This blog will be a collective portfolio showcasing all of the work/illustrations that I have created over the last few years, showing my work process when creating these illustrations, as well as how I’ve learned to use the programs accordingly.
Whilst I am aware that none of the programs shown/used within this portfolio may be of industry standard, I am willing to learn any program that is presented to me if it is required, though I will need adequate time in order to properly learn how to use the software for what it is needed.
More of my works are available on my art station account linked here for if you wish to view a more vast array of my personal works – ArtStation – Lt Dark Ring
What programs do I use?
My current main program that I use to create my illustrations in is Paint Tool SAI 2. I have been using this program since late-june 2023.
I was introduced to this software by a friend from discord after I had informed them of my many years of using MsPaint, which they recommended strongly due to the extremely limiting factors of MsPaint becoming apparent within my recent illustrations, and expressing mild frustration in how limiting those factors are.
They provided me a copy of the program and allowed me to slowly get the ropes and learn the program. I managed to become competent with the program within a few short weeks, and felt like I could achieve a lot more with the program in question.
Paint Tool SAI 2 effectively has allowed me to cross over all of my previously knowledge and experience that I had learned during my days in using MsPaint, as well as slowly began expanding my limits on what I can do in the program, making more advanced lighting, making my overall drawings have more detail and be much larger in size, which can allow me to put in more effort into my drawings.
However I am aware that I am by no means perfect in my craft in these illustrations, since I have become aware that certain aspect of how I create my drawings need critical improvement in order for me to become sufficiently more efficient at my craft. One are in particular that I believe needs significant improvement would be my layer optimisation.
This primarily develops from my tendency to overly think about making a mistake, or if something needs to be adjusted later on down the line. That and often I tend to not merge layers even when a piece is finished, which is something I believe I can get into the habit of slowly erasing once I am confident that the object in question does not need to be moved or adjusted any further. That or combine them into larger batches as to make them easier to manage, which I have slowly started doing when it comes to shading layers.
I am also not the most competent in terms of my skills when it comes to shading, but I have recently began undergoing self improvement with assistance from friends in a private discord server.
These people would provide me with tutorials on how to improve aspects of my art such as shading, clarity along with other things in the form of video tutorials that they shared with me.
I hope that with the training that I plan on undertaking in order to improve my art skills, I will be able to make it a potential career as a freelancer artist within an online social media space, which I have already started in branching out my works to other social media platforms, as I initially only started showing them in a few select discord servers and on X, but as of recently, have started putting more emphasis on platforms such as reddit & art station, as well as looking at videos such as this one in order to further advance my skills.
What am I capable off as a free lancer artist?
I am capable of drawing a wide range of different characters & environments in a 2D stylized like form.
(each of the images uploaded have been compressed to either 50% size or smaller due to the arbitrary file size limit imposed by word press.)
Whilst I often do draw things in a cartoon like style, I do occasionally go into more horror based content with my illustrations if I do feel that I am up to the task, which I have started doing in some of my more recent drawings in late 2023.
I have also begun experimenting with more emphasis on dynamic lighting along with putting more dedicated time into applying careful shading in order to give the illustration that I am working on a more personal feel to it despite the cartoon like visual style.
I am willing to do most kinds of drawings depending on what kind of description that the client provides, although there are some restrictions when it comes to what I am willing to accept. No major kind of gore or NSFW of any kind will be accepted, since those two are in areas that I am not comfortable with drawing those at the current moment, nor do I feel like my anatomy is at an acceptable level in order to properly draw them.
I also ask that if clients request a character that is not their own, that they get permission from the original owner if possible, as to avoid potential miscommunication, along with other complications down the line.
I plan on maybe expanding my capabilities to other types of work in the future in order to open myself up to not only more opportunities with how my style can evolve, but also into expanding my range for a wider
How long am I capable of working + Doing commission work
I usually take around 1 – 3 weeks per drawing depending on both its size and generally complexity, though simpler ones only take a few days at most. When it comes to doing commission work for clients, they get priority over other illustration projects if any are being done at the time a commission is accepted.
When it comes to accepting work, I limit myself to one client at a time as to ensure that I do not overwork myself and ensure that I pace myself at a comfortable work routine. Clients must also provide me references of the characters that they want to be drawn, as well as be precise in the event they are wanting specific details.
When it comes time for me to accept a client, I post out a sheet onto social media and wait for up to 1 to 2 weeks to see if anyone wishes to accept my services.
When a client has gotten into contact, I discuss with the client what it is that they are interested in, and what kind of product they are wanting.
Clients may request for a work in progress screenshot once every few days as a form of progress report in how their request is currently going. That or I myself will show them if I feel significant progress has been made within a short time span.
When a commission is finished, there are 2 separate renders that are then generated. One is of full quality with a smaller watermark, and is handed to the client in private.
This way ensures that the client gets some form of exclusivity in terms of their product that they can share around as they see fit. The other version is what the general public get to see, having a larger watermark, and having the colours be limited to only 256 across the whole drawing, giving it a more grainy like appearance. Here is a video demonstrating with the image above in showing the differences between the version that the client receives, and the version that the public see’s. Additionally, the version that clients receive, has a smaller watermark that is more opaque and obstructs less.
Once the illustration has been exchanged to the client, and the public version has been shared, I then wait around 2 to 3 months before opening up another slot for the next client to come in and make their order.
All clients that I have had so far, have gotten their orders within a reasonable amount of time, with the most that a client has had to wait being a total of 14 days.
