The Reason You Can't Improve Your Art
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 มิ.ย. 2024
- You can’t be “bad” at something you don’t know, and inexperience in art does not inherently equate to a personal failing. So- how do we use that to get better?
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Oh! I really like the idea of calling "mistakes" from inexperience "bugs". It actually feels really encouraging to think of it in coding terms instead of "oops you failed!". I think I'll be using that from now on, because I do know that my art has a lot of bugs. But now this has me actually wanting to fix them instead of just dragging my feet. Thanks Brookes!
Well said. It's sad that most artists stop improving/lose confidence or motivation due to the rather hectic feedback that they receive from others (which do not actually qualify as criticism half of the time)
I went to art school and they insisted that they had to 'break you down to build you up' which I think the intention was supposed to be: 'break bad habits you may have formed unconsciously' but it really devolved into mocking the students for not showing up with perfection. I could defend a decision I made, but they would simply insist they were 'right' and I was 'wrong' and never put forth any energy into explaining *why* something was 'right' or 'wrong'. I once had a 3 hour "critique" of my *work* that devolved into how much my teacher disliked my voice and my general personality (I do have an admittedly high pitched voice and a gratingly excitable personality). I left the critique with still no direction on what I needed to do to make my piece better There were students I was in class with that were insanely talented...that swapped their degrees to english and now work at the post office because giving up on their dreams was better than spending 2 more years being abused.
@@smm855 It happens to most of everything, and I found that learning on your own is better than learning with someone who can't grasp the general definition/reason of something. In this case art, a form of expression. Different people express themselves differently and there is no wrong form of expression, and people fail to see that. (if you had done what you had done intentionally) It's in the sense that not everyone has the same art style and what you see as an error may or may not be something someone else does on purpose. That's just my opinion though
The "oops" cut away is ending me💀🤣
I remember when I was starting to draw someone told me you don't fail, you just learn.
As someone who only started drawing the figure last year (as in, last year in college; started a studio art minor), this was something I needed to hear. I spent so much time agonizing over how I drew certain parts of the body, especially with how easily it seemed to come to my classmates. I’m particularly not great with defining muscles, the feet or hair. But I know that the only way I’ll become better at drawing those things is if I spend time working on those problem areas- squashing bugs, as you put it.
Thanks so much for the video Brookes! I'll pass this one on to my creative friends when they're feeling down about their skills ❤ Always appreciate a "gentle teaching" approach and I agree that should be the norm.
I can also vouch for Brookes' critiques - if you're considering getting one and you read this comment, DO IT! I've commissioned a critique annually for 3 years running and it's the biggest favour I've ever done my art! Thanks Brookes for all the insights and input, and expect a 4th order from me soon :D
You rock Haywire, really appreciate it!
@HaywireRuckus I just signed up, thanks for the suggestion.
A very nice mindset to internalize. It also helps when I think of learning art as "expanding my perception", because especially when it comes to portraying the details of a subject matter accurately, it can be so much fun to dive in deep and learn to see it in a way I never could before, and to stylize from there. It's a way to get more in touch with the world that surrounds us, which is cool! Love your style of teaching as always, keep it up!
Thats a fantastic mindset, thanks so much!
I’ve been battling this A LOT lately. Thank you for this well timed video. Also I would add “Anything worth doing, is worth doing poorly” If it matters, doing 10% is better than nothing.
Really thoughtful work Brookes!! The bugs vs mistakes mindset is such a game changer and I love to see you continue to spread that empathetic viewpoint around.
I like the phrase gap in understanding- it inspires growth!
Nice work brooks - this generation of artists (and mine too) need more artists and TH-camrs like you! 💙
Sincerely appreciate that, I’m glad that phrase clicked!
“Donkey Kong Man.” Man, I’m dying. Great video!
Great advice! And I applaud your consistently funny jokes!
