Learning art without a 'teacher' (part 2)

#1

Hey guys!

This is a continuation of my first thread on here. I was hoping to continue to show how I progess but for 2 years I was inactive. Life took it’s own weird turns and now in the past three weeks I have tried getting back to learning to draw. THIS is the original thread and I just re-read everything mentioned there by the helpful members. Sad to see a couple of them no longer active on here.

I know that if I get proficient in traditional art I would still have to spend time getting to grips with digital art (Wacom Bamboo style). I have only a few months of surviving on my savings so this is perfect for me to learn digital art straight away and am willing to follow any advice and correction you have to give me on that. Once the money runs out I will have to get back to working in a regular job after which at the end of the day I am not sure how much energy I will have left to give time to art (though I know most great artists have had regular jobs while practising late through nights).

I am posting a few of my ‘drawings’ on PS done on a Bamboo one here. I was hoping to get good through practice without having to disturb you guys with such crappy drawings but I am getting quite frustrated now and think I need some professional advice.

Problems:
1: Drawing what I actually see is one thing, but making my hand (left) steady while making those lines I decide in my mind is a different thing altogether. So you suggest I should
a) erase bad lines and redraw a clean one
b) just keep on drawing again and again over the existing lines without resorting to the ‘eraser’
c) or just move on to the next sketch?

2: I am confused if I should make swift strokes or slowly and in control draw lines (it’s the latter that causes scary lines to emerge).

3: Do I really need to try shading with cross-hatching or should I just draw contours and then shade with thicker brushes?

ANYTHING ELSE you guys have to tell me please do so! Thanks a lot for your help and attention. I am going to be continuously posting milestone images along the way.

The images are ordered according to the dates:

ps: Opening the images in a new tab will show them in full resolution!!

#2

Why is it that I can do better at 3am in the morning?!?!

#3

Well, sad to be the only poster on this thread!

A week back, I was blessed with knowing about Feng Zhu’s design videos on his YouTube Channel. Amazing guy and excellent teacher!

One thing I realised, that all these years I was drawing on my Wacom Bamboo One (5.8in x 4.1in) with the ‘force proportions’ OFF. My screen was a 1366 x 768 19in Dell (16:9 I think). I turned it ON two days back and have been drawing a while today. Though there is a lot of wasted space and reduces the active area further from the already pathetic small active area, the difference is great as my hand/eye co-ordination isn’t f**ked up anymore (I think).

Here’s something I have managed in around one hour. This the best as per my standards so far.

Details: Drew the lines first and then BELOW it in another layer I started applying colour (or values in this case) and then merged two layers to remove a few of the select lines.

I am still waiting to know what you guys think and if you think I seem to be going in the right direction.

#4

Drawing on a Wacom is difficult to master, even for people who’ve been drawing a long time. I’ve painted and drawn my whole life (for longer than I want to admit, lol), and it took me a while to adjust to a Wacom. Drawing with a pencil is easier, because your eye is looking at the image, and the pencil. Drawing on the screen, you have to take the point of your drawing tool away from your eye, and that disconnect is hard to get used to - the only thing to do is practice, practice, practice!

There is nothing wrong with erasing lines. It’s a matter of style - some prefer to leave old lines, some like clean, precise drawings. Some believe once you draw something, it’s there forever. Decide for yourself what you like!

Well, with the computer, you have the ability to make a layer above another layer, and draw over that. Now, muscle memory is a reality with drawing, so drawing something over and over isn’t a bad idea either.

This is where experience comes in. Once you get better, you’ll be able to determine if a drawing is worth pursuing, or moving on.

It’s both, really. In traditional drawing, like figure drawing, one class period can have you doing quick, 1 minute sketches, which are dynamic, swift strokes that are about capturing the essence of the pose, and later doing hour-long poses where you can slow down and be more precise. You should seek to master both.

Cross-hatching is a pain in you know what with a Wacom, honestly. I would learn this with a pencil before you try it on the Wacom. And, again, both techniques are good to learn - and even mixing them up in the same piece!

ANYTHING ELSE you guys have to tell me please do so![/QUOTE]

One: relax. You’re doing fine.

Two: why do you have to give up if you have a job? Art is something you can do literally anywhere. I work as a professional designer and illustrator full time, work as a freelance artist in my spare time, and do traditional art like watercolor and oil as well. I carry a sketchbook in my backpack with a mechanical pencil and a kneadable erasure, so I can doodle at odd moments (on hold on the phone, or in meetings, lol), same for sitting at my desk - if I’m waiting for a task, or have a spare moment, I switch to Photoshop and start a sketch. If it’s something you love, you’ll find time. Also, 3 months is not enough time to really master anything, if you want to really develop your skills, art is a life-long pursuit - and one taken willingly and happily. :slight_smile:

#5

One more thing, looking at your drawings - the key to learning to draw what you see, is to be able to break objects down to their basic shapes of cubes, spheres, and cones, and then build on that. Another thing to look at is the overall shape, or outline, and drawing that. A common lesson in beginning art classes is to have the class pick a common item, like a potted plant, or an old fashioned pencil sharpener, and draw it several ways - first the contour, just the outline, then draw the object with just lines, all the same weight, the draw it with just lines but varying the weight and lead to indicate lighting, then move into shading it various ways.

For figure drawing, you start out the same way - draw the contours, with no shading, building from the basic shapes that make up the masses of the body. Then, go through similar versions like the first example.

The lesson here is to look at things like an artist, to see it’s shape, it’s volume, it’s color, it’s lighting, in that order.

Most important: keep it simple. Don’t get too complicated. Just take found objects on your desk, and draw them. Draw whatever room you’re in at the moment, to learn perspective. Go walk around in a park, and draw what you see. Work from far away, with a landscape, and close up, with still life. And most of all, have fun with it.

#6

Hey William,
Thanks a lot for your reply. It’s good to get encouragement like that. Yours thoughts about basic shapes is something I have been having problems with… will work on that among other things.

I was talking about username “Bwhitejr” which I am now guessing is you. :stuck_out_tongue:

When I was talking about a job I was thinking about call centres which for some reason suck the life out of anything else I want to do… anyways… I guess that’s a bad excuse eventually :slight_smile:

Thanks again… will keep you guys posted.

#7

Learning and growing as an artist requires a good strategy. If you just go about it arbitrarily, you could easily end up wasting years of your precious time and not see much improvement. But if you have a good strategy that is efficient, effective, and focused, you can go from a total beginner to an advanced professional in a matter of a short few years.

I highly recommend you go to the Art Techniques & Theories forum (linked below in my signature) and read the sticky threads. Everything in them were painstakingly created and collected especially for people just like you–those who are aspiring artists and passionate about wanting to become a better artist.

#8

Thanks Robert. I’ll do that.

#9

This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.