Yesterday i was sitting at my pc for 5 hours intending to stream and do digital art but instead played games and watched youtube the whole time. At the tail end of the 5 hours I saw the video you posted yesterday and it was a revalation lol. I grabbed my clipboard and just started sketching anime things i enjoy sketching. All the pressure of doing something my analytical brain determined was best had made me not do a thing. I have found my path to drawing more and improving again. Thank ya Sycra, love your content 👍🏻
I recently had to teach myself to love what I draw. I started by writing out prompts and feeling out what sounded most exciting to draw and that helped some, but it was really only a start. Then I imagined what I would commission if i could pay the best artists to draw my ideas, the ones I wanted to see exist so badly, and I started drawing those. The gap between my vision and the reality of what I am able to create it painful but I finally am invested in my work. Good luck out there yall
Wow, why i never thought about that, asking yourself as if you were to commission something you like to an artist to get ideas of what to draw. thanks for the tip
I remember when I started drawing, when I was little. There was no expectations, just joy in immersing myself in drawing. To be able to just draw and feel that same joy would be wonderful, to lose that expectation that "if it doesn't come out perfect it's not worth spending the time." Thanks for continuing to address not just drawing, but the creative process, and opening it up to everyone.
having fun with Art is the only thing that separates us from the art AIs. I've been drawing for 6 years and I'm still stumbling around figuring out how to have fun with art. It's a long road of trial and error, but it is definitely worth it! Thanks for the video Sycra!
God I needed this video, thanks Sycra 10:37 after doing my own thing for awhile I decided to ask for some feedback last month and got a couple "stop doing this and practice". Like a fool I listened when I knew I shouldn't and now I can't start. I want to draw but the perfectionism came back. I've made massive progress over the past year. My way of practicing is to make every artwork "good enough" as in it's simply better than the past month *eventually* good enough will become good. Use more reference and solving problems one at a time. That mentality has helped me so much and all it took was a few days of "stop drawing what you want and practice till your good" to completely throw me off. Yes there's so much I still need to learn but if I don't even draw then I'll never get anywhere. I've already proven to myself that learning as you go is enough to improve, as long as your consistent. I will say I've definitely gained some insight from taking a step back and viewing my art objectively so now all I can do is move forward.
What I started doing a long time ago was to periodically do a serious non practice drawing as a way to gauge my skill level. So I’ll spend a few days or a couple weeks sketching figures or shapes or whatever then try drawing something that involves what I was practicing. You’d be surprised how well it shows your actual improvement, especially if you take your time to make it look good.
thank u for sharing ur experience 🙏🏽 very similiar story - was doing what i enjoyed, got the "practice" feedback & eventually gave in. had improvement but art became boring/draining perspective has literally been shifted today & im free of this previous practice burden
I swear you are living in my head rent free because this is the most perfect timing for a video that I needed. I've been struggling a lot with enjoying art ever since I started doing graphic design studies due to the fact that people now expect me to have a certain level of quality in my work, and I don't just mean teachers I also mean online people who I frequent a lot (I could even make the argument that my teachers are kinder than my online acquaintances because at least they know how hard the process of making art is while everyone else just only knows about the end results). I fear the judgement of those online acquaintances a lot because they either like anime art or furry art (mostly NSFW too) and barely anything else, while I do some of these type of drawings (except the NSFW part of course) I never show anything that's slightly out of the ordinary to them because I fear that they're gonna call me a failure or a weirdo or cringe and whatnot, I only show this stuff to a few friends who are also artists and gets what I'm trying to do. This also affects my ability to grow since these people already put me on a high pedestal my actual art skill has to meet what people think my art will look like and not give me the time to actually grow and be mediocre (I've been doing art for 6 years, while I did grow a certain level I wouldn't consider myself a professional illustrator or whatnot yet.) So with all of these problems combined I have just not been drawing or finding inspiration a lot recently because whenever I tell my self I should just draw a bit today, I am repulsed by the idea of it since I don't have the will or any inspiration to do anything because I forgot what was fun for me or what I truly want to make since I have to fit in a seat that people are giving me (there's also the fact that in my 3rd year of studies which is still happening as of writing this a lot of my teachers are not giving us the choice on what to make, a lot of the time when I present something I just say yes to everything they want me to change because I know they won't have it any other way, which is a problem I didn't really have during 2nd year). I expressed my will to make webcomics or animation but I never take the leap because I know that I won't be good at the start and most of my online acquaintances won't have any of that and just judge and pick out everything that's wrong with it. the only people I can trust that won't do that are friends artists who knows the struggles and respects it. Not to make this comment any way longer than it should be, I've been watching movies like The Menu, Black Swan, or Whiplash which all features the trope of an artist having their life ruined by their perfectionism or by the pressure other people put on them and I've wondered if I also didn't cross a line of no return where I cannot enjoy art anymore. I don't usually comment on RUclips videos or even have comments this long but I feel like this is the perfect opportunity for me.