Hehe thanks Victor- just gotta try to keep the folks entertained inbetween the vegetables
Man, I love how kind and chill you are and how well you communicate "hard truths" without coming off as condescending or demotivating. Plus, I genuinely like your art. Too many times I've watched a video of an artist pointing out art mistakes only to proceed and draw the least appealing thing I've ever seen 🤧
I appreciate that!
This helps a lot. Lots of people make fun of my art and I literally quit for like 3 years after even my teacher bullied me for it. Think before you speak
That's awful, I'm sorry people made fun of it.
@@CharacterDesignForge ah, it happens to most artists lol. Plus, watching your videos encourages me a lot to get over it ❤️
Hey dude! I want to thank you, I have suffered on art blocks, doubts, and fear of not having a good consistency on practice. Now I'm currently on break from drawing so that I don't have to push myself all the time thinking drawing everyday will be good for me. Thank you for letting me know that taking break, and have a life outside the premises of drawing.
My problem is that I push myself to draw, but I keep procrastinating. Now my goal is to be a character designer and an animator for a reason to tell stories. I found your channel and you calmed me down. Again thank you I hope I can reach out to meet you... one day or even never. But you helped me through this problem of pushing myself when I don't "have" the energy to practice.
I remember watching your og video on the subject and instantly working on a french translation for my mom of the article you had quoted; it sparked quite the conversation as we are both very much advocates of the 'nobody is stupid' mindset.
Still slowly trying to implement this way of thinking into anything I learn but grrr, negative self talk is so easy to fall into!!
Loved the new and improved blurry-less video and the black and white segments made me laugh out loud haha!
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge, Brookes, it's always a breath of fresh air for the mind to watch your videos
Moona Liceuh is my favorite Van Gogh picture 😀
When I was in grad school studying linguistic pedagogy they had terms for this exact thing - i don't remember the terms (but they were just 2 everyday terms used as technical terms) but the distinction was that one type of error is intentional and caused by a lack of knowledge about the correct method - like spelling a word wrong bc you thought it was spelled that way, while the other is unintentional and despite having the correct knowledge - i.e. spelling a word wrong bc of a typo. A third useful category, which shouldn't be considered any kind of error, is intentionally spelling it wrong with full knowledge of how to spell it, or without caring about spelling
Gotta go paint the Monday Lizzie now.
"Once you see bugs for what they are, and not as errors or mistakes, then you no longer see people as stupid." hahahaha it literally took me 43 years to really resolve this conflict for myself. I only recently just started feeling like I've properly learned how to learn.
and I think I'm *fortunate* in this. for whatever reason I still can't figure, I always had an unshakeable certainty that I wasn't stupid, no matter how much I struggled, no matter how much I was judged. heh maybe because of how much I was judged. spite confidence. and somewhere along the way, I developed the understanding that if I wasn't stupid, other people probably aren't, either. if I wanted to believe in myself, I had to believe in the people who helped me, and who I learned from. but still....... it *does* take so long to learn these things.
we have been terrible at teaching each other how to learn. but we improve with every advancement in communication. and the people who share their own experiences and insights. thank you for sharing yours.
*it doesn't have to be so hard*. we don't have to be so hard on ourselves and each other.
Man, im going to art school in a month and i feel like im not good enough to. Even tho thats why im going, to get better. But thinking of my art in this way helps
I’m so glad you made this video because it applies not only to art but to everything. We all beat ourselves and each other up to “fix our mistakes”, but that doesn’t help us overcome our problems, it just makes it more frustrating to do so. It’s not productive.
Carl Jung said that suppressing the shadow (the dark part of your mind that you suppress) only makes it stronger, so to become whole you need to integrate it into yourself in a healthy way. I think we need to do the same with the bugs. Don’t beat yourself up for messing up, just focus on noticing the bugs one by one and ironing them out over time with intentional, diligent practice.
This is so enlightening that it can improve your relationship not only with yourself but with others, like the author of that article beautifully put it when they stopped seeing others as “stupid”. What a great thing!
Sorry for the rant, I’m passionate about this. Great vid!
