love your work so so much !! how do you get the lovely two-toned sketches, like your most recent Essek expression sheet? the depth it gives them is gorg!
thank you!!
gosh i’ve been asked this question eight billion times and i’ve had an answer cooking in my drafts for months but i CONSTANTLY forget to just post it already 😂 so here goes while my neurodivergence department isn’t looking: i simply use a crapload of color overlays and/or gradient maps over a black and white sketch, that’s all. and i like to experiement with a lot of different layer modes and the colors used in those layers with each sketch/lineart! 🤭 legitimately a chunk of my drawing time is dedicated to flipping through various layer modes. it’s fun to see what they can do!
I know you are a busy person with many things going on but pleasepleaseplease if you do more Essek expressions I want to see him with his little sleep mask 😭
if i do another expression sheet his little sleep mask is gonna be the first thing i put on it 🤭
hello. i couidn't figure out how to properly contact you but i wanted to ask if you have ahother social media or works archive by any chance. thank you for your spectaculous art and sorry for disturbing, have a nice day!
hi hi! no worries, all good!
other than on tumblr, you can find me on bluesky, where i post my art and reblog other people’s awesome creations. additionally i have a very sexy nsfw bluesky, where i post my spicy art.
Hi sorry I'm a lurker of your blog but I scream internally every time you post bc I am sooooo in love with 1) your art style in general and 2) ESPECIALLY the way you draw hands???? Like aahhHHH they always look so fluid and I love the shapes and EVERYTHING I study them every time I see them
Thank you for blessing the internet I hope you're doing well 🙏💕 (no need to post/reply if u don't want but I just needed you to know)
aaaa thank you 😭 i’m glad my art is engaging enough to study to you!! thank you for messaging me 💜
Love the kinda 1940’s hairstyle you’ve given c3-era essek btw ! When Matt described it I kinda struggled to imagine it in a way that felt in character but that sort of elegant pinned back style with the little temple curls is very fitting imo
thank you! when Matt said ‘wavy shoulder-length hair’ i also had to take some time to think of what it could look like on fancy guy Essek. and those pinned back 40’s-50’s curls popped into my mind! they are less contained than his short hair was, but are still beautifully styled and imo suit him rather well. i’m glad you like this hairstyle on him too!
it’s my birthday today! woooo
if you’re thinking damn, it’s that guy that draws lots of wizard smooches’ birthday, wanna do something nice for them―this is what you can do:
- send me pictures of your cats please!!!! (please tell me their names too!)
- draw a wizard smooch too 🥺 you don’t have to show me or anything, just draw one cause the universe could always use more wizard smooches
- get a treat you’ve been denying yourself
- throw money into my tip jar
- reblog my art with a keysmash in the tags
- if you read a fic recently that you really liked, leave a complimentary comment under it
- doodle one of my OCs on a paper napkin
- wish happy (belated in some places) birthday to karkat homestuck
- if you also happen to have your birthday somewhere around this time, do your best to do something that makes you happy!
- do nothing, just enjoy the cats on your dash that i’m gonna be posting soon if i receive any (though there are still a couple left in my inbox from last year!!!!)(block tag is still #zmeess birthday cat bonanza in case too many cats is too much for you)
thank you guys for following me and appreciating my art! 💜💜💜 hoping to draw even more this year 🤭
Your art has literally inspired me to finally get a new account so I can keep better track of all the artists I love. All the bright palettes you use have been motivating me to try new things to get through my artblock before artfight starts up again so thank you!! Sorry I don't have an ask I just love your stuff!! ♡♡♡ Hopefully I can grab a commission spot when you reopen!! Have a good day !!!
aaa thank you so much!! i’m so glad my art has helped you with your artblock a little bit. good luck during art fight! 💜
dear anon, thank you for the rainbow crab, that’s super cute!! 🦀
Hey sorry to bother you but I just want to thank you for the way you draw Caleb Widogast. I can't explain it well but he has my nose and it makes me feel so much better about myself. Like the way you draw him is so captivating and makes me feel seen somehow (especially for someone who has reddish hair) and there's nobody doing it like you're doing it and you should be very proud of yourself. Good job 👍
not a bother at all, thank you so much for messaging me 🥺 i’m so glad you like how i draw his nose, it’s my favorite thing to draw when it comes to my Caleb design!
Hello! Would it be possible to get some tips and advice for writing out commission TOSs? I'm only just starting out with that and it seems really daunting.
Thank you!
it can be super daunting indeed! what i can say right away is you shouldn’t worry about writing THE perfect ToS on the first try; i still regularly update mine with almost every commission batch to reflect any issues i’ve run into, or if it becomes clear from my communication with my clients that something could use some clarification. just make sure you send your clients the latest version each time so they know under which ToS you’re currently operating! i attach my most up-to-date ToS to the first email i send to my clients so they have an opportunity to read it again and ask any questions they might have or pull out if they realize that something isn’t working for them.
my general advice is to think about what kind of questions your clients could have when they go into commissioning you, how you can make the process as worry-free for them and yourself as possible, what kind of potential issues you can imagine that could be avoided, and what kind of experience you would find easiest if it were you commissioning someone.
stuff i think is a good idea to cover in your ToS:
- prices (do you have flat rates, or do you have a base price list and the final price depends on the complexity of the commission/how many hours you spend on it?)
- what you can do and what you will definitely not do (if anything)
- payment (currency, what services you use, do you expect payment upfront or can your clients pay in installments, etc)
- do you allow full refunds? partial refunds? in what cases?
- how can your client use the finished artwork? can they print it out, use as an icon, use it commercially, repost it online, use it in derivative work?
- deadlines (do you work on urgent commissions and do you charge extra for that? when can your client expect the finished artwork?)
- what is your process? what kind of wips are you going to send your client? what kind of and how many changes/edits are covered by the price of the commission? do you charge extra for major edits? where is the line between ‘i did this thing wrong, the editing is on me’ and ‘my client had sent me incomplete/wrong references and is now asking me to basically redo the whole illustration’?
another thing i can advice on top of this (which is only tangentially related to writing your ToS): if you can, please don’t undercharge! i know it can be hard if you’re just starting out and not many people reach out to you, and i myself started with very low prices, but if at all possible, don’t charge pennies for your hard work. or at least slowly raise your prices! your time and work are worth being paid for. if you do backgrounds, please don’t throw them in for free! backgrounds and environments are tons of work, more often than not more so than drawing the character themself, so it’s only logical to charge extra for complicated backgrounds. if a client asks you for a lot of complicated edits, don’t forget that it’s work that also needs to be paid for! in my experience most people are more than understanding and offer to pay for the edits themselves, but it’s a good idea to have that aspect covered in your ToS. tl;dr: charge fairly! you’re helping out the entire industry by not undercharging, and you yourself will be happier if you know you’re being compensated well for your hard work.
i hope this is at least a little helpful! best of luck with commissions, and i hope you have the coolest clients that you have tons of fun working with!