Drawing Advice for Students - Asking Pros
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ย. 2024
- Part 2 of Interviewing pros at Comic-Con! They talk about the biggest drawing mistakes they see from their art students. Subscribe to Proko: bit.ly/SubProko
Spoiler alert: you’re gonna hear about anatomy a lot, so if a lot of this message resonates with you, go check out the anatomy playlist:
• Introduction to Human ...
Thumbnail Art by Peter Han
Related Links:
Comic-Con Part 1: • What Holds Back Beginn...
Comic-Con Part 3: • Best Drawing Exercises...
Comic-Con Part 4: • Daily Routine of Succe...
Thanks again to all the artists that participated:
Peter Han: / peterhanstyle
Marshall Vandruff: www.marshallart...
Eliza Ivanova: / eleeza
Sanford Greene: / sanfordgreene
James Douglas: / moderndayjames
Victor Olazaba: / olazaba.inkworks
Ron Lemen: lemenaid.com/
Chrissie Zullo: / chrissiezullo
Marcelo Matere: / marcelomatere
Ross Draws: / rossdraws
Patrick Ballesteros: patrickballeste...
Bobby Chiu: / bobbychiu
Howard Shum: / howardshum
Caleb Cleveland: / calebisdrawing
Mike Hayes: / michael_c_hayes
Hai-Na-Nu Saulque: nooligan.com/
Stephen Silver: www.silvertoon...
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CREDITS:
Host | Producer - Stan Prokopenko (www.stanprokope...),
Production Assistance - Sean Ramsey (www.peoplewhodr...), Brandon Storer
Editing - Sean Ramsey, Stan Prokopenko
Artists Interviewed - Peter Han ( / peterhanstyle , Marshall Vandruff (www.marshallart..., Eliza Ivanova ( / eleeza , Sanford Greene ( / sanfordgreene , James Douglas ( / moderndayjames , Victor Olazaba ( / olazaba.inkworks , Ron Lemen (lemenaid.com/), Chrissie Zullo ( / chrissiezullo , Marcelo Matere ( / marcelomatere , Ross Draws ( / rossdraws , Patrick Ballesteros (patrickballeste..., Bobby Chiu ( / bobbychiu , Howard Shum ( / howardshum , Caleb Cleveland ( / calebisdrawing , Mike Hayes ( / michael_c_hayes , Hai-Na-Nu Saulque (nooligan.com/), Stephen Silver (www.silvertoon...)
Music Used with Permission
Intro - The Freak Fandango Orchestra
About Proko:
Instructional How to Draw videos for artists. My drawing lessons are approachable enough for beginners and detailed enough for advanced artists. My philosophy is to teach timeless concepts in an entertaining way. I believe that when you are having fun, you learn better. I take pride in producing high quality videos that you will enjoy watching and re-watching.
#arthelp #comics #learntodraw
What drawing issues are you practicing to improve?
Anatomy face my style change alot shadow light
Proko complex objects in perspective
I am really bad at painting
The size of the eyes in the skull
All of the above :v
One of my mistakes is being intimidated by all the things I need to learn, and not actually getting down and dirty and LEARNING them! Then I just slip into my comfort zone of drawing and continue to be intimidated.
Bella Villeneuve wise words
I feel like the first sentence can be applied to so many things.
Same
So true...but also I feel like thats a failure of art teachers who dont prepare students internally, like an athlete needs to be prepare mentally aswell as physically. But you can do it if you remember thats a 2 way job. :)
That is so me! 😢 I hope we can both overcome this👍
Recap.
1. Anatomy
2. Structure
3. Rushing
4. Practice
Mixed Mocca and Patience
rushing should be 1-4
and confidence to screw up and not immediately erase everything. my first sketches always look messy and have tons of pencil-lines. But I don't erase any of them until I'm sure, I have found the correct lines. Then I make these stand out more and erase the messy ones and only after that, I add detail.
yes, that's what I don't like in how to draw books like anime/manga and stuff. throughout the book it says this and that but it should all start with "learn real human anatomy" first
Good list, also the other things mentioned were drawing from life, and drawing things around you (things that may not be as fun to draw) as Chrissy Zullo mentioned
Young artists need to understand that drawing accurately, directly out of your head, is very difficult. Use reference! Invention comes after a lot of practice with reference material.
Pedro Abreu Right?? For so long I thought using reference was “cheating”; it took a while to get over that mental block.
I didnt know that young artists had a problem with this until i encountered the online art community. Luckily I was just alone with my learning, doing whatever i want with no shame
But is that not just copying an existing drawing
Optic500 -not necessarily. It depends on what the goal of the piece is: if it is a study, yes, it is essentially a copy. However the study would not be intended to share without due diligence on giving the original artist credit, and making it very clear that it is a study not original work. If the artwork is not a study, reference is used to help create what is in your mind’s eye more accurately. For example if I am drawing a certain character and I am not sure how to block in values for the folds of pants, I would look at a bunch of different pictures of folded drapery with strong light and shadow, to help me invent the forms. Or I could just take a picture of myself or a friend wearing the respective type of pants and posed how I want to have it designed in my piece.
