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FAQ
What software/digital brushes do you use?
I mainly use a custom set of brushes in Artstudio Pro for iPad. If you don't use Artstudio Pro, you can use these files/settings to recreate my two most used brushes in the software of your choice: Liner, Wet Charcoal.
Are your commissions open? / How much do commissions cost?
I'm usually open to do digital illustrations, and I like drawing for short stories featured in anthologies and magazines the best. I'm also open to any commissions that matches the themes, styles, and mediums shown in my portfolio.
Rates start at $300 USD for one illustration, but we can negotiate if your project is small and/or you'll allow artistic liberty with minimal revisions. Shoot me a message at inbox.banshees@gmail.com if you think I'd be a good fit!
Where do you find inspiration? / What references do you use?
I usually start by doing studies of art models from reference packs, and then I add things that fit a theme I'm interested in at the moment. I also work from pictures I take.
AdorkaStock, TrueRef, and The Pose Archives have great free references, and Howard Lyon (Patreon, Gumroad) and Vilidian Vilks have great paid references.
For anatomical work, I use Human Anatomy Atlas for iPad.
What traditional materials/tools do you use?
For gouache, I use Winsor & Newton Designers Gouache (Permanent White, Permanent Yellow Deep, Winsor Red, Winsor Green) and ShinHan Professional Designers Gouache (Ivory Black, Ultramarine Deep.)
Occasinally, when I need brighter purples, yellows, greens, or cyans, I use Winsor & Newton Designers Gouache - Quinacridone Magenta, Schmincke Horadam Gouache - Vanadium Yellow, and Holbein Artists' Gouache - Primary Cyan.
I like using gouache when it's dry, so I put it into a watercolor tin with space for 12 half pans. Here's a video from Sarah Burns on how to set up a dried gouache palette. (I use a toothpick to level my pans out instead of a palette knife.)
When using gouache straight from the tube, I like to mix on glass from a picture frame, or on a flat plastic/metal lid.
For brushes, I use Princeton Real Value Brush Set - 9144, White Taklon, Short Handle, Set of 5. I also cut down a #2 round brush to have a wide base but narrow tip so I could do thin lines. You could buy a dedicated liner brush, though.
For pen and ink, I use Higgins Waterproof India Ink and a brush or a Tachikawa T40 nib holder with g-nibs. These Zebra and Kuretake g-nibs work pretty well. Since the Tachikawa nib holders seem to be unavailable in most places, you can try getting this Kuretake Zig Manga Nib Holder.
(Make sure to remove the coating off of nibs before using them!)
For paintings I sell, I usually use Legion Stonehenge paper (cream.) Occasionally, I also use Saunders Waterford watercolor paper (white, hot press, 638 gsm.)
For sketches and personal work, I use Staples Cream Colored Copy Paper and Strathmore 400 Smooth Surface Drawing Paper.
For transferring sketches onto heavier paper, I either use a lightbox, or I turn the brightness up on my iPad and put the image I want to transfer on the screen. You can stop your image from moving around by shutting off the touchscreen with Guided Access.