My problem at the very-very start of my art career was thinking that sketchbooks had to be filled with perfect drawings. I've seen a handful of youtube sketchbooks at the time and they were all filled with excellent drawings. I got over that subconsciously - and showed one of my filled books to my art teacher and he told be basically that progress in a sketchbook is more beautiful than a 'perfect' drawing. I improved like crazy after that.
you can't imagine how grateful i found your channel. For more than 12 years I try to be an illustrator, I download countless tutorial & ebook ... and yes i try to practice it. But somehow i always stuck, I can't move on from basic shape and anatomy coz i really suck at it... i try to re-read ebook that i have, re-watch a lot youtube video over and over again. Even download so many new tutuorial because i think maybe somehow i will find the answer in other tutorial.But nothing work... And when i see your video, i realize my problem is in my mental / the way i think. thanks to your video, now i can see a little improvement in my drawing. Not much yet, but really much better than being stuck for years. So i want to say thank you so much for sharing your knowledge :)
3:50 Amen brother! I'm learning through discovery and observation for weeks now and I love every minute of it - and no help from no art school or tutorial! I find I'm fascinated, maybe even obsessed with cloud, sky, and stars. I will focus on the things I love at the moment and reflect that to my art learning. And man! It is really hard to make a simple thing like drawing circle freehand!
I just want to say thanks for these videos. It took a while for them to really sink into my brain and start changing the way I study, but they have really helped me. One thing that you said in one of your videos that helped me the most, was when you said not to get too caught up in hype. I didn't realise before you said that, but it was a big problem of mine. I was imagining how awesome something would be, which would cause me to either lose motivation or to become overwhelmed. Now I just focus on enjoying the process and to avoid thinking about how good I hope my work will be when it is done.
The biggest worry for ppl watching tutorials all the time, is justifying the act of "watching" tutorials as actual "practice". I learned from doing one piece of concept art what i didnt learn in 100 video tutorials.
+Salem Shanouha It's always a balance. I like to binge sometimes and watch tons of stuff, other times I'll just practice for some time. One just needs the other though. Very happy to know you've found your way to improving though and awesome videos on your channel :)
+InPursuitOfArt I agree. There r 2 types of videos. Videos that talk about "artist's problems" like yours, which r the ones i listen to while painting. Very helpful. And there is the "leading by example" videos which r good to watch then apply right away otherwise its a waste of time. Im glad u checked my channel :) still a long way to go. It is hard to be a self-taught artist. Specially when there isnt any decent art school in your country. But as u mentioned on your art school video that got me to subscribe, art schools rnt doing a good job anyway. Thanks for the vids man Keep posting them, they r very helpful.
Good point, mindset and practice, that's what the different types of vids have to offer. As for art school - I don't view self-taught as a disadvantage any longer, with the amount of info online - it's probably even better ;) Keep the practice going, you're doing great.
+InPursuitOfArt ``I don't view self-taught as a disadvantage any longer, with the amount of info online - it's probably even better ;)`` Now that cheered me up! Thank you! on to painting ^_^
Thank you for making this video. I like listening to you because you say a lot of the hard truths that many new aspiring artists need to hear. It is hard to hear but still it is encouraging to learn that in order to get where I want I have to put in work and there is no substitute for it. I am going to re watch some videos to see if I can learn more from watching them over. Also practice, practice, practice!
Theory is kinda worthless unless you actually use it in practise. It's just something you perceive and read but as you said, you don't create new synapses by just gettig information.
+Lyriel Luna They're both incredibly valuable, it's just that we're biased to go for theory almost constantly. It's easier and we've been trained to passively absorb info from school. With almost every single student I've had - they've all known so much more than they could use. So just trying to nudge people towards practice more ;)
dude youve been taking learning squared courses too? Im going through painting with confidence right now, still week 1 and its so amazing. Improved my painting skills so much in a short period of time, and the thing about studying instead of copying kinda blew my mind. Amazing stuff, definitely gonna get more of their courses. Just a question at this point. Im forcing myself not to look at the week 2, week 3 lessons etc. before finishing the lessons before. Im also taking one course at a time. Do you think thats a good approach? And also, you think its worth buying the gumroad tutorials by those guys? Im not sure yet, lots of money.
