I started to believe in myself when I watched two artists improve and become famous from the beginning on. Now they are social media stars, their art is god-tier level, they are commissioned by the biggest brands. But I will always remember how they started out and what they did to get where they are now since I had the honour to watch it firsthand. Plus I managed to contact some of them and ask them some things, the fact that they are normal people like I am makes me believe even more in myself. They have similar problems than I have so that makes them so much more... reachable.
Yo Bobby, I teach Industrial Design sketching and rendering at an art college and I agree with your statement on the 5 problems. The 2 biggest ones I always run into is Time Management and Trusting the Process. I would add 2 more: 1) Don't take critiques personally, if a drawing or rendering has errors in it, learn from it. It is one of the best ways to improve. 2) Don't get emotionally attached to your art. When working with a client, if they don't like something or it doesn't feel right it is not because you suck. Design decisions should be made by analyzing what the design should communicate and what does the best job, not what is your personal favorite. Iain McCaig says don't be afraid to murder your darlings. It's true.
Well. I've done 3 differents Art Schools, learn a bunch of stuffs, graduated from both (the first one was a one year program and did not deliver any degree at the end), and NONE of these schools comes even close to the quality of knowledge I gained from taking Schoolism classes. To put it simply, I always wanted to be a Concept Artist but I could not paint. I took both of Sam Nielson classes (self taught), and now a can paint (kind of, still not good enough, but we're getting there :) ). Still taking classes with the self taught version (Jonathan Hardesty's class right now), and I probably going to take all of the courses because they are just TOO good. I'm not saying this lightly. I have 8 years of "traditional" art school system behind me. And I can assure you, Schoolism class will take you to the next level if you are serious in your learning process. I mean, do you want to take a class with a random dude that have not draw anything significant in 10 years ? Or a class with the dude who is working for Disney ? Anyway, thanks Bobby for making the knowledge affordable :) PS: And people, subscribe to Schoolism ! If you don't have money, drink less beer, eat less kebab, and save money for Schoolism (Worked for me :) )
I used to get so frustrated with stuff like that. I bought so many books that i thought would help but i came to find they just showed you how to draw something without the knowledge to understand why or how behind it. I could easily draw and imitate instructions but i never got the education to teach me how to understand those fundamentals Bobby mentions so as i sit down to draw, i can draw what i want from memory because i have the tools i need to execute my projects.
Hi K.J.P, my name is Richelle I work at Imaginismstudios/Schoolism. I just wanted to say thank you so much for your amazing comment!! I am so happy to hear that you've had such a good experience with Schoolism :) It's very inspiring! I wish you the best on your art journey, keep drawing, and keep up the hard work!! If you're not already a part of the facebook group for Schoolism students: Schoolism Subscriptions Student Group, then feel free to join! Students that are taking the courses share their artwork here, and give each other support :) best wishes to you! ~ Richelle
i know i'm late, but does Schoolism teach from ground up, with a progression? or are you left to your devices and have to choose for yourself? i'm talking about the subscription option
Great tips ! I am 16 years old,( extremly passionate about digital art and animation ), I don't have any mentor or pro teaching me yet so I can't watch out for tip 1 but I will definitely keep that in mind for the futur ! Thanks again !
I've taken two self taught classes: fundamentals of drawing and drawing with light and color. They were tremendously helpful and now I'm enrolled in The Environment design course. I got my degree programming/ui design but always wants to go into art. I didn't have any instruction before Schoolism and have benefitted so much from them in both my confidence level and skill. The environment design course is really difficult and I sometimes feel like I'm getting run over by a car but it's exactly what I needed to get to the level I've always to. Now I feel like I have the means to switch tracks and pursue an art related profession. Thanks Bobby for making that a reality!
Hi Sakuradragon, my name is Richelle I work at Imaginismstudios/Schoolism. That's amazing to hear! Keep up the hard work! :) The environment design course is difficult but you will learn so much in the end! If you aren't part of it yet, we have a Facebook group called: Schoolism Subscriptions Student Group, where you can join and share your artwork with fellow students on Schoolism :) Sometimes it can be motivating to see work from other students taking maybe the same course, and you can ask each other questions :) Take care! ~ Richelle
Taking schoolism classes has been the best decision of my education, honestly. I left art school and have learned more in a year of schoolism classes. I'm in Nathan Fowkes course right now. Highly recommend to anyone on the fence
I've taken Schoolism self taught classes on Gesture drawing (w Alex woo) and Fundamentals of Drawing (Thomas Fluharty) , and am currently taking Fundamentals of Lighting (Sam Nielson) :)) I really enjoy those lessons a lot, and am taking notes from these lessons so that i can revisit them when i need too :) And being able to watch the feedback given to the other subscribers really helped me in learning as well:))
@@JeanneBook hello! Depending on which you would like to learn first :) I found Fundamentals of Lighting really insightful and helpful for when it comes to understanding materials and how they will be like in different environments. However be ready as there is ALOT of info to take in for this course! I've never seen lighting being taught in such depth! Another good lighting class I heard about is Painting with Light and Color Dice Tsutsumi & Robert Kondo! I have not taken this class but I've seen ppl's work frm this class and they look really pretty. Gesture Drawing was helpful in strengthening my poses when drawing figures, so that they read better and looks more grounded when i draw them. If you already have a basic understanding of shading and drawing i feel that it is okay to skip Fundamentals of Drawing. This is where you are taught how to observe an object for it's basic shapes and apply tonal values. Hope you'll enjoy them as much as I did!! I havent been taking anymore classes since then so that's all I can advice on:)
I'm currently taking Fundamental of lightning with Sam Nielson, I'm doing this class at my own pace and I'm learning so much so far. I don't think I ever met someone explaining color and lightning so scientifically, it make the subjects more logic to learn. Can't wait to learn more and enroll for another class, but this time with Nathan Fowkes :D I definitely recommend Schoolism for anybody who wants to improve their skills dramatically! :D
It's better to not have a mentor at all than to have a bad one, mostly because if your not being taught by someone at all then you won't have an example now if you did have that mentor and they weren't a good one they basically wouldnt be helping you at all and so it's just going to be better to learn everything through trial and error rather than having someone you can't really rely on ^^ Ummm I hope that wasn't too confusing?
Thanks Bobby! Another really great video. I really appreciate these little pep talks and pieces of advice, they are a stream of good energy I can count on to be there to help support me and my art goals.
I took all the Nathan Fowkes classes and they shaved probably years off my learning time in certain areas. But there really is only so much you can get from watching videos, and likewise by sending in assignments and getting video feedback. I feel the only way to truly accelerate learning is to have one-on-one time with an instructor and that's close to impossible.
You echo some of the huge concerns I had at an art community college I went to years ago. No demo's/sample of tutors work, pressure on the student to achieve high levels of work on talent alone without any structure or transference of skill sets form tutors. Love watching your vid's Bobby, get to see that one can achieve great things with hard work and building skill sets. Keep up the good work man!
I'm having quite a hard time now because of all those reasons you've explained... So thanks Bobby, for your help. Those videos are such a great support when all your surroundings fail to do so. Thanks again, it helps me, day by day.
This happens a lot to me. art class in school it’s mandatory, and horrible. You’d think I’d enjoy it as an artist but it has nothing to do with art. We sit in a class and learn stuff like any other subject, we have it explained and we than take a written test on it. Like, what is inking? What is sketching? What is the difference between inking and sketching? What is a collage? What do you call painting with candle wax? And what’s the point. Your taking a group of kids and stuffing information in their head and none of them have any idea what to do with it but they memorise it anyway or else they’ll fail.
Hey Bobby, thanks for this much needed video. I have been drawing for over 10 years now and I feel like I haven't grown as an artist at all, very much lacking in belief. But it's probably because I don't put in enough time and effort trying to juggle a full time job. I appreciate this!
As someone who has always struggled with my confidence in my art, I wish to extend a great thank you to you Bobby, you´re an inspiration and have made me feel alot better about my art again and that I can make it. I signed up for schoolism and with effort and time, I know the world will notice my work one day. Thank you!
