takyarts 3Speak Podcast: Recent Episodes
Takyarts
Listen and watch the latest videos from takyarts. Hosted by 3Speak.tv. The free speech video platform on the HIVE blockchain.
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=takyarts/frnxgncg
Three days late from Valentine's Day. Yup! What's new, Takyarts? Lol.
Unlike most of you (probably) who had a festive day last Valentine's Day, that day passed by like any normal day for me. Oh no, don't feel pity for me! I'm fine. Yeah I'm fine even though I'm sick and I feel tired most of the time. (Blame the medicines I'm taking! Oh, wait! Let me take them now as I am editing this post!) I want to have a long sleep, to be honest, but I can't because there are couple of things I have to do until my birthday.
Anyway, highway.. our Valentine activity on ArtPark was to create a Valentine creature. Sounds exciting but I don't really know what to create until the day before the deadline/presentation day. If you're on Noise, check out the ArtPark channel to see the rest of art entries and other artworks posted. And maybe you can say hi to @straykat too. That's me on Noise. :)
"Valenti-NO, The Valentine Grinch"
Pretty sure it's obvious what character this bunny has just by reading his name and seeing what he has done with the bow and arrow. Valenti-NO is a bunny who despises the Valentine's season, thus, the archenemy of Cupid. As you can see in the drawing, he has been in a battle against Cupid and it's clear who won the clash. Don't mess with this fluff because he isn't only just fluff but also buff! See that bicep that broke the bow and arrow? Beware! His golden-spiked collar and black rose on his head should be enough to send the message that he isn't someone you want to mess with.
Valenti-NO only comes out from his lair every Valentine's season to have a duel with Cupid. Isn't it ironic, he should've just stayed in his lair until Valentine's is over. Lol. He abhors anything related to the occasion so imagine his disgust standing on that LED floor with lots of hearts!
Honestly, this is not the most creative creature I have drawn since it's just a bunny with bulky arms (or arm, because we can only see one from that angle). His name is also not that creative. I cringe on it, actually. Haha. It's again ironic that I named him Valentino when, in fact, he hates the occasion. But the name is also perfect in portraying his character. Valenti-'NO'.
I allotted some time last week to watch some art tutorials to bring in new techniques to improve my future drawings. I admit that only few of what's discussed in the tutorials have retained into my memory because I kept dozing off and would only wake up when the video is about to end. Typical Takyarts. Lol. However, I made use of what I learned on the tutorials in drawing Valenti-NO. The first victim of applying what I learned.
🌟 Drawing Process 🌟
This is the first time I overused the blending modes Multiply, Difference, and Overlay. I rarely use the Multiply and Difference but tutorials showed how useful they are and so I tried using them more. I used the Multiply and Difference for the shadows while Overlay for the highlight. I love how this technique has made my rendering faster especially with the shadows. And adding shadows under Difference or Multiply blending option gives colorful shadows. It's fun and I no longer have to choose what color should I choose for coloring the shadows which is awesome.
Here's a timelapse video if you wish to see my whole drawing process. Thank you! :)
Medium: Digital (Wacom Cintiq)
Program: Clip Studio Paint Debut
Video edited on Adobe Premiere CS6
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=takyarts/dhkjsgbd
Hello! Here's another Year of the Water Tiger art with this year's color, Veri Peri, a strange and fresh name to my ears which I find cute.
This art was actually done during the first week of this year, as ArtPark's first art challenge. The challenge was to draw a tiger in celebration for Year of the Tiger and at the same time, incorporate the color Veri Peri. This was a real challenge for me because even though I draw cats occasionally, I've never drawn a tiger ever.
Veri Peri Water Tiger
Let's have a little chat about the Chinese Zodiac and Veri Peri.
So there are two kinds of zodiacs, the Western and Chinese. Western are those like Aries, Taurus, Gemini, etc. While the Chinese are the animals like Tiger, Dog, Sheep, etc. Both have 12 elements but while the Western zodiac are assigned on the 12 months of the year, the Chinese zodiac animals are assigned per year, plus a nature element which could either be water, earth, fire, or metal. Thus, we get Year of the Water Tiger, Metal Ox, Earth Rabbit, and so on.
I don't know which zodiac you follow, or if you follow one, but I do follow both. I'm a Pisces and as much as I want to tell my animal sign and element, I'd rather not to because that would give you a clue of my age. Lol!
