a tough choice about learning

#1

Hi guys,

My name is Ivan and I’m 27 years old from Italy. I am looking for someone that can give me some suggestion and help me to clear my mind.

Well…I studied and (when I’m lucky) work in 3D cg (lighting and rendering are my skills) and I do photography too, i love it. I think I love it more than cg. But what i always loved is drawing. I think that i lack in drawing skills and i want to learn, I want to change my path and start from the beginning with a pencil. And no digital suff, expancive equipments or great cg teams. Those are often limits for me. I would love to create great work and express myself with a pencil and some colors…with my hands, and without the obliged need of a digital support. it would be great to work in this way. When I see someone with high drawing skills I find it very fascinating…and reminds me of my childhood spent drawing day and night. I definitely miss it.

Is it possible in your opinion change the path of your life / career at the age of 27, next to 28, in a decent timing…trying to became an illustrator and work as an illustrator / artist. And…I’m quite poor, so…can I learn what I need from all the stuff that I find online…youtube and books without an in-depth drawing course-class?

I need to clarify my mind…i’m confused and bored about this situation. So i want to start to do something but first I hope to receive some suggestion from more experienced people. Or maybe know if anyone has done it! Just to understand if it’s not a waste of time. If you want you can have a look at my little website in my profile…just to understand my starting point. I’m not trying to publicize my self of course. But I think it’s clear from my words…quite desperate! :slight_smile:

Thank you

Iv :beer:

#2

Yes, it is possible, if you have discipline and tenacity. Too many people have aspirations they can’t fulfill because they lack the discipline and tenacity and give up as soon as they lose patience and start to get discouraged.

It’s possible go from a complete beginner to a professional artist in just a short few years (3 to 4 years is possible, but only if you work hard and work smart at the same time). Don’t waste time on ineffective learning/practicing methods, because you will end up spending many years trying to become a better artist but see very little improvement.

Yes, there are a lot of learning resources now available, but most people have no idea how to choose the right ones. There’s just as much misinformation and misguided approaches out there as there are good ones. It’s very important to choose the right resources to learn from, or you’ll again, end up wasting a lot of time and energy.

There are many artists who are self-taught, and many of them did it before there was the internet (I’m one example). I only started doing art seriously around age 14, and by age 18, I was already working full-time as a professional illustrator. So yes, it’s doable, but I worked my ass off and never got lazy.

You might want to take a look at the workshop I teach (linked below in my signature). It has helped hundreds of people already, and has one of the best long-term mentoring available.

#3

Thank you for your reply Lunatique.
I think you are right, discipline and tenacity are the most important things. And yes it’s not so easy to choose the right resources.

I just discover your workshop and seems really interesting. When is the next session? Hopefully soon. :slight_smile:

Reading the description I was intrigued by this: “This workshop was designed to lead frustrated artists out of the dark, regardless if they are professionals or beginners.” I feel like that… :shrug:

I think I’m a bit disoriented and confused so I’m often wasting time and energy in wrong stuff…maybe…

I’m going to ask you a favor. If you look at my website here what you think can be the topic that I need more treated in your ws? Can sound silly but i’m really curious about your insight.

If anyone can give me suggestion or just an opinion will be really welcome! :beer: I feel stuck I dont know where…maybe drawing can be the way out / solution…but a though effort.

#4

Did you sign up to be notified when the next run of the workshop starts enrolling? There’s a button on the workshop overview page that you can click to be notified. I also post in the official Q&A thread (linked below in my signature) too whenever a run is ready for enrollment. The next run should be around the end of July.

As for your work, what exactly are your aspirations? It’s kind of hard to tell from your site what your ultimate dream is as an artist. You said you want to become an illustrator, but that can mean a number of different things. For example, doing cartoony/stylized greeting card illustrations is very different from doing realistic illustrations for sci-fi/fantasy novel covers, and the latter would require much more advanced knowledge and skills as an artist. Do you know exactly what you want to do?

#5

Yes! I’m signed up for the notification. :slight_smile: Thank you. I Hope to find some work(=money :smiley: ) before the end of July so I can join, I’m really curious about your workshop. And I think that can help me.

Your last question is the proof. I can’t answer at that question. I don’t know. I really like a lot of visual stuff. I really love photography, design in general, art. Create. Trying to have good ideas and realize. How can i focus on something when I love so much stuff. And I love to work on different stuff but at the same time I want…NEED… to create a more accurate identity of myself. I can’t do everything. And now I want to learn illustration too because I think that if I became a good illustrator i can break a lot of limits that usually comes with cg, or photography…like expensive equipment / studio (about ph), or about cg…i think sometimes I’m bored to work only on details of a project and do the same stuff for years in front of a monitor and that my work is completely digital. No prints, no phisical things. Those are my concern about cg.