I never once saw my AP art teacher draw. It still blows my mind to this day. Exactly like you said, how could I respect someone that i didn't even know if they could draw. It literally makes no sense, you should be in awe of your teachers. Wanting to get as good as them. And then when you do you should be trying to get way better than them.
Thank you as always for the great pep talk! I've been feeling really terrible about my art lately because I feel like I never get any better even when I try to spend a ton of time studying the "right" way. Having some motivation like this is really helpful on the bad days. I'm just starting on my 3rd Schoolism self-taught class, and I have nothing but good things to say about the first 2 I took! I apply techniques from one of the classes to most of my art now, and I keep a lot of principles from the other one in mind whenever I'm designing compositions and working out thumbnails. My art hasn't improved because I am a slow learner who is bad at art, BUT I am storing away all the information in my brain for some day when I'm hopefully good enough to apply it. I really like the variety of subjects covered in the classes, so even if I finish one of the classes feeling a little burnt out, I can get a fresh start on something totally different with the next one.
Thank you so much Mr. Chiu. I take the Schoolism online classes and they're honestly an answered prayer. I signed up for the Schoolism live workshop in Dubai. Most inspiring. Best investment of my life, literally. Thank you so much.
Thanks for sharing! When a graduated from University I realised that most of the teachers focused on giving us information without passion or motivation. And while working on a professional level I felt more like a tool rather than a person. I know this is an old video but I hope you're doing well with schoolism! It sounds like a great place to learn.
Schoolism is AMAZING! I've taken a couple of Bobby's classes as well as storyboarding, a couple from Nathan Fowkes, and am currently doing painting with light and color. These courses have been lifesavers not only in learning a "how to" approach to commissions I've received, but in personally developing as an artist. Bobby's class on digital painting is FOUNDATIONAL. Bobby, thank you so much for providing such an array of affordable classes. I believe I'm gradually making my way through all of them!
Thank you so much for Schoolism. It has really helped me through the darkest periods of my development. When I had to work late nights and I didn't feel inspired to draw, Schoolism assignments helped me continue.
I agree so much! The figure drawing professor I really like gives really good demos, show's his past work/projects, and shows his favorite artist's work. The demos helped me improve so much on my art :D
Had instructors for 3 whole years, never ONCE (!!!!) saw them paint or draw, or really ever got good, solid examples of how you should do things. It was only when I took schoolism classes that I started (as you put it) soaring in the quality of my work. I do think seeing good teachers draw and give good pointers is the BEST way (next to good old 'drawing a lot') to improve. Also, a nice side-effect of having good teaching is that you will see your work improve and that in return will make you feel more self confident. Oh, and I'm taking Characters for Animated Film. Highly highly HIGHLY recommend it!!!
It's very validating that you point out bad teachers. You know, it really was a learning experience for me when I was able to say "This was a bad teacher," going beyond that maybe they were someone who was stern or difficult, or perhaps a bit infuriating or abusive but still educational in the end in their own way, but just a terrible teacher who was doing my development more harm than good and that, with my own faults and my own past and current artistic and personality shortcomings, I was still justified in pointing that out. Regardless of what skill level you are at, a bad teacher can really screw you up. (And then, on a less extreme note, there's realizing that maybe some of your teachers were only kinda good.)
You're one of my favourite youtubers, because you're intelligent and I appreciate your perspective on art. Your videos have really helped me as an artist
Few years ago i graduated an art school (which is called by most people the best art school in my country), but almost every teacher i had there never drew demos or even worse those teachers drew on our painting to "correct" students mistakes. And when i needed to draw my diploma... well, i had to watch a loooottt of videos about colors and composition in youtube to make my diploma work a success, but the saddest thing is that i learnt more from art videos from youtube than from that art school
Loved it! Just, WOW, you really put all my thoughts and feelings about art education in a simple video! I will be watching and rewatching this one many times
I needed this today. Thank you! I'm working on the storyboarding class right now. It's slow going-I'm pretty bad at it. But I'm excited to keep learning and to get better. Thank you for making it affordable!
I'm nearly in tears I needed this so much. I am going on a two week placement at an animation studio in a few weeks and its such an good opportunity but I am so stressed about it. Ive been given a brief and everything which is fantastic, I'm not going to just be giving out coffee but all those things you said about putting pressure on myself is basically what I've been doing and the anxiety is getting too much. I can't help but feel that I'm not good enough, that I'm going to do a rubbish job, they won't like me which is making me want to curl up in a ball. BLINDERS. I AM PUTTING ON MY BLINDERS BOBBY AND STAYING ON THE TRAIL THANK YOU.
Bobby you are singing to me right now Boi!!!! Especially about art school being expensive. I had to go through that, I was accepted in two schools which makes it worst. And I don't have a plan be "B". Finding TH-cam channels and reading articles about affordable ways to learn on the internet. I definitely don't need one. This is my favorite video of his channel. Beautiful advice! I'll be re-watching this countless of times in the future.
I did a lot of lessons on schoolism. Also painting creatures from Bobby. Hard to say wich one I found the best. Depends on what you wanna learn. I really learned a lot from the feedback from Alex Woo's class. I want to get into story boarding so I hope I can take that lesson one day on schoolism (with feedback).
Thanks so much for the advice Bobby! Whenever I listen to your videos I really get inspired! I took a 12 month subscription last year and took 13 of your courses I can can surely agree that these classes put the fire on the gasoline! I learned soooo much and I cannot be thankful enough to all of you guys in Schoolism, really thank you for giving all of us an opportunity to learn from the best and not get a lifetime loan from it!! Hope to have a Schoolism Workshop in Mexico CIty anytime soon!!! :D Greetings!
Just saw that your classes are now $15! Thank you so much for your dedication to making an art education affordable. I look forward to learning with you guys!
So happy to finally found an awesome website for taking all the classes I've been searching for. Thank you!!! and I always get to learn something new whenever I watch your video ^_^
:/ i went to supposedly one of the best programs for high school students and none of the teachers did demos but expected us to "figure it out" and make lots of really good "finished" "perfect" work
I'm a senior in high school this year and I have had two separate art teachers so far. My first teacher was extremely supportive of my ambitions with cartoon style characters and would often draw alongside me and show me different methods for what I was doing. My second teacher was not quite so supportive. She had once told me that cartoon/anime style characters are not real art! My ambition went right out the window when she told me this and I felt no need to continue forward with my art. I've recently gone back into doing what I love with my art but surely public schools could do much better with those who they hire.
I totally agree with you about the teachers showing you first their portfolios but unfortunately my experience is very far away. I studied Fine Arts and the only teacher I remember showing us his work was because he just did that art exhibition and he was really proud of it. There is many things that have to change in the current educational system...
In middle school I had the best art teacher! He was always encouraging all the students and gave great advise no matter what style or art form you were doing. And he had his own projects, mostly oil paintings, going on in the back of the studio. Other then that I must say I avoided art schools. It always mostly involved mediums I wasn't ready to use and not the things I was interested in. So I study animals instead growing up while learning art as an hobby on the side. But lately I felt I really need a push in formed of art lessons. So I probably going to sign up for schoolism class later today! :D I have no idea which to start with though. I need to learn everything!
I'm taking essentials of Realism with Jonathan Hardesty. Its a wonderful class and I'm finally, finally starting to understand values and how they work :) Plus all the other great fundamentals! Can't wait to finish this course and start the Nathan Fowkes courses. Thx Bobby and Schoolism crew!
NONE of my art tutors at university did demos, although they were all practising artists. I'm £20+k in student debt and I never saw any of them actually put a mark on a surface. And i never noticed until i watched this video 😯 Thanks for another great video!
I have to say that Sam Nielson's Lighting course was a game changer for my artistic journey! Never in my life I have ever experienced a huge jump in my skill level in such a short period of time. I highly recommended it to anyone.
In my university, in Brazil, I've had many teachers who have never done a demonstration in class, or have done it poorly. In fact, it was only when I went for a year abroad that I realized how a skilled professor is able to make the skills of a student take off.
Não me arrependo, pois foi porta de entrada pra muitas experiências extremamente valiosas, e não tive opções além da universidade que estudo. No entanto, em termos de habilidades úteis e capacitação dos professores, deixa muito a desejar. A maioria dos meus colegas vai se formar direto pro desemprego. Eu tenho certeza de que boa parte da culpa dessa falta de capacitação não é por falta de interesse deles, mas sim por falta da orientação adequada.