Sorry that was long. Hope it backed up my original comment better...
How are you using the references? Is there a detail or some aspect of form that you want to use. Is it a pose you like? If it feels too much like copying you can always use actual photos of people.
My biggest mistake: not having patience.
TheApoke this is a whole mood
TheApoke same...
TheApoke ,that's mines as well.
TheApoke patience is the key for artists.
No kidding..
Most of them said:
Structure, anatomy, don't skip the details and i think in the bottom is Passion. We all want to be artists that's the problem. We want to see results really quickly. Great video Proko.
Right, don't skip the details BUT ALSO don't rush to the details :P
This video is gold it basically tells you what 300 or so pages book will tell you.
Plus colleges
My biggest mistake is coming home after work and watching Netflix instead of drawing.
^^^^a thousand times this!
Artyom Semenov I trick I’ve done is just turning off my tv and focusing
well i like to draw while watching tv like maybe drawing the characters in the show you're watching
@@frossty8876 i grew up drawing with the TV on
That means you don't find drawing to be fun and nothing will help you.
A blank sheet of paper is scary!
Bradford Yorks I would get a million sheets of blank paper, i'll be scared of seeing blank papers that i'll be filling up every one!
You can just start by scribbling down a simple forms or even simple lines thats how the art is starting it's warm up.
When I first started drawing semi-formally, I would cheat and use toned paper. A white surface would seem to taunt me. If the page or canvas is white, then I'd add some sort of tint or color to the background, made it less intimidating for me. 1) Buy pre-tinted paper; 2) spray paint the background, or 3) mix a little acrylic paint into some clear gesso and add water to make it the same consistency as milk, and then paint the stretched (taped down on all sides) sheet of paper once horizontally, once vertically, and then horizontally once more, letting it dry between layers. (Note: #3 is best for dry pastels and charcoal, the new tooth (grit) on the paper will eat up pencils and colored pencils.)
Moodboard full of references
amen!
My art teacher told me if you learned realistic, accurate anatomy, your anime art would look 1000x better. You could stylize a lot better, and the body would look a lot more fluid and realistic - even if it's in anime style.
Ofcourse. Also, you really have to be conscious about WHAT Anime you are influenced by. The main problem with solely trying to be a Manga artist, is that alot of people hide behind the style. They will look at DBZ's horrible anatomy and uninspired design, thinking their work will get praise.
That's the meaning of pablo picasso's art too btw
Oh HELL yes that's true.
I like Stephen Silvers' advice at the end to be "drawing when your'e not drawing". Always analyzing everything around you, gestures/anatomy etc and putting that into your work.
my biggest drawing issue I'm practicing to improve is learning how to commit to a piece. I keep leaving work unfinished or I don't make enough time to create finished works. I study too much without enough application. Thanks for the video! Great advice!
same here!
Nice I like that you approached several stylized artists as a direct example for the " this is just my style" argument.
They can probably draw other ways very well too. They are pro.
I personally ask for criticism and ask professional artists for an advice I learned to take criticism as an advice and not as insult for your art because I noticed alot of people when they get criticized they take that critic as an insult and not as advice and that is a bad habit
Lack of patience is a big one for me. Lack of patience normally results in autopilot, lack of structure, which in turn ruins the whole product. Speaking of the result, focusing on the result can also do me in lol
biggest mistake for artists is comparing yourself to other's works and styles. So not having the patience to trust yourself to practice and find what you do know and what you can achieve.
thank you for this video, it's great to see so many professionals and be so honest.
1:54 This is what the Statue of Liberty would look like if it was design today.
LMFAO
Okay, Boomer
Correct 100%
phone bad book good
Eagle eye
The biggest drawing mistakes I make now:
All of them
What I'm going to do to fix them:
My previous experience tells me that I'm going to do nothing
P.S. Great video, Stan
thats the kind of response that the teacher laughs at, but when you get home your parents ground you for
repetition is the mother of skill.
ayyy
Ramen Gladiator Comics Or insanity.
My biggest mistake is on alignment with facial structures. I can never not struggle with making the drawing the furthest eye on an angled head.
Quinton _360 same
Mikrobyo Zero Ik, I am studying anatomy. In fact I just got a class got it so I can understand the human body more
The man who spoke about skipping ahead to the details hit the nail on the head for me; I need to pace myself better.
Great video!
