Any questions for a BLIND artist?

[deadaccountrip]

I love drawing! I can’t draw for too long because it causes eye strain and (unrelated) I have a lot of issues with my fingers dislocating and locking but I try to draw as often as possible!

I’ll reply to the rest of the questions when I’m online again later, thank you everyone that’s commented so far!

[Harmony-S-S]

You are the definition of a creator...I admire you greatly

[Chopythes]

oh wow, this is a super interesting thread!

My mum's blind on the right eye, she can only see some colours but not much more. She used to draw as well but stopped mainly because she got other interests instead of drawing xD

I kind of want to ask:
How has your blindness affect your life as an artist?
Like, what kind of problem do you often run in to, and what would you say are your strengths?
(And a side question, how does it affect your daily life? If it's too personal, please feel free to ignore it!)

[kip]

being part of a community like tapas or webcomics in general often means a lot of the studying of material and even just connecting to other members includes reading other people's comics.
are you able to do that at all? do you feel like, if not, or even if just not regularly, you find your work is hurt by being constricted in terms of being to research in that way?

Either way, your works looks fantastic! keep at it!

[Azifri]

I had an co worker who progressively lost her sight over a few years, and the subject was (as expected) very hard for her, especially during the stage where she had to stop doing things like driving. Knowing first hand how complicated this can be, I wanted to thank you for giving us the opportunity to ask you such personal questions.

Mind if I ask, how did you adjust to a different way of perceiving your surroundings? In which aspects did that influence your storytelling through your art comics?

And by the way, I just looked at your instagram and I LOVE the colors you use. So soft and soothing.

[bakasama25]

I was blind for several months due to high blood pressure damaging my eyes. It affected my ability to see clearly and my ability to see color. I have a pretty good idea what you're going through.

For a time, I would be standing outside on a clear, sunny day and the sky would look grey like if it was cloudy. If I was inside with fluorescent lighting. I can make out people and objects but I could not make see any faces. It's like their faces were a grey blur.

[deadaccountrip]

I try to visualise what I’m drawing in my head as well as using my own body for reference to help me understand anatomy. I’ve been thinking about getting one of those realistic drawing anatomy figure things though,

For backgrounds and stuff I use my imagination as well or find a large image I can magnifiy on my ipad to use as reference. Sometimes I will ask a friend for advice as well.

I think my art’s improved since before I went blind but I’ll have to find some old art to do a comparison.

[deadaccountrip]

Definitely! A lot of building a following involves reading and subscribing to other people’s comics so I feel like it’s harder for me to make friends and gain readers that way.

Some comics I can read with enough magnification but it does depend a lot on the font and contrast.

[kip]

Do you feel like people should work harder to make comics accessible to people with impaired eyesight?

[indagold]

Are you thinking of taking up something that isn't visually taxing like playing music?

[Strontium]

When you're drawing digitally how do you solve errors with pen sensitivity or the art program itself?

[silverraven0]

Just a question. How do you build your motivation to keep on drawing?

Aside from that, I just wanna say that you're one admirable fellow.

[deadaccountrip]

I’ve never had pen pressure issues with my tablet (Surface Pro 4), and my drawing program Medibang has a lot of tutorials and resources online. It’s also screen reader accessible which meams I can have my computer read out the names of all the controls so its easy for me to find the right brush, filter, etc if I haven’t got it’s location memorised.

[deadaccountrip]

I’m not at all musically talented haha

I make polymer jewellery though which I can do without using any vision (and it’s great hand exercise!)

[deadaccountrip]

Yes! As an artist, I’m pretty good at recognising what’s happening in a panel (with magnification) as long as it’s relatively simple but a lot of comics use small or messy fonts that are hard to read. I prefer korean style webtoons because they layout is usually a lot more simple compared to traditional comics and manga.

Something I’m going to start doing for my comic Hybrid Society is adding a link to the chapter’s script so that people who can’t see the comic can still read it. One of the main characters, Luka, is totally blind so it would kinda suck if he couldn’t read his own comic tbh. He’s gonna be introduced in the next chapter btw, he’s great I love him.

[deadaccountrip]

I just really love drawing tbh. It’s relaxing and I get to create entire new worlds which is cool.

Also I’m pretty terrible anything not art related so I don't have many career alternatives haha

[deadaccountrip]

Sorry I’m not replying to everyone in order, I will reply to everyone else tomorrow but now I must sleep! Thank you for all the questions!

[Strontium]

I’ve never had pen pressure issues with my tablet (Surface Pro 4)

That's fantastic, really. I spent the whole summer trying to resolve a pen pressure issue with my tablet.
Thanks for answering my question!

[Cavechan]

I just read your comic - it's so good! Your artwork is seriously amazing. I can't get over how cute it is!

Something I think about sometimes is... what would I do if I lost my eyesight? Would I be able to draw my comic? Hearing your story makes me feel much better that yes drawing is still very possible! I figured even if I someday somehow went 100% blind, I could even use one of those 3D drawing pens to make my comic so I could feel the lines to help make sure they were in the right place.

Have you ever used or considered using a 3D drawing pen?

Also, a general question. I have heard that it isn't common for blind people nowadays to use braille. Any idea if that is true? Do you use it at all?

[TheFireDragon]

Hold up, I got a real important question...

what's your favorite desert? 0_o