i really do enjoy seeing people share their stories in the comments, too. learning how to work with yourself is an interactive journey u have alongside others.
Dude... this is one of the most thoughtful and insightful takes on the whole concept of motivation and 'doing what you love' that I've ever heard. Thank you 💖
wow, this truly means a lot. No one has ever told me this in any way or form really that stuck out to me. I adore your art and recently ive just been trying to stick with stuff I dislike, working hard, and just feeling terrible. Trying to use colors im not fond of etc. actually this video made me cry just a little. I love drawing and adding fun shapes but everybody says my art is “scary” or “unlikeable” especially in broader circles. Thank you sycra, I have a hard time with words due to my mental disorders and convey emotions through images mostly. I also love seeing other work so much, and it makes me happy to see others post/and appreciate my own work. Thank you, thank you for this video I never knew I needed.
Sinix Design's video about basically draw what you like because even the best artists didn't start by doing what is the "correct" way they did what they enjoyed. There is also a point where you have to realize that you are not going to just draw your magnum opus especially in the beginning you have to slowly build up to it. Which is why i think Sinix says to draw what you like and the point you made in the video which made a lot of sense is make it as easy as possible to want to draw. Having your favorite medium laid out why also drawing what you like with the mindset that you are not where you want yet. Keyword is yet eventually you will be able to draw what you like and or will have the confidence and determination to go out and learn the fundamentals.
You are honestly one of the best art teachers ive ever come across. Ive been watching since pointy chins pretty much started and I was a teenager with stars in my eyes. You really put my art struggles to words and give them real solutions that arent the halfbaked professional spiel ive always been spoonfed. thank you for making videos and sharing your art journey beause i greatly appreciate growing together all this time!
I adore your positive message so much and fully agree. Also, that's an amazing creature you drew, as the lighting emerged it just got cooler and cooler. Btw, you said on a stream the other day something about being valued for your art vs helping people (I'm paraphrasing) and you sort of settled on the helping people for the win. All I can say is you most certainly do both, super cool impressive art...and hugely helping people. Yay you! :)
For me it is very true that when I stick to what I really want to do, though it's difficult and no one may be on my side, I will always eventually find a way. I think it also makes one a better person, because you are more tolerant of smaller inconveniences when you are focused on the bigger goal.
I think creating art that YOU enjoy looking at is SO important! There is an ~industry look~ and if your art falls outside that, yes, you probably won't get a job in the industry. But that doesn't mean there isn't a way to monetize your style. It's easier now than before thanks to the internet. Don't force yourself to draw in a style you hate because you're told it looks "professional", that path is the fastest route you can take to hating art and burning yourself out.
I've been on a journey these past 2 years where i was trying to "find my style", but what i was really doing is trying to find a process that a)i enjoyed doing (no matter how much i love looking at slick lineart i HATE doing lineart) and b)produced the kinds of drawings i like seeing. I'm glad someone is talking about the importance of enjoyment in making artwork, because all i see is people bashing the "find your style!!11!!" stuff without looking at what that actually means. Like, they say that "style doesn't matter" or "you already have a style" but what if you don't like that style? why it's so bad to look for a style that produces work that you would like more? The foundamentals of drawing are improtant, and you shouldn't leave them aside for a style quest (like i did *cough cough*), but style is an important part of drawing
I'm preparing for uni at the time and was kinda down today and not doing anything of value. I was just going to throw today away and push all my plans into the future. But then I saw this video on my homepage and like many times before Sycra gave me the motivation to push myself. I don't know what it is about his videos that resonates so much with me but I'm glad they're there.
