April 2024

Hello! I was wondering what technology you use for your art? i.e do you use a desktop with a drawing tablet or a heavy duty tablet like a Wacom with a screen? I ask because I’ve been wanting to try and update from procreate but most other softwares require extra equipment, so I’m just curious as to what you recommend :)

Thank you, and I love your art!!!!

hi hi, thank you!!

i’m not sure if i can recommend something confidently, since i’ve never drawn in Procreate and don’t know what would be the best/most convenient option for someone who’s used to it 🤔 my setup is fairly simple though! i use a laptop + One by Wacom tablet (S, it’s tiny) + Paint Tool SAI as my drawing software.

if i remember correctly, procreate is an iPad software, right? if that’s the case i will warn you that getting used to a non-screen tablet takes a WHILE. when i was just getting into digital art eight billion years ago as a traditional artist, i felt like i was learning how to draw from scratch 😂 wouldn’t change a thing though, drawing with a non-screen tablet allowed me to develop brain-to-hand coordination that otherwise i wouldn’t have even dreamed of.

fun fact, my current tablet is technically a huge downgrade from my previous one, which was a Wacom Intuos 4, with a fancy set of keys and a touch ring and a thick chonky pen and a better pressure sensitivity. i had to replace it a few years back when it died (after a good decade of working tirelessly), but unfortunately was supremely broke so had to buy the super simplistic One by Wacom. the funny thing is that i’m totally happy with it even though it’s just a tiny slab of plastic (i love the size for its portability, but might upgrade to a larger tablet in the future because a larger drawing area would definitely be kinder to my wrist). i really missed the touch ring at first, which is a really convenient feature of Intuos 4, but got used to utilizing the pen for scrolling and zooming very quickly.

i guess if your main concern is convenience and money is no issue, go for a screen tablet! but even the cheapest non-screen tablets are usually pretty good, you just need to get used to them first if you’ve never drawn with one before.

also, to everyone who booped me yesterday: thank you, love you all!! i tried to boop as many of you back as i could but might have missed some : ( but you got the upper hand in the boop wars!!

I just wanted to say thank you for making trans shadowgast art. As a trans man who adores shadowgast, I can’t even begin to tell you how much comfort your art brings me when I am feeling dysphoric. So thank you. For making it & for sharing your art in general. Wishing you bright days ahead.

thank you so much 🥺 and you’re welcome! drawing happy art, and happy trans art in particular, is very important to me. i’m glad it’s brought you joy too!

zmeess:

digital fanart of Essek Thelyss and Caleb Widogast. Essek is a drow with dark purple skin and short white hair swept to the side; Caleb is a taller light-skinned human with long red hair and a beard. they are standing with their backs to the viewer in front of a large mirror; Caleb is behind Essek, in the middle of helping him do up the hook closure in the back of Essek's white shirt. it is open all the way down to Essek's tailbone, exposing Essek's naked back and a delicate necklace consisting of several interconnected chains with one orange pendant trailing down his spine; the necklace is resting low on his neck so it would be completely hidden by the high collar of his shirt once it is done up. the closure of the shirt is decorated to vaguely resemble a vertebral column; Caleb is holding one part of the open collar with his right hand, while the left is positioned down low, with the index finger slipping underneath one of the panels of the shirt, touching the skin of Essek's back. Essek is looking at himself in the mirror with a slight self-satisfied smile, fixing the cuffs of his shirt; the reflection of Caleb's face is carefully watching Essek in the mirror. the painting utilizes a dark and sultry limited color scheme, and the characters are lit from the side with cool light that turns Essek's white shirt and hair bright chartreuse and his skin a saturated emerald green.ALT

just over a year ago, @saturdaysky commissioned me with an absolutely outstanding shadowgast prompt; namely, ‘Caleb helping Essek put on a fancy outfit’. i’m sure you can imagine how ecstatic i was about it (just look at that line, every single word in it is designed to make me go heart eyes), and i’m finally finished and excited to post this bad boy. i hope you guys enjoy this picture too and my very optimistic wish is that it inspires all sorts of lovely stories in your minds 😏

sky gave me a beautiful prompt and a specific atmosphere/mood to depict, but was very patient and generous about letting me go wild on the actual posing, colors and details, so naturally i did 😂 my idea of using a mirror in the composition was admittedly rather ambitious, and lead me to reading up quite a bit on optics, the physics of reflections and reflections in art specifically (as well as the history of zippers and other closures!), so not only was this commission a delight from the point of view of its topic, but i also learned a fair amount of new stuff while working on it. honestly speaking, i like to think that the bookworm wizards would approve of my little adventure.

