Everything I draw ends up wearing a bow-tie

thatsuspiciouswhalenut asked: That video makes me urgently want to reread the entirety of tpoh again but I can't because I have to study (TM) Pls help

easy! study- then use it as a reward. read a chapter for every chunk of revision you’ve got done! also remember to drink enough and don’t study for too long at a time- I found that half hour slots was best because I didn’t get so fried that I started to forget what I was supposed to be remembering

retro-tan asked: Hello, sorry to bother you with something so personal but your ambidextrous am I right? Were you born that way or did it take exercise? If the former, do you have any training you'd suggest to up the dexterity in my non-dominate hand? (I was recently diagnosed with a RSI but I 'm determined to keep drawing! ( ’̀-‘́)ง)

I learned to do it fairly recently! I used to noodle draw with my left hand just for fun and because it made for an interesting exercise, but when I came down with very bad tendonitis and was diagnosed with EDS it just made sense to dedicate the time towards being able to share the workload between both hands. Start small- draw simple shapes, like circles, squares and triangles, the alphabet and numbers- you’ll be surprised how difficult that is! Also draw two dots randomly and try to draw a straight line between them, that’s a good one for hand-eye co-ordination. 

Do these sorts of things for ten minutes, then stop. Don’t go for longer or you’ll tire out your hand and your brain, also when you draw with your non-dominant hand your OTHER hand is like ‘hey! I wanna do that! I can do it better!’ and goes all tense so you have to watch out for that and tell it to shut up.

Do this a couple of times a day- only a few at first, then more, and when you feel that you’ve got a grip on that try drawing more complex things, like characters you are used to drawing or observational drawings of objects. Also try to brush your teeth with your other hand! Those small precise movements you need to do that are great practice :Tb

Anonymous asked: Hey there, I’m an artist who has completely lost their motivation. Do you have days like that and what do you do to find your motivation again?

YES I DO and sometimes it takes a day off- take some time to do something totally different to reset your brain, read some books, watch some movies, play some games- but sometimes the best solution is simply to work through it; pick up a pencil, and draw. it doesn’t matter what! it can be studies of things that you feel you’re weak at drawing, it can be simple geometric shapes, but just DO some drawings and then half the fight is over. Starting your work process is actually the hardest part, once you’ve climbed over that wall you can start boxing yourself into doing more and more ‘constructive’ work. Motivation is fickle, too, you can’t just sit around and wait for inspiration or expect it be there continuously- some days it pounces on you at 3am and won’t let go, but some days you have to hunt it down and beat it over the head with a stick before it’ll have anything to do with you! just keep your chin up, ask for help and support when you feel you need it, and goddamn remember to drink that tea before it goes cold.

Anonymous asked: Uncle mod help I have to face my first Lynel in botw and I'm so scared I might never pick up the game again what should I do?

you can do it friendo I believe in you- don’t worry the first try is always the worst but you’ll get into it- just like the guardians, you’ll find there’s a certain rhythm to fighting them and eventually it’ll be a fun challenge rather than oh god oh god oh god (also if you need an Absolute Cheat turns out you can use the ancient arrows on them for a one-hit kill!) I don’t want to spoil the learning experience for you but imma say right now that dodging at the right time is a life saver :Tb

Anonymous asked: hey uncle mod i have a dilemma i need to share that i need help with. i have a character ive spent a lot if time on (years, mentally), but ive noticed theres many ocs who look similar to him. one of them ive seen even has a similar job, although their personalities are different. i havent taken much (if any) influence from any of them; however i dont want to be accused of copying. changing his design would be hard tho bc its pretty established. should i change his appearance or keep it the same?

stay true to the character and your story- whether its design or personality, the best thing you can do in these cases is just listen to the character and be honest about them and their creation when people ask- I had a lot of ‘have you read Saga?’ and ‘oh! nice FLCL ref’ when I first made RGB, neither of which were influences on him or the story! (I still haven’t read Saga…) heck, I didn’t even know object heads were a whole thing until I started TPoH! people are always going to draw comparisons and make assumptions, especially when you’re starting out, but when you’re going strong and you have established who the characters are, what your direction is, what their individual voice is etc. you will worry about it less, and people will compare less! you will still get it, but it will be more of an ‘oh, I wonder if that influenced their character/story…’ and the attitude will usually be that these influences are additive, not derivative. 

It’s a frustrating thing, that last point; people are quick to assume that characters/stories which are similar to existing ones are in some way ‘extractions’ of them, and therefore are less than the originals. In fact very often these characters have multiple, very personal influences from many sources including the life of the individual who created them, and therefore are an amalgamate which can easily add up to something or someone who is as equal a ‘person’ as the single entity they are being held up to.

Anonymous asked: Hey modmad, I recently tried manic panic and it's all but washed out in a week! Gone from dark (like sonic but darker) blue to lavender! Do you have any tips for me? I'm still v new to dye

Woah! That’s surprising, I haven’t used all the dyes in their range tbh but that sounds like either a) your hair hasn’t taken the dye well, which can be helped either by bleaching the hair first and/or leaving the dye on for longer when you colour, or b) you might want to go easy when you’re washing it- I only shampoo once then condition, rather than the old lather-rinse-repeat pattern, but then I have short hair so I can get away with it. Some dyes do just wash out quicker than others, and some folks put some of the dye into their conditioner so they top it up with every shower to counter that, but those are the best tips I can give you! Also like, idk maybe try another colour if it keeps happening ‘cause that’s a bummer my pal.

candlelightart asked: Hello! I'm going to ask you a question, There is a job opportunity in my city to be a storyboard artist. I'm trained as an animator and i love story boarding. Do you have any tips on how to apply or present my work?

Be honest about your abilities and your passion for the subject, include work that shows you are able to communicate a story clearly and creatively, and don’t be afraid to ask them questions about their project and aims! Show a true interest in the work and their history (research what they’ve done before- it’ll really make a difference in conversation and shows you give a damn), and yeah just be chill and keep in mind that even if you don’t get the job if you make a strong, positive impression they’ll remember you and be more likely to consider you in the future. Sometimes people don’t get the job but the applicant that does has to drop out for some reason, so there’s always a chance you’ll get a call from them again if you rock it. Best of luck!