what are the best revelations or milestones you hit relating to art?
something that came to me today (which might be obvious to most people) was that the more you draw something you avoided because you are bad at it, the more fun it gets. (inb4 and water is wet)
i had been almost completely avoiding drawing figures, and only focusing on faces until around august. since then i've been progressively working on figures more and more until i'm now getting inspired by other artists figures and proportions.
it's really made me realise how much staying in the cumfart zone fucked me over (at least i can draw a decent enough head
It was really surprising to me how a lot of the workings of color could be simplified to some broad rules, like how saturation changes with value, etc
Also as a personal one, for soem reason I started out using a ridiculously small (digital) canvas and it was a huge revelation to figure out I could make things look a lot better with a better size
>>2327662
realizing how garbage I was, so I got off my high horse and started putting some work in
My biggest milestone was getting off /ic/ and actually doing art. Second biggest thing though was realizing that no matter how much I think I know how to do something, if I can't do it from imagination then I don't really understand it.
Ditching color for a bit and working just in value was a goddamn miracle for me understanding the influence of light on making something appear to have form.
Many revelations, I use google keep to write them down every time I'm studying or high on shrooms (this gives the best revelations but they're usually more philosophical and deep).
>How can I regain my inspiration and imagination? How can I fight against depression to be more productive? Anyone else feels the same way?
Give yourself assignments. Rather than thinking "ugh gotta do these boring studies" instead say "okay I need to do an illustration for X story by Y date." Then you can practice things specific to that piece, maybe you need to research I dunno, flowers. So you practice drawing a bunch of flowers. And then you apply that knowledge into thumbnails and sketches for the illustration. Then you find your values are a bit off so you will do some studies of images with similar value structures to what you want. Then you can paint your illustration out. With this type of approach you will apply the studies, you will create original pieces, and you will have more motivation.
Its different for everybody so these are just some ideas.
pick up a hobby on the side, try out a new tool, draw and learn things you have never drawn ? Still lives are always good aswell.
My best revelation was a shift in how I looked at art. Before, I would wait for inspiration then try really hard to get it to look nice. If it wasn't going well, I'd get really frustrated/depressed/upset and give up. Happened 90% of the time.
Woke up many years later, flipping through my sketchbooks. They were so bare, so much empty paper. The pages weren't wasted because I drew on them with shitty sketches, but because there were so empty, so UNUSED. And it hit me, 'if I had just drawn one thing, even a shitty little doodle, just ONE thing a week, I'd be miles ahead of where I am now.' I realized every little sketch counts in the bigger scheme of things.
I try not to worry about how good I am now. I focus on enjoying the process, on just DOING something. I'll always think I'm shit. I'll always feel like I can do better. I'll never reach my full potential because it will always be just out of reach. It's not about making great art, about being an amazing artist. It's about learning how to make art, and it never ends. If I don't love learning how to make it, I can't make it into a career.
I'm not aiming to be a pro artist. I want to be a visual storyteller. The reason I draw now is so I can make artwork for my comics that's good enough not to detract from the story. Sounds odd, but treating art as a tool, a means to an end, actually works well for me.
>>2327814
i know you're not trying to be pro, but only drawing one thing a week will not get you anywhere. i'd suggest moving it to one drawing a day. it's really not that hard.
but it's good that you got over having expectations for what you draw
>>2327814
Beautiful post, but everyone here should draw every day not once a week!
>>2327673
>My biggest milestone was getting off /ic/
So your biggest milestone is something you are going to do in the future?
Getting a few reams of huge, cheap manila paper and filling the pages with as many sharpie drawings as possible taught me line confidence and how to properly think ahead and visualize what I'm about to put down.
It also taught me how to properly approach a failed drawing. I had so many awful ones that I stopped dwelling on the fact I failed (thinking to myself "the legs look wrong and terrible," "i've drawn fifty heads and they all look misshapen baww," etc.) and just started concentrating on how to do it better next time ("the circle has a bulge that needs to be brought in," "my lines are messy so I should slow down," "the legs should be longer and flatter," etc.) Admittedly Vilppu's gesture drawing lectures also helped with that.
Now art is lot more relaxing and fun. There's not an agitation to get the perfect end product that makes me rush my drawings anymore -- I can enjoy the process of feeling the flow and rhythm in the drawing. It's much more meditative.
Pic related is my work, I have a far way to go but I'm improving.
>>2327901
Firstly, you're wrong. /ic/ really believes it, but trust me. Improvement will happen, you WILL get somewhere. You just won't improve very quickly. That's part of the realization I had, actually. Years ago, I gave up because I felt like 'I can't do it as much as I need to'. Bullshit. You don't have to do something every day to improve at it. To master it before you die? Probably. But that's not my goal, and it's probably not a wise goal for most artists. The real masters/future-masters don't need to be taught that. They are so passionate about their craft that they're compelled to work daily. That's why they're rare.
