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Sylessae

@sylessae.bsky.social
21K followers 234 following 3.5K posts

Helping tired artists rekindle their love for creativity. 🎨 NEW PREORDER 🎨 Painting Bootcamp: bit.ly/sylpainting 📖 Mentorship: mentor.sylessae.com 🖼️ www.sylessae.com

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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 18h
Letting my sketchbook be a place where I work fast and in permanent medium is always really humbling. It's easy to look at these in comparison to full illustrations or my developed sketches and feel like they aren't good enough. I think this is a trap we all fall into sometimes.
Open sketchbook spread showing black-ink portrait studies of realistic and fantasy faces and an elf with a giraffe-patterned pen centered and yellow and pink sticky notes partially covering several sketches.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Hey #PortfolioDay! For recent paid work, I'm pivoting to original oil paintings of delicious treats and meals. 🧁🍭 👉 ✉️ info@sylessae.com
A textured painting of a plate of fluffy pastries filled with ample mountains of cream and sprinkled with powdered sugar. A textured oil painting of a cream and fruit filled donut. The top of the donut is frosted and topped with strawberries sitting in front of a bright cyan backdrop.A textured oil painting showing a yellow layered cake topped with bright red raspberries against a green background.Close-up still-life painting of a breakfast tray showing a white coffee cup on a red saucer next to a bagel and a wrapped roll on a glass dish, rendered with warm, loose brushstrokes.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
A djinn of knowledge emerges from a glistening lapis lazuli crystal and grants you just one wish. What do you yearn to know?
Ethereal, regal elf-like woman with flowing white hair, pointed ears, and gold collar and earrings, gazing serenely to the side against a radiant halo of fractured lapis lazuli crystals.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Don't talk to me, I'm scribblin
Sketchbook page showing a detailed ink portrait of a short, curly‑haired woman in the foreground, several loose head studies above, and a yellow giraffe‑pattern novelty pencil resting along the right edge.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
And we can't have a bootcamp without some high quality TrueRef material. We're partnerting with @trueref.bsky.social to bring you high-quality, unedited, AI-free reference for all of your drawing needs. Find more at: trueref.io
A bearded, shirtless man appears five times in black underwear, enacting a ritual of study and storytelling — dramatically reading from a large leather-bound book, writing in a notebook, holding a wooden staff, and pondering.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Meet some students who are excited to preorder!! They're all getting the preorder discount and claiming their seats in the live lessons. Preorder today to claim your seat: bit.ly/sylpainting
Students excited to preorder header with three centered testimonials praising Syl’s courses and portrait bootcamp for organized lessons, confidence-building, and community, attributed to Ivyblade, MeanderingUnicorns, and Tamalas.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Anyone can learn to draw. You don't need AI, you don't need talent. Whoever convinced you of that is trying to take away your creative agency. Come create with me and our group of artists who LOVE their characters as much as you do. 👇️ 🧵
Promotional banner reading "Bring Your Characters to Life" — preorder a 7-week live fantasy portrait painting bootcamp for TTRPGs, games & original stories, shown with a polished elf portrait, a color study, and a pencil sketch as before/after examples.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
I love drawing with goofy pens
Multiple pen sketches of stylized heads and busts showing varied ages, hairstyles, and expressions arranged across a sheet of paper, with a giraffe-pattern pencil resting at the top.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Using my timed Intention study technique to loosen up and lower expectations with all of these studies
Digital painting in Photoshop of a young woman with dark hair, tilted head and closed eyes, warm painterly skin tones and purple-tinted lips, displayed on-screen with a visible editing toolbar and thumbnail.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
30 minute painting study ✨
A digital painting workspace showing a close-up side profile portrait of a woman with long dark hair and gold hoop earrings being painted in Photoshop on a tablet, with the toolbar, layer panel and a smaller thumbnail preview visible.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
We've once again also partnered with @trueref.bsky.social to bring you diverse, AI-free reference images for these lessons! No more scrolling for reference images only to be disappointed by AI. Images you can trust. If you're looking for more: trueref.io
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Your characters deserve more than a line on a character sheet, don't you think? Save your spot → bit.ly/sylpainting
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
III. You build a world. One portrait turns into many. Suddenly you start building worlds one face at a time. Table top commissions, indie game art, splash art for your own projects. Seven weeks jumpstarts potential to build a living world.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
II. You tell a story in a single frame. A portrait carries a backstory, mood and personality without word. The scar, the slouch, the cold light on an undead pallor. You learn to make one image do the work of a page of lore.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I. You bring a character to life. A face makes a character real. Your DnD party, your game's cast, the OC you've carried in your head for years. Portraiture turns a description on a character sheet into someone you can actually see.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
7 weeks. 7 lessons. Learn a painting process for infinite portraits. Hosted live with a limited number of student seats. Preorder discount only applies to first round of students! It all begins here... 👉 bit.ly/sylpainting
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
LAUNCHED: My 🎨 PAINTING 🎨 bootcamp is for you if you want to learn to: 💪 Create with your own skills, not AI 🖼️ Turn your ideas into art you can print & keep ✨ Use your portraits for TTRPG & storytelling 👥 Draw for friends ✏️ Design from your imagination
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Cool girls taking over the sketchbook
Multiple stylized female head sketches in pen across a sketchbook page, exploring varied hairstyles, bold eye makeup and dramatic, moody expressions.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Creative iteration isn't about making a mistake and trying again. It's testing intentional changes to explore style and expression. You're deciding which approach you like and don't like and the steps it took to get there.
Open sketchbook showing character design studies: multiple quick pen profiles of a curly-haired, pointy-eared figure in different angles and expressions, with a black ballpoint pen resting across the lower page.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Happy students, happy teacher 💛
A text log of a chat expressing their experience of a portrait bootcamp. It reads: 

