General Info

"What is your name?"

I go by Inkfy (Lex) or inkfycreates on all of my handles. Either one of them is fine!

"How long have you've been drawing?"

I've been drawing my entire life!
However, I didn't pursue it professionally until 2012. I do traditional art as a hobby.
However, I mostly stick to digital artwork as my preferred media.

"Have you taken drawing lessons/gone to art school?"

I didn't receive any formal art education until university.
Before reaching that point, I was mostly self-taught. I learned primarily via art books, early YT videos, etc.
I graduated art school in 2021! I officially have my BA in Fine Arts.

"Who's your favorite artist(s)?"

Vincent van Gogh, Bill Waterson, Peach Pit, etc., I've always been a fan of a variety of artist's works. I'm heavily inspired by vintage Shoujo magazines, early 2000's Shoujo manga, fashion magazines, and some Seinen manga as well.

"How long does it take for you to finish a drawing?"

Unless I record my work, I have a hard time telling how much time I work on a single project. I typically don't finish everything in one session and tend to take multiple breaks.
If you want a more accurate scale of how long certain illustrations take, check out my YouTube channel for my speedpaints.
Those are recorded, so I provide the estimated timeframe in the description.

"Favorite hobby outside of art?"

Mainly playing video games, reading VNs, working on garage (model) kits, and even experimenting with video editing.....pretty much that. lol
My recommended games are Pokemon Emerald, Monster Hunter Stories, Radiant Historia, Octopath Traveler, Atelier (all), Blue Reflection: Second Light, etc.
I mostly end up playing turn-based JRPGs.

"Can we be friends?"

No. My social media is primarily for business (and my personal entertainment).
I believe friendships can not be forced.
I have no problem with casual chatting about my hobbies, but I like to leave it at that.
I ask that people please respect my privacy.

Art Materials

"What drawing program/tablet do you use?"

I use Clip Studio Paint (previously used Paint Tool SAI MS Paint, and FireAlpaca).I edit my artwork in Photoshop occasionally.You can buy Clip Sudio Paint here (However, I suggest waiting as they have sales often!)
You can buy Paint Tool SAI here (Please support the official release if you can!)I highly recommend trying out free drawing programs like Fire Alpaca, Krita, and Medibang.
If you want to start getting into digital art and/or want a free program to use that's just as good as the paid ones.
I also heard that ibisPAINT and Procreate are good options as well! I'm just not as familiar with them.My drawing tablet is currently a Wacom Intuos Pro Small.I'm currently trying to use CSP on my Samsung Galaxy tablet, but the struggle to adapt is real (lol).

"How do you record and edit your speedpaints?"

I record my videos using OBS (Open Broadcaster Software).
It's a free, open source screen-recorder that's reliable for streams and recording videos easily.I used to edit my videos with Adobe Premiere Pro. Now I use DaVinci Resolve!I made an easy switch thanks to the convenience of the program interface being similar to Premiere Pro! I recommend this tutorial to get started on the latest version!

"What size is your canvas?"

My canvas size is around A4 size (~8.5 x 11in.) It's the default template in Clip Studio Paint.For square ratios, I set my canvas to 3000 x 3000px.
I tend to crop and extend my canvas depending on the composition I want.My resolution is always between 350 dpi. However, depending on your CPU, it's probably best to stick to 300 dpi as your default resolution.

"What are your brush settings?"

I typically use the basic Hard & Soft Airbrush to render as they usually get the job done.
I didn't edit them much because I already liked the initial settings. I'm not against going out of my comfort zone to use other brushes though. I try to experiment as much as I can.My current brush obsession is with MINJYE민졔 's brush pack. Go to the description and fetch the biggest bundle with all the brushes. Their YT channel goes over how they use each brush. All of them are nice, juicy and have a variety of textures.I also thought it would be fair to share some of these brush packs as well! I've tried them out for myself and experimented with them a bit. Maybe you'll find them useful, too!
I'll update the list as I go along and find other stuff that interests me.-01NU's brush set
-Hyanna Natsu's brush set- on Gumroad! Cheap and worth the price!
-CyanParade's Rainbow brush - great for fine detailing!

I previously used Paint Tool SAI before switching to Clip Studio Paint.
I figured it'd be fair to share my most-used brush settings.
They don't function the same way as CSP's does, but they get the job done and I had fun using them.

"What traditional art supplies do you use?"

