hey man cheer up! this painting is awesome. i can totally see the angst and melancholy in the raw brush strokes, and in the expression the poor guy has on his face. i think you may have more talent than you realize.

Nice to see you back. Hope you feel better though.

I like the toony anime look on this one and like sanji said, the anger and frustration you are feeling spelled out clearly in your art.

However for a more realistic look if you wish to go for that, you might want to break out your photo refs. I am working hard currently to bring more realism in my pieces and one of the things that Artspots/Jaxpad pointed out was that my anatomical placement of facial features was off compared to skeletal views. One of the things I was told is that I should draw fro models, life (ie, the zoo when I can afford it), photos of skulls and get to know the muscles. It will help flesh out the drawing. It is infuriating though.Another thing that was pointed out was that my comprehension of perspective is off, so I have been working with trying to bring my two dimensional characters into a more 3D realistic perspective by using my lines and library books for help. There is no point in giving up on improvement. We just have to move on and work at it, as much as some days we want to rip pages out of our sketchbooks and burn them in the fire. Just a few tips.

Good luck. I really don't want to see you give up, rather this just be an angsty comment in your life. You have serious potential. Just tapping into it is always difficult, but that is true of most serious artists.

True. I'm frustrated about loosing my ability to draw. Up to the point of not caring about making a good drawing anymore (I mean - look at this! no anatomy, no proportions, no colors, no composition, no anything. I can't plan a picture worth crap.).

I should spend more time on studies, it's always at the back of my head, but i have my hands full of everything: reading tons (aesthetics, history, genetics, occult, on drawing, on painting, on art history, on photography, on music), trying to learn to play a violin, moderating three forums, administrating/re-planning a nearly dead one, trying to come up with an inteligent mmorpg concept (conceptart included) and doing freelance 3d (I hate product visualisations for ads), not to mention all the works i promised people (one sculpture that has to be awesome, 300 drawings for another person, 5 coloring works for different people, one 3d model and the free commission list i said i'll complete sooner or later). I feel like a squid being torn apart - very frustrating. New year put the last straw - drunk fests with shitloads of people - i can bare people's company for no more than 2 hours, but there i was forcing a cheerful smile and drinking stuff that makes one act like an idiot and feel like rubbish the next morning for 3 days in a row... Total waste of time. Now I'm one lump of hatered/indifference towards everything.

I'm an idiot.

Sorry, I had to vent.

You're not losing your ability to draw. We all go through phases like this, I wouldn't worry about it.

I would say if there's a book to read it's Art & Fear.

http://painting.about.com/od/produc.....t_and_Fear.htm

”You learn how to make your work by making your work … art you care about -- and lots of it!” Art and Fear, page 6.

”What separates artists from ex-artists is that those who challenge their fears continue; those who don’t, quit.” Art and Fear, page 14.

”Most artists don’t daydream about making great art --- they daydream about having made great art.” Art and Fear, page 17.

”The artist’s life is frustrating not because the passage isslow, but because he imagines it to be fast.” Art and Fear, page 17.

The book reminds me of things that I often encounter, especially that first sentence. You learn how to make your work by making work. XD So true. Gotta let the failures come out whether we like it or not.

Great quotes! :]

I'm convinced I have to get the book... This fear/anxiety/frustration thing happens much too often.

Thanks!

*sigh*... now anime look... how did it creep into my work?.. i thought i did my best for this not to happen. =/
The picture hates me back by looking anime'ish. How ironic - karma at work, I guess.

Thats the thing your free commissions really don't have to be completed all that soon. I at least understand that art takes time. You might want to take a little break. I know that sometimes when I can't get a concept to work, I take a break, walk away for a few hours, and come back later, then it works a whole lot better. However as far as the forums, is there any way the other moderators can help you out a little, a day even?

