Doodle Diaries: Digital Drawing, Phone edition

I drew on my phone (Samsung Galaxy Note 4) with a drawing app called Medibang for almost half a year.

I've doodled cute, simple things on my phone before, but decided to draw a bit more seriously to familiarize myself with digital drawing before drawing with a tablet (which I now finally own!!!)

I decided to document my terrible, terrible phone drawings and its progress because why the hell not. I am very slow at getting the hang of this digital drawing thing.

Completion Date: 2016/07/27

(YJS gets disoriented using new drawing program)

Did you know using a new program or using a new apparatus pushes back your drawing skills like crazy? Well, I do now!

I had just jumped into drawing on Medibang as opposed to SketchBook X, which pushed back my drawing skills to that of a 13-year-old.

Completion Date: 2016/07/31

(YJS discovers drawing over a pencil sketch. Also discovers the fade in/fade out pen feature, tries both at once)

Completion Date: 2016/08/04

(Fade in/fade out pen was a terrible idea actually. Let's just use a regular pen tool)

Completion Date: 2016/08/07

(YJS tries out coloring and cel shading. PS: I don't actually know if that person is a man or a woman)

Completion Date: 2016/08/17

(YJS discovers the blur tool and abuses it)

Completion Date: 2016/08/18

(YJS discovers the watercolor brush tool and abuses it)

Completion Date: 2016/08/24

(YJS decides to color normally again because the constant experimentation made her feel like a child)

Completion Date: 2016/08/25

(YJS tries lining with pencil tool, also discovers airbrush tool and abuses it)

2016/09/04

(YJS decides to color normally again. She is unsure why the airbrush version looks more lively than the regular colored version despite looking crappier. There is something fundamental about lining/coloring that she is failing to get)

Completion Date: 2016/09/16

(YJS tries a more motion-y composition and fails. She apparently has no idea how people punch things)

Completion Date: 2016/09/26

(YJS still really likes this drawing. It's cute)

Completion Date: 2016/11/04

(YJS FINALLY discovers pen pressure. YJS also shades with airbrush tool, finally realizes why only n00bs on Deviantart shade with airbrush tool.)

Completion Date: 2016/11/07

(YJS tries drawing without pencil sketch underneath. YJS also lines with different colors, tries varying line thickness. Looks okay but something's still off.)

Completion Date: 2016/12/01

(YJS decides to draw backgrounds. And add lighting. And more shading. And speech bubbles. Result looks like what a 15-year-old kid would post on Deviantart)

Completion Date: 2016/12/19

(YJS uses a different pen tool for lining, varies line thickness. Drawing is starting to look somewhat okayish. Not sure what the magic formula is yet)

I felt really freaking stupid figuring out all the features and coming across ALL the common mistakes children make while digital drawing at age 26, but I guess it can't be helped.

Now that I have a tablet, I'll try drawing more and see if things improve further.

Doodle Diaries: Inktober

For the past month of October, I participated in Inktober, an online challenge created by Jake Parker in 2009.

Objective: "Every October, artists all over the world take on the InkTober drawing challenge by doing one ink drawing a day the entire month."

Rules: 

1) Make a drawing in ink (you can do a pencil under-drawing if you want).

2) Post it online

3) Hashtag it with #inktober and #inktober2016

4) Repeat

Parker kindly added that you can post daily as intended, post every other day, or post once a week. "What ever you decide, just be consistent with it," he said.

I certainly did not have the time or drive to do a drawing per day, so I settled for once a week.

I also did the challenge with some rule-bending (?) (it didn't say it wasn't allowed) based on browsing the Inktober hashtag on Instagram:

1. The Inktober challenge had daily prompts in form of keywords, but most people drew whatever they wanted, which is also what I did.

2. I used a few other medium other than ink, but did the important lining bits with ink.

3. I don't know if ball point pens count as "ink", but I decided to count it because... the only ink-based tool I own is a thick brush pen and there's only so thin a line I can produce with that.

So here are the results.

