Lily's Art

Edit: Thank you to everyone who helped me figure out how to resize my images!

Hi! I joined Smogon recently (today actually) because I do like to draw and play Pokémon. I've never been a part of a community, and I thought it might be cool to post my art here. The only other place it's posted is Instagram, but I also post lots of non-Pokémon related work there. I'm always just looking for inspiration to keep me practicing! Anyways, I hope people enjoy my art! Here's my three recent favorites.
IMG_20170404_091206_467.jpg
IMG_20170401_173125_341.jpg
IMG_20170402_092940_510.jpg
If anyone would like to post their art here as well, that would be great!
 
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Bummer

Jamming to the beat
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>two good artists make new studio threads in the same day

hot diggity

Your lineart is about as good as they come, may be a bit rushed in some places but the way you switch between thick and thinner strokes to emphasize various features is great. What software do you use?
 
>two good artists make new studio threads in the same day

hot diggity

Your lineart is about as good as they come, may be a bit rushed in some places but the way you switch between thick and thinner strokes to emphasize various features is great. What software do you use?
Ohh thank you!! That's really nice to say :D I do rush haha I work full time and I'm notoriously impatient, which is a bad combination. Really ought to put more time into each drawing.

I use medibangpaint, which is my favorite free software that I've found, and a wacom drawing tablet that is about four years old haha
 
You have a really neat lineart style! And I really love the lighting and the palette choice in the latest piece. I think the colors all look like they go together really well. If I could give some feedback, even though I know this is a quick sketch, I'd love to see a more dynamic composition! Right now there is a lot of empty space on the sides. For example, I'd consider changing the canvas to have more vertical dimensions, make the skyline a bit less horizontal, or add more objects ^^ I hope you keep posting more cool stuff!
 
You have a really neat lineart style! And I really love the lighting and the palette choice in the latest piece. I think the colors all look like they go together really well. If I could give some feedback, even though I know this is a quick sketch, I'd love to see a more dynamic composition! Right now there is a lot of empty space on the sides. For example, I'd consider changing the canvas to have more vertical dimensions, make the skyline a bit less horizontal, or add more objects ^^ I hope you keep posting more cool stuff!
Thank you so much :D I'm glad you like it, and I appreciate the feedback <3 I struggle with my art a lot, and direction/kind reminders are really helpful ^^ I'll work on making the composition more appealing/interesting in my next drawing!
 
Fantastic work. You should know how jealous I am of you for how well you can draw humans. Your Charmeleon girl is definitely my favorite with your talonflame girl a strong second. The images are very well structured and in addition to your lineart being fantastic the shading is quite excellent as well.

You seem to enjoy heavily contrasting your color palettes in your work, perhaps to the point that you rely on this color contrast to create interest. This isn't necessary a bad thing at all, but it is apparent in your Pichu piece. Although the piece certainly tells a story due to that lovely structure of yours it seems a bit less characterized than the other pieces.
I highly encourage you to continue to make pieces in more uniform color palettes and seek to create interest elsewhere to improve. Once you do that you can incorporate that into your already masterful use of color to create some very eye-popping work. I've personally always tried to do this by working with the texture of my pieces. In fact, you could say I have an exact opposite style to you, as I have horrible lineart, tend to use unadventurous and safe color palettes and focus far too much on texture.

Great work for sure though. Can't wait to see more!
 
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Fantastic work. You should know how jealous I am of you for how well you can draw humans. Your Charmeleon girl is definitely my favorite with your talonflame girl a strong second. The images are very well structured and in addition to your lineart being fantastic the shading is quite excellent as well.

You seem to enjoy heavily contrasting your color palettes in your work, perhaps to the point that you rely on this color contrast to create interest. This isn't necessary a bad thing at all, but it is apparent in your Pichu piece. Although the piece certainly tells a story due to that lovely structure of yours it seems a bit less characterized than the other pieces.
I highly encourage you to continue to make pieces in more uniform color palettes and seek to create interest elsewhere to improve. Once you do that you can incorporate that into your already masterful use of color to create some very eye-popping work. I've personally always tried to do this by working with the texture of my pieces. In fact, you could say I have an exact opposite style to you, as I have horrible lineart, tend to use unadventurous and safe color palettes and focus far too much on texture.