Pois é! Achei que a faculdade me serviu bastante no início como um meio de conhecer pessoas com interesse na mesma área e ter uma base de como funciona a área, quais caminhos posso seguir e etc. Mas agora, no segundo ano, me sinto absolutamente estagnada, sem aprender nada :( Vou parar os próximos 8 meses e estudar por conta, mesmo; quero ver se vai ser melhor pra mim. Mas é uma pena a faculdade não poder proporcionar um conhecimento maior... Tem uma galera querendo aprender, e o aprendizado acaba vindo só de fora.
Yes!! Hardly any of my instructors at the State Uni I attended gave any live demos! God, I wish I had found Schoolism before getting in so much debt... Anyways, I plan on subscribing to your digital painting class on Schoolism today (until I can afford signing up for one)... this video really solidified that decision for me. Thanks for doing what you do Bobby!
Love your classes on schoolism! I have really grown a lot from learning from the pros out there! I really love the class with Kris Pearn and storyboarding. And wondering will you have a critique class with him or some other storyboard artist anytime soon? I really would love that!!!!
so true. I had so many bad instructors who I thought were good and what they were teaching is the absolute truth. so often I feel people become teachers is that they themselves have failed and their own bitterness is taken out on their students. I'm not saying all, but I've quite often been in a class where this is the case and it is so toxic for the students. In contrast, I have found that online courses are so great and I actually get feedback, and even with the Schoolism subscription I feel I am learning so much more than I did in university. I finally feel I am starting to learn and improve again.
I've graduated Fine Arts School and all I can say is this: my drawing level is the same. I learned so many things about Art History, how to analyze a painting etc. They used to tell me all the time "your artwork is to pictorial, close to design, too decorative, not that abstract" etc. I had a more cartoonish style and they didn't like it so I never improved. Now, 2 years after my graduation, I can see that I didn't had a true instructor to help me, not to give me a "recipe" how to do things. This is my all-time-classic problem: not a right instructor/mentor (for me). I took Bobby Chui's Digital Painting class, Alex Woo's Gesture and now I'm on PIctorial Composotion with Nathan Fowkes.All of them great and helpful! I just want to say thank you for all your work on Schoolism and the knowledge you share with us. I'll always consider myself as a student, as I always want to learn more and beacome better.
Hi Natalia, I work for Bobby at Schoolism. I just wanted to say that I am sorry to hear about your frustrations regarding Fine Art School! Sometimes teachers don't realize the impact they have on their students. I personally had a very similar experience, and felt very stuck! All of us learn differently, but it just means finding the right way of learning the right material that will really allow you to make those advances in your art. Lastly, thanks so much for your kind words! It's so great to hear that you are enjoying the classes, and that you are finding them helpful! Just keep practicing, and keep up that great attitude about always being a student! It's so important to always be learning that's how we get better! Wishing you the best on your journey ~ Richelle
i experienced that in art school in france they dont show anything i losed two years of my life learning nothing and its in many schools in this country...only private school are worth the price i willl say. its only about concept not about technics (i mean how can you be a good artist without skills right??) many of them doesnt fucking know how to draw and hold a pencil...schoolim was a revelation and a wake up call for me and thank you so much for that :)
I've had a class where the professor unfortunately really didn't show us anything. She'd talk about the techniques or process of something, but for all I know she was just reading off an article. She never showed us any work she's done or did anything in front of us in the class, it was always just 'go do the thing'. Oh and the 'critiques' were always "I want some thing more" or "I want to see more of that" without ever telling me what 'that' was even when I asked for specifics, it was not an environment that I felt I learned in
I like how these lessons do not only aply to artists but can be used in other careers as well. (As for me, a computer scientist, I see a lot of these problems as well)
I've taken a few self taught courses. So far my favourite has been Nathan Fowkes' Pictorial Composition. It really changed the way I approach both studying and creating. The feedback videos were especially helpful, as I made many of the same mistakes as the students. The only problem with schoolism is that I want to take all the courses at once so I can improve in every area all at once, but I just don't have the time for that...
really, what you says from 2'40''.. I had art teachers for 5 years and they never showed live demos or own works (only one of them did it and he teached me only for 4 months). I also abandoned the art university and I feel that I spent almost 5 years of my life trying to study this in a bad way, and now is when I'm feeling better with what I'm learning and the results (3d animation); You know? but I always loved drawing and painting. I developed an allergy to almost all traditional materials when I was 12, and all the people related to the art school said me things like "wow, if you're allergy to oils why are you here!? what are u doing?!" ...some years later I learned to use Photoshop and I'm trying to improve it. Now I'm 25 y.o and I feel that I'm late to work in what I always dreamed but, I have never given up!! :D
Currently Enjoying fundamentals of lighting with Sam Nielsen as a subscription. Learning a lot, and having a lot of stuff confirmed which is great. Lessons are given with explicit detail and encourage problem solving.
some time ago i went to an animation academy and i asked the instructor to show me some of his old animation work but he just don't want to show it sometimes saying that it is confidential so i left that academy and started learning on my on from the internet
I've been scolded in class for asking to see an instructor's portfolio! I dropped the class. I've been on both ends of the demonstration thang - instructors not demoing at all, and then instructors that demo and force you to stick strictly to their methods and nothing else. It's a finicky balance!
I honestly believe what Schoolism and other schools like this are doing is a revolution in a way, democratizing knowledge and making it acessible everywhere. Having a degree is so overrated, it doesn't get you a secure job at all and is just inefficient and inflexible as a form of education and worst, people actually get in debt because of this. Thank you for your amazing videos
I studied art education at an university here in germany. The practical art classes were mostly really unsatisfying. At painting classes, we didn't learn any techniques or skills regarding colour, light, composition or anything like that. We were told to make our own canvas and not to use prefabricated colours, otherwise our work wouldn't be art at all! O_o Kind of elitist shit....(aand I'm too lazy for that, to be honest). The whole experience was so discouraging that I stopped drawing and painting at all.(except the stuff I had to do)The practical classes were focused on fine arts, so I felt like what I liked was wrong anyway. About 3 years ago I started again. Unfortunately my selfesteem is like a rolercoaster :'D I seriously consider taking schoolism classes to progress. :) Sorry for my rambling! Some of you can surely relate :)
I study Animation in Israel and one of the problems here is that there are a few really high level proffesionals that actually do animation for living... and it's awsome to be learning from them.. BUT no matter how much they good at what they do I don't feel like i'm learning from them the best way. It's like they don't know how to teach. they just know the work. and it's really frustrating not understanding their art :( I wish there will be more artists that know how to teach art than just "be" artists
I've experience taking classes without the instructor giving demos or painting/drawing. They just tell me draw/paint and the I'll give you a critique which is so general you wont understand anything and don't expect me to give you technics with which you could tackle the problem you are facing...
Number 5 was my definite and plus, school was not good to me. Example: I was busting my butt to get good grades while my cousin was acting up constantly and the teachers passed him on just because they did not want to see him anymore. That definitely brought down my look at the education system to the point where I lost all hope.
Took both of Stephen Silver's classes to completion and they were phenomenal. Considering taking them again to ratchet up my skill, though the majority of the "meat" in his classes has stuck with me. This just speaks to repetition and the structure offered by the training regimen. Taking them again would be a way to try everything again and get more one on one feedback. Silver is a world-class art teacher. Have been interested in taking Nathan Fowkes' class after looking back at some of the great work he did on ConceptArt.org.
All of our art teachers have never drawn an example or showed us any techniques. They were only there to grade you, and it was pretty clear they were doing it on personal opinions. If anything, I was the one most kids turned to when they wanted to get a neutral opinion on their work, because you just couldn't go up to the teacher, they were always those unapproachable people that just aren't motivated for their job at all.