Studies can be done a number of ways, simply by having your refs available. In my case I have decided the muscle studies will become "Necropsies" because I like the undead and completely morbid. They will also become painting practice because I am working with color theory and mood. You don't have to make your studies boring science book illustrations. And simply by sketching you are studying a concept. I can't really help you figure a way to do your list, however the best time to do it is when the inspiration hits. Which it will. Probably at 2 am in the morning, or another inconvenient time but it will (at least that is when my muse greets me, and I have found now that I am not awake then it happens randomly in dreams). I can't really say cheer up, considering you are under a crapload of stress, but I know doing art for yourself can help out with it.

As far as the anime look I am pretty sure it has to do with the minimalistic lines indicating facial features, fur- and the shape of the muzzle. They seem to go for the streamlined rigid muzzle rather than the relaxed curvy realistic one in anime. Unfortunately the best way to avoid anime or comic book style work is to practice anatomy, as toon animation of any kind simplifies and exaggerates the elements of anatomy that the animator likes best.

The Japanese over-exaggerate the rigidness of the human or animal body, going for bold moves and pointed figures, while a lot of American animation (though not of as late due to the anime craze) goes for exaggerating the curves of the body, and depending on the characters' state (old, young, their job, their emotion) makes them slump or flow to amplify that look. Such as a hunched over rickety old man, or big sad solemn eyes.

And you're not an idiot, you are just dealing with stress.

I'm mostly stuck with all this work. Not much chances to get rid of it, only do it and whine about it. :]

Yes, by studies i ment all the things that lead to visual vocabulary improvement - sketches, gesture grawings, compositional experiments, photo copies, master copies, etc... They're important to any artist, that's why i feel bad about not doing them.

Now I understand what you ment concerning anime looks. I really should kick myself into using more curves... So far it's nearly exclusively straights... that's not good. Then again, i'm affraid of gravitating towards disneyish style. I'll put more anatomy studies into the list.

Thanks!

Anatomy is definitely the way to go however exaggerating things the way you want to, will lead to your own style.

As far as studies go, what I was trying to say is that you can always make studies something you want them to be. You can get creative with them, and maybe some of them will go for something, hence adding my example with the "necropsies" which will start as simple musculature studies.

Though I have recently found out that drawing an animal's skull first from photo-refs does not help me draw the animal's head any better than I already do. In my case it is time to go out and draw the zoo animals, something I can't currently afford. It was told tome that photos can lie about something's real shape, something I am beginning to believe is true.

A couple artist resources

http://www.jaxpad.com/forum This site is geared to helping artist improve. You need a Jaxpad account however. You can apply for Artspots, their sister site, however they only accept artists who have a good understanding of anatomy, composition, perspective and lighting. Both sites use the same forum.

http://www.artspots.com/library Their library is a great source for lists of books recommended for artists you may be able to get at a library of you can't buy them, though I am not sure if your country has free libraries or not. However I find "The Art of Animal Drawing: Construction, Action Analysis, Caricature" only meagerly helpful.

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user.....donsartacademy In my opinion, this guy makes drawing the human form more understandable than any art teacher I ever had. Watch from his oldest to newest videos.

http://placidchaos.com/AM/index.php...../andrew_loomis free PDF books about the human form.

http://www.posemaniacs.com/blog/ Has a random pose generator, but probably just about as helpful as photographs or science illustrations.

Studying from photos is evil. I only copy the color ones so i got a better idea of how values/light (and colors, to certain extent) act in real life - makes for good warmups.

I've done some animal sketching in zoos, and I have to say that without studying anatomy books beforehand, it wouldn't have been usefull. I still regret not studying the books some more, because when i wen't sketching, in certain cases i had no idea what i was drawing - the muscles didn't seem to make sense. Copying without understanding is useless. Sometimes i preffer to draw the skull when i'm having a hard time drawing a head of an animal - it does help me.

Many thanks for the links! I have or have read some of the books at that jaxpad link - very good list. The sheldonsartacademy reminds me of this guy: http://the-structure-of-man.blogspot.com/
(how in hell did you manage to not include http://www.conceptart.org/forums/ in that list? =P)
(I do have doubts about the pose generator thing... I came around it some time ago. It's not reliable. Muscles aren't painted on top of a mesh like that. And bones have alot more influence in what one sees. Both photos and scientiffic illos have more to teach.)