I remember as a kid my friend who drew great mangas complained a lot about our art teacher also commenting negatively about her doing manga style. Although I think he just didn't like manga style itself, I believe that she shouldn't have been stuck on her beliefs that style is style and realism and anatomy aren't important if you are a good drawer.
Now, as an art teacher myself, I can't just tell my kids to avoid manga for now and learn realistic drawings. I draw manga/comic myself, but I am still learning anatomy, so my drawings are not that good (in a professional standard), so having a bunch of professional artists saying the same thing is a great thing I could show my students :)
That part about "style" being an excuse for hiding your weak skills is a really good point that I know I've been guilty of before. Thanks Proko this video was all gold
Well , I personally started drawing since the beginning of this year , with none teaching me how to do it , only TH-cam videos . So that drove me to make my own way and principles .
My first is , try not to copy exactly what you working , but instead make something based on your prototype that is actually logical an functional and still looking like it . So copy the placement of anything , but don't try to copy every last line . So I wasn't disappointed in start when I was terrible , but I enjoyed drawing and seeing my progress every month . Now after 6 months , I can copy pretty well something .
2) enjoy what you are doing and try to get better every day . Watch videos or your profesor, study , and understand what you are doing . BUT try to enjoy it also .
3) Gesture , character , Impression , aura and atmosphere , is more important to copy , than to copy exactly that line or shade perfectly that nose . Of course lines and shades must be as good as possible , but try to say a story , try to give a soul to your character , because if you don't , is just lines ...
I don't have the luxury ( because of studying at college , expenses , and lack of quality classes ) to learn from a real life class , so I watch videos on TH-cam to learn how to draw . And I advice anyone to start drawing, be just seeing videos like that . Is much more easier than you think , but it demands passion and dedication . The best of course is to study that in art schools, but if you can't have that luxury , don't stop or wait! Start and try to make something !
I love how every single one of them responded so humble and really meaning to help. Oh man, I love artist.
Wow, "habits getting in the way of your growth process" is powerful and soooooooo applies to me.
Amazing coments, gesture, anatomy and forget about "develope a style", I think the style develope itself naturally with practice
i don't know about developing a style, I'd really like to have a cartoony simplified style with solid colors but since I practice shapes with various tones i have to practice and develop techniques to do that style, i would change your advice to "don't be a slave to your style" meaning understand what you are doing and always draw with intentionality, make sure your foundations are right and that you are putting stuff on the page because you want to, not because its the only thing you can do or because that is the way it turned out due to your mistakes.
IAMSOUND99 that's just stupid. Drawing and painting is about portraying reality, so of course you want to know how reality looks
So true
Does it really? Matt Groening Made the Simpsons style intentionally Yellow so that people see it immediately when they flip through channels. Also some aspects of style have to be intentional.
i think of the things they mention rushing is really my biggest weakness. i see many seasoned artist that are fast and loose and in two lines they get an amazing drawing but i cannot replicate that
Definitely composition and color theory are my biggest weaknesses. I also have problems with anatomy like everyone, but I actually enjoy figure / gesture drawing, and it’s something I do daily for my warm up. I’m seeing noticeable improvement every month, and that’s a great feeling.
Now if only I could stop getting artist’s block so often...
Great advice at 3:56 . What he's talking about is important for the creative process; the left brain editor keeping the creative right brain in check even before you have a chance to see / understand your ideas. To reach your full potential you have to embrace failure.
I think in some ways creative people are their own worst enemies. Like our minds are so fast that we get impatient and feel like we're losing inspiration. The ideas flow quickly but to bring them into reality takes patience, discipline, practice
Hey, I appear at minute 5:33 - Nice to meet you Proko
Cool man!
I can't express enough gratitude for filming, sorting, and uploading these interviews @Proko
There is so much common knowledge between the professionals that should be obvious yet isn't.
Foundation, Structure, and Anatomy are things I will make more time to practice.
u have been so much help for me dude .
thanks ❤
I have been drawing anime and manga for 6 years now and I had always thought that this art style was my style. Im still a beginner at drawing from life but all the Pro artist's answers to the question asked by proko really opened my eyes to the truth. And that is you really have to learn the basics of art before hitting on a style of art you really enjoy drawing from whether that style can be cartoony, american superhero comic style, anime and manga or surrealism.
12.45 the guys first mistake was shaving to his jawline
lmao
Lol, that is all I see now.
Thank god someone else noticed hahah and he is a pro artist, not paying enough attention to structure :D
Such a unnecessary comment really. It may be for a bit of fun but you never know the reasons why he has made the decision to shave higher it may be other than for beauty and he may of need to have his throat checked by a doctor or some other reason. Then on top of that it isn't even his video for him to see you sling mud. Non of us are perfect and it's rude to point and laugh.