"Don't judge yourself when you're not good enough" This is the most common problem, and we all got it imo. And that's a bad thing. I myself also trying to deal with it. I remember heard the story of an artist, that everytime he made something he doesn't satisfy, he blame his hand for being not good enough, and not judge himself. That's a clever thing to do. I'm trying to find something I'm willingly to blame to, and hope you guys could find yours
And yeah, trying new things helps. I know that sometime, you can't just trying new stuff, since that's what you need to be good at (For me, as 3D artist, for example). But I do, spending 1 day a week, or 1 hour per day, trying out new thing, to see if I like it or not. The good thing about it is, with the mindset of "I'm just trying out", you get rid of your pressure of "I have to make it looks good" on yourself, and let your inner child play with that like a toy. And, in some extent, it does relax your mind. I really recommend doing it 2 times a day, only 30-40 mins each, before and after you learn something you "have to" learn
Thanks for mentioning the bubbles and panel tools! In CSP it is absolutely impossible for me to use them, so I just draw everything by hand. There's no point in fighting against my incredibly laggy laptop, it only brings more frustration.
Great video, I loved watching it, in my case I don't actually like to DRAW, but I LOVE to PAINT, so what I do is do a very basic sketch of something and then just paint the rest, sometimes I don't even sketch by drawing but by painting the silhouettes filled in with a dark color and go from there painting on top and refining, sure its not efficient but I do enjoy it a lot, that's what gets me painting more and thus improving more in the long run
Watching the process here was nothing short of a magic trick. I literally coudnt predict what was gonna happen next - and when it did I was like "Oh of course! Genius!"
I love ink. For many years I would paint in a sketchbook, a regular sketchbook with smooth pages similar to copy paper, not at all water-resistant or bleedproof. And whenever I use ink pens/ fine liners, I have always been drawn to those that are not waterproof. I've been criticised for it endlessly, but I like them better. At some point I wanted my ink drawings to have more shade to them. And I'm not entirely sure how the idea hit me but I was clearly aware of them not being waterproof, so I at some point grabbed a brush - one of those synthetic ones with water in a plastic tube as the handle - and I would gently, carefully spread the ink from my linework across the page to create gradients and shadows. The lines themselves were intact, and I ended up with these immensely beautiful and textured shadows ranging across the entire value scale. I refined this technique for years, always working on the same non-waterproof paper (I loved the paper. And I learnt how to not overload it with water to the point of breaking) and ended up with some really incredible and unique artworks in ink. It's one of my most treasured sketchbooks, this one. And honestly the reason I stopped drawing like this is because the paper it used was discontinued, and it was never the same no matter what other paper I used. Heck, when I eventually dove into watercolours I found that I seriously prefer cheap, crappy watercolour paper above the high quality or "professional" papers with its fancy warm and cold press and grains and who knows what. I love it when things are basic and rough, I love it so much. There is so much joy to be found sticking to what you love.
Yo sycra. glad you're back. I'm not subbed on this account, the way I got back to your channel now that you're active is from your text on another person's channel. Just a heads up on how important it is to connect to community as you already know as a huge artist. It's really amazing your back, I use to watch you when I was a kid. Now I'm an adult (and hopefully won't die soon :c)
Good video. There's too much emphasis on productivity these days especially when it comes to doing art just for enjoyment for some reason. In 2020 I tried so hard to draw like other people with super clean lines. So hard that I got burned out for about a year after the fact. In 2022 I found my joy in art again but this year, I hit another small rough patch but I think I'm getting past it. Winter always depresses my creativity
These videos are one by one right after another somehow being the most poignant things in the universe for me. This must say something about the profundity of humanity's shared experiences.
The things I like the most are sandbox - playing around and trying things out. But I feel like most of the time I have to build the sandbox or playground first before enjoying to play in it and that constructing is very frustrating and demotivating.