Not surprised about the pose generator. I never used it :P

Concept art was just shown to me from someone on Artspots.

IMO there is a difference between studying from photos and copying. I never copy unless I have to and I never call it my own work if I do, because it is not.

Sadly I don't have access to anatomy books and the library as good as it is, does not have an illustrated guide to animal anatomy. For a US citizen I am poor, considering I can't shell out a few bucks for an anatomy book. I will be looking for a good human anatomy book the next time I go to the library.

I think we all have times like that...and yes, they are EXTREMELY frustrating, but you'll get through this! It certainly sounds like you're stressing yourself out with all the work you're taking on...sometimes a break is a good thing. Don't forget to draw for yourself and kick back without having to think about anatomy, composition, proportion and the like. I know a i need a good sketch jam here and there, because I often stress out about those things in major pieces, but know I don't have to in sketch work.

Hang in there! Personally, I think this piece is great! Your style is so very painterly, loose, and yet clear. I WISH I could creat something with blocks of color like you have! I tend to be a detail whore and worry too much about the little things and not the BIG picture...*cough* I love the palette you chose, too! Mainly primaries...it stands out! Just don't kick yourself too hard, you're too talented to give up. ;)

Yes, this was such an attempt at kicking back... The result of not-thinking is usually horrid. :]

Thanks!

You seriously do alot, I don't know what to say, but hopefully thing will be clear again.

Yeah, sooner or later. It's temporary. I'll stop whining about it. :]

I'm sorry your abilities are frustrating you right now. I go through that all the time. Constantly, in fact, and so know what you mean. To start off, I do like this as a sketch. It's quick, has a lot of energy, contrast, texture. There are a couple of things that bug me, but I don't think it's really worth getting into as this is a sketch. It is nice to see your work. Berbalang and I were talking about you on the phone the other day, both of the same impression, that you're one of the few interesting people on FA, someone not satisfied with doing the same thing, and that you obviously had a good sense of color and CAN draw. And you're what, 12? (Well, to us old guys, you're 12!!). I can't really help with personal problems, or what's frustrating about your work, but know that others see the skill and worth in it.

Secondly, as someone who used to spread himself rather thin, let me say that it's nearly always better to focus on one or two things. It sounds to me in some of the comments that you're trying to do a hell of a lot at once and are frustrated with things that aren't making the grade. Focus makes a huge difference. I don't know your situation, but I might suggest that you weed out the things, for now, that you don't think will be a serious part of your life later on. Do you plan to be a musician or a visual artist? If the latter, worry about the violin another time. And the MMORPG? Is that for pay? Is it something that will move you in a career direction or is it just something you'd like to do? Some of this may be for class and therefore unavoidable, but if you can, cut some of this stuff out, even the commissions or offered pictures with deep apologies. People will understand.

Lastly, I'm just some voice from the internet. Take all this with a grain of salt.

Best, dood.

Yes, after going so whine-whine and emo about this frustration thing, I really think my brain is 12. :] I'll growup and learn to get along with frustration - as you said, it's constant, so - no place to run from it anyhow. Can't fight it - befriend it.

I'm really touched that you and Berbalang think so high of me and my abilities. (You're who I look up to.)
[I guess I haven't posted enought works to prove just how repetitious my oeuvre is. I have yet to decide what frustrates me more - lack of quality or repetitiveness. :]

Yes, you guessed right - I'm not happy with things that don't turn out well.
I mostly take up varied tasks so that I'd have more experiences to learn from when thinking up ideas, but now it's gone too far - it has become a burden and I don't learn as much. You're right, focusing more is the right solution. I'll try cleaning up...
(The mmo is potentially a paid gig - indy game developement; if we can come up with an idea that works, we'll get to work. To hell with the violin, though.)

Many thanks for the eye-opener!

