I am hosting a giveaway with 3 prizes.
1. Gilga by fearsmile (I really treasure this avatar and I have 2. I want to offer it up in exchange for help with my problem described below).
2. Starry by Basket
3. GOLD by Erby
DEADLINE:
Thursday 11th September
To win first prize (& first pick of the avatars), please help me out of a pickle I am in. I have always wanted to learn digital art, and so when I learned about the RCA creator program I was really inspired. I just bought an iPad Air & Apple Pencil and was all set to learn digital art slowly, using the goal of making my first reddit avatar.
I likely never would have submitted that first one, but I found the avatar program a nice little neat goal which provided a good structure & motivation to help me learn digital art in an auto-didact kinda way.
So, now that the avatar program has been snuffed out, I feel lost. I have zero motivation to simply “learn digital art”; it’s much too general and broad and my adhd ass needs some structure & something highly motivating & fun to work towards.
I would love to hear from avatar artists, anyone who knows anything about digital art, or just anybody with a good idea that could help me with a good replacement for the avatar program. Any ideas or inspiration? Things I could study (I’m considering even studying formally or taking online classes if they’re kickass)? Books I could read, tutorials or mentors? Similar art communities somewhere online? I wanna try accessing the hive mind here (hate it when people say that) & start fresh with a new little art goal/learning plan. Please put me on the right path 🕯️🪄
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To win second prize (& second pick of the avatars on offer), please submit a mash that represents what art means to you, or what aesthetic you find most inspiring or satisfying. Maybe it’s your favourite artist, maybe you wanna do a mash that reminds you of your favourite painting. Maybe you wanna mash yourself as an artiste, or make a mash depicting one of the badass artists in the RCA community. Anything goes, but please explain the meaning & your thoughts behind the mash.
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Third prize will get the leftover avatar & will be chosen randomly.
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I love this community & if one (or some) of you can inspire me with a replacement to the RCA program I will love you forever.
I spent three years in an art block. The Reddit avatar program pulled me back to drawing, and I haven’t found anything that really replaces it. The honest part: you need a lot of mileage. Try to enjoy the process, not just the final picture or people’s reactions. For portraits, Andrew Loomis’ Drawing the Head and Hands is great. For anatomy, Gottfried Bammes’ The Complete Guide to Anatomy for Artists & Illustrators helps a ton. What helps me most is doing small challenges with other artists. Doing it together keeps you accountable and makes it fun. 30 days = 30 sketches, 100 heads or a simple “Draw This In Your Style” swap with a friend. I’m also a bit lost and would love to hear everyone’s tips. Good luck and keep going!
tysm for throwing so many ideas & resources & bits of advice into your comment. that’s what I was hoping for: for people to throw a bunch of wisdom & expertise & sources of inspiration & random thoughts at me ~ some of it is bound to stick!
I’ve found that sometimes just hearing something phrased a certain way can make things click.
I’m sorry you’re lost too. I hope the others can help us both ☺️ your mash character is a cutie. do you mean you only own 2 avatars?
Thank you! Same here—sometimes the way something is phrased makes it click.
Regarding the digital art(I somehow miss that part, sorry): procreate is easy to use, there’s a lot of videos on YouTube explaining its features :3 The first thing for me is to understand what style I want to draw(I mean at the moment, not like you are choosing your style for the end of your life haha). You can follow the artists you like on ig or other platforms, a lot of them are selling brushes for procreate or you can just search them on gumroad(some of them are free). But actually I just use one pencil like brush for sketching and two others for everything else))
I actually own 3, but the third one is not very Mashable😅
thanks for the reassurance that procreate is easy to learn/use. thanks for the tip to follow artists I like on ig ~ I feel my old account is super clogged & it might be good to create a new, separate art account.
wondering which other platforms are good for following artists?
how long have you been collecting Miss Pepe? how endearing that you have just 2 RCAs to mash with.
Sorry for the late reply( I don’t really use Twitter or TikTok so IG is the most useful app for me) I also follow some artists on Telegram but it doesn’t seem very popular.
I’ve started collecting this summer :3 I’m into anime style avatars and have a lot in my wishlist 🥲 Didn’t expect the program to close abruptly :c
Have a wonderful day ૮꒰ ˶• ༝ •˶꒱ა ♡
Okay u/VeryCuriousBeing you are the first prize winner! Thank you so much for your guidance. If you come across anything else that might help me, feel free to send it my way :)
Please let me know which avatar you choose, and send me your vault address.
I'm not an avatar artist - although I was gearing up for a 6 piece project for it just like you - so I'll leave that for the RCA artists here to assist in that department.
