Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
For some reason, this year I'm so excited for the holiday season. It might be because everyday has been consistently too warm for my liking and I'm desperately waiting for December in hopes that it actually rains for once.
I've been hoping to do the DIY Sharpie Mugs that I've been seeing everywhere on Pinterest and I'll post something about that closer to Christmas time.

But since this project is going to take significantly longer time, I had decided to start it now.




B e g i n n i n g  N o t e s :
My How-To book is on how to draw Anime or Manga characters (in a very 'Audrey-like way'). So for this purpose, I bought a sketch book.
Your How-To book can be on anything. You don't have to buy a sketch book, you can create your own book, use a notebook, or just bind a few sheets of copy paper together.



I bought my sketch books from Barnes and Noble. Their sketch books are cute and are usually under 15 bucks.

M A T E R I A L S :

For this project I used these colorful gel pens, a standard black pen, a pencil and an eraser. 

The reason why I'm using a wooden pencil is that it usually writes lighter, so it erases better. It also produces thicker lines, which I think would be helpful for the reader to see and understand. 
The black pen is used to write paragraphs of information. Whereas the color pens I use to color code certain words, or just to make the page look brighter and more welcoming. 
You also might want to throw in a ruler or straightedge if you can't write straight or you require one to work on your book.

What I did: 

Since this is a very individualized, creative present, I can't exactly give you a set of steps to follow. Instead, I can offer you a list of tips. 

Decorate The Front Cover: Make it fancy, colorful and inviting. Since my cover was originally black and white, I filled in some white space with some Sharpies.
An Intro Page and Table of Contents: Easy navigation is always a helpful thing. If you're out of ideas, you can use the ToC to take up some space. In the Intro, you can leave a small little note of happy holidays or give a reason to why you made the book. 
Separate Sections with Tabs: Use colorful tabs to make a statement. I'm using neon colored paper tabs to color code certain areas. I couldn't find the exact one that I bought myself, but there is a similar more durable type here.
Quick DIY/Alternate Idea: 
Buy colored post-it notes and cut them in thirds. 
Have Sections and Sub-Sections: Organize your thoughts into categories, make large general sections and set smaller more detailed spaces



As sort of a little tid-bit: 
My mother brought home some Beijing Yogurt, and they're one of the best things you'll try. They're sweet unlike the plain yogurt that you buy here. If you buy them in Beijing, they sell them with straws (I know it's kind of weird) but you actually 'drink' your yogurt. 

I'll be posting within a few weeks on possibly more DIYs for Christmas presents!

XX, Audrey







I used to be one of those people who'd watch How-To Manga Youtube videos and copy anime drawings off of Google Images. As I would scroll through the comments, I would see a lot of these:
  • Please teach me how to draw a perfect circle!
  • How do you draw perfect circles??? >.<
Well here's a fun fact: in drawing anime faces: you really don't need a perfect circle. As perfect as those Youtubers draw their circles, it doesn't really matter. Draw some kind of oval, egg-shaped thing. You'll still get a pretty close face. 

Why?
  • Are faces perfectly round? 
    • They aren't, so if your circle is perfectly round, it's still going to change into a resemblance of a face. All faces have angles where their eyes are, the bridge of their nose, the line of their jaw. 
  • Anime faces usually have oval faces with a pointy chin (exc. Chibis)
    • If you'd raw a perfect circle, your face is going to turn more round than the oval ones you see so often. 
Well... they can't be too crazy either.
  • Try to aim for something for a bit more oval shaped (not entirely!) not extremely round. It will make it easier for you to shape your cheeks.
  • Make sure that the top of your circle (forehead) is about the same size (or smaller) as the bottom (chin). You can shape your chip later into a more defined point
But I still want to know how to draw a perfect circle!

I have to admit that my circles (that I draw freehand) are pretty close to perfect circles, but the most important part is that it comes with practice. You really can't expect yourself to draw a perfect circle in your first try, so don't get too frustrated with yourself. I've been drawing circles for about 2-3 years, and after all the repetition, my hand is used to the movements. 

Try, Erase 'N Trace

  1. Draw some sort of circle looking thing. 
  2. Fine tune the edges until you get close to a perfect circle. 
  3. Go over their final perfect circle a few times, pressing hard on your pencil so that it makes a like dent in the paper
  4. Erase your circle
  5. Retrace your circle by following the dent that you had previously made
There is another one, in which all you do is draw a circle, and fine tune it. You can erase the edges of your finished circle to make it look neater. The next way is a method I learned in class. 

The more complicated way (and doesn't exactly guarantee a perfect circle) 
  1. Draw a square (yes a square). Make sure to make it about the size of how big you want you circle to be. **The smaller you want your circle to be, the harder it will be to use this method
  2. Starting from the corners of your square, star rounding off the edges so it resembles more and more of a circle
  3. Keep on doing step two until you're satisfied with your ending result 
  4. Erase your previous lines until all you have on your paper is your circle
That's it! If you keep on practicing drawing circles (just free handed), you'll get better and better, I promise. 

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Too many things to do. Too little time. Who knew Halloween could be so stressful?

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