Top tip: If your fond of another artists art style, secretly gather their DNA, clone them, and surgically attatch the clones hands in place of your own and you'll be able to mimic them perfectly.
Here's my two cents from the video. For pen display users without adjustable arms for your monitor, use a shoe box or two and put the screen at a high angle and maybe lower your seat if you sit too high. That and stretching a bit in breaks solved all my neck/back problems. Normal tablet users, BE AWARE OF YOUR WRIST, always try to have a straight line between your arm and hand, move your arm instead of your wrist. For the hands a 5-10 min break every 50 min work wonders, and apply those breaks for everything, take a break while gaming or reading too. Optimize your clicks and types, use download managers to download images with just one or two clicks, use macros if a certain task is too repetitive, switch between mouse and keyboard navigation constantly so you dont overuse the mouse hand. Vertical mouses are good too. Make arm and hand stretches before and after drawing, there are plenty of guides online or ask a medic. EXCERCISE, even 10-20 min a day and a light sweat, dont do it at nights since it mess with your sleep, speaking about it, sleep well. Take a walk outside at the end of your day, switch moods from work to leisure, get fresh air and look nice things. This might be a bit controversial, dont spend every free time drawing, I really dont like when some artists say you must draw every second to be "good" because is just too broad and unfocused, a tired artist is an empty one. Be very conscious of the diference between inspiration and desperation. People need breaks, even from things they love doing, have a couple hours for yourself, spend weekends with friends/family, playing games or going outside. Just have a notepad near just in case you need to write down an idea. Don't start doing these things just when something hurt, when something hurts sometimes is already too late. Great video, sinix.
You don't need a screen tablet. Art is not a sprint. It's a marathon for the long haul. If you want to preserve your back and shoulders, use a non-screen drawing tablet. The ergonomics are so superior and in no time, you can draw just as well with one as a screen tablet.
@@asimian8500 tbh is a personal thing and what works for you, I switched to screen tablets because for me it feels more natural and helps me draw a bit faster, and I can say that after 8 years of using regular tablets. Of course it didn't make me draw better, but it was a more comfortable experience for me. With the trick I mentioned I dont have any issues, and that's why I wrote a tip for pen display or normal tablet users. Because I know people who tried pen displays and didn't like them. Nowadays I have a pen display to work at home, and a intuos pro to work on the go, best of both worlds.
I bookmarked this video for this exact reason. Because the day will come that I'll have to explain it to someone and I then won't even attempt to phrase it any better than Sinix did it. It's absolutely on point.
Timestamps: 00:58 - Eyes: Constant Squinting, get the habit of unfocusing 02:03 - Neck: Move Regularly, avoid locking your body in one position 02:54 - Spine: Get a tablet that allows for good posture while drawing 04:15 - Hand: Keep grip loose 05:24 - Hand 2: High Sensitivity, use it 06:03 - Legs: Stretch your hamstrings 07:54 - Brain: Mental health is no different than an any other type of physical health + analysis and advice :) 11:24 - Outro Comment: I find unfocusing so easy! I just take my glasses off, nature does the trick
I been drawing and doing art off and on since a child in the 70s. The things I have done to help: - eat right - no stress mentally, physically and when drawing - healthy weight - some exercise - always move after sitting for a while - instead of squinting looking away or focusing your eyes on something else like reading help for the eyes. There is more but in doing this I never experience art block or fatigue from doing art.
what I expected when clicking on this video: sit with right angles and take breaks and stuff what I got from watching this video: neurochemical injuries make it contextually impossible to comprehend other neurochemical states, therefore, be aware of your own biases and don't judge yourself or others great job man 👏
Great video! I would like to add more health tips that i think are useful: 1- Always stay hydrated. Everyone keeps saying that for a reason, and your body will function better with lots of water. 2- Rotate the visible colors you perceive once in a while. It's useful to avoid eye strain and have a new perspective on your paintings. 3- Don't bleach the umbilical cord more than once or twice per day. Your perception of the Other World will stay intact anyway and it's not healthy for your limbs. 4- If you find yourself coughing the iridescent fluid too much then it's time for a break! Just lie down a bit and as always don't do it while the Umbral Figure is watching you. 5- Sometimes when I stay in a zodiacal position for too long I can start hearing the Blasphemous Song from the stars. Remember when it happens that you just need to breathe regularly and not show any (ANY) sign of weakness or fear. If your bones start to twist you're probably doing something wrong and you're better ask a medic. 6- Really, drink a lot of water!
omg I’m so grateful to my parents cuz they made me go to dance classes while I was in school. now I study in art academy and visit dance classes 2-3 times a week. Looking at my artists friends now I see that majority of them have some sort of health problem caused by their artistic “activity”)) yeah and now half of them also go to dance classes with me✨
I'm currently going through physical therapy because I developed mild wrist pain in the summer of 2021 and have spent the past several months mainly resting (hardly or rarely drawing). It was the first time I experienced any sort of pain there and of course, my injury was the amalgamation of all the bad habits I've developed from drawing/writing: 1. Slouching and hunched over when drawing 2. Primarily drawing from the wrist + hard grip 3. Long sessions without breaks 4. Sedentary lifestyle I'm now working on fixing my posture with strengthening exercises for the back and being more mindful about it. I'll slouch a bit here and there to rest my back but I just force myself to sit up straight again. I switch to use my other hand for tasks like mousing, eating, lifting, etc. when I can just to give my dominant hand a rest. Changing how I grip the pencil to a tripod grip and trying to not grip so hard. I try to take more breaks to stretch and to walk around. For setup, I switched over to a low profile keyboard and an ergonomic mouse. Next changes are sit and stand desk, a good chair eg. Herman Miller, and a display tablet with an arm mount when I have the funds. Non-display tablets are good in that you don't have to look down but the height of your desk and/or chair are also important. You don't want to be resting your forearms on your desk while you're working to avoid unnecessary pressure on a nerve. It's been rough these past several months having to sit on the sidelines just watching and hardly being able to create like before but I hope that I'll be able to get back on track to creating again soon. Please take care of yourselves so you don't end up like me. Seriously.
