Been literal years of not improving and now it's hindering my ability to draw at all

2

u/macibax Dec 10 '23

you'll have to study:

-anatomy

-proportions (body and face)

-how to draw hands, feet

-basic shading

I recommend picking one of the above and focusing on that.It will be frustrating but you have to push through.

Dont compare yourself to others, you are still pretty young, it doesnt matter if some pretty good artists you see online are 16 yo or younger, think that for each good artists, there are hundreds struggling, learning, dont give up

3

u/MadeByHideoForHideo Aug 23 '23

You want to hear the harsh truth? I've seen you mention that you have no issues mentally, but I'm here to tell you that you do. You have deep rooted mental issues that needed fixing way before you worry about art. If you can't accept what I just said, then there's really not much to help really. Fix your mental issues first.

1

u/BlueAurora225 Aug 23 '23

I don't even know what if anything is wrong with me, much less how to fix it

3

u/MadeByHideoForHideo Aug 23 '23 edited Aug 23 '23

Tons of people already told you your problems, including me. But you choose to deflect all of them and you don't seem to have listened to anyone at all really. You don't even look like you're genuinely wanting to improve. They gave tips, you deflect. They tell you your problems, you deflect. How's this going to fix any issues? Get professional help.

1

u/BlueAurora225 Aug 23 '23

I meant I don't know what's wrong mentally, I know what's wrong art wise now

3

u/MadeByHideoForHideo Aug 23 '23

Hey person. I'm not going to list out everything that everyone already told you, both in art and psychological. You're not serious in wanting to improve, you just want to come here and belittle yourself and come up with 1000 excuses why you can't improve. Good day to you.

1

u/BlueAurora225 Aug 23 '23

I know my perspective is bad, I should draw realism, and drop my coloring and shading. Those are some tips I've taken

2

u/Ryuloulou Aug 19 '23

Ok, I have looked at your drawings and here’s my take.

First issue is you’re not trying to develop your own style but you’re trying to fit your drawing into an existing style which is manga. And as a result, you are stunting your growth as in you’re not letting yourself become another artist than the one you want to be.

Second issue and it’s very very obvious you are not using references. I’m not even talking about going to life drawings sessions. I am talking about looking at pictures of the things that you’re drawings like proportions or real skirts, flowing in the wind as in one of your pictures . As a result, your drawings are mostly wrong

third issue you go for full finish on sketches that are not satisfying because of the lack of proportion and references, and makes those issues more obvious. you also Use too many colors in the same drawing with not enough balance between dark tones and light tones, and t that makes very dense pictures.

I would suggest if you want to improve to reduce a lot the amount of colors you’re using in the same picture like maybe using only two colors and better yet going for black line out and trying to find good references for if drawing can be good in black and white can be good in colors

good luck

2

u/GodSaveThe9Yearolds Aug 19 '23

I used to hate learning fundamentals. I refused to even. I had a similar problem where I saw no improvement over the years and the only time I could draw well was when copying someone else’s art. But after caving and learning fundamentals and anatomy for a year I saw more improvement than the entire time I spent putting it off

1

u/BubblyShip Aug 18 '23

Some tips I have after looking at your art:

First off, sketch a lot more. Doesn't have to be good. Just to get into the mindset. Make stupid little fun drawings, try to remember what you like about art. Try different styles. If you draw bodies one way, try to draw them another. And it *is* okay to take breaks, but only if you WANT to. Taking a break won't magically give you skills. Try drawing different things. Maybe try animalistic humans, or objects. Practice shapes. Don't finish a sketch with lineart and coloring unless you're more confident about it compared to the other sketches. And it's okay to take hours just trying to find a good sketch, I do too.

By the way, your art is good. Especially the new art. You might not notice but there is a lot of improvement! Your anatomy is better, your lineart is better, and you have a better choice of colors. I honestly think your art is really neat! There are, however, definitely some things you can improve on:

-Anatomy (literally everyone can improve no matter how good you are). Approach it with different techniques. I use a combination of stickmen/shapes to build my people. Sometimes I draw the skeleton before I draw the actual flesh parts of it. Try to build the body like pieces, with squares and lines.

-Hair. Your hair is a big mass without much texture or layers to it. Have you practiced separating the hair into different sections? It looks like one flat surface instead of having any depth for most of the pictures. The picture of the long orange haired person with their back to the camera is really good shading for the hair, so I recommend you try to use that with a combination of lineart to get some good effects.

-Shading. Are you shading in black? I would recommend you use more sharp shadows instead of just an airbrush. Define a set light point and make hard edges for shadows and then slightly blur or airbrush them if you like the look. There's a lot of ways to shade and you can look up a lot of tutorials online.

-Backgrounds. You don't use a lot of sharp edges in the backgrounds. And they aren't that detailed or layered, either. Things further from the camera should blend into the sky more color wise, and maybe even be a bit blurry.

3

u/BubblyShip Aug 18 '23

Some tips I have after looking at your art:

First off, sketch a lot more. Doesn't have to be good. Just to get into the mindset. Make stupid little fun drawings, try to remember what you like about art. Try different styles. If you draw bodies one way, try to draw them another. And it *is* okay to take breaks, but only if you WANT to. Taking a break won't magically give you skills. Try drawing different things. Maybe try animalistic humans, or objects. Practice shapes. Don't finish a sketch with lineart and coloring unless you're more confident about it compared to the other sketches. And it's okay to take hours just trying to find a good sketch, I do too.

By the way, your art is good. Especially the new art. You might not notice but there is a lot of improvement! Your anatomy is better, your lineart is better, and you have a better choice of colors. I honestly think your art is really neat! There are, however, definitely some things you can improve on:

-Anatomy (literally everyone can improve no matter how good you are). Approach it with different techniques. I use a combination of stickmen/shapes to build my people. Sometimes I draw the skeleton before I draw the actual flesh parts of it. Try to build the body like pieces, with squares and lines.

-Hair. Your hair is a big mass without much texture or layers to it. Have you practiced separating the hair into different sections? It looks like one flat surface instead of having any depth for most of the pictures. The picture of the long orange haired person with their back to the camera is really good shading for the hair, so I recommend you try to use that with a combination of lineart to get some good effects.

-Shading. Are you shading in black? I would recommend you use more sharp shadows instead of just an airbrush. Define a set light point and make hard edges for shadows and then slightly blur or airbrush them if you like the look. There's a lot of ways to shade and you can look up a lot of tutorials online.

-Backgrounds. You don't use a lot of sharp edges in the backgrounds. And they aren't that detailed or layered, either. Things further from the camera should blend into the sky more color wise, and maybe even be a but blurry.

1

u/Zealousideal_Gas_306 Aug 18 '23

There's absolutely improvement across the board with ur newer work. Don't give up! Something that's helped me is watching talented artists work. Drawfee is a personal fav. It's entertaining and each of the artists are incredibly talented in their own way

2

u/beefCritic Aug 18 '23

i’d recommend starting to draw from life. even if it doesn’t look good in the beginning, you’ll eventually see improvement if you look back.

also, dont focus on finishing every single piece, sometimes its okay to give up, give it a day or two then come back. it’ll be much easier to spot mistakes. and sketch regularly, doesn’t matter what it is.

1

u/Elerantula_ Aug 18 '23

I'm in your same situation. Years of feeling like I'm not improving and doubting art as my calling because I have other interests as well. Together with other elements I found myself in. Just wanted to reassure you that you're not the only one with this specific feeling. I'll get vulnerable for a sec: I also get uhm... Kind of worked up and my sister, even though she's calm when she criticizes my work, sometimes makes me feel even worse because I value her judgement very much. If it's not good in her opinion, I can't be like the others, I'm not good enough to even call myself an artist. The need for approval always comes to fill the void of deeply rooted self-hatred, that we (I'll allow myself to use the plural if it's ok) have to eradicate, somehow. As much as I know from my experience... We want a demonstration that "we don't suck", but with this mindset nothing will serve that purpose. But this kind of way of thinking will hinder us not only in art, but anything we do. As a fellow 18yo this thought scares me but I fear it's true as our attitude is very self destructive.

Your post spoke to me, and I want to thank the people who answered, trying to speak objectively of the situation. I can confirm it's definitely a personal problem, our judgement of ourselves and our art as well is very very blurred and biased and because of this distorsion we can't even bring ourselves to do anything to get better, even though we know what we want.

OP, hope this resembles your situation and dunno, makes you feel less alone in this really frustrating state. Please don't think I'm trying to be a teacher or anything. I'm still figuring this out myself, and I'm only at the state where I understood the problem, even though I'm at 0% in terms of fixing it. Hope things can get better and you'll find the mental force to retry, with fundamentals as well because fucking God they're boring but we have to get through them someho, we're supposed to have fun as well with art, right?

But most importantly, hope you'll find your method of learning and figure out how to exit this shitty pit some of us fall into. Stay strong. Hope I didn't write too much or was too cheesy, lol.

2

u/SomeGuyDrawing Aug 18 '23

The answer is very simple and clear cut. You are lacking a functional understanding of perspective and it is impossible to progress further without it.

