ramonn90

Building Characters/Illustrations out of Color (Pink) - Process Video 8h + File!

Hey everyone!

I wanted to create a series of character illustrations under the concept of a color for a while, so I choosed 'Pink' for his recent mainstream popularity lately and the contrast I could build around. I visually addressed shapes and values from pink inspired food, costume and ideas. All of these processes are executed in different ways but following my art process structure, ...

Portfolio Power - 6 Crucial Points Your Portfolio Can't Miss (Beginners & Pros)

Hey Everyone!

Every now and then, I find myself revisiting this subject. Lately, I've noticed some of you expressing concerns about not knowing what to do with your portfolio. I get it. With so many possibilities, building an effective portfolio can be overwhelming. It's all too easy to get lost among a sea of ideas and miss out on landing that job.

Creating an impa...

5 Visual Tips To Creating Magical Compositions - Reflection Video + File!

Hey everyone,

I often like to explore meta concepts in my illustrations. They add a certain layer of information that makes the work unique. If you are into these dreamlike/magical concepts and don't know how to visually approach compositions like these, today I want to share with you five tips I currently use in my pieces, including two I just applied in my latest illustration, "Reflecti...

Mastering Expressive Line Work: The Brushes I Use Most from the 400+ in Our Set!

Hey Everyone!

I've noticed that some of you are struggling to find the right combination of brushes to use from my set. That makes sense since we have around 400+ brushes, but you'll soon notice that I mostly use 5. The rest are extras for very particular textures I use from time to time.

So today, let's talk about expressiveness and dynamism through brushes and which of the brushes...

Bringing Characters to Life: 4 Personality Building Tips (Sisters File & 5h Video)

Hey Everyone!

Creating and balancing more than one character in a composition is tough. Today, I wanted to share with you some tips I tried while creating "Sisters" (my latest illustration).

About Sisters

"Sisters" composition is an interesting mix between character design and illustration. The reason behind this conclusion is because you can read the full bod...

How to Avoid Gig Fails: Tips to Nail Your Client Expectations

Hey everyone,

Communication isn't as simple as it looks. When we're hired by clients, we are under the pressure of expectations, and we aspire to deliver our best. However, this pressure can sometimes hinder us from accomplishing our tasks. Today, I want to share some simple tips that can help you avoid potential issues with your clients.

The other day, I shared a slight hint about ...

Balancing References & Style: Steps Towards Original Art Part 2 (4H Video + File)

Hey everyone!

Continuing with what we were discussing in yesterday's post about "Steps Towards Original Art," during this process, you will find insights about my approach to using references to create original ideas, guiding the way from using references beyond just studies.

Bird Character

The most extreme case was the angel/devil character, in which I primar...

Trapped in Study Mode? Steps Towards Original Art

Hey Everyone!

I've been discussing with some of you the challenge of stepping outside the 'study' zone and moving into a more 'original' or 'creative art' space. So today I wanted to bring this topic to the table and see how I can help.

Testimony

Recently, one particular artist/patron has been studying anatomy for a significant period of time (a year and a h...

Exploring Interaction: A Critical Element in Illustrations (File + 5H Video)

Hey everyone!

In this article, I'll guide you through the creation of my 'Lineman' illustration, which blends features from the Booby bird and the linemen profession. I'll be diving into both the conceptual and technical aspects of the process, particularly emphasizing a simple tip for incorporating character-environment interaction for storytelling. Also, I'll be discus...

The Impact Of Color: An Introspective Approach on Guillermo Del Toro

Hey everyone!

As artists, we want to create a strong impression on our viewers, something that prevails in their memory. And I think one of the most powerful visual ways is through values and colors. Setting proper lighting and a balanced colored composition can evoke feelings in the audience. So how do we do that?

Today's post is a bit different. Usually, I address a point/problem ...

From Grief to Art: Using Suffering to Create Characters/Stories (Soulmates Video + PSD)

Hey everyone!

My goal as an artist is not just to make pretty pictures. Yes, it's one of the things I love since I'm very into visual stuff, but beyond that, I believe one of the most interesting opportunities we have as artists is to portray our human experience. Being "original" is not about being eccentric, colorful, or extroverted, it's about thinking for yourself, being aware of your...

Creating From Imagination! - A Pattern Recognition Exercise!

Hey Everyone!

Today, I want to share a simple exercise to strengthen your ability to draw from imagination. As I've mentioned before, creating from imagination is largely an act of recalling from memory. We can assume that our brains collect vast amounts of visual information throughout our lives, and this data gets triggered when we need to visualize something.

We have a natural te...

Afraid of Making Mistakes? - Productive Block & Perfectionism: 2 Strategies to Break Free! (Predators 8h Video + File)

Hey, guys!

We have been discussing how we can overcome the creative block, but how about the productive block? This is kind of like the total opposite. Instead of having no idea what to do, assuming you've overcome your creative block with a nice set of points to address in your art, the "productive block" is actually the thing that stopped you.

Picture this: You have so many possib...

Capturing Energy! Tips to Expression, Dynamism, and Perspective Depth

Hey everyone!

During this series, my focus was on capturing the energy of the original references through expressions and dynamism. On top of that, I added a small twist commonly found in my illustrations related to depth. Let's break down each step so you can apply this to your illustrations.

Expression Energy
Expression in characters can be represented through ...

New Patron's Beginner Guide: Navigating Collections for Faster Art Improvement

Welcome!

You've just joined my Patreon and if you're overwhelmed by the great amount of content you've just unlocked, don't worry. In this article, I'll help you tackle this issue so you can get the most out of my work for your improvement.

Let's divide our plan into three steps: My Process, Information, and Execution:

.

1. My Process

The first t...

