Becoming a Better Artist – Critical knowledge and techniques for today’s artists

#201

Robert is the extra-super-best-mega instructor ever. I just posted a really hard question 10 min ago and he already replied. I so much love him. <3

I’ll write my review one the class is over. :slight_smile:

#202

Greetings:

I have enrolled in the Becoming A Better Artist wrokshop which starts today. I received confirmation but have not received a welcome email with my user name and password. I don’t want to fall behind right away. Can someone email me as soon as possible to I can get started on the class? Thank you.

#203

Have you checked your email’s spam filter? Sometimes it eats legitimate emails. Also, have you tried contacting the staff at CGWorkshop? The support page is here:
http://beta.workshops.cgsociety.org/support

There’s a form on the bottom you can use to contact the staff.

#204

I just joined the workshop a few days ago and I can tell you that Robert is amazing. The amount of information he’s sharing in week 1 is staggering. I’m still reading through the lecture notes and there’s so much material in there that it’s mind boggling. Amazing!

#205

Cant wait to catch next one

#206

I’m taking this class right now, and Robert answers every single question you have, every single day that you ask. He is extremely involved in the discussions with every single student. It’s like having your own private teacher, I’m not sure how he does it because it seems like it would be so much work on his part, but he does, and he does it extremely well. He also gives you detailed answers to everything, and critiques that explain to you in detail everything that you need to improve or what was done correctly, and why.

A single week in this course had more useful information in it than a whole semester of art class from my experience. I can go back and read everything from the past weeks over and over to try and absorb all of the knowledge that Robert passes on to us through the course. There is so much that you get out of this course, and the assignment are extremely fun and also challenging. Doing each assignment makes you actually feel like you have progressed as an artist because they really challenge you, and it really doesn’t matter what level you are because even a novice can complete the assignments through Robert’s instructions, but also will challenge the abilities of an advanced artist. This class is just amazing, and I’m thankful that Robert put in so much time and hard work to offer this to us.

#207

From my perspective, the biggest challenge for me is time. I anticipated 8-10 hours a week for this class. That works if you are already a pretty good artist, can draw realisticly (as in “dead on realism” like the renaissance masters), none of that abstract picasso-esque drawing, can draw using a tablet, and really have your brain / hand / eye coordination down; now 8 - 10 hours a weeks is a realistic time frame for you.

Since I’m still learning to draw realistically, just started using a tablet, and learning all the information that Rob gives out => this means a 40 hours a week in order to really get the most out of the class. Since my time schedule is really tough, it means that I am really slow in completing the class work. Many times I have to watch the videos over and over and reread all the material again and again.

I would say that this is the toughest class I’ve ever taken. Rob gives so much information that I am overwhelmed each week, plus you have to read all the other students’ work (which is another 4-8 hours or so) in order to understand the critiques and think about how it applies to your own work. At this rate, I may have to take the class again just so I can absorb it all. Right now I’m in overwhelm mode so much that I stopped absorbing it all. Thinking and understanding is one thing. Being able to reproduce and incorporate what he teaches you is another thing.

#208

For any student that feels overwhelmed by the workshop, it’s very important to remember that it is not a pass or fail kind of workshop. I know perfectly well that I’ve created an epic workshop filled to the brim with knowledge that will take years to fully absorb–that was what I aimed for. My goal was to give students something that is worth far, far more than the $549 they paid, and it will become like their personal art knowledge bible that they can continue to review and refer to for years to come, and still learn new things from it.

Also remember, there is no deadline for the assignment. I will continue to answer questions and do critiques long after the workshop is over–this is something I have promised all of my students. So you can do assignments you missed even after the workshop is over and I’ll still help you with critiques. One more thing to remember–you don’t have to do all the assignments–just do the ones that you have time for in that week, and you can do the other assignments later–as late as you’d like. I mean, even if you turn in an assignment a year later after the workshop ended–guess what? Just notify me about it and I’ll still give you critique and answer your questions. In a way, my workshop has no real ending date. It goes on for as long as CGSociety still exists, or that I’m still alive and healthy.

This workshop is far more than meets the eye. I think this is very obvious to anyone reading this thread by now.

#209

BTW, I’ve agreed to teach another run in early or mid October, so for those of you who couldn’t make the previous runs or was put on the waiting list (all 3 past workshops were sold out quickly), here’s another chance for you to catch it. It’ll be the last workshop for 2010, and if you miss it, you’ll have to wait for next year. I’m not sure yet when I’ll be doing another run next year.

#210

I get it done the old-fashioned way–by spending hours and hours everyday writing critiques, answering questions, posting additional insights and notes, and so on. On busy days I put in 8 hours or more, so yes, it is a lot of work, and this is very different from other workshops where the instructors are doing it on the side for some extra money while working full-time in a studio. My mission statement is to change the lives of my students–it’s a very different goal and motivation.