Y'know, I really needed this. My extended free trial for CSP expired last month (it came with the tablet as a promotion) and I've just felt so lost because I have been drawing with it since 2018. I have Photoshop but I dunno, I guess it just feels too stiff? And Krita feels too messy. It just doesn't feel right I guess??? And thus I've been stuck in kind of a loop of wanting to draw but not being able to since the program I've been using for years is no longer available for me (and I don't have the money rn to buy the permanent licence T-T) I've really developed my style with CSP as well, so I've been having a very hard time transcitioning to another art application due to being literally kicked out of my comfort zone when drawing. But seeing this made me feel a bit better, seeing how it's normal for me to feel so bummed out and discouraged from feeling so awkward and stiff with art programs I almost never use rather than thinking I was being overdramatic and ridiculous. Gonna be a rough and long road to get the money for CSP again, but I'll very much keep trying!!
@@UsedRags :00000000000 no, I didn't know of this... gonna have to double down on getting the money soon with whatever job I can find in between my medical treatment then :D
As someone that burned out when i first started trying to draw multiple times, i really resonate with the past few videos. But I do have to ask, how much of your current mind set do you think is helped out by the fact you did grind out a lot of those fundamentals and mileage early on when you weren't necessarily having as much fun? Do you look back at those times you were forcing yourself in a positive light as something that probably stilled helped you out in the long run though? Or would you say you regret doing it? I just ask because I also want to draw comics, and have done a few single page type things. But its so time consuming and my lack of ability makes it feel like such a hurdle while I'm doing it that I feel like by forcing myself to try I'm going to just feel miserable and burn out again. Often I just find myself thinking that if I buckle down and force myself to learn a lot of those fundamentals it'd make drawing the comics more fun because I wouldnt be so stressed about every small thing and looking at the end result in disgust.
It seems like you are judging your own work very harshly. I'd say, even when you get reasonably good at things, if you have a very critical mindset those thoughts won't go away. There is always someone better than you. You will always see flaws in your work if you look for them. This is something that's tough about being creative. I really relate to your comment. It also sounds like the idea of jumping in a big ambitious project does not sound fun to you right now. It's not exciting, but frustrating in your mind. Forcing yourself to do it would be the opposite of the point of this video. If trying out figure drawing everyday seems fun to you now, do that! If watching video's about fundamentals and making sketches seem fun, do that! Learning doesn't 'have' to be boring and forcing yourself. Maybe you do want to work towards your goal of making comics, but the big jump makes you hesitant. Maybe you feel more excited about designing some characters? Or about making 3 panel comic strips? Maybe you want to learn how to draw fight scenes or expressions during a dialogue scene. Maybe you want to design some swords and learn to draw the hands holding them. All of those things are still super useful for your comics, so don't worry to much about doing the 'right thing' . If you don't have a lot of experience yet, everything you try making will cause huge improvement. It's actually a really fun time in that way!
It helps to have a project in mind and work on the fundamentals that way rather than trying to drill them separately. I hate character design, but I need to learn it better in order to tell a consistent story and not ruin otherwise good environments with crappy characters. Looking at things that way compelled me to design a character for the story and vibe I want to create instead of learning it generically . It’s like learning math with no application vs. learning a specific kind of math to create a rocket you’re already working on. When you learn fundamentals for comics, think of objects and characters you want to create and then learn the fundamentals in that context. Think of the simplest object or character you plan to draw and use it for context, gradually adding complexity as you build your skills. Two birds, one stone. You learn the basics and are already comfortable drawing part of your comic.
Honestly, my art is really boring and flat. I keep it on S-5, pencil size 4, and do whatever in SAI. However, I have started learning Blender, and I think 3D art may be more my style.
There has to be a balance between being in your comfort zone and learning new things, other wise you'll stagnate in your skills. I personally prefer using a limited warm color palette for my anime girls, but I've recently switched over to using cooler colors heavy in blues and purples and it feels like I'm learning to draw all over again lol. It's been huge for clearing my art block.