This will sound like a horrible excuse but I see it as an obsticle I am working on overcoming... finding a road around the wall if you will. My reason why I don't develop well in my art is connected to my attention deficit disorder. I get sidetracked, I get distracted, I start daydreaming, I struggle to get started and stay with it, and I really struggle to finish projects I've started. I crave and absorb knowledge but that is both great and less great because I want to craft too so I have too many "want to do" hobbies at once. I will get to the point though. I am aware that these are the things to work on and I am getting better at being more frequent. It does scare me a bit to take on classes because of my poor focus and it feels disrespectful when I don't pay attention even if it's on a screen which was ingrained in school years. So far I do books and short videos and I finally found what direction I want to practice which I am super excited about! And I am a strong believer in fundamentals too in pretty much everything so I like that you brought it up!
Ambi Cahira I'm the same way. I've always had so many things that I have wanted to do that I either end up spending all my time just thinking and trying to find a direction, or I spread myself so thin that I never make any progress. Usually I'm just lost in my own thoughts though, and never get started.
I have the same thing! honestly, at a point, you just need to get up and push yourself to start with just one thing, even if everything within you wants to procrastinate. if its something you really care about, you will likely feel the investment growing.
The no demo/portfolio comment in the video was basically my entire tenure at a certain online version of a national art school. It was all read this book, follow this chapter and vague reviews of the work submitted. We taught ourselves and hoped for the best. I got more from my fellow students than the instructors (there were a couple teachers that were awesome though). It felt like it was more grade to pass instead of grade to help improve the student. It kind of jaded me enough that I am reluctant to try an online school again. I have been debating about schoolism. Just can't afford the critique classes :-(
I've taken a lot of art classes over the years, and for me the biggest issue was instructors not explaining WHY you are learning something. They have us do these exercises where we shade a sphere, or shade a rock, or draw a bunch of pipes towards a vanishing point and they don't explain why those things are important. I had a lot of natural skill before I took any classes and felt like I was wasting my time shading boxes and spheres etc. It wasn't until recently, 20 years after my first art class that I finally realized why the fundamentals are important. Now, every day I practice fundamentals, perspective, values etc, and even my shitty rushed practice drawings look better than my best things from before. No matter how detailed a drawing is if the lighting is off, the figures aren't sitting in 3d space, the perspective is off, your drawing/painting will look amatuer. Every day I'm kicking my ass that I didn't understand this earlier.
I'm doing your course about "creature design"... I think it's good because you talk about some fundamentals of light and then some other useful tips :D I always loved cute things and children illustrations but I've never planned to do monsters or other creatures, and is amazing to mix it :D (now i'm doing fur hahaha)
Hey Bobby, First of all I like your channel and work, I fell in love with your Beam Me Up Scotty, Twins and The gift artwork a few years ago when I was on UV and have been following your work since. Now in UV I never knew if my teachers were actually good artists. None of them gave live demo's, none of them had a online portfolio or website. So I always felt like, how are they able to teach me if I don't know where they come from and what they are capable of. Students asked for their work, but we never got to see it. The only "teaching" they gave was, take a look at Pixar's artists or others you love and learn from them. Like every artist ever has online video's available for free, with their thinking process and workflow documented. Not to mention different techniques, because we learned none, not even how to hold a pencil the right way. They only gave destructive feedback instead of constructive feedback, so you never knew at what level you were and I sufferd because I had the feeling I wasn't moving forward. There were days that I was the only student showing up in class while others where just desperately trying to educate themselfs in their dorm true the internet and some didn't care anymore and just slept through the day so they could get wasted at night, every night. By the end of those 3y most students already dropped out, which is sad to be honest. I believe we started off with 130 people and only 4 graduated. But it was more like 3y and a whole lot of money down to the drain for education on UV, because at the end I felt like I've learned nothing new at all. I've learned so much more in the last 2y from other artists (like you) on TH-cam, than I ever did on UV.
Your videos really inspire me to draw! I do have a question about instructors. If you do have a bad instructor, what can you do to fix that? With costs of school and everything, it seems hard to just change, especially in places with limited art teachers or instructor at all. Your thoughts on this would be awesome!
There was a teacher in the art school i went to ,who never gave demo in class.His excuse was if gave demo in the class hours,he wouldn't be able to teach us.But the thing was he was never available after the class hours,to explain about or help us with the assignments.
Hey Bobby! I don't have any access to a good & affordable school, and I have bouts of disbelief, yet I do have a lot of time and I do try to put in the effort that I can. What makes me hesitate on my progress is my structure. I think I understand what fundamentals are but not how to best practice them by myself. Everywhere I see tutorials on different fundamentals subjects, yet the best tutorials I've seen that talks about what actual fundamentals are would be Sycras "What are the Fundamentals in Art???" and InPursuitOfArt's "How to Paint and Draw - Art Fundamentals". They're great to know, but someone should really make a nitty gritty fundamentals-tutorial which talks about what they are in detail, and how to structure a good fundamental learning process for different individuals! Like you said about having a great teacher, and have him/her talk about perhaps what sources and steps one should take when structuring your fundamentals learning!
I had an art professor who could not draw at all. She even said it herself and we seen it when she tried to draw. Sad thing is when she over heard someone say she could not draw she got upset and started to get upset with the kid. She said she is an art teacher she has to know how to draw. . . That class was a nightmare
Hi Nova, absolutely! Please kindly let us know what you're interested in learning about. We've added a few more courses to Schoolism since this video was uploaded. :) ~ Ashley
Bobby Chiu I checked the courses, there are definitely many. But they seem to be pretty specific. While I'm totally interested in some, I'm also not even sure, if I know the fundamentals and basics properly (I'm a writer, after all, I just love to illustrate my books). So, I generally want to know, where to start and what combination of courses people take to achieve different proposes. Also, do you have some courses on Skillshare? I already have a subscription there, and at the time I can't afford two different subscriptions, however cheap the price is, since USD monetary value is different for different countries(((. It would be great if I could start with Skillshare ones. Are there any?
My thing with teaching is when a teacher was out of the market for too long and is obviously burnt out. I don't need a teacher to be a super star but its hard to teach someone new things if you're not kept uptodate. In the end, in my case, I just need to put in the hours and work.
yass ,, i studied product design & my lectures dont show me how to draw. they only showed drawing video (not even a tutorial drawing). what an great experience. so it's no surprise that not so much student from my college became product designer. sad, but true.
Ive never seen my drawing teacher in university draw at all. I had never even seen any of his drawings until a friend found his Facebook. When I told my seniors i didnt think he was a good teacher, they said "thats just how It is, you cant ask for much, you just gotta get better by yourself" :(
0:56 1. Lack of High Level Instructors
4:03 2. Lack of Structure
4:53 3. Lack of Belief
7:12 4. Bad Scheduling
9:00 5. Education is expensive
I started to believe in myself when I watched two artists improve and become famous from the beginning on. Now they are social media stars, their art is god-tier level, they are commissioned by the biggest brands.
But I will always remember how they started out and what they did to get where they are now since I had the honour to watch it firsthand.
Plus I managed to contact some of them and ask them some things, the fact that they are normal people like I am makes me believe even more in myself. They have similar problems than I have so that makes them so much more... reachable.
Yo Bobby, I teach Industrial Design sketching and rendering at an art college and I agree with your statement on the 5 problems. The 2 biggest ones I always run into is Time Management and Trusting the Process. I would add 2 more: 1) Don't take critiques personally, if a drawing or rendering has errors in it, learn from it. It is one of the best ways to improve. 2) Don't get emotionally attached to your art. When working with a client, if they don't like something or it doesn't feel right it is not because you suck. Design decisions should be made by analyzing what the design should communicate and what does the best job, not what is your personal favorite. Iain McCaig says don't be afraid to murder your darlings. It's true.
Well.
I've done 3 differents Art Schools, learn a bunch of stuffs, graduated from both (the first one was a one year program and did not deliver any degree at the end), and NONE of these schools comes even close to the quality of knowledge I gained from taking Schoolism classes.
To put it simply, I always wanted to be a Concept Artist but I could not paint.
I took both of Sam Nielson classes (self taught), and now a can paint (kind of, still not good enough, but we're getting there :) ).
Still taking classes with the self taught version (Jonathan Hardesty's class right now), and I probably going to take all of the courses because they are just TOO good.