@@BeylL7 It’s easy to feel that way, but I want to be more positive about it. It’s entirely possible that AI will be able to create things that are way better than anything I could ever make, but that time hasn’t come just yet, and even if/when it does, it doesn’t really matter. I make art for myself. I do it for my own happiness and satisfaction, and that’s something AI can never take away from me. And anyway, there will always be people willing to support actual artists.
So if you want to give up, that’s your choice. I don’t know you or your circumstances so maybe it really is impossible for you to move forward, and if that’s the case then I’m really sorry about that. But for me, I’ve had a lot of doubts and personal struggles, and I’m still here, so I’m gonna push through the same way that I always have. I hope you’ll be able to find that same motivation for yourself.
@@BeylL7 If the only reason you want to grow as an artist is so you can win competitions and stuff like that, then yeah, AI is gonna be an issue and you probably are better off putting your effort into something else. And even then, there are a LOT of people who are against AI art, so as time goes on we could very well see more ways of regulating it, or at least identifying it.
But like I said, I draw for myself. AI is annoying but it doesn’t get in the way of my personal goal to become the artist I want to be. I think that’s a much healthier goal to have.
@@BeylL7 I get that. I don’t feel like the threat of AI means we should just lie down and give up though. If everyone is using sewing machines and only a few people are sewing by hand, do you think those people sewing by hand regret doing that? Do you think they want to give up because everyone is more productive than them? I don’t think so, because then they’d just start using machines too. They continue to sew by hand because they like doing it. It’s for their own benefit. It can be easy to look to the people who are making better blankets at an even faster rate and feel let down, but if you really love sewing by hand then it won’t bother you.
Frankly, one of the most dangerous things an artist can do to themselves is compare their art to someone else’s, doubly so if the art they’re comparing to their own wasn’t made by a human. It can be useful in helping you determine what you want to improve, or in measuring how much you have improved, but it’s very easy to slip into that negative mindset that someone else is superior to you and that it’s not worth putting work into as a result. But that’s not how you get better.
It’s the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation means you want to get better so other people will like you, or so that you can be successful. It’s focused on the rewards of your effort, the end results. Intrinsic motivation comes from yourself. Your own desire to grow, and your own satisfaction in seeing yourself grow. Generally in life, not just in art, you wanna have intrinsic motivation. Do it for the journey, not for the destination (as cheesy as that sounds).
@@BeylL7 Sorry if that’s overwhelming, I have a habit of posting essays.
this helps a lot. thanks I'll go over my old art.
I enjoy your videos for being positive, motivational, and more realistic on how to manage art.
The things mentioned around 7:00 - 7:35, that is something that happened to me, I posted a astronaut digital art piece I did to my Instagram, it is simple but for a reason it is for a future sticker. Some person said my artistic ability was that of a 7 y/old, me some one in my mid 20s, who drew their whole life, that annoyed me. I told them to check out my other work, my assassins creed charcoal drawing I done while in high-school (one of my favorite pieces) they said it looks like what a edgy teen would do.
They had some art of their own posted, definitely nothing much to brag about, they just were a negative person. Anyways it just fueled me to keep going and continue to get better with my digital art
Interesting thanks for the info
Lmao I was ready to travel the comments to find someone talking about the "Monalisa"
like someone painting happy little trees once said "We dont make Mistakes, just happy little accidents"
this month’s card is #epic 😎, and i believe it’s pronounced “teh moana lizar”
Thanks so much for appreciating the card!!
One of these videos I checked more than once if I already liked it while watching,
I LOST YOUR CHANNEL ON MY OLD PHONE IM SO GLAD I FOUND IT AGAIN
hehe welcome back!
@@CharacterDesignForge :D💙 I'm happy to be back
New lighting is looking nice mate
Hehe thanks Alex!
"We don't make mistakes, just happy little accidents."-Bob Ross
No it's definitely mistakes
that is really wise
Comment for the algorithm! I mean- MONA LYSER
How do I find bugs in my own art? I look at my art and go "yes there are definitely places I can improve" but it's impossible to identify the specific areas
i love the monaliser
Must draw triangle head
Really appreciate the way things are phrased in this video, it really helps.
