ART SHORTCUTS THAT MAKE YOUR ART WORSE

[@storytelling_ghoul319]

Funny story about the ‘hands behind the back’ my mom got me to stop doing that bc as she said ‘no one actually stands that way’ only for me to realize, years later that my autistic stance IS LITERALLY DOING THE HANDS BEHIND THE BACK like I will catch myself at work standing with my arms like that and part of me just internally dies 😭😭

[@BewilderedCitrus]

I hate to say it since I do it too, but... It is lowkey NPC behavior 😭😭💀

[@Rachel-fi4sc]

Unless they're military types? Parade rest is hands-behind-back, isn't it?

[@IrregularityRowan]

I usually do that if I have a backpack on

[@featherybastard]

ME TOO!!! My boyfriend says that I look like I'm constantly in parade rest 😭

[@remus_the_trash_man]

​@@Rachel-fi4sc or old wise/professional men. They do that a lot, at least in comics

[@DAN1Nflowers]

NEW SPRITES?!

[@The.Real.Strudl]

WOO

[@TheobaldLeonhart]

Not really, she used them in a couple of videos

[@candymixon7011]

Woahwee

[@ZomboNation]

Bro I just noticed 😭😭

[@IrregularityRowan]

I really like the little horns :]

[@sigamigs]

Omg the way lav's selfsona looked in the beginning was so cute 🥺

[@Blackflower-siggy]

Rreal!1!1!1!1!1!!11

[@alexkunce2006]

Agreed!

[@moon908]

Fr!

[@enitenit2791]

The nefarious 3/4 bust pose really hit me because I was like "well it's a good thing I don't do that, I try to make sure characters are shown to their waist at the very least!" only to realize that instead of the nefarious 3/4 bust pose... for me it was the nefarious 3/4 torso pose... whoops.

[@Deoxy81]

Lol. This is real except in reverse 😭 I always have the face at 3/4 and the body doing shit

[@Spoonburglar]

When you’re designing and figuring out the idea of a character I think it’s fine to default to something you’re very comfortable with, it lets you focus on the concept instead of the technical skill that makes you want to bash your head into a wall. Art is allowed to be fun!

[@LadyDeathorLynn]

For me it is nefarious 3/4 everything. But ever since I tried this new style where I'm forced to do new positions it makes me wants to try out new ones XD

[@sunsetspectre]

I do that, but for ref sheet purposes

[@elizabethgatchell4546]

I was like “HA I don’t do that cuz I don’t know HOW!!!” Then I realized… I don’t know how.

[@Yoimiya_Lover29]

I winced when she brought up the 3/4 bust pose, because I know damn well I'm an awful one for it lmao 😭

[@kazrielkazoo]

She mentioned that and I immediately opened my drawing app and, lo and behold, I was in the middle of working on a 3/4 bust pose 😔

[@YamiyugiXenith]

I love your pfp!

[@Yoimiya_Lover29]

@@YamiyugiXenith omgg ty pookie

[@Lex-ps8qm]

Stop me too 😭

[@lav-kitty]

im breaking out of it I'm breaking out if it I swear

[@arkydaarcticfox9497]

I can't believe you forgot the conveniently placed eye patch/ hair going over one eye

[@LavenderTowne]

OMG noooo I literally had that one in my notes what the flip I'm going to have to make a part two ;;

[@CARACALLERXIII]

@@LavenderTowneoh nooooooo don't make another art help video that would be soooooo bad (≧◡≦)

[@reafinley]

​@@CARACALLERXIII what but I love her art help videos!

[@littlesecret8213]

@@reafinleyi think it was sarcasm 😊

[@ChaosEnthusiast]

i was thinking that too

[@adlox2t]

6:00 "think Italian mode" I don't know how I didn't think about that earlier, especially because I'm italian and gesticulate a lot 😭

[@blazekitsune]

Same here dude!

[@martyend]

Same here:'3

[@trustingGuard]

I'm american, but i *definitely* use my hands quite a lot to talk with and gesture quite a lot! It's very cool to see others do it and know a little better what someone's feeling besides facial and tonal expression!

[@astrovero275]

Same here!