I wanted to try the #inktober challenge but didn't have the time to do it daily, so I decided to aim for weekly. Drawn with Monami brush pen, shaded with Caran d'Ache watercolor colored pencils. #inktober2016

YJS(@ysinsta31)님이 게시한 사진님, 2016 10월 7 오전 11:21 PDT

Week 1: I drew my OC Marie kind of crouched and being sad. I drew her like this after being fed up re-drawing and erasing around half a dozen pencil sketches because none of them would come out the way I wanted.

The first drawing came out better than I expected. The black and gray watercolor pencils added a nice shadowy effect but didn't look too out of place with the brush pen.

(Belated) Inktober Week 2: Literally the first time drawing these two! Super late into this series (August) but now firmly trapped in Haikyuu hell. Monami brush pen, Caran D'Ache watercolor pencils, ball point pen. I accidentally smudged parts of it ;_; #inktober #inktober2016 #haikyuu #karasuno #hinatashoyo #kageyamatobio #doodle #itried

YJS(@ysinsta31)님이 게시한 사진님, 2016 10월 18 오전 11:31 PDT

Week 2: In which I let it be known to the world that I'm a hopeless Haikyuu fan.

THIS WAS A PAIN TO DRAW. First, I kept accidentally smudging the ink everywhere. Unfortunately, traditional drawing has no Ctrl + Z button so you have to live with your mistakes.

Second, using watercolor on regular printer paper instead of watercolor paper (which I did not have) wrinkled the paper so much that I had to stop every so often to pop my drawing in the freezer to un-wrinkle it. I looked like a crazy person.

Lastly, the original pencil outline was tiny, so I was lining and watercolor-ing with the thinnest brush strokes I could manage and thus could not really work on details. My arms were trembling by the end of the whole thing.

I think I managed to convey their personalities, at least.

Everyone please go read Haikyuu, or watch the anime. JOIN ME IN HAIKYUU HELL!

Inktober Week 3: Fox. The white fur part looks kinda weird but... I tried. Monami brush pen, ball point pen. #inktober #inktober2016 #fox #doodle #sketch

YJS(@ysinsta31)님이 게시한 사진님, 2016 10월 24 오전 7:37 PDT

Week 3: I drew a real fox to offset how much of a nerd I was the previous week. I also haven't drawn animals much, so I thought it would be a good time to try it out.

I used a reference from Google image search. Drawing all the strands of fur was kind of painstaking, but the article-publishing tool at work crashed before I could send in my last story of the day, making me unable to leave work for around 40 minutes. The details on the fur was a good outlet to pour out my frustrations.

Slightly belated but it's still October in the US region 😂 Final Inktober, Week 4: witch and cat. Using inks (or the only brush pen I own) was a frustrating but fun experience overall. Monami brush pen, ball point pen. #inktober #inktober2016 #drawing #doodle #cat #witch

YJS(@ysinsta31)님이 게시한 사진님, 2016 10월 31 오후 6:33 PDT

Week 4: Witch and cat.

I knew I wanted to do my final prompt involving a witch because, hey, end of October is Halloween and Halloween = witches.

I also went through multiple witch sketches, got fed up, started doodling a few more witches and realized I was starting to ship them for no reason so I took a half-day break before settling on this sketch.

Ideally I would have used watercolor pencils or something to do a better job on coloring the dress and hat, but I think I just wanted to be done with it all after penciling and erasing another half-dozen compositions. It came out okay, I think.

*

Inktober was challenging but also fun. I also got a good use out of the one brush pen I had, which was just laying around the house after I impulse-bought it years ago.

I would be up for trying this again next year, perhaps with more ink-based tools and better quality paper.

Doodle Diaries: Art progress, 6 months in

It's almost six months since I began drawing habitually and consistently again! And you know what? It feels great to return to it. My goodness, I missed it, so so much. I didn't even realize how much I missed it until I went back into it. Let us never part ways again.

My drawing style also went through what is probably the most drastic change in years.

Drawing styles change and people improve if they keep drawing, that's kind of what naturally happens. But even then, I haven't seen this much jump in my skills since forever, and it's exciting to see the progress!

So I decided to share a few doodles from when I started to draw again vs. current ones.