thank you for commissioning me! 💜

a hips-up digital painting of a character hugging herself, looking up with a wistful expression on her face. she has light skin, long straight black hair, pupil-less blue eyes and dark tattoos in the form of straight bars loosely following the bones of her skeleton. she is wearing a simple dark blue dress with tight light blue sleeves that end in a triangle connected to a thick gold ring on each of her middle fingers, a grey cloak with a purple lining inside and a geometric black pattern outside, a thin gold bangle on each wrist, a necklace disappearing between her breasts and under the neckline of her dress, and a pair of dangle earrings consisting of two dagger-like shapes. her hair and cloak are moving with a slight wind, and behind her is a backdrop of moody gray-pink skies.ALT

commission for @crazy-fruit, her lovely character Juvia! thank you for commissioning me 💜

digital drawing of Essek and Caleb from Critical Role, done in shades of mint green and dark reddish brown. Essek is a drow with short curly hair and small pointed ears, wearing a cloak with a large fur collar; there is a sluggishly bleeding cut on his forehead. Caleb is a human with longer, wavy hair and a beard, wearing a thick knitted scarf over a winter coat. they're clinging to each other with their eyes closed, Essek hugging Caleb's head to his chest, his right hand in Caleb's hair. Caleb is pressing his lips to the palm of Essek's left hand, his own hand wrapped tightly around the back of Essek's.ALT

shadowgast kiss meme: hand kiss ✨

i know y'all said to make it spicy, but something happened along the way, and i didn’t. hope you will still enjoy some desperate hand kisses!

tip jar!

zmeess:

a hips-up digital painting of a character hugging herself, looking up with a wistful expression on her face. she has light skin, long straight black hair, pupil-less blue eyes and dark tattoos in the form of straight bars loosely following the bones of her skeleton. she is wearing a simple dark blue dress with tight light blue sleeves that end in a triangle connected to a thick gold ring on each of her middle fingers, a grey cloak with a purple lining inside and a geometric black pattern outside, a thin gold bangle on each wrist, a necklace disappearing between her breasts and under the neckline of her dress, and a pair of dangle earrings consisting of two dagger-like shapes. her hair and cloak are moving with a slight wind, and behind her is a backdrop of moody gray-pink skies.ALT

commission for @crazy-fruit, her lovely character Juvia! thank you for commissioning me 💜

Hey, I dont know if many people send you compliments, but I'm gonna be one of them. Let me just tell you that I looked through your work and it's absolutely stunning. The way you lay down color is just beautiful. Your pieces always seem very balanced to me, the people look three-dimensional and alive, the fabrics have weight, characters interact so naturally and it's insane. I just. adore your art. Do you know how many hours I've been staring at it in total? I don't know either, but I feel like I've learnt a lot from just staring n studying. Anyway have a good day or good night or just a good time in life in general:DD

thank you so much for these sweet words!! 🥹💜

zmeess:

digital drawing of Essek and Caleb from Critical Role, done in shades of mint green and dark reddish brown. Essek is a drow with short curly hair and small pointed ears, wearing a cloak with a large fur collar; there is a sluggishly bleeding cut on his forehead. Caleb is a human with longer, wavy hair and a beard, wearing a thick knitted scarf over a winter coat. they're clinging to each other with their eyes closed, Essek hugging Caleb's head to his chest, his right hand in Caleb's hair. Caleb is pressing his lips to the palm of Essek's left hand, his own hand wrapped tightly around the back of Essek's.ALT

shadowgast kiss meme: hand kiss ✨

i know y'all said to make it spicy, but something happened along the way, and i didn’t. hope you will still enjoy some desperate hand kisses!

tip jar!

vriska as sukuna. what if.

i think vriska and yuuji would be friends

a digital hips-up portrait of a young soft-faced elf holding a white blue-eyed fox in their arms. the elf has pale freckled skin, silver shoulder-length wavy hair and amber eyes. their hair is partially done up, with their wand stuck into it and visible from behind their head. they are wearing a violet-orange duochrome shirt with long puffy sleeves and a brown embroidered short-sleeved jacket over it. there is a second pair of sleeves peeking from underneath the purple shirt, with a triangular piece of dusty blue fabric stretching over the back of each of their hands and hooking around the middle finger. around their neck, there is a pearl and amber necklace and a brown striped scarf.ALT

commission for araviir on bluesky, their chronurgy wizard Fyrin & Fyrin’s familiar Sternan! had a lot of fun trying my hand at mixing Kryn & Empire fashions for this one 🤭 thank you for commissioning me!