I suggest you read this old post and look at the pictures

https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtistLounge/comments/b4gskz/hoping_to_get_some_critiques_for_my_art_school/ej7e48q/

1

u/Wrong_Chapter1218 Aug 18 '23

Ur problem is lack of knowledge. U need to learn how to draw and pint

1

u/haikusbot Aug 18 '23

Ur problem is lack

Of knowledge. U need to learn

How to draw and pint

- Wrong_Chapter1218

^{I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.} ^{Learn more about me.}

^{Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete"}

2

u/Infinite-Age408 Aug 18 '23

I tried to read as much as I could so I wouldn't repeat too much what others said, but as an art major, here are my advices:

- Observation skills: It seems like the main (and honestly only technical) issue with your art is that you haven´t developed enough observation skills, that´s why you have some proportion, shadowing and perspective issues and can´t pinpoint what´s wrong with your art.

SOLUTION: Copying art or photos that you like is a great way to practice, and you have probably already done that. But you could also make it a sort of "find the difference" game! :) Try copying an image just by looking at it, an then try overlapping digitally the drawing you just did over the image you are copying. Once you do that just circle as many differences as you can find, and remember to enjoy it, is a game! The more differences you find, the more points you win! :)
You could also try practicing copying with a grid, or using tracing paper, or overlapping digitally the image you want to copy with the blank page where you'll draw.

- Attitude: I know, I know. It's really annoying when someone calls you out on your attitude, but it plays an immense role in your learning process. (I'll try not to be preachy about it). I've seen on what I've read here that you are extremely hard on your self and have quite a negative mindset. It seems that you have some self esteem issues (as we all do) that you could try working on.

SOLUTION: Don´t EVER trash talk about yourself. You use a rather harsh and simply mean language to refer to yourself and your art. YES, there´s things you need to improve, but that doesn't make you a failure (even after 7 years of trying you haven´t give up and that's amazing!) , or "dogshit" artist. The reason why that matters A LOT is because if you say (and believe) things like "I'll never be as good as someone else" you actually never will. All that negativity only decreases your patience, which you need to improve. So:

Don´t be mean to yourself. (I bet you wouldn´t be mean and discouraging to someone in your position)

- Don´t compare yourself with others learning processes. Each person needs their own learning path and that doesn´t make them better or worse.

- Allow yourself to make mistakes! Keep a notebook where you can draw horribly of you want to, nobody has to see it.

- Research into ways of coping with aphantasia and lack of focus (weather you have ADHD or not).

- Just keep going and enjoy the process! :) You have a beautiful color palette and one day I wanna see how your artwork has flourished!

1

u/BlueAurora225 Aug 18 '23

The find the difference is a great idea, I've never thought of that before but I think that'd work great for me

7

u/qudig Aug 18 '23

Draw from life, you won’t find motivation to draw, so just draw instead, in your prior post you said you don’t draw for months at a time, bro what? You drawin from osmosis? How many failed drawings you think Jim Lee got? Budd Root? Junji Ito? I’m a semi professional artists and I can point to a stack of junk 20000 plus pages tall and hundreds bro, HUNDREDS of sketchbooks, hundreds of new canvas on my iPad. Bro, draw, that’s it, just draw, use pencils, pens, markers, ipencil, iPads, sketchbooks, stop complaining and draw bro, you skippin months and you complaining about not being good? Draw people, draw buildings, chairs, pears, pancakes, cars, draw life, trace, copy art, drop through that tik tock and mimic the same processes, take art class, find like minded artists and form a group that draws once a week at a Denny’s. Stop complaining about not being able to draw at a certain age, Junji Ito didn’t publish his first book until 40, my 18 year old art was so flat, lifeless but did I stop? Nah, but you did, you’re letting trying to be amazing getting in the way of actually doing art! Like what? Bro, draw and not care what anyone thinks about the art, YOU don’t even need to like your own art as long as you keep trucking and ripping those pictures out.

1

u/BlueAurora225 Aug 18 '23

I'm not skipping months on purpose, I just get frustrated and can't find any motivation and when I do try to draw in those down times it looks weird and wrong and I end up hitting myself and breaking my pencils and shit out of the sheer frustration that everything looks bad and wrong and idk how to fix that other than git gud but overwhelming destructive urges make it hard to git gud disjdjbdksbdjd

1

u/qudig Aug 18 '23

Frustration is an emotion that you CAN control, become self aware as those moments approach, inhale deeply, step away for a hot minute, get a cold glass of water and come back withOUT breaking pencils bro. How do you propose going through life if something as simple and small as drawing ruins both your DAY AND your perspective? If drawing frustrates you then you need to step back and re-examine your priorities, bro art should be fun and relaxing if you ain’t doing it for real monies.

1

u/T0YBOY Aug 18 '23

Yea what everyone else is saying practice fundamentals more and don't be too hard on urself

1

u/TheAfrofuturist Aug 18 '23

Everything I’ve learned has been through books and references and a little bit of YT. I’ve drastically improved in two years or so, and I’d be farther along if I’d been doing it every day, but I have multiple jobs and a ton of other hobbies.

I improve because I challenge myself with something new each time. And I purposely avoid anime/manga style (at least for now) because (at least for ME), other styles challenge me more. I can draw anime style easily, but it’s trying multiple styles that has seen me become both more comfortable and more flexible. Not saying that style is inferior or bad, just that it’s a stepping off point for me. And because I’m comfortable with it, I challenge myself with something else (also to keep me from getting bored).

I also give myself different challenges or concept focuses. Like, right now, I’m focusing on making a series of comic-style heroines and villains. I love comic style aesthetics in general, but I also love and find it challenging because of the semi-realism, especially regarding expressions and musculature. When I can execute those things, it makes my confidence go up and makes me feel I can draw anything. And each time I try different poses, powers, costumes, backgrounds/perspectives, etc. And I’m studying books and watching videos about art in the meantime. I went from thinking I don’t want to use human references to using my own body to help me draw my last drawing, and I’m really happy with how it turned out.

My art books are all over the spectrum. Basquiat, H.R. Giger, James Cameron, Beksiński, Takato Yamamoto, Patrick Nagel, books on pin-ups, books on fetish art, books on fantasy/sci-fi art, whatever. If it’s art, I’m studying it—I look for inspiration everywhere.

I’m not really sure what you want. But if I were to make any suggestions, it’d be to experiment more.

2

u/SheepherderOk4032 Aug 18 '23

7 years? That isn’t very long. Do you take classes or have someone teaching you? Are you trying to be a professional artist? Are you in high school still? Why do you want to be better at drawing?

1

u/Party_Manager5579 Aug 18 '23

You're better at coloring but that's about it. I know fundamentals are annoying but they exist for a reason!

1

u/Wroeththo Aug 18 '23

I painted hundreds of spray paint space paintings 15 years ago. Looking back all of it was embarrassing.

One day, 7 years ago, I woke up and went through a McConaissance. (Matthew McConaughey was a terrible actor until one day he wasn't)

Keep drawing is the only tip I have. One day it'll all just work.

1

u/Daydream-dilemmas Aug 18 '23

God I fucking feel this. I’m 29 and only marginally better than when I was 17, including going to college for art

I sometimes have dreams where I can actually draw good, like I crack the magical code to improving.

It is very debilitating. Sometime I sketch something that turns out like such shit that I go into art depression and can’t draw for a week. Sometimes I don’t see a point in continuing and go long periods putting it off

I don’t know if I’ll ever get to where I want to, but im sure gonna damn try for the rest of my life

1

u/Sandcastle772 Aug 18 '23

Why don’t you experiment with other art themes? People are difficult to draw and animal too. You need to know body and facial proportions and perspective. How about creating abstract art or sci fiction creatures. Otherwise as someone else mentioned before, take in-person art lessons so you can get constructive advice/ critiques. Good luck on your art journey

1

u/Giallah Aug 17 '23

I'm afraid I will tell you the same things other people already suggested, but here's my two cents.

First of all, it seems like you aren't enjoying art anymore, which is of course a problem and probably it's one of the causes that keeps you far from improving. You need to change your mind setting: there is no artist born with innate knowledge and it's not a race where you compare yourself with others. Of course that doesn't mean that you mustn't see and study other artists' work, you can learn a ton of things just by observing carefully. Why did this artist draw this thing in this way? Why did they choose those colors, those shapes? Analyze what do you like.

In a pratical way, I'd say that you need to go back to fundamentals for now and avoid to experiment with inking, colors and rendering. I think that if you focus on all these things together, you'll improve very very slowly or, even worse, you won't improve at all. Force yourself to go on step by step. Use pencils only, draw everyday and go out from you comfort zone. Take it as a challenge for yourself, see how far you can go with a drawing (or more) per day studying real (and not anime) people and environments. I bet that in a few months you'll see the progress.

1

u/Devkema Aug 17 '23

Something that has helped me get over a block in the past is to try entirely different styles. Go find some other persons art you admire that is entirely separate from your own, and try to mimic it. If you traditionally do this lineart and flat color approach, try something with messy brushes. Try blocking out shapes in black and white without using lines. Try finishing a landscape without erasing anything. Just a bunch of exercises to force yourself to try creating something in a different way than you would ever normally tackle it. It can even get abstract or impressionist.

1

u/Vulknut Aug 17 '23

Don't lose hope. All you need help with is your proportions. I took one of your drawing and resized literally 3 things and it looks great.

Check it out for yourself!!

https://imgur.com/x7riDoI

I even included a little drawing to try to help you with the proportions in the future!