*

Here are some doodles of my characters Jun and Thomas (Lumped together for OTP convenience's sake):

April 7, 2016

September 30, 2016

Who are you and what happened to you guys???

Jun has gone through so many changes that I am almost tempted to do a more detailed chronicling of his transformation just to see what the hell happened.

Thomas, meanwhile, just became prettier and prettier.

Here is a colored version of them which I posted on Facebook earlier (Apr vs. Sep):

I swear I did not draw these in similar poses on purpose. I only realized the similarities when going through my old drawings. I'm not very creative with poses.

I don't know when I decided to change Thomas's hair and skin tone, but I much prefer the current version. I'm also glad to see that I have learned how to draw clothes and anatomy slightly better.

*

Here are doodles of Shannon, the sweet, sunny girl who can still kill a man if she has to, metaphorically speaking:

April 2016 (I didn't date some of these drawings, unfortunately)

Sept 17, 2016

Sept 17, 2016

Sept 29, 2016

I see her hair became slightly longer with more volume.

Also I got rid of her forehead bangs because I felt like her hair was getting weirdly similar to Thomas's when I kept drawing.

*

And finally Marie, the tiny girl with attitude:

April 2016

Yikes she looks like she's 10 (instead of like, a tiny 17 year old like I intended)

Also hello complete lack of human anatomy. Why did I think I knew how to draw???

Sept 19, 2016

Sept 28, 2016

Marie hasn't really changed in terms of basic design. But anatomy is less atrocious now!

So I guess the takeaway is that I learned how to draw better anatomy and everyone became prettier-looking.

I recall I was wary about my drawings becoming too anime-looking in fear that I'd end up drawing Dorito-faced people with saucer-sized eyes, but we'll see. I guess it's up to me to try to avoid doing that.

I wonder how things will look like in another six months.

Doodle Diaries: Trials and tribulations - Feeling Inadequate

Drawing involves a lot of feelings from start to finish: the feeling of excitement when sketching, the feeling of frustration when a drawing doesn't come out as intended, and the feeling of accomplishment when it's completed.

There's also the feeling of crushing inadequacy when looking at other people's amazing art!

On one hand, amazing art motivates you to keep going so you can be just as good some day. On the other hand, it makes you want to stop existing altogether because jesus you thought you were a halfway decent artist when there are people like these?

Such movement, such fluidity.

It looks so alive.

Aaaaa FMA! Look at those hair!

You can't even draw half as well as any of these people.

After looking at stuff like these, I just notice how many flaws my art has - I still don't have a firm grasp on anatomy, I still can't draw proper clothes wrinkles, I still have no sense of light and shadow. I also don't know how to draw digitally or even know how to use traditional medium that well.

It's even more fun when you find amazing artists and you find out they're younger than you.

I'm 26. *cries*

But YJS, people always improve when they try! You just gotta believe in yourself and work harder!

Well, yeah, I know that. I see my art progressing ever day and there's nothing much you can do other than practice and improve at your own pace.

But I feel like I'd be like, 60 years old by the time I get that good. And I don't want to wait till I'm old and wrinkly to produce halfway decent work while babies churn out freaking masterpieces. I know age shouldn't matter like that but that's honestly how I feel.

So, feelings of inadequacy. Fun times!

Doodle Diaries: Drawing style

Drawing style is such a fascinating thing. Everyone has their own style, and even if they started mimicking someone else in the beginning, over time it morphs into something unique, something inherently you.

Crazy personal theory: You can figure out a person's essence or personality from their drawing styles.

There is no supporting evidence or objective measurements on this, but I do feel like you can gauge something about the artist when you look at how they draw.

There are some art styles that immediately makes me smile upon seeing them because they look so warm and full of heart. Some art styles are incredible skill-wise but it doesn't stir up any emotion other than "hey wow that's pretty good". Some art styles look pretty but feel dull, and some art styles feel downright unpleasant.

I have no idea what styles usually make me feel such things because it's entirely subjective and I haven't really found a recurring pattern yet.