I think you missed the point then. Stagnating is fine for a lot of people. Not everyone wants to be a world class artist or living it as a profession. There are people who just want to have fun, like a hobby. I feel like there are way too many people trying to give advice based on whatever has worked for them. But there are always revolutionists. It's like the typical, "back in my day". Completely agreeing with Sycra here.
As the saying goes: "hate the work, love to work." As long as you spend more time drawing/creating (and having fun with it), than you spend dwelling on what you've already drawn, it's a net benefit. "Should" is absolutely the most terrible thing for a creative person to fixate on... Anyone wondering whether or not they should be an artist, the answer is a flat, unequivocal, *no.* Absolutely nobody, ever, at all, *whatsoever,* past or present, should be or have eve been an artist. Nobody... not Rembrandt, not Michelangelo, not Bosch, not MC Escher... none of them. What you *should* do is get a desk job as an accountant, get married to someone who you hate, and have 2.4 children who hate you. Fortunately, we don't always do what we *should.*
Yesterday i was sitting at my pc for 5 hours intending to stream and do digital art but instead played games and watched youtube the whole time. At the tail end of the 5 hours I saw the video you posted yesterday and it was a revalation lol. I grabbed my clipboard and just started sketching anime things i enjoy sketching. All the pressure of doing something my analytical brain determined was best had made me not do a thing. I have found my path to drawing more and improving again. Thank ya Sycra, love your content 👍🏻
Process over product...
Life before before death.
Strength before weakness.
Journey before destination.
@@DoomguyIsGrinningAtYou. Thank you Doomguy
Honestly Sycra has some sort of motivational superpower
God that is such a fucking MOOD
@@DoomguyIsGrinningAtYou. A stormlight fan? What a crossover
I recently had to teach myself to love what I draw.
I started by writing out prompts and feeling out what sounded most exciting to draw and that helped some, but it was really only a start. Then I imagined what I would commission if i could pay the best artists to draw my ideas, the ones I wanted to see exist so badly, and I started drawing those.
The gap between my vision and the reality of what I am able to create it painful but I finally am invested in my work. Good luck out there yall
Wow, why i never thought about that, asking yourself as if you were to commission something you like to an artist to get ideas of what to draw. thanks for the tip
Bro thats such a great idea to paint what you would comission a professional artist (if you had the money)!
I remember when I started drawing, when I was little. There was no expectations, just joy in immersing myself in drawing. To be able to just draw and feel that same joy would be wonderful, to lose that expectation that "if it doesn't come out perfect it's not worth spending the time." Thanks for continuing to address not just drawing, but the creative process, and opening it up to everyone.
having fun with Art is the only thing that separates us from the art AIs.
I've been drawing for 6 years and I'm still stumbling around figuring out how to have fun with art. It's a long road of trial and error, but it is definitely worth it!
Thanks for the video Sycra!
God I needed this video, thanks Sycra
10:37 after doing my own thing for awhile I decided to ask for some feedback last month and got a couple "stop doing this and practice". Like a fool I listened when I knew I shouldn't and now I can't start. I want to draw but the perfectionism came back. I've made massive progress over the past year. My way of practicing is to make every artwork "good enough" as in it's simply better than the past month *eventually* good enough will become good. Use more reference and solving problems one at a time. That mentality has helped me so much and all it took was a few days of "stop drawing what you want and practice till your good" to completely throw me off. Yes there's so much I still need to learn but if I don't even draw then I'll never get anywhere. I've already proven to myself that learning as you go is enough to improve, as long as your consistent. I will say I've definitely gained some insight from taking a step back and viewing my art objectively so now all I can do is move forward.
What I started doing a long time ago was to periodically do a serious non practice drawing as a way to gauge my skill level. So I’ll spend a few days or a couple weeks sketching figures or shapes or whatever then try drawing something that involves what I was practicing. You’d be surprised how well it shows your actual improvement, especially if you take your time to make it look good.
thank u for sharing ur experience 🙏🏽
very similiar story - was doing what i enjoyed, got the "practice" feedback & eventually gave in. had improvement but art became boring/draining
perspective has literally been shifted today & im free of this previous practice burden
I’m so glad to see you’re posting again, Syrca. You essentially taught me the fundamentals and the joy for learning them
I swear you are living in my head rent free because this is the most perfect timing for a video that I needed. I've been struggling a lot with enjoying art ever since I started doing graphic design studies due to the fact that people now expect me to have a certain level of quality in my work, and I don't just mean teachers I also mean online people who I frequent a lot (I could even make the argument that my teachers are kinder than my online acquaintances because at least they know how hard the process of making art is while everyone else just only knows about the end results).