Secondly, I'm not drawing once a week. The realization was that even drawing that infrequently is better then not doing it at all. Art is a type of self-improvement, and self-improvement isn't 'do X amount or you're wasting your time'. Every step is a step forward.
I messed up and pushed myself to draw every day in April. Over an hour worth of pure drawing every single day (usually ended up taking ~2 hours of my day, including breaks, etc). I burned out because I took too big of a jump into the philosophy that you 'need to draw X amount a day'. Next 2 months, I only drew once, and it was on-par with my pre-April shit. I don't think I wasted my time, but I really saw how sustainability is king.
Drawing once a week for 2 years is better then once a day for 2 months. You retain, adapt, and learn more by keeping it up over longer periods of time. Gives you time to grow alongside your craft, gives you time to think about things, etc. It becomes a habit, rather then a project. Just like losing weight. You have a better shot at success if you change your habits and thought patterns slowly, then if you try to loose X amount by a certain date. If you need to do less each day to make it a life-long habit, it's worth it. Starting small makes it easier to go big.
Hope that made sense.
>>2327901
thanks m8
>>2328167
This is a realisation I had this year aswell. Made me able to create habits by starting small and building them up over time.
>>2328167
>I will now jump from doing something rarely to doing it a lot every day
>It was terrible, I am a fucking genius for figuring this out
Seriously, which adult has not made this realisation already? You start up slow and build over time. Of course you fucked up if you go from drawing once a week to drawing 2 hours a day. You go from once a week to 15-30 minutes a day. Then after a month, you up it to 30-60. Another month, 60-90. Another month, 90-120. Once past that month, grats, you are now comfortable drawing 2 hours a day.
HURR SUCH DIFFICULTY
>>2328182
It really improves your chances of success. The binge-burnout cycle is brutal. People really beat themselves up over not doing 'enough', about being too lazy and weak-willed, which ends up making the cycle even more intense. Grew up watching it, and I have the same tendency. I struggle with it, but it's a process that takes time. I'm doing better, and that's what matters.
I think it's hard for younger artists to see that. A year feels much longer when you're a teenager then it does when you're pushing 30. You don't appreciate the slow-and-steady approach as much. And with less experience, it's hard to see how those cycles effect you.
>>2328167
i never said you have to jump up to doing it every day straight away, but once a week is a disgustingly little amount.
>Drawing once a week for 2 years is better then once a day for 2 months
such fucking bullshit
if you understood anything about how a person improves in art, it's primarily through repetition to retain knowledge. part of what your saying makes me believe you haven't really looked into the fundamentals, because to get to a decent state with them would take probably over 10 years at the pace you're going now. you're really underestimating how important repetition is. theres a reason people say 10,000 hours until mastery.
not saying you should be doing what i do, but i've been drawing for a minimum of 6 hours every day for the past 3 months and the recent progress i've been making proves to myself that it works.
if you don't want to be pro, that's fine but don't expect to get good for a LONG time. time is precious and make sure you don't regret not working harder because you believed that false bullshit
https://youtu.be/P-SqvtoRgsI?t=2m10s
Doom 3 is what taught me how to properly control lighting. Thinking of every piece like a normal mapped figure with stencil shaders for the shadows really clicked for me.
>>2328197
Assumptions anon. The revelation I'm sharing hit me about 2 years ago. With the new perspective, I gave myself a very flexible project, where the goal was basically 'finish a comic page'. Hard to explain how I treated it, but either way, I finished 60+ pages. Shit quality, but done. And I'm a better artist for it.
I had been drawing about 3 times a week up until April. I decided to try /ic/'s advice and draw in my sketchbook every day. The limit I set was low (could be a shit 30 sec doodle, it was ok), so I started doing 30-min of figure drawings as well, all on top of what I was already doing. I lost sight of the slow-and-steady and over-estimated my abilities. Pushed myself too hard. It's a good example.
You miss opportunities to learn and grow when you simplify what people say and pass judgement on them. Your 'best revelation' won't be the same as mine, but that doesn't make mine invalid. We're different people with different problems. If you take time to understand how someone else sees things, you might find insight on a problem you're having. Just like drawing a car can help you draw humans better. study life, don't just draw it.
>>2328026
>Pushed yourself to draw
>2 hours a day including "breaks"
Even the most casual of hobbyists draw more driven on passion alone
I hope you started drawing this year, or you really need to raise your expectations. You're not even walking at this point(let alone running) you're fucking crawling on the floor
>>2328212
I think I was fortunate that my comfort area was in the region of an hour or two a day (though I skip days). The main difficulty for me is starting, but once I start I generally don't burn out on it too fast.
But yeah it isn't healthy to try and binge on it. Whenever I see people hype themselves up on art and go "I want to get good in 6 months so I'm going to draw 10 hours a day I even made an elaborate schedule." I know that one in a thousand people actually pull that off, maybe less. It's just too much of a lifestyle change, and 10 hours a day of being a beginner artist is fucking miserable, at least for me art wasn't fun for fucking months because nothing I drew was how I wanted it.