Also, just because someone's art style doesn't do it for me doesn't mean that the artist is unskilled. My preferences are not based on skill and that style might just be another person's absolute favorite.

(Although with the "unpleasant" art, is IS more often than not based on skill. Usually the artist has a poor grasp of facial anatomy so their subjects look "off" or slightly creepy)

But when I look at art styles I like, I get a feeling that if I were to meet the artist in real life, our personalities would click and we'd be good friends.

I wonder what my style says about me.

Doodle Diaries: How I draw

For no reason other than "I felt like it", here is a sort of step by step process of how I draw.

First, I do a rough sketch.

I also draw other characters too, I swear.
I just happened to be drawing Jun when I thought I should write about how I draw...

When I'm satisfied with the sketch, I start to pencil.

I notice something off with the posture while penciling. Is it the arms? I arm-stretch in front of the mirror to check. No, that's not the problem. But something is definitely wrong.

I google-image search "arm stretching":

Ohhhhh, the shoulders! (I can't believe I missed that when I posed in front of the mirror) I re-draw the shoulders.

Re-drawing the shoulders ruins the entire composition because the initial sketch and lines were built on an anatomically incorrect posture. I re-sketch most of the body and weep internally. I should have just used references, I think to myself.

I pencil again.

I also re-sketched the legs like four times. Help me.

I don't know how other people do it, but I tend to erase and pencil simultaneously bit by bit until I'm done.

I am more careful and when erasing pencil marks on the more detailed parts of the drawing, i.e. head and face.

I fix more details. For instance, Jun doesn't have a prominent nose like that, and his nose bridge is  a bit more sloped down.

I end up having to re-draw the mouth and chin when I fixed his nose because the entire face line no longer works and changing one thing changes everything.

I use light pencil strokes to portray muscle definition. There is a lot of trial and error because I do not have a firm grasp on anatomy. 

Why did I decide to record the process of a drawing that has a lot of muscles? I think to myself. But it's too late now.

After the fourth or fifth attempt I just settle with what I have, anatomy be damned.

I google image search "training shoes" for reference because I honestly cannot draw most shoes to save my life. I draw shoes.

Finally finished lining!

I "color" my drawing using pencil strokes.

Narrower pencil strokes indicate dark colors, wider pencil strokes indicate medium-toned colors. Non-colored spaces are supposed to be white or bright colors. Light pencil strokes indicate shading.

Sometimes I wonder why I don't just ink and color instead of pencil-stroking all the time, but this is how I roll.

Drawing is now complete.

Sometimes I fix bits and pieces after "finishing" a drawing.

Good example is a picture I drew the other day (feat: Thomas). I sketched, lined, and colored like I explained above and considered this drawing completed.

But upon further inspection, I found that Thomas's right leg, if he were to un-bend it, would be significantly longer than his left leg and therefore anatomically impossible. Also, that's not where his knees should be located. My friend Robert also told me that the vest was too long.

So I fixed all these things. The vest is shorter, and Thomas's posture looks much more natural.

Needless to say it takes a while. If I were to sit down and do the entire process nonstop, it would take several hours. Usually the process takes me a day or two because I stop every once in a while to take a break or do life things like work, eat, sleep, etc.

It's still one of the most fun things to do in the world for me.

Doodle Diaries: Difficulties - What's the point of all this?

I think one of the biggest issues when I'm drawing - other than drawing hurdles and trying to improve - is trying to convince myself that this isn't all meaningless time-wasting in the end.

What are you getting out of this? Why do you even want to do this? Why don't you go outside and explore the world in that time? It's not like this will help you with your career or anything of the sort.

I was talking to a school friend at one point in time - I introduced him to a game, and he got quite good at it, even better than me. Never mind that I'm not really a good gamer to begin with so a lot of people can play better me after some practice

But this didn't lead to him discovering a newfound hobby. He was amused by the game, for sure, but he said he preferred being out and about. "I just feel like, when I just stay indoors like that for a long time - there's so much of the world to explore outside, you know?" he said.

This was about gaming, not drawing. And the tone of voice indicated he didn't mean any offense; he had his own preferences, as did I. But nonetheless that statement stuck with me for a long time.