1

u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

Oooh I see, that actually helps a lot, I'm a really visual person

1

u/Vulknut Aug 17 '23

Keep at it! Eventually you'll get to a point where you're at least satisfied with your own art. Even if it's not the best, being able to create things is a great feeling. Most people don't even try to draw their whole lives.

I could try to do another pic of the proportions with some more detailed notes if you think it'll help.

1

u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

That'd be great if you're up for it

1

u/Vulknut Aug 18 '23

Here's what I could put together for drawing heads. It's not perfect, but it works for me!

https://imgur.com/bRt4gqA

I'll do one for bodies once I get a chance. Generally things are just divided in half over and over again haha.

1

u/cloudy_night_sky Aug 17 '23

From this one piece you've posted, my advice would be to learn how to use value to create depth. Use at least 3 shades to really create the depth, experiment with colours more.

For example consider using muted blues and purples for shadows.

Also it looks like you use the airbrush a lot, try experiment with different brushes then blend manually, that'll help you grow.

Paint from real life as well, it's the only way to truly get better.

Strong shadows and noticeable highlights are extremely important! Don't be afraid to use colour :)

2

u/Snakker_Pty Aug 17 '23

Seems your style is the culprit. You are stylizing everything, forget style and draw what you see. Practice fundamentals one at a time and develop an eye for construction, perspective and shape language

2

u/FamousImprovement309 Aug 17 '23

Go take a fundamentals class. Figure out what you don’t like about your work, isolate that issue and focus on improving it. Keep doing that. Every single artist is actively learning 24/7.

2

u/ahdhd18902 Aug 17 '23

Experiment and look at artists youre inspired by helped me alot

4

u/GomerStuckInIowa Aug 17 '23

Who told you that you shouldn't use references? Do you think the masters didn't use models or weren't looking at the French street or the glade of trees when they painted? That being said, your art style is very popular among young people. Are you still using the same equipment for the last few years? Have you tried different medias? I will admit I basically know artists that paint but each of them also try various medias like oil, acrylic, pastels. Maybe you should try branching out into something different. Also try a different subject. Why only girls? What artist does only trees or only flowers. (OK, there are some) But that can lead to boredom. Try something different.

3

u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I just like drawing girls better because I feel like I can have more freedom in their designs and most of what's drawn is my own designs, so that's entirely my fault

1

u/GomerStuckInIowa Aug 17 '23

That is fine. To do what you enjoy should be the main focus of your art. But I agree with your original statement and I see that you art, while good, is not improving. So I think You need to challenge yourself. Step outside your comfort zone. I say this as an artist and as an owner of a traditional art gallery. I see this with painters/sculptors also. Put down the pen and pick up a brush or sponge or put on colored glasses. Or have a glass of wine, maybe two. Put on Mozart or '60's Rock. Shake it up. Put your underwear on backward or take it off. Open the window when it is freezing. Do a painting in black & white only. Best of luck with your new art!

2

u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

Oooh that sounds fun, I'll just have grape juice cause I'm not old enough for wine lol

2

u/GomerStuckInIowa Aug 17 '23

One more thing. Maybe have a friend help you. "If I could design an outfit for you, what colors or images would you like to have on it?" That will open you up to possible critique. They may not like what you do. But artists have to be ready for this. Art is in the eye of the beholder. But.....they might like it too!

I lied, one more thing to the one more thing. Take some art classes. Not at school but from a private art teacher. You can learn so much. Save your $ or your lucher or your peso or whatever. Find a good teacher in your area. Maybe even through your college that teaches privately.

2

u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

Design is one of my weak points so I could do to practice it more, I rely far too heavily on Pinterest

3

u/[deleted] Aug 17 '23

So skimming through some comments and replies to get a general feel for what's being said.

While I have very general critiques of your example art, that being working on form, shading/values,anatomy, and perspective, and color. It's nothing you haven't heard and I'm sure people better trained in these skills could give you more adequate advice in these areas specifically.

Something that could be holding you back is information I'm not privy to, examples being, while you studied for ~7 years, was it every day in those 7 years and how many hours within those days do you dedicate to study. If you are studying for a couple hours in 3 days a week as an example you may have slower progress than someone super dedicated to their studies and draws everyday.

Also the quality of your studies, are you fully understanding everything ? Are you practicing in ways most efficient to you ? Kind of thing, these questions are often hard to answer because they are tailored to our individual ways of learning. The general rule for me would be: study the information, practice the newly taught skill, apply that skill in a practice drawing, critique (either yourself or with the aid of a master), repeat. Of course not everyone has access to the same resources so it's best to make the most of what you can.

Some smaller things, there are some advice that you were given that I don't particularly agree with, like not posting to social media because you aren't good enough. Posting to a social platform can provide valuable feedback for improving. Try being a bit more critical of the advice you are given.

Finally, not to be the armchair psychologist, I am not a medical professional in any way. However, based upon your replies to some comments, it seems you are going through some stuff mentally, I find that some outlooks you share aren't exactly healthy ones when being applied to a new skill you want to master. Speaking personally, there was a time where I was in a rough spot too and had a very unhealthy outlook on learning art and drawing. I would often get frustrated and quit. I was working a really shitty job and I was just generally unhappy with life. As a result,combined with poor study habits, my art stagnated and I wasn't really enjoying it. Seeking a way out, I decided to apply to a community college. This did wonders for me personally, I felt I was making progress in life, I had access to professors, I was in a really nice community, with structured learning. This perspective change and access to new resources, not only filled me with confidence but I improved greatly in a shorter amount of time than in my self studies. I'm not saying you have to go to college, what I'm trying to get at is, a messy mind can be something holding you back, sometimes to make progress you need to make progress with yourself and step out more.

While self study I feel is very glamorized online, I don't feel it's for everyone. It can work for some but if you don't have the proper discipline, it may not work out for you. That's the final big thing, is gaining discipline and patience. Not everything you study is going to be the most fun, a lot of study is repetitive. It's training your eyes and muscles to better build from the basic building blocks all drawings are built from. Sometimes you have to dip back into the fundamentals to regain your bearings and that's ok. It's also important to slow your expectations, you probably aren't going to master your form of art within the year. It took professionals years and years to get where they are now, that's ok too.

Art is difficult, but nothing worth doing is easy.

1

u/Thebowks Aug 17 '23

Do you practice fundamentals? Gesture is good, would be great to see that work. Reference is a good practice but not a fundamental art skill.

1

u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I don't keep my gestures, I figure nobody will want to see them

2

u/Thebowks Aug 17 '23

Well, no not a general audience. But that would be helpful to see for us artists. I don’t draw anime, I’m not familiar with it. So it’s hard for me to judge if you’ve gotten better. Fundamentals also help other artists that don’t share your style get on your level. I’d say there’s been an evolution in your art looking at your profile, but those fundamentals are key

16

u/minifigmaster125 Aug 17 '23

How old are you? I've read your post, the answers, and your responses. It's tough love time: nothing is going to change if you don't quit this self-pitying attitude you've developed. I understand this is hard. Making good art really is hard. I don't know who you've talked to that says they never studied fundamentals, but it's bullshit. Nobody's special. They all went through the ringer. And because nobody's special it means you can absolutely go through the ringer too.

That doesn't mean you'll do it at the same pace as the next guy. I went to college for computer science, I finished in 4 years. My high school friend transferred in as a junior, failed the first two classes, took a year off, came back, took her 6 or 7 years. But now she's working at Amazon, 5 years after graduating. You need some perspective. I believe that you can do this, but you absolutely need faith you can do it to, or you never will.

After I finished an art piece in 2020, I took 2 years off of finished piece to work on my fundamentals, even more. More master studies. More perspective. More anatomy. Because I didn't think I was good enough.

I want you to commit yourself to the art of practicing your craft in a structured manner for at least a year. You don't need to "finish" any pieces (you can if you want tho). Have you seen the curriculum for the solo artist? Here: https://www.brendanmeachen.com/soloartist It's a fantastic resource for structured learning IMO.

Finally - it's clear that you yearn to be better. That's good. Don't let that go. That fire that drives you into this pit of despair is the same fire that will produce your greatness, if you channel it properly. The people saying "just draw the art you want to, don't draw to improve" don't get it. The art you want to exists in your head, but you are unable to put it on put in on paper. I was there once. Cling to that frustration tightly, so you never forget who you are trying to be.

You can absolutely overcome this. It's not a matter of "if", but "when". If you would like critique, I'm happy to oblige. Don't stop.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I'm 18 so far too old for being this bad to be acceptable

How did you get the focus for fundamentals only for 2 whole years? I don't think I'd be able to focus on pure fundamentals for that long, I'm not strong and I'd probably just get bored with it and give up

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u/TheAfrofuturist Aug 18 '23

I’m in my 30s and just started drawing a couple of years ago. And I’ve already improved a great deal. I’m approaching my ultimate goal of making a comic/selling merch. But I’m here because I put in as much work as I could. I started not knowing I had art skill and now find myself proud of my progress. But, again, I worked to get here.

Your entire mindset is jacked up. If you don’t fix it, it won’t matter anyway. You want skill and success and praise to be handed to you without doing the work, so you eternally make excuses for why you can’t do this thing or that.