I adore the way you described mental health. I felt exactly what your were describing in the video and after I recovered from intense feelings of sadness, I immediately downplayed the severity of it. Thank you for explaining it!
This was the best advices i ever got in my entire life. You are such a good artist and help others out. The whole internet is full of artists that just try to be fame no matter what it costs. You are so authentic and it seems to me like you are talking to me while i am watching this video. Thank you not just for sharing your thaughts, but for bringing back some of my hopes for humanity itself. ♥
Very important your point about avoiding pen displays. I used one for around 8 years and developed a very bad RSI injury. I couldn't draw for around 3 years. I kept trying to return to the pen display during those 3 years but the pain was too great. I tried bigger pen displays, monitor arms, nothing worked. Not until I returned to the trusty pen tablet could I draw pain free. (but need to be especially careful now) Now that many artists have had 10+ years using pen displays, I think you're going to get a lot more recommendations to avoid them as they all go through health problems :)
I have to agree. I got a surface book recently because I needed a better PC and was convinced that a display tablet would make digital art more enjoyable, as it would be closer to drawing on paper. I was very wrong. It's extraordinarily uncomfortable drawing on it at times, even more do than just looking straight down onto my sketchbooks--which I have since developed a new appreciation for.
Great video!, My tip for anyone who can't get an arm for their screen tablet is to get one of those adjustable laptop raisers that let you adjust the height and tilt. Since they're meant to hold a laptop they will hold the weight of your tablet and also the pressure from your hand resting on it, as well as raising your tablet up higher than the stands that come with it with more freedom of angle. My tablet sits a good 5 or 6 inches above the desk tray now and it has helped my neck and shoulders significantly. :) When I'm done for the day I can fold it up and put it away with my tablet and not have a bulky arm always in the way. Also your explanation for 'mental health' was extremely refreshing and concise. :)
I'd like to add making sure your room is well-lit while you're drawing, which will help to reduce the strain on your eyes. Simply purchasing a lamp to use at night was an absolute game changer
I don't think stretching your hamstrings is always the solution. Sometimes the reason for why they feel tight is because the pelvis is tilted backwards from sitting too much and the hip flexor muscles are the ones that contribute to this due to them being weak from inactivity. Look up anterior pelvic tilt for info about fixing this.
To add to the above for information, there's also the rarer posterior pelvic tilt, but which seems to affect those that are tall like myself (for example if your knees are above the plane of the chair you're sitting on, you'll tilt your pelvis the other way). Most doctors and physiotherapists tend to not be aware of statistically uncommon ailments, and so they pushed me to exercise the quads and hip flexors extensively... Which actually made it worse. End result was a burst spinal disc and a permanent disability that has drastically reduced my ability to make art. Would have been easily preventable with a few properly targeted exercises. Take care out there.
This. If you sit a lot, most likely your hamstrings are already overstretched and it's the front muscles of legs+abdominal that are too tight. AthleanX and Jeremy Ethier have a couple of good videos on pelvic tilt with exercises to fix it.
I've been neurochemically injured for a while now and the injury got really bad about last week to a life threateninh point. I love that way of thinking. I only clicked on this video to further distract myself from my current mental issues but instesd it's making me face them more (in a good way). As always, your videos are so high quality and you can just see how much thought you've put in them. Thank you.
Wish I had this video earlier, after years of using a non display tablet I finally bought one and within hours realized the strain they will put on your neck without a proper setup (witch can also cost a lot). Don't be fooled, a basic pen tablet is all you need!
The way you've explained these things was very considerate and tactful, thank you for putting in the effort to bring all this together and sharing it. Best wishes everyone
I´m here because my nerochemicals are not allowing me to perceive happiness, or pleasure and etc right now, so I need to remember that It just take time to fell happiness again. Thanks, Sinix. It´s kind of amazing how some random persons that don´t know each other can help another ones, even if they never know about it. Thanks, Sinix :)
sleep enough at acceptable hours, dont stress too much, stay hydrated, and dont drink too much coffee, i just had the weirdest pre burnout crisis it was crazy man
Thanks Sinix for the great health tips for being an artist! Not much fellow artists out on UA-cam covering this kind of content out here. Recently been rushing my university portfolio and getting bad shoulder and neck cramps. This really helped, keep up the good work :'D
what the hell, these are amazing tips!! i honestly did not expect them to be that good and practical since i've watched quite a bunch of these i'll be adjusting my pen pressure sensitivity and do more quads during breaks :))
This is all super helpful advice!! I use a pen display tablet (Huion Kamvas 22 Plus, highly recommend!) that I prop up at a high angle that doesn't cause any pains or cramps for me personally. I do agree that non-display tablets are the best for no neck and back pains, but I found them worse for wrist pains. Maybe it's because my previous drawing tablet was extremely small (wacom intuos, great for beginners and super cheap!) but I was only able to draw using my wrist and not my elbow. After drawing for a long time on that tablet my wrist and hand would get cramped. With my pen display tablet, I'm able to make large, sweeping motions that don't make things hard on my wrist. Stretches also help of course!