zmeess:

a digital hips-up portrait of a young soft-faced elf holding a white blue-eyed fox in their arms. the elf has pale freckled skin, silver shoulder-length wavy hair and amber eyes. their hair is partially done up, with their wand stuck into it and visible from behind their head. they are wearing a violet-orange duochrome shirt with long puffy sleeves and a brown embroidered short-sleeved jacket over it. there is a second pair of sleeves peeking from underneath the purple shirt, with a triangular piece of dusty blue fabric stretching over the back of each of their hands and hooking around the middle finger. around their neck, there is a pearl and amber necklace and a brown striped scarf.ALT

commission for araviir on bluesky, their chronurgy wizard Fyrin & Fyrin’s familiar Sternan! had a lot of fun trying my hand at mixing Kryn & Empire fashions for this one 🤭 thank you for commissioning me!

Can I just say, I love your commissions TOS. It's so clear, and I really appreciate the boundaries you put up about deadlines, changes, and expectations. It's really lovely to see such a firm confidence in your work and the value you offer, it's something I really admire!

oh, thank you! that’s really sweet 🥺

to be honest my ToS has been acquired with experience! i’ve been doing commissions for a decade (woof can’t believe i’ve just typed that, time flies), so with each batch i’ve learned what kind of frequent questions and concerns people might have, what issues might arise that can be addressed in advance, and how to make the whole process as streamlined as possible. i still update my ToS at least once a year as i figure out how to make it easier to understand without sacrificing important information. it’s a work in progress! but having a detailed ToS has definitely made my job easier, and i hope makes my clients (especially first time commissioners) feel more at ease by letting them know what to expect : )

zmeess:

digital sketch of Essek and Bren from Critical Role. Essek is a drow with short curly hair, dressed in leggings, a form-fitting shirt with voluminous sleeves and an elaborate armor-like piece that resembles a beetle's carapace resting on his shoulders. Bren is a human with short messy hair and a beard; he is wearing simple pants and a loose shirt with the sleeves rolled up, exposing his forearms and the maze-like tattoos on them. Bren is sitting in a chair, leaning back with his knees spread and his hands resting palms-up on his thighs. he's looking up at Essek with hooded eyes; Essek is standing in front of him with his back to the viewer, with one of his legs bent and the knee propped on the seat between Bren's thighs. his posture is relaxed, one hip cocked and his arms at his sides.ALT

since i got stuck in the scourger!Bren headspace it kinda resulted in me drawing some shadowgast featuring that lad. naturally it turned out somewhat horny. also i know a few of you said SHADOWGAST in response to my Bren sketch, and i’m always happy to be of service

random notes: i don’t particularly picture Essek ever wearing conventional lingerie, but i have in fact thought of what kind of clothes he could wear to add some spice, and you know what? it always ends up being some sort of almost or full neck-to-toe coverage with stupidly tight pants. i’m embracing it. anyway, this silly drawing also features another Essek mantle design i’ve been rolling around in my head (i’m always on my ‘drow are bug elves’ bullshit), wanna use it in a full-render piece soon

tip jar!

a digital hips-up drawing of Eadwulf Grieve from Critical Role, done in shades of dark purple and teal; he is shirtless, standing with his arms crossed and looking up and out of frame with a stern expression. Eadwulf is depicted as a built man with muscular arms and a thick torso. he has a short hairstyle and thick body hair. on his forearms, there are horizontal scars placed in a regular pattern, with maze-like geometric tattoos winding around them.ALT

Eadwulf will always be famous to me for the fact that Caleb put being retraumatized by his former teacher on hold solely to admire Eadwulf’s massive forearms

Finally, some good Eadwulf art (in jest, all fanart is good and wonderful, you just drew him real hot)

thank you 🤭

Your art is incredible! It's silly, but the sun was streaming in my window when I passed by one of your pictures, and the fabulous colors really struck me! I hope you have a great day ☼

ahhh whenever i’m reminded that there are people out there that have prints of my art on their walls i go full on crying emoji x100 😭 thank you so much!!

