There was an interview with musician Paul Looney a few years ago in which he was asked about Noir and his response really gives me a great amount of support and energy. He basically gave a little scoff and said "Heh, that guy..!" and that's all the only pat on the back I've ever needed. I inhale all the strength I need from that little sound. 

The point is that he has witnessed my evolution from the very beginning, when I lacked any artistic talent, and he was present when I made the difficult decision to learn how to draw. I am not an artist. Art was something that I felt I had zero business doing. I saw others doing it and seethed with rapturous jealousy. 

Firstly, I should explain why I arrived at the conclusion that I had to learn. It's basically because it was too expensive and volatile to hire other artists. Collaboration can be a challenging process; sometimes you make a friend you'd happily take a bullet for, and sometimes you feel like you're wrestling an enraged ferret. I've certainly had interactions with artists that are so deeply unpleasant that I still think about them during bouts of insomnia. 

These include:
- Being scammed into buying AI art. 
- Being hounded multiple times a day for more gigs. (When no such deal was ever promised.) 
- And many, many more! 

But anyway. This post is about what I've learned about the art process. I'm by no means perfect. In many ways I'm objectively terrible and will no doubt delete this entire post when I've gained a higher standard. This is me talking as an enthusiastic learner who sees peers on this site also wanting to improve. 

1. Cheat (ethically) as much as you possibly can. 

I started out by learning the Loomis method. My degree is in anatomy and physiology.  I can draw a head with a pencil and paper, blah blah blah. 

But why should I? Clip Studio Paint has 3d models! You can pose them, position them, give them guns and eyeballs and all sorts. 

After that, you can basically let brushes do a good part of the heavy lifting. Whenever you run into a problem artistically, rather than despairing, your thought should be, "There's probably a brush for that."  

Alternatively, learn a little Blender! I needed waves in a scene. I can't draw waves! They're all splashy and infinitely complicated! Why spend the time when I can do a 2-minute tutorial on YouTube and generate them? Easy solutions. Zero shame. 

2. Lead with gesture, emotion, and direction.

Here are a couple of recent before/after transformations. The techniques behind them are actually basically the same. I start with a model, white it out, draw lines over it, and throw on some shading at 30% opacity. However, I'd argue/hope that the entries on the right side are more successful than the previous drafts. This part comes down to the decision-making that goes into their poses; you have to have a clear answer to the fundamental questions:

-What are they doing? 
-How are they feeling?
-Are they in motion?
-Where are they looking?



Above: Before. Ew. 



Above: Better. 

And if you can't answer those questions, you're embarking on a bit of a doomed picture. The entries on the left seem oddly vacant, dopey, and aimless, which creates an uncanny feeling in the game. The overall mood is lost. 

Also, isn't showing emotion the entire point of a VN? 

3. Be ambitious

On my Discord, you'll see that I always make outlandish goals and very sheepishly. sluggishly pursue them. Sometimes they don't work out. Occasionally they're utterly embarrassing, and I wish I could scrub my entire online existence from the internet. However, I do always learn something. 



Like, I had this stupid idea of doing an image that was three screens in one. The player would navigate it like a map. I created a canvas that was... 3240 x 5760 and spent a frankly irresponsible length of time playing with it. 

Did it turn out ok? I dunno. That doesn't really strike me as the point any more. Doing stuff like that just wakes up something in you. It forces you to flick a switch in your brain that goes from "I can't" to "I can," and that's vitally important because everybody 'can'. It's difficult! Every artist is their own Sisyphus, pushing their boulder up a hill. The sooner you start pushing, the higher you'll get it. 



Anyway, I'm sorry that I've put you through all this blowing of my own trumpet. I care about this stuff deeply—not only my own development but also the development of my friends and peers. We're all in this boat together, it seems, and whoever you are and whatever you're doing, you have my respect for doing it. 

-Liam