+Oliver Beck It's hard to say dude. If you're only painting and you're sticking to that one thing - just do that. If you're looking for ideas and want to see different workflows - go for more stuff. If you're painting only - AJ and Maciej have awesome gumroads for that, I definitely recommend them, they've helped me a ton. Maciej's photobashing especially was a mind blower. So it would depend on your skill level and focus of study.
InPursuitOfArt yeah Im just saying man. Look at the asians, asian artists do something related to art like pretty much all day. No matter what you do (like moving out of comfort zones or such) if you do it a lot you eventually will get good or even awesome at it. Yeah already looked at some of those gumroads, John Park also has awesome ones. Also Sparth just released a few in the last weeks.
Hello, Volen! Hoping all is well with you and I do appreciate your videos and all the experience/knowledge that comes with them! :) About "AJ"... in your reply (above) to Oliver Beck... did you mean Anthony Jones/Robotpencil.net..?
nice video as always, i rewatch the stuff im going through constantly, i've never tried turning off the audio because sometimes it helps, since i play it back on my mnd when im drawing, i'll try the no audio tho. Btw, idk if have commented this but would it be possible for you to make a recommended book list? sometimes i lose the names/don't understand because of my bad english, maybe a folder with names on your blog.. idk, would be really nice. thanks.
+Cowboy Tanaka Sure, thank you for the suggestion, I never thought about putting these down as a list, makes a lot of sense though. Thank you for that and thank you for the comment :)
would a video on "how to taclke subjects that you dont like/are harder for you" be something? Some of my friends struggle with accuracy, some with figures, some with perspective, theres seems to be always one or two that are just painful to tackle and its really hard to make them enjoyable. If its not worth a video id like to know what would your advice be and how you tackled it? do a ok amount once a week? do a small amount everyday? do a decent amount everyday and spam until you get decent at it so you can leave it alone?
well it's quite true... how many hours i spent watching vids instead of diving into work ...Sometimes i feel ridiculous about it, coz ofc practice is the only way to improve.
if you haven't seen it yet, should check out izzy medrano patreon or gumroad page, someone how really breaks down the basics and has them in a order in way that cant progress knowing these rules, and add bit by bit
InPursuitOfArt this is the 2nd video.of your that i'm watching. i think you have ao few subscribers compared to less valuable art channels is that you don't focus on how-to tutorials. that's what beginners loke me want: tutorials from which we can copy cool images. you seem to focus on the motivation and the soft skills needed to improve. you focus on mindset and don't sugar coat the dufficulties involved. most beginners aren't ready for that. you could grow your subscribers by creating a playlist of tutorials on techniques/skills and increasingly more difficult images to copy. and have product reviews. i think that focusing on pencil and pen drawing will attract more traffic. i think your channel is great btw.
Skills and knowledge are different things. I knew a guy when was learning jiu-jitsu. He was pretty average but he looked master techniques on youtube and placed himself as if he knew very much about it. It's really annoying.
+iosubb Definitely. Knowledge is not skill. But if your friend broke through the barrier of not-trying and had more knowledge and started practicing hard - that'd result in huge gains fairly quickly :)
InPursuitOfArt Yes. Practice makes evolution. Your brain grows on what you do. I totally agree that learning boosts your skills and can give you a breakthrough when you stuck due to things you couldn't have noticed, comprehend yourself.
My problem at the very-very start of my art career was thinking that sketchbooks had to be filled with perfect drawings. I've seen a handful of youtube sketchbooks at the time and they were all filled with excellent drawings. I got over that subconsciously - and showed one of my filled books to my art teacher and he told be basically that progress in a sketchbook is more beautiful than a 'perfect' drawing.
I improved like crazy after that.
Awesome. The growth mindset, keep it up :)
you can't imagine how grateful i found your channel. For more than 12 years I try to be an illustrator, I download countless tutorial & ebook ... and yes i try to practice it.
But somehow i always stuck, I can't move on from basic shape and anatomy coz i really suck at it... i try to re-read ebook that i have, re-watch a lot youtube video over and over again. Even download so many new tutuorial because i think maybe somehow i will find the answer in other tutorial.But nothing work...
