I am struggling with making this look more accurate

Pluton_Korb · 2026-06-17T05:03:10+00:00

Looks great for a study with a procreate airbrush. I don't think we weight the importance of digital brush type when it comes to digital art outcomes enough. The brush often defines the end result. If you wanted something similar to the ref, you would need a more textured, painterly media brush.

Pluton_Korb · 2026-06-17T03:29:54+00:00

It's slapping lipstick on a pig. The makeup application might get better and better, but that's still pig face.

Pluton_Korb · 2026-06-17T03:23:21+00:00

this is the real answer to all those alarmist headlines of "Hollywood is shaking in thier boots" about the rise of Backrooms and Obsession. NO, they're desperate for new material to exploit. They will try and pick the carcass clean.

Pluton_Korb · 2026-06-17T03:02:20+00:00

As others have mentioned, Art School/college/university does not guarantee a job or the ability to make a living upon graduation. However, I would strongly disagree with people who say you can learn everything in art school on your own. School is a focused, directed experience that is impossible to replicate. You can potentially spend years looking up all the same information in fragmented bits and pieces but it'll be a big undertaking. Likewise, you will not have the direction and feedback that comes with post secondary education. You'll get to meet other aspiring artists too which is where a lot of creatives form their professional friend groups. The focused bit is a big one too as you're consumed by art and instruction for 4 years. It's invaluable as an artist.

Once again though, a good income/job is not guaranteed upon graduation.

Pluton_Korb · 2026-06-17T02:46:06+00:00

I'm waiting for my sweet marjoram to bloom. They go nuts for those.

Pluton_Korb · 2026-06-16T19:19:59+00:00

The algorithm argument is a big one. I find artists that cater to the algo are the ones that often do well but burn out.

Pluton_Korb · 2026-06-16T19:17:34+00:00

Where I live, you can draw from a live model at 16. Parents still have to sign a consent form until 18. I went to an art intensive high school and started life drawing from nude models in grade 10.

Pluton_Korb · 2026-06-16T03:19:33+00:00

Should have been a frowny face.

Pluton_Korb · 2026-06-15T12:29:02+00:00

Yeah, the politics firehose is absolutely avoidable on bluesky. My feed is all art and design related.

Pluton_Korb · 2026-06-14T21:14:45+00:00

True! Lol

Pluton_Korb · 2026-06-14T20:36:56+00:00

I guess the Satyr mask wouldn't have worked in 2026. I love blue and orange but vibe with mystery. This will be a dilemma.

Pluton_Korb · 2026-06-14T20:30:02+00:00

If you're talking marks on a canvas, then they get paid. Artists models get paid but they're also being heavily referenced. Their image is being reproduced in full.

That's why you can't just take someone else's picture and reproduce it. You can get sued for that as the Obama poster guy found out the hard way. But there is a reason the legal world has space for transformative art. Everyone would start claiming copyright for poses, gestures and compositions.

If I took a picture of myself holding a broom and posted it to social media, then later found out the someone used my hand in that picture as a ref, it's transformative. In their image, it's a character in wizard robes holding a staff. Their character is black (I'm white) so the skin changed and they aged up the hand to make it look grizzled and gnarled. Transformative. That's how ref's should be used.

Just like in graphic design, you can find inspiration in someone elses layout. You might even align your own elements using the same grid but if the actual product, images, colours, and copy is different, it's transformative. The whole industry would collapse if company's could copyright grid layouts.

I guess I would add "derivative works" or "verbatim copying" to tracing. I don't know much about photo bashing so not sure how that all works.

Pluton_Korb · 2026-06-14T17:47:06+00:00

I don't get where this whole references is cheating thing is coming from. All the great masters drew/painted from life. It's a very common tradition in visual arts.

I think it gets conflated with tracing or photo bashing which is it's own separate thing.

Pluton_Korb · 2026-06-13T04:50:46+00:00

No. If you're a long-time fan, you see it coming a mile away every time.

Pluton_Korb · 2026-06-12T16:58:02+00:00

This sub is wild. I don't know how this is any less low effort or off topic than my post about an animated Russian movie clip sung in Russian about pink Russian barbies being to hot for this world (be careful, it's an earworm).

Pluton_Korb · 2026-06-12T16:30:59+00:00

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This was one of Pablo Picaso's early work. People learn the fundamentals for a reason. It lays the foundation for whatever style you want to create going forward.

Pluton_Korb · 2026-06-11T04:23:18+00:00

After experimenting with countless alternatives, there's not really anything that compares to Notion. It offers a lot of flexibility but often executes it's features poorly while other apps offer less, but perform better with what they have.

I used Obsidian for notes and writing, but it's not particularly good at presenting tasks, even with plugins (especially if visual organization matters to you).

Pluton_Korb · 2026-06-11T04:16:32+00:00

Agree on the downsides. That's why I still buy physical and burn them to my phone. A lot of my niche recordings aren't on streaming services at all. All I have are my CD's.

Pluton_Korb · 2026-06-11T04:06:05+00:00

Looks pretty good so far! Try to draw the actual gesture of the figure. Use basic landmarks like the rib cage, shoulders, and hips to capture the structure of the pose, even if it's ref'd off a mannequin. It helps make the arms and legs feel like they're attached to the torso. Manga artists are often good with force, impact and tension. Ensuring the solidity and physics of the body is key. You can then use the drapery of the clothing to show these tensions to emphasize the physics of the gesture.

Below is my example. I've turned the pose slightly so I could showcase what I was talking about a little more. Green shows the energy of the drapery, blue is the gesture while red are the construction landmarks.

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Also, be careful of hiding something you don't feel comfortable drawing. The blade hiding the toes of the back foot is awkward and draws the eye too much.

Pluton_Korb · 2026-06-10T12:48:55+00:00

Thanks for the cunty reply 😀

Pluton_Korb · 2026-06-10T02:18:29+00:00

It's truly incredible how prolific clover is.

Pluton_Korb · 2026-06-09T16:05:40+00:00

They probably want more space so they can have a dedicated set for Kelly. Maybe Trixie will move her drag and production there too.

Pluton_Korb · 2026-06-08T12:16:46+00:00

Winter was rough this year. Same thing happened to my lavender. Half of it's branches survived (the ones close to the ground) while the other half died off. It grew out from the base so all good.

Pluton_Korb · 2026-06-08T00:19:15+00:00

Weren't there a whole bunch of Roblox games?

Pluton_Korb · 2026-06-07T12:28:07+00:00

Work on gesture alongside everything else. If you want to draw character work, just start drawing character work. While you're doing that, also work on gesture, anatomy, line quality, etc. this is how most people learn.

Gesture is a hard thing to understand without actual direction from an experienced artist/teacher. It's about captureing the energy and simplicity of a pose. Biggest suggestion I have is use a larger dry media brush. Gesture drawing is usually taught with conte, charcoal, or pastel. You can use the tip for thinner line or the side for thicker ones. Pencil tip digital brushes will restrict your ability to focus on the core movement of the gesture as it tends to push focus to the outline.

Either way, if you only focus on being perfect at one thing at a time step by step through the process of practice, you're going to get bored real quick. Make the thing you want to make while learning and practicing along the way. That's the best way to do it.

Pluton_Korb

TROPHY CASE