The bootcamp was a pleasant, charming and intensive 8 weeks of learning, artwork and experiencing growth both as an individual but also as a community! The structured character of the learning process, themed weeks with live sessions and chance to share your highs and lows with likeminded members was everything and more than I could hope for!

Sylessae is a great teacher, full of passion, understanding, wit and humour. There was never a dull moment during our sessions and all this fun is only the cherry on top of the main thing and that is the learnings! 

All the introduced methods felt very well thought and meanigful. I have ones I enjoyed more and ones I enjoyed a tiny bit less of course  but none of them ever felt like "a waste of time" or "something not worth considering". They broadened my effective tools of practicing art and creating pieces while allowing  me to dive deeper into observing, studying and DRAWING at the same time. They are designed with customisation in mind so I could always challenge myself more or tone the difficulty down if I felt the need for a breather.

I feel like an important aspect of the bootcamp was the fact that it also directly influenced and positively changed my art approach and mindset surrounding it. Not only did I learn how to practice more effectively and draw better but also how to feel better about trying and experimenting with the process.

One other thing that I valued a lot about the bootcamp is the idea that despite the 8 weeks being already over this is only the beginning of our journey. The event leaves all of us with a lifelong access to all the materials and recorded classes, 6 repeatable and practiced study methods to continue our growth, a group of friends to keep sharing and improving together, a changed perspective on creating and finally a direction to move forward.

I wholeheartedly recommend it!