I’m glad you are having a great time. I really try very hard to make sure my students learn as much as they can, and I try my best to not only pass on knowledge, but to transform the students from the inside out, so their way of thinking is totally transformed by the end of the workshop. This isn’t just about learning how to draw, paint, foundational knowledge, advanced concepts and workflow–it’s also about metamorphosis as a creative person. You’ll see just how deep the rabit hole really goes by the time you have reached the end of the workshop–it’ll blow your mind. We’re only on week four, and the most exciting stuff hasn’t even happened yet. Wait till you see what’s coming in week five, six, and seven! :beer:

#211

I cant wait to get into the next run. Iv’e been searching for the answers to my struggles in drawing and painting and I think that I have possibly been just amassing too many different books, dvds, tutorials, etc and I dont have the fundamentals as solid as they should be. The fact remains that while I have taken intro to drawing and advanced drawing classes in college I didnt really have anyone explain why some of the methods were used and just didnt see the importance in them. I really wanted a good teacher or program and I think that this will answer a lot of my questions and show me the ways I can push myself and make a study that much better. Ways to think about doing things and solving things on my own rather then trying over and over with no real direction. Being able to see my own mistakes that I might not have seen before, and get some good critical thinking habits while studying is going to be awesome.
So if anyone else has any before and after drawings and any reviews on the class so far or if you have completed it prior please post. I am interested in seeing everyones progress!

#212

One common mistake many people make is that they hoard learning material but never really take full advantage of them. They have tons of books and videos but they aren’t absorbing all that knowledge, and instead are like deers caught in the headlight because they don’t know how to analyze, absorb, and utilize all that learning material. Lots of my students have purchased books and DVD’s or even took other workshops, taken classes, went to art school, and so on, and they all tell me they learned far more during 8 seeks with me than they ever did previously. Who is doing the teaching makes the biggest difference. I try very hard to be the best teacher I can be, and I’m constantly adjusting my approach as I get feedback from students, adapting to their specific and individual needs.

I think I already showed you Edward’s thread:
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=166&t=880796

As for other students’ comments about the workshop, if you read this thread backwards for a few pages, you’ll see a bunch of them. The students can’t post any of the assignments they did during the workshop since it’s against the agreement (Edward’s case is unique since that painting he posted was not officially part of the workshop but an extracurricular assignment just for him), because the assignments are uniquely designed to teach very specific lessons from the workshop. You don’t do any "graduating’ pieces of artwork or anything–it’s all pretty much separate assignments that target specific problem-solving for each week, and they can be very challenging, to the point where the students feel like they are getting their asses kicked; however, they end up learning so much from the ass-kicking that each boot up the ass becomes a new “AHA!” moment. What you learn from the workshop will become a big part of your new creative arsenal, and how you apply them to your own personal/professional work is then up to you. I can tell you that during the workshop, the students see incredible improvements in their ability to solve creative problems, and with every critique they get, their next iteration vastly improves. Many end up with results that they never even imagined they were capable of before they started the assignments. That is part of the magic of the workshop–the in-depth and very thorough critiques.

#213

I understand that, I meant before and afters of personal artwork, I get really excited and motivated seeing that and since I’m taking next workshop in a few weeks it’s all the more!

#214

Lunatique, when do you think maybe be possible to have the next run?

I’m looking forward to it!

Cheers!!

#215

It is scheduled to start on October 18th, and enrollment should start about a month before that. The CGSociety newsletter, website, and this thread will announce it once enrollment is open for registration.

#216

Thank you! :bounce:

Just to take it into consideration: Will the next year be opened again? If so more or less around which date?

I have a trouble taking it on October, in my particular case I’ll like to take it on December o January.

Cheers!!

#217

I’m not sure about when next year. I will definitely try to teach this workshop for as many times as there are students who need it, and if nothing is stopping me from doing it, then I think early January might be a good time to kick off the 5th run of the workshop.

#218

I’m not sure about when next year. I will definitely try to teach this workshop for as many times as there are students who need it, and if nothing is stopping me from doing it, then I think early January might be a good time to kick off the 5th run of the workshop.

Newer know what is going to happen, but early January sounds first time such that I could take part, since haven’t booked work there yet and I even might have the money for the workshop. Feeling hopefull. :slight_smile:

#219

You’ve been interested in this workshop since the very first run, so yeah, it’s about time you jumped on board. :smiley:

#220

I would love to be notified about future courses. October would be very difficult for me financial-wise, so January sounds like a more realistic option for me :slight_smile: