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  • Calm_August2024_Sketch1.mp4
  • Calm_August2024_Sketch2.mp4

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Here's the stuff I've been drawing and painting recently. I hope you find a few things here you enjoy! Was in the mood to paint another water nymph, so that's what I ended up doing for the main picture. :)

Here are the download links for the rewards for illustration #121 so you can check out the process if you want:
WIP images
Short time lapse video
Long time lapse video
PSD files

I forgot to share the two sketches I did a couple of weeks ago, so I've included those too alongside their time lapse videos that you can find in the attachments here if you're interested in those.

I'm pretty happy with some of what's going on in the doodles this time around. They've helped me think a bit differently about how I use noise texture and bristle effects on my brushes. I've experimented a bunch with that this past week and I've landed on a brush that feels pretty comfortable.
So, since it is a pretty simple brush in terms of how it's created and doesn't rely too much on software specific features, I went through the effort to try to manually create the same brush in Paintstorm, Krita, Clip Studio Paint and Procreate. I've included the brush file for each of those in the attachments here.

A brush is rarely very useful if you don't know how or why someone uses it, so I wanna quickly explain that.
One of the big benefits of using textured bristly brushes is that, unlike smoother brushes, they can easily imply details with few strokes. However (and this is obviously subjective) I usually feel like erotic paintings are most appealing to me when they don't use heavily textured brush strokes. So I have often used brushes that allow pretty smooth and clean rendering. But that often leads to me feeling frustrated spending a lot of time trying to achieve a satisfying level of polish and details across a painting.

So I wanted to see if I could find a satisfying middleground, where I can have that benefit of textured strokes implying detail, but still maintain the style I think looks hottest. And this brush I'm sharing is an attempt at that. To make sure the texture isn't too much it uses a simple greyscale gaussian noise as its texture, and I keep that texture at its native scale to maintain crisp pixel noise. Scaling the texture up or down ruins the noise by softening it. And the brush tip I use is one that gives a bristly look to the stroke.

I wasn't able to perfectly replicate the brush in each software since they don't all share the same brush settings, but they should be close enough to each other that the brush serves the same purpose and feels similar. I also wanna say the brush isn't so carefully tuned that you shouldn't change it. The noise texture is probably what I'd consider the most important part of it, but beyond that you could probably try to change it to what you feel most comfortable with. For example, the brush tip is not very carefully selected, so you could swap it for a different bristly brush tip if you feel like it's too soft at larger sizes.
The Krita variant of the brush is the one I feel most comfortable with, in case you're wondering. And doodle #2 is an example of how I use the brush. You can see varying levels of finish in that one, which hopefully gives an idea of how I sketch and render it.

If you've paid close attention you'll know I've been flip-flopping between different software recently. Paintstorm feels comfortable but lacks features and has some bugs. CSP has a lot of features but doesn't feel as comfortable to me. Very recently I'm trying to use Krita again to see if I can feel more comfortable there. And I'm pretty optimistic about Krita, so you'll probably see me use that a bit going forward.

Thanks for supporting me! I hope your September will start out great. :)

Files

Comments

Phoksy

MY GOD you out Done your self with Shadows And Highlights... This is truly Amazing

Griffin Barrows

Hey! The style and lushness on the post is rich and beautiful! (Plus: Woof, bro, -get- it! 👅) It's just so -pretty- as well as sensual! In the sketch with the two demon babes devouring that pole and nuts -- the tongue wrap on his balls is... uufffff whoa, hot. ... May we see more of that someday, please? haha