Anatomy, and perspective are the big things. Do the hard things first, and your drawings will bear the results. I also love how that one artist straight up proved the theory that having an over-reliance on digital art, can weaken an artist and their foundations.
my biggest problem is identifying my fundamental mistakes, it is really hard for me to know exactly what I do wrong, i know something is wrong but since i am learning by myself I can't tell the underlying problems that I have, i only see the effect they have on the piece.
Join some art groups online maybe. Like one on Facebook that is good is called Loish's Digital Art Group.
Anatomy, rushing are my worst. Study is my solution for anatomy. Just drawing the bits. Like a page of hands or something. Recently been giving myself projects that are impossible to finish in under 10 hours. When you know you're not going to finish in a day, I think it really helps you slow down and make sure the drawing is coming together in the story you want the subject to tell. Great video by the way.
the "Not rusing" is the advice I feel most! I can see the difference in my own work. You can prove it very easily, that this advice works.
I have drawings that are leagues beyond many things I did before. Not because I just learned smething, but because I got the zone, got the feel, took the time and the effort. Like.....I did not rush to get a result. Wanted a certain result, did wat I had to do to get it.
Should listen to it more....because it works!
I'm coming really late to this party, but these artists are SO absolutely correct and the issues they are highlighting (many of them at the same, anatomy, structure, people just not drawing enough) could apply to artists of any genre...even those drawing/painting traditional art. EXCELLENT video!
Some people just don’t understand the beauty of stickmen lmao
Tried to capture all those artists faces while video was going while listening about how important it is to be loose and capture shapes
turned out to be fun AND validating exercise
My biggest mistake would be that I’m not letting myself fail, for example when I see all my mistakes after I finished a drawing, I always blame myself for not being good enaugh, after trying as possible to never make the same mistake again but it results to Stressing myself to be successful at every piece that I make and sometimes even forgetting to enjoy what I’m actually drawing, I’m too much thinking to improve as much as possible . Even if I’m a perfectionist person, I never gives up and always kept every drawings that I find bad or that have mistakes. it has been now 2 years that I’ve stopped drawing on paper because I got really attached to drawing digitally. I know my mistakes and I’m still trying to figure out how to fix them And ever since June 2020 I started sketching again everyday and trying to be more patient and not so much harsh with myself :3 🌼
to this day, i come back and watch this.. his art is so good and his advice are some I've taken to heart and revisited from time to time
Being a weeb.
Or a furry
thats kinda true tbh
Pretty much
Catch up that mangakas may hath been a weeb for a real short moment. But they didn't stopped there.
6:50 pretty much that yeah.
Principles of design. Keeping this in mind tremendously helps
Yes! The first guy is on point!!! This was a major problem in my art school! Schools should pay attention to what this first guy said!!!
My mistake is not looking at the bigger picture first and jumping right into those sweet details.
I'm surprised so many professional choose anatomy as the biggest drawing mistake
I dunno. Anatomy is a really big area of drawing, but such as perspective, values, composition or design. I was hoping to ear more criticism on the mental approach than the technical.
For example students being afraid of express their inner selves or lack of individuality.
The point is that the technique is key. Expressing yourself is something a few masters are able to do. If you are able to sit down and learn 60% of the bone and muscular elements of the body by their name, then learn how to give movement to what you are drawing and if you are still passionate after spending years doing so, it means you will eventually be able to express yourself. The mental approach is builded through facing the difficulties of studying and drawing for hours.
Ross Draws happens to be one of my inspirations with color. He taught me how nice art could look with the color dodge tool.
One thing im struggling with after years is structure.
I think its the single most complex thing to learn in art, more than values, more than lighting, perspective ect. Anything can be rendered with enough time to look really detailed or photorealistic, but with poor structure it will seem flat. Definitely my hardest obstacle im always trying to deal with and learn more of.
I think my biggest drawing issue is how I tend to forget what level of skills I have. I get excited when I see artists drawing or see a cool artwork..etc and even when I know better I put the pen on paper expecting the "same" results.
I think just trusting in the process of learning and the mileage is key to sort that out.
Love the video, great advice all around.
Don't learn anime first, draw anything from ur life don't draw and paint using software, draw using ur pencil and paper, draw from basic shape
Thanks for asking the pros. This really helps me as an animator
Working on rectifying my knowledge of anatomy, perspective, light, color, value, and form. A whole bunch of things. I skimmed a lot of the stuff I read when I started drawing, and I wasn't a patient enough person at the time, but I wanted to draw anyway. Being confident in dealing with all the mistakes I'm making is another thing I'm working on, too.
I teach at the VHS Ludwigsburg and I notice that, in fact, its realy a combination of both impatience AND detail. MY students just don't know how to scribble no more. Their happy drawing a Son Goku 1:1, but if you ask them, if they could draw him siting down or looking the other way, their totaly overtaken with that task. Therefor Scrible your Char first, check proportion, gesture AND THEN go into detail and take your time! Its a realy good video and I hope you don't minde that I have taken it as an opening for my classes this semester ;)
I think mine is confidence, I'm always judging myself and my ability before I even start a project. I want to be a good artist but I prevent myself from improving.