Glad to hear it!
Is trying to focus on resolving a problem a problem when the problem is trying to focus?
I haven't drawn in months and I think that may be the problem.
Hello Brookes I Really Want To Make My Own Cartoon Animated Series And Character Design I Love Your Videos
Then I'd say go make it, no one's going to do it for you!
@@CharacterDesignForge Sorry Please Don’t Be Mad At Me
@@BlackPeerama not at all, just offering encouragement since youve been wanting to for so long!
@@CharacterDesignForge When Was Your First Character You Made
Please don't chuck your mic into the ocean! Dispose of it responsibly when it fails you yet again!
4
What if everything is a bug, though?
Why would it be?
@@CharacterDesignForge Some people are just inherently "bug-ridden." I know because I'm one of them.
@@nangbaby that’s needlessly self-deprecating, stoppit! Not useful to do to yourself.
VIBEO
Duuuuuude. It's pronounced Mona Louisa!! 1!1!1
Oh mb
*_The joy of revisiting my old works makes me realize how far I've gone. The challenge is trying to revise it. Same goes for everything else in life. Also, the piano part is relatable. The funny lapse I get, even though I know it's the wrong note, still occurs no matter how many times I've played the sheets._*
And yet I'm still being told to shift my art styles, even though I'm merely playing around with facial expressions and body parts.
You look like Idris Alba…
THANK YOU, OH MY GOD THANK YOU. im so sick of this right vs wrong art bs
Then, with all these definitions, what IS a mistake? Not just in art, at all
Like I mentioned, it's the imperfections that happen whether we want to or not- the goal here is to find the source of repeated mistakes in art :)
I always feel like I'm just going to die tomorrow, so patience is a no-go for me, unfortunately.
Then you have a chance to prove yesterday-you wrong, each and every day
@@CharacterDesignForgeHello I Want To Make My Own Animated Series One Day You Are A Good Help
The problem with art is it’s community. For me, a personal one on one connection with an artist. Or a group of your friends who happen to be artists. Are more beneficial for finding weaknesses and strengths. Not to mention the personal interaction between both benefits the art through criticism and conversation. It’s genuine and honest in a way that isn’t just getting gold stars for trying.
A lot of art communities in my experience have this major wall between them. That most are afraid of being genuine with people. Hence, they resort back to snarky and passive aggressive remarks. Always defending the way things are because they’re afraid of change. Not out of the benefit of the doubt for established creators or ideas, but out of spite for those who punch down. They’re a victim of, at times, blind allegiance to ideas such as the Loomis method.
I remember discussing this with them. Which only lead them to defending an idea without rhyme or reason. I remember their defense basically being “yeah but its great for little kids on how to draw a head”. Which was hardly a “good” defense, being that even Loomis himself wouldn’t recommend it to those just starting out (see Fun with Drawing by Loomis). I would know because I was confused by it simply due to lack of understanding and what I watched. This lead into a more heated argument regarding how most art youtubers are artists first, teachers last. Which mostly stems from poor articulation and the “just draw like this” nature of advice with little to no explanation. Which mostly just lead to insults being thrown because “I don’t get it”. Your point about mistakes rang true for me. I don’t put blame on myself for openly talking about how the methods we learn for drawing are autobiographical. Things that help the few but not the many.
In short, having feedback bounce from friends to you is more insightful. Bugs in your education can be ironed out with help from your friends. However, you can’t get those friends in larger, public communities. In where people beg for criticism all the time. I think in realizing this, it’s better that I see positive connections that can bring me out of an art block. That I can aspire to be like or be better than my friends. Compared to beating around the bush on discord due to negativity.
skill issue
I mean I just think drawing is a subjectively awful hobby that inspires no positive emotion whatsoever. Enough frustrated envy to have its own gravitational pull, but that's about it.
I'd be curious to see a video discussing that kind of position, if anyone can present to me such a thing.
Why do you think that way?
@@sadboi9101 Because I don't like it.