy.  Instead of just drawing an arm or a face, try to think: Where are the muscles?  Where are the bones? Does it look the same when you move it like this?  How would it look under this light?  And so on.  But of course, having a read through an anatomy book is also extremely informative and invaluable.  Finally, I definitely prefer life drawing over photo references — you learn a lot more that way.  That’s why I always try to use myself as a model if I’m having difficulty with a certain expression/angle/pose.



I have a couple of questions, so thanks if you get the time to answer them ^^; First, I think you use SAI, which tool do you use and with what values? Since I use the brush a lot but it gets a lot of bleeding from everywhere, and it seems like you avoid that somehow =0 Second, how long does it take you to complete a piece on average? For example, that kiriban picture of the polkadot dress girl, how long did that take? And how long did the picture of the girl with blonde and pink hair (the one you’ve got on dA) take? Lastly, how do you get such smooth and defined lines? For example, the skin you draw doesn’t have a blur line between the background or clothing and it, and your lines/colouring always seem to be contained and not smudged into everything else Again, thanks for taking the time to read and hopefully answer this ^^;

Whoo!  That’s certainly a lot of text, haha.  Okay:

1. Yes, I use SAI.  I use the default brush with its default values (min size 80%, density 82, blending 53, dilution 0, persistence 61).  Sometimes I accidentally reset the settings, or I might knock something.  But since I’m a loser, rather than adjust it back to normal, I just adapt to the new settings.  Lol. :S I honestly don’t pay attention to the settings.  I probably should.

2. I typically take between… 8-10 hours for a piece.  Maybe 8-12?  The polkdadot dress girl was probably 8 hours, but the blonde/pink haired girl was much quicker.  Probably a few hours.  That was a sketch that I quickly coloured in on computer.

3. Hmm.. not really sure how to answer this one. I suppose I just use rather confident and firm strokes when I need to, and feathery soft ones at other times?  I also like to go over the ‘edges’ of things (faces, hair, clothing, etc) to define them if I find they’re blending in too much.


Comments | 8 notes | Posted at 1:33AM


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