One thing that really helped me while working on this piece was thinking about the face as different planes. I start by figuring out where the light is coming from, then I look at which parts of the face face toward or away from it. That helps me decide where to put lighter and darker values instead of randomly adding shadows. I practiced this idea while painting this piece, especially around the cheeks, nose and eyes. I'm a 13 year old artist, and getting an XP-Pen tablet has been a dream of mine. My family has to be careful with money, so having the opportunity to participate in an XP-Pen challenge like this means a lot to me.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?From the moment I opened the box, I was surprised by how neatly everything was stored and organized. If I put the tablet back in its box, it would be so much easier! And the fact that it came with a stand was a delightful surprise.THE TABLETCompared to the Artist 12 2nd gen, it’s smaller but in a good way. The borders are narrower: This gives the screen where you draw more visibility and reduces the space between the keys, making them easier to access.The keys and X-Dial: They’re slightly smaller, but thanks to that and the previous point, you get two extra dials! They’re small, but for me, they’re easier to control. They’re perfect for quickly adjusting the zoom, rotation, or pen thickness, depending on your preference.This has really helped me reduce my reliance on the keyboard and stay focused on drawing, since I can easily access the shortcuts I use most often.Lighter Weight:In addition to the borders, the tablet is thinner, which makes it lighter. The first time I took it out of the box, I was surprised by how light it was. That’s why I can handle and move it more easily.Screen:Its paper-like texture makes it feel quite pleasant when drawing; you no longer feel like you’re drawing directly on a screen. Goodbye, scratches and glare! Thanks to the screen’s construction, it’s anti-glare and scratch-resistant. So far, I haven’t gotten a single scratch, and I can draw with the lights on without any annoying glare.Screen Colors: From the very first time I turned it on, I liked how vivid the colors looked and how similar they were to my computer screen, so I didn’t have to adjust anything in the driver. This is a feature similar to the Artist 24 Pro that I loved.Brightness:The only issue is that the buttons to control the tablet’s brightness can malfunction, so to lower it, you’ll have to do it manually through the driver.THE STYLUSIt’s a little thinner and lighter than its predecessor, the Artista 12 2nd gen. Its strokes feel quite light thanks to its x4 chip and 16,384 pressure levels.You can barely feel the tip moving: As someone who has used various tablets, this was something I noticed right awayIt’s just like drawing with a pencil!And best of all, it’s magnetic! Now I keep the pen in one place, where it’s easy to grab when Ineed it.PORTABLE STANDIt’s quite sturdy thanks to its aluminum construction and super easy to set up or put away. However, due to its size and design, I can’t use it on my desk.Nevertheless, there’s no doubt that it’s a great tool.COMMENTSThe transition from the 2nd to the 3rd version was a major innovation. It features quite a few changes and improvements that have made it my primary drawing tool when using my computer. It’s super comfortable and looks much better.

