Well, I finally checked my grades today.

And, I passed that friggin' math class. I also got 'A's in everything else. You know, Chemistry, Chem. Lab, and Art History. Take that, Dr. Payne!

...I guess I shouldn't have taken a math class with a guy named Dr. Payne as the teacher. I mean, does that sound like a supervillain or what?!

Zime... got some pretty cool stuff.
You know, I kinda miss getting a Barbie every year for Christmas. Those were some fun times.

I got Pete's Dragon from my sister, ~Dragonrose36, and The Mighty Ducks from my Dad. I really like those movies. XD

I got some shirts, and a little glass froggy.
And, that's about it. I'm probably forgetting some stuff, but oh well, I'll think of it later.

What'd you all get?

What'd you guys give?

I'm trying to get my Christmas artworks done for my other siblings. The only one I've finished is Spring Break!

=Inkskin gave me another subscription so I'd better use it! Heehee

I have some artbooks lying around the house. And, none of them really helped me learn to draw. Hehe. Go figure. I think some things you just gotta learn to draw on your own through trial and error.

BUT. There was one thing in an anatomy book that actually helped. :3
There was one page that told a bit about the center of balance.

I used to draw my characters off balance all the time. But now I have less problems with it thanks to this little tip; draw a line straight down from the base of your characters neck, and balance them accordingly.

Not that my drawings are perfect, but here are some examples.

Here's a really general one of Katie. The red line signifies the center of balance.


Here's one of my little ant friend, Sb. (His name is a chemistry joke. OMG. I'm such a geek.)
Check out how the line falls right between where his feet are planted. He's pretty well balanced even though his little pelvis is thrust forward. Hehe.



Here's another similar to Sb.


I suppose the Center of Balance line doesn't work all the time, but it's good for basic poses.

Walking and running for example are a bit different. I don't know if you guys realized this, but bipeds like us humans walk in a funky fashion. When we're walking we're actually about to fall before we put our other foot down! :0

Henley here looks like he's about to fall, but he's also bringing his other leg forward getting ready to stop himself from falling. We take walking for granted, don't we?


Danny seems pretty angry, here. Notice how his arms are back to help balance out his unbalanced-ness. Harhar. He still might fall over unless he straightens up, but for now he's alright.


Well, that's what I've learned so far. I guess quadruped animals are a bit different from bipeds, too. They're way better balanced than us. XD

If anyone has anything else to add, go ahead and tell us!

Art Blurbs

The Center of Balance
Differentiating Body Shapes
Pushing Expressions
Designing Faces
Finding Inspiration
Taking the Short Way Out



Community Projects

St. Patrick's Day Jam
Bheuhaubith
Bheuhaubith 2
Bheuhaubith 3 - Villains
Bheuhaubith 4 - Jumpology for Women
The Nivvix Kingdom



Past Contests

Draw one of Zime's Characters
Character Get-Together
Design a Shiee-Gaoy
Underappreciated Anthros
The Nivvix Kingdom

You are now allowed up to three entries!
Sign up for a third, if you want to~

>> Keep in mind the due date is January 5th. Good luck, everyone!

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The Bug Kingdom of Nivvix

For this community project/ contest, we're going to be creating a kingdom of anthropromorphic bugs from another planet.

I think we're going to have a lot of fun with this one. I can feeeeel it. :3

Here are the rules and guidelines:

- Choose any insect you want, and then make it into an anthropromporhic character.
- You CANNOT choose from arachnids or crustaceans.

- Pick an occupation for your bug. (For example, pirate, cleric, mechanic, professor, etc.)

-- Here's something to keep in mind when choosing an occupation. The world of the Nivvix is a world during time of change. They're at the boundary between magic and machine, fantasy and sci-fi. That being the case, you can choose anything from those two genres to be your occupation.
So, try not to choose anything too modern... unless you want to do something for comedic effect like, "Nivvixian burger-flipper".