They say Year of the Tiger is a time for change, clear thinking and bold new moves as tigers represent grandness and leadership. Have big plans in your head lately? Maybe it's time to act on them this year! The advise for my animal sign this year is to seize every opportunity and that's what I will try to do. Hopefully, I have lots of energy for it. Carpe diem!!! Year of the Water Tiger begins from February 1 of 2022 until January 21 of 2023.
Meanwhile, the color Veri Peri looks pleasing, honestly. I watched on the television late December last year that this color perfectly represents digitalization and the internet world. This color has a touch of purple, indigo, blue, and gray, if I remember correctly from the news.
So for my New Year art, I drew a white water tiger inside a veri peri-colored water bubble.
This took me a while before I gained motivation to grab my pen and draw a tiger because I felt intimated drawing one. I could've drawn a cute tiger but I want something that looks realistic this time and of course, that wouldn't be possible without a reference.
I wanted this drawing to appear neat and compact which led me to the idea of putting the tiger inside a bubble. But as I think of it, isn't it ironic? Tigers represent aggressiveness yet I cooped my tiger in a bubble. Anyway, the circle was also inspired from the Christmas balls I drew for Rozelle and Rudolph.
I also used veri peri color for the tiger's stripes. I don't know if you notice it. :)
Drawing Process
I actually love this drawing, most especially the colors and it's overall simple look. Making the rough sketch of the tiger was the real challenge here but I'm glad I was able to do it.
I personally like the color combination of the background. It's a mix of veri peri and a light muted purple pink shade. I like using muted colors for backgrounds as they don't hurt my eyes making it easier for me to draw. The first thing I did to achieve this blend of colors was to fill the background with a solid color of the muted purple pink. Next, with a gradient tool which goes from solid then fading to transparent, I picked the color veri peri then dragged the gradient tool from top until halfway of the canvas.
And for the final step, I again used the muted color and used the same gradient tool. This time, I only applied the gradient color a little on top. Of course, my final touch to each of my drawings is the oil paint texture.
Medium: Digital (Wacom Cintiq)
Program: Clip Studio Paint
Video edited on Adobe Premiere CS6
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=takyarts/dcrymiix
"I got the eye of the tiger, a—"
Ah, hello! It's about time to sing this song because, you know, 2022 is Year of the Water Tiger!
Kung Hei Fat Choi! I learned somewhere before that there are couple of ways to say this greeting but I saw our province's post on social media use these words, so Kung Hei Fat Choi to everyone celebrating the Lunar New Year! Since Chinese New Year begins on February 1st and this month being my birth month, I have decided to create a special art.
This does not happen often and maybe never again. People, I present to you, Tiger Takyarts!!!
Tiger Takyarts
Can you hear her roar? Lol. First of all, I would like to apologize to my alter ego avatar for making her wear a swimsuit. It's something I wouldn't dare to do in real life so she must do it in my behalf. Though I guess she's liking her new costume. She's now like a legit Instagram babe! Haha!
The original plan was only to draw her in swimsuit with tiger print but then it looked really simple so I added the tail and ears. It was a right choice after all because she turned out a lot cuter. I also adorned her with some gold accessories to make her look extra fancy.
I think it's obvious why I drew in a swimsuit. Yeah, because the element for this year is water. And I drew her doing a cat's pose with her hands because it's Tiger Year, of course! Tigers are giant cats, right?
And also, I know one of the first things you've put your eye on when you saw this drawings was this:
Takyarts' very own tiger stripes! She doesn't have to wear a clothing with tiger prints on it because she already have it naturally on her body. You may be surprised seeing this. The reason why I added stretchmarks, a.k.a. tiger marks on her bum, was to show and express the natural body of a woman (and men because they have that too.) Social media has blinded our standards on beauty, that one has to look this and that to be considered beautiful and gain the approval of many. Of course, it's not wrong to improve or enhance your appearance but if you're doing it for the wrong reasons, then it's wrong. Ah, the things we do for the internet and attention.
Of course, this post wouldn't be complete without the icing! Time to sing along!
I was literally listening to this song during and after drawing. You wonder what I'm doing after drawing? Of course, staring on the finished drawing while Katy's song play on the background. :) I'm thinking of changing my profile photo with this, I didn't expect I would be making a nice version of Takyarts this time!
Drawing Process
You know, I am still amazed of how doing the rough sketch went so easy for me. Such a rare occurrence. If you watch the timelapse video above, you see I started with her legs and made my way up to her head. Guess the lesson here is to just start on the part that is easiest for you or where you could easily connect and scale the other parts.
