Category: Tutorial

My New Patreon Page

Feb

2018

I started a Patreon account! If you don’t know what that is, then just know that it’s a really great way to support me! And then read this! (It’s the information straight from my Patreon page. So if you want to see my page or read it from there, go here!)

Welcome, friends! I am Tanya Hales, an artist, illustrator, storyteller, mommy, and lover of ice cream. I’m mainly known for my character illustrations, comics, and cool fantasy stories. Creating art that tells stories brings me so much joy! My goal is to do as much of it as possible, and this Patreon page will help me with that.

Patreon is a subscription service mixed with a tip jar. It allows you to help fund my creative projects by becoming my patron while getting some cool rewards in return! It only takes a dollar or two a month to support me. After all, if I got just one dollar from all the people who care about my art, just imagine what I could make then!

Thank you for all of your support. It’s a dream come true to have even one person want to pay me so I can make more cool stuff. <3

This project on Patreon is actually a bit of an experiment. Almost two years ago, I fell in love with the idea of making a series of illustrations. At the time, I was also living in a gorgeously green, lush area near Portland, Oregon. Additionally, I had always loved Pokemon and creating my own illustrated creatures. These elements all combined to inspire me to create these Nature Spirits. I made around 60 of them at the time, and this is my opportunity to make more.

So what are these little guys that I’m making? The Nature Spirits are small creatures of the wild who live on the periphery of our awareness. They embody different aspects of nature and can be found any place nature thrives, including in your own garden. They are as fascinated with humans as we are with them.

For this project, I will share with my patrons a new Nature Spirit every week. Those who donate $2 or more can pitch ideas to me for the fourth Nature Spirit of each month. I will then pick my favorite idea and illustrate it. Those at the $5 level will get a behind-the-scenes speed paint video of my digital illustration process. In the future, I hope to expand to making some physical rewards like stickers and postcards!

Thanks again for supporting me. I love you guys!

(Now go look at my actual Patreon page!)

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How to Become a DIY Lolita: Episode 1

Aug

2014

I’ve recently started a new venture which has taken my attention from some of my other art projects. And that venture is… I’m learning how to sew. Now you’re thinking, “well, that’s awesome Tanya! You finally have a good, practical skill you can put to use!”

To that I say, “Yes! But I would have never gotten here if I wasn’t a total nerd.” And why is that? Because the only reason I’m learning how to sew is because I wanted to make my own lolita dress, and I want my own lolita dress because I’m going to Comic Con! See? Nerdiness teaches me all kinds of skills.

I just wanted to share part of the journey I’ve been on for the past month or so as I’v been working towards making a lolita dress. There’s a lot involved. Lolita dresses are super fancy, and, well…. I don’t really know how to sew, besides making plushies. As my dad said, I’m probably picking the hardest first sewing project ever.

But that’s why it’s been so fun. I’m making something I think is really cool.

So! Here’s the first few steps that I have taken (and that you all can take) if you want to learn to make a lolita dress and become a DIY lolita!

Making Your First Dress

1: Find Inspiration

I wasn’t able to find any patterns that specifically were for a lolita style dress, so I knew that I would be making lots of modifications to any pattern I bought. I decided to become well-versed in recognizing different lolita styles, and especially in the style I like best, which is classical lolita. Most of what I did involved saving pictures to my computer from Google images and reading about the different styles on forums.

Most of all, I just wanted to find what gets me excited. I learned that I love the look of a jumper skirt over a blouse. I love lots of ruffles. I discovered what colors I like. I encourage you to go forth and do the same. This is one of the funnest parts!

2: Get a pattern

I started out trying to sew something without a pattern. It didn’t go so great. If you are a beginner and are thinking of doing the same, forget it. Patterns are a must until you’ve got down the basics of clothing construction. The good news is that stores like Jo-Ann sell dress patterns for pretty cheap, and Amazon has a huge selection of dresses that could easily be modified to turn them into a lolita style. That’s what I did.

