# Fashion vs betta illustrations I did



## fishdelic (Aug 11, 2015)

Welp, my first post is such a huge downer (To give you the gist, my betta Anaconda died this morning and I feel pretty empty about it.)

To pull away from that, I wanna post some artwork of betta I did many weeks ago. Maybe it's kinda attention horse-ish of me, but I rather come back home to compliments than the reminder that no fish is waiting for me because of my poor care.

Anyway, these two are my favorites. They're A LOT bigger, so right click and view should show you the full size. (Unless for some reason they DIDN'T ACTUALLY RESIZE?)
















I wanna note it's the same guy, but his coloring/clothing is made to reflect the type of betta. (-: If I got any labels wrong, I'd love a correction although I can't change it now of course!

I'll post the other three when I get back from work, maybe... It'll be pretty late though, since I'm doing closing.;;


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

These are beautiful! Though, I have to say that I'm more into the betta drawings than I am the clothing, however, you did a fantastic job rendering the clothing to mimic the Betta's colors! Love it! What program do you use?


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Those are nice! I would suggest moving the bettas up a bit in both pictures because I know they're supposed to be part of the focal point but it's not working where they are currently situated. But that's great work! Did you do that online from scratch?


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## Aquastar (Jul 17, 2015)

So pretty! I love how you drew the bettas and how the people matched them! Is that digital? I love them!


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## fishdelic (Aug 11, 2015)

Here's the rest of them. I almost want to do more, but drawing bettas is really hard for me!! Mainly the scales. Someday I might just open a request thread, even a commission one (If that's allowed???)
I'm a bit bothered we can't resize images or that images don't resize themselves, because the stretched scroll is prolly cumbersome for people...


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Here's a little tutorial on how to draw scales ^_^
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=354522

The illustrations are stunning!


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## fishdelic (Aug 11, 2015)

*Everything is done completely digitally, I use a program called SAI. The tablet I use is just a rinky dink, small, blue wacom. It's about $40 or less because I am poor, but it gets the job done!*

I think the problem with moving the bettas more up would block them more... They're the thing I put most effort into doing, since my style of artwork is more flat colored. Plus, putting them inbetween the legs felt almost like they're swimming through his legs, or something! I could've made the images more wider, but that didn't really appeal to me. It's such a huge image, but lately I've been using large canvases and that's probably for the best. Since I can easily use it for whatever online thing and resizing doesn't lose quality.

I can do traditional artwork too, but I don't have a scanner or phone that takes nice pictures. so I don't do it too often and honestly because the feel and techniques are a lot different, I'm a bit rusty at it!

I have a twitter and a website where I post most of my artwork and I might add that on my profile soon, but I don't know if I'm comfortable yet, haha;;

When I feel in the mood, I do wanna focus on drawing bettas only and I'll be sure to post here when I do it!

*lilnaugrim*-
Aahh, thanks for the link!!! Could you tell I had a bit of problem keeping up on how to draw them?? Haha!
Drawing can be hard when you have to decide whether to include the whole detail or trying some way to simplify it.
Betta scales really pop out depending on the coloring though... so hard


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

No worries! I completely understand about the scales and was very happy when amphirion posted that :-D I draw as well. And yes, you can do commissions on here. My commission thread is slightly old at this point and kind of buried, but totally accepted here! Make sure to keep it in the Betta Art section and you can make a post there listing prices and all that jazz!

EDIT: Oh, I did my avatar to give you an idea of what I do


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## PurpleJay (Jan 4, 2015)

Ooh! Nice!

YAY! If you're talking about Paint Tool SAI (which I'm assuming you are), then HIGH-FIVE! SAI BUDDIES!
I use Wacom too (honestly doesn't everyone?)! I used to use this really old program called Corel Painter, and it was really good before it started crashing on me for weird reasons and I had to ditch it for SAI.
Those bettas are really pretty! I just realized how horrible I am at drawing fish compared to you XD

Good job on the iridescence. I can never seem to get that straight, for some reason.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

LOL Corel Painter!! I though I had "upgraded" when I had the download of that when I was a kid. Granted, I came from MS Paint so I suppose it was a bit of an upgrade then haha. I used GIMP for the longest time and now Photoshop since I had to use it for school, I've just grown accustomed to it now


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## fishdelic (Aug 11, 2015)

*lilnaugrim*-
oh GEEZE, YOU'RE REALLY AMAZING. I wanna go look for your thread now //sneaks

I've tried commissions for only a little while on another site's forum, (that also involved virtual currency, so I'm not really sure about pricing still) but dropped out on it. The whole process makes me feel nervous, since I tend to draw based on good moods and I'm _very_ slow. People have amazing patience, but my self-esteem can't match them, haha.
*
PurpleJay*-
YE I actually use GIMP too, for certain features, like the use of text or animations... They're coming out with SAI 2 though (or maybe it's already released) and it looks like it'll have that as a new feature.

