Base making tips

!!! Those tips are based on personal experience and preferences. You aren't forced to follow them, but if you find any of those helpful and wanna try them yourself, by all means go for it. This is supposed to help after all. This journal may also update with new tips at some points. Feel free to ask if anything

~Have patience. Bases, just like drawings, take time to make in a good quality. Dont rush, base making isnt neither a race or competition. Also, take breaks if you need it, save your progress and continue when you feel like it. You arent forced to finish in one day
  - Unless youre a magician, chances are your first bases wont look very great. And thats fine! After some practice your bases will get better (as long you put effort to begin with) 

~If you like me dont enjoy basing in MS Paint, thats fine! Dont hesitate to try a different software and methods. As long youre comfortable with what youre using, thats what matters
  - I would suggest you use something that has a curve tool that can be pixelated somehow
  - I personally use a mouse, despite having a tablet and a trackpad since I have a laptop. If you are more comfortable with your tablet or trackpad, dont hesitate to use them. Just like drawing, finding the tools that satisfy you can make your job easier and more enjoyable. I just think a mouse is easier for me, I dont plug in my tablet very often and I frankly dont use my trackpad generally since I dont know how tbh. MOVING ON FROM ME SUCKING AT USING TECHNOLOGY 

~Unless you wanna torture plenty of people and make their eyes bleed, dont leave your bases in neons/color them in neons. Some, myself included, are quite sensible to neons and generally bright saturated colors (which can result in neons). Specially if theres more than 1 or 2, or if they are all over the place with some exceptions since some know how to use them without anyones eyes burning. But anyway, I recommend you stay away from them, at least in the coloring process 
    - Greyscale/Grayscale (Im not a native english speaker so I honestly use just the first version because thats how I spell it); Well, fully desaturated colors. You can also use ALMOST desaturated colors. Also, when I color like this I put the actual eye color of whatever Im basing, and I may if needed put some show colored things (example; the gemstones in my Steven Universe bases) 
    - Show colored; Bases colored fully or for the most part in the actual colors of whatever youre basing. I play with this way of coloring occasionally, mainly when I wanna put a ship reference or something like that. If the character youre basing has multiple neons/overly bright saturated colors, I highly suggest you desaturate those specific colors 
    - Other; If neither of those ways fits your funky flow, fear not! You can make your own palette. As long it isnt a pain for the eyes or overly complicated (20 gradients and shitload of effects will in fact make your base unable to be used by like anyone. Keep it simple yo). I suggest pastels, maybe a fancy palette you found even idk . The good ol 'your fave color(s)' is also great and then theres themes! How you can apply themes to bases? Pretty easily actually. If you want it winter themed, dont pick pure white, at least I dont suggest it, but v desaturated blues and purples and just cold colors. Why cold colors? Bc winter and snow and cold. See what I did there? If you want it um... Pepsi themed. Because Pepsi is fucking awesome, you can use v desaturated dark blues and purples instead of pure black (apart from the eyes in my bases and dolls, I tend to avoid pure white and black) bc... the soda itself is black, and the Pepsi logo has white, blue and red too so I mean! Go fucking wild

~Keep on doing them and send them to groups. You wont become a celebrity of base making overnight. Little steps~

~I will eventually update this tip once Im done updating my MLP base tutorial and will do my SU base tutorial and anime one. But point is that base making tutorials are great can be very helpful specially in the beginning. Id suggest you check KatsuBases and Sakyas-Bases tutorials 
    - I have a MLP base tutorial that you can find in my gallery. Its a little outdated but welp

~Ask permission before basing a vector/drawing. Just ask nicely, and check their profile or description (you should always check the description but thats for another time) to see if the answer is there. Getting a question over and over again when you answered it on your profile/FAQ, is in fact, annoying as fuck
    - If they say no, be understanding and dont act like a fucking brat. If they say yes, Id suggest you fave it or name it after the artist when you save it so you can credit

~Dont hesitate to make a blacklist. No matter what others say, they are YOUR resources. If someone is a art theft/doesn't credit/homophobe or anything nasty like that, you can note them down in a list of banned people from using your bases. Id suggest mentioning that if your watchers see anyone on that list being a dick and using something they are banned from, to report them

~I recommend you have a specific palette for things like mouth colors

~Dont hesitate to use references if you have a dilemma with something. Also if you improvise Id suggest you sketch (as many times you need) first. That is easier if youre using a program with layers like me
    - Dont aim for perfection. If someone doesnt like your improvisation well, its a base. They can edit

~If you put a watermark, try to dont put it on the base specially if its hard to remove. Also you can go wild with your watermark and do a logo and fancy shit like that, but your username in a font you like will also do

~You arent a slave so dont feel forced to do requests if you don't want to, nor feel forced to add all the possible optional parts just bc some are too fucking lazy

~I hate the pure white background, so when I base and doll and draw and basically do anything I make a layer underneath anything and fill it with a shade of grey