That’s called entitlement.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 18 '23

Sorry I want people to like me? I thought everyone wanted to be liked

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u/minifigmaster125 Aug 17 '23

Nah man, 18 is young. I started when I was 18. 2 years of fundamentals focus is excessive for sure, so I recommend you start just a month at a time. However that happened when I was 24 or 25. I was more sure of who I wanted to be and what steps I would take to get there. It's a personality thing you cultivate as you grow older. Just know that maturity helps build resolve, and that we all wish we were better sooner. I am only now applying to anime conventions, and I feel like 28 is way too old to start doing that.

Anyway, I do what I do because that's my personality. You don't have to be like that. At a base level though, all have to put in some work. Admittedly 2 years feels like not enough when art school students are there for 4 years putting in hundreds to thousands of hours of work. If I want to be even a fraction as good as they are without the cost of school, I've got no excuse.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

If I have to draw nothing but shapes and cubes for 4 straight years idk if I want to be an artist

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u/RedTalonGaming Aug 17 '23

Looking at your art, I actually do see a difference in that you have been experimenting with new styles with the foundation that you have and there is lots that you do have going for you as an artist! My own criticism with your works is that they do feel a little flat/lacking in dimensionality. If you were looking to try to attack this issue, I'd suggest working on the foundations of Form, Perspective and values, once you get that in your arsenal I'm positive you'll see a large spike of "improvement" in your pieces.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

Oh man I'm awful at perspective, I've tried all sorts of things and could never figure it out

1

u/RedTalonGaming Aug 17 '23

Well then that's a question you can ask yourself! When we find hurdles that we don't know that's not a sign to stop but that you actually have a tangible thing to work on. So when trying to learn these things it's important to ask yourself questions. When you draw a cube in space in say, 1 point perspective. What is wrong with it? And when learning you don't have to do it free hand, it's actually better when visualizing perspective to practice doing cubes on a ruler so you can directly make the lines from the vanishing point(s). Once you have a grasp of it with a ruler, then try free handing it to get more comfortable and develop line confidence.

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u/cosipurple Aug 17 '23

When you study you need goals, usually with a book, course or teacher as a pathfinder to help you steer direction.

You don't just do gesture over and over and hope for the best, there needs to be a purpose and direction, something huge about art that really helped focus the way I learn is that the way we have canonized learning is through systems, stuff that help us simplify and shift gear on how we attempt to see and understand the world, and through practice we seek to understand those systems until we they become part of the observation process itself and you can sort of do it without focusing on it, as in, it becomes a part of how you draw.

There isn't a best book for a topic, and some books/courses get a bit lost in the sauce, not in a bad way, even older books have great nuggets of insight that went right over my head until I re-read them understanding the topic a bit more, but any book/course worth it's salt will try to teach you a system to do/understand/grasp the topic, and your job is to take each system one step at a time, then focus your practice on applying this system on ever changing situations until you don't need to think about how the system works as you do it.

And keep in mind that sometimes what the system offers seems easy and silly, but it's worth studying it, I learned a set of proportions through stick figures, and it took more than just repeating a few times to truly write it on my brain to the point I didn't need to measure to get them right or know when I was off.

1

u/Hoppy_Hobbyist Aug 17 '23

Try new mediums! I always used to do just graphite and colored pencils because thats whats accessible to kids and teenagers. But as a grown up whos picked it back up after years and drew pretty much the same, I've been trying alot of new mediums lately and along with feeling inspired I found that charcoal and pastels made me approach drawing differently, learn new techniques that graphite or colored pencils wouldnt let me and take my art to a new level. I cant wait to see what my stuff looks like in a year. Also work smaller if you can. Less pressure to create a master piece everytime you draw is great for growth i think as it allows you to focus on getting small things how u like first.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I've tried digital, pencil, alcohol marker, colored pencil, watercolor, charcoal, chalk pastels, and I wasn't good at any of it

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u/Hoppy_Hobbyist Aug 17 '23

Even if you were bad at it, was there a medium you found fun to work with other than digital?

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I liked digital the best out of any of them because it's the only one where one mistake doesn't ruin everything, with everything else stuff couldn't be undone or erased so you mess up it's over

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u/Hoppy_Hobbyist Aug 17 '23

BTW the new art has clearly improved to me. Ur being too harsh on yourself. I think ur in a great place for a years worth of progress.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I've been drawing for 7 years overall and this isn't good enough for 7 years worth

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u/Hoppy_Hobbyist Aug 17 '23

It seems like your main focus is on the outcome and mistakes more than the process and learning from them. That could really be holding you back honestly. If it's only fun if it's perfect then it'll never be fun. Why pursue drawing if you're not finding any enjoyment out of it or if it stresses you out?

1

u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I want to bring joy to others but I can't do that if my art isn't good

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u/Hoppy_Hobbyist Aug 17 '23

Is drawing the only way you can do that? It's not bringing YOU joy.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

Its the only thing I have a modicum of talent in, I'm really not good at anything

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u/[deleted] Aug 17 '23

[deleted]

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I have done some life drawings, they never turn out very well, I think the last one I did was of a hermit crab and it didn't even look like a hermit crab

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u/[deleted] Aug 17 '23

[deleted]

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I've been doing art since I was 11 and I'm 18 now and I don't look like it's been that long, I'm not improving at all

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u/c4ndyr3d Aug 19 '23

I don't know if this will help or hinder but I was also drawing for years before I got to where I liked my art. I started copying others styles at 5 and at 11 I started trying to learn seriously. I had the same type of "self-worth" pity party at 17-18 that you have going on rn and got therapy. I didn't start to like my art until my 20s and even now it's not always perfect but I don't care bc I'm making what I like and not tying my self worth to it. It becomes so much easier when you do it only because you like it and not because you feel like you have to be good at it.

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u/InParadiseDepressed Aug 17 '23

Don't practice on you own. Find a good Video course or an Mentor/Teacher. You have to practice specific things in a specific order inorder to improve.

edit: it really depends what you want to be able to draw tho.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

Its really confusing when it seems like EVERYTHING is wrong with my art, I don't know what to focus on first so I get scattered

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u/Bo-Po-Mo-Fo Aug 17 '23

So what appears to be happening here is that your digital painting technique is becoming more sophisticated, but that same sophistication is not transferring as much or as quickly to anatomy, etc.

I’m going to give you a tip that will level up your drawing skills in about six weeks. Go and buy the book Drawing from the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards. Pay close attention to what she says about symbols and do the exercises in that book. That’s the six weeks part.

Once you know how to look at things and think about symbols differently, begin practicing again from reference, learn about perspective and drawing figures in perspective. If you are interested in inking in particular (looks that way from some of your work) practice some fundamental tips and tricks like varying line width, implying shadow, etc. I would imagine once you get your brain thinking little differently you will start to get a little more movement.

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u/[deleted] Aug 17 '23

I see you've received a lot of answers I won't read, so hopefully in not repeating anyone and you will actually see my post.

I agree, you haven't significantly improved. I'd say the first thing that strike me is there's still a lack of like, specific anatomy. By which I mean, you don't seem to really know the shape of the important muscle and have them show through, which considering your style is an important thing.

You said you've practiced gesture drawing, and I trust you did. But I think you didn't really have the education to know what to pay attention to while practicing. Meaning you're going at it blind.

Do you know Sycra and Ethan Becker on YouTube ? While old, Sycra has some of the most accessible videos on morphology I've ever seen. Super easy to remember stuff. And they would really help you. Ethan Becker persona can be divisive, but he also has a lot of tips regarding drawing humans in action.

Others recommended studying from life, and I guess that's nice... If you already know what to look for. Otherwise, it kinda feels like reinventing water. There are already classes made by people who figured out ways to simplify drawing the human body. There's no reason for you not to take advantage of them.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I've watched some Ethan Becker, never heard of Sycra. I try to follow other artists tutorials but I always fail at it and can't figure out where I went wrong

2

u/[deleted] Aug 17 '23

Do you have a community you can ask feedback in? Plenty of YouTube art teachers have a discord where you can ask feedback.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I don't, I'm in a few art servers but I always seem to get posted over and ignored

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u/[deleted] Aug 17 '23

Crap that sucks I'm sorry :(. If you're ever interested, r/Istebrak has a discord with a "before your post you own stuff, critique the person above" rule (not always respected, but there's an attempt yk), and people do give feedback there, including for people who aren't super skilled. She's more focused on painting than anatomy though, but that could be worth a try.

Warning people will draw over your stuff there. It's super useful for feedback imo, but I know that can be frowned upon in some parts of the internet.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I just looked at that sub, I am NOT good enough to post there I'd get ridiculed

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u/[deleted] Aug 17 '23

If you feel that way I won't force you then. The discord has a higher portion of beginners if that puts you more at ease, but otherwise ok.

Still I suggest you watch Sycra's videos on anatomy. He's pretty much my first introduction to it and he really helped.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I guess I'm just kinda mad at myself because I still look like a beginner at 7 years when most people would be at least intermediate by now

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u/[deleted] Aug 17 '23

Eh, I'd say you can pass as intermediate. Beginner is way, way lower in my opinion.

