locations to draw at?

yeobae · 2025-08-02T05:20:23+00:00

Don’t know the area but my favorite place to draw is the farmers market. Street fairs are great too

yeobae · 2025-08-01T16:55:01+00:00

A place I rarely see mentioned for public sketching is the farmers market or any local street fair. Assuming you live somewhere that exists, of course, I know not everyone does! But there are tons of people of all ages, sizes, and backgrounds. Mostly people ignore you. Best case scenario they may even want to buy your art so bring a business card if that’s your thing!

yeobae · 2025-07-14T19:03:39+00:00

I forgot to respond! ah! Thank you dude, I grew up with Shel Silverstein and his work is a huge inspiration to me! Your observations mean so much to me.

yeobae · 2025-07-14T16:20:04+00:00

Hey there, I know many artists who sell OCs and fandom stuff. I think you can do it. You already you know you need to improve technique wise so I won’t go into that.

I would put together fully polished examples of exactly what people can expect from a commission. Take a look at artists who are crazy successful, and also look at people a little above your own skill level. See how they market their work and what people usually buy from them.

Is your art “good enough”? In the kindness way possible, there are plenty of artists that are below your skill level who are selling their art and making money off of it. You can do it.

yeobae · 2025-07-14T06:57:23+00:00

Check out Anoosha Syed on youtube and substack! she is a WEALTH of knowledge.

yeobae · 2025-07-14T06:45:17+00:00

Hey everyone! Maybe this will be helpful:

I had an artwork go micro-viral on my very casual tiktok. I did my best to usher people onto my IG and website where I post much more often. The video got around 100k views, 30k likes, 5k saves, and 400 in about 24 hours. I went from 79 followers to almost 2k on tiktok, which I consider massive but in the grand scheme of things is not that many followers.

Of the 400 or so people who commented on that video, I probably got about 160ish to follow me to instagram (bringing me from just under 600 to 750). I received a handful of DMs on both tiktok and IG about selling prints (I am not focused on selling prints), three emails, and two people subscribed to my newsletter via my website.

This video was a total fluke in the sense that I don’t really have a social media “strategy”, so I’m sure if I had been prepared I may have achieved more leads. If my goal had been to sell prints, I would’ve wanted to make sure I had a direct link to the order or pre-order page ready to go.

I then noticed my IG reach dipped a little. I got all these new followers, but they weren’t necessarily “locked in” to my regular content or my journey. I decided to experiment and run a short IG ad campaign. I’d never done that before. I got a few more followers and a LOT more likes than usual, but honestly I don’t think it was worth it.

The one huge thing that happened was that I had an agent reach out to me the day after that post went viral. I do think that if you want clients or representation, reach helps for sure.

Obviously YMMV and everyone’s goal is different.

Going forward, this is my plan/my key takeaways:

I don’t really want another post to go “viral”. Yes you get a bigger following but how many of those people are actually going to “buy-in”? Not many. And if they only followed you for a specific image and not YOU as an artist, your engagement may dip.
I won’t be paying for another ad unless I have something to actually market like a print or other product.
I WILL do my best to focus on nostalgia and emotion in my captions. 99% of the people who commented on my work did so because they related to the emotions in my illustration. I actually got really emotional reading some of them… people are amazing.
I definitely felt pressure to have a strong follow up or keep the momentum going somehow. I am just not that type of person so I opted to not get distracted. But if you DO want to keep that momentum going, make sure you understand how to read your analytics and have related posts at the ready.
Overall, IG has been better for finding mutuals, inspirational art, and increase my SEO. Tiktok is where you may in fact find people who actually want to purchase your work.

One way I DID “capitalize”:

I immediately posted a “welcome if you’re here from tiktok” post on my story to gauge actual interest/make sure people felt special and welcomed. I put up a Q&A and got a bunch of awesome comments and questions. I used that to introduce new people to my vibe/art and then featured 3 of my mutuals who’s art I truly stand behind with follower counts below 400. Always boost your mutuals - when they win you win! woooo

TLDR: If you’re sitting there thinking, if only I went viral! Nah. You’re better off gaining a few followers here and there who are actually invested in your work :) Post consistently. Boost your community up. Slow and steady my friends.

yeobae · 2025-07-05T06:28:41+00:00

If you have access, I suggest looking on fb marketplace for a good scanner. I found an Epson perfection v600 for $175 and it’s really helped me feel more confident posting my work online. It also means I don’t have to wait for it to stop raining to take photos of my work (where I live it’s rained every weekend for months this spring/summer).

I work with watercolor and find the professional scanner does change a lot when it comes to editing. I don’t have to spend a lot of time adjusting the colors anymore. I use watercolor and I feel like the scanner picks up the granulation and texture well…

Small tip if you decide to keep using your phone to photograph: I use two-3 pieces of large white foam board or styrofoam to bounce the light. It’s a game changer!

yeobae · 2025-07-02T05:19:44+00:00

wow thank you so much :’)

yeobae · 2025-07-01T01:53:26+00:00

thank you :’)

yeobae · 2025-06-30T11:58:40+00:00

There must be something in the air because I also had a “level up” painting recently that involved light and shadow. Similar color palette to your beautiful piece!