And when i see your video, i realize my problem is in my mental / the way i think. thanks to your video, now i can see a little improvement in my drawing. Not much yet, but really much better than being stuck for years. So i want to say thank you so much for sharing your knowledge :)
+Zee B.Bad Awesome, thank you so much, very inspiring to hear a story like yours, makes my journey easier. Thank you! Very happy for your progress :)
3:50 Amen brother! I'm learning through discovery and observation for weeks now and I love every minute of it - and no help from no art school or tutorial! I find I'm fascinated, maybe even obsessed with cloud, sky, and stars. I will focus on the things I love at the moment and reflect that to my art learning. And man! It is really hard to make a simple thing like drawing circle freehand!
these insight are gold... it could be applied to graphic design, or 3D CG
I just want to say thanks for these videos. It took a while for them to really sink into my brain and start changing the way I study, but they have really helped me.
One thing that you said in one of your videos that helped me the most, was when you said not to get too caught up in hype. I didn't realise before you said that, but it was a big problem of mine. I was imagining how awesome something would be, which would cause me to either lose motivation or to become overwhelmed. Now I just focus on enjoying the process and to avoid thinking about how good I hope my work will be when it is done.
+Natasha “Rune” Galea Awesome, that sounds like a solid plan, thank you very much for implementing :)
The biggest worry for ppl watching tutorials all the time, is justifying the act of "watching" tutorials as actual "practice". I learned from doing one piece of concept art what i didnt learn in 100 video tutorials.
+Salem Shanouha It's always a balance. I like to binge sometimes and watch tons of stuff, other times I'll just practice for some time. One just needs the other though. Very happy to know you've found your way to improving though and awesome videos on your channel :)
+InPursuitOfArt I agree. There r 2 types of videos. Videos that talk about "artist's problems" like yours, which r the ones i listen to while painting. Very helpful. And there is the "leading by example" videos which r good to watch then apply right away otherwise its a waste of time.
Im glad u checked my channel :) still a long way to go. It is hard to be a self-taught artist. Specially when there isnt any decent art school in your country. But as u mentioned on your art school video that got me to subscribe, art schools rnt doing a good job anyway. Thanks for the vids man Keep posting them, they r very helpful.
Good point, mindset and practice, that's what the different types of vids have to offer. As for art school - I don't view self-taught as a disadvantage any longer, with the amount of info online - it's probably even better ;) Keep the practice going, you're doing great.
+InPursuitOfArt ``I don't view self-taught as a disadvantage any longer, with the amount of info online - it's probably even better ;)``
Now that cheered me up! Thank you! on to painting ^_^
Salem Shanouha Best of luck, keep the good work going :)
Thank you for making this video. I like listening to you because you say a lot of the hard truths that many new aspiring artists need to hear. It is hard to hear but still it is encouraging to learn that in order to get where I want I have to put in work and there is no substitute for it. I am going to re watch some videos to see if I can learn more from watching them over. Also practice, practice, practice!
Absolutely. I watch things again and again, there's always more.
Theory is kinda worthless unless you actually use it in practise. It's just something you perceive and read but as you said, you don't create new synapses by just gettig information.
+Lyriel Luna They're both incredibly valuable, it's just that we're biased to go for theory almost constantly. It's easier and we've been trained to passively absorb info from school. With almost every single student I've had - they've all known so much more than they could use. So just trying to nudge people towards practice more ;)
Thank you this is one of the best peace's of advice I've come across. I find myself doing exactly what you speak. Thank's
+Frank Everett Thank you very much, great to see people getting something from these.
This was great advice. Thank-you! I'll be sure to watch it multiple times in the future:)
+Garrett Bouslough Thank you sir :)
Nice idea with sound. :)
Yep, good one. Too obvious to realize!
Thanks Volen! Great topic.
+Alexander Sköld Thanks Alexander, very happy you liked it.
Thank you!
+matrixlone Thank you! :)
dude youve been taking learning squared courses too? Im going through painting with confidence right now, still week 1 and its so amazing. Improved my painting skills so much in a short period of time, and the thing about studying instead of copying kinda blew my mind. Amazing stuff, definitely gonna get more of their courses.
Just a question at this point. Im forcing myself not to look at the week 2, week 3 lessons etc. before finishing the lessons before. Im also taking one course at a time. Do you think thats a good approach?