I fear the judgement of those online acquaintances a lot because they either like anime art or furry art (mostly NSFW too) and barely anything else, while I do some of these type of drawings (except the NSFW part of course) I never show anything that's slightly out of the ordinary to them because I fear that they're gonna call me a failure or a weirdo or cringe and whatnot, I only show this stuff to a few friends who are also artists and gets what I'm trying to do.
This also affects my ability to grow since these people already put me on a high pedestal my actual art skill has to meet what people think my art will look like and not give me the time to actually grow and be mediocre (I've been doing art for 6 years, while I did grow a certain level I wouldn't consider myself a professional illustrator or whatnot yet.)
So with all of these problems combined I have just not been drawing or finding inspiration a lot recently because whenever I tell my self I should just draw a bit today, I am repulsed by the idea of it since I don't have the will or any inspiration to do anything because I forgot what was fun for me or what I truly want to make since I have to fit in a seat that people are giving me (there's also the fact that in my 3rd year of studies which is still happening as of writing this a lot of my teachers are not giving us the choice on what to make, a lot of the time when I present something I just say yes to everything they want me to change because I know they won't have it any other way, which is a problem I didn't really have during 2nd year).
I expressed my will to make webcomics or animation but I never take the leap because I know that I won't be good at the start and most of my online acquaintances won't have any of that and just judge and pick out everything that's wrong with it. the only people I can trust that won't do that are friends artists who knows the struggles and respects it.
Not to make this comment any way longer than it should be, I've been watching movies like The Menu, Black Swan, or Whiplash which all features the trope of an artist having their life ruined by their perfectionism or by the pressure other people put on them and I've wondered if I also didn't cross a line of no return where I cannot enjoy art anymore.
I don't usually comment on RUclips videos or even have comments this long but I feel like this is the perfect opportunity for me.
i really do enjoy seeing people share their stories in the comments, too. learning how to work with yourself is an interactive journey u have alongside others.
In the past, I used to overthink what tools I used or what I practiced instead of just focusing on what I enjoyed drawing.
Thank you for your videos
Dude... this is one of the most thoughtful and insightful takes on the whole concept of motivation and 'doing what you love' that I've ever heard. Thank you 💖
Your new art mindset is very refreshing, and it resonates with me.
wow, this truly means a lot. No one has ever told me this in any way or form really that stuck out to me. I adore your art and recently ive just been trying to stick with stuff I dislike, working hard, and just feeling terrible. Trying to use colors im not fond of etc. actually this video made me cry just a little. I love drawing and adding fun shapes but everybody says my art is “scary” or “unlikeable” especially in broader circles. Thank you sycra, I have a hard time with words due to my mental disorders and convey emotions through images mostly. I also love seeing other work so much, and it makes me happy to see others post/and appreciate my own work. Thank you, thank you for this video I never knew I needed.
Sinix Design's video about basically draw what you like because even the best artists didn't start by doing what is the "correct" way they did what they enjoyed. There is also a point where you have to realize that you are not going to just draw your magnum opus especially in the beginning you have to slowly build up to it. Which is why i think Sinix says to draw what you like and the point you made in the video which made a lot of sense is make it as easy as possible to want to draw. Having your favorite medium laid out why also drawing what you like with the mindset that you are not where you want yet. Keyword is yet eventually you will be able to draw what you like and or will have the confidence and determination to go out and learn the fundamentals.
You are honestly one of the best art teachers ive ever come across. Ive been watching since pointy chins pretty much started and I was a teenager with stars in my eyes. You really put my art struggles to words and give them real solutions that arent the halfbaked professional spiel ive always been spoonfed. thank you for making videos and sharing your art journey beause i greatly appreciate growing together all this time!