-- You can also make up an occupation if you want! This is our brand new species from another planet, so if you want to explore their culture by making something up, go ahead. You have my blessing!

-- When you've chosen your occupation, make sure you tell me. I'm going to create a list of everyone that's going to participate, and I don't want any occupations repeated.

-- The title of your image when you submit it here to DeviantART MUST have the title, "Nivvix + OCCUPATION", or for a bit of flare, "Nivvixian + Occupation". For example, "Nivvix artist", or "Nivvixian scientist".

- Your anthro must, of course, be doing whatever occupation you choose. Or at least be dressed up for the job with an outfit, or tools or something.


- There are some limits on how you can anthropromorphize your bug. Just so our species seems a BIT more cohesive.

-- If your insect has six legs, your anthro must have six legs (unless they don't appear in the shot, of course.) You can have four arms and two legs, or four legs and two arms, It's up to you how you want to arrange them.

-- All bugs are clothing optional. You can go with or without, so don't worry too much about that.

-- The Nivvix are human sized or taller. :3

-- Your anthro MUST appear more bug than human. In other words, a bug with humanoid characteristics, NOT a human with bug traits. Good examples might be the bugs from "A Bug's Life", "Antz", "James and the Giant Peach", or even Jimminy Cricket from "Pinocchio".

Other Rules

- Your image MUST have some sort of background. I really want this to be a cool collection of Nivvixian aliens, so I don't just want a bunch of characters on a white back-drop. You must have something back there. Be it just a silly tree or a desk or... whatever! Just put something back there, y'all.
- You can use any medium. From traditional paints, and pencils to digital art.
- If there are any writers out there, I'll also accept fiction. :3 In fact, if we get enough fiction, I'll put up separate prizes for our writers.
- You may have up to three entries.
- your entry CANNOT be done on lined paper. Seriously, why do people even do that?

Due Date, presentation, and voting

- January 5th is the last day to submit your drawing.
- The winners will be chosen by a panel of judges.
- When all is said and done, I'll post all the entries in a news article in the news section of the site for all to see. :3

Judges on the panel so far:



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Prizes!

If anyone out there wants to donate their services as request drawers for the winners, just let me know and I'll put you up!
If you have a subscription and you want to feature the winners, that's also cool.
If you want to DONATE a subscription, that's also boss.

First Place winner gets... TBA. Prize volunteers needed.

- An art request from: *zimeta08
- A feature from: *mistytang
- A Request drawing or painting from: ~Fixxen
- A request of up to five characters (Preferably Original) from: ~Akogare

Second Place winner gets... TBA. Prize volunteers needed.

- A feature from: *mistytang
- An original character sketch from: ~Desiree-Joy
- A request of up to three characters (Preferably Original) from: ~Akogare

Third Place winner gets... TBA. Prize volunteers needed.

- A feature from *mistytang
- A Bust Request from: ~Ringaling
- A request of up to two characters (Preferably Original) from: ~Akogare

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Closing Words...

PLEASE complete your entry. Remember: This is a community project AS WELL as a contest. That's why it's a commtest! You don't want to make Zime cry, do you? ;_;


Contestants and Occupations Filled...

Here are the people that are signed up so far. If you want to enter, just comment here with the occupation you want to fill, and I'll put you up. If you want to change your occupation half-way through, make sure you tell me. Remember, there may be other people that want your occupation!

- Scribe - [link]
- Beast Tamer - [link]
- Shepard
- Frycook - [link]
- King - [link]
- Warlord
- Sorceress
- Bard
- Mage
- Assassin
- Charter Pilot
- Bounty Hunter
- Paladin
- Inventor/mechanical engineer - [link]
- Mortician
- Chef
- Lamplighter - [link]
- Scientist
- Dancer
- Grave Keeper
- Pirate
- Hero
- Nanny
- Zoo Keeper
- Courtesan
Exotic Dancer - [link]
Gardener/ Landscaper - [link]
Advisor (To the King)
Doctor

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Entries as Thumbnails