I. Am. So fucking obsessed. With your shadowgast works. Holy motherfucking shit, they're perfect. I am especially feral for your Caleb oh my FUCKING GOD I LOVE HIM PLEASE HE'S SO BEAUTIFUL ESSEK IS SO HOT TOO THEY JUST LOOK BANGIN TOGETHER 🥹💖

thank you!! \o/

your eadwulf art changed me. thank you. he's so fucking hot. thank you.

you’re welcome 😏👉👉

zmeess:

a digital hips-up drawing of Eadwulf Grieve from Critical Role, done in shades of dark purple and teal; he is shirtless, standing with his arms crossed and looking up and out of frame with a stern expression. Eadwulf is depicted as a built man with muscular arms and a thick torso. he has a short hairstyle and thick body hair. on his forearms, there are horizontal scars placed in a regular pattern, with maze-like geometric tattoos winding around them.ALT

Eadwulf will always be famous to me for the fact that Caleb put being retraumatized by his former teacher on hold solely to admire Eadwulf’s massive forearms

I literally owe u my life for drawing wulf. that is my babygirl who i so seldom get to see. He's so *clenches fist* i love him thank u for him

hehe you’re welcome 🤭 i actually have a wip from 2022 that also features Wulf, but i’ve been struggling to complete it and so thought that i should at least sketch the boy. glad you liked him!

i love your eadwulf he's so 💜💜💜💜

hehe thank you 🥰

zmeess:

digital fanart of Essek Thelyss and Caleb Widogast from Critical Role. Essek is a drow with light purple skin and short white curly hair, wearing a soft cape wrapped around his shoulders, a dark tunic, a teal shirt with decorative bracers, similarly colored pants and short lace-up boots; Caleb is a light-skinned human with a beard and long red hair brushed back into a ponytail, dressed in a simple white shirt, brown trousers and tall leather boots. they're sitting on a blanket-covered log in front of a campfire that is just out of frame; Caleb is petting a very happy-looking Frumpkin, who has taken the form of a fluffy ginger cat and is sitting on his lap, and Essek is leaning his head on Caleb's shoulder, holding an earthenware mug in his hands. Caleb's mug is on the ground, and behind them, there are trees and a dark blue-purple starry sky.ALT

everyone’s favorite wizards commissioned by @that-wee-munchkin! they requested Caleb and Essek finally getting outside and enjoying some whisky hot chocolate at a campfire 🔥 a cozy early autumn night spent sharing stories and petting Frumpkins 🐱

thank you so much for commissioning me and giving me the sweetest prompt imaginable!

zmeess:

full-body character art of a tiefling. they have light gray skin and very short straight warm pink hair, full-sclera black eyes, a pair of small horns growing on the sides of their forehead and black hooves. they're standing with a neutral expression, hugging their messy spellbook to their chest. they're wearing warm clothes in shades of gray: a short woolen cape, wide striped pants and leather bracers; there are black tassel ornaments tied around their horns. they're carrying a messenger bag and a few pouches on their hips, with various bits and ends sticking out of them.ALT

one of my 2023 new year resolutions was to draw my own d&d OCs more, and i… haven’t really been doing that! but i did draw a new baby for a oneshot i played a couple of days ago. this is my lvl3 tiefling divination wizardling Namylukka, and now they have a cat-shaped celestial following them around 🐱 all in all they had tremendous fun (and so did i).

zmeess:

a bunch of mighty nein and bells hells headshots i posted on twitter recently ✨ click for better quality and less crop yo!

time to wave my tip jar around again! also every once in a while i post some sketches and wips over there. 😎 like the different takes on the m9 designs i did recently, have a Fjord from that sheet!

a headshot drawing of Fjord from Critical Role. he is depicted as a handsome half-orc with a square jawline, thick eyebrows, deep-set eyes lined in kohl, and short straight hair swept back. he has two scars criss-crossing above his left eye, and another, smaller scar slightly pulling up his upper lip.ALT

digital painting of a garden, featuring Essek and Caleb from Critical Role.
the camera view is looking down a cobblestone garden path winding slightly to the right. on the sides of the path, there is a series of pairs of old brick columns, which support wooden beams that run above the path and perpendicular to it. on top of the beams, there is a network of dense branches and leaves, with wisteria blooms hanging down from between the beams. Caleb and Essek are standing in the middle of the path, silhouetted against the lighter sun-lit background, looking at each other and holding hands.
the picture employs a somewhat rough painterly style and a limited palette of mint green, shades of brown, purple, brick red and a bit of yellow.ALT

a while back i saw a picture @mllekurtz took in the gardens of Villa Taranto and really wanted to do a little study of it. then inserting everyone’s favorite wizards into the potential picture was suggested, so naturally i no longer had any other choice but to go through with it. it truly looked like a dreamy garden somewhere in Exandria and the wizards fit in too well 🤌

tip jar!

