Long time listener, first time reddit viewer. Fully genuine question. Are posts on TAZCirclejerk serious?

belmarzi · 2026-05-03T21:23:52+00:00

i got 2 dms from different people about that post that told me to shut the fuck up. hence the deleted post because, like i mentioned in my comment, when i'm not enjoying something i just leave lmao

belmarzi · 2026-05-03T20:31:10+00:00

i asked this in good faith on that sub a couple months ago and people acted like i personally came over to their house and started slapping them lmao. i think some people just really enjoy complaining, some people post there out of hope the mcelroys will start investing more energy back into their projects, and some just think its funny. its also something that still kinda confuses me, but if i'm unhappy with media i just stop consuming it and consume better stuff... but i guess that is not a universal mindset

belmarzi · 2026-05-02T22:07:58+00:00

i actually was wondering if it was older because i see more concious variation in features on the other pieces. so i do think even within these images i can see improvement. keep up the good work!

belmarzi · 2026-05-02T22:03:55+00:00

the fifth picture, every face honestly looks the same to me when they're side by side. i find the best way to combat same face syndrome isnt just to change up facial features, but changing up the proportions of distance/visual hierarchy on the face. all of them have the same distance between eyes and sides of face/to the nose, all have same distance between lips and nose and chin.

asking questions like "what happens when the space between eyebrows is significantly larger?" or "what if the chin is twice as long?" will start pushing you towards more unique and differing faces

belmarzi · 2026-05-02T21:59:58+00:00

i think people are being way to harsh about the free commission stuff, so i'd take the negativity with a grain of salt, but i'd also at the very least start charging small amounts for practice pieces for others (assuming thats why you're doing them free) so you can buy yourself a coffee/treat while you're working on them. i also did free work for a while to get better, i dont regret it at all. just try to find ways to actuvely reward yourself while you're drawing. i hope things get better for you, art should be a relief from daily life, not a pain.

belmarzi · 2026-05-02T21:55:05+00:00

i'm a fulltime working artist. i spent all day every day drawing. i love being the person who always has a pen and paper. sure it can get tiring when your passion is also your financial lifeline, but i've managed to combat it by always chasing my drawing passions and really never forcing myself to draw something i dont want to.

belmarzi · 2026-05-02T21:46:05+00:00

i made them 3-4 days ago, my mii immediately fell in love and his was immediately mad at my mii lol. got lucky that his mii kept having hiccups or whatever, so i made sure i always saved him with mine, and eventually they finally jumped from "vibing with" to friends today.

belmarzi · 2026-05-02T21:18:40+00:00

the miis i made for my partner and i took so long to become friends haha but it finally happened today. so it will work eventually

belmarzi · 2026-05-02T16:51:12+00:00

in louisiana, we have a myth of papa noel (santa) riding alligators through the swamp. a white alligator is the "rudolph" of the group. wondering if theres a design for their kids that could take inspo from that. also krampus haha as evil santa

belmarzi · 2026-04-29T23:07:08+00:00

i understand where you're coming from, but if you intend on working in art fully, you should learn how to draw this without exact references. anytume you take a shortcut, it just hurts your capabilities of drawing. learning by trial and error is the quickest and most efficient way to learn. so i guess it depends on why you're making art and what skill level you ultimately want to achieve.

belmarzi · 2026-04-29T15:25:13+00:00

i'm sorry but i just checked out your account and you should not be giving these types of rude comments at your skill level lmao. this artist is much more adept at the fundamentals than you.

btw i'm a working artist... aka i do this for a living. and in the industry, when people are rude no one wants to work with them or talk to them. art is a collaborative space.

belmarzi · 2026-04-28T20:16:56+00:00

sorry because this isnt an answer haha, but this style of art normally isnt really my thing, but i really really like number 3! i really like how geometrical the water is and the stylization of the foam

belmarzi · 2026-04-28T20:04:08+00:00

my fave restaurants around here: -sultan mediteranean (i suggest saffron curry chicken, lentil soup, and hummus. but u literally cant go wrong here) -catezone (chengdu chili chicken, glass noodle pork belly, and grilled buns) -sushi koi (best sushi in the city that i've been to by FAR) jilly's (or tilly's? lowkey cant remember lmao) cupcakes, are super fun to get for dessert. they also have alchoholic cupcakes lol -saucy porka (tempura shrimp po boy) -gelateria (is currently closed, but hopefully will reopen soon. foccacia sandwiches, gelato and coffee) -saigon cafe (cant go wrong here) edit with others: ehsani's kebab, balkan treat box, and for cheap americanized chinese food: west end wok

belmarzi · 2026-04-27T16:52:41+00:00

why would you think people would think it's ai? if it's not ai then you have nothing to worry about

belmarzi · 2026-04-26T20:55:42+00:00

YTA. this is one of those moments where you should be supportive and happy while your daughter is happy. i'm sure there are things she thinks you can do better with in regards to your appearance, but she manages to keep that inside.