4:03 YES! thank you! time and time I've seen artists with display tablet laying them on the table and drawing down on them as if it was a piece of paper. Ever since I got mine and noticed how painful it was my very next purchase was an arm to place it forward and use it as if it was a canvas on an easel.
I wish I had watched videos like this before developing chronic tendinitis on my wrist, which makes it now hard to draw as freely as I want. Please, to all artists and not only, Really take this video's advices to heart. I think that the most important thing to remember is to take breaks. I have to take 15 minutes breaks every 30 minutes because that's what my condition bound me to, but really even just 5-10 minutes break once every hour should do... And as soon as you start feeling some pain in your wrist, _stop drawing_ ! And if it continues in the following days, SEE A DOCTOR, IF YOU CAN! Tendinitis is treatable in a matter of days or weeks at worse when caught in the early stages... I had to wait several months because of lockdown, during which I kept on drawing through the pain, making it worse and worse until I couldn't even hold my phone anymore, and now I've been told that my tendinitis will most likely never go away. Be mindful of what your body requires, please.
Sorry, this is my third separate comment but 11:00 YOU JUST BLEW MY MIND. I always think about this when I'm in a depression, when I've fallen down a dark rabbit hole it really is difficult to imagine feeling any other way. Probably the best advice in this video and some of the most valuable I've ever heard.
Does anyone else's eyes "flicker" when you're deep in a piece and in the zone? The best way I can describe it is kind of getting into a trance and as you're drawing/painting, my eyes quickly lose focus, I blink a lot really fast, and in between those blinks i scan up and down the piece. It's weird but only lasts like 1 second.
Suffering from rsi injury on my hands and neck pain from drawing too much. It's been like this for a year already, i think I'm too young for this. Had to take several months off and started doing yoga and wrist exercises everyday, now my condition is slowly improving :') Thanks for the tips!
I really needed this video. Lately I've been struggling with some back and neck pain and have been working on not slouching and leaning forward so much, and trying to make sure I get proper lumbar support. But I'm still having some problems. So hopefully your tips work out for me!
Keeping the stylus 'loose' and adjusting the brush to be very sensitive surprisingly helped quite a bit, made drawing so much more confortable for me and even helped on making more confident lines, didn't realized till now but I was putting way too much stress on my fingers and wrist with every stroke just a simple change like this made things flow much more for me! :D
its also important to listen to your body. i cant tell you how many times i would draw for a long period of time and my hands would start to hurt. ( i hold lightly so don't worry) but when that happens I take that as my body telling me its time to stop for a while and rest. same thing with art block. art block sucks. but for me I take it as a way for my body to tell me that my mind needs rest. and take a lil break for a week or two.
Great video as always! Squat tip: ALWAYS push up with your heels vs your toes! Toes put your weight directly on your knees and can cause injury, heels put the weight on your leg muscles - VERY IMPORTANT
Great tips Sinix! one eye health tip i like is 20 20 20 rule: every 20 min, look at something 20 ft away for 20 seconds ( i also do it with one eye open and other closed, 2x). Helps me a lot. Also wrapping a band around my drawing wrist helps too for days when there's lots of work. Thx again for this great video!!
I've been meaning to make a video on health for artists for ages but still havent got round to it, you've done a great job here. Keep up the great content :)
I have a display tablet and what I do is look up at my computer screen now and then to check the colours are fine. I also use my keyboard to do shortcuts so that makes me look up as well
Also important to understand about neurochemical health: A lot of depression and behavioural issues are simply caused by poor diet! If you find yourself depressed for no reason, as in you are not in a situation that warrants depression or sadness, try eliminating processed foods, sugar, reducing carbs... If that doesn't work you can go a step further and eliminate grains (wheat, soy, beans, etc.) entirely. But of course do so with caution and some nutritional understanding, or with the help of a doctor/nutritionist. Also you'd be amazed how much flexibility, joint pain and carpel tunnel-like symptoms are simply caused by diet as well. I used to have extremely annoying wrist pain in my drawing hand, it went away entirely when I stopped eating sugar (I mean, full stop).
about the mental health part, once every 1-2 months I get really sad, I start crying when I am stressed and before sleeping. Every time I think I should talk to a psychologist but as soon as I stop feeling that way I can't understand why I was so sad
Great and helpful video! Mental health points are very well said, too. I am currently coming out of a bad depression/anxiety and can catch a fleeting glimpse of the blindness on both sides of mental health spectrum
When sitting down - the hip flexors get tighter,hamstrings are in neutral position. If you get knee pain you better of start going to the gym and strengthen your legs as a whole: quads,hamstrings,adductors ,abductors.
Great video and good tips! What I do to help me physically is I take an Omega-3 pill every morning. I read that it helps with joint pains , so that really helps if I get pain on my wrist. Actually since I started doing that my wrist hasn't hurt at all. Also I take a break every 2-3 hours and stretch and move around. This helps me with my shoulders and back, because being in the same position for so long can cause you pain. It also helps to relax the eyes.
