/ic/ Support Page

Update in progress. 2026 |  Removed / replaced dead content, added new figure drawing and animation support content

Tutorials

SmellyBug's Maquette Tutorial
Incredible tutorial from sketch to painted maquette sculpt

Art Graphica
Free drawing lessons in various mediums

Anons pastebin tutorial mishmosh
Pastebin of notable tutorials focused on comics and animation.

CtrlPaint.com
Excellent resource for the beginner digital artist.

Loomis. Needs more.
Loomis. Comprehensive drawing tutorials.

Drawing Books
23 open source art instruction books

PSG Art Tutorial
A comprehensive set of high quality articles/tutorials regarding art technique.

Flooby Noobies Tutorial Page
Basic to Advanced Color Theory and Illustration Techniques for Photoshop / Overlap with PSG 

The Dimensions of Color
Comprehensive color guide by David Briggs.

Guneys Journey
Valuable resource from James Gurney. Light and color focus.

Art Books Public Domain
Artist Handbooks, Art Techniques and Painting - Free Art Books

FengZhu School of Design
FZD School of Design provides an education in entertainment design.

Art wiki
Art wiki, general tutorial compilation.

Fellowbros Book Collection
Drawing books including Anatomy and the Baroque drawing course.

Lessons in Calligraphy and Pennmanship
Here you will find a wealth of material for learning calligraphy and penmanship.

YouTube Animation Playlists

12 Principles of Animation (Official Full Series)
Animation Primer

Ani Ref
The place to go to find reference footage for your animations

Endless Reference
Library includes real-life movement references such as jumping, pushing, and stepping 

SBW Workshop
Stringbing Workshop and Tutorials

Aaron Blaise
Aarons Art Tips

DokiDoki Drawing
Japanese Animation Tutorials

Alejandro Garcia Animator
Video tutorials for Animation Artists

YouTube Art Support

FZD School
Art Industry Podcast

MoatDD Marks Drawing Tutorials
Tablet Exercises

Sinix
Art tutorials utilizing Corel Painter

Alphonoso Dunn
Traditional Art Tutorials

Cubebrush
Photoshop tutorials/time lapse

Level Up
Pro Art Podcasts

Jeff Watts
Classical fine art Atelier

Anthony Jones "Robopencil"
Photoshop livestreamer

Kienan Lafferty
Weekly concept art vids

Isterbrak's Critique Hour
Time lapse/Design Challenges and Art Tutorials

Reference  (4chan's /s/ , /hr/ and /p/ boards are good resources as well)

WeLib
Downloable PDFs on a wide variety of topics 

Photo Reference for Comic Artists
Ultra-high resolution photo reference for comic artists and illustrators

Character Design
Character design resource; costumed, nude, people and events and reference guides

Human Reference
3d Human ref

Hairfinder
Hairstyle reference

References and Infographics
References and Infographics collection. Over 300 Images.

Hand Poses Galore
Hand Reference and Tutorials. Main focus on cartoon/animation.

Tumblr Reference Accounts
Tumblr Accounts with reference organized by category.

1000 Frames of Hitchcock
"1000 Frames of Hitchcock" is an attempt to reduce each of the 52 available major Hitchcock films down to just 1000 frames. The aim of the project is to create a library of images which can be used to illustrate blog posts, web articles and reviews, etc.

Dr. Macro's High Quality Movie Scans
Variety of high resolution film imagery.

Firearm Schematics

Scan the World
3d Scans of classic sculptures, artifacts, bones and landmarks

Figure Drawing

Figure Drawing Directory
Figure Drawing directory (US/Canada).

Love Life Drawing
Comprehensive figure drawing lessons

Line of Action (Previously Pixelovely)
Timed figure drawing

George B. Bridgman PDFs
Masterful downloadable drawing guides at Archive.org

RKGK
Timed drawing, figures, animals, shapes

Posemy.art
Poseable 3d models 

Pose Space
Models and poses. Filters for gender, lighting, props etc.

Quick Poses Figure Drawing
Timed figure drawing practice.

SketchDaily References
Timed figure drawing practice.

