Writers who can draw (or have other artistic talent)

EzzyAlpha

Unable to write straight females.
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As a comic book author in training, I both write and draw. Not very well though.

Fun fact, I am actually in art school. Fun times.

I like drawing in a more manga style, realism is somewhat boring and cartoony styles can't really be used for more dramatic things.

My deviantArt is http://diana-m.deviantart.com. I also post writing there.

I wish I could do life drawing more, it's rather fun.
 

FabricatedParadise

Can be bribed with circus peanuts
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I draw, but not very well. The stuff here is so much better than mine.

I sing too. The few people who've heard me have tried to get me to do it for like contests, etc. But I have horrible stage fright. The best I'll do is sing in the car.
 

Alessandra Kelley

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As a comic book author in training, I both write and draw. Not very well though.

Fun fact, I am actually in art school. Fun times.

I like drawing in a more manga style, realism is somewhat boring and cartoony styles can't really be used for more dramatic things.

My deviantArt is http://diana-m.deviantart.com. I also post writing there.

I wish I could do life drawing more, it's rather fun.

I think this guy does a great job of using a cartoony style for things so dramatic (like this day's strip) that they couldn't easily be done in a realistic style.
 

EzzyAlpha

Unable to write straight females.
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I never really liked Order of the Stick. The art greatly undermines the plot, it just doesn't work for me.

It's really a matter of personal preference.
 

Alessandra Kelley

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I never really liked Order of the Stick. The art greatly undermines the plot, it just doesn't work for me.

It's really a matter of personal preference.

That's ok.

Personally, I found out a long time ago that I will enjoy a good comic book story, even if it has atrocious art (and I consider Rich Burlew's art far better than atrocious), but no amount of gorgeous art can get me interested in a weak or poor story.
 

JoyceH

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I just started drawing a few months ago. Don't know why, it was just something I suddenly wanted to do. Last time I drew was in high school, and I was pretty bad at it then. But turns out there are BOOKS that explain things, like perspective and shading and 'draw what you see, not what you know'. I draw a bit most days and find it relaxing; some efforts are better than others.

I'm considering doing a blog post of my 'dog art' - when I'm looking around for something to draw, my dog is usually right there. The drawings aren't very good, but they amuse me.
 

pandaponies

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I'm pretty sure I actually draw a lot better than I write... I actually make money drawing, hah. Pet portraits, usually horses. Occasionally dogs.

7188424983_926936c939.jpg


Working on one right now, actually. Or, well, procrastinating on working on one. :p
 
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pandaponies

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Thanks! That one was 14"x11". Charcoal. I've tried to work in graphite and always just end up gravitating back to charcoal. :p
 

Jessica_312

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That's gorgeous, pandaponies! You're very talented :D

I sketch, but nowhere near that good. Never took lessons and haven't picked up a sketchpad in years. This is about the best I've got LOL. Like I said, nowhere near the caliber of a lot of what I'm seeing on this thread. Just something I liked to mess around with once in a while :D I tried my hand at painting, too, but those are even more godawful.

73531_10100111127765912_652865_n.jpg
 
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pandaponies

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Thank you very much, Jessica! Nothing godawful about your sketch in my opinion. It just looks like a perfectly good sketch to me, that's all! I bet if you sat down and poured hours into a portrait or something, you'd be surprised at what you could do :). Plus, I've had tons of practice. It's a learning process, and practice makes perfect.

I tried painting too, briefly... the finished products were good, it just... wasn't for me. :p Too messy, too space-consuming, takes too long (edit: plus paint and canvas are too expensive :p). Unfortunately it brought on a slew of "Oh, COLOR!!! I want a painting for my birthday! Don't buy me a Christmas present, just PAINT me something!" *facepalm* I'm STILL having to say "No, I don't paint anymore, sorry. Would you like something in charcoal?" :p
 
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Tepelus

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I thought graphite too. I tried charcoal many moons ago in school but never liked it. I've painted too, but it is messy and more time consuming than pencils. I've dabbled in ink before, mostly just comic book characters. I don't draw that much anymore. Every once in a while the drawing spark shows up for a few days and I get a project done and then it's months (and sometimes years) before I draw anything again.
 

pandaponies

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That's a lovely portrait.
Thank you!!

