The Valtor Evolution (Patreon)

When I first started this Webtoon journey, which is now over a year ago, I was very uncomfortable with drawing men. This was honestly the main thing that kept me from starting this project earlier. That, and all the difficult poses I had to learn to draw haha.

The main reason for keeping this Webtoon a secret for so long was because I wanted to see how far my art skills would grow first. If they got better I wanted to go back and change some things before the release. That was a great decision, I have gotten so much more comfortable with drawing men over the last year! While the process isn't as smooth yet as when I draw girls, I feel my hand slowly picking up the different shapes and facial features.

Back when Í started I was also happy with how I drew Valtor, but after months of drawing him thousands of times, my skills in manly features and anatomy grew and now I can barely look at the first version haha. He's still not perfect and I still have a lot to learn, but I'm proud of the progress I was able to make!

A year of working hard every day and looking at new references does wonders! My personal muses for Valtor were Sebastian Michaelis from Black Butler, Sesshomaru from Inuyasha, and Gojo Satoru from Jujutsu Kaisen. I always envy the mangaka or animators who draw them so perfectly, they look handsome but also pretty at the same time. I knew I wanted this look for Valtor.

So if you are struggling with something, don't give up! Keep trying new methods, study your favourite artists and look at how they draw certain features and proportions. Many people like to say to only look at real pictures of people because the anatomy is correct, but I would have never gotten where I am today if I just stuck to studying real people. I do recommend you start there for the basics, but sometimes creative liberties are necessary in art. Following real anatomy to the letter can make a drawing feel stiff and unnatural, so don't be afraid to experiment!

I hope this helped some of you a little, I get a lot of questions about "how I got so good at drawing", the truth is I don't feel like I am at all, but looking back I can see how much I've grown. The secret is determination, practice, a willingness to get out of your comfort zone, and passion. Everyone can draw if you just stick with it!