I also used a pen with textured edges for the lineart and tried a new style of drawing the eyes. I learned this from LavenderTowne on one of her Youtube shorts. The pen I used has Korean characters and I'm sorry because I can't read Korean letters. Maaaan, I should've taken my Korean language subject seriously back in college! Could be very useful in times like this!
I know the difference and jump of progress from the third and fourth photo is huge. I got lost into drawing and forgot to save wips in between. Sorry! Just watch the timelapse for the full process. Thank you!
Medium: Digital (Wacom Cintiq)
Program: Clip Studio Paint
Time: Approximately 4 Hours
Video Edited on Adobe Premiere CS6
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=takyarts/dugjdxrf
Christmas and New Year are the most festive holidays of the year. And when it comes to foods, well, Filipinos are serious about it. These holidays aren't complete without lots of foods on the table. Those glistening fats to diabetic sweets. Mmm!! Come one, come all! This is the time to not hold back, to forget those diet and exercise you've religiously done for the year.
You've done your best for the year and, of course, you deserve to celebrate, right? And then come after the holiday, you step on the weighing scale hoping nothing much has changed. 🤡
You close your eyes for a second, taking a deep breath, as the numbers roll like a roulette and then slowly it stops pointing to a certain number.
Baaam!! You discover you gained two kilograms!
"Holibelly"
Welcome to my story.
Well, just like my intro, I did have a blast during the holidays. (This is a very late post, I know, I blame my laziness.) My family bought lots of foods and some were only for my mother and I because other members are too picky with what they can only ingest. You know, in the typical Filipino family, the leftovers you had during the holiday will be your meal on the succeeding days until everything gets consumed. And for New Year, we have the pre and post New Year's Eve meal. For the pre New Year, we eat the dinner foods. Then for the post New Year, was where the desserts got devoured.
I can still remember eating spaghetti at 3 AM after some ice cream, pie, and gelatin cake. I still felt full even after I woke up.
Later on, I brought out a weighing scale and checked my weight. And holy moly macaroni tutti frutti spaghetti! I gained two kilograms!
This was like two weeks worth of exercise gone to waste. I started exercising at 53 kilograms until I reached 48.5 kilograms before the holidays. And then holiday came, and yours truly, enjoyed the feast. But more like, told to help eat the leftovers.
No regretti!
So here's me, Takyarts, looking down on my 'Holiday Belly' or the 'Holibelly', reminiscing all the fun times last holiday. I don't know if there's such a word as Holibelly, maybe I just created a new one?
I kind of felt sad because I'm almost back to square one. I'm already beyond the required weight for my height and I'm doing this not because of societal pressures but for my health and comfort. Remember the saying, "What you tolerate will continue." I'm afraid that it will become worse someday if I don't act now. Anyway, I drew this as a reminder not to be hard on myself. I'm not in a rush anyway so it's alright to indulge myself with lots of foods during special occasions. :)
Drawing Process
Drawing chibi is tricky for me as I always change styles. Sometimes they look thin with longer legs and sometimes they look like this, with short and thick legs. I still can't decide which style I should stick with, it's kind of frustrating sometimes.
Well, there's nothing much to say on the drawing process because this is just a very simple drawing. Oh, it's been a while since I used a square canvas. Square dimensions are visually nice, though I still prefer a rectangle canvas because it doesn't feel cramped.
Medium: Digital (Wacom Cintiq)
Program: Clip Studio Paint
Video edited on Adobe Premiere CS6
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=takyarts/cdjepawj
We all heard of the saying,
It's better to give than to receive.
Do you give without expecting something in return or with conditions?
Last holiday, one of our art challenges on ArtPark was to illustrate the Art of Giving. Thinking of what to draw for this theme was challenging. I didn't feel like drawing humans, I wanted to draw things to symbolize the subject. As it was challenging, it took me until the presentation day until I was able to come up with an idea.
Be A Blessing To Someone
To represent the Art of Giving, I drew a sunflower laying on top of angel's feathers. So what do the sunflower and feathers have to do with the topic?
In the drawing, I drew iridescent angel feathers to symbolize the giver while the sunflower as the receiver. Has it occurred to you one time when someone just suddenly appear to give you something you really need at that moment? Or maybe you're sad and alone and someone just pops up to check how you are doing? Have you, at some point, thought of them as angels? Like they were sent by heaven to aide you with your situation? Because I do. And giving isn't only limited to the material stuff. It could also be a gift of friendship, love, understanding, laughter, loyalty, respect, etc.
