Outsourcing, A Lazy Art Thread

[Shawqi]

I'm going to fill this with my arts, like these.

Previous Arts

My Avatar:

This was where I cropped my avatar from:

Spoiler: Banner

I had used it when I was still active in Zazzle. It was very disappointing, the dashboard didn't even show my finished artwork. I really didn't understand why it was, that no matter how much effort I use, my design had never been sold.

I think it wasn't even shown on the site's front page.

I still want to make use of my Zazzle accounts, but maybe one day soon. Also I'd make sure that I won't depend on their awful shopfront page because it just never work like what I intended no matter how hard I try to.

My current banner for this site.

Spoiler: Profile Banner

---

And this was what I was busy last month with. What a waste of effort though. It's my own fault for being lazy when my only art tools was just pencil, scanner, Illegally used software, and keyboard+mouse

60th Anniversary Love of Pop-Tarts on Threadless

Spoiler: 60 years of PopTart

Spoiler: What was done

Spoiler: What had to be cancelled

It was such a shame because I had made a great gimmick; 3 generations of PopTarts enjoyer.

What a waste of time.

What I intended with this thread:

Help me with some inspirations. I had to waste so many days just looking for inspirations, even when I was lacking in time, what with the necessity of negotiating and scheduling laptop usage with its owner.

I'm hoping I could source it out to you guys, whoever read this thread and want to comments on it. Who knows, if I could submit things faster then maybe I could sell things and get money.

What I'm currently confused about :

Retail Trends

• Self-care / Wellness Typography: Whether sincere, sassy, or straight up crass, get creative with your verbiage.
• Vintage Thrift: Create diamonds in the rough otherwise found in the racks, inspired by times gone by—whether real life or make believe!
• Coquette: Pastels and frilly lace, whether traditional or with a mystical, horror-leaning dark side.
• Modern Americana: Iconic symbols—the rustic olde west, retro sports, and cars and automotive (no IP, please)—with a modern twist.

Help me out. Last month I was confused about Y'allternative and now the only thing left was scanning some image about goth girl wearing cowboy hat...

And the topic of this submission already changed to those listed above.

Give me something good about those four, something inspirative I could lift quickly.

Thank you very much.

 

[NightmareWarden]

Spoiler: Feedback

Your avatar image is pretty dang good! It would fit in with a collage of manga images as it currently is. Showing that, then zooming out to the actual environment? It's good! The roots are very consistent, very clearly healthy rather than the withered, jagged look you would see in miserable settings. The hair, clothing, boxes- it all feels deliberate and thoughtfully selected. I don't have strong feelings on their faces though. The level of detail on the faces is fine given how large the image is, but... I'm not sure. If you were making dozens of images of these characters, with that style of eyes? I'd strongly recommend doing something with eyebrows, the brow itself, and maybe depth in general, if you keep the eyes like that. You definitely CAN make it work. I'd just say the faces aren't the highlight of this page, so it is generally fine and dandy.

If this image was plucked from a larger scene? A snippet from a little story or a dynamic you had in mind for these two characters? Why was this the one you chose to make, for their poses, feelings, etc.? Absolutely nothing wrong with idle, recuperative moments! It's like it is all arranged to make me curious! Why is the girl feeling "politely impatient" with the boy? Is the boy homeless, living here with stolen goods, or are they traveling as part of a larger group?


Your profile banner is fine. I'm a big fan of the "ribbon" style of folded metal you used for the elf on the left. The weapon, her outfit, the fact that it could be a uniform? Good stuff. The middle character (might not be male, but I'm running with that) is alright. My brain is saying the paper should have more detail to it. Not NECESSARILY thicker, and it doesn't need to be a scroll, but it could be darker. Could have wear and tear. Could have a candle lighting it maybe. The headwear is neat? I'd be interested to know if the whole outfit is like that, or if it is some sort of Japan-inspired "protagonist" headwear. It makes me imagine RPGs set centuries after a fantasy war, with lots of ruins exploration and monster fighting. Which is nice enough! Adventurers SHOULD be looking into ruins that are more interesting than IRL ruins!

Might be making me imagine a bit of Code Lyoko too.

Girl on the right is also very solid, good design. Great hair texturing. The designs on her collar and shoulders are very similar to the left girl's clothing, very good. Makes things feel consistent, even if they are from different parts of the world. I couldn't tell you what her role in ruins-delving would be, nor what her fantasy class could be. But that's fine. She could be an elf, but I suspect she's a human, so fine and dandy there. No idea if she is wearing a uniform, and the headband could be a personal piece of flare, but it is still a solid outfit... Which could be ruined by silly colors, but is fine with realistic leather colors OR normal fantasy colors.