Whilst I would obviously need to learn to be able to handle more clients at regular intervals, I believe I can easily be able to provide for more people once I train myself to be able to complete these illustrations at a much faster pace, I can likely accept to take on more work if I am able to get through clients at a consistent and reliable pace, since so far I have only had a total of 6 clients, so my experience is not too varied with client requests, that and the freelancer artist market is rather saturated with how many people are also doing the same thing, so I plan on making sure that my overall skill level increases to the point where I can more reliably attract clients.
How much experience do I have with drawing
I first began drawing around 2011 – 2012 when I stumbled across someone on youtube making a speed paint video drawing Bowser in Mspaint.
I would say that this video alone, is what started me down the path in wanting to become a freelancer artist. The way they did all the colouring, the shading, the lighting, and the fact that the whole thing was done within the likes of MsPaint, a program that was well known for being very limiting in what it allows its users to do, can still have illustrations as vibrant and detailed as this. It was then that I began to use MsPaint for drawings, and began to make my illustrations.
My works back during my earlier years would be very simple in nature, and rough in terms of design, with them being entirely done in MsPaint. Most of these illustrations back then were purely fan art for content creators I had watched on youtube.
As time passed, I did teach myself to slowly improve over time with my drawing skills, learning to properly balance rough character anatomy (which I’m still working on slowly, but surely), the design of environments, the amount of details within my drawings, amongst other things. This becomes especially apparent when I remake drawings from the past with my current skills, as adamant when comparing a drawing I did from 2020 to its remake in 2023, showing 3 years of experience as well as putting my skills to the test with the recent art program shift.
This self teaching over time is what allowed me to eventually learn and manifest my style into what it would become today, with it showing the mistakes I made, how I learned from them, as well as seeing how I could potentially improve on my art for the future.
I have started to ask around within smaller friend groups in order to see if I could improve my art skills even further in order to potentially allow my self to stand out more within the industry, especially with how saturated the commission market is.
Program preferences
My main preference in term of art program usage is Paint Tool SAI 2 for the drawing process, and Pure Ref when it comes to getting a hold of reference images.
I did originally create my illustrations in MsPaint, back when my skill level was significantly lower than what it is today. This was fine back when my skill level was a lot more limited, and thus MsPaint was suitable for my needs back then. This however came with its own set of limitations, the main thing being that MsPaint (up until recently with Windows 11) does not have access to any form of transparency or layers.
Around late 2020, I actually began to use a secondary program in the form of Paint.Net, that actually aimed to cover many of the limitations that MsPaint had.
For example, this drawing that I created back in May 2023, during one of my last months using MsPaint.
This is the image in its full form, and clearly from observation, one can tell that a lot of objects are overlapping (ie, the plant in the plant pot, the character sat in the chair, etc). This would be difficult to do by default in MsPaint, since the program as previously mentioned, does not have layers or any form of transparency.
Initially, what I would do, is draw every single object separately within the canvas.
Each object would be drawn separately and not connected at all to each other unless they were directly interacting with something (in this case, my character Urti is holding a book in her hands, so it isn’t a separate object since it doesn’t need to be. Everyone would be drawn in this segmented way as so that in the event of mistakes, an entire section of the drawing wouldn’t have to be redone.
This would then be transferred into Paint.net where the objects would then be transferred to their own separate layers and worked on accordingly.
This is how I would do my art for roughly the next 2 – 3 years, and the process would stay mostly the same, up until I would eventually swap over to Paint Tool SAI 2 in late 2023, when a friend would provide me with a copy.
Paint Tool SAI 2 essentially merges the 2 programs into one, and makes it a lot easier to use the program, and not have to bring incomplete art from one program to another, along with having various other features that make the program overall significantly more fluent and easier to use. Paint Tool SAI 2 also has features that neither MsPaint or Paint.net had which makes it much more ideal for me, such as layer folders, layer effects, along with applying a texture on top of what you’ve already drawn in order to give it a unique like feel to it.
Since the swap to Paint Tool SAI, I have not gone back to MsPaint since, as Paint Tool SAI 2 has just been very convenient for me to use, with all of the tools it has to offer in terms of art possibilities that I could use.
Working with teams
When it comes to working with teams, I am more than happy to share progress with my colleges in order to gain feedback, and make potential adjustments that are needed in order to improve the general quality of the asset needed.
For example, when designing concept art for a environment that was meant for an old fashioned hotel, I was given criticism in the form of the design looking too alike to that of a castle than an actual hotel. I took this feedback in mind, and redesigned the asset to more fit what the envisioned goal was.
Not only that, but I also currently work as part of a team in providing additional assets for a Friday Night Funkin mod called “botanic panic”, where I provide pixel art based sprites, as well as a pre-game comic based cutscene.
Video references
olehenrik (2008) Bowser In Ms Paint Available Online: https://youtu.be/7kpbdLC7fbU?si=dC2PYjGmKaUAmAqC
Duchess Celestia (2023) Most Common Art Mistakes (YOU’RE DRAWING WRONG!) || SPEEDPAINT + COMMENTARY Available Online:Most Common Art Mistakes (YOU’RE DRAWING WRONG!) || SPEEDPAINT + COMMENTARY (youtube.com)
Image References
widemouththink (2019) A commission sheet to showcase their prices for creating freelance art for clients [Photograph] Available Online: Character Commission Sheet by widemouthink on Newgrounds
Leave a Reply