Great work for sure though. Can't wait to see more!
Thank you so much for the feedback, and for enjoying my art :D I think that's very true, about my colors. I have little to no control over how a drawing turns out, which frustrates me, so I rely on the colors to make it look "finished". I've taken a little break from drawing, to work on writing and maybe come back to it with fresh eyes, and when I do I'll definitely try some monotone/simplified color palettes and put weight on composition/pose. Your advice really made my day, and I wish I'd seen this sooner! It's hard figuring how which direction to go, and now I have one :) I have one more thing to post (it's from a couple weeks ago) I just thought I'd let you know and not think I ignored your advice right off the bat XD
 
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So this is something I did a couple weeks ago, and it's just a silly, self-portrait kind of thing in my pajamas with Azelf and Mesprit. As I said in a previous reply, after I finished this drawing I decided to take a break to work on writing my fanfic. I really liked how this turned out, but I feel like my drawings are lacking something. Hopefully when I post something new, it'll be in a different direction :)

flyingpsychic42smaller.png

Thank you to everyone for the advice on re-sizing!
 
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Max. Optimizer

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Greetings Lily and welcome to our Smeargle's Studio section!

I'm glad to see that we have yet another talented young artist that brings a lot of interesting works to the table.
I'm not an artist myself, but I definitely enjoy browsing through the galleries of people that actually are artists.

I do however know what I like and I can tell that you're very passionate about art and Pokémon.
You've definitely come to the right place to reveal your newest creations and interact with other artists.
I'm sure that you'll have a great time and that you'll get numerous opportunities to exchange experiences and techniques with others.
I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of your works in a foreseeable future!

I just figured I should leave you a couple of encouraging words.
In case you don't know yet, Smogon also has a #smeargle channel on Discord where artists rate the works of their fellow artists and provide helpful suggestions.
You might want to check it out and get some lively discussions going, who knows?

In addition to this, I also wanted to say that I genuinely like your first artwork (the one with the girl and the two Phantumps).
In my opinion the fact that you chose to give the girl eyes of two different colors greatly complements the fact that the Phantump on the right is a shiny Phantump, hence having different colors too.
I personally interpreted it as "starting to see things with different eyes".
In my opinion you can split up the work in both a left and a right panel.
Not only do the eyes and Phantumps have different colors, but the left part of background and the face is much darker than the right part.
The "constant interplay of light and shadow" and the dualism of "left" and "right" if you will.

The "flyingpsychic4" artwork that you added just now is also notably aesthetically pleasing.
In my opinion it considerably reflects both the trust and the bond between the female trainer and the two Pokémon, Azelf and Mesprit.
They both look like they know what they're doing, as to say: there's a notable harmony between all of the involved characters while they reinvent the famous "You teach me and I'll teach you" line from the first Pokémon opening.
We're so used to teach our Pokémon all kinds of moves and how to battle, but it's interesting to see the Pokémon teaching/showing their trainer something as well for a change.
All in all a brilliant work!

Either way, I always subconsciously fall back into my bad habit of talking way too much, so I'll end my feedback here.
Enjoy your stay on Smogon and have lots of fun!
 

FellFromtheSky

and started walking.
is a Top Artist Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Hi! Welcome to the studio! I'd have to say that your work is quite charming and that you can certainly pick colours. As far as advice goes, I'd have to agree with Neri in that it seems as though you often leave a lot of the canvas blank or leave the backgrounds rather bland or uninteresting when compared to you characters. To that, I'd say you should think of backgrounds not as backgrounds. Think of them instead as the environment your characters are inhabiting. They are in a physical space, not in front of a green screen. Another suggestion I'd have is getting away from using solely black lines, try colouring your lines or painting linelessly. Too many artists rely on lineart imo, and while it's an important skill (and oml is so hard, I hate it), painting can also be a good experience. It teaches you to define "lines" throguh contrast and colour rather than actual "lines." Oh! Your latest piece with Mesprit and Azelf is my favorite btw! Super cute.
 