[@MangoMagica]

Oh same here. I’ve also been doing animatics for Bugsnax using the game audio and using different hand poses for the characters for them to emote really goes a long way to tell the viewer how they feel

[@Beemy0s]

1:40 or for the socks you can make the skin sort of spill over if it's a bit tight or if you/ your character has thicker thighs/legs and thigh highs! I like how it looks when I do it like that personally but that's just my opinion and idea :3

[@LavenderTowne]

oh yes! I love doing this with thigh highs in particular, it looks so cute imo to have the slightly squeezed look~

[@JordanS-ww4eu]

@@LavenderTowneyou’re my best friend I really like you ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@JordanS-ww4eu]

@@LavenderTowneyou’re very awesome and cool

[@bellac6311]

THIGH SQUISH

[@Demonsta]

It's funny to see this because just the other day I was talking to my friends about how overused and low key fetishized this particular hack is, especially in anime style art. 😅 Since the video is talking about "clothes are actually like this in real life", I know a lot of fashionable ladies with squishy thighs and none actually wears thigh highs that cut into your flesh like that, even if it gives the art a bit of volume the fact is realistically that its a sign that article of clothing is gonna be REALLY uncomfortable to wear casually for more than a couple hours. Especially if you really cut deep like most anime art does. Even jiggly thighs have enough resistance to hold up your socks, and if it was going to bulge it would definitely be the inner thigh that gives in, but usually this technique is used on the outer thigh (oddly enough with a thigh gap still present on the inner thigh usually) which is the firmer side even in thick thighs. I've got flabby thighs but my outer thigh is rock hard because that's where the muscle is, I would be in so much pain if thigh highs worked the way they are normally drawn in anime lol. No offense meant, in the end art is about making something that visually appeals to you and obviously a lot of people like that, just a reminder that any visual shortcut can become a crutch when you're thinking in terms of flat image and not who the character is or what they're doing in those clothes

[@silvie626]

*aggressively takes notes*

[@Malerie_puppet]

*steals notes and runs away*

[@Yoimiya_Lover29]

@@Malerie_puppet *chases after you and steals the notes from you too*

[@Dumanimations32]

@Yoimiya_Lover29 *steals your notes too*

[@Yoimiya_Lover29]

@@Dumanimations32 damn it

[@CalebRoberts-ce8fg]

Copies note

[@THENOEYEDGIRL_]

13:47 the fear in her voice reading the name 😭😭😭

[@nightfrost-n00t]

That's how I feel every time I think about that word or heaven forbid, have to say it :'D

[@moon908]

Lmao!

[@tempuraaccura]

It would be so funny if a member/patron's username was the n word and she had to read the username 😭

[@RadiantSharaShaymin]

​@@tempuraaccuraCouldn't there be some kind of legal exception, I think about that often and I dont know why it worries me for them

[@residentkane]

No, it really wouldn't 😭 ​@@tempuraaccura

[@professionalnerd213]

7:30 I love making the hands a lil funky. Making them extra sausagey makes the character rlly cute, and making them strangely skinny and long can make the character feel creepy

[@RadiantSharaShaymin]

I especially use pointed vs rounded fingertips. Pointed gives a more elegant or sinister look that I like to use to make someone's gestures stand out

[@Nox-Of-Crows]

on the topic of anime and body types, there was a how to draw anime book that talked about the fact that there are different body types but the character was barely changed. it was like a spot the difference.

[@stroodleloodle2909]

She actually covered a book that did that, it might even been the same one you're talking about.

[@embrixcandray6073]

Lmao, got that book for my birthday (15th 💀) because my aunt from Texas who hasn't seen me in years learned that I liked drawing...

[@C.O.C.O_Demon]

**LavenderTowne: easily draws a pleated skirt** My brain: "QUICK, WRITE THAT DOWN!!"

[@Insert_Creativity_Here]

I like how in the first drawing you even changed the hair clip to be more thin/clean looking but also that you showed it interacting with the hair and being a physical object rather than something that was previously just placed on top of the hair to _look_ like a hair clip. It’s more incorporated. Nice attention to detail.

[@milodoesntknow2090]

ohhhh the texture stuff helps so much... i always hear "add texture" but never actually how to do that without just overlaying a stock photo of a material - thanks!!

[@reafinley]

Same, it helped me too!