Eyes - Squinting Neck - Regular movement (tilting) Spine - Proper posture, non-display tablet Hands - Grip drawing tool without excessive force (just enough to hold it), Develop a light touch (high tablet sensitivity, brush pen practice) Legs - Stretch hamstrings (standing toe touches, bodyweight squats) Brain - Acknowledge that neurochemical(mental) injuries, like those of somatic origin, can heal if treated properly(one day, the cast will come off) Also, each person sports a unique neurochemical state; it may be difficult to understand or empathize with certain individuals. "You have been happy in the past, and you can be happy in the future."
1:34 I have started squinting at my drawing subconsciously just to see the general form of the thing 3:14 I've hunched over my display tablet for most of the time. but recently I started using the stand and my upper back has been thankful. Tip #6 Kneesovertoesguy (hail king of knees) has short videos for body weight exercises for knees. See ATG split squat and sissy squat. Life changers. Also one thing I discovered which is good against lower back ache. Go into ATG split squat position and focus on stretching the hip flexor of the leg behind. The point of this is not the actual hip flexor, but in that position your hamstring is in its most relaxed position. Sitting hunched forward is stretching the hamstring for potentially hours, this shortening of the muscle fibers of the hamstring, glute and lower back muscles is very good. A hidden gem in muscle ache management for sure.
Thoughts on standing desks? I feel so much better even mentally after starting to use one. I work at SPA studios as a visual development artist, am teaching on the weekends as well so I work 6 days a week and spend at least 10 hours a day in front of a computer. I do the following to have a sustainable career (yes I am Patrick Bateman): -Extreme care with diet. No caffeine (I'm sensitive to it, it's not that important for most) No alcohol, no sugar, minimal grains, no seed oils, low carb, almost always cooking at home, organic (beware, this is an expensive diet) -Blue light blocking glasses after sunset to promote good sleep. -Standing Desk -Exercise at least 5-10 minutes a day, the BEST EXERCISE FOR BAD POSTURE is *face pulls*!!! -Get natural sunlight as much as possible, go outside during breaks. -Breaks every 45 minutes, if you can remember (sometimes I forget, it's ok) -Cold shower and some kind of meditation in the morning -Stretch before bed, especially the hamstrings and pelvic tilt I find that I have no issues with feeling overworked or burned out, as long as I stay consistent with these things. You have to be careful, especially now being so isolated, we have to take care of ourselves guys!
I actually found the opposite case true with the tablet and posture issue. When I owned a Bamboo/Intuos I would place it on my lap and consistently be hunched over while drawing. The Cintiq on the other hand comes with a backing to prop up the tablet so it looks like a second monitor, so since then I've not been hunched over in my digital drawing process. It's much more convenient with a screen, at least in my experience.
I recently bought standing desk and its really helpfull, I m suffering with chronic shoulder / neck pains for many years, but with standing desk I was able to draw on tablet without being in pain. Also taking often regular short breaks helps a lot - but its kind of disturbing creative process.. great and important topic, thx
Also massaging your wrists, and forearms can help in preventing carpal tunnel. (Though when you are massaging any part of the body it is best to go towards the origin of the muscle.) Hope this helps :)
Top tip: If your fond of another artists art style, secretly gather their DNA, clone them, and surgically attatch the clones hands in place of your own and you'll be able to mimic them perfectly.
Nanomachines, son.
So you're saying muscle memory is actually stored in the muscles themselves?
@@lonestarr1490 Yep. It's a tip the top artists don't want you to know about! Someone out there had Da'vinchis zombie hands.
Okay thank you, will do.
It's true, I tried it myself!
Here's my two cents from the video.
For pen display users without adjustable arms for your monitor, use a shoe box or two and put the screen at a high angle and maybe lower your seat if you sit too high. That and stretching a bit in breaks solved all my neck/back problems.
Normal tablet users, BE AWARE OF YOUR WRIST, always try to have a straight line between your arm and hand, move your arm instead of your wrist.
For the hands a 5-10 min break every 50 min work wonders, and apply those breaks for everything, take a break while gaming or reading too. Optimize your clicks and types, use download managers to download images with just one or two clicks, use macros if a certain task is too repetitive, switch between mouse and keyboard navigation constantly so you dont overuse the mouse hand.
Vertical mouses are good too.
Make arm and hand stretches before and after drawing, there are plenty of guides online or ask a medic.
EXCERCISE, even 10-20 min a day and a light sweat, dont do it at nights since it mess with your sleep, speaking about it, sleep well.
Take a walk outside at the end of your day, switch moods from work to leisure, get fresh air and look nice things.
This might be a bit controversial, dont spend every free time drawing, I really dont like when some artists say you must draw every second to be "good" because is just too broad and unfocused, a tired artist is an empty one.
Be very conscious of the diference between inspiration and desperation. People need breaks, even from things they love doing, have a couple hours for yourself, spend weekends with friends/family, playing games or going outside. Just have a notepad near just in case you need to write down an idea.
Don't start doing these things just when something hurt, when something hurts sometimes is already too late.
Great video, sinix.
You don't need a screen tablet. Art is not a sprint. It's a marathon for the long haul. If you want to preserve your back and shoulders, use a non-screen drawing tablet. The ergonomics are so superior and in no time, you can draw just as well with one as a screen tablet.
@@asimian8500 tbh is a personal thing and what works for you, I switched to screen tablets because for me it feels more natural and helps me draw a bit faster, and I can say that after 8 years of using regular tablets. Of course it didn't make me draw better, but it was a more comfortable experience for me.
