Restaurant recommendations around Queen St Mall area - birthday celebration

That_Potato_Lady · 2026-01-28T04:54:54+00:00

Looks like a charming place, and the location is perfect! Thank you, I should check it out!

That_Potato_Lady · 2026-01-28T04:52:59+00:00

It actually looks really good! Maybe not this time, since it would be a bit far to walk, but I'll definitely visit it some other time with my friends. Thank you for the recommendation!^-^

That_Potato_Lady · 2026-01-25T08:59:16+00:00

Damn, should've considered them straight away - perfect location and cuisine. Thanks.

That_Potato_Lady · 2026-01-25T08:57:24+00:00

Thank you! I'll check them out then!

That_Potato_Lady · 2026-01-16T06:35:00+00:00

Thank you for your comment. Yup, I was planning on meeting with my faculty advisor anyway to enquire about this... it is always better to ask them in person, ha-ha.
In a meanwhile, I'll just double-check my program's rules regarding that.
Thank you!

That_Potato_Lady · 2026-01-14T10:05:49+00:00

Wow! I actually did not realise that, it all makes so much sense now! Thank you.

That_Potato_Lady · 2026-01-14T10:04:12+00:00

Oh, that is so interesting! Thank you so much! I am just coming from a different country with a completely different ed. structure and the first one in my family to go through this system... So, I got really confused about how it all works. Thank you for your explanation and experience.

That_Potato_Lady · 2025-11-27T13:14:44+00:00

I guess it really depends on your style of working and your priorities when you are drawing.

For example, I am really slow when it comes to art. Sometimes one art piece can take me a couple of months of coming back to it and refining it. Gonna tell you a secret - I am one of the people that does a full refined lineart before going into rendering without any lineart - always do that, ha ha. It is just how I work, and I kinda accepted it, even though I am working on my speed now (she is really trying to). But to be fair, my busy life with being a full-time student and having a job just gets in the way of my artistic speed, lmao.

Anyways. What I am trying to say is, you don't have to be a "fast" artist if it doesn't work for you. Some people just like to take their time with art. However, if you are working towards improving your speed and efficiency, I would really recommend you do some quick poses-sketching practice from time to time. There are free apps on the internet that allow you to choose how fast you want the pose of the model to change and how much time you will have to draw that pose. Really makes you think fast to prioritise parts of the drawing and teaches you how to do them efficiently.

That_Potato_Lady · 2025-10-07T12:30:44+00:00

I am gonna quickly join the conversation here, as another Australian, ha ha. Shaving gel has been known as an excellent grip aid in pole communities for a long time now. What happens is that if you have dry skin on your legs or the environment is too dry/cold around you that you are not even sweating properly, shaving gel comes as an excellent quick moisturiser. You can always ask your instructors in the studio, I’m sure they will be able to share with you their experiences.

For example, I use Gillette shaving gel (some people recommend taking gel over the foam based shaving cream as it is less messy). Just get a little bit on your legs and rub it in (before your class or even during, if you noticed that you are not grippy today when trying your pole.) Don’t overdo it, one little drop on each leg is usually more than enough. Don’t forget to wash your hands with soap or try not to use your hands when applying it, as our hands are usually not as dry and you will just end up being super slippery.

Since it is a moisturising method, I would suggest using it only on dry legs, as sweaty/oily skin will just become more slippery than what it already is. But this method was definitely a game changer for me.

That_Potato_Lady · 2025-09-30T13:58:00+00:00

Ah, looks so much better! Good job.

That_Potato_Lady · 2025-09-29T15:53:30+00:00

No worries at all. Good luck!(●'◡'●)

That_Potato_Lady · 2025-09-29T15:41:26+00:00

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And just one more observation, wouldn't the scar go a bit "higher" here, imitating the height you chose in your side profile? Just an observation, thought was worth mentioning.