Greetings Lily and welcome to our Smeargle's Studio section!

I'm glad to see that we have yet another talented young artist that brings a lot of interesting works to the table.
I'm not an artist myself, but I definitely enjoy browsing through the galleries of people that actually are artists.

I do however know what I like and I can tell that you're very passionate about art and Pokémon.
You've definitely come to the right place to reveal your newest creations and interact with other artists.
I'm sure that you'll have a great time and that you'll get numerous opportunities to exchange experiences and techniques with others.
I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of your works in a foreseeable future!

I just figured I should leave you a couple of encouraging words.
In case you don't know yet, Smogon also has a #smeargle channel on Discord where artists rate the works of their fellow artists and provide helpful suggestions.
You might want to check it out and get some lively discussions going, who knows?

In addition to this, I also wanted to say that I genuinely like your first artwork (the one with the girl and the two Phantumps).
In my opinion the fact that you chose to give the girl eyes of two different colors greatly complements the fact that the Phantump on the right is a shiny Phantump, hence having different colors too.
I personally interpreted it as "starting to see things with different eyes".
In my opinion you can split up the work in both a left and a right panel.
Not only do the eyes and Phantumps have different colors, but the left part of background and the face is much darker than the right part.
The "constant interplay of light and shadow" and the dualism of "left" and "right" if you will.

The "flyingpsychic4" artwork that you added just now is also notably aesthetically pleasing.
In my opinion it considerably reflects both the trust and the bond between the female trainer and the two Pokémon, Azelf and Mesprit.
They both look like they know what they're doing, as to say: there's a notable harmony between all of the involved characters while they reinvent the famous "You teach me and I'll teach you" line from the first Pokémon opening.
We're so used to teach our Pokémon all kinds of moves and how to battle, but it's interesting to see the Pokémon teaching/showing their trainer something as well for a change.
All in all a brilliant work!

Either way, I always subconsciously fall back into my bad habit of talking way too much, so I'll end my feedback here.
Enjoy your stay on Smogon and have lots of fun!
Hi! Thank you so much, I love getting any feedback, and I'll definitely check out Discord :) the phantum one is my favorite, mostly because Phantump are so cute haha

I definitely try to incorporate some feeling into my drawings, so it's wonderful to hear that's coming through!

Hi! Welcome to the studio! I'd have to say that your work is quite charming and that you can certainly pick colours. As far as advice goes, I'd have to agree with Neri in that it seems as though you often leave a lot of the canvas blank or leave the backgrounds rather bland or uninteresting when compared to you characters. To that, I'd say you should think of backgrounds not as backgrounds. Think of them instead as the environment your characters are inhabiting. They are in a physical space, not in front of a green screen. Another suggestion I'd have is getting away from using solely black lines, try colouring your lines or painting linelessly. Too many artists rely on lineart imo, and while it's an important skill (and oml is so hard, I hate it), painting can also be a good experience. It teaches you to define "lines" throguh contrast and colour rather than actual "lines." Oh! Your latest piece with Mesprit and Azelf is my favorite btw! Super cute.
Hello! :D thank you so much for the feedback, I definitely dislike how I do backgrounds now, but that's wonderful advice. I should treat them the same way I treat the characters. I think I lean towards black line art because I adore My Hero Academia but my struggle with having my own definitive style could be that I'm not finding my own groove. So thank you so much! I honestly get the most helpful feedback on smogon than anywhere else.
 