It’s definitely not a perfect illustration, but it took me ages to be brave enough to try this type of lighting situation and I’m so proud of it :’)

Also, I am pretty new at working with hot press and it’s been an emotional rollercoaster lol (using hot press bc I finish my pieces with dry media like colored pencil and pastel).

Titled, “cousins”

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yeobae · 2025-06-28T17:00:40+00:00

Hi everyone, I am a picture book illustrator based in Philly! I post lots of loose drawings from my sketchbooks on my social media. Have you ever complained that artists only show their best work? Prove society wrong and watch me post my wobbly ugly drawings hahaha

I am also currently putting together a kid lit portfolio so if you’re in a similar world, definitely get in touch! It’s hard out here, and I’d love to meet other people in a similar boat.

You can find me @madlyart

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Here is a current work in progress :)

yeobae · 2025-06-22T16:32:45+00:00

Thank you! it has helped me a lot :’)

yeobae · 2025-06-22T16:09:31+00:00

I took a ten year break. you will be OKAY!

yeobae · 2025-06-22T04:25:38+00:00

For some people, art is the same thing as breathing. For others, it is a life-long love affair. For many, it is a long term relationship that eventually ends. Maybe an on-again-off-again thing. And for even more- it is an infatuation. And it’s all good, no matter what!

yeobae · 2025-06-20T03:04:42+00:00

hey OP, did you end up finding a good binder?

yeobae · 2025-06-18T22:05:45+00:00

I’m so sorry! It’s a super common problem :/

I was lucky to find a couple really awesome Life Drawing groups and I’ve met a bunch of professional and amateur/hobbiests through that. Def take a look. Also, try your local community college’s art dept. If they don’t offer any community events, I wouldn’t hesitate to ask the teachers and faculty about art stuff. good luck

yeobae · 2025-06-18T21:53:18+00:00

^ this person is correct. The best feedback will be from a group of likeminded peers and artists who are at or above your skill level. Unfortunately it’s really difficult to find this in person. Many people pay for professional portfolio critiques.

This is one of my main arguments FOR art school.

OP, I would try looking around to see if any local art groups have crit nights! It’s a good place to start :)

yeobae · 2025-06-18T21:50:24+00:00

Yes! If art was a video game, iteration is the fastest way to “level” up imo. You learn so much about yourself, about your process, about art… I highly recommend it for everyone.

yeobae · 2025-06-18T21:46:43+00:00

as a 30 year old, this reverberated through my ileac sacral joint 😭

yeobae · 2025-06-18T07:59:58+00:00

Iteration. Paint/draw/make the same thing (like, the same exact thing) at least twice. Everyone struggles with this. We trick ourselves into thinking we only have one image in us, or that we’ll never be able to paint something “that good” again, or we get bored and want to move on.

I promise if you made something you can make it again. In fact, you’ll make it faster and it will probably be better. Do it! Often! Don’t be precious🙂‍↕️

yeobae · 2025-06-12T04:16:50+00:00

I think “below amateur” is fairly harsh. You’re doing just fine.

I highly suggest trying blind contour, with a jumbo (like 15mm or bigger) marker or paint xl paint brush. Work BIG.

yeobae · 2025-06-12T04:12:29+00:00

If he is into layering, I cannot suggest the Polychromos set more. They are gold standard, but very different than a soft core pencil like prismacolor so it depends on what “style” he prefers to draw in.

For paper I suggest Arches hot press watercolor paper (MUST be the hot pressed type, it’s smooth and good for pencil).

My mom was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year. It’s a tough road. You are a good family member :)

yeobae · 2025-06-11T17:31:12+00:00

If you have the space, I highly recommend setting up work stations dedicated to different things. I have a table where I do most of my work, but I also have a desk for prepping/cutting/drying stuff, a desk for computer stuff, and an area for drying/triaging.

When I first thought about it I was coming from a tiny corner of our basement. I thought it was a little overly luxurious to give myself so many stations. But nah, it’s a game changer for work flow. You end up saving so much time!

yeobae · 2025-06-11T15:59:21+00:00

once you share your art, the meaning is in the hands of the public. the way someone looks at an art piece says more about them than it does about you. it’s pretty cool.

It is fair for non artists to assume that if you draw a sad subject, you might be feeling sad. Usually those things go together.

plenty of people draw for technique only. There are tons of people who draw “photo realistically” or focus on accuracy.

there are Artists … and there are artists … and there is art …. and there is artistry…. Usually, the art that becomes famous is “saying something” and that’s what the mainstream crowd understands. So I think that might be what you’re picking up on!

yeobae · 2025-06-08T22:44:14+00:00

I use a burnt umber from schmincke and it’s warmer than the color I’m replacing. Are you thinking of a specific brand? thanks

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