Come to think of it, I don't know any other brands of tablet aside from Wacom lol.

Corel Painter I think I tried, but it's really hard to adjust to other programs imo. I even have something called like, Manga Studio, but I'm too used to SAI. Completely comfortable with it.
I used to use MSpaint so often when I was younger... Back when I used a mouse, omg. Heck, I still do from time to time, because it's simple and I LOVE working limited.

Also NO I was looking at your thread and I really liked your drawings, there's no way you're horrible! ):<

I've always wanted to try Photoshop, because it seems like you can do soooooo much when it comes to nice effects like backgrounds or something. I personally want to hand draw backgrounds, but it wouldn't hurt to get a hang of patterned stuff. SAI's textures kinda suck or maybe I'm not finding good ones, idk


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Oh geeze  thank you ^_^

Oh! Well...I do use a Bamboo Wacom but I also have a Monoprice that I...haven't taken out the package yet lol. But it's cheaper and it's just as good as Wacom! My Bamboo is going to die soon (wire is breaking and the pen scratches the surface since sometimes I....bite the pen thingy, I know there are replacements though lol) 

And yeah, I totally understand on taking a while on commission. So you can just take one at a time if you like and only open commission when you feel like it; that's totally acceptable. ^_^ But no worries, no need to go on with it if you don't want to :-D


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## PurpleJay (Jan 4, 2015)

I lost the pen bag (I lose everything) for my Wacom so I'm kinda screwed. The tablet is old and I frequently have to shut the entire computer system down so I can clean the board with a baby wipe so it actually responds to the pen.

I started with MS Paint too! Didn't, like, everyone? Then I moved to Corel Painter and I got the hang of it before it got extremely outdated (I still have Essentials 4), and then here I am with SAI.
How do you draw with Photoshop? I tried a couple times and accidentally made 600 tabs because my tablet spazzed, and the brush looks really choppy and pixellated for me. I think it's just my stupid computer or my tablet who's screwing this all up for me, though.
HOW DO YOU DRAW WITH A MOUSE?
I used to just drag circles around as a kid with MS Paint but how is it possible to sketch and color and shade and aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah with a mouse? 
People who can properly use a mouse to draw are legends in my eyes XD


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## fishdelic (Aug 11, 2015)

*lilnaugrim*, I feel like you were underpricing your paintings...! How long do you take to do them???

Commissions are hard, haha. When I was younger, for some reason I pledged I wouldn't do my hobby for money. But when you're doing your first job that only pays minimum wage, you wanna take care of pets, save up for a place, etc. LIFE STUFF it would help if I could use the only talent I have for those things.

My main issue is always having confidence to go through with art, blah. I never have an art block, but I always having dying motivation.

ACTUALLY I might have to invest in a new tablet soon >< Because the wire is getting worn, like turning all greenish. Soon it'll stop being responsive when that completely wears out. I'd go for the same kind, but maybe a wireless one would last longer?

*PurpleJay
*Yeaah even GIMP lags on me but I blame my laptop. It's a pretty old and beaten business Dell laptop. I kinda want to get a new one when I can afford that as well. :b ugh so many things I should invest in...

I don't even know, I must have had some hardcore patience when I was younger!! With MSpaint I depended on the line tools and zoom for sure. I also drew on this service called Paint Chat. I didn't start using a tablet until my friend handed hers down to me like 5 or 6 years ago and since I joined Deviantart when I was like 12 (whoops)... That means I was using a mouse for a looong while.

It's kinda sad I can't use one anymore! I don't even have one for my laptop, only a track pad. :b I think I'd prefer a mouse to tablet when doing pixel art, mmm, feels more accurate or something.