Simplified Shadows to Pump Up Colors! File + 4H Process Video

Hey guys!

What are you finding useful in this particular process?

Cell + Color Burn
As you may have noticed, the render in these two pieces leans more towards the cell style, similar to animation, but slightly more complex since I'm adding an extra "color burn" shadow right on the edge of the shadow shape. This small touch pumps up the shapes a bit more, making ...

Color Palettes Made Easy: 3 Steps Exercise!

Hey everyone!

You've just finished a nice drawing and you feel proud about it. You even added some values. But then the color phase comes and you have no idea what palette to choose. Your colors look saturated, too dark, or they are a total mess.

Today, I'll share a very simple coloring exercise for you to try with your characters or any kind of composition you're creating.

1....

My First Time Using Outfit Values - Moon Kutepunk Process + File

Hello Hello!

This process is particularly interesting because I approached the conceptual and technical aspects in a different way. To make things easy for you, this article will be divided into "Concept" and "Technique" sections. Feel free to skip to each phase depending on your interest. Let's dive in!

Concept Insights

I didn't start with the "moon" topic as a main goal fr...

Anatomy Meets Perspective: Master the Cube Part 2 - Kutepunk 7

Hi everyone!

In my last article, we talked about enhancing your perspective skills with a simple cube exercise using head references. Now, let's extend this technique to the entire human body.

The complexity of human anatomy can be a lifelong artistic challenge, but my aim here is to introduce a straightforward structure that you can use to create characters with varied gestures and...

I Did This Illustration Twice, Did I Fail? 🤔 - Kutepunk Kari Video + File

Hello! 

During this process, you'll notice that I changed the entire illustration after I was 80% done. Here's why:

Problem
This painting was created in two days. During the first day, I was in the middle of a tough situation. I don't usually share specifics, but sometimes life throws an extra dose of chaos your way, and if you're not prepared, it can hit yo...

Simple Perspective Exercise! Master the Cube - Kutepunk Kari

Hey guys!

Today, I wanted to talk about a topic that people often associate with my work, perspective. The fast and maybe boring answer to how to improve is "practice", but that leads to more questions. Practice what? Where do I start? What should I actually study? I also ask myself similar questions when I'm trying to improve certain skills. So, here's a simple exercise you can try if yo...

Painting Shadows! - "Hungry" 7H Process Video + File

Hey guys!

In this process video, you will see two different approaches to concept and technique, especially in how soft and hard edges can boost the realism of your shadows (using only two brushes). Let's dive in!

Concept

I did not start with the "hungry" idea. Instead, I chose interesting pictures to study values. Throughout the process, I thought about...

Flat Characters? 3 Steps to Nail Realistic Lighting - Cutepunk 5: Hungry

Hey everyone!

Do you notice your characters looking flat in terms of values and don't know why? Today, I'll give you three tips that I'm currently using for my latest pieces, and you can try them in any of yours!

Let's dive into my process during these series. Technically speaking, I'm currently working on values, specifically cloth values. I study how the fabric behaves based on th...

Blocked by Overthinking? 3 Tips to Deal with It - Cutepunk Tiger File + 4H Process Video

Hey guys!

My approach to illustration can often be confusing. As I've mentioned in the post about my "Composition Formula" two weeks ago, I have a list of points I like to address, but being overly technical from the start doesn't always work. Sometimes the "core" idea shifts, it could be a ges...

Dealing With Burnout!: 4 Personal Tips - Masterclass #9

Hey everyone!

Often I have the opportunity to create something, but I don't want to, and sometimes I don't even understand why exactly. Maybe it's because I feel tired, maybe I feel it's a waste of time, or maybe I just need someone to talk about it for a few mins. Knowing exactly what bothers us sometimes can be essential to improve our performance. This requires a certain level of aware...

Rendering Fabric With Only TWO BRUSHES - Process Video and File! (11h Of Pure Sauce)

Hello guys!

Here is the process video and file for the last post's exploration about fabric. This time, you'll find a different approach in terms of composition, not a crazy perspective or full body, but I still keep some small points I usually use when creating art. Although I was only exploring fabric, I pushed the perspective of the characters' poses by drawing a three-dimensional squa...

4 Points to Avoid When Drawing/Painting Fabric! (Stylization)

Hey guys! 

I'm sure you already know this, but it's important to revisit from time to time what 'style' means. Style is basically how you simplify the world; you must constantly pay attention and reproduce with your hands what you see, for a duration long enough to find patterns and simplify through your unique interpretation. This often happens organically, without you even noticing...

Cutepunk Series - Process Video and Files (Creating From Imagination)

Hey guys!

Here are the process and files for the Cutepunk series and yesterday's Mimi Illustration. What you'll find in these files is a mixture of creation from imagination and references (Concept, illustrations, and character design).

Cutepunk 1: https://youtu.be/pH3NJ0S1BYE

Cutepunk 2: 2023-06-07 19:12:53 +0000 UTC View Post

Creating From Imagination - 3 Tips to Bootstrap Your Process

Hey guys,

As artists, we strive to create 100% original art, something we feel proud of and that's also unique. However, we often face a daunting barrier due to a lack of creativity and technical skills. The solution is straightforward; drawing from imagination is simply using your memory to record moments and grasp the technical structures of art fundamentals while sitting in front of yo...

Dive Deep into 'Bird Portraits' Process Videos and Files!

Hey Everyone! In this post, you will find the process video and file of the bird portraits! This was a fun and frustrating experience. Frustration often surfaces when I draw, but I'm used to it since it's just part of the process. Offering some uniqueness to you is what brings meaning to me, not just creating pictures but interesting ideas and iterations of the real world.

If you read the...