I have a huge collection of art supplies varying from student to artist (professional) grade.
I still use these for my personal art pieces.You do not need all these supplies to be a good artist. Just use what you have available to you!I used these supplies because that's what I had available in my area.
Please don't fret if you can't find a substitute for a certain material I've listed here.
Find what best suites your needs!Colored Pencils: Crayola, Prismacolor Premier, Faber-Castell PolychromosMarkers: Copic Sketch/Ciao & OhuhuLiners (Pens): A mix of Sakura Pigma Microns, Copic Multiliners, Staedtler Triplus Fineliners STAEDTLERS ARE A WATER-BASED INK. These are not WATERPROOF.
The other brands listed are waterproof, but Staedtlers will bleed. Take it from me after having a "surprising" experience (lol).Watercolors: St. Petersburg: White Night Watercolor Paint, Schmincke Horadam Watercolors,
Sennelier Watercolor Paint Tubes, and a few tubes of Winsor & Newton/Daniel Smith Professional Watercolor PaintBrushes: Mimik Kolinsky, Master Touch, Princeton Aqua Elite, Royal & Langnickel, and various mix-media brushesPaper: Arches Watercolor Blocks (Cold-Pressed, 100% Cotton, 9in. x 12 in., 300 gsm/140 lb),
Fabriano Artistico Watercolor Blocks (Hot-Pressed, 100% Cotton, 9in. x 12in., 300 gsm/140 lb),Sketchbook Recommendations: Strathmore 500 series Mixed Media Sketchbook (this is a 100% cotton fiber sketchbook), Canson XL Mixed Media SketchbookYou can find these at a variety of stores but I highly recommend using Blick , Cheap Joe's,
Jerry's Artarama and Jackson's Art Supplies to find them for lower prices than in stores!

"What books do you recommend for learning more about art?"

First, I highly highly recommend reading these articles by Monika Zagrobelna. She does a great job at highlighting the basic artistic struggles many of us have. Any questions about motivation, self worth, pressure, and fears/anxiety will be directed here.For Motivation/Fears/Anxiety/Pressure:-5 Myths About Learning
-"Can I Draw?"—How to Tell If You're Good Enough
-10 Mistakes New Artists Make and How You Can Avoid Them
-Don't Take It Personally: How to Make Critique Work for YouFor Anatomy:Anatomy for Sculptors, Understanding the Human Figure by Sandis Kondrats and Uldis ZarinsFor Lighting/Shading:Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter by James GurneyFor Comics/Self-Publishing:The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing Comics: How to Create and Sell Comic Books, Manga, and Webcomics by Adam Withers and Comfort LoveI own each of these books and find these to be must-haves! If you can't afford them, Andrew Loomis is a great choice to have in general as it gives the rundown of everything listed above to some degree. You can find the .pdfs of older art textbooks online for free (the internet archive and museum archives are your friends!).

Reposting & Usage Policy

"Can I repost your artwork/Use this fanart as wallpaper?"

Please do not TRACE / EDIT / SELL and/or RENDER my artwork in any way.
I do not allow my artwork to be used for NFTs, cryptocurrencies, AI generation, or any future inventions within theses spaces.REPOSTS of fanart are OK as long as I'm credited (please see below).
Please do not use my client's artworks without their explicit permission.
Fanart being used for practicing human-made drawing techniques and personal usage (non-monetary purposes) is also OK.I will immediately send a DMCA takedown without warning if I have any reason to believe that my work is being misused. I reserve the right right to protect my IP.

"How do I properly credit you?"

Choose any of the following:-Tag my username in the original post OR the description.-Credit myself, "Inkfy/Inkfycreates" as the artist anywhere in your main post.-Link the original post (this can be retweets with comments, sharing features, etc.)Credit must be in the description/embedded using sharing features. If not, I will send a DMCA takedown without warning.

"Can I make fanart of your work?/Can I draw your OCs?"

YES! YES! YES! No need to ask! I love fanart of my works!
Tag me at @inkfycreates when you're done so I can see it!

Promotions & Collabs

"Can you do a promo/share/shout-out this post?"

Due to the amount of spam and scams I've encountered, I no longer do promotions or shout-outs.
At most, I will share artwork from art share threads, but that's it. If you continue to pester me, it will result in being blocked on all platforms.

"Can you participate in this fan project?"

Unless there's some form of monetary compensation, I do not have the time to participate in every project.
I'm honored to be invited, but I work a day job and I just don't have the time.

"Can we collaborate on this project? I had an idea for..."