Ciarán M

It's interesting to read about how you're experimenting with texture. I do remember that last year you were doing some experiments with it too, Illustration 106 with the lady with the furs is the main one that comes to mind. I'll have to download your custom brush and give it a go, I use Krita myself, so I'm glad to see that you seem to be enjoying it 😸 As for the lovely works that you've provided us with today... I'm later than usual with this comment, but you posted after midnight for me, so it's still the same day! At least for me anyway 😹 The doodles are just fantastic, with doodle 3 being a fun highlight, saw him and thought "one of these is not like the other". I like the sort of cross-hatching shading style you used on him and the shapes of his brow, cheeks, the way his lips overlap his many fangs and the drool splashing around and clinging to him are all very well done. I love doodle 4 too. It's so flowing and elegant with the long, waving lines of her hair and the beautiful, curving contours of her arched back and abs and the rounded, overlapping bum cheeks and her extended leg. I really like the lighting here too and the soft shadows on her face, torso and especially the ones on her left calf and foot. She looks really gorgeous and as with doodle 3, I love the textures. As for doodle 2... god damn... where to begin! I could talk for ages about this one 🥰🥰🥰 I'll try not to though.. Well, once again, the textures are beautiful. As you may be picking up, I like rough, painterly textures so these doodles are 100% my bag. The hatching textures that run across her left hip/thigh in particular are very appealing to me and the actual shapes there are very sensual and sexy. Her figure in general is gorgeous and I love the heft and weight to her breasts, especially with those large areolas and nipples. The piercings are the proverbial icing on the cake too 😻 The twisting shapes, ridges and valleys in her horns look so good too and her expression is perfect. That smile is so alluring and inviting. Her outfit design is very sexy to me too, with the scaled material wrapping over and sinking between her breasts, accentuating their shapes, as well as the scales acting like a corset too, making her breasts pop even more as they sink over them. I definitely wouldn't mind seeing this character in a full illustration... I definitely, definitely wouldn't mind seeing her use that long, very textured object in her hand too 🤭 Oh, lastly, I do really enjoy how voluptuous her hips and thighs are, as well as the elegant flow of her front leg as it advances and overlaps the other, the curling motion of her tail is also very nice too. And Doodle 1... oh my goodness.. just... Please, please, please! Give her a full illustration and definitely let her use what she's holding in her hand! 😻😻😻😻😻 Ahem... forgive me, I lost my composure there 😅 But seriously, she has so much going on that I love. As before, the painterly textures are beautiful and they definitely work well in colour too. I like seeing those warm, red-tinted hatching lines running down her arm, as well as on her butt. Unsurprisingly, her figure is incredibly sensual and sexy and I love the curves of her breasts, waist, bum and thighs. Having her breasts pushed up against that tiny corset is especially sexy, with her warm, tanned skin really popping against that lovely, pale purple. The blues and pinks mixed into the material are an especially nice touch. I am in love with the teasing as she tugs her panties too. Her hair is a lot of fun with it flowing, curling and twisting down around her, with so many strands breaking away with these sharp, pointy angles as they turn. Also, in addition to the corset, having the collar is very hot too and has the benefit of framing her face from below, while her hair frames it from the top and sides. The warm blush on her cheeks and nose makes her beautiful face stand out even more strongly and I adore her bright pink eyes and smiling lips. I could keep going... but I'll restrain myself. Suffice to say though, the character designs in Doodle 1 and 2 are stunning and I really hope that you continue doing more doodles in this hatchy, textured style 🥰 Jesus, I haven't even gotten to the main painting yet... For that reason, I'm going to skip the two sketches, however I will say that they are excellent! 😻😻😻 Okay, onto the main painting and I will try my best to be brief... The overall scene is so vibrant and lovely, I really enjoy the mix of cool and warm colours. The trees in the background and how they have blue and red tones mixed into the trunks is a very fun touch. The purples and greens mixed into the blue water look lovely too and I enjoy the occasional pinks mixed into the sand. The greenery directly behind the Nymph on our left side looks great too with its mix of warm and cool tones blended in. I particularly like the leaves above her head, with strongly contrasting light and dark tones that give it a lot of depth. The characters look great too and it's nice to see Luke taking care of his new, blue friend here 😈💙 Her pose is delightful here, looking quite dynamic with that C-curve motion to her body as she leans back, with a lot of dynamism from her long, flowing hair and the asymmetry of her arms and legs. I do really like how she reaches forward and wraps her fingers around Luke's head, he ain't going anywhere until the job is done 😉 The colours of the two characters are amazing too, I really like the contrast with him having these warmer colours while she is comprised of cool blues, greens and purples. And thanks to the contrast, our attention is very handily guided between her legs, where the warmer pink tones mixed into her naughty bits, as well as Luke's head, stand out very strongly. Looking at Luke specifically. I like the colours of his hair quite a bit, with pale rim-lights on top to pop against the dark brown, as well as blue tints elsewhere to add a colour contrast. I also like the blues mixed into his brow and nose, close to where his face is pressed against her blue body. The definition of his face and back muscles are brilliantly rendered as always, with his back being particularly striking thanks to the thick, pale rim-lighting there. Focussing on this lovely, gorgeous blue angel now 🩵🩵🩵 The lighting on her is exceptionally striking with those thick, pale rim-lights that beautifully accentuate her face, left arm, both legs and her ample breasts. The greenish lighting on her left arm and the undersides of both legs are gorgeous additions too and I especially like the effect they have on her arm. Both arms are so muscular and you know I love how you paint muscles! 😸 So it's very nice to see muscles like that on one of your lady characters, her shoulders too and especially her left bicep look so super hot 😻😻😻 I really like the lighting on her right leg too, with these alternating light and dark tones, with the subtle, greenish tint in the shadows keeping that alternating lighting going. The other leg is very vibrant too, with dark shadows down the centre framed by white and green lighting on either side, even with subtle warm tones mixed into the shadows for more contrast. And one detail I like that I need to mention before I forget, it ties back to when I mentioned Luke's hair. I do enjoy that her left hand has these warm, brownish tones mixed in, tinted from being near his hair and skin and contrasting well with the bright lighting on her hand. Also her left forearm looks so good with the hard-edged shadow that runs through it, separating the muscles there, with pale, subtle green tones mixed into the top-facing planes above and below that middle shadow. Her breasts are absolutely world-class with how sensuous and alluring they are. The weight and shapes are lovely and I really adore that wet shine on them, most notable within the brighter lighting on their top planes. The softer, brighter blue bounce-light near the nipples is a really nice touch too and I adore the texture of her large nipples, with the purple colour being something that especially appeals to me 💜💜 Coming to the end now, her hair is just mesmerising with how many colours you have blended in. Greens, reds, blues, purples and pinks scattered throughout her hair are making that black look so vibrant! I especially like the purples and pinks that run through her fringe, as well as the subtle green mixed into the rim-lighting on top of her fringe and ponytail. The white rim-lighting on the hair behind her left side adds so much depth to the hair too. I also like how the hair has the sharpest detail on top of her head, growing softer and fading towards the bottom of the ponytail, creating a nice, gradient of contrast (It's no different than anything else I say... but why does that sentence feel especially pretentious to me 😅) Her face is absolutely fantastic and I'm sure you can guess what I'm going to bring up by now! The white rim-lighting creates such a striking contrast in values and I really like the way it makes her nose and lips pop. The purples mixed into the areas around the eyes, cheeks and nose are lovely too and I really like how you use purple to add warmth to your blue characters, similar to a red blush like we see on Luke with his human skin tones. Her expression is a lot of fun too with one eye squinting more than the other and I like the creases in her forehead too. Her lips look so juicy and luscious and the definition of her cheek is great too, with a shine spot above the shadow and more subtle green below it. Something that surprised me by how much I enjoy it is her ear. I know with ears, you can get this semi-transparency or a sort of glow that shines through them. So that bright, magenta glow that shines through the tip of her ear really catches my eye and I like how it smoothly blends back into the darker skin tones below it. Okay... finally, I'm done. Except for one small, overall statement. I do really enjoy the textured look to this piece, seeing the hatchy brush strokes on the Nymph is especially satisfying. Because of it, I particularly like her right calf where we get to see these textures a lot. Brilliant work on this piece! And the Doodles are fantastic too. Definitely hoping that that elf with the corset gets a turn with Luke. Or with Glasses Elf, I'm not picky! 😉 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

