First of all, I would like to thank the charming
for giving me this one month subscription. I feel like I've been wasting it so I'm continuing the feature which I was supposed to do a while ago 
As a continuation of Late New Years Resolution charmed-ravenclaw.deviantart.c… here are some other things I'd like to get better at in 2012!I attempted to focus on perspective the other day. Didn't go so well but I found some great tutes!
drawsketch.about.com/od/perspe… :thumb281889910:
An extra crease/folds tute!
An excellent Light and shadow tute! And closely related, a lineart one:
A really useful one for referencing poses!
2. Specific objects I'd like to get better at drawing:
a) Comic panelling. Also influenced by Marvel
:thumb152807662:
b) Fire and smoke
:thumb63451762:
:thumb117869254:c) Water – it always get me
The way it moves…
d) Mythical creatures – such as dragons and griffins. Not many reference pictures of those! The way that feathers and scales wrap around their bodies eludes me!
3. Mediums I'd like to try/ get better at:
a) Digital painting with photoshop and illustrator, as well as photomanipulating. Also inspired by Dave McKean. May need a tablet, which I haven't got one… yet…
:thumb239092419:
b) Photography. I really need to improve with everything in photography. I mostly rely on lucky shot :S Need to learn the settings and how to use them!
:thumb148650536:
c) Drawing with a pen – dithering, cross hatching, etc. I'd like to learn with biros too! Also inspired by Chris Riddell and Brett Helquist
:thumb154541899:
d) Using opaque paints – acrylics and hopefully eventually oil paints. I'd also like to experiment with the palette knife
:thumb74016008: :thumb139266889:
e) Water colour and inks– I think my main fail is never buying the right paper
:thumb251853774:
:thumb261526733:
:thumb172303021:f) Drawing with graphite pencils. Especially the dark areas of shading
:thumb186627148:
g) Writing. I have so many ideas in my head. I'm never motivated enough to write them all for some reason… Inspired by the likes of K.A. Applegate, J.K. Rowling and Neil Gaiman at the moment
Crossing Genres
Every genre has core elements that make that genre that genre. In order to Cross Genres properly, you need to know each of your genre's distinctive elements and make them Equally Important in the story.
Simple, no? However...
One of the most common mistakes I've seen in every genre of fiction: IGNORANCE.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Most of the common mistakes come with any writing that isn't so good—bad characters, bad plots, bad writing. The ones which are peculiar to alternate histories (fantasy and sci-fi) are bad research and bad extrapolation."
-- An Interview with Harry Turtledove --
http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue298/interview.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How do you expect to cross genres properly if you don't even know the genres you're working with? Contrary to popular belief, even if you're writing pure Heroic Fantasy, just making it up as you go is NOT good enough!
On writing Heroic Fantasy
"The consequence of making that assumption is, inevita
Character Motivation
Everyone's heard that characters should have goals, something they want and must strive for, overcoming obstacles and antagonists in order to obtain. Because, well, a story is the record of your character's journey toward achieving a goal.
While all of this is true, I think a lot of writers lose sight of an even more important aspect of character. That is, motivation. Sure, you know what your character wants.
Why?
That's the gist of motivation. What is the psychology and reasoning behind your character's goal? If your character is driven to make money, is his motivation greed? To pay off a debt? To support his family?
Motivation is your character's emotional connection with the reader. When the reader comes to understand why your character has set out to achieve his goal, they will understand your character in human terms, relate to him, and become invested in what happens to your character throughout the story.
Without a clear motivation, your character's goals don't mean much. So wha
h) Song writing, and ear training with music.
But of course, there are only so many tutorials you can read
The most important thing is PRACTICE!