[@axnixX]

XD so true… so true

[@ewoklord-726]

I really like the advice on texture, but I feel like overdetailing could become a problem if you’re doing something like, say, animation, or even a comic. When you need to draw something that many times, you often want to simplify it as much as you can. But also, figuring out how to convey texture minimally can be a super fun challenge!

[@ConcavePgons]

One of the best ways to imply texture without adding too much detail is by manipulating the silhouette of the object.

[@freddie.spaghetti]

10:48 the first ones look like those posed photos we had to get taken for school. the second bunch look like polaroids or something that a group of friends have had the the MOST fun taking

[@suspentional]

I agree sooo much with body type and it irks me so much when people excuse it because of their art style.

[@bookaddict1838]

Yes!!! Especially Vivziepop, I feel like it really makes the art stale and boring when everyone looks the same :((

[@Amethiist143]

@@bookaddict1838 realll!! I adore seeing different body types (this is actually one reason I adore monster high G3!!) I’ve spend $90 on MH dolls 😭

[@LaraEvelyn163]

​@@bookaddict1838the thing is she can draw different body types (Mimzy for example) so it's weird that the main characters look so samey

[@ThatGalFromDominoes]

@LaraEvelyn163 I think it’s because Mimzy is the “annoying side character.” So Viv made her larger and “less attractive” than the skinny main girls.

[@KariMari1]

​@@ThatGalFromDominoes I don't think she was meant to come off as like, annoying, at least no exactly. But yeah I wish she'd make things more diverse as much as I kind of like her shows (kind of because I feel a bit guilty for it due to a lot of the fans acting rabid)

[@niconico-tan]

my first thought when you mentioned clothing texture was actually about how people lay patterns on clothing. i see a lot of flat pasting of patterns that don't account for how the fabric wraps around the body

[@RadiantSharaShaymin]

I feel like I see it kinda often and it drives me up the wall. Lines don't just line up over folds and such, *ah*

[@miraalrawi4979]

I ALWAYS see it in webtoons, like the character is turned and reaching for something with their hand yet the pattern is one straight block.

[@Spitestar]

GOD the same bodytype one hurts me to my core since I am the guiltiest at this one. It's just vaguely buff guys and mid-slim girls (or also vaguely buff girls) Another one I'm really bad at is adding in more visually diversity when depicting people of different ethnicities, I need to take time and really study how to more distinctly depict ethnicities so I'm not just slapping a dark skin tone on and calling it a day

[@Wallish-q3n]

Me too, and it hurts me:(

[@SkiNekoKitty]

Yeah I'm guilty of that as well. I only have one black oc (Piper) and one brown (Jace), and I only draw piper once in a blue moon.... And when I look back at her first ref sheet I drew I was like 😨

[@yellbeshhats]

Yeah that's a hard thing to learn. The best way to practice that for me was to reference black and white images and figure out how we can see ethnicity without even having color in the image

[@shrikerrrr]

as someone who draws a LOT of people of color now but didn’t for a while my advice is to study how artists of that group draw features btw

[@RadiantSharaShaymin]

I'm always paranoid about whether or not the way I draw different ethnicities would be offensive, because I know that art style can greatly impact whether or not it is. If they don't translate well or look too stylistically different from the other characters, they'll overall look wrong next to the rest, but if they're not different at all it's a problem in itself. I admit I'm intimidated away pretty often purely from that. (I'm a hobby artist though, if I can even call myself that, so people wouldn't even have to see anyway. Maybe I'm just worried about being annoyed with myself...)

[@kanjigodomo9696]

On that topic of body types, that's why when I started playing D&D, I drew what I would imagine my character to look like. I experimented with body types that could work on certain races and classes, drawing them accordingly, eg. a frail and timid looking wizard or highly bulky and aggressive barbarian. But if course, you can still break molds further by having personalities not match body types, like a muscular but introverted and delicate cleric, or a small yet confident and even cocky fighter.

[@jaseyrae338]

I love how much her art style has improved so much over the years! It was always good imo, but it looks even more lively and personal now❤

[@PiperPersenaire]

This is REALLY helpful for me and really is a “wake the fuck up” call. The texture thing especially and it actually sounded alot more fun.