Your style has thus far not seemed to be repetitive, and I am sure most artists think their stuff lacks quality.

Check out some of your older sketches, even just about a year older, and you will see the improvement you have already made. I recently had to get out an older sketchbook (6mth to a year ago no less) that has a few, and sadly only a few blank or blank-ish pages for me to use (I has no new sketchbook ) and I was amazed and shocked at how crappy the work looked compared to my recent stuff.

I'm stuck in my "style". That's what I don't like about my works. They're repetitive, just wait and see. :]

That's a bit of a problem... When i look at older works, I like them more than the stuff I make now (compare this one with an older work of mine, or a less old work of mine. Nowadays my works (all of them, not just this one) are too chaotic/complex - i get boggled down in textures and brushstrokes and they overpower the entire picture. I'll need to learn to use them more subtly. This apparent regress of quality over flashy stuff like strokes and textures makes me anxious.
It's "change", but not necessarily "improvement".

Actually I disagree. The trade you did of Nox is fuzzy at best. Cute but fuzzy and there isn't much to hold your attention. The best work here is the glasses (of blood?) which look more solid and real. Your goat is really nice but the background is bland and gray, making the image more boring. Honestly your use of color is what helps your images pop. Now learning how to use brush strokes subtly is indeed a great challenge but once you learn that, your images will take on a really high quality. Unfortunately considering I don't know squat about digital coloring compared to you (You can check my scraps) I can't really suggest anything. As it is you have improved and you are making more improvement.

As I said, I don't know that I'm right at all, but I've done some of the same things as you have over the years and found that I was at my best when focusing on one project. The comic lasted two and a half years and I'd like to think that I progressed in a number of areas by doing it; color theory, design and layout. I still had time for side projects here and there, some painting, some prints, but setting that weekly deadline and making sure it was something in my grasp worked for me. Also, the more big projects you have, the less time you can devote to any of them, so the less good you can make them.

Sorry about the '12' comment. It was meant more to reflect MY age than yours. Berb and I were really quite astonished to see talent like yours at a younger age, that's all. I, personally, am jealous. :"D

Something else I've found is that just living causes one to soak up ideas that eventually show up in art. Exposing yourself to new art, movies, music, whatever will help open new pathways of thought. Hell, even trying new kinds of food can do that. I've also found that a lot of folks in the animation industry have blogs. I check them often and find a lot of inspiration there. If you like, I can provide some links.

Best of luck with the mmo! Paying gigs are the best ones (or so I hear). If you can make it work, there's a good career right there.

Noone is right, but some are more right than others. Your advice sounds very right to me. Even if it somehow fails to solve my problem, it'll teach much. :]

In a way, I think everyone here is 12 - we're still drawing cute colorful animals. =P
Talent is nothing... Even if i have some of it, it won't get me anywhere without a brain and loads of persistence. It's rather weird - over the last two years i've met many people who are extremely talented, but have no pleasure of drawing and end up being programmers and math teachers. It's a very depressing experience, when a person with no interest in art draws better than me, having put lots of effort into learning to do it. Or when a very talented friend decides he's had enought of art and quits it over painting interior walls with uniform colour for a living... =/

Yes, life is the ultimate inspiration. (but man, i so suck at it...)
Yup, I check some animation blogs too. Some are extremely usefu. My favs:
http://sevencamels.blogspot.com/ (amazing info on drawing/composition/animation, etc. this one has opened more eyes for me than i thought i had)
http://characterdesign.blogspot.com/ (lots of those designers are animators)
http://splinedoctors.blogspot.com/ (it has to do with 3d animation most... but very enlightening material on things i've never noticed)
http://www.williereal.blogspot.com/ (I love his stuff)
http://uncleeddiestheorycorner.blogspot.com/ (entertaining, used to be better)
http://bsschallenge.blogspot.com/ (blue sky has talent)

Great style, I love the textures. Makes subject matter as boring and overdone as a wolf's face really fresh and interesting :]