This pattern is called New Look sewing pattern 6699, and I got it for $10 on Amazon. It’s called a mix and match pattern because there are several tops sleeves, bodices, and skirts all included in this one pattern, and you can choose which to put together. I’ve only made one so far, but it’s been awesome.

3: Get materials

You do kind of need a lot of supplies for this. Hopefully you already have a sewing machine. Other things you might want to invest in are thread (in a similar color to the fabric you’ll be using), fabric scissors, pins, pinking shears (unless you have a serger for the seams), a measuring tape (so you can be sure of what size you are), and a zipper (in whatever size your pattern instructs. Mine was a 14-inch).

Most of all, you’ll need fabric.

This is what I ended up with after day one of shopping. I bought the two cheapest fabrics that I could find at Jo-Ann. The brown was $3 per yard and the blue was $4. I got three yards of each. I wasn’t really thrilled about the brown, but got it anyway, because it was so cheap. I decided to use it for my “practice dress,” and then use the blue for my real lolita dress, since I actually love it.

Disclaimer: Make sure to buy enough fabric. Three yards was barely, barely enough to finish my practice dress. Your pattern should tell you how much fabric to buy. If you’re making a lining for your dress, you’ll use more fabric than you think.

4: Sew a practice dress

Now it’s time to cut out that pattern and use it to cut up your fabric, take it to the machine, and sew away. The actual sewing part takes a lot of time. I may make a tutorial about the actual process in the near future, but just know that it’s a lot of fun, and very gratifying. It’s so cool to see the progress that you are making and know that you will soon be able to actually wear these half-sewn pieces of fabric.

Your room might start looking like this:

You might also make mistakes.

Be patient with yourself. Mistakes can usually be fixed with a little extra elbow grease.

You’ll start to make progress…

And before long…

You’ll have a beautiful, finished (practice) dress!

This journey has been so cool. I’ve learned so much, and am that much closer to making my beautiful final lolita dress for Comic Con. I can’t wait!

Next episode: I’ll show you the second dress I’ve been working on, partially using my patterns and fabric, and partially using a long thrift store skirt that I decided to turn in to a dress!

Tanya Hales SewingTutorialWork in Progress classical lolitaDIYDIY lolita dressDo it yourselflolitalolita dresssew a dresssewingtutorial

Style Study 1.4- Hands by Hiromu Arakawa

Feb

2014

This will be my last Style Study post about Hiromu Arakawa, and today it’s all about hands! What artists doesn’t (even if in the past) have trouble with hands? Here are some tips bout how to draw and simplify hands.

I really love how Arakawa shades the digits of the hands. It’s just gorgeous. Merging the top 2 digits of the finger is just so interesting to me. It just looks nice. Of course, it’s better when the hand is in a dynamic position rather than when it’s relaxed. That’s probably why Arakawa does it so much with Scar.

And that’s it for my Hiromu Arakawa series! Next, I’m doing to be redrawing and studying the art of Rei Toma, Artist of the manga Dawn of the Arcana.

Tanya Hales Great ArtLessons I've learnedTutorial Fullmetal Alchemistgreat artHiromu Arakawa

Style Study 1.3- Heads and Faces by Hiromu Arakawa

Feb

2014

I have always loved how Hiromu Arakawa has illustrated heads and faces. She adds this drama to her faces which is just awesome!

1. Dramatic Head angles

2. Dramatic mouths

I’m a little timid when it comes to mouths. I am heavily influenced by anime, but one trait I haven’ figured out yet is how to make a mouth dramatic while still making it look… well, good. I’m always afraid of making my characters look cheesy. It’s just a block I need to get over. Whew! Tanya, be brave!

Here’s some examples by Hiromu Arakawa, taken from Fullmetal Alchemist and Hero Tales. She has really figured out the art of using big dramatic mouths not just for humor, but for dramatic and serious situations as well. PS: You can probably tell that I love Hughes’ face. I just…like to look at that giant frown of his, haha.