zmeess:

digital painting of a garden, featuring Essek and Caleb from Critical Role.
the camera view is looking down a cobblestone garden path winding slightly to the right. on the sides of the path, there is a series of pairs of old brick columns, which support wooden beams that run above the path and perpendicular to it. on top of the beams, there is a network of dense branches and leaves, with wisteria blooms hanging down from between the beams. Caleb and Essek are standing in the middle of the path, silhouetted against the lighter sun-lit background, looking at each other and holding hands.
the picture employs a somewhat rough painterly style and a limited palette of mint green, shades of brown, purple, brick red and a bit of yellow.ALT

a while back i saw a picture @mllekurtz took in the gardens of Villa Taranto and really wanted to do a little study of it. then inserting everyone’s favorite wizards into the potential picture was suggested, so naturally i no longer had any other choice but to go through with it. it truly looked like a dreamy garden somewhere in Exandria and the wizards fit in too well 🤌

tip jar!

Hi zmeess!!! Just wanted to say, I absolutely LOVE your art, especially your critical role art. The colors and lighting are absolutely gorgeous, and the way you draw certain facial features makes me feel a lot less self conscious about those features on myself (so a massive thank you for that!). I was also wondering, do you sell prints? Cause I have an empty spot on my wall and you're an artist I'd love to support.

hi hi! thank you so much! 💜

unfortunately, i am unable to sell prints via PoDs at the moment. however, i’ve been *considering* making higher resolution files of some select paintings available for people to print out themselves. so i’m taking this opportunity to ask:

would you guys be interested in higher res versions of my art in lieu of prints?

yes! my printer is READY

i don’t have easy access to printers 😭

See Results

i’ve been hesitating for reasons of ‘i don’t want unscrupulous people to get their hands on my art’, but offering smaller, maybe postcard-sized 300dpi files has been rolling around in my head as of late. i’d love to know how many of my followers would be into that!

digital painting of two people, set in a dreamy purple-toned room with warm lighting.
one of the characters is a young-looking fire genasi; they have brown skin and a lean and athletic build. their hair made of fire is styled like a mohawk, and their right arm is amputated just above the elbow. they are wearing a white wrap-around sleeveless top caught at the waist with a wide embroidered and tasseled orange sash, light teal capri pants, and no shoes.
the other character is a young-looking elf; he has an average build and light skin with faint freckles. his blond wavy hair is rather short, cut just above his ears. he is wearing dark dress pants and shoes, a brown shirt with puffy sleeves, cuffs, and star embroidery, and a dark blue jacket thrown over his shoulders and connecting in the front with a cloak chain.
the elf is sitting down on a low sofa, leaning slightly forward, while the fire genasi stands in front of him, tipping the elf's chin up with a gentle touch of his left hand. the genasi is smiling cockily, while the elf is looking up at them with a focused expression. behind them, there are faint outlines of large potted plants, and small orange lights illuminating the room.ALT

commission for @coffeetothepeople, his and @atinydroid’s characters Bee (a fire genasi druid) and Jeremy (an elf wizard)! thank you for letting me indulge in my love for purple and drawing people being Interested™️ in each other 🤭

Hi zmeess!

just saw your latest commission drawing. I was wondering if you have an informational sheet available for your commission prices and rules? I wasn't able to find anything. No problem if you're not doing commissions rn .

hi hi! my commissions are closed at the moment, i will be opening them again in a couple of months : ) and i update my ToS and prices every so often, but to get an idea you can read the current version of my info here!

zmeess:

digital painting of two people, set in a dreamy purple-toned room with warm lighting.
one of the characters is a young-looking fire genasi; they have brown skin and a lean and athletic build. their hair made of fire is styled like a mohawk, and their right arm is amputated just above the elbow. they are wearing a white wrap-around sleeveless top caught at the waist with a wide embroidered and tasseled orange sash, light teal capri pants, and no shoes.
the other character is a young-looking elf; he has an average build and light skin with faint freckles. his blond wavy hair is rather short, cut just above his ears. he is wearing dark dress pants and shoes, a brown shirt with puffy sleeves, cuffs, and star embroidery, and a dark blue jacket thrown over his shoulders and connecting in the front with a cloak chain.
the elf is sitting down on a low sofa, leaning slightly forward, while the fire genasi stands in front of him, tipping the elf's chin up with a gentle touch of his left hand. the genasi is smiling cockily, while the elf is looking up at them with a focused expression. behind them, there are faint outlines of large potted plants, and small orange lights illuminating the room.ALT

commission for @coffeetothepeople, his and @atinydroid’s characters Bee (a fire genasi druid) and Jeremy (an elf wizard)! thank you for letting me indulge in my love for purple and drawing people being Interested™️ in each other 🤭