Hi everyone! This is my second submission for #XPPenTutorialPractice, and I'm sharing a step-by-step breakdown of a commission! This character belongs to my client, and honestly, I fell in love with her delicate face and soft color palette the moment I got the brief. It was the perfect excuse to dig deeper into natural, skin rendering focusing on female portraits and how to balance contrast and color temperature to guide the viewer's eye.The Rough SketchBefore locking in a final pose, I always run through a handful of rough sketches. It loosens you up and gets you comfortable with the character's facial structure before you commit. An idea rarely looks the way you imagined it in your head, it only really reveals its potential once it's actually sitting on the canvas in front of you.Tip: Don't fall in love with your first sketch. Even if it looks fine, force yourself to try 2-3 quick variations of the angle or expression. sometimes the first idea isn't the strongest one, and you won't know until you compare them side by side.Color Blocking (The Blueprint)Once the sketch feels solid, I block in base colors using Multiply and Soft Light layers to establish volume early. Light and shadow are the backbone of the whole piece. This secondary "color sketch" works like a blueprint that everything else gets built on top of.Tip: keep your shadows in clean, bold blocks at this stage, don't blend anything yet! And while high contrast with sharp shadow shapes tends to work great for masculine faces, female portraits usually benefit from softer, warmer, and more gradual transitions. In this piece, I pushed the heaviest dark values into the neck and hair on purpose. Framing her pale eyes and skin with that darker surrounding value pulls the viewer's eye straight to her face.Tip: If you're not sure where to place your darkest darks, ask yourself: where is it hardest for light to reach? Look for areas under strands of hair, between the neck and collar, or where two overlapping forms touch. This is called Ambient Occlusion. While lineart simplifies these contacts into solid lines, real life doesn't have outlines, so in lineless rendering, we use ambient occlusion to ground the forms and create realistic depth. Even if your rendering is soft, don't be afraid to use dark shades in moderation.Skin and FeaturesMy goal here was to paint a fierce warrior with a soft and delicate face, so I deliberately avoided heavy skin textures. I used a low-opacity airbrush to slowly build up the subtle volumes of the cheeks, eye sockets, and nose bridge. Lots of thin passes rather than one strong one. Instead of finishing one feature at a time, I worked on the skin, eyes, eyebrows, and lips all together, going back and forth between them.Tip: This is the part where we’re tempted to zoom in and lock in one feature, but hold your brushes! Rendering the eyes, lips, or nose in isolation before the overall details are established will throw off the harmony of the whole face. Keep working all features together in broad, soft passes first." Keep everything at roughly the same "finish level" as you go, and only push into final detail once the whole face is balanced.Color RelativityColors are relative! A color only reads as "warm" or "cool," "light" or "dark," in relation to what's next to it. To keep my values making sense, I use a simple value-check trick: a temporary layer on top, set to Color blending mode, filled with pure black. That flattens the whole canvas into grayscale instantly, so I can catch any weak or muddy areas before I go further.Once the values are locked in, I shift focus to skin temperature to make the face feel alive rather than flat: cheeks and nose lean warm and rosy, while subtle cool undertones (desaturated blues or greens) sit in the shadow zones for a bit of realistic depth.Tip: Try doing color studies from real photo references and use the color picker tool directly on people's skin. you'll be amazed by how much green, blue, and yellow actually exist in human skin tones! Real skin is never just one flat shade of peach or brown.Tip: A cheap trick that works almost every time, if your skin still looks flat after values and temperature are both handled, try adding a very faint complementary color into the core shadow (like a touch of green-blue under warm skin). It's subtle, but it's often the missing 5% that makes skin read as "alive" instead of "painted."Final Polish and EdgesWhile I relied heavily on soft and lost edges to convey the delicate skin of this character, I strategically incorporated hard edges to create contrast and give the piece a finished, polished look, such as the sharp boundary where the hair meets the cheek, the eyelashes, and the crisp outline of her lipstick.Tip: Just like colors, edges are relative!! A soft edge appears even softer when placed next to a hard edge, and a soft edge can look quite crisp if it's sitting next to a lost edge. I used this principle strategically to enhance the softness of her face: pairing the soft, lost edge of her cheek's form with the sharp, hard edge of the hair strands right beside it makes her skin look incredibly smooth.Tip: Save your highlights for last, always. A single, confident highlight placed on already-finished skin reads way stronger than ten scattered highlights added too early. Finally, I wrap up with crisp highlights, pupil details, and a few loose strands of hair overlapping her face to add depth and charm. The final stage always goes fast if everything before it is solid.Hope these tips on the sketch, values, color temperature, and edges help with your own portrait studies! Rendering soft, natural skin is all about restraint and patience. Knowing when not to add detail is half the battle. Thanks so much to XPPen for running this challenge, it's been a genuinely great excuse to slow down and break down my own process instead of just painting on autopilot.

For me, it’s better to start with a screenless tablet, as it helps you get used to working digitally; your brain begins to adapt to working without having to keep your eyes fixed on your hand, focusing instead on the computer screen.It’s like learning to drive a manual car instead of an automatic.Is it just me, or are there others who feel the same way?

#XpPenTutorialPracticeI started by following the tutorial by adding light and shadow to boxes to better understand form and shape. Then I applied what I learnt to the asaro model, trying different lighting sources. With all that done, I applied all I’ve learnt by doing this drawing of Nephis, one of my favorite characters from Shadow slave, with the light source coming from below her face.