With the trick I mentioned I dont have any issues, and that's why I wrote a tip for pen display or normal tablet users. Because I know people who tried pen displays and didn't like them.
Nowadays I have a pen display to work at home, and a intuos pro to work on the go, best of both worlds.
You're a wonderful human being for this
Your "two cents" are priceless.
@@SkippysBacon I agree haha it's way more than two cents!
The way you described mental health is amazing, explaining such a complex topic in such an understandable way is difficult. Great video!
I 100% agree, we really need more people like Sinix in this planet
I bookmarked this video for this exact reason. Because the day will come that I'll have to explain it to someone and I then won't even attempt to phrase it any better than Sinix did it. It's absolutely on point.
dude said "finely tuned," i checked out lmao
Timestamps:
00:58 - Eyes: Constant Squinting, get the habit of unfocusing
02:03 - Neck: Move Regularly, avoid locking your body in one position
02:54 - Spine: Get a tablet that allows for good posture while drawing
04:15 - Hand: Keep grip loose
05:24 - Hand 2: High Sensitivity, use it
06:03 - Legs: Stretch your hamstrings
07:54 - Brain: Mental health is no different than an any other type of physical health + analysis and advice :)
11:24 - Outro
Comment: I find unfocusing so easy! I just take my glasses off, nature does the trick
I been drawing and doing art off and on since a child in the 70s.
The things I have done to help:
- eat right
- no stress mentally, physically and when drawing
- healthy weight
- some exercise
- always move after sitting for a while
- instead of squinting looking away or focusing your eyes on something else like reading help for the eyes.
There is more but in doing this I never experience art block or fatigue from doing art.
How did you menage to have positive attitude and no stress about your creative work?
how do you eat right?
@@dirtfriend by not eating left
@@dirtfriend they mean a balanced diet where you get enough nutrients
what I expected when clicking on this video: sit with right angles and take breaks and stuff
what I got from watching this video: neurochemical injuries make it contextually impossible to comprehend other neurochemical states, therefore, be aware of your own biases and don't judge yourself or others
great job man 👏
Great video! I would like to add more health tips that i think are useful:
1- Always stay hydrated. Everyone keeps saying that for a reason, and your body will function better with lots of water.
2- Rotate the visible colors you perceive once in a while. It's useful to avoid eye strain and have a new perspective on your paintings.
3- Don't bleach the umbilical cord more than once or twice per day. Your perception of the Other World will stay intact anyway and it's not healthy for your limbs.
4- If you find yourself coughing the iridescent fluid too much then it's time for a break! Just lie down a bit and as always don't do it while the Umbral Figure is watching you.
5- Sometimes when I stay in a zodiacal position for too long I can start hearing the Blasphemous Song from the stars. Remember when it happens that you just need to breathe regularly and not show any (ANY) sign of weakness or fear. If your bones start to twist you're probably doing something wrong and you're better ask a medic.
6- Really, drink a lot of water!
Thanks for the tips!! These have helped me a lot already
Hahahaha
Thanks! You just made me take a sip of my full water bottle I've had for the past couple hours by reading your comment
@KONTASTROPHE He didn't drink enough water
omg I’m so grateful to my parents cuz they made me go to dance classes while I was in school. now I study in art academy and visit dance classes 2-3 times a week. Looking at my artists friends now I see that majority of them have some sort of health problem caused by their artistic “activity”)) yeah and now half of them also go to dance classes with me✨
Thank you for caring about your art gremlin audience.
I'm currently going through physical therapy because I developed mild wrist pain in the summer of 2021 and have spent the past several months mainly resting (hardly or rarely drawing). It was the first time I experienced any sort of pain there and of course, my injury was the amalgamation of all the bad habits I've developed from drawing/writing:
1. Slouching and hunched over when drawing
2. Primarily drawing from the wrist + hard grip
3. Long sessions without breaks
4. Sedentary lifestyle
I'm now working on fixing my posture with strengthening exercises for the back and being more mindful about it. I'll slouch a bit here and there to rest my back but I just force myself to sit up straight again. I switch to use my other hand for tasks like mousing, eating, lifting, etc. when I can just to give my dominant hand a rest. Changing how I grip the pencil to a tripod grip and trying to not grip so hard. I try to take more breaks to stretch and to walk around.
For setup, I switched over to a low profile keyboard and an ergonomic mouse. Next changes are sit and stand desk, a good chair eg. Herman Miller, and a display tablet with an arm mount when I have the funds. Non-display tablets are good in that you don't have to look down but the height of your desk and/or chair are also important. You don't want to be resting your forearms on your desk while you're working to avoid unnecessary pressure on a nerve.
It's been rough these past several months having to sit on the sidelines just watching and hardly being able to create like before but I hope that I'll be able to get back on track to creating again soon. Please take care of yourselves so you don't end up like me. Seriously.
I adore the way you described mental health. I felt exactly what your were describing in the video and after I recovered from intense feelings of sadness, I immediately downplayed the severity of it. Thank you for explaining it!
This was the best advices i ever got in my entire life. You are such a good artist and help others out. The whole internet is full of artists that just try to be fame no matter what it costs. You are so authentic and it seems to me like you are talking to me while i am watching this video. Thank you not just for sharing your thaughts, but for bringing back some of my hopes for humanity itself. ♥
Very important your point about avoiding pen displays.
I used one for around 8 years and developed a very bad RSI injury. I couldn't draw for around 3 years.