TL;DR Figure drawing, Studies, Stop rushing.
I think making mistakes is the most important part of becoming a great artist, the biggest mistake a beginner can make is not learning from their mistakes.
you want to know what recurrent mistake new artist do?, asking for advice and getting angry for it.
Good interview, the artists were spot on.
A little clickbaity
1.Rushing (you can do both study and warm up/exploration pieces or tumbnails before starting a finished piece).
2.Over Detailing (that's a though one, i think as a style it comes with a practice and relate to overthinking, keep it simple)
3.Not studying for other Painter/Artist work (crucial, just do it.)
Those are advices for myself on these subjects.
The problem with this video and the advice given by these artists is that it gives the impression that to be a "pro", or a true artist for that matter, one has to create according to certain rules-and this case it usually means "realism". Art is about individual expression, it is a way of life which goes much deeper than merely creating things accurately or not.
edwin11373 sry if I’m replying kind of late but I think you completely missed the point here. Yes art is about expression and a way of life like you said but there are still rules to art like there are anything. Point is you need to learn the rules first before you can break them. You can expect to be have fluid conversations in Spanish and using stuff like sarcasm and slang into you have learn the rules to it like proper punctuation and pronunciation etc etc. The same goes with art and like someone said in the video it will show in your artwork that you haven’t learned the basics yet. A lot of people then start to get offended by this and try to argue and make excuses like that It is their style when shit hits the fan and the recruiter for the job skips your application because your missing the fundamentals and your art isn’t simply good enough to get the job. Style and expression comes with time and practicing the core fundamentals first which is usually realistic human forms because that is what everything is based on in reality just exaggerated for stuff like cartoons. So ya style and expression with come later for now people should stop being lazy and trying to hide behind a wall and get studying by doing those tedious and unfun exercises and anatomy studies. Sry for my rant. Have a nice day
Most of them are structure, anatomy, rushing to the details also rushing in general and not drawing/studying/life drawing enough. Great video sir, can't wait for the other two.
Spatial and forms/shapes information together with basic perspective. I think learning and understanding those parts of drawing is absolutely ESSENTIAL to wrapping your head around the other fundamentals. It's going to help you know where shadows fall and how strong they are, and it's going to improve your understanding of the anatomy you're trying to learn and the shape and planes that are involved.
I always considered myself a intuitive artist with little patience for long sessions of studying. But I learned to be more analytical, which in turn helped me really take interest in and enjoy studying. Every time I see myself improving through study, it gets me excited about learning and creating. Because I know I can learn anything given enough time.
I saw another youtube channel called Drawabox that went over some of the basics and I'm normally a loomis/bridgeman kind of guy, but it has a basic perspective drawing course that is very well constructed. After looking through the videos I picked up a couple of exercises for myself that have been helpful. Other than Proko, that's where I'd go for free content. Much of the basic perspective you need to know to get much out of other channels like Moderndayjames, is available on that channel.
TH-cam is a good community, and while drawabox's illustrative skills is not on par with some of the other channels quite yet. The lessons themselves are solid and free.
Would be cool if you (Proko) could put together a video promoting the youtube community and some of the channels that are helpful. There are so many good one's that it's hard to remember them all but I'll try and list a couple: James Gurney, Tyler Edlin, Swatches, Ahmed Aldoori, Istebrak, Kienan Lafferty, Anthony Jones, BORODANTE, Ctrl+Paint, Dave Greco, Level Up!, Marco Bucci, Noah Bradley, Sycra, Sinix
just to mention a few. I deliberately didn't include anyone at a much more amateur level (when comparing usefulness), so some hobbists have been left out that focus more on entertainment than artistry or education.
Okay, I normally don't do this (like ever) and I don't like to, because I love this channel and have learned so much from it. But I have to say this:
Stop obsessing over fundamentals. You don't have to be a master to be a succesfull artist. I have been drawing my whole life, and actively trying to become a profesional for the last 10 years, always under the tirany of fundamentals. "You have to be able to draw A before moving to C" Don't. I have obsessed over gesture, anatomy, composition, etc, to the point where I have only 30 finished pieces. Like, in those 10 years, I have only called "done" 30 paintings, most of them on the last couple years. Only because I "had to know my fundamentals". Not only that, but every time I try to draw, for fun or else, my work looks like shit (I'll leave a link after this) In the best cases, it looks "correct". As in the anatomy is ok, the value is ok, the construction is ok... But the art has no soul. No zing. No whatever it is that makes art FUN to look at and produce.
