riibrego

My finishing touches / techniques

Since I've done posts about lineart and coloring, I thought I should go ahead and make one that explains some of the techniques I use after I've finished drawing/coloring to finalize the look I'm going for! I'll come back and update this post if I think of any additional methods I'd like to add.

Noise filter

This one just adds a simp...

Bed and Breakfast

Based on the patron-requested prompts "bears sleeping" and "bread"! I'm planning on posting process info for this one sometime soon!

Weekly Sketchbook #08

I tried a few more of the requests this week! I don't know a lot about Splatoon (I only played the first one once or twice), but I think the octolings are so cute...!!! I also had requests for sleeping bears, and another one for something involving bread, so I combined them! I ended up liking it a lot, so I'm actually cleaning it up and coloring it, and I'll post that soon, too.

I might slow down a little bit in the coming days because we ended up finding a sick stray kitten, so we've been taking care of her! Once she recovers and is s...

"The Sprite and the Gardener" Character Designs

Here's a look at how the designs evolved over time! The designs on the left are my initial designs from 2018, the middle ones are my redesigns from 2019, and the ones on the right were drawn for promotional material earlier this year (there isn't one for Elena, though). Lily, Amaranth, Moss, and Nettle were actually designed based on rough sketches by Joe - you can see those in the back of the book itself. In general, each sprite is loosely based on their namesake plant.

I think I had initially wanted them to be a little weirder / more...

Weekly Sketchbook #07

These are a little different, since they're drawings from my actual physical sketchbook and not the iPad! This is so sad to admit, but these mark maybe the second or third time I've drawn with a real pencil this year. The iPad is so convenient, and I like that I don't need to worry about wasting resources, but I'd forgotten how nice a pencil feels... I also like that it forces me to accept lines that I might have erased and redrawn otherwise, so everything feels a lot more lively.

I want to get back into more traditional stuff!! Here's...

Request / prompt thread

This past week I've been trying to really get back into the groove of work, but because of that I've been kind of running on empty when it comes to thinking up what to draw for fun, so if anyone has any simple prompts or character requests, I'd love to hear them! I can't promise I'll draw all of them, but I definitely want to pick at least a few to draw in the coming days/weeks!

There aren't really any rules beyond the standard no NSFW / I have no idea how to draw a big robot / etc, so pretty much anything goes. Feel free to leave them...

"The Sprite and the Gardener" phone wallpapers

To go along with the release of the book, I turned a few images into phone wallpapers, which can be downloaded from the gallery above!

If you aren't interested in this set, you can quickly browse all past sets using the wallpaper masterlist!

"The Sprite and the Gardener" Cover Process

Since the book is officially out today (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), I figured it would be a good time to go over the process for choosing and creating the cover illustration! In the coming weeks, I'd also like to share some other behind-the-scenes work (among other non-SatG posts - I promise I'm not rebranding my Patreon as a dedicated page haha!!)

P.S. - If you find yourself wanting to see individual techniques/tools explained in more detail, I have two companion posts that can be used alongside this: 2021-05-11 17:10:44 +0000 UTC View Post

"The Sprite and the Gardener" bonuses

It's officially out tomorrow!! As a fun bonus for libraries, classrooms, and whoever else is interested, the Oni Press team put together this printable poster and a set of bookmarks! The above are preview images, so you'll want to download the attached PDFs instead.

And speaking of libraries - if you'd like to read the book but don't plant to purchase it for whatever reason, don't forget that you can always request it at your local library instead...

Weekly Sketchbook #06

In which I revert to being 15 years old and get really into mid-2000s Sound Horizon again LOL...

Also, I recently read the first Warriors (as in, the cat book), and I strongly feel that if I'd read this as a child it would have permanently altered the course of my life. I wish I could gaze into a crystal ball and see where I'd be today if I'd gotten super into warring cat factions instead of cat girl manga as a preteen.

My lineart techniques + notes

Since I've written a post detailing how I color things, I wanted to make a companion post that details how I approach lineart + additional techniques that I use for different effects!

Drawing

I'm a very particular person, so against my and everyone else's better judgement, I've continued using Paint Tool SAI for my lineart for over a decade. The only reason I continue using it is because I'm so accustomed to the way it feels - if you're trying to choose a program, I 100% recommend Clip Studio instead.

But for...

"The Sprite and the Gardener" Coloring Sheets

The Sprite and the Gardener, the all-ages graphic novel that I co-wrote with Joe Whitt and illustrated, is set to hit bookstores in a week (more info can be found here)! To celebrate, I wanted to share some coloring pages with everyone!

The images above are just previews, so you'll want to download the attached files instead. I've included a downloadable PDF that's easy to print, but I've also included separate PSDs in case anyone would l...

May print shop promo code

Just wanted to give a heads up that I've input this month's promo code (I've also bumped the discount up from 10% to 15%)! You can find my print shop here, and the code is VVKPRC

"Hide and Seek" phone wallpaper

I wanted to try making another wallpaper as thanks for being here for the first month! This should be versatile enough to use on pretty much

I wanted to try making another wallpaper as thanks for being here for the first month! This should be versatile enough to use on pretty much any phone, but if there are any issues, just let me know! (The above image in the gallery is the full size wallpaper!)

If you aren't interested in this set, you can quickly browse all ...