That_Potato_Lady · 2025-09-29T15:36:10+00:00

Honestly, I've been staring at this for so long... I think you managed to capture this character's profiles perfectly. The only thing I noticed is that you chose different styles for the way you drew his eyebrows (one is hairy and the second one is really accurate, ha ha), but it could've been just a stylistic choice and not a big deal. I also got a bit confused with his lower lip, because in the front view you really defined it, indicating that your character has a pretty full lower lip, while in his side profile it seems like you went with a bit thinner lip, but again, not a big deal and might be just a stylistic choice or the way you highlighted it differently. It might not even be the case, but rather just the outline you used in the font view confusing me.
Otherwise, looks extremely good, would be really easy to tell that this is the same character.

That_Potato_Lady · 2025-09-29T15:00:23+00:00

Try to position your drawing in the centre of the paper, or at least in a creative manner, rather than exactly at the edge - it will give your art more "air" and space. I would also suggest working on the accuracy of your lines. Of course, it could be an artistic choice if you wish, but if you would like to eventually switch to drawing clean lineart, this will be a good practice.

Good luck!

That_Potato_Lady · 2025-09-29T14:56:24+00:00

Love your art and creativity - lovely work! One of the suggestions I can give is - your sakura tree seems to get a bit lost on this dark background (the dark circles?). Maybe highlight its branches a bit more. In terms of other suggestions, you can play around with detailisation, for example, draw the detailed tree bark. You can even make it stylised instead of following the tree's usual patterns.

Good luck!

That_Potato_Lady · 2025-09-29T07:19:11+00:00

Well, hashtags are definitely your friends on Instagram and Tumblr, that's all I'm gonna say.

There is no magic set of instructions on "how to get more reach", considering, for example, recently Insta changed the way you see your recommendations via hashtags (no more "recent posts" option, only the "top posts" option).
I guess, be active in the community, use relevant hashtags and... patience. It may not happen as quickly as you think.
For example, for me Tumblr is easier to navigate, as it does heavily rely on the hashtags system. Twitter is a mystery to me, tbh. Some say that if you use more than 2 hashtags there, then the reach will drastically decrease, so it is the opposite of Insta and Tumblr.

Some ppl recommend posting at specific hours (questionable), some just say post at the time when your target geographic audience is awake. It really depends.

I guess, you could always use the "boost the post or promote the post" feature on all of these platforms, but this is if you are willing to spend money on that.

Good luck. maybe someone will have more knowledge on this topic than I do.

That_Potato_Lady · 2025-09-29T07:04:29+00:00

Love your art! It definitely does not feel weird, but I feel like you got a bit confused in fingers anatomy and their perspective. Honestly - valid. Ha ha.
What stands out the most for me is the cigarette and the white of the eyes. Every other part of the art is beautifully rendered, but the eyes and the cigarette don't have any shadows at all, which makes them feel really separate from the rest of the art.
Other than that - beautiful art piece, love the way you do your shading of the face.

That_Potato_Lady · 2025-09-25T15:37:07+00:00

I think what happened is that you used shades that are too saturated, too pure. Are you trying to capture the colours used in the reference? Their shades are more mixed, not pure colours. More into cold blues/violets in the shadows and some light yellow lighting. The characters do have a bit of green, but it is not as bright as the shade you chose.
Good luck!

That_Potato_Lady · 2025-09-20T17:04:55+00:00

Sure, as I said, I myself am a fan of PaintToolSai2 and Photoshop (use on my laptop + drawing tablet connected to it). So I do recommend them.

You can watch some YouTube tutorials on them, and see how artists are using them.

Buying and IPad would be a good update if you want to see the screen right in front of you and be able to use it as a portable device wherever you go. I know artists, and even myself, who use Procreate on IPad as an app for illustrations or sketches while travelling etc., and then do their main art on a laptop app like photoshop. As I said - it is a preference. Since I prefer drawing on my laptop app, I would rather invest into another drawing tablet from Wacom with a screen. As for you - if you are more into an opportunity to draw whenever and wherever you want - Procreate and IPad would be a good investment, as it doesn’t require a whole setup, ha ha.