And also, you think its worth buying the gumroad tutorials by those guys? Im not sure yet, lots of money.
+Oliver Beck It's hard to say dude. If you're only painting and you're sticking to that one thing - just do that. If you're looking for ideas and want to see different workflows - go for more stuff. If you're painting only - AJ and Maciej have awesome gumroads for that, I definitely recommend them, they've helped me a ton. Maciej's photobashing especially was a mind blower. So it would depend on your skill level and focus of study.
InPursuitOfArt yeah Im just saying man. Look at the asians, asian artists do something related to art like pretty much all day. No matter what you do (like moving out of comfort zones or such) if you do it a lot you eventually will get good or even awesome at it.
Yeah already looked at some of those gumroads, John Park also has awesome ones. Also Sparth just released a few in the last weeks.
Hello, Volen! Hoping all is well with you and I do appreciate your videos and all the experience/knowledge that comes with them! :)
About "AJ"... in your reply (above) to Oliver Beck... did you mean Anthony Jones/Robotpencil.net..?
nice video as always, i rewatch the stuff im going through constantly, i've never tried turning off the audio because sometimes it helps, since i play it back on my mnd when im drawing, i'll try the no audio tho. Btw, idk if have commented this but would it be possible for you to make a recommended book list? sometimes i lose the names/don't understand because of my bad english, maybe a folder with names on your blog.. idk, would be really nice. thanks.
+Cowboy Tanaka Sure, thank you for the suggestion, I never thought about putting these down as a list, makes a lot of sense though. Thank you for that and thank you for the comment :)
would a video on "how to taclke subjects that you dont like/are harder for you" be something? Some of my friends struggle with accuracy, some with figures, some with perspective, theres seems to be always one or two that are just painful to tackle and its really hard to make them enjoyable.
If its not worth a video id like to know what would your advice be and how you tackled it? do a ok amount once a week? do a small amount everyday? do a decent amount everyday and spam until you get decent at it so you can leave it alone?
+Cowboy Tanaka Made a vid for you, have to edit and post it though :) Thanks for another great question :)
InPursuitOfArt
thats really nice to hear, looking foward to it XD
These are great. Keep it up. :)
+Ahmad Philips Will do, thank you!
when you talk about "the right resources" at the beginning, what resources do you refer to?
Sorry man, you'll have to give me some more help here :) What time is that in the vid?
well it's quite true... how many hours i spent watching vids instead of diving into work ...Sometimes i feel ridiculous about it, coz ofc practice is the only way to improve.
+Michel FatalSaint Nothing lost if you've learned from your experience, and that stuff still can get unlocked down the line with practice.
if you haven't seen it yet, should check out izzy medrano patreon or gumroad page, someone how really breaks down the basics and has them in a order in way that cant progress knowing these rules, and add bit by bit
+N7oshea Awesome, thank you, I've seen a lot of his stuff here on YT, huge amount of info there. Thank you for the recommendation :)
Dude what the f.... Why do you have so few subscribers?!
I would love to know that too :)
InPursuitOfArt this is the 2nd video.of your that i'm watching. i think you have ao few subscribers compared to less valuable art channels is that you don't focus on how-to tutorials. that's what beginners loke me want: tutorials from which we can copy cool images. you seem to focus on the motivation and the soft skills needed to improve. you focus on mindset and don't sugar coat the dufficulties involved. most beginners aren't ready for that.
you could grow your subscribers by creating a playlist of tutorials on techniques/skills and increasingly more difficult images to copy. and have product reviews.
i think that focusing on pencil and pen drawing will attract more traffic.
i think your channel is great btw.
Skills and knowledge are different things.
I knew a guy when was learning jiu-jitsu. He was pretty average but he looked master techniques on youtube and placed himself as if he knew very much about it. It's really annoying.
+iosubb Definitely. Knowledge is not skill. But if your friend broke through the barrier of not-trying and had more knowledge and started practicing hard - that'd result in huge gains fairly quickly :)
InPursuitOfArt Yes. Practice makes evolution. Your brain grows on what you do.
I totally agree that learning boosts your skills and can give you a breakthrough when you stuck due to things you couldn't have noticed, comprehend yourself.
Really good content... and you're kind of cute! :)
+TheShiuller I'm pretty sure you've never watched an entire video so far... :)