But you can do some sort of art-related side job, YJS! Make a webcomic or sell prints!

But you see, that's the notion that I have an issue with - that it's not a time-waster only if I can turn it into money. Isn't that the point of a hobby? Something you enjoy without expecting monetary gain?

I get anxious when I think about turning my hobby into a side job. It's something a lot of people suggest to me, like it's something one has to do in life, like getting married or having babies.

Perhaps I only feel this way because I did contemplate art school at one point. I ultimately decided to pursue a writing-related career because while I loved drawing, I absolutely hated drawing when I didn't want to or not being able to draw what I wanted, which is not a good attitude to have for a job.

I certainly do not regret choosing my current path. I do love writing as much as drawing, and I have a much larger endurance for it (and writing jobs don't come any easier than art jobs!) And given my art funk during college years, art school could have been a very terrible time.

And yet I wonder about the road I did not take. The could haves and would haves, all boiling down to constantly questioning myself: What's the point of all this?

Doodle Diaries: Trials and Tribulations - Digital Drawing (1)

So I'm an analog caveman who mostly draws using pencil and paper.

I've always wanted to draw digitally, but as a high schooler I never jumped the gun because standard drawing tablets are over $100 and Photoshop also costs a lot, which sounded like a lot of money back then. There was also the fact that I was technologically challenged.

As I grew older and $100+ no longer sounded like a lot of money I was considering buying a tablet at some point. But then I got a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 when I came to Korea.

Galaxy Note 4 came with a stylus pen, which apparently makes for a pretty good makeshift tablet, according to the internet. So you're telling me I got myself a free mini tablet when I got a new phone? Sweet!

I'm pretty sure artists own separate tablets from their phones, but since I was not a professional and still technologically challenged, I decided my phone was a good enough substitute for the time being.

I downloaded the drawing app SketchBook X and have been attempting to draw digitally since last year.

You may or may not have seen me upload doodles like this on Facebook.

These were easy and fun, but I needed to teach myself how to draw more complicated things and actually learn how to color.

I only attempted "serious" drawings about 4-5 times last year because I was still in a drawing funk, but I did try. My first few attempts were laughably pathetic.

LOL what are layers? Let me color on the same layer that I lined things on!

I have no idea what I'm doing.

I had no clear concept of these so-called "layers" everyone kept talking about or why you needed them when drawing. (I wasn't kidding about the technologically challenged part.) After the first two atrocities, I finally understood.

So I tried drawing again, now using layers.

Layers can make you color backgrounds behind a person without ruining the drawing!

Squiggly spirals of joy at finally figuring out layers at the laughably old age of 25. 

I was trying out different lining styles.

So I finally figured out the deal with layers. But I still had a very, very long way to go.

Also, I'm not sure if it's noticeable, but my level of drawing would deteriorate when drawing digitally. The anatomy is slightly off in places and facial features look rather flat.

Drawing with a stylus feels really different from drawing with a pencil, enough of a difference that it affects my skill level.

The skill deterioration was much more apparent when I downloaded another drawing app Medibang a few months ago.

This was the result of me test-drawing to familiarize myself with the new app:

One word: WHY.

And THIS was my terrible, terrible attempt to draw one of my characters on the new app:

OH GOD. OH GOD. I'M SO SORRY JUN.
OH GOD HIS FACE IS MELTING.

WHY CAN'T I DRAW PROPERLY WITH A STYLUS AND WHY DID MY SKILLS GET WORSE?!

Thankfully, Medibang had a feature that SketchBook did not: the feature that allows you to draw over a photograph.

Pencil sketch

Brought over to Medibang for tracing

Finished result (I was experimenting with lining styles again)

I've heard of artists who line over their pencil sketches when drawing digitally. I wondered why they wouldn't just start from scratch. I finally found out why.

I did a round 2 for Jun to atone for my sins.

What Jun is supposed to look like.

I think I'll line my drawings in this method for the time being until I get a better hang of using a stylus.

Meanwhile, I still need to learn how to color properly.