[@yippeee-gk7kq]

UR NEW SONA SPRITES ARE ADORABLE LAV!!! Keep up the amazing advice! Also, I definitely agree with all of these, especially the last one! Since most art tutorials only teach skinny ppl (I’m talking abt girls btw, idk how to draw guys yet at all), that’s all I knew how to draw for the longest time. But drawing a variety of body types wasn’t as hard as it looked, and once I got a hang of it my art just looked so much better! Observing different body shapes and using different references really helps :) my character designs have never been more appealing!

[@LavenderTowne]

aw thank you!!! yeah it feels so intimidating at first but it's soooo fun after just a little practice! .w.

[@Elegantly_Bored]

I love wha Lav said on textures, but honestly in my opinion there can be such thing as TOO much texture as well. If you add too much detail to very simple/cartoonish drawings it may come off as a bit too busy. Depends on what you're drawing though.

[@ComputerChan23]

I used to hide hands not in the normal “hands behind back pose” method, but instead I either made the hands go off-screen so I didn’t have to bother drawing them at all, or gave my characters these really long (and very floppy) sleeves that covered their hands entirely… like no matter what they’re wearing, a hoodie? turtleneck? basic tshirt? I don’t care, you’re all getting the long floppy sleeves. huh? they’re not following gravity, you say? I DON’T CARE!! LONG FLOPPY SLEEVES!!!

[@yippeedoobledoo]

DUDE I did that so much with characters. I had one who exclusively wore long, floppy-sleeved sweaters and sweatshirts just so I didn’t have to give her hands (it was fun tho lol)

[@RadiantSharaShaymin]

To be fair long floppy sleeves are probably my favorite, it has such an innocent cute feeling

[@coltonjohnson9739]

Totally agree about the “better to draw a bad hand and a good pose than a bad pose to hide a hand” thing. Most people only look at the whole, and don’t even look at the details of the drawings we took hours to make. Better to convey interesting emotion & action than limit yourself out of fear for your hands looking derpy.

[@PoserOtaku]

Omg i LOVE drawing texture! Its one of the main reason i stick to black and white, makes it soo much more fun to focus on.

[@LoveClassicShows60sto90s]

I agree!

[@mazzycazzy17]

I can confirm the body types one. I used to be scared of drawing muscular characters, and now I get sad whenever I have to cover up the beautiful muscles I just drew with clothes.

[@lithhehe]

Why cover it up? Go ahead. Show the mass. *Don't be scared now.* /lh

[@Emmawow12]

Same but now I'm not scared to draw buff pale men characters.

[@clarinetbubbleface8655]

Okay, I understand because art is a delicate subject and shouldn’t be rushed.

[@hellaradusername]

On my laziest webcomics I'd just leave the characters' hands conveniently out of frame

[@Theweirdo_gal]

OMG THE SELFSONA OMG ALSO NEW LAVENDERTOWNE VIDEO YAL

[@Ja7nD03]

l LOVE THE NEW SPRITES!!!!!!!!!!!

[@yippeee-gk7kq]

SAME!!!

[@LemonadeDucky]

Yoooo this is sick! Your videos always put a smile on my face :) this is a good video idea too! Also cool new sprites :)

[@h4unt1ng_v4l3nt1ne]

art tip i learned: after you draw the body draw the hands BEFORE you draw arms. the make a line connecting right where the wrist would be to where your arm would start (the shoulder) then in the middle of that line make another line for where around your elbow will bend or the size of the arm

[@Rainears129]

I actually started learning how to make my own clothes partially so I can make mini models of any character's clothes to put on a doll and use as reference for the clothes. Mostly it was to make clothes in my own style that fit me, but the added bonus of having mini figures helps as motivation.

[@no1981]

The texture one is very helpful hear!! I never really realised this, but when trying to draw clothes, i only ever focused on shape and mass, never on texture!! Might be why i always struggled with it so much. Thank you for telling me!

