WHEN MAHLUA WAS A BABY ARTIST (~2008-2012)

[MahluaandMilk]

So I found my clipboard case that holds most of my loose paper and fallen/torn out sketchbook pages that range from like, elementary school art through maybe 2013 at most. I blurred out my signatures, although they changed a lot and I rarely used the same name. These are just some of the highlights from my first comb-through, but there is a lot more cringe contained within that I may post eventually. I have two other sketchbooks that are full that mostly encompass my 2013-2016 era.

So why am I doing this? Well, frankly, I suck at art, but I used to suck a lot harder. This one is for all the artists who currently feel like they suck a lot. YOU SUCK LESS WITH TIME, I PROMISE. JUST LOOK AT ME. Or maybe don't. I'm a terrible role model. But at least I try to keep a sense of humor about it.

Cringe Carnage
Commence

Wow look at that obviously copied stuff from how-to-draw manga books by clearly American artists. Mmm-mmm.


Pretty sure this is an OC for Marchen Awakens Romance (MAR).


How do perspective eyeballs lmfao.


What is an ear? And wow look at that weeb-ass tryina be Japanese-ass name. Yiiiiiikes.


Well here I know we've gone from elementary to middle school. Legs actually look like they can carry weight, maybe, but that's the least of these guys' problems...

Everything from here on is like, eighth grade to like freshman year of high school ish in appearance and I really can't tell between 2010 and 2012 any major differences so I just hope I have some sense of chronology right in my head.




Yay massive OC group shots!


Pretty sure I scrapped this idea from my OC canon...they're twins, anyway.


What is a spine?


And this is why Mahlua doesn't draw backgrounds.


Maybe they won't notice I suck as much if I use chibi art to hide broken proportions! Haha! Also hey look some of Everlastin's OCs.


Weird Vocaloid fanart. This just in: humans are now tubes. Or balloon animals. Or something.


Sure, guys' legs work like that. Why not? Also, what are hands and ink shading?


Get a load of this edgy sh!t. (Owen Wilson "wow".mp3)


Unfortunately still probably the best background I've ever drawn smh.


Seriously this character was like, half of this damn case.


And then there was that time I was like, "but what if they were some kind of wereboy and could become a dude?" Also what is depth?


Well this probably sucks the least except they're supposed to be like the same age so whatever. Also #owtheedge continues.

[Coryn]

My eyes....they burn...

I'll admit though, it's not all bad in there. Clearly before the time you started drawing everyone with giant legs and feet. Maybe Past Mahlua still has some lessons to teach? Old artwork can help us chart when we pick up our bad habits.

[Suuper-san]

I agree with Coryn, a ton of those are still pretty good lol
especially the ones where a whole load of characters are standing on the same page. nice colours in all those drawings as well!

I think the trouble is when we were more beginners we just drew and finished a drawing, now we are all learning to draw, we stop the moment our drawing starts to become bad, or we never finish it etc.
a finished drawing is always good :)

Old artwork can help us chart when we pick up our bad habits.

Yup. I went back through my old posts in my gallery and I suddenly realised I dont draw long hair on my girls anymore, amongst other things :P

[MahluaandMilk]

I'd have to go through my later sketchbooks of the 2013-2016 era to figure out when the big legs big feet started happening, I think. I'm more than willing to post the discoveries, though.

Later I became too overconfident with color and fell on my face when it came to actual color theory, lol. Funny how that turned out.

Interestingly, I rarely ever quit a drawing so much as I take a break after completing one phase of it and then take on other projects and forget to return to it.

[Suuper-san]

yeah I think all of our styles are changing as we challenge ourselves to improve. At some time we will all have to make a style evolution thread where we can highlight those changes.

Interestingly, I rarely ever quit a drawing so much as I take a break after completing one phase of it and then take on other projects and forget to return to it.

yep, that too :P

[MahluaandMilk]

That was another part of the idea behind me making this thread. I noticed a bizarre level of...consistency between my older stuff and what I do now. There's still something distinct that's still hanging out there. I can't put my finger quite on what it is.

[MahluaandMilk]

Oh hey look, I found more loose pages in a sketchbook and then went through my sketchbooks. I put them in as close to chronological order as I can. Gods help me with all this formatting.

Be prepared
there are 29 images

When you see that vampire lookin goth chick around in her many forms, this was her beginning--an old elementary school doodle. This one is jokingly referred to as sexytree.jpg because a friend of mine pointed out the tree in particular and shouted "THAT'S A SEXY TREE". The image has never lived down the compliment.



Hey, these look familiar. Oh, right, because I posted one of the other pages of this already! There was a five page packet plus one extra page that I made to sort of try to compile my OCs and their designs in 2010. You can see where I added stupid things like theme songs and later went back and checked through them to keep up with who I had and hadn't redrawn. There are also added doodles that came in later.








