FRENDEN @FRENDEN@mastodon.art

And done. Best Fiends.

I’m seeing a lot of new faces which is rad. Here’s some work to give you an idea of what I like to make.

Hint, monsters. Lots of monsters.

I actively try to make BAD things at the silhouette/thumb stage. It's freeing to say, "I'm going to sit down and purposely draw the worst I can."

It's SO anathema to how you're used to working that your brain and muscle memory for mark making kick in and will not LET you make the worst things possible. It's almost impossible to set outrageously bad drawing as a goal.

Do that a few times and you realize that by giving yourself that initial permission -- no, the dictate -- to make awful things, you actually give yourself the freedom to work at your highest level.

Sketching should never be about the quality of work (unless you're doing a study and not just ideation) but rather about making a record of ideas. And rejecting any idea outright is no bueno. Just let whatever comes out come out.

No one ever has to see it but you. Unless, like me, you show everyone your awful thumbs like an idiot.

I was talking with a pal that's down on their work. It was classic impostor syndrome and I suffer from it too.

The only people with blind faith and utmost confidence in their abilities are crazy or dumb. Just say fuck it and make stuff regardless.

You WANT your taste to outstrip your abilities. That's what's gonna motivate you to get better.

The fact you see things you don't like means you have a good eye and standards. That's a good thing! Just...

...note it, move on, and hope to apply any lessons learned to the next piece.

Look at it this way -- are you gonna fucking quit? No. So, if you aren't gonna quit, the faster you let that go the better. It's just fuel.

And I'm in no way perfect about this. I'm just telling you the things I tell myself to work through it.

One of the greatest things about art as vocation is that the skill ceiling is so high.

My taste CONSTANTLY outstrips my ability and I rush to catch up. Over. And over. And over again.

I hope I'm still learning as long as I'm breathing.

One last stab at the Dire Pickle.

A Dire Pickle #roll20 token for a #ttrpg thing I'm futzing with.

Trying to keep it to a couple of spot colors. I want the #art to feel low budget and shoddily reproduced.

I spent the money I was saving up for Zbrush on the new, budget, 16" Cintiq to test and review.

Every time I'm close to buying Zbrush, something else comes up more interesting or pressing. The universe does not want me sculpting, haha.

F

For all that current photo from current year for current social media site stuff that's going around, this is me.

That's a tiny eggnog cognac. And I will always find tiny silverware funny.

I've hard Mario on the brain. I want to push things further than this, though. Feels safe.

Insomnia doodle night two.

I couldn't sleep last night and then this happened.

#mastoart #art #creativetoots #spongebob

The not sleeping thing continued. #art #spongebob

Couldn't sleep. Started a thing. Gonna give the sleep stuff a second try.

Doodlin' an avatar for another site. Wanted to make something in a style I don't work in often. Lineweights without a lot of variance make me sweat.

Calligraphic line describing form is like my BIGGEST crutch.

I think it's good to step outside of your usual shit sometimes.

All methods of rendering form have more in common than they don't. Trying the new stuff makes me think about my usual work differently.

It all ends up being about lost edges and welded areas of value in the end.