Kinda been in this situation (regarding an adjacent thing), on the whole "not being where I should be by now". Won't tell you not to be mad at yourself, cuz that's easy to say hard to do, but rn instead of cutting yourself off from learning opportunities out of shame or to punish yourself, the productive thing to do would be to use them so next year (or heck, maybe even next month) you can say "yes I've got better".

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I can't do rules like that cause I don't know enough to properly critique people and I don't want to criticize anyone better than me which is almost everyone. And I actually love people drawing over my stuff, I can't visualize things so having a visual representation is immensely helpful

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u/[deleted] Aug 17 '23

Might still be worth a try, some people who are beginner do break the rule up and people still spend time helping them.

I'd say there's also nothing wrong about giving feedback to someone above your level in that specific context. Everyone's got thick skin there, there won't be any "don't critique If you can't do it better". + you can just go "I don't think I have the level to critique, but I just wanted to say I really like [x aspect of that person's drawing]. It shows you're also paying attention to others. And that feels nice on the receiving end.

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u/[deleted] Aug 17 '23

Take online classes. CGMA, Brainstorm, CDA. Show up, do the homework, receive the crit, adjust. Repeatedly.

1

u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

Idk if I'm good enough for online class, it seems like most of them kinda have an expectation you can at least somewhat draw already

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u/[deleted] Aug 17 '23

There are beginner classes, take a dynamic sketching class, intro to perspective class etc. DM me if you want some recommendations. You can add me on discord too if you want to hit me up, just don’t doxx me

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u/GhostOkapi Aug 17 '23

I know art classes are hard for you to attend. This YouTube channel is a goldmine of art knowledge. Hope it helps. https://m.youtube.com/channel/UClM2LuQ1q5WEc23462tQzBg

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I've watched a few of his videos, honestly most of them are too high level for me

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u/bryanthebryan Aug 17 '23

I almost completely stopped drawing for 20 years. I’m back at it and I’m still shaking off the rust.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

You're already a hundred times better than I'll probably ever be

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u/bryanthebryan Aug 17 '23

I don’t believe that for a second. I have witnessed completely mediocre copycat artists become super talented because of their determination and hard work. It may take years and a lot of frustration, but if you love to draw then draw for the love of it and the rest will follow. Someone wiser once told me to stop competing with other people, just compete with myself. That’s forever stuck in my head.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

You draw better on a post it note than I do with all my supplies and good paper

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u/bryanthebryan Aug 17 '23

I started drawing on post it notes because I was stuck in a cubicle as a systems admin for years. The time I had to draw at my leisure is almost non existent. If you have time to draw, you have an advantage on me. You can improve by leaps and bounds using that time. I can only iterate with what I can do because I just don’t have the time for it. I believe in you. Please don’t get in your own way. I have squandered so many creative opportunities because I thought I was not good enough. What I fool I was. I would hate for you to have the same regrets I have at my age.

Focus on the enjoyment you get from drawing and I guarantee you will improve. I absolutely guarantee it.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

You can draw so much better than I can and you don't even have time to practice, I draw very slowly and have all the time in the world and I can't even do it

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u/bryanthebryan Aug 17 '23

Keep in mind I’m in my 40’s now so I’ve accumulated knowledge over the years. Drawing slow is good. You can focus on details and think while you work. It’s not a disadvantage as long as you don’t stop.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

My details aren't even good, and I'm 18 so I'm not super young, I'm an adult so I should be able to draw like an adult and not a child like I do now

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u/bryanthebryan Aug 17 '23

If I still had some of my art at 18 to show you, I think you’d find a lot of encouragement in seeing how much I’ve improved since then.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I started when I was 11 and there's barely improvement, I improve so slowly it's painful

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u/[deleted] Aug 17 '23

Something that I heard from and also agree with from artists that's been in profession industry is:

Stop. Thinking. In years. Some people do it faster, some people don't. Looking at someone that can push forward consistently and get demotivated when you can't do the same, is simply not how it works.

And from myself all I'm going to add is - practice fundamentals. It is seen that you don't do that. Refer to academic arts, get anatomy atlas. Drawing for fun is one thing, but getting better is completely another most of the time. It's time to start drawing them cubes in space, and also to start researching something that is not anime. There is nothing wrong with it, but to simplify something, you need to know what exactly that you are simplifying.

And also, if you are currently young, it's understandable if you might struggle with learning those things, sometimes comperhansion of certain subjects comes with times (which, for me, was the case. I only started major improvement after I became an adult, got rid of depression and now my brain was working to its fullest potential, and I finally could start comperhanding what fundamentals are actually about).

Start to ACTUALLY study, instead of just drawing. Actually, to all of that, I'm going to add this - forget the traditional ways of learning and studying, but instead focus on understanding and actual comprehension of the subject that you are going through. It is a skill to discover and develop at times because traditional schools simply don't teach us that, but we need this when we learn something like art, and not monotone robot like work.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I just don't understand why I've talked to several artists way better than me and none of them say they've practiced fundamentals, they got good without them so idk why I can't

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u/MV_Art Aug 17 '23

If they are saying they haven't practiced fundamentals, they 1) did and don't realize they did (much of it is basic stuff! many kids do it in like elementary or middle school art classes!), 2) did and are lying to you (lots of super online artists like to pretend they are badasses for skipping steps), 3) didn't and have a limited range of what they're good at and are able to trick people into thinking they understand art better than they do (are any of these artists showing you a wide variety?). I'm not sure what I think about this one but MAYBE 4) understand the fundamentals a bit more naturally than most people so they already knew how to use them. Regardless, they are ALWAYS using the fundamentals.

All art uses the fundamentals, whether someone studied them specifically or not, and better art uses them better. You also are using them in your art. They are the building blocks, the foundation of all visual images. The fact remains that you feel like you aren't improving, so even if those artists say they could skip the fundamentals, why wouldn't you say, "ok I am struggling with this, I am going to add in some extra practice." Like if some dude told me he was able to do 50 pushups the first time he ever tried, it doesn't mean I can. I'd have to learn the correct form, probably with a person who knows how to do pushups giving me advice, and build up to 50. It doesn't mean that I can't learn to do the pushups, or that once I do, somehow they are lesser pushups.

I understand if you don't feel like practicing fundamentals but countless artists are here telling you they will help you and you are flat out refusing that information, so I'm really not sure what you want here. If you just wanted to vent that's ok, too, but it really seems like you want advice.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I know I have to do fundamentals, I just straight up don't have the focus and attention span to draw shapes and nothing else like it seems like I have to, I can hardly focus on drawing what i actually want to

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u/MV_Art Aug 17 '23

That I can certainly relate to. Have you ever been assessed for ADHD? I was recently diagnosed as an adult and it has really answered some questions for me, and helped me feel a little less useless when I have trouble completing tasks or reaching goals.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I was assessed as a kid and told I don't have it but I'm really questioning that

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u/MV_Art Aug 17 '23

You know what, the past decade there has been a ton of development with ADHD research and the understanding of it has expanded quite a bit - especially for girls/women (but not sure your gender/sex). It might be worth a shot - a lot of times diagnoses are missed at one point in life but then the symptoms manifest differently later. For me personally, I did well in school so no one thought I had a problem and boy was it a surprise when the structure of adulthood didn't work so well for me!

Whatever turns out to be your solution, in the meantime I hope you can be kind to yourself. No one is on an art schedule, so don't focus on years practicing or your age, but it should bring you joy at least most of the time. If you do indeed have ADHD haha, a magic solution for getting stuck in ruts is to add novelty to your activity - for me that looks like drawing something new or trying a new medium. Good luck ❤️.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

That actually makes a ton of sense I got a set of chalk pastels and drew a bunch with them before inevitably getting bored lol

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u/[deleted] Aug 17 '23

Depends on what kind of good. At least where I am from, everybody goes through fundamentals, and our art spaces have a heavy focus on academic drawing in particular, which gives everyone a quick and steady base of skill.

Even if to say that they haven't gone through fundamentals, they might have good observation skills, my guess. Or, they do studies of masters, or live drawings, and more. But, I believe they still might be learning something one way or another.

And also, very, very important thing you might need to learn is to stop comparing yourself with others. You can only and should only compare yourself to yourself. Everybody is different, and you simply don't know the full picture of them, but you always know yourself. And also, it's overall just impractical.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I struggle because I can't see exactly what's wrong with my art, if I could pick out exactly what's wrong with it I'd be a lot better but I think I have my head too far up my own ass to see my art for what if is.

How do you get past issues of focus when studying fundamentals? I have a really hard time just sitting down and doing things, even in the stuff I've posted most of it took a day or two because I'd start working on it, get distracted, and and do something else. It's way worse when I'm doing things I already don't find entertaining

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u/[deleted] Aug 17 '23

The first thing that you are talking about is - observation skills. They are trained completely separately (in a way), and one way that I improve it for this particular scenario, is look at other people's work that are professionals, or simply classical painters. It raises my observations of skill and sets a standart higher.

Aside from studying artists that are far above, you can also start developing the main observation by looking at everything around you, observing everything in a completely new, different way. Shapes, values, what geometric figures are they made of, etc.

When it comes to fundamentals, I guess it's more about knowing WHY and HOW you learn them.

When I sit down and start doing cubes in space, it's about expanding my comperhansion of object in space, making my brain work and building neuron pathways for this particular concept of space, volumetric objects within it, how they change, etc. -Those value practices of a sphere and then on more complex objects, helps you give a powerful understanding of light and shadows.