The plenty feathers scattered around could also mean that there are lots of people out there willing to help you with pure and good intentions.
Meanwhile, I chose to represent the receiver as a sunflower because sunflowers emulate feelings of happiness. I believe this perfectly represents the feelings of the receiver when the giver appears in their lives.
I guess this is my first time to draw a sunflower and I think it's not that bad for a first time? Hmmm..
Now, returning to my question at the beginning.
"Do you give without expecting something in return or with conditions?"
When we give, it must be out of our willingness. We give because we wanted to give, not as a favor that the receiver will have to pay later on. Do it unconditionally without any hidden motives. That way, you have nothing to think of and for the receiver to worry about. Giving with conditions will just stress both parties and possibly a ticket to wreck your relationship in the future.
Drawing Process
Since it's not a portrait I am drawing, I was able to finish this drawing faster. For the angel's feathers, I only drew one feather then made tons of copies and scattered them around the flower. I also made use of colors pink and blue for its highlights and used the Glow Dodge blending option to make the feathers look iridescent.
Here's a step by step process of making this artwork.
On the other hand, I also have a timelapse video for it uploaded on 3Speak. Check it out! I like how 3Speak is easy to use. <3
Medium: Digital (Wacom Cintiq)
Program: Clip Studio Paint
Video Edited on Adobe Premiere CS6
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=takyarts/pejwkjxz
How I'd wish I was able to post this sooner so please, excuse me while I share this so I can get over holiday artwork. This drawing was a challenge to myself to draw faster and to practice not being too meticulous on the details because I end up spending hours and even days when I fall into the black hole where time seems to not function.
This might not be quick for some but this took me 'only' four hours to finish, a great job for me because I could go waaay more than that if I try to be very meticulous. One of my wishes is to be able to draw without being so detailed but still looking nice. You know, those sloppy strokes yet looking perfectly placed on the canvas. I am doing this to improve my productivity and health. While it eats up a big chunk of my energy and time, drawing is something I love and will continue doing. I just have to turn it into something that wouldn't compromise my productivity and health. I have a few other goals I'd wish to accomplish this year but instead of giving up drawing, I wanted to practice and improve speed and style. For my first try, I drew LiSA in her holiday fashion.
LiSANTA
Okay, time for a little background who this lady is!
LiSA is a Japanese singer popularly known for singing anime songs. Most people know her as the Demon Slayer singer and 'only got popular because of it' even though she's been doing anime songs since 2011. Still, thanks to Demon Slayer because without this show, there would be no Homura and LiSA wouldn't be winning her first Song of The Year award at the Japan Records. I heard this was the Grammy's version of Japan. Cool!
Now every Christmas holiday, LiSA brings out her festive alter ego, LiSANTA. She would usually dress in Santa-inspired costume but for this year, she decided to become a gift, I guess. Just look at those huge Christmas laces on her head and her bright red coat, which I love, by the way. Doesn't she look just like a huge gift? lol. Looks odd but I envy how she still manages to look good and make any style acceptable and not appear ridiculous.
Here's the reference for this artwork.
Instead of drawing her features realistically, I cartoonized her for a change and to be able to draw faster like what I've mentioned earlier. While drawing something exactly like the reference is very awesome, being able to give the reference a twist and new or own style is also very awesome.
For my version, I tried to turn LiSANTA with bigger eyes like those Disney characters. I kind of like how her eyes and lips turned out but I cringed so much on the nose and hand. Well, it's a quick drawing. I guess it will take some more practice for me to be able to draw decent hands and nose. But this is good for now. This will serve as a good sample for the "Then vs. Now" art.
Drawing Process
Since it's a quick drawing, I opted not to blend colors with a blending tool. I wanted the style to just look a little messy or 'raw'. Maybe you've noticed that I cropped the final drawing and didn't include the hand. I think it looks better that way. Oh, and one more thing, I was trying to recreate the texture of Mippra's dress on LiSANTA's coat but it looks like I failed because I used a different brush. I still haven't added the brushes I lost after accidentally putting the settings back to default last month. Ugh.
And finally, I am now also uploading my drawing timelapse on 3Speak! If you want to see my older drawing timelapse videos, just find it on Youtube. It's there. hehe.
Medium: Digital (Wacom Cintiq)
Program: Clip Studio Paint
Video edited on Adobe Premiere CS6