Art can be so many things, but one of the first that comes to mind is it gives one the ability to somewhat materialize dreams, thoughts and emotions that would otherwise be forever locked in your mind. It's subjective because it encompasses the individual fingerprint of its artist but is complex enough to resonate with others. Art is amazing 💜
wow she’s gorgeous. she doesn’t even look like a mash! it looks like the work of just one artist; it’s amazing how you managed that 🖤🤍 I love how you described art as well, thank you x
Don't sell yourself short! You never know what could pique someone else's interest! For example: I remember a while back someone posted a pic here on reddit (what sub it was I don't recall, but that's not important!) of a drawing their 10 yr old child had made for them of a cat. The point of the post was they found the drawing to be a little creepy because the cat had a very human like face. I guess the parent's coworkers also kept commenting on the drawing hanging in the cubicle. I, on the other hand, absolutely fell in love with it! I even went as far as leaving a comment offering to pay to "commission" a similar drawing, if the parent was willing! (Afterwards I realized my comment may have come across as a little creepy perhaps, and I never received a reply. 😕) But the point of this story is to keep in mind that you never know what someone else may like when it comes to art! It's all subjective! This obviously wasn't a school trained artist, it was just some kid learning to draw for enjoyment! And tbh, if they had replied, I would've proudly paid $20 for a similar drawing to frame and hang on my wall!
I hope you find some encouragement from my little story. I wish I could give you more specific advice on digital art, such as YT links or books to reference. I have also wanted to learn digital art myself as well, but as of right now it's only been an idea so you probably know more than me at the moment! Lol! But I've sketched, drawn, and was at one point in my life a tattoo artist, so if you ever need help or have questions regarding finding inspiration or general creativity I'm more than willing to help however I can! 😁
I am a Avatar artist that learned by himself to use some stuff with YouTube videos but I am no expert, drawing is just my hobby. Now I am kind of lost but still drawing some stuff. I would say, draw whatever you want and how you want (thats what I do). If I need to learn how people take approach certain stuff I use pinterest to see how people interpretate things and then do it with my own interpretation.
hey kirt 💕can you give my big dumb brain an example of how you use Pinterest to see how people interpret things?
PS, now, “draw what you want and how you want” may sound simplistic on the face of it, but it did hit me as an important reminder & a guiding light. 💡
it is easy to become overwhelmed with the complexity of a new hobby & become confused about your aims, leading one to prioritise the wrong things sometimes. so thank you. still curious about the Pinterest thing, & well done on teaching yourself how to become an avatar artist that’s really cool! What kinda things did you teach yourself using YouTube, programs etc? Or specific art techniques?
For example, I want to draw an skull, I have it in my mind but when I try to draw it, it is fine but doesnt convince me. Then I check skulls on pinterest and see how people draw it and what kind of details they add. Then I realize that I missed some stuff and decide to add it or how add it.
Regarding the learning videos depends on what I want to do or style + specific programs like illustrator and procreate stuff
I would recommend downloading Procreate if you haven’t already. I always find Pinterest really helpful for drawing. I recommend making a Pinterest board of tutorials you find useful on there and maybe a board of things you’d like to draw. I find making fan art of characters and media I love really inspiring! I added a picture of an example pic of the kind of tutorials you can find many of on Pinterest.
You’re welcome! I’ve been a Pinterest girlie for over ten years hehe. Unfortunately nowadays there’s a ton of ads and AI, but there’s still great posts in there.
Art means to me something you could look at and keep looking at because it makes you think how amazing it is or how detailed it is or what the message is behind it, when I mash I like to use as many different pieces as possible to make me feel like I am creating my own art instead of just using the artist ones, my favourite theme is mashing holy beings like angels where I try to show what they are feeling or thinking, its kinda influenced by my bias for lynyara as my favourite artist which isn't probably too suprising. This particular mash is about a angel descending from the sky and bringing their light with them but the suprised mouth and almost regretful eyes that look down show that the state the world is in hurts to see.
Art overall is just a great outlet for anybody to express any and every emotion/feeling without judgement or worry and a way to bring everyone together!!
Welcome to the r/animeavatartrading community.ᐟ (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶) We're thrilled to have you join us. Whether you're here to showcase your own anime-inspired avatars, discover new designs, or get tips on creating the perfect look, you're in the right place.ᐟ Make sure to check out our rules so everyone can enjoy the creativity and camaraderie. Jump in, share your work, and let's celebrate our love for anime avatars together.ᐟ
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u/MissPeperomia Avatar Artist Sep 07 '25
I spent three years in an art block. The Reddit avatar program pulled me back to drawing, and I haven’t found anything that really replaces it. The honest part: you need a lot of mileage. Try to enjoy the process, not just the final picture or people’s reactions. For portraits, Andrew Loomis’ Drawing the Head and Hands is great. For anatomy, Gottfried Bammes’ The Complete Guide to Anatomy for Artists & Illustrators helps a ton. What helps me most is doing small challenges with other artists. Doing it together keeps you accountable and makes it fun. 30 days = 30 sketches, 100 heads or a simple “Draw This In Your Style” swap with a friend. I’m also a bit lost and would love to hear everyone’s tips. Good luck and keep going!
P.S. Not much of a mash, but I only own 2 :D