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Bummer

Jamming to the beat
is a Top Artist Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
So this is something I did a couple weeks ago, and it's just a silly, self-portrait kind of thing in my pajamas with Azelf and Mesprit. As I said in a previous reply, after I finished this drawing I decided to take a break to work on writing my fanfic. I really liked how this turned out, but I feel like my drawings are lacking something. Hopefully when I post something new, it'll be in a different direction :)

View attachment 81624
That image is nice in the way that it depicts that secret desire to fly freely in the air that most of us have, even if the image in question accomplishes that with psychic powers, but I'd say it still counts. Her body has some pretty thick black strokes that add a nice variety to the lineart, but they're completely absent in the hair, so adding a thick outline to that part as well would add some nice consistency I feel.

As for what your art is lacking, only the artist themselves can generally find an answer to that, but taking a break to focus on something else or being inspired by the art of others can definitely give you a better idea of what you want to accomplish with your art. Or if anything, knowing what you'd like to be able to draw in the future.

Best of luck in your future endeavours. We have an art system in place here at Smogon where one can get approved to illustrate some of our demanding stuff, either by applying for it or just being approved directly. Given the quality of your art, you now belong to the latter group. We have a page with more info about this, but the gist is that if you wondered about helping out with Smogon's art demand, you're now in a position to do so, but with no sense of obligation to it.

But then again, if your fanfiction is as good as your art, then you'll probably have plenty of eggs in various baskets to be occupied with. Thanks for giving our corner of the internet a visit.

Also this is the first time I'm seeing my thread on the computer and not my phone and the pictures are massive!! If anyone sees this, how would I make them smaller?
I tend to upload images to imgur.com where you have the option to edit the size/dimensions of the image once uploaded. Another solution would be to simply save the images in a smaller size on your computer, or as a smaller version if you want the picture in its original dimensions readily available.

you often leave a lot of the canvas blank or leave the backgrounds rather bland or uninteresting when compared to you characters. To that, I'd say you should think of backgrounds not as backgrounds. Think of them instead as the environment your characters are inhabiting.

try colouring your lines or painting linelessly.
Can definitely echo these sentiments as well. Even if the lineart remains dark but just have a slight hue that fits with the solid colors and shading, it'll do wonders to make the drawings more immersive, much like shading with cold and warm colors. One tip I can give about backgrounds is that you don't always need to fill the entire canvas with 'em, just enough to hint where the characters are but then leave the rest of the image white/transparent so that you won't feel the need to saturate the whole canvas with details.
 

FellFromtheSky

and started walking.
is a Top Artist Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Edit: Does anyone know how I can make my pictures smaller, and not show up all huge and massive?
Bummer suggested posting your images to imgur and resizing them there, but you can also alter the size of images in most programs used for art. In SAI, which I use, for instance, you can go to the top of the program, hit canvas, under which you'll see "change resolution." In GIMP, you can find it under "Image">"Scale Image." It's similar in PS, CSP, and Corel Painter. In general, images of about 200-800 pixels in either dimension are of a good size to be displayed online.

As an aside, it's also smart of you to not provide suuuper high resolution images, because art theft is harder with low resolution images.
 
That image is nice in the way that it depicts that secret desire to fly freely in the air that most of us have, even if the image in question accomplishes that with psychic powers, but I'd say it still counts. Her body has some pretty thick black strokes that add a nice variety to the lineart, but they're completely absent in the hair, so adding a thick outline to that part as well would add some nice consistency I feel.

As for what your art is lacking, only the artist themselves can generally find an answer to that, but taking a break to focus on something else or being inspired by the art of others can definitely give you a better idea of what you want to accomplish with your art. Or if anything, knowing what you'd like to be able to draw in the future.

Best of luck in your future endeavours. We have an art system in place here at Smogon where one can get approved to illustrate some of our demanding stuff, either by applying for it or just being approved directly. Given the quality of your art, you now belong to the latter group. We have a page with more info about this, but the gist is that if you wondered about helping out with Smogon's art demand, you're now in a position to do so, but with no sense of obligation to it.

But then again, if your fanfiction is as good as your art, then you'll probably have plenty of eggs in various baskets to be occupied with. Thanks for giving our corner of the internet a visit.