And don't try to tell me is because I haven't work enough, or put on the hours, because yes, I'd be lying if I said I work absolutely every day for the past decade 4-8 hours, but I have piles of sketchbooks lying around, several tablet pen tips turned to dust and a already 1.5 year old repetitive stress injury that is making my already troubled relationship with art even harder. Because I know the fundamentals, I have practised them beyond that cliché 10.000 hours. And you know they can be the most boring part of art and that's why a lot of people try to skip them, so if you repeat day after day after day after day, you will not only burn out, but you will know how to analize every attempt at making a finished piece, and call it crap in the early stages, and quit on it. Because "if the foundation is poor, the piece will suck; you should go back to fundamentals". You'll know that your piece is wrong, but won't know how to correct it, because you have no experience on producing finished artwork. You'll have sketches, studies, practise drawings, experiments. But as in life, you have to leave school at some point and "get a real job".
So if you are a beginner, please don't obsess over fundamentals. Please.
And if you are a pro, or a teacher, or a master, understand that not every person works the same way, psychologically. Don't spread this mentality. Not every aspiring artist HAS to be a master. It's okay to aim high, but people have to have fun, or they end up dreading the thing that's suppose to be their passion.
And the promised link:
instagram.com/david_bibian_art/
THANK YOU ! I so agree with this, and I am sick and tired of hearing everywhere "you have to be perfect at anatomy and perspective, and only then can you think about putting a little fun detail or color". Hearing these artists, it's like it's literally forbidden to draw anything else than exercise before being a master. This is the best way to take all the fun out of drawing and art in general. I mean for example, you can see a drawing, and notice an anatomy mistake. But then, notice also other interesting things, like energy, passion, an original approach to the theme of the drawing etc... just because the "basics" are not perfect, doesn't mean that the drawing will be good to go to the bin. Also, deciding sometimes to "finish" an imperfect drawing and put some details, doesn't mean that you will stop working on the basics separately. On the contrary, you can still spot what's working and what is not, and continue to exercise, and the pieces will get better with time.
I used to worry a lot about this type of comments, now I draw "from the heart" to express something (a moment, what I am feeling etc...) and I am generally happy with the result, even if it's not perfect, it's still is "art" in my book. And it doesn't prevent me from wanting to grow and continuing learning basics separately.
Yess. Also, look at people like Sarah Andersen (sarah scribbles), Mathew Inman (the oatmeal comics) or many other comic strip artist. I highly doubt they practise 4 hours a day anatomy, composition, colour, etc. And they are big fish in their game. Because they found a style, an appeal, something to tell. And I bet they, overall, have fun when doing their thing.
Do you have your art posted somewhere? I'd love to check it out :)
Edited to establish respect and to clarify my experience.
Fundamentals do NOT ruin pieces or artists. I'll start off by saying, you're right, not every single person will need to rely on fundamentals, and I want to clarify that everything I'm about to say is not a personal attack, but just some advice and concerns to hopefully take into consideration and help grow yourself as an artist. I would also like to mention, that I may be quite a beginner, but from everything I've already learned, I still feel like I may have something to add, and from my fresh new face, I may be able to see things from a positive view of a mind not yet jaded through time. So maybe i'm talking out of my ass, but from all the people I've seen, all the teachers I've listened too, and all the examples of improvement I've seen in my own work, I still feel as though I have some worthy ideas and concerns to bring up. Alright, so, what I see here is not a problem with fundamentals, but a problem with how you conduct your learning, what you focus on, and how you spend your time. 10 years doesn't matter if it's spent on the wrong things. I actually have a friend at work that has been drawing for about 12 years now, and most people would consider me the better of the two after only one year. Because of the difference in how and what we study, and our attitudes and priorities, I was able to improve considerably faster than him. When they say that fundamentals are important... they are! but just because something is important doesn't mean it is the ONLY thing worth your time. When all those artists say "fundamentals are important" it's because most people skip the fundamentals to go straight to the fun stuff, then get disappointed with the results. You seem to suffer from the opposite, (focus on nothing but fundamentals and not spending enough time on... everything else) which is why you won't often hear remedies to your problems. They keep telling people this because they assume they try to skip it and just do fun stuff, you seem to have taken it on so hard, that you didn't do any fun stuff, you didn't experiment, you didn't explore yourself an that is NOT their fault. You need to take the fundamentals you spent so much time on and use them! Soul, and style are just like the fundamentals! They need practice to improve! you need to spend time improving those skills, so they can compliment your thorough understanding of fundamentals.
You know what artists say even more than "master the fundamentals"? you gotta be willing to fail! If you kept getting through the base, then quitting because you thought you understood that it sucked just based off of a bad looking under-drawing, then you haven't been learning anything.