As for a revelation of mine - for digital artists in particular, getting the hang of 'carving off' parts you don't want will save you a lot of time. You can slap it down as roughly as you want to start, do a blobbly mess and treat it like you're a scuptor. It helped me be able to start slapping values down without worrying about line drawing your subject on a blank canvas.
>>2328288
I didn't imply that you said that. You claimed you can't get anywhere drawing once a week, and that's just not true. That's what I'm trying to explain. You seem to be misunderstanding me.
I've seen that video. Really insightful, great advice, but keep in mind that he's giving advice to his past self based on his experiences and goals. And you're right. You wanna go pro, you gotta put in a ton of hours to get there. That doesn't mean you need to do it every day. The only time limit we have is health and death. 3+ hours daily is optimal, but not required. Keep in mind, pro =/= mastery. Some pros are masters, some aren't. You don't need 10k to be a pro. And I agree with you about repetition. In fact, that's what I'm arguing for. Repetition = sustainability, and it's more powerful then short-lived bursts. Repetition requires a change in your habits, and the best way to do that is in small doses. You have to learn to appreciate the power of small choices. It's not all or nothing, you don't need to do it X amount daily to improve. That's what I realized m8. Every time you do it, it's a success.
He actually says that too. 'Whatever you're doing, you get better at it. If you procrastinate, you get better at procrastinating. If you draw, you get better at drawing'. There's no need to attack my skills. The important thing is to make it a part of your daily life. To do that, you have to make it a habit. Habits are easier to make it you start slow. If you can keep up 6 hours daily, that's seriously awesome. I can't imagine how much progress you've made, grats man. But don't try to make it sound like once a week does nothing.
Small changes grease the wheels for more. Big changes can cause anxiety. /ic/ focuses too much on '4+ or bust', which is the wrong attitude to have.
>>2328769
>provides no content
>just shits on someone
s-showed him, a-anon! H-ha!
>>2328769
>>2328288
>/ic/ is so fucking catty
>>2328769
I'm guessing you meant this for >>2328167
Ya, breaks. I'd work in 15min bursts and take 5 min breaks. After 3 of those, I'd take 15 min off to walk around etc. 2 hours of my time ends up being about 90min actually drawing (aka "Over an hour") and 35min for breaks. Sometimes I might take ~10 min hunting for more refs, and sometimes I would take good long looks studying what I was trying to draw (so technically not drawing). Occasionally I would extend one of the 5 min breaks to 10 if I needed it. I'm not going to lie about it and try to make it sound like I always drew 90-120 min when I didn't.
Pomodoro technique. Works quite well for me, and I was building up to the 20min they recommended. Had started with 10. And m8, I am a casual. Like most of /ic/. I think you need to meet more artists. Most casuals draw a couple hours a couple times a week, usually weekends. They certainly don't do it daily. A daily regimen is a very different beast then weekly.
>>2329434
that's not being catty.
>stop greentexting
>mfw reading this thread
All of this is just common sense or could be easily learned from books from the sticky, of course if any of you actually read the sticky or the books in it.
>mfw "revelations"
>>2329455
no need to talk down to people. I know I'm going to die and it's obvious, but that doesn't make it easy to understand. Share your best one m8, you might help someone out.
>>2329436
>I'd work in 15min bursts and take 5 min breaks
Those are pretty short bursts for practically any activity that isn't really intensive, anon. Not trying to shit on you not spending much time daily, but most people have an attention span of at least 30 minutes even for activities they don't enjoy.
>>2327671
das et mayne
Grinding works, and it gets easier. Early on make sure capital "D" drawing is distinct from practice. Throwaways are a necessary part of learning. Don't be terrified of fucking up and starting over. Quantity is so important.
>>2329507
yep, that's the idea. Short bursts are easy to start, and once started, it's easier to keep going. Start easy, then increase difficulty slowly. I had gotten to the point where I used a 25/5 split while working on the comic (fun, less stress, a lot of passion, so although I had to push sometimes, it wasn't difficult). When I started doing daily studies in April, I had a hard time doing the full 25 for them, so to keep it going, I used a lower time to help it stick. Worked for about a month. The problem was, I'd taken too big of a step and tried to do too much without getting that daily routine in place first. I should have known better, but I had gotten over-confident and assumed going from ~3-4 a week to daily wouldn't be that challenging. The crash was hard and then we moved July-Oct. I've been bringing myself back into the swing of things since, giving myself tiny side projects to get things flowing again. For the last week I've been working on getting 15min a day to stick. It's my only 'homework', the only art-thing I expect of myself right now. I'll do the occasional study, tiny project, or drawing for fun on top of it, but I don't push myself to do anything more then the 15. If I do that, it's a good day. I'll be uping that minimum to 20 around the new year. My hope is by June I'll be habitually, and 'easily' doing 1hour min a day. I'm really looking forward to it.
>>2328769
Bitch