I tend to upload images to imgur.com where you have the option to edit the size/dimensions of the image once uploaded. Another solution would be to simply save the images in a smaller size on your computer, or as a smaller version if you want the picture in its original dimensions readily available.


Can definitely echo these sentiments as well. Even if the lineart remains dark but just have a slight hue that fits with the solid colors and shading, it'll do wonders to make the drawings more immersive, much like shading with cold and warm colors. One tip I can give about backgrounds is that you don't always need to fill the entire canvas with 'em, just enough to hint where the characters are but then leave the rest of the image white/transparent so that you won't feel the need to saturate the whole canvas with details.
Thank you so much for everything, everyone is so helpful here and it really boosts my spirits! Moving forward, I definitely think consistency will be my friend. I'm excited to apply the things you, and everyone else, have mentioned!

Also, thank you so much for approving me! I will read through those links to get a better understanding of it, but that's a pretty awesome option for me to consider. I'd love for my work to be useful!

Bummer suggested posting your images to imgur and resizing them there, but you can also alter the size of images in most programs used for art. In SAI, which I use, for instance, you can go to the top of the program, hit canvas, under which you'll see "change resolution." In GIMP, you can find it under "Image">"Scale Image." It's similar in PS, CSP, and Corel Painter. In general, images of about 200-800 pixels in either dimension are of a good size to be displayed online.

As an aside, it's also smart of you to not provide suuuper high resolution images, because art theft is harder with low resolution images.
That's perfect, thanks to both you and Bummer for the help! It really bugged me how large they were, so I'll see about resizing them shortly. I'll keep that in mind regarding art theft, I've never really considered it, but I know it happens all the time.
 
Wow, I love your art! Your style makes me think of a combination of anime and western cartoons, with the detailed facial expressions and realistic proportions coming from anime, and the thick line art and cell shaded coloring coming from western cartoons.
Have you thought about becoming a verified Smogon artist? I think you would be a perfect candidate!
 
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Wow, I love the three new pieces you've done since I last commented! I think the composition of the first two look really "complete" -- I think the cropping really helped ^^ And the background with the Deerling looks great and deliberate too! I also love how you did the hair in the last one with the lake guardians ;w; It has such a sense of movement! If I could make a minor suggestion, I think the last piece might look nicer with a bit more space to the right? Since the characters are moving from the left, it gives them a bit of "space" to go so it feels less cramped! Others have given you detailed feedback on other areas already but if you'd like more clarification/details/resources specific to what I said (or even for other things lol) let me know anytime ^^ I'll look forward to more from you!
 
Welcome

I really like the one with the shiny deerling, that evo-line is my favorite of gen5 :)

I see you have tried posting the images directly to smogon I recommend you try using the "post as thumbnail" option that appears when you upload a file to the site that way it will look small and expand once someone clicks on it. Hide tags could also help but not everyone likes to use them. You can use them by using this format but without the spaces:
[ HIDE = *insert name for hidetag* ]
[ / hide]

Example:
flyingpsychic4.png
 
Wow, I love your art! Your style makes me think of a combination of anime and western cartoons, with the detailed facial expressions and realistic proportions coming from anime, and the thick line art and cell shaded coloring coming from western cartoons.
Have you thought about becoming a verified Smogon artist? I think you would be a perfect candidate!
Thank you!! I try to emulate my favorite artists, so it all gets mixed together. My goal is to have a definitive style! I think Bummer mentioned that, and I'm really excited to get involved and learn more in the future.