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

I really liked the new ones you posted. I think having the betta lower works better in them perhaps because you didn't break up the image. I think what wasn't working for me in the dragonscale one from the first post was that the background was blocked. Great work


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

PurpleJay said:


> I lost the pen bag (I lose everything) for my Wacom so I'm kinda screwed. The tablet is old and I frequently have to shut the entire computer system down so I can clean the board with a baby wipe so it actually responds to the pen.
> 
> I started with MS Paint too! Didn't, like, everyone? Then I moved to Corel Painter and I got the hang of it before it got extremely outdated (I still have Essentials 4), and then here I am with SAI.
> How do you draw with Photoshop? I tried a couple times and accidentally made 600 tabs because my tablet spazzed, and the brush looks really choppy and pixellated for me. I think it's just my stupid computer or my tablet who's screwing this all up for me, though.
> ...


Drawing with a mouse was incredibly hand exhausting! I used to do it on MS paint!!

I totally don't mean to take over fishdelic's page or anything!! But here's a drawing I did when I was a kid (probably around 12-13) with a mouse >.< I remember it taking FOREVER!








As for drawing in Photoshop, it's the same as any other program. You've got your layers and your brush, you can change different sizes and stuff. It's a bit of a learning curve to figure out where everything is and all, but it's practically the same as GIMP if you've used that before. Not sure about comparing to SAI though, I've seen it used but never used it myself.




fishdelic said:


> *lilnaugrim*, I feel like you were underpricing your paintings...! How long do you take to do them???
> 
> Commissions are hard, haha. When I was younger, for some reason I pledged I wouldn't do my hobby for money. But when you're doing your first job that only pays minimum wage, you wanna take care of pets, save up for a place, etc. LIFE STUFF it would help if I could use the only talent I have for those things.
> 
> ...


Lol yeah, I've been a Deviart member for...eight years now I think?

And I seriously implore you to look at MonoPrice, cheaper than Wacom, not all of them are as portable as the Bamboo's and other smaller ones, but they're absolutely fantastic! So many customizable key's on it as well if you want to use them! You don't have to of course :-D I got my 8x10 for only 50 bucks whereas my 6x8 Bamboo was 99!

EDIT: Oh and about undercharging, yeah, I was at first. I fixed it more towards the end but you also to have to remember that I cater towards a young generation of Betta people who probably don't have enough money to buy their fish their needs anyway! When I did other commissions not betta-related, my prices go up 

EDIT2: geeze, I really need to read the whole message before posting lol!! It depends on the painting, some only take 1.5-2 hours and others that are bigger can easily take up to 10-12! The one I did for FishyFish89 took me somewhere around 20 hours.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

Great art guys! I feel likeI've stumbled upon a treasure trove or artwork here  

Those clothing designs are crazy fun looking, I never quite figured out how to draw/design clothing for my characters...

I love looking at pretty art. I'm not very good with words or conversations though, so I kind of just stare at pretty things and not say much about them. 

Monoprice tablets are awesome  i've gone through two of them over the past 6 years. I bought my third one just recently because the last one finally gave in to my abuse :,(

Photoshop FTW! I would love to use sai if they make it mac compatible, been waiting since forever for that to happen though.

It's unfortunately that I haven't had much time to do draw on the computer, so instead, I've been doing a lot of finger painting on the phone  I use an app called "Sketches"


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

That's wicked cute ao!! I'll have to look into that app!


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## PurpleJay (Jan 4, 2015)

Really? My friend has a mac with SAI installed on it, so I think it works. Or she downloaded a cracked one, I don't know.
There should be a "talk about art" thread now XD
Perhaps we should move this to a different thread? It's already taking over fishdelic's thread.


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## fishdelic (Aug 11, 2015)

*Laki*-
I think I see what you mean now! I could have definitely put the betta up a little higher to "balance" it... Ah well.

*lilnaugrim*-
That's sooooo good!! You have insane patience! When I was 12 I drew like the junkiest stuff. I was all into fursonas and also TRACING PEOPLE'S SPRITE WORKS. I was bad lol

I never heard of MonoPrice, but I definitely will go looking! Thanks!

That's true and I was thinking about your customers. If you did most of them in a couple hours it's probably not that unfair for you? For myself, drawing slowly is what makes it hard to price my work fairly because usually more time = higher price. Or so I was told.