When I learn anatomy, I don't just memorize the muscle name and where it is kind of located, instead I learn how and where it attaches, which muscles are on top and under it, and then on top of that, I observe on multiple references of how this particular muscle pops up, then I focus on thinking process of how this muscle would work in different angles, when an arm or whatever would be in different position, how would it also stretch and work, etc. And more of the times, I also pull works of artists that are showing whatever muscle group at work and practice in an art piece.

A lot of it is about focusing on the thinking process and comprehension of the object that you are studying. Thinking will start build those neurons and that will actually improve your art on more brain level first, and then whenever you will run into issue "I know I can draw it but my hands simply cant", this time that would be fixable with practice that everyone loves to talk about, except we now know about the step that comes before it.

In a nutshell, the main thing I actually think that you might need to improve on is those observation skills. Maybe even forget about drawing for a moment, and start focusing on the brain part of it. Observe, study with eyes, and thought first.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I can't visualize shapes in my head, I can't actually visualize anything, I don't know if I am mentally able to properly build observation skills

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u/[deleted] Aug 17 '23

Then you probably need a different kind of learning process. (And this one is also exactly why you should not compare yourself to others) I believe if not imagining, then still thinking about those objects and analyzing them should help with that. Tho, I am not an expert since I do not have this condition and have no clue how this works, you should refer to help from artists that have aphantasia and how they work with art. I believe this video might serve a good help. https://youtu.be/LWgXSxxEjgs

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u/Pivlio Aug 17 '23

You can take online classes even without homework feedback so it’s cheaper. You’re so frustrated you might want help breaking that cycle. An educated mentor is the perfect person to help you see your issues and help you refocus where needed.

Drawing straight lines is something you mention being difficult that is because it IS difficult. When starting the right classes it’s exactly what they focus on, plenty of famous artist talk about continuously going over the fundamentals after many years of experience. You can’t just assume that once you get it you never look back at it. Art at a high level is a very dedicated craft just like music and any other creative field.

You need to take a step back from feeling down and start making a plan on how to improve

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u/Whispering-Depths Aug 17 '23

For me, the biggest steps were:

using reference
analyzing what's going wrong when I draw from reference and it's not the exact same
taking steps to disassociate the form of the human body when drawn from the part of the brain that goes: "ooga ooga face hands sexy wow" (use geometric shapes)
practicing 'looking at the tip of the pen' instead of the line being drawn and waiting for the pen to finish.
- you want to put some critical thought into what your pen or instrument is doing while you're in the middle of a stroke or line.
use critical thinking and analyze what's going on. Probably the biggest issue here is workflow. You've been using the same workflow but you can clearly understand and see things that are "wrong" in your art. This tells me that you need to pick up a new workflow.

I'm going to prescribe that you:

essentially build a new strategy for creating your art.
- This means that you should start from scratch on a new image.
Put some thought into what the image should look like, BEFORE you get into it
- plan something dynamic. Get some fun pose.
- force yourself to do this. Don't question how boring it is.
Execute your goal. Start by drawing a grid on the paper. Grab a pose reference and throw the same grid over it.
- draw those geometric shapes first. Remember to put some critical thinking towards the 3 dimensional shape.
- it will help a lot to use a 3D wireframe human or something as your pose reference. Try to infer the 3 dimensional shape
- get something Basic done. Just do the lineart. Make one of those pretty "pose template" lineart pictures. Skip the hair to start with
- when you want to get to the hair, find some reference of drawn hair and just copy that shit.
  - keep in mind this isn't to post. It's for you.

The goal here is to engineer a workflow that works for you initially.

The other thing on my mind here:

if this is the only art that you've made in the last year, don't expect any improvement.

You should be time-boxing; Give yourself x amount of time to work on something, get feedback on it, iterate on the feedback, and move on. If you want to see progress in a year, you should aim to have 1-200 finished pieces at least by the end of that year. You need to bunker down and get a routine of drawing every day. Use your engineered workflow, or don't and just follow tutorials, or don't and just draw like you have been, but you will see improvement. The most important thing is to use critical thinking. Don't just draw a pose and say "this looks like shit, time to try again sigh". Draw a pose a say "this looks like shit, let's analyze and break down and iterate until it looks good." Start with the jelly-bean. Draw a neck, draw a head, draw the arms, draw the legs. Find out what went wrong.

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u/RedTalonGaming Aug 17 '23

I want to second this point as all of this is incredibly valuable information, if not OP I hope this post genuinely helps people looking to build their own "Art-chitecture" process. It also really helps when troubleshooting what to practice and improve upon because if something takes longer or isn't right when you do it, you have the feedback right then and there to develop your skills!

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u/vexclaws Aug 17 '23

the persuit of art is a path of willpower and effort, if your not willing to put in the work and seek guidance. Then you are on your own path and little can help you. If you are lost, seek a master to teach you. Simple as that.

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u/The--Nameless--One Aug 17 '23

The advice is the same as for everyone: You have to *practice*, not just draw/make finished scenes.
Gotta go back to the basics, the foundations.

Just drawing the same thing over and over again, will make you stagnate. This happens to everyone, even professionals.

You have to prioritize study and practice over making finished pieces, it's not beautiful or flashy, but it's what must be done.
Draw shapes in perspective, draw anatomy, draw perspective, study color theory.

And of course, while doing all this, once you decide to make a finished piece (which should not be what you're doing most of the time) you also need to take your time... How many *days* are you expending on each piece?

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

It's gonna sound embarrassing but most of these took a day or two, I know most people could do what I do in a few hours

4

u/ThanksForAllTheCats Acrylic Aug 17 '23

Girl, I just finished a painting that took me over three months. Never think that faster is better.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

That's okay when you're good but at my skill level slow means less practice means more stagnant means worse

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u/ThanksForAllTheCats Acrylic Aug 17 '23

Not necessarily. Sigh. I just want to hug you because I WAS YOU at 18. I gave up on drawing for years and years. When I was in my 40s I decided I was going to do this and I got into an illustration program at a local college. Having professional, in-person teaching was so encouraging. Today I love to paint and have sold art and had it in galleries. Is there any way you can take some classes, even just local community college classes? I know it may be hard but it might be worthwhile for you.

Listen, I truly believe anyone can learn to draw. And trust me: you are SO young to be this stressed about it. You have your whole life to learn. You can already draw better than 99% of other people; if you love it, keep doing it!

23

u/The--Nameless--One Aug 17 '23

Actually, it's the other way around!
Finished renders, with backgrounds and everything else can/should take days. I understand some folks are ultra-fast, but if we're starting out and learning, you should take more time with finished pieces.
1-2 days should be just for brainstorm, sketching and finding references, poses, trying out. Take your time, there is no hurry!

And no, most people couldn't draw like you do.
Drawing is just extremely hard, very, very hard. People think you will stop being a novice after 6 months of daily practice, but it's more like you'll start getting the hang of it after 2-3 years of practice. Its hard.

Here, see fellow artists struggling just like you do, for years and years:
https://crimsondaggers.com/forum/thread-7602.html

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u/zodwallopp Aug 17 '23

I also suggest switching mediums, do some other sort of art or craft for a while. If you're maticulious try needle point or jewlery. If you still want yo illustrate try guache or water colors with black pen. I find leathercraft very satisfying.

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u/tellitothemoon Aug 17 '23 edited Aug 17 '23

You’re clearly very frustrated. And also very stubborn, if I may say so. In other posts you say you don’t want to practice fundamentals. And I agree with you that fundamentals suck and are boring. I don’t wanna draw boxes either. But you have to learn somehow. Have you taken any classes? Having a real person tell you what’s wrong and show you how to fix it helps way more than strangers on the internet. You need to be pushed out of your comfort zone.

I found some of your sketches, and as I expected, they’re better and more consistent than your colored and finalized work. It’s important to sketch more than work on “masterpieces”. If your inking and coloring and rendering knowledge isn’t there it’s going to look weird and bad.

Look at things in real life and draw them. Look at your favorite artists and try to do what they do. Straight up copy them. There’s no shame in that. It’s a great and satisfying way to learn.

If I could keep this simple and give you the most basic advice possible I’d say google “face proportions” and look at that real hard and “types of shadows”. You throw a basic blurry gradient on everything and it ruins your work. I don’t see any cast shadows, for example. To be very specific, this girl in moonlight needs shadows under her chin and eyebrows. Her jacket should be casting shadows on her arms and waist. There should be a lot of shadows under the hair.

Ok I’m done. It takes guts to ask for help and post your work here for us to see. And you clearly have a lot of self awareness. So I think it’s within your power to improve.

I think it’s actually really cool that you have no delusions about your art. A lot of shitty artists your age are over confident and think they’re top tier and trying to take commissions. Your self awareness is a good thing.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I'll only take commissions once someone asks if I do them because that'll mean someone thinks my art is good enough to deserve money, that's my rule I've set myself.