[@Nova_doesart]

Lav I used the pose with the hands behind the back even tho I can draw hands and I agree because that made me struggle a bit more with making dynamic poses also thank you so much for all these great videos because you’ve helped me create my artstyle so much

[@Lex-ps8qm]

5:03 I love how she actually shades both sides, often when I watch these kinds of videos, to show contrast they often don’t shade one side to prove their point ❤

[@depressoespresso5904]

9:34 the character in the bottom left reminds me _so_ much of my own oc (curly hair, 2 buns, big round glasses, elf ears) that is adorable

[@kathyhenry9512]

I stopped hiding hands when i read the advice "You cant get better at something if you dont do it." Which made me realize that even if i hate it i need to at least try to do hands so that one day i can feel confident drawing them. And i somewhat do now, but we all have bad days with them haha

[@catwithamask]

Wow honestly never thought about giving the clothes more textures owo that you for that advice, gonna try it out next time ✨

[@olooliebelleo116]

The textures thing is so real. I always find myself skipping out on it then i feel like my art looks bad. Its something i need to work on so this is a good reminder :)

[@sodacin]

CHAT WAKE UP LAVENDERTOWNE POSTED

[@Wallish-q3n]

IMAWAKE

[@WolfieWorks]

I'M UP I'M UP

[@Alex_Lennyboo-n1v]

The hiding hands section is actually so true! With the emoting part and how expressive they can be! Its exactly why a lot of people put focus on their hands or talk with them because they can express emotions that faces can't! It's really cool! Next time someone is talking to you, focus on how their hands move and look when they talk, its a very good indicator to see how they're feeling!

[@yogurttot7072]

The having the hands point to where you want people to look is so smart. I fr never even thought of that 😭

[@froggycolouring]

Drawing hands for me is like gambling, it’s a chance I’ll be a professional level artist and draw perfect hands but more likely I create a monstrosity

[@torid.344]

The last one is something I’ve been working on for a bit now. Growing up I almost exclusively drew girls with an hourglass figure, but once I started really developing my cast of characters for the story I’m working on, i realized I needed to get better at drawing other kinds of figures and male characters. I think having a cast of characters that I already envision with varied body types is helping force me to focus on learning how to illustrate them. I’m focusing on skinnier flat chested girls, since the first girl we meet without an hourglass figure (Samantha) has that figure. A quick tip if like me you had no idea where to start, make a sim with that body type. It has helped me IMMENSELY in trying new ideas for characters and understanding how different body types look and work. Anyways great video as always, you’re one of my fave art KZbinrs!!!

[@EntameWitchLulu]

Love these! I especially love how kind you are about suggesting these ways to inprove ones practice by reminding us that its FUN to branch out and draw new things! It can often feel like these are chores or even homework assignments to slog towards improvement, but what it really is is just fun artistix experimentation. The more you try, the more you can draw even cooler and more fun things!

[@kcrose-j1k]

ahh so excited to hear my name at the end! i've been watching for years but just now joined patreon😭💓 amazing advice as always

[@random_dragon]

My characters all have the same body shape for lore reasons, and totally not because anatomy is hard! 😂

[@spruce1101]

You called me out way too hard with that 3/4 bust section.

[@attilaberdy9728]

I really like the way you draw and paint over it. I especially liked how you dropped little red spots and then smoothed it out, for the cheecks and the fingers, kinda makes me wanna try drawing again.

[@TheGhostiestGhost]

Honestly hands are so fun to draw once you figure out how to draw them

[@TheLloyd-b1q]

I love drawing hands! I'm not that great at it, and if an experienced artist like Lavender Town ever saw my drawings, they would probably find a lot of things wrong with them. But hands are definitely my favorite thing to draw!

[@0rb1t0clast]

LAVENDER TOWNE YOUR A BIG INSPIRATION. I LEARNED MANY MANY THINGS FROM YOU IDOLIZE YOU A LOT!!!!!!!!!

[@cypherinsilver]

OMG WATCHING YOUR ART GET BETTER AND BETTER IS ALWAYS SO THRILLING! Youre literally so goated now, you were always a goat but omg you're getting so so good! I love seeing your art improve, it inspires me because it reminds me my art will continue to imporve as well. I really loved this video and Ill remember to keep all these tips in mind so I can become goated too! :)

[@oliviahaws8890]

Everyone who sees this! Go to 4:50 and see the small unshaded patch and share my pain!