I'm not saying this lightly. I have 8 years of "traditional" art school system behind me. And I can assure you, Schoolism class will take you to the next level if you are serious in your learning process.
I mean, do you want to take a class with a random dude that have not draw anything significant in 10 years ?
Or a class with the dude who is working for Disney ?
Anyway, thanks Bobby for making the knowledge affordable :)
PS: And people, subscribe to Schoolism ! If you don't have money, drink less beer, eat less kebab, and save money for Schoolism (Worked for me :) )
I used to get so frustrated with stuff like that. I bought so many books that i thought would help but i came to find they just showed you how to draw something without the knowledge to understand why or how behind it. I could easily draw and imitate instructions but i never got the education to teach me how to understand those fundamentals Bobby mentions so as i sit down to draw, i can draw what i want from memory because i have the tools i need to execute my projects.
Hi K.J.P, my name is Richelle I work at Imaginismstudios/Schoolism. I just wanted to say thank you so much for your amazing comment!! I am so happy to hear that you've had such a good experience with Schoolism :) It's very inspiring! I wish you the best on your art journey, keep drawing, and keep up the hard work!! If you're not already a part of the facebook group for Schoolism students: Schoolism Subscriptions Student Group,
then feel free to join! Students that are taking the courses share their artwork here, and give each other support :) best wishes to you! ~ Richelle
Thanks for your answer ! I'm already part of the group ! :)
i know i'm late, but does Schoolism teach from ground up, with a progression? or are you left to your devices and have to choose for yourself? i'm talking about the subscription option
Great tips ! I am 16 years old,( extremly passionate about digital art and animation ), I don't have any mentor or pro teaching me yet so I can't watch out for tip 1 but I will definitely keep that in mind for the futur ! Thanks again !
Blackthorn Prod Do you have a social media acct? I wanna check it our
Keep dreaming and don't give up! Don't feel like you can't do stuff because you're young. Cheering you on and with you all the best x
Same here too!
@@whenraindropsfall and now he is a professional...
@@shinchanthebest oh my goodness! congratulations! i honestly forgot i typed that at all ty for tagging me
I've taken two self taught classes: fundamentals of drawing and drawing with light and color. They were tremendously helpful and now I'm enrolled in The Environment design course. I got my degree programming/ui design but always wants to go into art. I didn't have any instruction before Schoolism and have benefitted so much from them in both my confidence level and skill. The environment design course is really difficult and I sometimes feel like I'm getting run over by a car but it's exactly what I needed to get to the level I've always to. Now I feel like I have the means to switch tracks and pursue an art related profession. Thanks Bobby for making that a reality!
does self taught not mean self taught as opposed to taught by a mentor?
Neanderthal no it's the self paced, subscription only class. There's no assignment feedback.
sakuradragon
ah i see
Hi Sakuradragon, my name is Richelle I work at Imaginismstudios/Schoolism. That's amazing to hear! Keep up the hard work! :) The environment design course is difficult but you will learn so much in the end! If you aren't part of it yet, we have a Facebook group called: Schoolism Subscriptions Student Group, where you can join and share your artwork with fellow students on Schoolism :) Sometimes it can be motivating to see work from other students taking maybe the same course, and you can ask each other questions :) Take care! ~ Richelle
Taking schoolism classes has been the best decision of my education, honestly. I left art school and have learned more in a year of schoolism classes. I'm in Nathan Fowkes course right now. Highly recommend to anyone on the fence
I've taken Schoolism self taught classes on Gesture drawing (w Alex woo) and Fundamentals of Drawing (Thomas Fluharty) , and am currently taking Fundamentals of Lighting (Sam Nielson) :)) I really enjoy those lessons a lot, and am taking notes from these lessons so that i can revisit them when i need too :)
And being able to watch the feedback given to the other subscribers really helped me in learning as well:))
sam nielson class is godlike o3o
lubasa spiegel yea!! alot of info!! hahaha xD
What lessons should i starr with when I'm new to schoolism?
@@JeanneBook hello! Depending on which you would like to learn first :)
I found Fundamentals of Lighting really insightful and helpful for when it comes to understanding materials and how they will be like in different environments. However be ready as there is ALOT of info to take in for this course! I've never seen lighting being taught in such depth!
Another good lighting class I heard about is Painting with Light and Color
Dice Tsutsumi & Robert Kondo! I have not taken this class but I've seen ppl's work frm this class and they look really pretty.
Gesture Drawing was helpful in strengthening my poses when drawing figures, so that they read better and looks more grounded when i draw them.
If you already have a basic understanding of shading and drawing i feel that it is okay to skip Fundamentals of Drawing. This is where you are taught how to observe an object for it's basic shapes and apply tonal values.
Hope you'll enjoy them as much as I did!! I havent been taking anymore classes since then so that's all I can advice on:)
I'm currently taking Fundamental of lightning with Sam Nielson, I'm doing this class at my own pace and I'm learning so much so far. I don't think I ever met someone explaining color and lightning so scientifically, it make the subjects more logic to learn. Can't wait to learn more and enroll for another class, but this time with Nathan Fowkes :D I definitely recommend Schoolism for anybody who wants to improve their skills dramatically! :D
What do you think is worse: to have bad mentor, or don't have one at all?
A bad mentor
my art teacher never draws, just sits on her computer and shows us youTube videos on what to do
+CaptainSparrow13 That's kinda stupid, then technically she's not teaching
It's better to not have a mentor at all than to have a bad one, mostly because if your not being taught by someone at all then you won't have an example now if you did have that mentor and they weren't a good one they basically wouldnt be helping you at all and so it's just going to be better to learn everything through trial and error rather than having someone you can't really rely on ^^ Ummm I hope that wasn't too confusing?
riley may not at all! Thx!
wow, now I know why I failed as an artist, the chain of those reasons. Thanks for that, maybe I can find a solution to my problems now.
Thanks Bobby! Another really great video. I really appreciate these little pep talks and pieces of advice, they are a stream of good energy I can count on to be there to help support me and my art goals.
I took all the Nathan Fowkes classes and they shaved probably years off my learning time in certain areas. But there really is only so much you can get from watching videos, and likewise by sending in assignments and getting video feedback. I feel the only way to truly accelerate learning is to have one-on-one time with an instructor and that's close to impossible.
You echo some of the huge concerns I had at an art community college I went to years ago. No demo's/sample of tutors work, pressure on the student to achieve high levels of work on talent alone without any structure or transference of skill sets form tutors.
Love watching your vid's Bobby, get to see that one can achieve great things with hard work and building skill sets.
Keep up the good work man!
It's my 2nd yr attending a painting course in university and only 1 teacher did a demo
Yikes
Tbh, you are a role model of the role models, so honest, so specific, so helpful, tnx!
Thank you!
I'm having quite a hard time now because of all those reasons you've explained... So thanks Bobby, for your help. Those videos are such a great support when all your surroundings fail to do so. Thanks again, it helps me, day by day.
This happens a lot to me. art class in school it’s mandatory, and horrible.
You’d think I’d enjoy it as an artist but it has nothing to do with art. We sit in a class and learn stuff like any other subject, we have it explained and we than take a written test on it. Like,
what is inking? What is sketching? What is the difference between inking and sketching? What is a collage? What do you call painting with candle wax? And what’s the point. Your taking a group of kids and stuffing information in their head and none of them have any idea what to do with it but they memorise it anyway or else they’ll fail.
Hey Bobby, thanks for this much needed video. I have been drawing for over 10 years now and I feel like I haven't grown as an artist at all, very much lacking in belief. But it's probably because I don't put in enough time and effort trying to juggle a full time job. I appreciate this!
As someone who has always struggled with my confidence in my art, I wish to extend a great thank you to you Bobby, you´re an inspiration and have made me feel alot better about my art again and that I can make it. I signed up for schoolism and with effort and time, I know the world will notice my work one day. Thank you!
thanks so much Kibatsuki. It's much appreciated
I never once saw my AP art teacher draw. It still blows my mind to this day. Exactly like you said, how could I respect someone that i didn't even know if they could draw. It literally makes no sense, you should be in awe of your teachers. Wanting to get as good as them. And then when you do you should be trying to get way better than them.
