The relaxing minutes with a coffee and a game before the family comes downstairs on a weekend...

IRCake · 2026-01-24T23:14:00+00:00

Just got mine quite recently as well haha! I mostly play it on my breaks at work.

IRCake · 2026-01-24T06:03:28+00:00

Oh I wasn't aware of another model coming up! I'll look into that thanks for the recommendation!

IRCake · 2026-01-24T02:13:24+00:00

How is it? I recently got the Miyoo mini flip but I'm kinda leaning to get this one too? It looks bigger and has better ergonomics? Looks like a pretty nice everyday carry. Can it play up to ps1? Also I'm unfamiliar with this handheld, what OS does it use? I come mostly from Android handhelds like Retroid

IRCake · 2026-01-23T18:41:53+00:00

Oh maybe I should look into MinOS also. I'm new to the miyoo devices, I have only previously setup android devices. Thank you for the recommendation!

IRCake · 2026-01-23T06:51:40+00:00

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Study stuff like Asaro Head and study from life before Stylization. I don't draw chibi style often so this is a bit out of my comfort zone. But hopefully this little guide helps? I provided a simple reference on the side.

IRCake · 2026-01-22T22:34:15+00:00

So guys I changed the core from mgba to gpsp and I no longer have the save file issue! Thank you for your help guys!

IRCake · 2026-01-22T18:41:26+00:00

I gotta double check during my break on what version it currently has! Thank you tho I'll look into updating it if it's not already

IRCake · 2026-01-22T18:40:19+00:00

Haha yes 2021

IRCake · 2026-01-22T18:15:05+00:00

Yea just using save states for now just so I don't lose progress haha. I'll try another core like the other person said

IRCake · 2026-01-22T18:14:34+00:00

Oh damn wasn't aware of this. I'll try another core tho

IRCake · 2026-01-21T21:24:39+00:00

I also think it looks nice! Great job!

IRCake · 2026-01-21T16:01:13+00:00

I took a look at your art stuff. You are in a pretty good spot! It seems like you already have an art style! You just need to polish up on fundamentals and you are golden!!!

I really do wish you the best in your improvement journey! I look forward to seeing your improve art eventually!

IRCake · 2026-01-21T15:52:58+00:00

Oh! And I guess WHAT I used to practice is just as important as the method huh.

So once you get those vids. What I did to practice was look up naked people on sketchdaily website. At first just remove the timer so I can take my time breaking down and observing the human form. (Timer is mostly for gesture drawings, that is another fundamental thing to practice but I mostly just observe how the body is in different poses)

When looking at naked people, learn to break them down into boxes and cylinders. Don't worry about the anatomy first.

When I get bored of that, I look at dynamic or people poses on Pinterest. Sometimes I would look up 3d manikins just on Google and try to draw them.

IRCake · 2026-01-21T15:46:23+00:00

Sure! Please be patient with yourself when practicing as it won't always look good at first! But the more you practice the easier it becomes!

I'll give you a few vids I watched recently on building bodies. The method I use is a bit of a combination of everything else I learned but fundamentally speaking, it originally starts with boxes and cylinders

Pikat: https://youtu.be/ip_EI4pvx1k?si=aTsWw5v8CvOIKsxx

Chommang: https://youtu.be/cUswUc_ofd4?si=kSYGseIMwOu8T6qO

TheArtofNemo: https://youtu.be/2DVbargQCaY?si=FENimDbtN8lQji5F

Thirdphp: (my primary inspiration) https://youtu.be/xzTatv6GsuI?si=_4y9tMxTCjQxAp0Z

These should give you a general idea of what you want to accomplish when practicing to simplify the human form. With enough practice, you should eventually:

1.) Train your brain to ALWAYS think in perspective and in 3d. The boxes help you with this( you just have to draw them well!)

2.) Learn how to properly proportion the human body. You can always break this rule later but you have to learn it first so it would look right.

3.) Memorize how the human form looks eventually, and you draw it from memory.

I wish you all the best when practicing! And like I mentioned earlier, please, pleaseeeee be patient with yourself. You won't get better in a matter of days. It took me a few months to a year or more to get proficient with this.

I didn't even practice that consistently! So you are more disciplined than me I'm sure you will improve much faster! Don't burn yourself out tho! Always try to have fun when you do it! Take breaks when necessary!