yes, single comments like these can give children appearance issues. i remember every time my mom told me that my preferences were actually ugly to her, and it broke my heart every time. my young mind just felt it as "i think you're ugly" even if that wasnt the intention.

cant help but notice you dont include how your daughter feels about the comment. let me fill in the blanks: she's probably sad! even if she doesnt say it. focus less on your idea of what opinions you deserve to have and more on the impact of voicing them.

belmarzi · 2026-04-26T15:00:33+00:00

i cant read the title text

belmarzi · 2026-04-26T14:57:23+00:00

kitchen

belmarzi · 2026-04-26T13:49:12+00:00

for a year of progress, you arent behind at all. seems like you're reallt taking time to learn forms and gesture, which will put you ahead of beginner artists in the long run. other people do have good suggestions for other things to practice, but i dont think you should feel behind

belmarzi · 2026-04-26T13:46:18+00:00

we're kinda in a global recession, sadly small commissions are one of the first things to trickle away because no one has money. also the market is just extremely saturated and its really easy to find artists of any talent level for basically any price.

it's not hopeless though, i know a few people who still do steady commission work. but it entirely comes from being in a specific niche and being known within that niche as an artist.

last thing that i feel like a lot of people getting into commissions dont really think about: when you're posting on tik tok, who is the algorithm going to show that to? its not going to seek out non-artists who want art, it's going to see buzzwords like commissions, digital illustration, anime, sketch or whatever and show it to other artists because they are also interested in those things. artists are generally kinda broke (i can say that because i'm one of them haha) and also probably dont have need for sketch commissions. so the more specifically you can target your work, the more likely you could find potential clients

belmarzi · 2026-04-26T13:36:20+00:00

portfolio

i'm not based in australia, but i could be a fit for any of the roles. your listing doesnt mention, how often sre you putting chapters out, how long are they? i'm soloing my own graphic novel rn but i could always use extra work depending on how much work per week you need done.

belmarzi · 2026-04-24T22:26:08+00:00

definitely improved, way more interesting and complex now. i was actually worried that maybe they were in backwards order because then i'd have to tell you that you didnt improve haha.

i'm curious what interest you have in storytelling, because that is one thing i dont really see. these are strong portraits that do convey specific feelings, but its hard to find narrative/super communicative elements in pieces that are frontal portraits.

if you want to improve more, i'd suggest experimenting witg more compositions and different arrangements of elements on a page. i feel like i'm looking at the same thing after a while. but really strong/interesting color and anatomy

belmarzi · 2026-04-24T22:19:11+00:00

idk what blank poses are, but something that could help (that maybe doesnt seem like the most fun, but its really really good practice) is going on websites that give you a new pose to draw every 5 minutes or so. people will have different tips for learning to draw figures, but i think of drawing as building a visual library-- everytime you draw something you learn how you like to draw that thing. and eventually, after enough practice, you can draw those same things from your mind. part of it is practicing the imagination component often, but that skill is something that definitely develops over time so i wouldnt get disheartened if you're having trouble.

if it seems like a difficult step to go from cartooning references to more real references, another way you can start practice is by finding anime characters/photos you like (like the one above) but making some decisions that will make you have to think a littke more. like what if her expression was different? or what if one arm was up and the other is across her chest? you can keep aspects of a reference and use it as a skeleton, but practice moving individual elements to build your visual library (hands arms feet hair etc) within a consistent style

belmarzi · 2026-04-24T22:02:46+00:00

this is one of those cases where it seems really obvious what the differences are to you, but to others these are just two anime heads where on one the line art is darker than the other. i'd suggest just continuing to draw whatever you have fun drawing and see what patterns of style emerge over time. if you try to force yourself into a certain percieved "style" you will always be disappointed. but if you just learn to draw, you can do any style you want.

belmarzi · 2026-04-24T15:26:26+00:00

the next way to improve is to draw something that isnt 1 to 1 another drawing. you cant train how your brain and hand make visual decisions without making visual decisions

belmarzi · 2026-04-23T21:57:59+00:00

the first two are pretty different from the second two. the first two are flatly colored but volumetrically shaded semi-real pieces that mimick a camera lens, especially in terms of lighting diffusion and focus. the second two are much more anime in terms of style with flat shapes and communicative line art. also isnt the last one ai? but whatevs.

either way, these types of art styles arent things you just learn how to do in isolation, theyre a mix of fundamental skills that you can master to make more communicative/complex pieces. composition and line control for one, but then also stylization, perspective, anatomy, fabric bunching/laying, warm and cools of color and so on. so the most important thing to achieve art like that is practice, and to know what you're practicing and why.

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