Thank you as always for the great pep talk! I've been feeling really terrible about my art lately because I feel like I never get any better even when I try to spend a ton of time studying the "right" way. Having some motivation like this is really helpful on the bad days.
I'm just starting on my 3rd Schoolism self-taught class, and I have nothing but good things to say about the first 2 I took! I apply techniques from one of the classes to most of my art now, and I keep a lot of principles from the other one in mind whenever I'm designing compositions and working out thumbnails. My art hasn't improved because I am a slow learner who is bad at art, BUT I am storing away all the information in my brain for some day when I'm hopefully good enough to apply it. I really like the variety of subjects covered in the classes, so even if I finish one of the classes feeling a little burnt out, I can get a fresh start on something totally different with the next one.
Got to do the assignments consistently and you'll get there!
Mr. Bobby Chiu, your videos are a life-saver! Thank you for trying to help others!
Thank you so much Mr. Chiu. I take the Schoolism online classes and they're honestly an answered prayer. I signed up for the Schoolism live workshop in Dubai. Most inspiring. Best investment of my life, literally. Thank you so much.
Thanks for sharing!
When a graduated from University I realised that most of the teachers focused on giving us information without passion or motivation. And while working on a professional level I felt more like a tool rather than a person.
I know this is an old video but I hope you're doing well with schoolism! It sounds like a great place to learn.
Schoolism is AMAZING! I've taken a couple of Bobby's classes as well as storyboarding, a couple from Nathan Fowkes, and am currently doing painting with light and color. These courses have been lifesavers not only in learning a "how to" approach to commissions I've received, but in personally developing as an artist. Bobby's class on digital painting is FOUNDATIONAL. Bobby, thank you so much for providing such an array of affordable classes. I believe I'm gradually making my way through all of them!
Thank you so much for Schoolism. It has really helped me through the darkest periods of my development. When I had to work late nights and I didn't feel inspired to draw, Schoolism assignments helped me continue.
I agree so much! The figure drawing professor I really like gives really good demos, show's his past work/projects, and shows his favorite artist's work. The demos helped me improve so much on my art :D
I love this Bobby. You're the best. Hope to make you proud by learning from your website and listening to you.
Had instructors for 3 whole years, never ONCE (!!!!) saw them paint or draw, or really ever got good, solid examples of how you should do things. It was only when I took schoolism classes that I started (as you put it) soaring in the quality of my work. I do think seeing good teachers draw and give good pointers is the BEST way (next to good old 'drawing a lot') to improve.
Also, a nice side-effect of having good teaching is that you will see your work improve and that in return will make you feel more self confident.
Oh, and I'm taking Characters for Animated Film. Highly highly HIGHLY recommend it!!!
It's very validating that you point out bad teachers. You know, it really was a learning experience for me when I was able to say "This was a bad teacher," going beyond that maybe they were someone who was stern or difficult, or perhaps a bit infuriating or abusive but still educational in the end in their own way, but just a terrible teacher who was doing my development more harm than good and that, with my own faults and my own past and current artistic and personality shortcomings, I was still justified in pointing that out. Regardless of what skill level you are at, a bad teacher can really screw you up. (And then, on a less extreme note, there's realizing that maybe some of your teachers were only kinda good.)
You're one of my favourite youtubers, because you're intelligent and I appreciate your perspective on art. Your videos have really helped me as an artist
Few years ago i graduated an art school (which is called by most people the best art school in my country), but almost every teacher i had there never drew demos or even worse those teachers drew on our painting to "correct" students mistakes. And when i needed to draw my diploma... well, i had to watch a loooottt of videos about colors and composition in youtube to make my diploma work a success, but the saddest thing is that i learnt more from art videos from youtube than from that art school
Loved it! Just, WOW, you really put all my thoughts and feelings about art education in a simple video! I will be watching and rewatching this one many times
Hardwork beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.
Absolutely! ~Jonathan
I needed this today. Thank you! I'm working on the storyboarding class right now. It's slow going-I'm pretty bad at it. But I'm excited to keep learning and to get better. Thank you for making it affordable!
I'm nearly in tears I needed this so much. I am going on a two week placement at an animation studio in a few weeks and its such an good opportunity but I am so stressed about it. Ive been given a brief and everything which is fantastic, I'm not going to just be giving out coffee but all those things you said about putting pressure on myself is basically what I've been doing and the anxiety is getting too much. I can't help but feel that I'm not good enough, that I'm going to do a rubbish job, they won't like me which is making me want to curl up in a ball. BLINDERS. I AM PUTTING ON MY BLINDERS BOBBY AND STAYING ON THE TRAIL THANK YOU.
Bobby you are singing to me right now Boi!!!! Especially about art school being expensive. I had to go through that, I was accepted in two schools which makes it worst. And I don't have a plan be "B". Finding TH-cam channels and reading articles about affordable ways to learn on the internet. I definitely don't need one. This is my favorite video of his channel. Beautiful advice! I'll be re-watching this countless of times in the future.
I did a lot of lessons on schoolism. Also painting creatures from Bobby. Hard to say wich one I found the best. Depends on what you wanna learn. I really learned a lot from the feedback from Alex Woo's class. I want to get into story boarding so I hope I can take that lesson one day on schoolism (with feedback).
Thanks so much for the advice Bobby! Whenever I listen to your videos I really get inspired! I took a 12 month subscription last year and took 13 of your courses I can can surely agree that these classes put the fire on the gasoline! I learned soooo much and I cannot be thankful enough to all of you guys in Schoolism, really thank you for giving all of us an opportunity to learn from the best and not get a lifetime loan from it!! Hope to have a Schoolism Workshop in Mexico CIty anytime soon!!! :D Greetings!
Awesome, awesome video. You're words always inspire me.
Just saw that your classes are now $15! Thank you so much for your dedication to making an art education affordable. I look forward to learning with you guys!
So happy to finally found an awesome website for taking all the classes I've been searching for. Thank you!!! and I always get to learn something new whenever I watch your video ^_^
:/ i went to supposedly one of the best programs for high school students and none of the teachers did demos but expected us to "figure it out" and make lots of really good "finished" "perfect" work
Bobby, I am a scientist who is interested in art now and your videos are improving my ways to do many things in science too! :D thank you man
I'm a senior in high school this year and I have had two separate art teachers so far. My first teacher was extremely supportive of my ambitions with cartoon style characters and would often draw alongside me and show me different methods for what I was doing. My second teacher was not quite so supportive. She had once told me that cartoon/anime style characters are not real art! My ambition went right out the window when she told me this and I felt no need to continue forward with my art. I've recently gone back into doing what I love with my art but surely public schools could do much better with those who they hire.
OMGGGG only $15 a month!!!!!!!! Now I have no excuse!!!!! I'm doing this. THAnks a bunch!!!! I always enjoy watching your videos.
I totally agree with you about the teachers showing you first their portfolios but unfortunately my experience is very far away. I studied Fine Arts and the only teacher I remember showing us his work was because he just did that art exhibition and he was really proud of it. There is many things that have to change in the current educational system...
In middle school I had the best art teacher! He was always encouraging all the students and gave great advise no matter what style or art form you were doing. And he had his own projects, mostly oil paintings, going on in the back of the studio. Other then that I must say I avoided art schools. It always mostly involved mediums I wasn't ready to use and not the things I was interested in. So I study animals instead growing up while learning art as an hobby on the side. But lately I felt I really need a push in formed of art lessons. So I probably going to sign up for schoolism class later today! :D I have no idea which to start with though. I need to learn everything!
I'm taking essentials of Realism with Jonathan Hardesty. Its a wonderful class and I'm finally, finally starting to understand values and how they work :) Plus all the other great fundamentals! Can't wait to finish this course and start the Nathan Fowkes courses. Thx Bobby and Schoolism crew!
NONE of my art tutors at university did demos, although they were all practising artists. I'm £20+k in student debt and I never saw any of them actually put a mark on a surface. And i never noticed until i watched this video 😯
Thanks for another great video!
Bobby I get so pumped up and hyped and excited about drawing when I watch your videos
thanks
Great tips! Thanks!
I have to say that Sam Nielson's Lighting course was a game changer for my artistic journey! Never in my life I have ever experienced a huge jump in my skill level in such a short period of time. I highly recommended it to anyone.