For this challenge, I practiced XPPen Episode 8: “How to Place Light & Shadow on the Face.”I'm still learning light and shadow, so I focused on the tutorial's approach of understanding the face through simple planes and light direction.I started by identifying the light source and breaking the face into basic planes to understand which surfaces receive light and which turn away from it. I practiced the concept first with simplified values, then applied the same idea to my own portrait.I kept everything in grayscale so I could focus on the relationship between light, shadow, and facial structure rather than getting distracted by color.My biggest tip from this practice:Don't start by shading individual features. Find the light source first.Then ask:Which planes are facing the light?Which planes are turning away?Where does the biggest shadow shape fall?Do the shadows follow the structure of the face?I found that thinking in large light and shadow shapes first made the process much less confusing than trying to render every feature immediately.What I learned most from this exercise is that facial shadows aren't random. They are connected to the structure of the face and the direction of the light.I'm still practicing, but this exercise helped me understand light and shadow in a much simpler way. I also really enjoyed the process, it was fun seeing the face start to make more sense as I placed the light and shadows.My biggest takeawayFind the light first. Understand the planes next. Then place the shadows.For my next study, I will practice the same approach with different head angles and lighting situations.Thank you, XPPen, for the tutorial! 💙#XPPenTutorialPractice

Episode 7: 4 Steps to Paint Natural-Looking SkinColoring skin has been the apple of my drawing since I mainly draw character and I wanna improve my coloring skill. The tutorial really really helped me in understanding more about skin coloring in a simple and easy to understand lesson.Using the complementary color I chose the purple and yellow combination where the yellow analogous colors are the skin and the purple analogous colors are the hairs. This base color gave a solid base to start my rendering process and as stated in the tutorial to not just slap your base color as is use the brush to add variation to your base color—this is where I always make mistake since I always just use bucket tool to add my base color which made my final artwork plain and flat.Now that I learned in the tutorial that you don't have to overcomplicate the rendering process but to actually understand the color wheel, I learned also that the more saturated the color the easier it is to render for me that is. .. so yea hope you've read this much and that's all of what I learned in the tutorial 🫡#XPPenTutorialPractice

Episode 7: 4 Steps to Paint Natural-Looking SkinColoring skin has been the apple of my drawing since I mainly draw character and I wanna improve my coloring skill. The tutorial really really helped me in understanding more about skin coloring in a simple and easy to understand lesson.Using the complementary color I chose the purple and yellow combination where the yellow analogous colors are the skin and the purple analogous colors are the hairs. This base color gave a solid base to start my rendering process and as stated in the tutorial to not just slap your base color as is use the brush to add variation to your base color—this is where I always make mistake since I always just use bucket tool to add my base color which made my final artwork plain and flat.Now that I learned in the tutorial that you don't have to overcomplicate the rendering process but to actually understand the color wheel, I learned also that the more saturated the color the easier it is to render for me that is. .. so yea hope you've read this much and that's all of what I learned in the tutorial 🫡#XPPenTutorialPractice

Ever since I started looking for my first graphics tablet a few years ago, I realized I would need a stand so I could draw more comfortably without straining my neck from having to look down. That's when I discovered the XPPen portable stand.WHAT'S IN THE BOX?One thing I love is that it doesn't just come with the stand... It also comes with a storage bag!That way, if you need to move your workspace, you can pack it up to take it with you easily, or just use the bag to keep it dust-free when you're done using it.MATERIAL AND DURABILITYFrom the moment you see it and hold it, you can tell that the material is quite durable, since it’s made of aluminum. It stays sturdy, unlike other plastic ones I’ve used that wobble or bend with a single movement.With this one, there’s no fear that the tablet will fall while you’re drawing because of any movement you make. It also hasn’t shown any signs of rust during the 5 years I’ve used it. So that won’t be a problem! Mine is still like new.COMFORTAlthough it’s a little bigger than my small workspace, thanks to its sturdy material and structure, it stays balanced and stable. Even when I place my tablet on it, it doesn’t move. It has the perfect angle for me to draw, and you can adjust it to whatever angle you prefer. It has 6 different settings and goes up to 45 degrees.COMMENTSAlthough I’ve had two other stands to test, none have been able to take the place of the XPPen one. It’s still my favorite, and I definitely wouldn’t switch it out.