Weekly Sketchbook #05

I think this pretty much marks my first month on Patreon? It's been a lot of fun being able to share sketches with you all! I'm so used to having them sit around and gather dust without ever seeing the light of day, so I'm happy to finally have a place to post them. I hope you've been enjoying them, and thank you again for your support!

"Summer Cherry Tomatoes" Process

This image was the first time I tried making something look a little like an old newspaper clipping, and it took a bit of trial and error! I've included what I learned here so you can do it with fewer trials and and fewer errors! Since this image is otherwise pretty simple, I'm going to mostly focus on the effects portion this time.

For this image, I wanted to make something that conveys that sense of precious importance when you're picking something that you grew yourself, where each one feels so dear that you don't even want to eat t...

My coloring techniques + notes

It occurred to me that I haven't really been able to go in depth with my coloring process on my previous posts, so I've decided to make a standalone post to refer back to!

While I change things up in my process from time to time, these techniques sort of make up the core of how I do things. I do all of my coloring process in Clip Studio.

Choosing colors

There are a million guides and books and classes on color theory that are way, way better than anything I could ever type here, so I highly rec...

Weekly sketchbook #04

Lately I've started coloring the graphic novel I'm working on, and it's been a huge challenge. No one ever tells you that coloring one-off illustrations is totally different from coloring comics! Anyway, if my sketches start becoming more and more indulgent from here on out, it's because I'm trying to be nicer to myself in my down time haha!

The horned character in the second image is named Rem and belongs to Chan Chau. Chan is so good, I highly recommend checking them...

Coco

Coco from Witch Hat Atelier, painted for a friend! I regret that I wasn't able to get a good photo of it before mailing it off, though...! (these were taken with a phone)

It was painted with Dr Ph Martin's Bombay India Ink and a bamboo brush on Fabriano hot press paper, with some additional detail drawn in with Prismacolor Verithin colored pencils. The metal leaf and the adhesive size are both Speedball brand. If I'm remembering correctly, it measures about 4" x 6".

"June of 1983" Process

This is one of the more complex things I've drawn in the past year, but also one of the most rewarding! It felt like putting a big puzzle together, so I wanted to talk about my thoughts throughout the process.

1) The thumbnail sketch, drawn on an iPad 9.7 using Procreate. I'd been wanting to draw a Higurashi image for a long time, but I could never decide what part of the series I wanted to focus on, so I just... decided to focus on the whole thing instead! The thing I always liked most about Higurashi is the way its s...

Weekly Sketchbook #03

Trying to experiment a little more in Procreate! I've also gotten really into drawing Touhou girls again (it's an annual cycle)

Lately I feel like a lot of my stuff has gotten too clean, so I'm trying to relearn how to be more spontaneous. I'm also trying to mess around with stuff that isn't so reliant on lineart for a change.

Ah!

Don't wake him!

Sprite Designs

Since our book The Sprite and the Gardener is set to release soon (about a month!), I asked people on twitter to tell me their favorite flowers so that I could choose a few to turn into new sprite designs! It was a lot of fun - I hope I can find time to do more!

Weekly Sketchbook #02

Some more stuff I drew in my downtime! I'm thinking about making a nicer version of the avocado one...? (I feel like I should note here that you shouldn't actually let cats near avocados)

The final one was drawn on an oekaki website using Shi Painter, so it's just that tiny. I kind of liked using something so limited though!

Adding a "tip jar" tier!

Hi everyone! It occurred to me that I probably should have added a simple $1 tip jar option, so I'll be doing that sometime today. The $1 tier will give early access to my public illustrations, while the $3 tier will remain exactly the same. I just wanted to make sure I gave everyone a heads up!

Sorry if this causes any inconvenience - I'm still kind of getting a feel for this whole thing, but I don't foresee any other major changes any time soon!

"Sagitta Luminis" Process

With this image, I wasn't *super* thorough with documenting each stage as I worked on it, but I'd like to discuss it either way! After the initial process images, there are a few closeups and additional notes at the end of the gallery.

1) The thumbnail sketch, drawn on an iPad 9.7 using Procreate. My main goal with this was to encompass the final arc of the series - Madoka's ascension as a god-like figure, the way that she breaks away from the cycle of despair and leads the way out, and Homura's reluctance to accept it...

"Wisteria and White Clover" Process

I want to talk a bit about the making-of process for this image! The first section will cover the image itself in stages, while the final portion will have additional notes regarding composition, reference, brushes, and finishing touches.

1) The thumbnail sketch, drawn on an iPad 9.7 using Procreate. I wanted to create a drawing that was cozy and entangling, that reflected the beginning of spring, and that complimented Wisteria's hair - white clover checked all the boxes! After getting the thumbnail down, I went out an...

Weekly Sketchbook #01

Recently I've been trying to mess around in Procreate more, and I feel like it's been good for me. I actually have a really hard time using it for polished illustrations, but that completely takes off the pressure to work cleanly, so I've been able to try out a lot of new things!

Thank you! (+ starting bonus and INPRNT code!)

Thank you so much for joining me here! I'm so excited to have a place to share all the art I'd been keeping to myself until now - I hope you're looking forward to it, too!

To celebrate, I've turned my "Strawberry Cream" design into phone wallpapers, which can be downloaded directly from the gallery above! There are two versions, and each should be versatile enough to adapt to just about any phone by zooming in/out!

If you aren't interested in this set, you can...