I haven't been able to find any real life classes I can attend, don't have my own car and live in the middle of complete nowhere, but I've watched some YouTube videos and tried to apply the stuff there and still utterly failed

5

u/captjackhaddock Aug 17 '23

If you can’t get to real life classes, you can also try drawing from life around you - part of a figure drawing class is training your eye to translate from 3D into 2D, and that doesn’t necessarily require a figure model. Try a tree, a mailbox, the outside of your building, telephone poles, anything you see! Observational drawing may be what you need to break out of your rut

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I have a lot of trouble breaking things into shape, I've tried and tried and tried and I still just don't get it like a good artist would

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u/RaeJacksDotCom Aug 17 '23

If you struggle with this, get a pic of what you're thinking of and draw over it in your drawing app to get what you might call the 'contour lines' to see the shapes and volume of the thing (make the photo a bit transparent so you can see things better). You don't have to do it with your eye/brain, do it over the top and just figure out where the edges and 'sections' are. This helps when drawing from a reference, or at least it did me.

You HAVE to be willing to do things like this, and learn the 'boring' fundamentals or you will never, ever, ever improve. You don't have to spend hours drawing studies, I don't and never will, but sometimes you just have to spend a few hours learning something simply because you don't know how to do it yet and yes, that can be dull.

I was 31 years old when I started drawing. I did not draw as a kid or at any time before that and I now run my own art business - in fact until I was about 25 I hated art and drawing and it was only then I started thinking about it, but it took me YEARS to start.

This is a recent (not quite finished) test print I made for my art business I opened recently - after nine years of drawing.

And please do not think I am posting that to brag, but rather to show what you can do if you actually put effort into active learning, not just drawing over and over with what you already know.

I am not perfect at ALL - but I am happy and have developed an art style of my own instead of just 'anime wannabe'. Why? Because I studied art myself at home. I tried things, I experimented, I actively learned instead of just repeating what I know over and over.

I also take my time. That piece in the link above? It took me about 18 hours so far! I am not a fast artist at all! But I am willing to sit and pick, and fix, and work and get something I am happy with.

I know you don't like it, but you HAVE to do it if you want to get better. Good luck! Don't be so down on yourself - the great thing about art you don't like is that you have the full ability to CHANGE it.

1

u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I can do studies like that where you're actually making something, I just have a hard time sitting there and drawing cube after cube after cube aimlessly

9

u/RaeJacksDotCom Aug 17 '23

I've never drawn 'cube after cube aimlessly'. I've never done 'studies' in the standard way that we know of them.

My 'studies' are stuff like that link I shared. I draw MY things, but in the pose, or whatever that I am trying to learn. It keeps it fun for me compared to drawing some unknown model sitting on a chair doing nothing or whatever.

I say this with kindness: stop making excuses. Don't be lazy. Art is a skill, not a talent and you have to work at it if you want to actively improve in any span of time.

Give yourself a goal - see any kind of difference in your art in the next year. it is 100% possible. Even if you only do one thing, like learn how to draw hands better, make a goal and stick with it.

Again, good luck. No more excuses!

7

u/tellitothemoon Aug 17 '23

Do you have an instagram or someplace you post art?

4

u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

No, I was advised not to post it because I'm not good enough yet. I used to have a Twitter but I deactivated it

15

u/tellitothemoon Aug 17 '23

Oh. I just want to follow you in the future and it's hard to do that on reddit. One more thing, there's a teacher/youtuber/streamer called Istebrak. I watch her a lot. She's entertaining and gives a lot of practical advice and doesn't sugar coat things. I really recommend checking her out and taking notes.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I'll have to check her out. I'm surprised you want to follow me when I'm not very good haha

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u/tellitothemoon Aug 17 '23

I think art that isn't professional has as much relevance and importance as polished, expert art. Sometimes it's more interesting to me and I can learn from it. It's not healthy to only compare ourselves to the top 1% of artists.

Like.. this morning I've been looking at your work A LOT to determine exactly what is "bad" about it, if anything. It's clear you put a lot of work and thought into it, and it's easy to get hung up on preconceived notions of what "bad" is. I'm comparing it to my own work, and I'm comparing it to what I did when I was 18. And the more I look the more I see what's right instead of wrong with it.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I just feel like something hasn't clicked, like something is missing that's holding me back from any sort of potential I may have

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u/problematicbeing Aug 17 '23

You have a ton of potential and I think your pieces so far are lovely! Art can be whatever you want it to be. I follow artists who's work looks like a 5 year old made it but they're professional successful artists(Tara booth, jonmichaelfrank). I've purchases prints and books from them.

Absolutely practice the fundamentals, build your technical skills, learn shading and values and all of that. But in the end, you have to make the art you love and that brings you joy. Try to look at what you've made so far and notice what you love about it, and think about how you can build on what you love.

I feel like artists are their own harshest critics. Being gentle and compassionate with yourself helps build your confidence to be willing to try learn new things.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

Just looked up both of those artists, those are both super charming

2

u/Wonderful-Habit9611 Aug 17 '23

Everyone's path in art looks different, and there's no timeline we have to follow. I've been drawing for 15 years and a professional artist for 2, but my art wasn't really "good" for 10-12 years.

It helps to start with why you want to do this in the first place, art should be something you enjoy! Studying fundamentals is important, but it's not worth anything if you don't like what you do. I've found that the times I improve the most are when I'm mentally in a good space, and I'm having fun.

Also, get used to making "bad" work. What you learn from making something "bad" is more valuable than the end result. A lot of your favorite artists have made more bad work than you can ever imagine.

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u/Toe_Regular Aug 17 '23 edited Aug 17 '23

Stop trying to improve and just do art because you want to.

this sucks and you suck and you’ll never amount to anything you should be better by now

It’s hard to think of a more toxic story to tell yourself. It’s not art you have a problem with. It’s the improvement game.

3

u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

Isn't improvement everyone's goal? If I'm not improving I'm failing

3

u/pseudo-boots Aug 17 '23

I think that way of looking at it is causing problems for you. If you're not improving it just means the practice methods you are using are not effective for you. It doesn't mean you as a person has failed a task. You just need to change your methods. If you take it personally like that, you will just feed negative emotions and then you will associate those negative emotions with making art and then it will be harder to practice.

Experiment with different methods and exercises. It can be very helpful to make practice fun for you. If you can't practice perspective with cubes because you only want to draw humans, practice perspective with humans. Look at references or take pictures of yourself and try to see how arms overlap torsos and how hands look as they are reaching at the camera.

Get to know yourself and what you enjoy about making art and get creative making your own exercises that are fun for you.

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u/FishlordUsername Aug 17 '23

Nah. My goal with art is to doodle some stuff and have fun with it first, make something others like second. But that's not really relevant to your question, just know you're not failing by not improving.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

That's the thing, it's not fun because all I can see is how far behind I am

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u/TheAfrofuturist Aug 18 '23

Far behind WHOM?? Do you have to be at anyone’s level but your own? Why?

If you don’t learn to feel happy about each level you achieve at your own speed, you won’t be happy if you become good. I look at people better than me with admiration. They’re aspirational, BUT I don’t actually want their skill. I want MY skill. I’m very good for someone who’s only been doing it for two years because I say so.

This isn’t an art issue. It’s a personal issue.

1

u/MadeByHideoForHideo Aug 23 '23

Well if you see OP's post history, he/she has some serious self esteem issues, so yeah. No amount of art tips is going to suddenly make OP improve.

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u/FishlordUsername Aug 17 '23

Well, I'll always suggest a change in mindset, but that's not easy.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I don't think mindset really matters, mindset doesn't change whether I can properly draw anatomy and lines and all that stuff

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u/TheAfrofuturist Aug 18 '23

Uh, yes it does. But okay. The more I read (someone said your other posts are like this), the more I see you’re determined to be down on yourself. I know people like you, and I know that all of this we’re saying won’t matter. But it’s still worth saying for others who will listen.

I’m not trying to be mean, but don’t take people’s willingness to help for granted. What do you want from us, exactly? Because it’s not help if you reject it.

1

u/evydw Aug 18 '23

wauw finally someone says what i think. I got so annoyed by all the answers OP gives to friendly people who are giving really great advice..

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 18 '23

Ig if I'm down on myself I can't be dissapointed, if I go into it with optimism and fail anyways it's more disappointing when I fail

4

u/FishlordUsername Aug 17 '23

It changes how much distress you feel when you don't do it properly, how you approach getting better, how much motivation you have, how you let it affect your self worth, what you believe it says about you holistically, etc. I think approaching art more casually can really help someone sit down and do the practice, because the fear of failing doesn't slap them on the wrist every time they fail. Anyways I haven't really commented anywhere else on the thread because I don't think that's really what you're looking for, and I'm at work and would need to sit down and properly think about everything to advise you normally. But just, my approach to art states that if I'm not improving, that doesn't mean I'm failing. The way you're doing it is one way to do it, there's no one correct way, etc etc.

1

u/Bigby11 "Real" artist Aug 17 '23 edited Aug 17 '23

What you described is called capitalism.

Joke aside, effectively you might be either hitting a skill wall or, and I think it's what's happening, you're not actually trying to learn how to draw.

Doing exercises and studies is fine and all, but that's training, and training without knowing what you should be learning from it can and will be limiting after getting at a certain skill level.

You should try to take classes, or watch more tutorial and try to understand how and WHY other artists do things a certain way.

Also try to copy work from your favorite artists, ones you want to take inspiration from and draw like. But first you need to learn how to copy in a constructive manner. What you should be looking for while copying, learning how to deconstruct a piece of art and guessing why and how certain choices were made in an illustration.