[@SparksArtandCosplay]

Ur mean! /hj

[@Error404notfound-nz1ot]

Love the new sprites, the horns are a nice touch 👌🏿

[@HalloweenCafe2024]

I think the first point makes a lot of sense for detailed styles/illustrations, but for simplistic styles or very shape-driven styels it might lead to over-detailing. Like adding volume to fabric overlapping can potentially muddle the silhouette/make shapes less clearly readable (especially of the style involves thicker line-art!) Just to point out, its not always bad to be "lazy" with such details! Still a great tip though if applied intentionally :)

[@pinkkiwicosplay]

9:22 also you’re never going to get better at drawing hands if you don’t start trying and practicing

[@danielomar9712]

I will start when it gets easier to practice drawing hands !!! 😊

[@Headchogg]

I don’t think I can describe how much I respect lavendertowne. Her art is so yummy and her advice has helped me soooo much

[@nuppanuppa2559]

Ah that 3/4 bust made me feel really called out lmao. Great video as always

[@gummipop]

6:20 I feel this so hard!!!! When I look back at my old art, I look more fondly at the art where I clearly tried to make an attempt rather than hiding stuff! Really changed the way I draw stuff now. Go all out.

[@MiaGonzalez-dy8ne]

5:03 I always love adding texture!-I love the texture and always add weight to clothes and more and shading,love it!.

[@princesszer0]

Something that helps me when im having problems with drawing hands is remembering that a lot of poses are only half poses, because hands can be holding things, turning, changing. Sometimes drawing fingers around a book cover, or putting woolen mitts onto the hands instead is reducing the complexity and making it less intimidating and easier to get to the other side of. A hand holding a strap or handle might not have much detail at all, depending on the angle, and for me at least, it really helps

[@ElsaCameron-wz7cg]

7:51 whenever I do a bust shot it’s always something interesting like a character napping on a desk or something with hands in the shot

[@kisses4lex]

not now babe new lavendertowne vid just dropped

[@ShmurplesArePurple]

This has been my favorite lavendertowne video in a while! It was super engaging and very helpful, especially with the illustrated examples ❤❤

[@savsgalleryID]

On the "hand behind back pose"- The moment I forced myself to NOT use it for a while, I actually got better at drawing hands! Expanding your pose variety helps so much. I try to only use the hands behind back pose when the character is meant to look mischievous or like they're hiding something. "A bad hand is better than no hands" is the best way to sum it up.

[@ScaramochiComeHome]

as a beginer i never drew the 3 quarters bust thingy cause my favourite part was the outfit, i hated and still dont really like drawing faces and struggled a lot with the hair, most of my old drawings wouldnt even have eyes

[@Nawt__r0me0]

10:58 that one rock that didn't get colored in implies that that rock is a chunk of her flesh

[@BeepisInc]

Yayyy!! New post and new sprites AHHH I'M GOING TO EXPLODE I LOVE YOUR ART AHHH!!! >X3

[@jell0goeswiggle]

The hesitation at 12:22... somehow I was expecting a surprise Xenomorph.

[@coffe_shop_o9273]

I love how detailed your art has become it’s so cute 🩵🩵🩵

[@GalxZ-]

*Listening to Lavendertowne while drawing character at 3/4 angle*: 7:55 "oh..."

[@EternalSuperiorStar48]

If i had seen this when I started art…..I sWEAR TO GAWD I WOULD HAVE HAD AN EASIER TIME

[@fandomtealio6524]

The new sprites are awesome! also with the 3/4 heads I can unfortunately say theres one on every page of my sketchbook. I mostly use them to get back into drawing on paper or if im feeling very art blocky. but im still very guilty

[@Kloggermeister]

For those who struggle with the bust pose problem, try drawing CALVES. They're really fun to draw, not even kidding

[@MalayaDraws]

I’m definitely guilty of the three-quarters one… it’s my default when it comes to drawing a character at this point. I’m really glad this was mentioned in the video, because I’m so used to it I didn’t even think of experimenting with a more interesting pose. 😅

[@alexthealligator4191]

These are literally all things i realised during my art journey and I've never seen anyone talk about it!! That's crazy, great video as always! 💙

[@Cheeserer]

