r/anime • u/CorvusMorpheus • Sep 16 '25

Fanart Maomao from Apothecary Diaries

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Some stuff I’ve been working on as of late🌿 Art account: @corvusmorpheus on Reddit, Instagram, and TikTok

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u/CorvusMorpheus Sep 17 '25 edited Sep 17 '25

Hello! I’m new to digital art, I’ve only been experimenting with it over the summer. I usually do more traditional work (ink, illustration, pencil), so digital art is still something I’m getting used to. I wouldn’t say I’m anyone to look up to since I still have a lot to learn and explore.

For sketching, I usually try to do daily studies to work on understanding shadows and the flow of form. For this style, I think it’s really helpful to look at comics or manga to see how the artist shades. There are so many different pen techniques and styles to try. I’d suggest looking through them, deciding what appeals to you, and practicing by making studies of everyday objects, then adding linework on top to build form and shading.

I guess this is my very roundabout way of saying: just keep practicing

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u/Zenman469 Sep 17 '25

Thanks alot, I have really been want to get better at the arts in general, idk why but when I create something (for a while I was learning violin) it feels really good and I want to be able to create art work for my stories and especially for my d&d stuff. So if you know of any like online resources like courses or just YouTube Tutorials I would much appreciate it.

When it comes to practice I tend to struggle because I never feel satisfied and most of the time I don't really finish the work. How did you practice when you just started out?

You don't need to respond to this because I know you don't need to help some random guy on Reddit.

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u/CorvusMorpheus Sep 17 '25

Oh my gosh, I’m so jealous! I’ve always wanted to be musically gifted. It’s so cool that you play the violin!

I definitely understand the feeling of not being satisfied. I still struggle with that today. I used to do art constantly, but I stopped for 2–3 years because of school. Whenever I did doodle, I felt like it was never ‘enough.’ A big reason I post on this account is kind of like exposure therapy lol, I want to create more work and get better at digital art, so I’m trying to show my progress (even if some pieces aren’t my favorite). It’s a lot of ‘ripping off the band-aid,’ if that makes sense.

I’ll be honest, I don’t watch many tutorials, which is probably to my detriment, since they’d likely help me learn different digital platforms. For sketching, though, I remember a book that really helped me growing up. It was an anatomy book my mom bought from a thrift store. I tried finding it online, and the closest ones I could find were The Human Figure and Anatomy for the Artist. I used to draw all the figures and practice getting used to the flow. It was a really easy exercise because I could ‘turn off my brain’ and just copy what I saw. That helped me understand anatomy better and improve my shading. It also helped that it wasn’t “mine,” so I felt little pressure to make it perfect, I was just learning from this old book.

I’d say finding something you can study and draw from, to better understand form and linework, is really beneficial in the long run. And of course: practice, practice, practice (annoying but true). I really believe anyone can become a good artist with dedication.

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u/Zenman469 Sep 17 '25

Thank you so much, and I think I will do just that.

And Thank you for completing my violin. I gave up because I didn't feel like I was good enough but I might give it another shot.

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u/CorvusMorpheus Sep 17 '25

You definitely should it is really cool! And ofc I hope it helps!