Thank you. This is exactly what I need. Truer words have never been spoken.
This one blew my mind a little, I already knew those things, but now I have even more clarity. Thanks a lot
This video has been the thing I keep returning to again and again when I get too caught up with the fluff.
There’s no bad art, only art that needs improvement.
I adore your positive message so much and fully agree. Also, that's an amazing creature you drew, as the lighting emerged it just got cooler and cooler. Btw, you said on a stream the other day something about being valued for your art vs helping people (I'm paraphrasing) and you sort of settled on the helping people for the win. All I can say is you most certainly do both, super cool impressive art...and hugely helping people. Yay you! :)
For me it is very true that when I stick to what I really want to do, though it's difficult and no one may be on my side, I will always eventually find a way. I think it also makes one a better person, because you are more tolerant of smaller inconveniences when you are focused on the bigger goal.
I think creating art that YOU enjoy looking at is SO important! There is an ~industry look~ and if your art falls outside that, yes, you probably won't get a job in the industry. But that doesn't mean there isn't a way to monetize your style. It's easier now than before thanks to the internet. Don't force yourself to draw in a style you hate because you're told it looks "professional", that path is the fastest route you can take to hating art and burning yourself out.
I've been on a journey these past 2 years where i was trying to "find my style", but what i was really doing is trying to find a process that a)i enjoyed doing (no matter how much i love looking at slick lineart i HATE doing lineart) and b)produced the kinds of drawings i like seeing. I'm glad someone is talking about the importance of enjoyment in making artwork, because all i see is people bashing the "find your style!!11!!" stuff without looking at what that actually means. Like, they say that "style doesn't matter" or "you already have a style" but what if you don't like that style? why it's so bad to look for a style that produces work that you would like more? The foundamentals of drawing are improtant, and you shouldn't leave them aside for a style quest (like i did *cough cough*), but style is an important part of drawing
I'm preparing for uni at the time and was kinda down today and not doing anything of value. I was just going to throw today away and push all my plans into the future. But then I saw this video on my homepage and like many times before Sycra gave me the motivation to push myself. I don't know what it is about his videos that resonates so much with me but I'm glad they're there.
Starting drawing it was all about the feeling of that particular pencil on a stack of plain A4 printer paper
Loving all of the new videos!
👌🏾
Process over product...
Life before before death!
Strength before weakness!
Journey before destination!
"Don't judge yourself when you're not good enough" This is the most common problem, and we all got it imo. And that's a bad thing. I myself also trying to deal with it. I remember heard the story of an artist, that everytime he made something he doesn't satisfy, he blame his hand for being not good enough, and not judge himself. That's a clever thing to do. I'm trying to find something I'm willingly to blame to, and hope you guys could find yours
And yeah, trying new things helps. I know that sometime, you can't just trying new stuff, since that's what you need to be good at (For me, as 3D artist, for example). But I do, spending 1 day a week, or 1 hour per day, trying out new thing, to see if I like it or not. The good thing about it is, with the mindset of "I'm just trying out", you get rid of your pressure of "I have to make it looks good" on yourself, and let your inner child play with that like a toy. And, in some extent, it does relax your mind. I really recommend doing it 2 times a day, only 30-40 mins each, before and after you learn something you "have to" learn
I love that you make videos on stuff no one else talks about. Glad you returned to youtube.
i like the shape of the crocs snout, pretty cool
Thanks for mentioning the bubbles and panel tools! In CSP it is absolutely impossible for me to use them, so I just draw everything by hand. There's no point in fighting against my incredibly laggy laptop, it only brings more frustration.
Great video, I loved watching it, in my case I don't actually like to DRAW, but I LOVE to PAINT, so what I do is do a very basic sketch of something and then just paint the rest, sometimes I don't even sketch by drawing but by painting the silhouettes filled in with a dark color and go from there painting on top and refining, sure its not efficient but I do enjoy it a lot, that's what gets me painting more and thus improving more in the long run
Watching the process here was nothing short of a magic trick. I literally coudnt predict what was gonna happen next - and when it did I was like "Oh of course! Genius!"
I love ink.