3. Manly Faces

I…. just adore the ultra manly faces that Arakawa draws. They are just… so satisfying to look at. Like, I just love them and am so jealous of how easily it seems that she draws them. I could go on about it forever, but… enough said.

Thanks for reading part 3!

Tanya Hales Great ArtLessons I've learnedTutorial Fullmetal Alchemistgreat artHero TalesHiromu Arakawa

Style Study 1.2- Panelling by Hiromu Arakawa

Feb

2014

While studying the art of Hiromu Arakawa for my Style Challenge, there were two things regarding to paneling that I noticed and liked.

1. When doing long/wide shots, the sum of the parts is more important than any detail.

I noticed that Arakawa doesn’t worry about making any detail look totally crisp and rendered. Rather, she focuses on conveying message. If that massage gets across, then it doesn’t mater if every single tiny figure is as detailed as those shown in close-up shots.

Here are some images that I scanned in from the first three volumes of Fullmetal Alchemist

If you look relly close, it’s amazing how simle she leaves the forms of these characters. Look at little-itty-bitty Armstrong?

And yet, the scene still speaks to me, and conveys the right message. Armstrong’s lack of rendering doesn’t matter to me. If I followed Arakawa’s example, then I would save a lot of time.This is easier when you are not working digital. When I have the option to zoom in and render every detail, i usually do it. When my comic page s finished and re-sized, can I see all those details? No, but I spent the time on them anyway.

This is something I want to do for long shots from now on. Focus more on the composition and the overall feel rather than every little detail.

2. If showing something in a panel isn’t giving us any new information, then why show it at all?

This is something I noticed Arakawa do early on in volume 1. There are times, usually when characters are conversing, that there may not be a lot of changes in characters face or posture. You really don’t want to show them with the same expression twice, so what do you do? This is one answer.

Instead of trying to cram all the text into one panel, you can place it int another panel and then focus on something other than the characters’ faces! This might mean showing their body language, like clenched fists, or nervously tapping feet. Or it could mean focusing on their surroundings, as Arakawa did above. If she had given us more of those same expressions, we wouldn’t have learned anything new. However, by focusing on a detail of the surroundings, we gain new insight about Cornello and his opulent lifestyle.

One of my favorite anime shows, Steins;Gate, did this frequently. As a sci-fi, there were often a lot of technical things to be discussed. Instead of constantly focusing on the characters’ faces, it would frequently focus on details of their surroundings while they talked. This helped us to get to know their world better. It gave the show a sense of emotion and real-ness that it wouldn’t have had otherwise.

These are just 2 of the things I’ve learned from Hiromu Arakawa! More to come!

Tanya Hales Great ArtLessons I've learnedTutorial Fullmetal Alchemistgreat artHero TalesHiromu Arakawa

Great Character Design- Tegami Bachi

Jan

2014

I decided to make a series of posts about “Great Character Design,” talking about artists who have created characters whose appearance and design is spot on. There’s so much good stuff out there, and there are so many talented artists to learn from!

The first characters I want to look at are from a manga series called “Tegami Bachi,” which translates to “Letter Bee”. This is a really charming series with an amazing premise, fascinating setting and truly gorgeous characters. While reading, I often find myself just staring. The stark black and white style used for most of the characters is really appealing and gives a little oomph to their appearance.

Here are some images the artists, Hiroyuki Asada, put between chapters.

These two main characters, Lag Seeing and Niche, just blow me away. Their outfits (along with those of the rest of the characters) are so intricate and interesting to look at. So pretty…

Another thing I love is how well their appearance supports their personality. Niche’s expressions almost never change. She’s sort of like a cat in that regard, and indeed, there’s something very feral about her behavior. She’s a really fun character because of that.

That’s all for our first Character Design session! For anyone else who is a fan of Tegami Bachi, who is your favorite character, and what do you like about their design?

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