*ao*-
Thank you for dropping by! I've been staring at your art threads myself. You make me want to jump right into traditional artwork! The last stuff I ever did was play around with markers (layering with markers is REALLY fun) and gel pens, haha. Like this (mind the bag of croissants& also the pic is bigger than this but I used Imgur's option to post a smaller sized version. I hope it works!):










I sometimes play around with an app too and there are some really good ones that allow layers and etc... but I keep using KidsDoodle LOL. It's very simple and I can only do line work with it, but it's super fun and I love how it kinda adds line weight. Y'know, like as if pressure applied, but I'm sure it doesn't. I wish I could get my own lines to be like that, but I'm not really good at setting the right brushes it seems; Any advice??










*PurpleJay*-
If the mods aren't okay with this, just let me know if you guys do set up a general art talk thread. Like at The Lounge section? It's been awhile since I could actually talk casually about art-related things, it's fun and helping me relax since Andy's passing. (I'm thinking about making a memorial post with a drawing, but I'd have to find the time


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Oh yes, I have my fursona still too ;-) She's an african lion :-D

And we were just concerned about throwing the thread off topic is all, some people don't like that and it's just courtesy to the OP, but if you don't mind, then I'm sure it's fine since it is all kind of relatable. But we can definitely start another thread later on as well and continue there ^_^


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## fishdelic (Aug 11, 2015)

*lilnaugrim*-
oh yeah no problem from me. I'll probably end up making a new thread whenever I find the time to make new betta artwork anyway. (-:

GOOOOOOOOOD TASTE!! Lions are my top fave land animals, for sure!!

My own fursona/persona went through so many changes. It was first a black cat when I was 8. Then when I joined DA it became a bobcat fox mixture because that's when foxes were starting to get cool LOL That continued for a couple years until I decided I should go with goat because those are like my 2nd fave anyway. Sometimes it's even a goatfish thing in the name of my sun sign, the Capricorn. Y'know, why not 'cause now I get to be a fish too!! Though sometimes I play at my own short stature and make myself a shrimp goat thing too haha









That small thing in the middle character's lap. That's me. Over time, I kinda prefer that as a representation than a more anthro-ish persona.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Awww that's adorable! I love chibi pictures! Never really was good at keeping things simple >.< 

Here is my girl, her name is TAPS and she's changed quite a bit over the years much like yours has! Christmas Time! Done like....oh...four years ago? I'm actually not sure O.O








And a Kawaii chibi I'd done of her. See, can't keep it simple, she's still super cute and all, but I go too far into shading and stuff haha!








And just for sh*ts and giggles....here's a comparison of how I used to draw! Unfortunately I have such a big lapse between 2008 and now, I always thought I didn't really improve much after 2008 but clearly....that's not the case!


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## fishdelic (Aug 11, 2015)

*lilnaugrim*-
I think most people like the super deformed art style for sure. tbh, I even hate my own art because of that! It's super easy and one of my more solid styles, so I get kinda upset it's more favored compared to my more "realistic" style. But I guess that's to be expected, since after all, I_ did_ say my SD style is more solid. There's still so much to learn about anatomy, aaa;; Small vent, sorry!

She is really cute, I love her design! I know what you mean though...　It's a habit. When I want to do only a doodle, I end up taking way more time on it than I should have, oops. Impulse. Also, it's not like I can't properly shade, but overtime I started to prefer how flatcoloring looks. Out of habit still, I tend to shade in specific areas lol You might like it better if it's shaded yourself! We need critique and stuff, but we still know what we personally prefer to do with our art.

Dat contrast. Man, I only feel like I've really improved until recent years. 2012 and back is just a blur of euuuu_uuuuuuuughhh_


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

I know what you mean. I know I've improved quite a bit over the years but sometimes I still feel like I haven't improved as much as my art friends and stuff and am always jelly of their abilities and stuff! We do all have very different styles though so it's not always fair to compare our styles, much like all of us here


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## fishdelic (Aug 11, 2015)

*lilnaugrim*-
Yeah totally feeling that... I always forget that it really isn't fair to compare, but I get so envious because I feel many of my friends' art is _on point. _Like nothing about it is really bad and then I also start to feel like my art doesn't get as much recognition, then it starts to really suck...

But it seems like we never really see how good our art actually is. It's a lot easier to admire others ;;


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