Here's my second try on Ulaam and yay for his appearance with Hoid in WaT XD (Slightly adjusted my former design of him to make him look less scary.)
So it's a very much delayed piece for the Chinese new year featuring Shallan & Jasnah buying new year flowers ๐
I was too occupied lately to finish this one before the new year period endsโฆ I think it's okay to just treat it as a normal hanfu AU!
This year is the year of snake ๐, just as what we see with Shallan's headdress! The flowers before them are moth orchids, usually prepared during new year in Chinese-speaking regions. Also, orchid translates as "ๅ ฐ" (lรกn) and it's the second character of Shallan's name (ๆฒๅ ฐ), which is why I chose the very flower XD
Also, I'm kind of let down with Shallan's quite limited interactions with Jasnah after Oathbringer. I really miss those days when I drew them together and this piece is a revival โค๏ธ
Below is a sketch for study!
Hello Botanica I admire your art so much โค๏ธ do you mind giving tips on how you improved your art over the years? I would also be delighted if you could show us what your drawing process is like a little bit, if not thats cool too๐ค have a great day!!โจ
Hey there! (*waves*) Thank you so much for the love <3 I'd be happy to share some insights on the topics you mentioned! (Sorry that it took a while.)
I think Iโve been drawing for almost 20 years now (Whoa!). Honestly, I donโt even know how I made it through, but ever since I was a kid, I knew art was a necessary part of my life. Looking back now, Iโm just glad I stuck with it!
This piece is like a visual timeline of my art evolution. Itโs wild to think I went from those super basic kid doodles to the style I have now. Growth is real, yโall!
So the tips! (They are mainly for those hobbyist artists, since I donโt have the luck to make it as my career.)
- Keep your eyes and mind open to learn from different fields. Itโll spark fresh ideas and enrich your art, but always double-check when diving into unfamiliar territory.
- Find tutorials that vibe with you, and collect references IRL.
- Use primary sources to avoid distorted or AI-altered refs.
- Take your own photos as ref.
- Use 3D websites like Sketchfab, Blender for 3D assistance, and posing apps or manikins to help with your art.
- Practice consistently. Balance your time between quick sketches and more polished pieces.
- Accept where you are now and improve from there. Don't let others' opinions or other artistsโ activities throw you off your path.
- If artโs your hobby, the goal is to have fun! No pressure to push boundaries unless youโre feeling it.
Letโs move to drawing process. Iโve been doing hand-drawn art for more than a decade, but had to fully switch to digital media after 2016. Now I usually use Procreate for sketches and lines, then use Clip Studio Paint and Photoshop for colors and adjustments.
Iโm gonna share two sets of process. One is for generic character art, and the other one is for pieces influenced by environment.
So character art is like:
(More under the break.)
Happy New Year to y'all! ๐๐๐
Here's my entry for the local fandom's new year fanwork marathon, some typical Alethi food with SA characters having fun, based on the photo shot by my friend Maggie (who also made the meal)! It's really a wonderful collab XD
The characters are: Dalinar, Rock, Lift, Yanagawn, Adolin, Renarin, Gavinor, Navani, Szeth, Kaladin, Shallan (and that white-haired guy).
Bon appetit!
Congrats on Wind and Truth release!!!
This is a collage of all the countdown pieces I've done and I hope you enjoy the journey and brace the ending!
It's really a looong ride and I've been following the series and doing fanworks for over a decade. It's just incredible to see the first arc come to an end!
Well, this is absolutely the fandom where I've stayed the longest. The series has been with me from college, through grad school, and into my career as an editor. It helped me through my toughest times and even led me to become its translator. I really want to say thanks to the Dragonsteel team and all the fans I've met for the support and shared love for these stories โค๏ธ
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter - The Returning Scene
My second commissioned piece for 17S! This one was quite delayed due to some skin issues with my right hand (which is why you haven't seen me draw much this year) and it's finally finished!
I still largely enjoy drawing YatNP stuff and for this one specifically, I made a fake manga magazine cover to evoke the feeling XD
(The last two pieces are discarded drafts.)
Here's my entry for this year's Cosmere Mini Bang!
Collab fic writer is the amazing YourLocalTiredTruthwatcher @localtiredtruthwatcher
The fic is titled "I'll Keep You Out of the Dark (If I Only Could)", featuring Jasnah & Elhokar, the underappreciated siblings, with their behind-the-main-screen stories (which I'm really intrigued to read but hasn't been much covered in the canon text).
The fic is well-constructed and we also have some baby Gavinor. Read it to the end and you might find yourself cry hard ๐ญ
It's quite fun to do fic art. Thanks so much for the opportunity!
Reblogged
๐ฅ ZINE PREVIEW ๐ฅ
This piece by @botanicaxu shows the diverse bending styles of many beloved characters! Dive into the generations of ATLA/LOK by checking out what our zine has to offer.