Sleepnir

Wow she's got some vascular biceps, forearms, and shoulders for some reason. Popeye the Sailor Nymph!

reltcstone

Thanks as always for the great in depth write up. Awesome process stuff. I've really thoroughly been enjoying your brush economy, areas of rest, areas of detail dynamics, your edge qualities, and your color shapes. Kicking ass every month, man. You're killing it. Also thanks for the brush, i'll try it in Krita. I relapsed into photoshop but i should really get back to Krita, i think.

calm

Happy to hear you like them, Griffin! And I wouldn't be surprised if I decide to make more pictures like that one lol. It's a fun theme. :)

calm

Thank you! I'm always surprised you find so much to comment on lol! Krita is pretty great, especially considering it's free, so I'm not surprised you choose to use it. I'm a big fan of the concept of free and open source software like Blender and Krita, so I hope Krita ends up being my main software. I now kinda wanna learn Python so I can add features to Krita that aren't there by default. I often have very specific wishes for how a software works, and in most other painting software I'm out of luck if the option I want isn't there by default, so having the option to do custom scripts and plugins is really nice! It's fun to hear you like the textured look! I feel like I need a lot more practice with it before I'm exactly where I want to be with it, but one step at a time, right? 😄 And I'm glad you like the girls in the doodles! I don't know if they're designs I'll carry forward, at least in their exact form. I think I'd want to put a bit more thought into their design if they're gonna return. They're definitely the types of characters I'm into though, so we'll see! :)

Ciarán M

Oh, didn't know Blender was free too, that's very nice. And damn, potentially learning a programming language to customise Krita, that's very productive! 😸 Well, I definitely won't say no to more of you practicing that textured look, I love it! So what you're saying is, there's a chance that sexy, corset-elf with the insane glam-rock hair and the lovely demon girl might return, well, I'm game!

calm

Thank you, I really appreciate hearing that! And I can relate to escaping back to a software that feels safe, lol. It can take several attempts to really become comfortable with fully migrating to another software. I had that experience when I migrated away from Photoshop several years back, but I'm really glad I eventually moved away from it since they don't really develop it with drawing and painting in mind.

calm

Blender is really the gold standard for free software imo, it's awesome. They even set up the company specifically so it can never be acquired by anyone or sold off, ensuring Blender will remain free forever. I think that's really admirable!

Ciarán M

Wow, that's really amazing. Might have to have a look at it for myself, see what it's all about.

TURBO NERD

Always appreciate the PSS brushes! Fallen in love with the app, it's just so customizable... It's really nice! It controls a little like what I remember CSP's dry gouache brush does. I made a version that has a bit of tilt on it so I can carve out hard edges; but honestly watching your process helps me learn new ways to approach edge control, among other techniques... It's impressive to see how much versatility you get with just the one brush, simplicity really is better! Lovely art as always! And thanks for your valuable knowledge!

calm

I'm glad you're enjoying checking out the process! And yeah, I do enjoy keeping things simple. 😄