I treat collaborations as freelance work. If you are in need of my services and want to discuss more details, please contact me at [[email protected]].

Commission Advice

"Are your commissions open?"

My commissions are currently open on VGen

"Any advice on starting commissions? I'm lost!"

I created an older COMMISSION MASTERPOST on this subject. I feel even now it's still relevant.

"How do I know that I'm ready to start commissions?"

A good starting point with this is gauging interest. If people are asking you if you accept commissions, that's a good sign to start! If you find yourself getting too many free requests to handle, that's also a good sign to start! However, if you aren't gauging any interest whatsoever, you probably haven't developed a marketable skillset that's ready to be sold yet. That's okay! You just have to continue to improve. Take the opportunity. Once you do get to a point in which your artwork is much more substantial, you can try opening commissions again plan from there.

"How do I price my commissions?"

If you're still having trouble, there are a variety of videos that you can look up on YT for help!
I personally recommend this video created by Crowne PrinceI consider these videos as honorable mentions:-How to Price Art Commissions and Why Correct Pricing is Important-Commission Guide【 Part 02 】How to Calculate your Prices + Pricing advice

"How do I create a commission website/What commission site do I use?"

You can do this a variety of ways! Commissions websites can be extremely versatile so there's technically no wrong way to make one.
You just need to make sure you're advertising your artwork properly to any potential clients.That involves making a website that's well-designed, functional, and accessible.If graphic design is not your strengths, feel free to commission people who know what they're doing or just use popular templates.
If you're hellbent on doing it yourself, experiment with website builders such as Wix, Carrd, Toy.house, etc.If you want an already-established platform, sites like VGen are great to simplify the process.Here's a list of VGen's positives and negatives:Pros:
+Simple and easy to navigate
+A variety of features that unlock as you get more clients (shop, verification status, bundles, discount settings, promos, etc.)
+Curates traffic to artists for potential commissioners
+Friendly staff and useful customer serviceCons:
-Starting out your options are limited
-Invite Only (clients can view commissions freely though)
-Verification requires getting five commissions completed with three good reviews (this isn't terrible but this could take some time depending on your following).
-AI slop is a problem as sometimes scammers fall through the cracks.Overall, pick what is best for you!

Art Advice

"I love your coloring! How do you choose colors?"

Please watch my YouTube video for more info. I go into depth regarding this topic!

"Any advice for beginners?"

Stop worrying about the "perfect" result! Remove your ego and start drawing!
You can't learn from creating nothing!!
Even a "bad" painting can be improved later down the line!The main issue with why people get frustrated and burn out early on is because they genuinely don't start. The freeze, panic, and despair because art is a lonely experience and results aren't instantaneous. They compare themselves to others on social media or unknown AI slop accounts thinking they didn't "get it" so they aren't born with the talent to create art. Developing good taste and creating better art pieces comes with time and engaging with what interests you the most earnestly!You have to come to terms with not being perfect on every attempt. The truth is no artist makes a perfect painting. Artists make paintings they are satisfied with. You could pick apart any painting I make or you make and find some flaw in it. At some point you have to let it go.
You are not the only person to make mistakes. You will probably suck for a good amount of years before your first decent drawing.
What's important is that you don't give in immediately and quit!Make art that YOU want to enjoy first. That's the most important thing. If you don't even enjoy drawing, there's no point. If you try to make a masterpiece every time, you're going to fail and feel bitter about it when a piece you spent 300 hours on looks bad. Stop overthinking and obsessing about the perfect result, and focus on the journey getting there. Art ultimately should be a fun, engaging learning experience with all the ups and downs.

"What advice would you give to beginner artists for starting on social media?"

I'll preface this by saying I never wanted to gather such a massive following. I generally don't like social media and I still have some discomfort for it. Originally, I was planning to stay on DeviantArt, but some friends convinced me to try out Twitter to post updates for my work and the rest was history.I mostly followed generic advice like posting consistently/on a timely manner, posting finished artwork, interacting with people, taking opportunities to promote myself in threads, etc. However, I know that certain methods will work for some and not for others. I can't predict what will or will not work for you and that's reality. It's always going to be a case-by-case basis and I can't go through every single person to tell them what they're doing right or wrong. That's something you have to figure out for yourself.I just made artwork that I wanted to share with people online. And honestly, I think that's the best way to start. Post for yourself and take it from there. Post what makes you excited to share your work to the world! And remember! Someone hasn't seen your stuff yet!