This video made me so happy just because i thought i still was doing all the novice mistakes because i didnt start drawing that long ago but! I havent actually done this stuff in awhile! I havent been feeling like ive been making progress for a bit but this showed me that i really have been improving and that means everything to me! thank you so much

[@sodacanimations]

my art motivation is back thank you

[@woodfur00]

My mistake was skipping shading. You can draw 2D forms all day long but if you're not studying where and how to shade, it'll keep feeling flat and not quite right from certain angles. You don't have to start out shading things you're proud of, in fact doing it on things you hate will help expose the flaws in them! But once you get it down even rudimentarily, it will make your art look way more finished compared to flat color. As for digital technique, I recommend starting with soft shading, it's a lot more forgiving than cel shading. Just make sure your _brush_ is on lowered opacity, not the layer, so you have room to go as dark as you need to. I'm sure you've heard the "don't shade in black" spiel but if you're still figuring out colors, it's a huge help to just keep your shading on its own layer so you can alpha lock and recolor it as many times as you need until it looks right.

[@C_Raccoon23]

Yes, but there's a lot of art out there that deliberately uses flat colors and still looks good.

[@woodfur00]

@@C_Raccoon23 Yeah, but it's harder to pull off as a beginner. More importantly having _experience_ shading will unequivocally give you better control even on things you don't shade.

[@MettaKirkoff]

I started experimenting with different body types around a year ago and now my characters have so much variety. Gotta admit that I still avoid drawing hands until the last moment 😂😂, I always mark where should they be in the drawing and then wait until it's time to do the lineart (cause I've realised what works better for me is to draw them directly)

[@sh4x7kyl0l3]

There're few artists' styles that urge me to go draw until my hands become numb... You are one of them, and I'm forever grateful for YT feed recommending me this!

[@cuartemi6582]

Strong agree and some things I definitely still lean on at times. I think when making comics especially some of these shortcuts are helpful (texture and posing mostly) but I like to throw in more interesting/detailed panels as makes sense

[@Lilliaace]

I tell people who are uncomfortable with hands or feet, draw x-rays of them. That's what made me comfortable with these body parts.

[@dootdoodle569]

the funniest part of this video is when she shows all of the examples again at the end and each one breaks all 3 of the other rules

[@QadenwithaQ]

out of all "helping you fix your art" this one helped me the most. thank you

[@RebelMidoriya-pg5oj]

Oo okay I’ll make sure to remember this when making my comic (it’s work in progress but if anyone wants to learn more u can ask and I’ll probably send an unvale link) keep making your amazing videos love you

[@RebelMidoriya-pg5oj]

Omg I just realized I’m the first person in this comment section let’s gooo

[@SprinkledCactus]

What's it called?

[@random_dragon]

What's unvale?

[@SprinkledCactus]

@random_dragon it's a website where you can post about your oc's, I have an account too

[@Yoimiya_Lover29]

Whoaaa I'd love to take a look at it!!

[@V-Vuruu]

I love the small horns on your sona's new sprites omg

[@troublemule]

I love you so so so so much for this because I've been wondering for such a long time why I haven't improved and you absolutely got it right on the first try

[@RACOONAFIED]

6:28 I struggle with drawing hands and hearing taht its better to draw them in an interesting pose even if they are ugly gave me confidence

[@MAGICst4rs]

YES A NEW VIDEO!!!!! You are always so helpful! And thank you so much for including the default body type problem, im so happy you added it after I commented

[@novelty_thief]

Anatomical accuracy aside because thats a given, if you still think the hands look kinda weird thats because hands ARE kinda weird. Theyre like 5 legged meatspiders attached to our forearms

[@bea2798]

They can never make me hate u Lavender Towne !!!! Been here since 2017

[@kaitlynmorgan4613]

i just wanna say that idk if ive seen socks go Off the body unless the whole thing is thick, cause i usually see the song press into the skin a bit. and the skirt wouldnt be jutting up like that if its supposed to be going down with gravity. otherwise good advice!

[@itzpris15634]

could you do a video elaborating on textures like that? leather, matte, glossy, fuzzy, rough, coarse, anything. i love how you explain things and i find the texture tip really interesting, so i'd love to hear more about it from you if ever!

[@d33ps3a_3ntity]

that pose brings back so many memories from beginner artist me-