A lot of illustrators suffer from the “grass is always greener” syndrome. We spend more time appreciating the work of others, and less time appreciating our own work. This is a common issue among most creatives. Why even bother writing a story or painting a picture when I can think of dozens of people who would do it better? My answer to that is simple, and something I only recently (and finally) accepted with my own work: just like our handwriting, no one can create exactly like we can. Our inherent individuality—coupled with years of training and growth—is what buoys our creative lives.
A lot of illustrators suffer from the “grass is always greener” syndrome. We spend more time appreciating the work of others, and less time appreciating our own work. This is a common issue among most creatives. Why even bother writing a story or painting a picture when I can think of dozens of people who would do it better? My answer to that is simple, and something I only recently (and finally) accepted with my own work: just like our handwriting, no one can create exactly like we can. Our inherent individuality—coupled with years of training and growth—is what buoys our creative lives.
OK HANDS ARE ALSO THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE. I only recently sorta learned how to draw them (still not great and I still make a ton of mistakes) but there are a few things I’ve learned over the years.
TIP 1: I stare at my own hand a lot to get a sense of how it moves, how it looks, etc. I suggest you do this. Contort your hand, move your fingers, pay attention to the contours and silhouettes your hand makes. One of the important things I learned is that if you don’t have a sense of how a hand should look, it’ll be hard for you. People make it easy with the tutorials they make like oh “draw a square palm, then do the skeletal fingers, then fill it in and voila!” Nope, that’s not enough, because I’ve followed those exact tutorials and was like um…this still looks nothing like a hand what the hell??? Soooo definitely, get a sense of how a hand works and moves first!
TIP 2: Fingers have VOLUME. This was a HUGE breakthrough for me when I discovered this. Yeah, I know it sounds obvious but it’s a surprisingly often overlooked fact. They’re not pointy sticks, they are fleshy tubes? Well anyway, I use the FINGERNAILS to represent volume. When I draw a finger, I first draw the top ridge (indicating three segments), the fingernail, THEN the rest of the finger. Idk, it’s a weird thing I came up with.
TIP 3: Know the relative relationship the fingers have with each other and how they move together. This is similar to TIP 1, but I felt it needed to be on it’s own as well. Not knowing how a finger curls, how it moves in relation to the others, will make for awkward hands (unless that’s the aesthetic you’re looking for)
My biggest struggle is making the size of the hand proportional haha (I always make fun of yaoi hands but it’s a genuine struggle??? Like I understand where the artists are coming from, it is so difficult NOT to make the hands too big or too small.) Thank god for the transform tool lmaoooo
Quickest way to improvement? Practice. It’s a simple bit of advice that rings with absolute truth. Articles, tips, mentors, and study will never get you as far as rolling up your sleeves and getting down to work, be it animation or any other skill. Today we’ve compiled a list of exercises, like animation push-ups, that will get your art skills buff and toned.
Maybe you still need convinced of how important the “Art of Doing” is? Look no further than the early days of animation, especially at the Disney studio. Here were a group of animators (before being an animator was even a thing) who HAD no books to read, or websites to visit, or even experienced animators to ask. They learned via the age old art of hands-on training, experimenting and discovering as they went. And some would argue they created some of the greatest animation to ever be seen. Masterpieces like the dwarfs dancing in Snow White or the terror of the Monstro scene in Pinocchio. So be like them! Get out there and do animation!
Some of these exercises you may have done or seen before; some maybe not. Consider doing each of them, even if you did once previously, because returning to an old exercise to see how much you’ve progressed is a very valuable experience.
Level 1 Exercises
(Do not discount their simplicity! Here you have the principals of animation, which all other animation is built on. They are worth your time and effort.)
Sleeping character startled by alarm then returning to sleepy state
Opening a cupboard and removing something inside
Putting on a pair of pants
Opening the “world’s best gift” and reacting
Any of the above exercises using a very heavy character/object next to a very light character/object. Enhance the differences the weight change makes!
Things to keep in mind:
Reading these exercises will do as much for you as reading about push-ups would do for your physical muscles: NOTHING. If you want the benefit, you must animate them. Take a deep breath and just do it.
Do not forget the famous words of Ollie Johnston: “You’re not supposed to animate drawings [3D models]. You’re supposed to animate feelings.” If a character isn’t thinking, they aren’t alive, and the animation has failed.
Keep it simple! There is no reason to over complicate any of these exercises. Going back to push-ups, would push-ups be harder if while doing them you also recited the Gettysburg Address? Yes. Would they be any more beneficial? No. Keep things nice and simple and clear.
Do your best. There is no reason to do these exercises poorly. Give it your all. You don’t have to show anyone, these are for you. You owe it to yourself to try your very best. Something not quite right? Take the time to fix it.
As always, have fun. Push ups are not fun. Animation is supposed to be. Be joyful in your work!
Have any questions about the exercises above? Leave a comment below and we’ll answer them the best we can! Someone else may be wondering the exact same thing, so you’ll help them too. Likewise if someone is looking for possible exercises, why not share a link to these and give them a hand?
the thing that makes me really appreciate the whole “i love you” / “i know” exchange in the empire strikes back is that, this whole time, han has been urging leia for some sign of affection, of validation, in terms of his feelings for her. han has made it clear that he likes her, but leia has been hiding or denying her affection towards him almost entirely. i think the reason han is so forward about it is that he hopes this will get her to admit it, not because he’s vain but because he needs his own feelings to be validated. after they kiss, he’s very outwardly affectionate, taking and holding her hand often, kissing her on the forehead, as if he’s purposely being somewhat obvious to make sure she notices, to test the waters, to see if she wants him to be as affectionate as he does. but even through all of his demonstrative behavior, leia is still pretty distant.
so in this crucial moment, she realizes that she’s never fully admitted how she feels, and that he needs to know. it’s not so much a “this could be my last chance to say it” moment, but a “this could be your last chance to hear it” moment. it’s true and she knows it, but she says it for him. she says it because she sees that he has to finally hear it. so his “i know” response isn’t cocky, it’s reassuring. it’s telling her not to be worried, because even though she’s never told him, han has always known.
Adopting children should not be seen as a last resort. There are amazing children in our foster care system just waiting to be adopted! I am very proud of my parents for adopting 3 biological siblings from foster care into our family, and wouldn’t have it any other way
I’m crying
Age: 6??? Haru came back from a vacation or something and they haven’t seen each other for long (*coughs*oneday*coughs) so makoto is so happy he kisses haru’s nose
Age:10?????? idk i can’t draw children. They spend a day at the beach and Makoto doesn’t want to swim or even go in the water, haru notices him and comes sit by his side
age: 17ish Haru got very sick after swimming in the pool in early spring, also, allergies, so makoto tucked him in his bed and took care of him heheh
Age: 20ish??? THEY’RE MARRIEd AND THEY ADOPTED SWEETHEART. idk what they do for a living but haru got home earlier than mako
As always, I’m very sorry about the delay (2015 must be the year I deliver birthday presents very late) but I hope you will still enjoy this married MakoHaru comic through their live because I know you appreciate domestic/married MH as much as I do (*ﾉωﾉ)
I’d have loved to draw the whole poem but, too long, not for me ;_;
Also, one of my secrets is that I have 2 drafts on this account that are nothing but photos of me through the years. Sometimes I look at them and squint.
Another secret is that there is definitely a very easy-to-find photo of me online, so I am not completely hidden.
I may take photos of new haircut after color. The stylist has suggested we do chocolate brown with caramel highlights and I am totally on board, especially since her hair is exactly the base color I want.