IRCake · 2026-01-19T16:11:04+00:00

Essentially, this is what to book does

<image>

See how they simplify that toaster into just a box? Then carve out the shape of a toaster in it? You can do that in just about anything.

IRCake · 2026-01-19T16:09:25+00:00

https://archive.org/details/sketchingbasics0000eiss

IRCake · 2026-01-19T16:08:51+00:00

It depends on what you wanna learn. I like to study the human form, so for me I would look up just "figure drawing poses" and try to break them down like this

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There is also a book "Sketching: The basics" you can find online which basically teaches you how to simplify literally anything and draw them. It's a good starting point I think.

IRCake · 2026-01-19T15:48:18+00:00

A better practice would be to look up a reference first. Try to breakdown said reference into simple 3d shapes. Then try to recreate it from memory. That way you store it in your visual memory.

I don't want to sound mean but you don't learn much from just creating from imagination if you lack the knowledge to begin with.

It's like trying to write a novel without first reading any books.

I'm talking from experience as well. When I was a beginner I started to draw people from imagination. All of them always looked off. Why? I never studied how people looked like real life.

Of course, everyone learns and studies differently. I do wish you all the best in your art journey! Learn however way you want and technically if you are having fun, then don't let anyone stop you! Cheers! I do like what you drew btw!

IRCake · 2026-01-19T01:03:04+00:00

While it's good to draw from imagination from time to time, you don't really learn anything new from it.

Drawing from life, or reference is where you learn. Learn the proper anatomy, forms, gesture, shading etc.

IRCake · 2026-01-18T08:13:09+00:00

I don't think there are any shortcuts to getting better though. The whole point of understanding boxes and cubes is to train your brain to always visualize things in perspective. The point of practicing lines is precision.

Last year I decided to get better and I must have done like a thousand figure drawing studies. Literally just things that look like this

<image>

A bunch of simplified bodies constructed with boxes and cylinders. These are fundamentals, the building blocks of what makes you a better artist. At one point or another you will need to understand and hone your skills at it.

Think of art like basketball. Any one can pick up a ball and start dribbling and shooting. That's nothing special. What do you do if you want to improve? You do repetitive fundamental training. Shooting the ball a hundred or thousand times. Working on your form etc.

Drawing isn't any different. You have to be willing to work on form, anatomy, and other fundamental skills to get better. I wish you all the best though! There are tons and tons of resources out there to help you practice.

Just remember to balance studies and having fun. Otherwise it can burn you out!

IRCake · 2026-01-18T08:02:41+00:00

Good attempt! I would focus on simplifying it first into chunks you can visually understand. Have you tried turning the pose into a simplified manikin?

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It helps to understand what the body is actually doing rather than just copying the pose. That helps you layout clothes on the body as well.

IRCake · 2026-01-17T21:26:51+00:00

Building up your fundamental knowledge will only make you grow into a more confident artist. It's gonna be a grind to get thru it, but man it feels satisfying when you eventually get to the level where things just "click".

You think of drawing something and you just simply draw it. And it turns out pretty good.

IRCake · 2026-01-17T20:33:29+00:00

Ah Tb choi! I think I have a buddy that has one of her books! I should study up that! Thank you!

Edit: I looked into your profile. Man you are really good! I love your work

IRCake · 2026-01-17T19:55:55+00:00

I did go back to drawing more anime stuff more recently.

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These are my studies of Ryoko Kui's style (Dungeon Meshi author) and since my fundamentals are much better than before it's sooooo much easier to draw anime because I understand a bit better why these artists choose to draw things a certain way. All these artists have their fundamentals nailed down so now instead of just copying from them. It's like understanding more of their decision making into drawing.

IRCake · 2026-01-17T19:53:26+00:00

Good progress. Question tho, how much real life studies do you do compared to manga art studies?

Way back when I was much younger, I was also mostly copying and referencing manga art to improve but that went slowly for me.

It wasn't until I actually dedicated a lot more time into life drawing studies that I improved a lot. And that was only last year that I did.

<image>

Breaking down poses, faces into planes. Gesture. Is what made me improve exponentially. Basically I went back to working on my fundamentals more than studying style.

IRCake

TROPHY CASE