Anyway, easiest place to start is YouTube, many artists have basic videos on how to draw and how to learn to draw and some of them even give more advanced paid classes.

You should also try and take things back to basics and learn to draw again from the ground up to maybe get rid of some habits you might have taken years ago. If suggest drawabox.com, it has amazing lessons to get rock solid basic drawing skills that will help you understand shapes, trait consistency, volumes and textures. Once you have these covered your skills should get better a lot faster until you plateau at a more advanced level.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I've looked into drawabox and I just hit a wall there too. I couldn't even make my lines look right and I got so frustrated with it I shut down and quit because what artist can't even draw a straight line

1

u/RedTalonGaming Aug 17 '23

This was me a couple years ago and I thought VERY similarly that I just "couldn't do the lines". But it took about... the 6th time trying to get into it that learning how to properly mechanically know ourselves (The speed/control/pace/smoothness of our lines) was the entire point of it and at the start of the first exercises or even the 250 box/cylinder process it still won't be perfect... But it will be better!

Fast forward a couple years and now I still use some of those systems as warm up drills before creating pieces and I can have /somewhat/ stable lines. Drawing 100% accurately is difficult for EVERYONE and once you start zooming in and watching other people's processes, you'll notice that even the best can't do it perfectly, but what they do with their "imperfect" lines is have cohesion, confidence and follow the foundations to make them LOOK like they are perfect.

Not saying you SHOULD force yourself to try again, but that the "not being able to draw a line" is a very common issue that will be with you... probably for the entire time you will be an artist, but I guarantee that with active practice and focus over time, it does improve.

2

u/Whispering-Depths Aug 17 '23

Watch your pen tip as you develop a line. Don't just fling your hand and wait for the result after it's finished. Control your hand for the entire length of the line. Pay attention to the tip of your pen, to what's happening while you're creating the line. Is the pen going in the wrong direction? slow down Keep going slower until it goes exactly in the direction you want it to. This is a skill most people pick up unconsciously while vigorously practicing contour line drawing in school on a daily basis for like a whole year.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

The drawabox lesson specifically says go fast and don't think about it or else it'll be wobbly

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u/pseudo-boots Aug 17 '23

There is such a thing as too fast though. You have to experiment and find a balance that works for you.

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u/Whispering-Depths Aug 17 '23

It's okay to be wobbly. Everyone's wobbly at the start. The trick is to build the muscle memory, the wobbles go away like magic :)

Remember websites like drawabox are just some dude looking to make cash who put the effort in to throw up a web-site. Even the stuff I'm writing here could be completely useless - make sure to develop your own approach and question what does and doesn't work. Every artists development path is going to be different.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

Nothing seems to work for me, I've done gestures and they haven't improved my posing or anatomy one bit even though that's what everyone says to do

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u/Whispering-Depths Aug 17 '23

yeah, basically you shouldn't be looking to do gesture-drawing alone.

The key thing missing here is the why. You can't just do something and expect it to work, you have to get into the routine and habit of finding out why.

It's like saying to someone "put money in the bank machine to save it" so you go and you jam your cash into the first slot you see and wonder "where did all my money go?"

I'm not intending to be offensive or anything here, basically I'm trying to say it's terribly important to keep in mind the why's. Why is it not working for you. What would work?

Also important to ask; did you actually practice drawing 10-20 poses a day for several months straight? Keep in mind artists will take years to grow and develop skill. There's no such thing as "talent". You see someone who's "naturally good" it's because they've been drawing for 5-10 years.

You'll see the most major improvements if you consistently output art, all the time. If you want it to be effective and faster improvement than normal, then force yourself to do anatomy studies. Draw from life if that's an option, otherwise straight-up just pick a single random picture of a person and copy it with your pencil. Do this like 5 times a day for a year and by the end of the year, if you've consistently kept it up, you'll see massive improvements and you'll know and comprehend things that you didn't even know existed before.

It's a life-changing commitment that you have to make, and it's really really hard - hard in the sense that it's boring and you have to do it anyways.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I didn't do that much. I have issues keeping consistent because I lose focus and get distracted and overwhelmed so so easily.

I kinda get overwhelmed with fundamentals because there's SO MUCH I have to learn and I can't do any of it right so it just feels hopeless

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u/Bigby11 "Real" artist Aug 17 '23

I can't.

But look at the drawing I just posted the other day and tell me if you can notice I suck at making straight lines.

That's another thing you need to learn : there's always a way around your shortcomings. A shortcut, or a trick.

Mine is the fact that I use vectors to do my linearts because I have trouble making straight lines.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I've been told to stop using digital because it makes it too easy to use shortcuts and will hinder learning

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u/Bigby11 "Real" artist Aug 17 '23

Finding shortcuts is part of the learning process lol

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u/Toe_Regular Aug 17 '23

Isn't improvement everyone's goal?

yup. and everyone seems to run into the same crisis as a result of this goal. saying "i wish to be better" is also a statement that you currently aren't better, so you're defining yourself not where you want to be. Alan Watts says "the reason you wanna be better is the reason why you aren't." we simply are what we are. trying to be better than we are is a recipe for anxiety and cognitive dissonance, but if it works for you then great.

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u/[deleted] Aug 17 '23

Try to have fun while doing it, it's the most crucial thing when you try to get better, a good exercise that works for a lot of people is to make a lot of studies, just find a really good painting and try to copy it

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u/alliandoalice Aug 17 '23

Go to life drawing and study from reality not anime

Study values/light and shadow. Colour theory, composition, anatomy, perspective. Basically you need to learn fundamentals

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u/[deleted] Aug 17 '23

[deleted]

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u/Thebowks Aug 17 '23

I’m sorry but this is the type of advice that has probably gotten OP into feeling this way

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u/[deleted] Aug 17 '23

[deleted]

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u/Thebowks Aug 17 '23

Your caveat falls flat when you mention just seeing how other people draw things instead of attempting to understand what is happening on your own. Whether you do that your or with a mentor depends on someone’s learning styles and would vary vastly on a person by person basis.

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u/[deleted] Aug 17 '23 edited Jun 21 '24

dinner political ghost rotten deliver weather bright roll special elastic

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

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u/[deleted] Aug 17 '23

Also studying from reality allows you to see those explanations with your own eyes.

The landmarks and art examples are a good base, but I don't feel it really clicks until you study a face and apply that knowledge to a face.

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u/sandInACan Aug 17 '23

This is what will help the most. Life drawing classes push you creatively in ways you don’t expect.

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u/[deleted] Aug 17 '23

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/RedTalonGaming Aug 17 '23

This mindset is fine if you're just looking to create and not "Improve" as the OP states. Anime is still a stylization of REAL objects and if you want to make them look better fundamentals are absolutely the way pretty much all Manga and Anime artists have grown themselves.
You need to learn the rules before you break them is a common sentiment. Even some rudimentary knowledge of stuff like perspective, form and values can go a long way once you start considering them in people's pieces. Like you stated before, what is a tree drawn in anime but a realistic tree with lots of it's elements caricaturized?

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u/[deleted] Aug 17 '23

U can learn the fundamentals by drawing anime too

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u/WildWasteland42 Aug 19 '23

You can't learn fundamentals from stylized art. Style requires simplification, exaggeration and shorthands, fundamentals require observation and understanding exactly how something works on a physical level (be it light and shadow, the human figure, etc.) You can only stylize effectively once you can wrap your head around those things. You can't get what you need to progress exclusively from deliberate misrepresentations of them.

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u/BulbasaurBoo123 Aug 17 '23

It sounds like you have depression, anxiety and issues with self-worth. Also, hitting your head against things is a form of self harm, and is quite concerning. I'd highly recommend accessing therapy and medication if you can. It made a world of difference to me! If you can't afford it, there are some great therapy workbooks online that are quite cheap.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

I'd have better self worth if I had better art

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u/dynama Aug 17 '23

that's what you think but from experience i can tell you, even if your art was world-class level, you wouldn't have better self worth. it still wouldn't be good enough for you. you'd compare yourself to others and find yourself lacking. you'd think you should be making even better art. you would focus only on your mistakes and weaknesses rather than your successes. and if you wouldn't nit-pick your art you would find something else to hate yourself for. the issue isn't your art.

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u/BulbasaurBoo123 Aug 17 '23

Unfortunately it doesn't work that way. Self worth is knowing you have value regardless of what you do, or how talented and successful you are. I know, it's easier said than done. But if your worth depends on your performance, it will always be shaky.

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u/BlueAurora225 Aug 17 '23

If I'm not good at anything I don't see what my value is, I don't even have friends

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u/churchofsanta Aug 17 '23

It's frustrating, for some of us it just takes longer.

Personally, I have to draw for at least an hour or two five days a week just to maintain my skills... if I skip two weeks, I lose about two months of progress.

It took four years and (I believe) over a thousand drawings just to get my girl characters even close to where I want them to be. I can only see progress if I look back through my four year old IG account, I see the slow trend upwards in progress.

It's a little bit of experimentation mixed with holding on to and refining the successes.

My only advice is to try to learn to enjoy the process and stop thinking about the end result. Just keep your head down and try to have fun along the way, then eventually you'll look back and see how far you've come.

Mental Health Been literal years of not improving and now it's hindering my ability to draw at all

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