In my university, in Brazil, I've had many teachers who have never done a demonstration in class, or have done it poorly. In fact, it was only when I went for a year abroad that I realized how a skilled professor is able to make the skills of a student take off.
você se arrependeu de ter feito a faculdade?
Não me arrependo, pois foi porta de entrada pra muitas experiências extremamente valiosas, e não tive opções além da universidade que estudo. No entanto, em termos de habilidades úteis e capacitação dos professores, deixa muito a desejar. A maioria dos meus colegas vai se formar direto pro desemprego. Eu tenho certeza de que boa parte da culpa dessa falta de capacitação não é por falta de interesse deles, mas sim por falta da orientação adequada.
Pois é! Achei que a faculdade me serviu bastante no início como um meio de conhecer pessoas com interesse na mesma área e ter uma base de como funciona a área, quais caminhos posso seguir e etc. Mas agora, no segundo ano, me sinto absolutamente estagnada, sem aprender nada :(
Vou parar os próximos 8 meses e estudar por conta, mesmo; quero ver se vai ser melhor pra mim. Mas é uma pena a faculdade não poder proporcionar um conhecimento maior... Tem uma galera querendo aprender, e o aprendizado acaba vindo só de fora.
Com certeza! Sinto o mesmo...
Yes!! Hardly any of my instructors at the State Uni I attended gave any live demos! God, I wish I had found Schoolism before getting in so much debt... Anyways, I plan on subscribing to your digital painting class on Schoolism today (until I can afford signing up for one)... this video really solidified that decision for me. Thanks for doing what you do Bobby!
Love your classes on schoolism! I have really grown a lot from learning from the pros out there! I really love the class with Kris Pearn and storyboarding. And wondering will you have a critique class with him or some other storyboard artist anytime soon? I really would love that!!!!
so true. I had so many bad instructors who I thought were good and what they were teaching is the absolute truth. so often I feel people become teachers is that they themselves have failed and their own bitterness is taken out on their students. I'm not saying all, but I've quite often been in a class where this is the case and it is so toxic for the students. In contrast, I have found that online courses are so great and I actually get feedback, and even with the Schoolism subscription I feel I am learning so much more than I did in university. I finally feel I am starting to learn and improve again.
Bobby, you are a sensational person! :)
Thank you for your teachings.
I've graduated Fine Arts School and all I can say is this: my drawing level is the same. I learned so many things about Art History, how to analyze a painting etc. They used to tell me all the time "your artwork is to pictorial, close to design, too decorative, not that abstract" etc. I had a more cartoonish style and they didn't like it so I never improved. Now, 2 years after my graduation, I can see that I didn't had a true instructor to help me, not to give me a "recipe" how to do things. This is my all-time-classic problem: not a right instructor/mentor (for me). I took Bobby Chui's Digital Painting class, Alex Woo's Gesture and now I'm on PIctorial Composotion with Nathan Fowkes.All of them great and helpful! I just want to say thank you for all your work on Schoolism and the knowledge you share with us. I'll always consider myself as a student, as I always want to learn more and beacome better.
Hi Natalia, I work for Bobby at Schoolism. I just wanted to say that I am sorry to hear about your frustrations regarding Fine Art School! Sometimes teachers don't realize the impact they have on their students. I personally had a very similar experience, and felt very stuck!
All of us learn differently, but it just means finding the right way of learning the right material that will really allow you to make those advances in your art.
Lastly, thanks so much for your kind words! It's so great to hear that you are enjoying the classes, and that you are finding them helpful! Just keep practicing, and keep up that great attitude about always being a student! It's so important to always be learning that's how we get better! Wishing you the best on your journey ~ Richelle
i experienced that in art school in france they dont show anything i losed two years of my life learning nothing and its in many schools in this country...only private school are worth the price i willl say. its only about concept not about technics (i mean how can you be a good artist without skills right??) many of them doesnt fucking know how to draw and hold a pencil...schoolim was a revelation and a wake up call for me and thank you so much for that :)
thank you so much Bobby
mesmerised by your videos
I've had a class where the professor unfortunately really didn't show us anything. She'd talk about the techniques or process of something, but for all I know she was just reading off an article. She never showed us any work she's done or did anything in front of us in the class, it was always just 'go do the thing'. Oh and the 'critiques' were always "I want some thing more" or "I want to see more of that" without ever telling me what 'that' was even when I asked for specifics, it was not an environment that I felt I learned in
I like how these lessons do not only aply to artists but can be used in other careers as well. (As for me, a computer scientist, I see a lot of these problems as well)
I've taken a few self taught courses. So far my favourite has been Nathan Fowkes' Pictorial Composition. It really changed the way I approach both studying and creating. The feedback videos were especially helpful, as I made many of the same mistakes as the students. The only problem with schoolism is that I want to take all the courses at once so I can improve in every area all at once, but I just don't have the time for that...
Thank you for this video, Bobby!
really, what you says from 2'40''.. I had art teachers for 5 years and they never showed live demos or own works (only one of them did it and he teached me only for 4 months). I also abandoned the art university and I feel that I spent almost 5 years of my life trying to study this in a bad way, and now is when I'm feeling better with what I'm learning and the results (3d animation);
You know? but I always loved drawing and painting. I developed an allergy to almost all traditional materials when I was 12, and all the people related to the art school said me things like "wow, if you're allergy to oils why are you here!? what are u doing?!" ...some years later I learned to use Photoshop and I'm trying to improve it. Now I'm 25 y.o and I feel that I'm late to work in what I always dreamed but, I have never given up!! :D
Very good advice, thanks man.
Currently Enjoying fundamentals of lighting with Sam Nielsen as a subscription. Learning a lot, and having a lot of stuff confirmed which is great. Lessons are given with explicit detail and encourage problem solving.
some time ago i went to an animation academy and i asked the instructor to show me some of his old animation work but he just don't want to show it sometimes saying that it is confidential so i left that academy and started learning on my on from the internet
I've been scolded in class for asking to see an instructor's portfolio! I dropped the class.
I've been on both ends of the demonstration thang - instructors not demoing at all, and then instructors that demo and force you to stick strictly to their methods and nothing else. It's a finicky balance!
I honestly believe what Schoolism and other schools like this are doing is a revolution in a way, democratizing knowledge and making it acessible everywhere. Having a degree is so overrated, it doesn't get you a secure job at all and is just inefficient and inflexible as a form of education and worst, people actually get in debt because of this.
Thank you for your amazing videos
whoa.... why did i find this video just now?? This is gold right here! 😯
Yay! So glad that you've come across this video and found it helpful. 😄~ Ashley
I studied art education at an university here in germany. The practical art classes were mostly really unsatisfying. At painting classes, we didn't learn any techniques or skills regarding colour, light, composition or anything like that. We were told to make our own canvas and not to use prefabricated colours, otherwise our work wouldn't be art at all! O_o Kind of elitist shit....(aand I'm too lazy for that, to be honest). The whole experience was so discouraging that I stopped drawing and painting at all.(except the stuff I had to do)The practical classes were focused on fine arts, so I felt like what I liked was wrong anyway.
About 3 years ago I started again. Unfortunately my selfesteem is like a rolercoaster :'D
I seriously consider taking schoolism classes to progress. :)
Sorry for my rambling! Some of you can surely relate :)
I study Animation in Israel and one of the problems here is that there are a few really high level proffesionals that actually do animation for living... and it's awsome to be learning from them..
BUT
no matter how much they good at what they do I don't feel like i'm learning from them the best way.
It's like they don't know how to teach. they just know the work. and it's really frustrating not understanding their art :(
I wish there will be more artists that know how to teach art than just "be" artists
take schoolism its awesome
Hello! love your videos!
I had many different art teachers and never saw one draw a hair!
I've experience taking classes without the instructor giving demos or painting/drawing. They just tell me draw/paint and the I'll give you a critique which is so general you wont understand anything and don't expect me to give you technics with which you could tackle the problem you are facing...
Number 5 was my definite and plus, school was not good to me.
Example: I was busting my butt to get good grades while my cousin was acting up constantly and the teachers passed him on just because they did not want to see him anymore. That definitely brought down my look at the education system to the point where I lost all hope.