Re: charcoal vs. graphite - In my opinion, it is easier to get more depth with charcoal. However, from my own experiences and from what I've seen of others' work, in general, it is easier to get finer detail with graphite. I think that's one reason I like working in charcoal: it's kind of like a challenge to me, I guess. I know a lot of people don't like it, but I don't know. Charcoal and I just "click." ;)
 

Jessica_312

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Thank you very much, Jessica! Nothing godawful about your sketch in my opinion. It just looks like a perfectly good sketch to me, that's all! I bet if you sat down and poured hours into a portrait or something, you'd be surprised at what you could do :). Plus, I've had tons of practice. It's a learning process, and practice makes perfect.

I tried painting too, briefly... the finished products were good, it just... wasn't for me. :p Too messy, too space-consuming, takes too long (edit: plus paint and canvas are too expensive :p). Unfortunately it brought on a slew of "Oh, COLOR!!! I want a painting for my birthday! Don't buy me a Christmas present, just PAINT me something!" *facepalm* I'm STILL having to say "No, I don't paint anymore, sorry. Would you like something in charcoal?" :p

Yeah I was not a fan of painting. I had no technique whatsoever so it was pretty much just me globbing paint randomly on a canvas lol. Never really got the hang of it.
 

thebloodfiend

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Thank you!!

Re: charcoal vs. graphite - In my opinion, it is easier to get more depth with charcoal. However, from my own experiences and from what I've seen of others' work, in general, it is easier to get finer detail with graphite. I think that's one reason I like working in charcoal: it's kind of like a challenge to me, I guess. I know a lot of people don't like it, but I don't know. Charcoal and I just "click." ;)

I hate charcoal. But it's amazing what some people can do with it -- people like you. That^ is awesome.

Myself, I like graphite. I have a few crappy drawings I might post up when I get off from work later.
 

Xelebes

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The normal technique of charcoal (sketching) causes spasms for me. The only way I will use charcoal is by painting (grinding up the charcoal and paint by pushing the charcoal into the paper.)
 

pandaponies

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Joyce - I think they're super cute!! :)

bloodfiend - Aww, thank you so much! And pft, I'm sure your drawings aren't crappy. You should definitely post them. :D

Xelebes - That sounds really interesting, grinding it up first? What do you push it in with, tortillons/blending stumps or? Do you have any finished product pics? :D I think my technique is somewhere in between sketching and what you do - I lightly sketch on an area and then blend with a tortillon. If it's a darker area, I put more charcoal down and repeat process, obviously with the softest charcoal on the darkest areas. I rely HEAVILY on the blending/tortillons lol, I spend way more time using them than actually putting charcoal on the page. I take for-freaking-EVER, but I like the smoother (vs. more sketchy) look in the end so I feel like it's worth it.
 

Xelebes

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Xelebes - That sounds really interesting, grinding it up first? What do you push it in with, tortillons/blending stumps or? Do you have any finished product pics? :D I think my technique is somewhere in between sketching and what you do - I lightly sketch on an area and then blend with a tortillon. If it's a darker area, I put more charcoal down and repeat process, obviously with the softest charcoal on the darkest areas. I rely HEAVILY on the blending/tortillons lol, I spend way more time using them than actually putting charcoal on the page. I take for-freaking-EVER, but I like the smoother (vs. more sketchy) look in the end so I feel like it's worth it.

I guess they would be called blending stumps. It's what I did in art class. I haven't done anything in charcoal in a loooong time (think junior high.)
 

Archerbird

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I'm pretty sure I actually draw a lot better than I write... I actually make money drawing, hah. Pet portraits, usually horses. Occasionally dogs.

7188424983_926936c939.jpg


Working on one right now, actually. Or, well, procrastinating on working on one. :p

Okay, that's close to brilliant. I never could draw horses. And charcoal..uh... that's pretty impressing. :)
 

pandaponies

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Archerbird - Thank you so much, you're so nice. <3


Something I've always been curious about is mixing media. I've seen some INCREDIBLY realistic drawings where graphite is used on most of the drawing (for the aforementioned ease of fine detail), and charcoal is added only for the dark parts for the range of value. I sort of tried it... once... but I found the shine on the graphite too distracting. :( It didn't quite work for me. I'd like to give it another go sometime though because the results look amazing. ...With something I'm drawing for myself (lol, like that ever happens) so I don't risk screwing up a commission. :p