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improving [rant]
16 years ago
General
[EDIT]
Sorry about that, I'm feeling much better! Thanks so much for your nice words, and advice!
I'm going to try and relax and not be so critical.
Sorry about that, I'm feeling much better! Thanks so much for your nice words, and advice!
I'm going to try and relax and not be so critical.
*unwatch*
quantity over quality
just draw and dont even THINK of what it is, dont worry abuot detail just gogo
GO NOW
Do it all on lined paper, that way you know it's only for your own amusment!
And if you actually DO come up with something that you really like, then well, what's wrong with tracing your own work?
And yeah, I've done something like that before, where I came up with something that I screwed up on, so I traced over it and did it better.
Thanks!
Anyway, You're way too hard on yourself. You can have quality or you can have speed. Rarely can you have both. If you want speed, go to McDonalds. If you want quality, go to Morton's Steakhouse where you'll have to wait an hour and a half for your food... but it'll be worth the wait!!! :) Same with your art. Take your time and be proud of it!
I love you, babe!
SCUBA needed.
ARTISTIC SCUBA.
I think Ritts is on to something.
And everyone I've ever talked to who makes art gets frustrated sometimes. That's totally a part of the process, so I'd encourage you to try to forgive yourself for that -- getting frustrated about getting frustrated is kind of a vicious cycle. If you find yourself really frustrated with a piece, set it aside for a bit. Take a walk around the block, grab a snack, or have a little chat with someone. Or save that drawing for later and move on to a new one -- sometimes it takes four or five dead ends before you get into a groove on a piece.
Do you draw exclusively from imagination? I find that my work from imagination tends to plateau in terms of quality for a while, then I'll have some breakthrough and improve, then plateau again. Drawing from observation can be a great way to encourage those breakthroughs. It's not really fair to expect yourself to spontaneously develop accurate knowledge of form or anatomy or light with no real data to work from -- ask friends to model for you, or sit in a coffee house and sneak gesture drawings of other patrons in a little sketchbook, etc.
Another thing that usually encourages growth for me is studying other artists' work. What sort of art do you like (aside from the furry kind, haha)? That's not to say that there aren't people here we can learn from, but it's not quite the same pool of knowledge as the centuries upon centuries of masters out there in the non-furry world <3
Myself, I'm really into early-to-mid 20th-Century American illustrators, so I've spent a lot of time looking at folks like JC Leyendecker and NC Wyeth and Dean Cornwell and Norman Rockwell and McClelland Barclay. They've had a huge influence on my composition, subject matter, anatomy, characterization, color, brush stroke, etc. Any time I'm feeling stagnant or boring, I'll go digging for great art from other people and try to figure out what spark in their art is grabbing me and how I can try to recreate that in my own.
At the end of the day, though, you're always going to have your good days and your bad days -- learning to roll with the bad ones and not let it get in the way of doing more art and continuing to grow is as important a skill to cultivate as anything else in the artist's toolkit <3
I almost always draw from imagination, except when I'm drawing a figure, and usually I'll need to find some reference or look at myself in the mirror. I've been meaning to draw from life more often! And you're right, I can't just start where I am in terms of anatomy knowledge and be perfect right away...
I like a lot of art, but I guess the majority of the art I look at is on FA. I like a lot of cartoonist's stuff, like Bill Watterson, Walt Kelly, Tove Jansson, Windsor McCay...those are probably some of my favorites ever. I like graffiti art, strange and simple stuff.
Thanks a lot, man, it really helps!
Drawing from yourself in the mirror is awesome <3 And I need to draw more from life, too. I've started wrangling friends into posing for me, and it's been really nice!
And hell yes on Watterson, Kelly, and McCay. I've never really explored Jansson's work, but I do love the Moomins
Have you read much Eisner? I'd also really recommend Jillian Tamaki's comic work for beautiful, flowing inks -- she's an illustrator for the most part, but she's done a comic or two at this point, and it's really lovely stuff.
That is sooo awesome, thanks for showing me those links!
I've been doing it for years!
Draw in sketchbooks. That's what they're for and where experimenting should be.
I'll draw in your book again!
I'll draw you stuff toooooo
trying is for pussies
NEVER DO ANYTHING BECAUSE
SOMEONE WILL ALWAYS BE BETTER THAN YOU ANYWAY
(I'mma make you a soooooong now)
(WHAT WAS THIS JOURNAL ABOUT I TOOK A GUESS WAS I CLOSE)
ONWARD AND UPWARDS VOLN
Taking a critical view of your own technique is essential; but drawing for sheer pleasure is fundamental; everything else must follow from that.
As for learning and development: Walt Kelly was interviewed in 1969, when he was (I believe) 56 years old; and during that discussion, he went on and on about the need for technique and his constant drive to improve. Walt Kelly, at 56....
In short, we are never as perfect as we would hope to be, but we can be skilled enough to do what we need to do at the time. And for each moment, that level of skill can be sufficient... as long as we keep our eyes open, as long as we plan ahead for the moments to come.
My opinion. :)
Mark
Thanks very much, I want to try hard, but I should remember not to be too hard on myself, or it's not fun anymore. :p
Be hard on your work, not on yourself. :)