Finally the pop tart images. I can't put it into words well, but I think the eyes here are the best, they show the most growth and skill. The third image, 2024's woman? Her eyes are just PRETTY, and expressive. It doesn't need to HAVE a larger purpose for some story- it is just nice to look at, and her casualness invites me to relax too. More honest than "Hollywood sterile and soulless" casual home stuff.

With the support of the prior images, I definitely see what you are aiming for with the 3 Generations/60 Years art. It's a solid idea, would definitely deserve upvotes and praise in the right Reddit communities. Even in black and white. Capturing a bit of that connection, that familiarity and comfort? You've captured something as rare as lightning in a bottle with the concept and posing here.

Maybe there is a way to remake it into something with less detail required. Or maybe there is a medium that will allow you to try again with less stress. As it stands, I don't give a damn about poptarts- but I'm glad I saw that piece of art. Glad I really looked instead of just glancing, and appreciated your description of what it would have become.

I like the first two images in the set of four as well, but I'm a bit tired of typing. Like the colors, like the, well, genuine spunk and liveliness of the 2004 image. You have improved, but you've always had some personal spark to build off of.

Now for your prompt. I use reddit, I look at the generally disconnected webcomics or single-panel art that blows up with upvotes, if not heartfelt praise. Doesn't need to have text, but capturing a distinct voice for characters- or saying something the audience agrees witj- can make up for art that is... Functional. Functional like Dilbert, but for different genres like "generic sword and sorcery fantasy." Or "ugly near future poverty, with virtual worlds as escapism."

I'm just going to spitball with answers here, I don't think we follow similar circles, I'm not sure if I get the distinct styles you are imagining.

• Self-care / Wellness Typography: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/352336370848311954/ "Go Seaking (seeking) and you will find." Pixelated text has some appeal for short quotes like this. A cute picture of a happy creature that is expressing "I am happy to see you" or "Yay! I support what you are doing!" Is quite welcome as well- https://www.pinterest.com/pin/140806232381692/
• Vintage Thrift: Maybe skateboard shoes. https://www.reddit.com/r/Beading/comments/1f9bgki/my_husbands_complaining_i_spend_too_much_time_on/ ; Halloween is a style distinct from goth/emo/misc. music genres- https://www.reddit.com/r/Beading/comments/1fa3dy0/pick_someone_at_random_and_take_a_bite_lol/ ; the image of holding a fish, caught on a boat with adult buddies or lake-fishing with a male relative, is QUITE ingrained in American culture, even if hunting and camping get more attention in television shows. The idea of feeling pride in one's kid or feeling pride from a parent for such a success can be expressed in a lot of mediums. https://www.reddit.com/r/Beading/comments/1f788pk/how_would_i_make_this/
• Coquette: I don't like any of the images I'm seeing. The only thing in common im noting is "more frilly than a short sundress." Not seeing any horror style, but I didn't search much. If you are making up new outfits LIKE these? Maybe you'll think of something I can't by looking at images of "homecoming mums," which are relevant for some US states.
• Modern Americana: Tough one. Aside from belt buckles and leather shoes (not buckled shoes though)...

Modern Americana

Spoiler: Americana

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/2f/88/aa/2f88aa749a2454fa648e521fd85f76e9.jpg ,
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d0/56/fc/d056fc3873ae02b9abfc3991fb3b0935.jpg ,
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Men-s-Ba...intage-bomber-Suede-Jackets-S-Brown/423678940

My own addition- I follow a subreddit called StreetMoe. It has devolved into a lot of softcore ecchi stuff, but looking at top posts from years past shows the old core of it.

Spoiler: Elaborate modern

https://x.com/ypqilf/status/1656620436770410496
https://www.reddit.com/r/streetmoe/comments/j61nfg/panty_stocking/
https://www.reddit.com/r/streetmoe/comments/149hhwq/stelle/
(HelloClonion on twitter/x) https://www.reddit.com/r/streetmoe/comments/fnfozt/uraraka_ochako/

It has a lot of "athleisure" too, but I'm not finding that right now. So this is a small, obscure subcommunity. Much smaller than, say, CottageCore. It is obscure.

 

[Shawqi]

It seemed the only thing I could put off and still get done was just anything food related.

I made this thread to motivate me into actually finish setting up my Threadless shop (even now, it still haven't been published yet) and didn't check it at all until this day when I want to clear my thousands plus alerts starting from the last page.

What an amazing collection of links.

If only I found your reply months ago, ugh.

The hair, clothing, boxes- it all feels deliberate and thoughtfully selected.

Click to shrink...