Took both of Stephen Silver's classes to completion and they were phenomenal. Considering taking them again to ratchet up my skill, though the majority of the "meat" in his classes has stuck with me. This just speaks to repetition and the structure offered by the training regimen. Taking them again would be a way to try everything again and get more one on one feedback. Silver is a world-class art teacher.
Have been interested in taking Nathan Fowkes' class after looking back at some of the great work he did on ConceptArt.org.
All of our art teachers have never drawn an example or showed us any techniques.
They were only there to grade you, and it was pretty clear they were doing it on personal opinions.
If anything, I was the one most kids turned to when they wanted to get a neutral opinion on their work, because you just couldn't go up to the teacher, they were always those unapproachable people that just aren't motivated for their job at all.
This will sound like a horrible excuse but I see it as an obsticle I am working on overcoming... finding a road around the wall if you will. My reason why I don't develop well in my art is connected to my attention deficit disorder. I get sidetracked, I get distracted, I start daydreaming, I struggle to get started and stay with it, and I really struggle to finish projects I've started. I crave and absorb knowledge but that is both great and less great because I want to craft too so I have too many "want to do" hobbies at once. I will get to the point though. I am aware that these are the things to work on and I am getting better at being more frequent. It does scare me a bit to take on classes because of my poor focus and it feels disrespectful when I don't pay attention even if it's on a screen which was ingrained in school years.
So far I do books and short videos and I finally found what direction I want to practice which I am super excited about! And I am a strong believer in fundamentals too in pretty much everything so I like that you brought it up!
Ambi Cahira I know exactly what you're talking about, a dozen different passions, great at all of them, no idea what to do with any of them.
Ambi Cahira I'm the same way. I've always had so many things that I have wanted to do that I either end up spending all my time just thinking and trying to find a direction, or I spread myself so thin that I never make any progress. Usually I'm just lost in my own thoughts though, and never get started.
I have the same thing! honestly, at a point, you just need to get up and push yourself to start with just one thing, even if everything within you wants to procrastinate. if its something you really care about, you will likely feel the investment growing.
The no demo/portfolio comment in the video was basically my entire tenure at a certain online version of a national art school. It was all read this book, follow this chapter and vague reviews of the work submitted. We taught ourselves and hoped for the best. I got more from my fellow students than the instructors (there were a couple teachers that were awesome though). It felt like it was more grade to pass instead of grade to help improve the student. It kind of jaded me enough that I am reluctant to try an online school again. I have been debating about schoolism. Just can't afford the critique classes :-(
I watch your videos for motivation, honestly that's what I lack the most
Thanks for this videos, really thanks.
I've taken a lot of art classes over the years, and for me the biggest issue was instructors not explaining WHY you are learning something. They have us do these exercises where we shade a sphere, or shade a rock, or draw a bunch of pipes towards a vanishing point and they don't explain why those things are important. I had a lot of natural skill before I took any classes and felt like I was wasting my time shading boxes and spheres etc. It wasn't until recently, 20 years after my first art class that I finally realized why the fundamentals are important.
Now, every day I practice fundamentals, perspective, values etc, and even my shitty rushed practice drawings look better than my best things from before. No matter how detailed a drawing is if the lighting is off, the figures aren't sitting in 3d space, the perspective is off, your drawing/painting will look amatuer. Every day I'm kicking my ass that I didn't understand this earlier.
My favorite courses were: pictorial composition with Nathan Fowkes (I love his voice too) and digital painting with Bobby Chiu!
thanks, very helpful and meaningful as always :) greetings from France
I'm doing your course about "creature design"... I think it's good because you talk about some fundamentals of light and then some other useful tips :D I always loved cute things and children illustrations but I've never planned to do monsters or other creatures, and is amazing to mix it :D (now i'm doing fur hahaha)
Wise words!
Hey Bobby,
First of all I like your channel and work, I fell in love with your Beam Me Up Scotty, Twins and The gift artwork a few years ago when I was on UV and have been following your work since.
Now in UV I never knew if my teachers were actually good artists. None of them gave live demo's, none of them had a online portfolio or website. So I always felt like, how are they able to teach me if I don't know where they come from and what they are capable of. Students asked for their work, but we never got to see it.
The only "teaching" they gave was, take a look at Pixar's artists or others you love and learn from them. Like every artist ever has online video's available for free, with their thinking process and workflow documented.
Not to mention different techniques, because we learned none, not even how to hold a pencil the right way. They only gave destructive feedback instead of constructive feedback, so you never knew at what level you were and I sufferd because I had the feeling I wasn't moving forward.
There were days that I was the only student showing up in class while others where just desperately trying to educate themselfs in their dorm true the internet and some didn't care anymore and just slept through the day so they could get wasted at night, every night. By the end of those 3y most students already dropped out, which is sad to be honest.
I believe we started off with 130 people and only 4 graduated. But it was more like 3y and a whole lot of money down to the drain for education on UV, because at the end I felt like I've learned nothing new at all.
I've learned so much more in the last 2y from other artists (like you) on TH-cam, than I ever did on UV.
Your videos really inspire me to draw! I do have a question about instructors. If you do have a bad instructor, what can you do to fix that? With costs of school and everything, it seems hard to just change, especially in places with limited art teachers or instructor at all. Your thoughts on this would be awesome!
Find a better place to learn from
Bobby's answer would probably be: Schoolism.com. I'm not familiar with them. At all. But at $15 per month for a class it's probably worth a punt.
There was a teacher in the art school i went to ,who never gave demo in class.His excuse was if gave demo in the class hours,he wouldn't be able to teach us.But the thing was he was never available after the class hours,to explain about or help us with the assignments.
Hey Bobby! I don't have any access to a good & affordable school, and I have bouts of disbelief, yet I do have a lot of time and I do try to put in the effort that I can. What makes me hesitate on my progress is my structure. I think I understand what fundamentals are but not how to best practice them by myself. Everywhere I see tutorials on different fundamentals subjects, yet the best tutorials I've seen that talks about what actual fundamentals are would be Sycras "What are the Fundamentals in Art???" and InPursuitOfArt's "How to Paint and Draw - Art Fundamentals". They're great to know, but someone should really make a nitty gritty fundamentals-tutorial which talks about what they are in detail, and how to structure a good fundamental learning process for different individuals! Like you said about having a great teacher, and have him/her talk about perhaps what sources and steps one should take when structuring your fundamentals learning!
I had an art professor who could not draw at all. She even said it herself and we seen it when she tried to draw. Sad thing is when she over heard someone say she could not draw she got upset and started to get upset with the kid. She said she is an art teacher she has to know how to draw. . . That class was a nightmare
Please, tell more about any online courses and edu options you probably have in store! It would be very inspiring and useful.
Hi Nova, absolutely! Please kindly let us know what you're interested in learning about. We've added a few more courses to Schoolism since this video was uploaded. :) ~ Ashley
Bobby Chiu I checked the courses, there are definitely many. But they seem to be pretty specific. While I'm totally interested in some, I'm also not even sure, if I know the fundamentals and basics properly (I'm a writer, after all, I just love to illustrate my books). So, I generally want to know, where to start and what combination of courses people take to achieve different proposes.
Also, do you have some courses on Skillshare? I already have a subscription there, and at the time I can't afford two different subscriptions, however cheap the price is, since USD monetary value is different for different countries(((. It would be great if I could start with Skillshare ones. Are there any?
My thing with teaching is when a teacher was out of the market for too long and is obviously burnt out. I don't need a teacher to be a super star but its hard to teach someone new things if you're not kept uptodate. In the end, in my case, I just need to put in the hours and work.
Thank you very much - Your videos are just amazing and help me a lot
yass ,, i studied product design & my lectures dont show me how to draw. they only showed drawing video (not even a tutorial drawing). what an great experience. so it's no surprise that not so much student from my college became product designer. sad, but true.
Ive never seen my drawing teacher in university draw at all. I had never even seen any of his drawings until a friend found his Facebook. When I told my seniors i didnt think he was a good teacher, they said "thats just how It is, you cant ask for much, you just gotta get better by yourself" :(