O Formato da Cabeça Olá.Depois de assistir ao vídeo: Episódio 9: Como Construir Características Faciais [1]. Tive a ideia para abordar algo que alguns artistas deixam de lado: O formato da cabeça. E ao fechar os olhos e deixar a caneta longe desse tópico, muitos acabam criando personagens muito parecido e as vezes iguais, tendo que forçar outros elementos para diferenciá-los como tatuagens, cicatrizes, acessórios, enfim, uma adição de elementos que inclusive pode dar dor de cabeça para reproduzir o personagem em uma pose diferente já que os elementos também fazem parte dele.Em um outro tutorial sobre rosto, eu mostrei como a simples alteração das linhas faciais (altura dos olhos, nariz e boca), já mudam o personagem: Sobre rostos [2], mas agora chegou a hora do formato da cabeça.Nem todos são asiáticosNo mundo do Mangá e estilos semelhantes, temos uma base bem definida de estrutura, o famoso "círculo sobre um triângulo". Mas quando vamos representar outros personagens que, por ventura, são de outras regiões do planeta, esse formato poderá não ser representativo. Veja abaixo:A. Padrão no Mangá;B. Leste Asiático (China, Coreia, Japão), Sibéria e populações Indígenas das Américas (Norte, Central e Sul);C. Europa (especialmente Norte e Centro), Oriente Médio, Norte da África e populações do Sul da Ásia;D. África Subsaariana, Melanésia e populações nativas da Austrália;E. É o formato predominante nas Américas Modernas (Brasil, EUA, México, Colômbia) e em grandes metrópoles globais. ** No molde E, observe a presença de duas elipses nas laterais. Nesse tipo de cabeça quando vista de frente, podemos observar um pouco da "lateral" do rosto. Isso se tornará mais evidente caso pretenda usar o Método Andrew Loomis [3].NOTA: Esses formatos não são fixos pois depende da miscigenação dos povos de cada região. Use apenas como um ponto de partida. Leve também em consideração quando desenhar o personagem de perfil. Por exemplo, a opção D (África Subsaariana). Personagens de perfil irão apresentar lábios ultrapassando a linha vertical do nariz, já que, o nariz é um pouco "achatado" e lábios carnudos.Sempre pesquise por fotos de pessoas reais da região que pretende transformar seu personagem.Uma forma para um rosto completoObserve que as formas geométricas usadas separam a cabeça em duas formas em cores distintas: amarelo e roxo. Contudo, podemos criar o formato da cabeça usando uma forma que abrange toda ela, como por exemplo em cartoons. Mas mesmo em ilustrações mais detalhadas, usar apenas uma forma pode ser uma boa saída. Observe abaixo:F. Aplicada a forma oval como base.G. o desenho pronto.Outros detalhesOs elementos da face como: olhos, nariz, boca, maçãs do rosto (zigomáticos) e até as orelhas, variam de acordo com a região que o personagem veio (ancestralidade). Observe abaixo as característica do formato do crânio, lábios e nariz:H. Embora tenha sido usada uma elipse para o formato do rosto (ver imagem F), o formato do crânio tem suas características próprias;I. Perceba que o nariz mais "achatado" e expandido na horizontal; os lábios grossos na parte superior e inferior, são características de povos africanos.ConclusãoAo criamos personagens que necessitam de uma ancestralidade e desejamos ser mais fiéis a esse fato, devemos pesquisar através de fotos "reais" essas características. Pois imagine o seu personagem ser japonês e você retratar o mesmo como o biotipo de um africano? Perderá a veracidade da sua ilustração.Contudo, se o seu personagem é "de outro mundo", a liberdade criativa não terá limite pois caberá a você e a sua mesa ir além dos limites : )Referências1 - Episódio 9: Como Construir Características Faciais2 - Sobre rostos: https://community.xp-pen.com/discussion/4452 3 - Andrew Loomis: https://youtu.be/R5u9CWQ_o5c?si=Xq56oNhMpsCsT1oJ Nota do autorAs imagens aqui usadas são de minha autoria e estão no meu instagram:@lucaskoe_ - https://www.instagram.com/lucaskoe_/#XPPenTutorialPractice