That's like saying, these bricks are not 100% perfect, so I won't bother building the house. Even if the foundation sucks, you aren't learning anything by quitting, and these artists cannot be faulted for a lack of follow-through. If you try to finish a piece, you may understand what went wrong, if you force yourself to finish, you will be able to see where you could have added pizzaz, or what looks stiff, but if you just draw nothing but basic contours and cylinders for 10 years, and nothing else, you're not going to understand what could have been done to improve the final product, because there was no final product. Fundamentals are like the foundation of a house, they are incredibly important and makes sure the house stands, rather than tip and creak, and eventually, fall over. You might be lucky, or just have a good sense of the ground you built on, but more than likely, it'll fall flat on it's face. HOWEVER if all you have is a foundation, that isn't a house, it's a parking lot. The foundations are nothing without the support beams, the drywall, the roof, you need it all! So you need to lay these under-drawings, and build on them, no matter how crappy you think they may be. and while you do this, think of all the things you said were problems (lack of soul, zing, fun, etc.) and focus on that! A good idea may be to just throw out fundamentals for a while and focus on the things you want from your art, then, once finished (emphasis on finished!) analyze the piece and see where your fundamentals could have improved the overall visual appeal, or just made it look right!
My main problem from your whole comment was when you said you only had 30 finished pieces. This is BAD. I have more than that in 7 months of drawing! this (to me) shows a lack of confidence, or a fear of failure, only finishing the most perfect of foundations, rather than putting it together and seeing what comes out! Art is about experimenting, you have so many tools at your disposal, and you're focusing far too much on only one of them. Take some time to learn how to put soul and fun into your art, no one can tell you how to do that, because only you know what you like! then once you have become adept at ALL of these skills your art will look wonderful.
So you are correct, no one should OBSESS over fundamentals (which is seemingly what you have done) but everyone should know them! even if that isn't how someone ticks, they're only gonna know that, if they've tried it! Art is a series of skills harmonizing into something unique, wonderful, and inspiring! so spend time improving your other skills! gesture is a great way to let go and gain some energy in your lines (proko teaches this FIRST in his figure drawing course before any of the fundamentals, which shows you that his priorities aren't as far from yours as you think). on top of that, there are plenty of really good tutorials and talks about exercising creativity, creating good composition, and developing unique worlds that can add to the soul you long for in your art.
As a close I do want to highlight your final thought about art being fun... you're right! that should be the number one priority! however if one wants to really shine, and really master the brush or pencil. If someone wants to make paintings the like of any of the artists seen in this video, they MUST at least try to understand and practice fundamentals, it's a very strong tool, and everyone should make a good effort to understand, and properly utilize it.
All the best, and keep improving! ^_^
Not many of them were saying that you had to MASTER the fundamentals, just KNOW them.
I love this. It really gives me a drive to hear what other artist do.
I am working on layout and being patient to get a full story instead of coming up with one figure and putting the detail into that one figure and getting lost. The rest of the work suffers and often I lose momentum and focus. Practicing form and life drawing is getting better but still lost on anatomy and perspective. I love studying you and others who share their skills and experiences with guys like us. Thanks for improving the culture by sharing your hard earned wisdom.
A year ago my biggest mistake was not drawing enough and rushing. Over that year I studied you along with other artist. Now I've been able to draw shapes to create my characters. I'm understanding gestures more. Now my goal is to have my own style without it being an excuse.
I myself still have to improve my technical side of art, perspective, hightech scenery, vehicles and such.
I would advice young artists to...
Practice every day and all kinds of styles, read allot of books about art and design.
Sketch allot, focus on underlying structures when you sketch and not on details like shading and lighting, sketching is quick and fast, ...a fully penciled drawing is not a sketch, it's a finished drawing.
Don't become depended on working digitally, many artists today can't even draw traditionally anymore, it will not do you any favors.
Try to practice traditionally first and only after that work digitally if necessary.
Don't worry about making mistakes, be patient and try to learn from them, only that will make you a better artist.
8:32 random booth artist to proko: "you know your shit! And I love it!"😂😂😂😂👌
I’m practicing (a lot) of anatomy I.e. basic structures and also movement. As a beginner I feel I have a lot to learn...and you are a great mentor and teacher. Thank you. I also paint abstract stuff. It feels good and gives me a sense of freedom whilst learning about colour.
I'm currently trying to improve on anatomy, color drawing, realistic lighting, symmetry, realistic movement, and balancing realistic detail.
My biggest issue is not getting anything all the way done and not finding time to do all these things I'm trying to get better at. And I really have no time, I'm not saying that as an excuse.
My guide for lighting has been youtuber Borodante and this channel has been my anatomy guide when i'm stuck. Aaron Blaise is my guide for animal related things.
I rush, I think it looks good but it's just a step up from the last one. Now I don't do that and I have a lot more fun with it. Thank you for these tips!