I kept trying to return to the pen display during those 3 years but the pain was too great. I tried bigger pen displays, monitor arms, nothing worked.
Not until I returned to the trusty pen tablet could I draw pain free. (but need to be especially careful now)
Now that many artists have had 10+ years using pen displays, I think you're going to get a lot more recommendations to avoid them as they all go through health problems :)
I have to agree. I got a surface book recently because I needed a better PC and was convinced that a display tablet would make digital art more enjoyable, as it would be closer to drawing on paper. I was very wrong. It's extraordinarily uncomfortable drawing on it at times, even more do than just looking straight down onto my sketchbooks--which I have since developed a new appreciation for.
The whole Neuro-chemical health part of this video was exactly what I was trying to explain yesterday. You’re reading my mind, man. Nice
🤓🤓🤓
Great video!,
My tip for anyone who can't get an arm for their screen tablet is to get one of those adjustable laptop raisers that let you adjust the height and tilt. Since they're meant to hold a laptop they will hold the weight of your tablet and also the pressure from your hand resting on it, as well as raising your tablet up higher than the stands that come with it with more freedom of angle. My tablet sits a good 5 or 6 inches above the desk tray now and it has helped my neck and shoulders significantly. :) When I'm done for the day I can fold it up and put it away with my tablet and not have a bulky arm always in the way.
Also your explanation for 'mental health' was extremely refreshing and concise. :)
I'd like to add making sure your room is well-lit while you're drawing, which will help to reduce the strain on your eyes. Simply purchasing a lamp to use at night was an absolute game changer
I don't think stretching your hamstrings is always the solution. Sometimes the reason for why they feel tight is because the pelvis is tilted backwards from sitting too much and the hip flexor muscles are the ones that contribute to this due to them being weak from inactivity. Look up anterior pelvic tilt for info about fixing this.
To add to the above for information, there's also the rarer posterior pelvic tilt, but which seems to affect those that are tall like myself (for example if your knees are above the plane of the chair you're sitting on, you'll tilt your pelvis the other way). Most doctors and physiotherapists tend to not be aware of statistically uncommon ailments, and so they pushed me to exercise the quads and hip flexors extensively... Which actually made it worse. End result was a burst spinal disc and a permanent disability that has drastically reduced my ability to make art. Would have been easily preventable with a few properly targeted exercises.
Take care out there.
This. If you sit a lot, most likely your hamstrings are already overstretched and it's the front muscles of legs+abdominal that are too tight. AthleanX and Jeremy Ethier have a couple of good videos on pelvic tilt with exercises to fix it.
I've been neurochemically injured for a while now and the injury got really bad about last week to a life threateninh point. I love that way of thinking. I only clicked on this video to further distract myself from my current mental issues but instesd it's making me face them more (in a good way). As always, your videos are so high quality and you can just see how much thought you've put in them. Thank you.
Wish I had this video earlier, after years of using a non display tablet I finally bought one and within hours realized the strain they will put on your neck without a proper setup (witch can also cost a lot). Don't be fooled, a basic pen tablet is all you need!
The way you've explained these things was very considerate and tactful, thank you for putting in the effort to bring all this together and sharing it.
Best wishes everyone
I´m here because my nerochemicals are not allowing me to perceive happiness, or pleasure and etc right now, so I need to remember that It just take time to fell happiness again. Thanks, Sinix. It´s kind of amazing how some random persons that don´t know each other can help another ones, even if they never know about it.
Thanks, Sinix :)
sleep enough at acceptable hours, dont stress too much, stay hydrated, and dont drink too much coffee, i just had the weirdest pre burnout crisis it was crazy man
I really appreciate the demonstrations that came along with the awesome graphics (that squat, the bloodstains, everything
> bloodstains
> relatable
The fact that sinix uses the same tablet i use gives me unreasonable amounts of confidence 😅
Thanks Sinix for the great health tips for being an artist! Not much fellow artists out on UA-cam covering this kind of content out here. Recently been rushing my university portfolio and getting bad shoulder and neck cramps. This really helped, keep up the good work :'D
Health tip #8: Staring at surgeon Sinix for too long will make you notice all the different tangents in art.
what the hell, these are amazing tips!! i honestly did not expect them to be that good and practical since i've watched quite a bunch of these
i'll be adjusting my pen pressure sensitivity and do more quads during breaks :))
This is all super helpful advice!! I use a pen display tablet (Huion Kamvas 22 Plus, highly recommend!) that I prop up at a high angle that doesn't cause any pains or cramps for me personally. I do agree that non-display tablets are the best for no neck and back pains, but I found them worse for wrist pains. Maybe it's because my previous drawing tablet was extremely small (wacom intuos, great for beginners and super cheap!) but I was only able to draw using my wrist and not my elbow. After drawing for a long time on that tablet my wrist and hand would get cramped. With my pen display tablet, I'm able to make large, sweeping motions that don't make things hard on my wrist. Stretches also help of course!
4:03 YES! thank you! time and time I've seen artists with display tablet laying them on the table and drawing down on them as if it was a piece of paper. Ever since I got mine and noticed how painful it was my very next purchase was an arm to place it forward and use it as if it was a canvas on an easel.
I wish I had watched videos like this before developing chronic tendinitis on my wrist, which makes it now hard to draw as freely as I want.
Please, to all artists and not only,
Really take this video's advices to heart.
I think that the most important thing to remember is to take breaks. I have to take 15 minutes breaks every 30 minutes because that's what my condition bound me to, but really even just 5-10 minutes break once every hour should do...