Here's that bonus sheet I was talking about--notice that is has backgrounds. And that top left character? That's one of Everlastin's.



This background isn't absolutely terrible, somehow...But yes, I love these two OCs together. In case you're wondering with the weird M logo on everything, it was a stupid parody in-universe version of Monster energy drinks simply called MenerG. I was obsessed with Monster energy drinks in middle school, but now they give me a caffeine headache. Oof, how times change...



After having been in an art class with a teacher who practically tried to beat me over the head with "pushing values" for too long, this was my first piece for personal enjoyment. My colored pencil technique showed a sudden and immense improvement. Claymore fanart, Quicksword Ilena.



Not long after, I did another one for Star Ocean characters Albel and Nel. I really dig how Albel's metal arm turned out.



We were then challenged to do a pen and ink thing for a class assignment and mine came out all steam-punky so I bothered to include it. The theme was "what do you find through the keyhole" or something.



Just a little sketcharoo I remember doing towards the end of that semester.



My cybergoth OC. I love the first few drawings in this 5.5x8.5 inch sketchbook, so I included them here.









And this brings us to 2014. This character might look familiar to those of you who like, saw my old gallery before the first few images went out via tinypic. She was more or less similar to a type of self-insert, but she slowly developed her own personality in story. I'd describe her as like, a proto mr-canon Mahlua.



I also started really getting with markers in 2014. Sadly it didn't benefit the anatomy problems, LUL.




Unfortunately, Homestuck was the name of the game for a lot of 2014 and 2015, so I had to include some of that trash here. I'm not sure if any of these are starting to overlap with the drawings that were in the start of my main gallery, but the timeline is starting to overlap there.



Included this one for sketch's sake--had to tilt it because there was an nsfw doodle in the corner.



And we're in 2015 now, still drawing Homestuck garbage. Hands almost look like hands now, though.



Uh yeah witch themes. In marker. Neat.



When I would show this to people I would always cover up the feet, lol. Their armor is Gerudo-inspired. Since someone mentioned the weird transition to thick legs/big feet, I think this would be where I'd pinpoint it.



December 2015 and I'm gay for Bayonetta.



Getting into early 2016 now and I still have way too damn many OCs.



Unfortunately I'm not sure I have this one chronologically correct since there was no date, and I apologize that it's hard to see since it never made it past the 2h pencil sketch phase, but I actually kinda dig some of the pose work here. Darned flash ruining a lot of the center...Also Ace Attorney AU fanart: college stereotypes.



Here again we start to see that little transition to stockier figures with the leg thing. Also I just love Wrath's character too much to not include her. The next two are from the same series of drawings.




Lol that stiff pose.

Hope y'all enjoyed this little bridge from like, 2008 to my current art gallery. If anyone wants to analyze the growth and evolution of what techniques and styles I've developed, I would actually be very interested in reading all about what you think.

I'm actually kind of inspired by what I've found. I've filled up three entire sketchbooks and so many pages of copy and notebook paper with these drawings and OCs. I used to draw a heck of a lot, man. I wonder what would happen if I started drawing that often again...

[legomaestro]

Man you worked with a lot more vibrant colours back then, and I like a lot of the poses and the like. You could still learn from your past a little here and there. Don't write it off completely!

My favourite is ironically the edgy one looking out the window so yeah kudos on showing and telling, but still props on the drawings themselves

[MahluaandMilk]

Yeah, I kinda miss working with ya boiz colored pencils and markers.

I'm still like, mentally trying to figure out how aligning my new knowledge to my previous works would even function.

It's funny. I started learning actual color theory and fundamentals proper, and suddenly my art turned...kinda lifeless, I feel like. I was afraid of that, but, well, I'm here now, so now what?

[Coach Fro]

Like I already said, still better than anything I can cook up at the moment.

But there's definitely good stuff in here like the ones with multiple characters on a page. Regardless, it's always interesting to see an artist's progression over time.

[MahluaandMilk]

I just love that I still have a few scraps left from elementary school like sexytree.jpg just to show that like, yo...if I came to where I am from that, I think we're all good. Anything is possible. Just give it literally a decade.

[Walter B]

So sweet! 

I also have some very old drawings I made when I was a kid back home. I may post them one day 

[YoUr EyEs]

It's not that bad!

Honestly, considering that these are arts when you just had started drawing, I think they were superior to usual beginners drawings.

[MahluaandMilk]

I don't know about that, especially with the some on here that are from like, late elementary and early middle school.

[YoUr EyEs]

I don't know about that, especially with the some on here that are from like, late elementary and early middle school.

At late elementary school tho, I was still drawing stickman...lmao!

I think they look good and cute!