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It was about a year ago that I decided that I should do speedpainting. There's a whole lot of reasoning that made me came to this conclusion. The main reason being that my drawings took too long to render and I was overall dissatisfied with the progress I made (or rather: didn't make).
As some of you might know from earlier journals, I suffer from a chronic injury that severely limits my drawing time. I can draw for a few hours on a good day, but not all days are good, and there are days I cannot pick up a pencil at all. As you can imagine this makes rendering a drawing a very frustrating process, because it would take me days, sometimes even weeks, to finish a simple drawing. So yeah... most of those (impressive) older works in my gallery... they took weeks.
It wasn't until I watched some more of those concept artists that I learned about the concept of speedpaintings. A lot of them were so amazing I couldn't believe they were done so quickly, but it made me think "what if I could pull that off?". That would actually make me somewhat productive.
In all honesty... I suffered a lot of health issues during that time (and I still do). Some days were good, a lot were awful. But regardless of that, I pulled myself out of bed and did one painting. On the good days I would do an hour, on the bad days maybe 20 minutes or so. But regardless of my health, I had something done that day. It was at least something to feel accomplished over.
I wrote a journal about improvement earlier, in which I already stated that improvement is one heck of slow bastard (and that being the reason I kept my sketches). Improvement goes by mostly unnoticed, and I guess it kinda did until I looked back at those December 2014 speedpaints this year and decided to redo one of them, just for fun.
The change in itself is visible, but to me there was mostly the notice how much easier it got over one year. I can recall using a lot of references for that first one. I rarely drew environments back then, and it was one heck of a challenge to figure out how all of it worked within the time limits. I can't say I reached the final level that I wanted to, but it got remarkably easier to just slap down the colors to create the right mood and fill in on the details. And to draw something that kinda resembled a human in just a few minutes.
I don't know if I got massively better, but I sure get more work done in less time. And that's an accomplishment in itself already.
I get a lot of messages, and a lot of people tell me I'm lucky to have talent. They tell me they cannot do the same, either because they lack either time or "talent" (whatever that may be).
Here's your answer. I'm nowhere near being lucky. I'm crippled by bad health and chronic pain, and I cannot (and probably will never be able to) submit myself to those harsh drawing-12-hours-a-day training schedules that you hear the pro's talking about. This is what I accomplished over a year, by not giving up and drawing a little bit every single day.
Now tell me, what's your excuse?
As some of you might know from earlier journals, I suffer from a chronic injury that severely limits my drawing time. I can draw for a few hours on a good day, but not all days are good, and there are days I cannot pick up a pencil at all. As you can imagine this makes rendering a drawing a very frustrating process, because it would take me days, sometimes even weeks, to finish a simple drawing. So yeah... most of those (impressive) older works in my gallery... they took weeks.
It wasn't until I watched some more of those concept artists that I learned about the concept of speedpaintings. A lot of them were so amazing I couldn't believe they were done so quickly, but it made me think "what if I could pull that off?". That would actually make me somewhat productive.
In all honesty... I suffered a lot of health issues during that time (and I still do). Some days were good, a lot were awful. But regardless of that, I pulled myself out of bed and did one painting. On the good days I would do an hour, on the bad days maybe 20 minutes or so. But regardless of my health, I had something done that day. It was at least something to feel accomplished over.
I wrote a journal about improvement earlier, in which I already stated that improvement is one heck of slow bastard (and that being the reason I kept my sketches). Improvement goes by mostly unnoticed, and I guess it kinda did until I looked back at those December 2014 speedpaints this year and decided to redo one of them, just for fun.
The change in itself is visible, but to me there was mostly the notice how much easier it got over one year. I can recall using a lot of references for that first one. I rarely drew environments back then, and it was one heck of a challenge to figure out how all of it worked within the time limits. I can't say I reached the final level that I wanted to, but it got remarkably easier to just slap down the colors to create the right mood and fill in on the details. And to draw something that kinda resembled a human in just a few minutes.
I don't know if I got massively better, but I sure get more work done in less time. And that's an accomplishment in itself already.
I get a lot of messages, and a lot of people tell me I'm lucky to have talent. They tell me they cannot do the same, either because they lack either time or "talent" (whatever that may be).
Here's your answer. I'm nowhere near being lucky. I'm crippled by bad health and chronic pain, and I cannot (and probably will never be able to) submit myself to those harsh drawing-12-hours-a-day training schedules that you hear the pro's talking about. This is what I accomplished over a year, by not giving up and drawing a little bit every single day.
Now tell me, what's your excuse?
I'm still alive
It's been a while since I last posted and people have sending me worried messages, so I wanted to let you all know I'm doing fine. I don't have corona and I'm not dead. My computer broke down a while ago, and the consistent problems of working with a broken system and not having the money to properly fix or replace it eventually made me very demotivated to draw. As an artist I've always suffered from self-doubt and massive imposter syndrome. No matter how good I get, I'm always critical at my work. The last batch of commissions I did (even though for a good cause) just emphasized that feeling of not being creatively ready to venture into professional spheres. I honestly respect the people who do, but it's not for me. The pressure of having to churn out quality work on a time limit (next to my regular work) burned me out, and I needed some time off the internet to recuperate. Thank you all for your supportive messages. I'm trying to pick up my art again. Slowly, and working on my
Emergency commissions for vet bills [ON HOLD]
Update April 23, 2020
I'm literally blown away by all the response I got.
I have now filled up a first batch of commissions.
As much as will help me cover the initial bill. And as much as will be possible to deliver, considering I have to do those drawings in my free time (I have a regular job to attend as well).
I expect to deliver commissions somewhere over the upcoming 6 weeks.
Depending on the situation with the cat I might open up more commissions in the future.
Original post
Hey guys.
My beloved cat, Pepper, fell sick. I had to go take her to the vet. It's at this moment yet uncertain what's wrong with her, but she needed to get b
Git gud
It's so tiring to hear people dismiss the ability to create art as sheer talent, and tell me they could never do the same as I do. What do you expect me to answer? That some divine being came down and blessed me with the ability to do art? And you haven't got that divine skill, so you never could do it, and we should all pity you for it?
The truth is that there isn't much of a difference, except that I spend a lot of time creating art. I learned how to draw hands, because I've drawn hundreds of them over the last couple of years. I learned writing because I write nearly every day, and read books when I don't. I spend a lot of time creating a
2019 art goals
Leaving this year as a reminder to myself.
:bulletblack: Drawing more detailed environments
:bulletgreen: Drawing more figures in perspective (Ref: http://www.posemaniacs.com/ ?)
:bulletgreen: Drawing more hands & feet
:bulletgreen: Finish writing my 5175 short story
:bulletblack: Joining#100headschallenge (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A_kQsxeeTE)
:bulletred: Joining AdorkaStock (https://www.deviantart.com/adorkastock)'s DEJ 2019 (if organized this year)
If you're aware of any fun art challenges I might be interested in (geared towards improvement), please let me know.
© 2015 - 2024 DamaiMikaz
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My excuse is that art tends to frustrate me more than give me joy. Help!