And as soon as you start feeling some pain in your wrist, _stop drawing_ ! And if it continues in the following days, SEE A DOCTOR, IF YOU CAN!
Tendinitis is treatable in a matter of days or weeks at worse when caught in the early stages...
I had to wait several months because of lockdown, during which I kept on drawing through the pain, making it worse and worse until I couldn't even hold my phone anymore, and now I've been told that my tendinitis will most likely never go away.
Be mindful of what your body requires, please.
Sinix: let's talk about the spine
Me who had spine surgery due to scoliosis:
👁👄👁
This was a cool video to watch! I also love your art style as well!
Sorry, this is my third separate comment but 11:00 YOU JUST BLEW MY MIND. I always think about this when I'm in a depression, when I've fallen down a dark rabbit hole it really is difficult to imagine feeling any other way. Probably the best advice in this video and some of the most valuable I've ever heard.
Does anyone else's eyes "flicker" when you're deep in a piece and in the zone? The best way I can describe it is kind of getting into a trance and as you're drawing/painting, my eyes quickly lose focus, I blink a lot really fast, and in between those blinks i scan up and down the piece. It's weird but only lasts like 1 second.
Suffering from rsi injury on my hands and neck pain from drawing too much. It's been like this for a year already, i think I'm too young for this. Had to take several months off and started doing yoga and wrist exercises everyday, now my condition is slowly improving :') Thanks for the tips!
One thing about the eye, do not stare at bright monitor in dark room. Talking from experience.
Amazing - you're excellent at explaining things and crunching them down to a manageable learning task.
I invested in a cushion stand that i use on my lap to support my iPad for drawing and it's really comfortable
I've been looking for this video for two month. thank you
I really needed this video. Lately I've been struggling with some back and neck pain and have been working on not slouching and leaning forward so much, and trying to make sure I get proper lumbar support. But I'm still having some problems. So hopefully your tips work out for me!
been procrastinating on watching this since it came out. kinda proud of myself for finishing it too. thank you for putting it out!
Thank you so much for this, I’m kinda new in all of this but I’ll take your recommendations seriously, also the comments are great too!
this video is a godsent, great work!
Thanks a lot for your time Sinix! Best regards for you!
Keeping the stylus 'loose' and adjusting the brush to be very sensitive surprisingly helped quite a bit, made drawing so much more confortable for me and even helped on making more confident lines, didn't realized till now but I was putting way too much stress on my fingers and wrist with every stroke just a simple change like this made things flow much more for me! :D
its also important to listen to your body. i cant tell you how many times i would draw for a long period of time and my hands would start to hurt. ( i hold lightly so don't worry) but when that happens I take that as my body telling me its time to stop for a while and rest.
same thing with art block. art block sucks. but for me I take it as a way for my body to tell me that my mind needs rest. and take a lil break for a week or two.
Great video as always!
Squat tip: ALWAYS push up with your heels vs your toes!
Toes put your weight directly on your knees and can cause injury, heels put the weight on your leg muscles - VERY IMPORTANT
This is a Tip-List we didnt ask for and all needed
Really enjoying the look of little dr. Sinix
I have terrible knees so I tend to sit a lot. SO THE HAMSTRINGS TIP HAS TOTALLY JUST SAVED MY LIFE.
Loved this one a lot, thanks Sinix!
Buying screen tablet was a big mistake, I seriously hurt my back in just a year or so
Some times experience is better the going to any doctor and I can tell daddy sinix has had a lot of experience
Great tips Sinix! one eye health tip i like is 20 20 20 rule: every 20 min, look at something 20 ft away for 20 seconds ( i also do it with one eye open and other closed, 2x). Helps me a lot. Also wrapping a band around my drawing wrist helps too for days when there's lots of work. Thx again for this great video!!
Loving the new video format.
I've been meaning to make a video on health for artists for ages but still havent got round to it, you've done a great job here. Keep up the great content :)
One of the best art videos Ive watched in a long time, thanks Sinix! Get well soon!
Incredibly helpful video! especially the bit about the brain at the end. very helpful way to understanding this stuff
Important to note that not all mental ailments heal with time even when treated
As everyone is saying, your wording on mental health is superb. Thanks!
i loved the metal health section of the video, i haven't thought of that topic in that way ever and i think it could help me in the future.
thank you sinix, this is really helpful
7:04 nice plant you got there
I have a display tablet and what I do is look up at my computer screen now and then to check the colours are fine. I also use my keyboard to do shortcuts so that makes me look up as well
thank you so much sinix this was really helpful as someone who's studying for an art uni i have not been listeninh to my body as much as i should
Great tips thank you 😊. Edit: the mental health part was a great take on this I have not heard before.
Also important to understand about neurochemical health: A lot of depression and behavioural issues are simply caused by poor diet! If you find yourself depressed for no reason, as in you are not in a situation that warrants depression or sadness, try eliminating processed foods, sugar, reducing carbs... If that doesn't work you can go a step further and eliminate grains (wheat, soy, beans, etc.) entirely. But of course do so with caution and some nutritional understanding, or with the help of a doctor/nutritionist.
Also you'd be amazed how much flexibility, joint pain and carpel tunnel-like symptoms are simply caused by diet as well. I used to have extremely annoying wrist pain in my drawing hand, it went away entirely when I stopped eating sugar (I mean, full stop).
Ans sleep too!
