Thanks dude. And yeah, it was drawing realistic things that got me into this slump into the first place. Proportions, shading, textures, etc. Although I suppose I'll just focus on one thing at a time and work through the various little things that just discourage me. So yeah, first week hands.
i'm glad we share the same artistic ambitions
and yeah, you don't need to get perfect in one area before trying to improve another, but trying to do everything at once once isn't very productive either, so one month with quick sketches focusing on shapes and proportions, then another month modeling volumes and textures seems a good schedule to me.
i like hands cuz they're interesting, quite portable and versatile to draw, that's why my advice is start with hands, then get to something boring and completely uneventful like lumps of cloth so you get used to pure shapes and proportions without preconceptions, then people, to give you a taste of the real deal, of the most important object for most artists. finally back to hands to see how much you improved since you started.
if you're aiming for a realistic drawing you should try at all costs to NOT apply memorized drawings or symbols, so avoid drawing eyes, noses and mouths, draw mainly stuff that you can't identify.
I suddenly realize why my face looks so weird in my self-portrait.
They say you can remedy this symbol memorization problem if you draw certain features upside-down.
yeah, i think you suffer from that a bit, but i never pointed it out because frankly, your drawings are awesome. There's nothing wrong with stylization, unless it's
unintentional, but even then, if it looks good i won't complain
anyway, if you want a good exercise to exorcise those preconceptions, grab a pen that can write on glass, get a mirror, and draw your own face in it. yes it's cheating, but you're not drawing, you're studying your face. do it like this:
*first, close an eye and get in a confortable position
*second, draw a line on the bottom of your chin and one at the top of your head, then the eye you closed and the opposing ear
*third: draw everything else, be absolutelly precise, but make only contours, don't try to represent textures or model the light.
now study the finished product and compare it with the way you use to draw
you're an awesome painter! I've become pretty good with the pencil, but i was never able to grasp the secret of painting, got any specific advice for a wannabe?