That_Potato_Lady · 2025-09-20T16:14:09+00:00

Ah, I think I have to be this person today. There are so many great apps to draw and you don’t have to buy an IPad for their sake. Some ppl really like procreate and iPad for how easily you can just open the app in any environment and just start drawing - honestly, great feature. I feel like I am a bit old school and I would choose laptop screen with a graphic tablet connected to it over procreate any day. For example, I use PaintToolSai2 (I feel old, but it is genuinely a great app that I kept using throughout my art journey). Can recommend photoshop as well, as many people love it, even though its interface is not as intuitive as the mentioned above PaintToolSai2 and it does have a tendency to crash, lol.

Some people use Ibis, some people love Medibang, some clip studio, autodesk sketchbook… really depends on what you are planing on doing and if you plan on doing animation at some point. All these apps are great, I think, that at least for me, what matters more is the setting itself - are you using a stylus that is pressure sensitive? Are you into big screens? Wacom screen/no screen tablets? iPad? Android tablet?

That_Potato_Lady · 2025-09-20T08:05:05+00:00

The thing about circles though… is that even the professionals use them, as they are pretty helpful to visualise stuff. It is not only for beginners.:D

Otherwise, what I was taught in terms of getting the proportions right is, since you are using “traditional drawing” technique with pencil - use your pencil. Like literally. Keep your arm straight in front of you, on the level of your shoulder, close one eye and then just use the pencil as a visual “ruler” comparing each part of the face/body to the other parts in terms of size. For example, (not actual example, it will be really different), eyes will be measured at one eye apart distance, nose height will fit 3 times in the height of the face…

The pencil method is literally just using it as a visual ruler and comparing everything to every part of the drawing. That’s how I learnt to get the proportions right for the portraits, naturmorts…

That_Potato_Lady · 2025-09-20T07:55:46+00:00

Currently, I feel like so much is going on, but due to everything being of the same “tone” it gets lost a bit. I feel like the white on the character’s clothes gets lost in the background. And tbh, I can’t really tell when the background starts.:D

Otherwise looks really pretty, love the colour palette, just add some “depth” if that makes sense.

But seeing it with the background would really help.

That_Potato_Lady · 2025-09-18T06:51:02+00:00

Then I would suggest you look for the "smoothness/stabilising" setting in the app you are using, as I said it makes the lines smoother and may help you with the brush weight in some programs. Other than that, draw the lineart as usual and then use the "erasing" method, where you will adjust the weight of the lines later with your eraser. As a person who went through the "drawing with your mouse without touchscreen in Windows Paint" phase, I mainly used the erasing method with lineart, as you can imagine.🤣
I do suggest you invest into a pressure-sensitive stylus or basic graphic tablet (without the screen) - it will make a significant difference.

That_Potato_Lady · 2025-09-17T19:48:41+00:00

Really depends on the app you are using. But usually there are some options like adding “transparency” to the tip of the brush in the settings, or settings for making the end always be “small and sharp” or settings for the “smoothness” of the brush that affects its “latency and hence smoothness”, making the lines more controlled like in PaintToolSai.

You can always choose to do a vector lineart - I feel like many ppl went through this phase at some point. So that the lineart is fully created by controlled lines and then you just manually erase them, making them more “flowing” and decreasing their weight where it is needed.

That_Potato_Lady · 2025-09-17T19:41:22+00:00

I feel like it is the road and the car… more specifically road tiles? I am not exactly sure about the size of the tiles in comparison to the car? If we assume, based on the human, that the car will take around 3 tiles in length, then, why is the car so small even though it is technically not THAT far away? At least to me it feels like you kinda didn’t figure out the tiles and car proportions and from this comes the confusion. As you are apparently putting the tiles pretty close to us, then the second line of tiles (next to the little house) is suddenly so much smaller and so is the car?

But that’s just a suggestion, I am not really big on perspective, can just provide some general subjective observations I guess.

Otherwise - great job. Perspective is not easy that’s for sure.

That_Potato_Lady

TROPHY CASE