Great tips Sinix! Especially regarding mental health. You're a good dude. Thanks.
Damn bro I didn’t expect to be assaulted by my own realization of having bad mental health lol
This video is an absolute godsend though, Thanks man
about the mental health part, once every 1-2 months I get really sad, I start crying when I am stressed and before sleeping. Every time I think I should talk to a psychologist but as soon as I stop feeling that way I can't understand why I was so sad
Great and helpful video! Mental health points are very well said, too. I am currently coming out of a bad depression/anxiety and can catch a fleeting glimpse of the blindness on both sides of mental health spectrum
Ahmed's laugh at the end is so ominous
this actually came at like the best time for me, definitely feeling the effects of drawing recently. thanks bro!
Great video. I think art is partly about looking at things more carefully and learning more than I knew before.
thank you for ur wisdom, king
That laugh at the end XD
A very good video te leg part was helpful because now i know why my knees hurts so much
When sitting down - the hip flexors get tighter,hamstrings are in neutral position. If you get knee pain you better of start going to the gym and strengthen your legs as a whole: quads,hamstrings,adductors ,abductors.
Great video and good tips!
What I do to help me physically is I take an Omega-3 pill every morning. I read that it helps with joint pains , so that really helps if I get pain on my wrist. Actually since I started doing that my wrist hasn't hurt at all.
Also I take a break every 2-3 hours and stretch and move around. This helps me with my shoulders and back, because being in the same position for so long can cause you pain. It also helps to relax the eyes.
Thanks for making this video
Not me literally watching neck pain excercises videos like 5 minutes ago
11:10 words of wisdom. I'll make sure to remember them. Like a mantra
I swear like an hour ago I was thinking "I should watch the next sinix stream and ask him for health related art tips" wtf man u reading my mind
I am proud I watched this
Brilliant. Thank you 👍🏻
My scoliosis surgery forces me to sit up straight no matter what. Would recommend.
hope you get well soon
Eyes - Squinting
Neck - Regular movement (tilting)
Spine - Proper posture, non-display tablet
Hands - Grip drawing tool without excessive force (just enough to hold it), Develop a light touch (high tablet sensitivity, brush pen practice)
Legs - Stretch hamstrings (standing toe touches, bodyweight squats)
Brain - Acknowledge that neurochemical(mental) injuries, like those of somatic origin, can heal if treated properly(one day, the cast will come off)
Also, each person sports a unique neurochemical state; it may be difficult to understand or empathize with certain individuals.
"You have been happy in the past, and you can be happy in the future."
I appreciate this. Thank you
This is a really great video, I suffer from tendinitis and am working on my own tips to share with artists experiencing my particular affliction
1:34 I have started squinting at my drawing subconsciously just to see the general form of the thing
3:14 I've hunched over my display tablet for most of the time. but recently I started using the stand and my upper back has been thankful.
Tip #6 Kneesovertoesguy (hail king of knees) has short videos for body weight exercises for knees. See ATG split squat and sissy squat. Life changers.
Also one thing I discovered which is good against lower back ache. Go into ATG split squat position and focus on stretching the hip flexor of the leg behind. The point of this is not the actual hip flexor, but in that position your hamstring is in its most relaxed position. Sitting hunched forward is stretching the hamstring for potentially hours, this shortening of the muscle fibers of the hamstring, glute and lower back muscles is very good. A hidden gem in muscle ache management for sure.
Really cool and helpful video! Thanks man❤️
Thoughts on standing desks? I feel so much better even mentally after starting to use one. I work at SPA studios as a visual development artist, am teaching on the weekends as well so I work 6 days a week and spend at least 10 hours a day in front of a computer. I do the following to have a sustainable career (yes I am Patrick Bateman):
-Extreme care with diet. No caffeine (I'm sensitive to it, it's not that important for most) No alcohol, no sugar, minimal grains, no seed oils, low carb, almost always cooking at home, organic (beware, this is an expensive diet)
-Blue light blocking glasses after sunset to promote good sleep.
-Standing Desk
-Exercise at least 5-10 minutes a day, the BEST EXERCISE FOR BAD POSTURE is *face pulls*!!!
-Get natural sunlight as much as possible, go outside during breaks.
-Breaks every 45 minutes, if you can remember (sometimes I forget, it's ok)
-Cold shower and some kind of meditation in the morning
-Stretch before bed, especially the hamstrings and pelvic tilt
I find that I have no issues with feeling overworked or burned out, as long as I stay consistent with these things. You have to be careful, especially now being so isolated, we have to take care of ourselves guys!
this video is so important
i definitely needed this cus my back and neck have been kinda achy lately lol
Learned so much thank you master
I actually found the opposite case true with the tablet and posture issue. When I owned a Bamboo/Intuos I would place it on my lap and consistently be hunched over while drawing. The Cintiq on the other hand comes with a backing to prop up the tablet so it looks like a second monitor, so since then I've not been hunched over in my digital drawing process. It's much more convenient with a screen, at least in my experience.
I recently bought standing desk and its really helpfull, I m suffering with chronic shoulder / neck pains for many years, but with standing desk I was able to draw on tablet without being in pain. Also taking often regular short breaks helps a lot - but its kind of disturbing creative process.. great and important topic, thx
Also massaging your wrists, and forearms can help in preventing carpal tunnel. (Though when you are massaging any part of the body it is best to go towards the origin of the muscle.)
Hope this helps :)
Thanks for this video!
THANK YOU SO MUCH