It's something that I made for my Zazzle Shop Dashboard a long time ago. Back then I still have motivation and energy for a lot of things...

I spent weeks reading Andrew Loomis PDFs for it's composition. As for faces, well, it was made in my 'indistinct simple cartoon face are not drawing human' phase.

Drawing living human were taboo around the place I live in (if we go by literal meaning).

Now I am in the interpretation of 'as long as it's not something worshipped, something religious, or something thought to be a real thing'.

And my Zazzle days gradually came to an end when I noticed that all the hard work I put in wasn't yielding any results. The shop page was a mess, and many things I carefully made to be sold just didn't appear anywhere at all.

The account is still there, but I knew that if I do actually sell anything I would be taxed thoroughly because 'Inactive account'.

I do plan to use it again later, but I'll wait until I had hardware and not having to put up with using mouse and scanner for everything I need to make.

I planned to be using it to sell meme derivatives and any meme that need personalization (mostly changing the caption, since Zazzle was good in custom typography).

The meme would be something along the lines of Bad Luck Brian, Most Interesting Man, Black Guy Thinking Meme, etc., but it would be anime characters, changing black guy with Aqua or Mayuri or whoever that fits, changing Bad Luck Brian with some unlucky character like Kamijou Touma, etc.

If this image was plucked from a larger scene

Click to shrink...

This one from Redbubble Shop Twitter Link. Still the same result. No traffic, no buyer, no motivation.

The shop name is staradventurer or something, I already forgot most of things related to it and didn't want to spend any effort in finding the txt file where I put all the important thing I had to remember about that shop.

The two had mostly the same setting. It was an RP ing gimmick where I am a retired star rank adventurer that become shopkeeper, and my shop was 'this is adventuring paraphernalia for you kids!'

Something like that more or less.

I seem to have Instagram account too, but back then I have no smartphone, so I could only post one image per post through inspect and toggle device toolbar on google chrome.

Look at the effort I made before my Redbubble shop figuratively closed down because motivation bankruptcy.

Spoiler: Old Redbubble Thing

This is from the days before I found out that Ace of Spades have that kind of connotation.

So many effort, so little value. Probably because I'm not good at naming things.

My own addition- I follow a subreddit called StreetMoe. It has devolved into a lot of softcore ecchi stuff, but looking at top posts from years past shows the old core of it.

Click to shrink...

I browse reddit, but I still haven't quite amassed bravery to add that site to my frequent visit page. So many rules, so many culture that only the native inhabitant know.

And most importantly, another set of password I need to remember.

I already have 50 or so bookmarked reddit's 18+ confirmation page, but still didn't feel it was urgent enough to register and visit as a 'legit adult' member. Why couldn't it be like other hassle-free site where you only need to click [I Am an Adult] button.

What's the use in registering when I could read as a guest just fine? I mean, even my pinterest account was never logged in from a long time ago.

And it was my most frequently visited place through google image search.

Nowadays I just use ImageDownloader to just download all the image I found interesting so I could re view it offline, haha.

Anyway, Thanks for the inspiration list, even if most of what I planned to submit was already on the finishing phase.

I do hope I could actually submit it on time, since I think this is the last month before the quarterly topic changes.

It's unbelievable that it took me months to finish something I actually wanted to do.

10 days left till deadline, wooo.

I'm really dead.

I'll post what I've been working on later, regardless of the outcome.

 

[NightmareWarden]

Nowadays I just use ImageDownloader to just download all the image I found interesting so I could re view it offline, haha.

Anyway, Thanks for the inspiration list, even if most of what I planned to submit was already on the finishing phase.

I do hope I could actually submit it on time, since I think this is the last month before the quarterly topic changes.

It's unbelievable that it took me months to finish something I actually wanted to do.

10 days left till deadline, wooo.

I'm really dead.

I'll post what I've been working on later, regardless of the outcome.

Click to shrink...

Whatever works for you, man. Whatever works! No judgment coming from me. I am wishing you EXCEPTIONALLY good luck as the deadline approaches. If you can feel pride in your work, then you deserve to feel pride about yourself too. I'm not asking for perfection out of you, and you don't need to place perfection as your goal. So good luck.


Your red bubble images here are great! The suits. Seriously, protect those, do whatever you can to keep them from getting reuploaded elsewhere. Run searches on Google Images to make sure you can pester websites that attempt to steal them. Awful people are always tempted to steal art and pass it off as their own. Heck, maybe you should remove it from THIS comment. On the other hand, QQ's Xenforo might be ideal to prevent image theft, or mass downloading. I think that is called "scraping." I'm specifically talking about using those to make money. What you are doing for your folder of reference images is fine, it is completely justified. It can definitely help you improve as an artist.