I love you Proko.
Seriously. You're an angel. Thank you so much for having such an oceanic volume of philanthropy.
Now to answer the question, my mistakes right now are in:
Anatomy
Drapery
Foreshortening
Not drawing enough (frequency)
This is really encouraging. The things I'm focusing on is anatomy because I know I'm weak in that area.
Shading and making my color look more natural and less flat
Shapes in space. I have trouble breaking things down into geometric forms, and that seems like a good way to start.
My two biggest mistakes are:
1.) Failure to consult references, thus building anatomical habits that are not necessarily based on accuracy, and;
2.) Allowing myself to become quickly discouraged with my work and scrapping it rather than finding ways to improve it.
I make many other mistakes regularly, but these two seem to bite me in the rear more than any others. I'm genuinely trying to improve now, using references and giving myself a break from overly-harsh self criticism.
Another round of great insights. Thanks for taking time at the convention to get with these folks for their feedback. it's interesting to see their points of consensus. Also I loved that you included examples of their work. I'm making notes to go check out more of their work or revisit their current work for inspiration, to fill that creative bank account.
I''m reminded of a Victor Frankl quote on success. "...the unintended side effect of one's personal dedication...or as the by-product... in the long run, success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think about it." (search for full quote).
Biggest mistake Iv been making lately is not drawing when I feel the passion come on. I plan I drawing more and bringing it back to the basics everyday for at least an hour
PETER HAN
One thing which always stopped me was a hesitance to erase. Now ill erase my entire work and use the remnants as guide lines.
Love this Proko. I love to see you out connecting with other great artists.
I'm a beginner! I'm actually excited! Thanks for the tips!
lack of patience and structure. I recently purchased Bridgman's drawing from life and am starting to go through it today!!!
getting into poses that one would draw from in figure drawing to give you a better "feel" for where your lines would go ie if it would be stronger more tense while "holding" the lets say arm a certain way how your line would flow
A big drawing mistake I have is the anatomy and structure issues. I am currently learning anatomy so I am in a spot where I know some stuff, but I am not at all confident enough to tell everyone I know anatomy. I also kind of ignore structure because i do rush a lot (especially for school assignments). I am planning to do some structure studies and anatomy practices and overall learn that it is okay to make mistakes.
Biggest drawing "mistake" is having a full time job where I'm not drawing a lot. No other way to put it, I'm getting better but there's just not enough time to reach the height I want to unless I put more hours in.
Stuff I Can fix though: More life drawing - More urban sketching - Spending more time on each drawing and not just doodle (patience, as others also put it) - More full body and more perspectives - More "scenes" rather than just characters or landscapes - Hands holding things, people interacting - Anatomy sketching.
Patience. Allowing myself to enjoy the process of drawing and getting lost in the subject.
I've noticed my downfall has been my impatience and fear to step out of my comfort zone. Avoided drawing humans for my whole life but deciding now to change that. It's gonna be a long journey, starting at repetition of cubes and circles, and need to start researching anatomy to get the proportions right. Thank you for these videos! They are keeping me motivated
*Me trying to study art but also trying not to forget what I needed to learn in ICT for the assessment, but anxiety sucks and stopped me from learning art, sobbing in pain* : I AM STUDYING!
Anyways, my main mistake is that I am very impatient that I actually wanted to see how it really looks like already, even though I have enough time.
Art tip : Know the rule, and break it.
Time management is my biggest issue. I likely am trying to over-compensate between young kids, a spouse, a day job, house stuff, etc. How am I planning on working on fixing it? Being more mindful of how long I spend on it as well as knowing when to just step back.
This video was actually helpful. Patience is literally the gold standard when it comes this drawing sh*t I realized x_x
Anatomy, proportion, and perspective. I am working on fixing it by doing figure drawing, starting with only doing the basic shapes and not even doing any detail
Wow look at all that talent, I’m writing down names for later references ! I’m so far behind I don’t know any of these artists except maybe one or two, my mind is blown away! I love it.keep em coming👍
My biggest mistake is that my art is extremely flat; remnant of my graphic design training and lack of any substantive figure drawing practice. I'm fixing that by taking courses in figure drawing, both via Proko's tutorials, through Bridgman's book and through classes at Concept Design Academy this Spring. Here's hoping my art shakes the 'sticker-ish' vibe that's been plaguing me for so long!
I'm taking an entire year to learn things I haven't been able to. The biggest things I think I'm struggling with right now, and that I'm dedicating that time to are:
Figure Drawing (learning the anatomy and organics of the subjects)
Gesture Drawing (learning the exaggerations of those organic subjects)
and finally
Perspective (learning how to make those subjects fit into a believable environment)
Not observing, lack of patience and rigid strokes are the ones that I feel I made the most when I was a student, idk you