Welcome

I really like the one with the shiny deerling, that evo-line is my favorite of gen5 :)

I see you have tried posting the images directly to smogon I recommend you try using the "post as thumbnail" option that appears when you upload a file to the site that way it will look small and expand once someone clicks on it. Hide tags could also help but not everyone likes to use them. You can use them by using this format but without the spaces:
[ HIDE = *insert name for hidetag* ]
[ / hide]

Example:
I'm glad you like it! I love Deerling, their design is so sweet. Also, thank you, I have re-done my images using the thumbnail tab, I personally like that one the best :) the board is no longer massive haha

Wow, I love the three new pieces you've done since I last commented! I think the composition of the first two look really "complete" -- I think the cropping really helped ^^ And the background with the Deerling looks great and deliberate too! I also love how you did the hair in the last one with the lake guardians ;w; It has such a sense of movement! If I could make a minor suggestion, I think the last piece might look nicer with a bit more space to the right? Since the characters are moving from the left, it gives them a bit of "space" to go so it feels less cramped! Others have given you detailed feedback on other areas already but if you'd like more clarification/details/resources specific to what I said (or even for other things lol) let me know anytime ^^ I'll look forward to more from you!
Hello again! Your advice did really help, I'm trying to consider my canvases and the backgrounds more carefully. I added some space on the right to the Lake Guardians drawing, and I think it made a big difference :D I have a list of all the comments and advice everyone has given me, and it's so helpful, so please feel free to voice your thoughts on my work!
 
I know I said I was taking a break from drawing (and I am) but with everyone's comments I got all pumped up. I worked on this (digital) painting yesterday, and the concept is "Do Yamask dream of who they used to be?" So it's supposed to be kind of a dream, hence the girl randomly floating. It really helps me to overview my work, so here's the main points I tried to focus on!
- painting line-lessly; I come from a painting background, and I actually try to avoid painting because I am extremely weird and insecure about it, but I figured it would be good practice.
- using a neutral/set color scheme; I really agreed with nov about my colors. I use them to create interest instead of focusing on the composition/characters. I tried to avoid that here.
- composition of characters; I still tend to go towards a bare/simple background, but I tried to place the characters in the center instead of leaving empty space. I hope it helped a bit.

yamask.JPG
 
Clearly, when I say I'm taking a break from drawing what I mean is that I will spend all weekend drawing because my brain is extremely contrary lol

I worked on this one all day yesterday, mostly out of boredom, but I think it turned out okay! Changing up my process is helping. Painting is looser and allows me to be a bit more creative :)

pidgeotpainting.JPG
 

FellFromtheSky

and started walking.
is a Top Artist Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Clearly, when I say I'm taking a break from drawing what I mean is that I will spend all weekend drawing because my brain is extremely contrary lol

I worked on this one all day yesterday, mostly out of boredom, but I think it turned out okay! Changing up my process is helping. Painting is looser and allows me to be a bit more creative :)

View attachment 81869
Wow! I think this piece is really a huge step above the rest of your work. The loose painterly style is executed really well and the composition is one of your best. The colours are also super en pointe. The only thing I might suggest, and it's super minor, is that maybe some vague misty shapes suggesting mountains or some sort of depth in the background would really take the image to the next level. Otherwise, I really love the mood and the contrast and the lovely lineless rendering. Pidgeot's wings and feathers (as well as the girl's hair and Pidgoet's "hair") are really well done. Great job! I look forward to seeing more work like this in the future!
 
Wow! I think this piece is really a huge step above the rest of your work. The loose painterly style is executed really well and the composition is one of your best. The colours are also super en pointe. The only thing I might suggest, and it's super minor, is that maybe some vague misty shapes suggesting mountains or some sort of depth in the background would really take the image to the next level. Otherwise, I really love the mood and the contrast and the lovely lineless rendering. Pidgeot's wings and feathers (as well as the girl's hair and Pidgoet's "hair") are really well done. Great job! I look forward to seeing more work like this in the future!
Thank you so much for the advice! :D I really wish that the other style worked as well for me, but I've just been painting longer ':) Hopefully I can mix the two styles and come to a happy medium!
 
On Instagram there's this big #mermay thing going on, and I'm really bad at underwater scenes haha BUT I had the idea to do a Pokémon mermaid hybrid, which I've never seen but I'm sure has been done before. So this was kind of background practice (ish?). She is supposed to be a Dewgong mermaid, because Dewgong was the first Pokémon I thought of that would fit :)

dewgongmermaid.png
 

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