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Art Resources

I've probably spent more time collecting this shit than actually drawing. As always, I prioritize programs that are independent over big tech, free and/or open source (FOSS), and are anti-AI. heads up that I haven't individually tested all of these, and their links might die over time. * marks my favorites.


Masterposts

Art Software

in case you don't wanna pirate stuff from adobe. always pirate stuff from adobe.

    pixel art

  • *libresprite FOSS pixel art program!
  • pixelorama ANOTHER FOSS pixel art program!

    • digital painting

  • medibang free digital art program. I used it before switching to CSP, and it's my pick for best free art program
  • *clip studio paintmy fave paid art program. it is normally $50 but you can wait for a sale
  • krita FOSS digital art program. personally never been my fave bc there's a learning curve to the interface but it's solid and a lot of artists swear by it
  • firealpaca free digital painting software

    • animation (2d and 3d)

  • tahoma2d free, anti-AI animation program for 2d and stop motion animators
  • opentoonz an OG 2d animation program. FOSS, was originally developed by studio ghibli.
  • blender this one might be fairly obvious, but i might as well add it anyway. FOSS 3d animation software. go make a donut or smth idk
  • blockbench 3d model editor and animation software. FOSS. specifically good for low-poly style 3d modeling.

    • color tools and palette makers

    Most of these are also on the webmasters page.
  • *color-hex Personal fave for finding colors since it gives you a lot of helpful information and shades and highlights. You can also save your own palettes.
  • adobe color wheel yeah i know its ad*be but its useful.. just use adblock, okay?
  • paletton pretty much the same thing as the adobe one.
  • image-to-palette extractor
  • coolors
  • colourpod

    • other software

  • inkscape FOSS program for vector graphics, similar to adobe illustrator
  • pureref free program specifically for keeping your references together
  • *photopea free photo editor mimicking photoshop! it's even in your browser!

Art Websites

    art marketplaces

    basically, alternatives to etsy since dropshippers and AI are everywhere on there now. etsy might still be worth it for selling your art but it's good to branch out.
  • handmade.com marketplace for handmade goods. has a ban on AI and dropshipping. only con is that they only have handmade physical goods, so digital goods or things like stickers seem out of the question.
  • Goimagine marketplace for handmade goods with an emphasis on shopping local and philanthropy. it has banned AI and dropshipping. Only major con I can see with it is that it is specific to the US.
  • Artisans.coop a member-owned alternative to etsy. They have a ban on AI and dropshipping. May or may not be limited to the US?

    • social media sites (that banned AI!)

  • cara social media platform for all kinds of artists, run by an artist. it has a similar interface to twitter, take that as you will.
  • domo.town Another! social media platform for all kinds of artists! unlike cara, domo supports webcomics.

Learning Resources

  • *drawabox where I started learning to draw. free website and video courses starting with the most basic drawing fundamentals.
  • lovelifedrawing has basic fundamentals + life and gesture drawing specific tutorials
  • ctrl + paint / a free video library walking through digital art basics. they also have paid video courses going over more specific artistic techniques
  • *proko (youtube link) / art youtuber that has a good series on gesture drawing. most of his videos are kinda just put out for the content mill, but his video on drawing heads and faces really helped me in particular.

Reference Images

*Note: I would not recommend giving money to Croquis Cafe because they're known to be very rude and unprofessional with their customers. Read this reddit thread to see what I'm talking about.
*Other Note: If you want references for anything from an online museum archive (historical art styles, clothing, photography etc.), go check out my public domain page.

Brushes

  • halftone hospital has lots of free brushes, textures and comic stuff for photoshop, CSP and procreate.

Map Making

Costume Design

Fun Tools

Where to Find Resources

Suffice to say I'm pretty online, so I find a lot of this stuff sooner or later. I found a lot of things from a few different places:

  • /ic/: It is a 4chan board, so it is 90% asbestos pit and 10% good stuff, but there are always threads like /artbook/ that compile a bunch of different resources. there used to be these huge folders of artbooks and reference photos, but i wasn't able to find any
  • tumblr blogs: just go down a rabbit hole. most decent art blogs will have a page with their best links, or at least an efficient tagging system that branches out elsewhere. masterposts are fairly common and will often have a lot of overlap with one another
  • neocities: i literally just choose a site and sniff around for a 'resources' tab
  • r*ddit: I feel pretty similarly to it as I do 4chan, but some of the bigger subreddits can point you towards some specific software and resources in their wikis, or in dedicated "alternative to.." threads.
  • itch.io in general