I’m stuck. It’s not good. I’m not a 18yo guy that is going to approach uni or work experience. I’m getting old! :slight_smile: :banghead:

I really don’t know what to do…

My aspiration? I want to be called because someone needs my visual expertise, maybe because want to publish one of my photo/illustration on a book cover/cd cover/huge poster. Or needs some suggestion about design, style, identity. And i can create it too. And I love to work on film making too…my last work is a short film in London with a director and team that I really enjoyed. I was called for the cg look development and realization (lighting and rendering). So nothing to do with photography or illustration. But, in one sense, I think that all of this stuff is related.

Yes, I’m a confused artists (<-- not sure) in the dark. And I’m not sure that there’s a work that fits me. Maybe something close to art direction? What do you guys, honestly, think?

:curious: :arteest:

#6

hey ivan. i don’t think it’s ever too late to start a new career. it’s better to start now doing something you love rather then to continue on with your life wondering if you should or shouldn’t. 27 isn’t that old either. i too am 27 and i just started learning to draw last year. i’m trying to turn it into a career. it takes a lot of patience. browse around this sub-forum (Art Techniques and Theories Forum). there is a lot of good information especially in the “Sticky Threads” (the ones at the top). why are you opposed to drawing digitally though? that’s where a lot of today’s art market is. i would imagine that the market for artists who only use traditional media (like pencils, paper, canvas paintings etc.) is much smaller. you could always draw with pencils and stuff in your spare time. since you don’t have a lot of money search around this site for all the information and tips you can get your hands on. if you have enough money, buy some art books. the books by Andrew Loomis are really good. there’s even a thread in this sub-forum that has website and book recommendations for learning. drawing seems like such a huge and incredibly difficult task at first but as long as you keep at it you will learn. don’t be afraid to ask questions on here either. Lunatique gives great advice and has been helping me a bit. if you care to take a look at what we’ve been talking about, it’s the “I Could Use Some Advice” thread in this sub-forum (Art Techniques and Theories Forum).

#7

Hey thank you for your reply. And I think that is not a completly new carrier but just to work on some gaps, and use my experience in cg, photography and other stuff for learn drawing faster…and shift the carrier a bit. :slight_smile: Would be nice…maybe is not exatly like that…ahah… but I can try.

About Loomis I just found some of his books, seems really interestina and i was thinking about start with “Fun with Pencil”. Seems it’s a good starting book, hopefully. If you got any suggestion about books or stuff on internet please let me know, I would be very grateful! I will take a look at that thread, i’m curious.

:slight_smile:

cheers

Iv

#8

i have the Fun With A Pencil book. it’s really good. i recommend it. i also have ‘Successful Drawing’ by andrew loomis and that one is really good too. check out this link for more recommendations http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=166&t=226083
some of the links in that thread may not work anymore because they’re pretty old

#9

@infinitiv

I understand what you are going through.
My deal is I am 50 years old and decided about a month ago to start drawing again ( seems to be a common them among many cg artist ). I just had to start wearing reading glasses. :eek:
For myself I decided I was just going to draw and draw all the time, digital or anyway I can and when I can. I am learning something everyday and I am avoiding saying I can not do this.
I am doing this because it is a burning passion not for fame or money. One great benefit I discovered rather quickly is how much it has helped me when I am modeling. some people say you don’t need to draw to do CG and some people may not, but I am making small strides every day.
Hang in there.
Don’t force it, just love it.

#10

Cool! Thank you, i got Successful Drawing too. Seems really good stuff for learning. :thumbsup:

I think it’s the right mood! “You can do that, you can do whatever you want regardless age or eveything. What we need is willpower and give up certain social conventions.”

My only complain is that I’m not earning any money at this time so it’s not so easy keep the right mood for doing stuff. Sometimes it’s really hard but it’s my fault. It’s because i don’t know really what I want to do. Maybe drawing? So i can start draw…but while drawing I want to do a lot of other stuff too. For example one morning I wake up with an idea about a 10 picture photo set and I apply myself to achieve it, but i’m disturbed by the idea that I have to stop and focus on something if not I’ll end up living under a bridge in a few years.
:arteest:

#11

It’s time you get a part time job and work damn hard in your free time. When I started, I would leave my house, do an hour slog into work, work for 7 hours at a dull dull job, do an hour slog home, then spend 6 hours behind a canvas, or working on a sketch or what ever.

It was tough, I didn’t sleep loads, I didn’t see my friends much, it caused a lot of friction in my relationship and I didn’t care. I loved what I was doing and I wanted to become someone who supported myself through my creative endeavours so much. I quit my job in 2010 to focus on this.

I’m now working as a games designer. I still work just as many hours, I’m always going to be learning and practicing, but I did it. I put in the hours, took a jump, landed, and kept running.

As Lunatique said, he worked really hard for 4 years and didn’t allow himself to get lazy. I took a little longer, didn’t start as early but also made it. I made mistakes. I got lazy sometimes but snapped out of it quickly after. If you want it, you’re going to have to focus and practice.

If you need money, you are just going to have to get a job and stick it out for a while.

Best of luck to you! Putting in the long loney hours is all worth it in the end.

#12

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