Art Communities

4Chan's  /ic/
Message board whose strength is the anonymity of its posters.

Pixel Joint
An art community for pixel artists.

Pixiv
The largest Japanese art community. Go there to find your favourite anime artists or to embrace your dream of becoming the best mangaka of all Nihon.

Artists Brushes and Toolsets

NEEDS CONTENT

Get Work / Make $

THIS SECTION NEEDS MORE UP-TO-DATE CONTENT

Merchandise Retrospective
A detailed retrospective on how to use various methods to sell your art merch.

Business of Illustration
A website and blog by Neil Swaab dedicated to instructing new and aspiring artists on how best to navigate this challenging field.

How to Get an Animation Job in Japan
If you want to take the plunge, here is advice on how to get an animation job in Japan.

Clint Cearleys Becoming a Pro
Clint Cearley discusses the topic of breaking into professional illustrating and concept art for games. Topics covered include the artist's art background, presenting yourself as a professional, versatility, timeliness, being proactive, art as a product and art education.

Collaborative Drawing Sites (Paintchats)

Magma
Create on a shared canvas, in real time. Magma is a drawing platform for artists and teams who want to sketch, collaborate, and grow together. 

Skycow*
Skycows /f/lockdraw. Has brush modes, opacity, blur, moderation system(muting room, kick/ban user)

iScribble*
Layer capability.

*older, less populated 

Online Art Galleries

Web Gallery of Art
The Web Gallery of Art is a virtual museum and searchable database of European fine arts from 11th to 19th centuries.

Google Art Project
Very high resolution art archive by Google.

Wiki Paintings
Visual Art Encyclopedia

Image Compilations

High resolution image packs / Reference and Inspirational Imagery.

Academic Work
A plethora of academic sketches in various categories including nudes, drapery, portraiture, hands/feet and more...
Over 4000 Images (varied resolution)

William-Adolphe Bouguereau
130 Images

Alphonse Mucha
149 Images

Online Art Supply Stores

Jerrys Artarama
Jerrys Artarama.

Utrecht
Utrecht Art Supply.

Art Supplies (UK)
Art Supplies (UK).

Artist Supply Source
Artist Supply Source.

Jet Pens
Pens, mechanical pencils, lead holders etc.

Tablet Discussion

/r/stylus current discussion about pressure-sensitive pen devices.

/r/stylus wiki technical treatise

Things to consider when comparing Tablets

Levels of sensitivity: This determines how many levels are between the hardest and softest press of the stylus. It measures how accurately the tablet responds to pressure. The higher the number the better. 2048/1024/512 are current standards. 1024 or more is recommended.

Tilt Sensitivity: This feature allows the tablet to track the 'tilt' of the stylus, allowing for more natural strokes. This is a desired although not deal-breaking feature for the digital artist.

Stylus: Stylus ergonomics are a personal choice. Some stylus need batteries making them both heavier and more problematic than their battery-less counterparts.

Artist, Save thy Monies

Art creation can be an expensive endeavor. This section will hopefully ease the burden on your wallet.

Glass Palette

• Personally, I use glass as my palette when painting. You can get a inexpensive piece of glass at a flea market or used goods store or purchase a picture frame and harvest its glass. Spray the back of the pane with a 50% grey primer so as to maintain a visually neutral mixing platform.

• You may want to add some thick tape around the edges to prevent slitting yourself open.

• Cleanup is easy; wipe off the excess paint with a paper towel. You may wait until the residual paint dries then scrape it off with a razor. I have also found that cheap knockoffs of the 'Magic' White Sponges wipe oil paint away quite well.

Wacom Nib Replacements

• Digitally, Wacom has pens with nibs that conveniently wear out over time. One does not want the added concern of the expense as well as the availability of the nibs. Create your own inexpensive alternative by using .065" Universal Nylon Trimmer wire.

• The wire will not flex nor damage your tablet surface. You may round the edge with sandpaper using a grit that leaves you with a tactile tip you desire.

• One roll of this wire will cost you (sometimes much) less than $10, and give you over 3000 nibs. Wacom sells them at 6 for $12. You do the math.

Instructable on the process