Rating (1-5 stars): 5
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I've worked with students who have incredible art skills who don't allow themselves to follow through in pursuing a career (or even just what excites them) in art. It's not always a skill issue. 🧵
Winged sorceress in a flowing white gown and fur mantle strikes a commanding pose against a glowing, clouded sky, dark wings spread, hair streaming, a jeweled circlet on her brow and palms outstretched toward floating orbs of light.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Thinking about starting up a virtual sketchbook group
Sketchbook page of pencil head studies showing varied female faces, hairstyles, and expressions, with a yellow wooden pencil lying across the drawings.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
lil martini 🍸️
Still-life painting showing a martini glass center-front with a bottle and tall spirit container behind it, a metal tray of olives and lemon wedges in the foreground, and a green painter's canvas border and wooden easel visible around the artwork.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Enroll in the curriculum now! 👉 bit.ly/sylportrait
Smiling fantasy woman with curling ram-like horns and long wavy hair woven with roses, a large butterfly resting on her forehead, soft eyes and a gentle grin rendered in delicate pencil-style line art.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
We've also partnered with @trueref.bsky.social to provide the bootcamp with quality reference material that is always free of retouching, and never AI-generated. You're a busy artist with limited time. We know it's important to spend less time scrolling for refs and more time drawing.
Multiple poses of a glamorous femme fatale in a black corset dress—central figure aims a handgun at the viewer while surrounding versions smoke, hold guns, and lounge, evoking danger and cinematic noir.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
This bootcamp is beginner friendly and for tired artists who are trying to improve their drawing skills with limited time. Don't wait till the new year to finally commit to learning to draw portraits! 💛 👉 bit.ly/sylportrait
Two pencil portrait sketches of women side by side: a forward-facing woman with long, loose wavy hair and a soft smile; and a three-quarter‑view woman with curled hair pulled back by a headband, showing a sharper, contemplative expression.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
My portrait bootcamp is for you if you: - Spend too much time thinking about drawing rather than actually drawing - Don't know what to study - Get overwhelmed by all there is to learn - Struggle to balance art with other responsibilities - Thrive with accountability 👇
Promotional poster for an 8-week guided portrait-drawing bootcamp for busy schedules, layered over a loose pencil sketch of a woman’s face; headline reads "Master portrait drawing on a busy schedule" with caption "No more overthinking your creative goals" and a short signup link.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Make a mess with your art and let the world see it without shame.
Sketchbook page of multiple pencil head studies—mostly women and one older man—exploring different angles, hairstyles, and expressions, with a graphite pencil resting along the left edge.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Pencil sketchbook page showing loose graphite head-and-shoulder studies of several female faces in different angles and expressions, with a sharpened black pencil resting along the right edge.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
🧵 My advice for getting yourself into drawing again:
Two-page sketchbook spread of loose pen portrait studies and eye close-ups featuring varied female faces, expressions, hairstyles and rose doodles, suggesting character practice and gesture exploration.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Sometimes the paint just looks like you could eat it
Small oil painting on an easel showing three glossy red strawberries atop whipped cream rendered in thick, expressive brushstrokes, photographed in a studio setting with a wooden easel, paint-splattered shelf, and houseplant leaves visible at the edges.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Today's to-do list: ✅️ Order breakfast ✅️ Paint breakfast ✅️ Eat breakfast
Artist workspace with a glass palette holding dozens of mixed oil paint dabs beside a tiny still-life canvas on a wooden easel, red-handled brushes leaning at the edge and a metal jar for brushes in the foreground.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Even if you don't feel like drawing today (because you're putting massive expectations on yourself to be good), know that scribbling still counts.
Loose black ink sketchbook page of multiple gestural head studies. Mostly young women with varied hairstyles, expressions, and angles, exploring facial features and poses.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Somehow painted apples look more delicious than real apples
Close-up oil painting of ripe red apples in a white ceramic bowl, bold brushstrokes and warm highlights emphasizing round forms and rich reds against a dark background.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I immortalized last night's oysters in oil
Thick oil painting on a small rectangular canvas depicting stylized oysters and a lemon, displaying energetic brushstrokes against a warm red‑brown background on a wooden work surface.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Don't think too hard when warming up before drawing. Just get the pen moving.
Sheet of paper covered in rows of small black-ink abstract doodles and textured thumbnail sketches, showing varied line patterns and scribbles used as drawing studies, resting on a light-colored desk. Artist is emphasizing the importance of just getting the pen moving rather than overthinking the warm up.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Classic negroni 🧊 Oil, 8x10in on canvas board
Painted still-life of a classic negroni. A short glass with swirling red, orange and yellow reflections on a dark canvas, shown beside a paper palette of thick paint swatches on a wood tabletop.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
I don’t draw something just once and endlessly try to perfect it. I draw it many times, messily, to let myself discover which version I like best. Then I refine one version later. Less tension, less expectations, more drawing.
Multiple expressive ink head studies of a woman tilting her face upward, drawn in flowing continuous lines across a sketchbook page to explore poses and hair movement.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Drawing horny magical ladies until y'all believe you're also magical
Profile portrait of a serene horned fantasy character with half closed eyes, patterned facial markings and a pointed ear, wearing wavy hair and a round dangling earring rendered in a soft grayscale sketch.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Innocent or evil?
Stylized pencil portrait of a young woman with short wavy hair and small horns, glancing over her shoulder with tear-like highlights and rounded cheek blushes, rendered in soft grayscale to convey quiet melancholy.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Profile portrait of a horned, elf-like figure with short bangs, curved ridged horns, pointed ear, and bold dark facial and neck markings in a grayscale sketch, wearing a spiked collar and gazing left.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Horned female fantasy character gazing over her shoulder with flowing hair, pointed ears, a subtle confident smile, beauty marks and soft grayscale shading conveying a stylized portrait.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Soft on the outside but dangerous on the inside 🌹
Stylized black and white portrait of a calm, elf-like woman in profile with large curved ram horns, short wavy hair, roses tucked behind her ear, a long earring, and soft shading.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Scorpion, trained assassin 🦂 Ko-fi sketch for Ben
Three-quarter view digital sketch of a stoic young woman known as Scorpion, with braided hair pulled back, pronounced cheekbones and full lips, wearing a high collar — a character portrait commission.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
3 days left to enroll!
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Círo sketch for Nico✨
A portrait sketch of a Tav from BG3 named Círo. He has pointed ears, a loosely pulled bun and brains on the side of his hairstyle. He's also smirking, looking away from the viewer.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
10 days to enroll in my live portrait bootcamp!!
A black and white portrait sketch of an elven woman in the style of Sylessae. It's an example of what a student might learn from her portrait drawing bootcamp.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Sketchbook meadow 🌸
A sketchbook page covered in abstract flowers drawn in blue ink. Some of the flowers are drawn in a small thumbnail in the corner of the page. At the bottom of the page is a black Lamy pen.
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Enrollment is open until July 31st 2026 and limited to only 30 students. Snag your spot before it fills. 👉 bit.ly/sylportrait
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Sylessae @sylessae.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
We've also partnered with @trueref.bsky.social to provide the bootcamp with quality reference material that is always free of retouching, and never AI-generated. You're a busy artist with limited time; spend less time scrolling for refs and more time drawing.
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