For many years I would paint in a sketchbook, a regular sketchbook with smooth pages similar to copy paper, not at all water-resistant or bleedproof.
And whenever I use ink pens/ fine liners, I have always been drawn to those that are not waterproof.
I've been criticised for it endlessly, but I like them better.
At some point I wanted my ink drawings to have more shade to them. And I'm not entirely sure how the idea hit me but I was clearly aware of them not being waterproof, so I at some point grabbed a brush - one of those synthetic ones with water in a plastic tube as the handle - and I would gently, carefully spread the ink from my linework across the page to create gradients and shadows.
The lines themselves were intact, and I ended up with these immensely beautiful and textured shadows ranging across the entire value scale.
I refined this technique for years, always working on the same non-waterproof paper (I loved the paper. And I learnt how to not overload it with water to the point of breaking) and ended up with some really incredible and unique artworks in ink.
It's one of my most treasured sketchbooks, this one. And honestly the reason I stopped drawing like this is because the paper it used was discontinued, and it was never the same no matter what other paper I used.
Heck, when I eventually dove into watercolours I found that I seriously prefer cheap, crappy watercolour paper above the high quality or "professional" papers with its fancy warm and cold press and grains and who knows what. I love it when things are basic and rough, I love it so much.
There is so much joy to be found sticking to what you love.
Glad to see you back at it sycra
This video couldn't be more perfect for what I'm working through atm thankyou Sycra! :P
Yo sycra. glad you're back. I'm not subbed on this account, the way I got back to your channel now that you're active is from your text on another person's channel.
Just a heads up on how important it is to connect to community as you already know as a huge artist. It's really amazing your back, I use to watch you when I was a kid. Now I'm an adult (and hopefully won't die soon :c)
amazing, last video I asked about this but didnt actually mean for you to do it yourself but you did it, thanks you so much :D
This is great advice and it's great to have you back!
This is such sage advice, thank you for sharing !
It's cool this channel is still going
Good video. There's too much emphasis on productivity these days especially when it comes to doing art just for enjoyment for some reason. In 2020 I tried so hard to draw like other people with super clean lines. So hard that I got burned out for about a year after the fact. In 2022 I found my joy in art again but this year, I hit another small rough patch but I think I'm getting past it. Winter always depresses my creativity
Thank you for making these
First off nice reptile character, also I really needed to hear this. Thank you sycra
the Jesus couldn't say better, thank you dude, you came to me with great advice at my lowest time ))
these are really important thoughts
These videos are one by one right after another somehow being the most poignant things in the universe for me. This must say something about the profundity of humanity's shared experiences.
loving your anthro, I know you did your bird character for Space Waitress Kei, but cool to see another species
Awesome video as always! Would you consider making captions too for the late-night watchers?
The things I like the most are sandbox - playing around and trying things out. But I feel like most of the time I have to build the sandbox or playground first before enjoying to play in it and that constructing is very frustrating and demotivating.
Wow... Thank you so much for this video!
pouring one out for the subset of people who will feel vindicated after watching this who repeat "but it's my style!" for years without improvement
Wouldn't that be considered more of a deflection?
maybe those people don't want to improve (ie: work professionally)? tons of people just draw as a hobby
@@kupotenshi i dont think they'd be on a sycra video if this were the case
@@itsukarine fair enough
Marie Kondo-ing art
It's been hard for me to enjoy art when I'm at my 9-5 job....
Y'know, I really needed this. My extended free trial for CSP expired last month (it came with the tablet as a promotion) and I've just felt so lost because I have been drawing with it since 2018. I have Photoshop but I dunno, I guess it just feels too stiff? And Krita feels too messy. It just doesn't feel right I guess??? And thus I've been stuck in kind of a loop of wanting to draw but not being able to since the program I've been using for years is no longer available for me (and I don't have the money rn to buy the permanent licence T-T)
I've really developed my style with CSP as well, so I've been having a very hard time transcitioning to another art application due to being literally kicked out of my comfort zone when drawing. But seeing this made me feel a bit better, seeing how it's normal for me to feel so bummed out and discouraged from feeling so awkward and stiff with art programs I almost never use rather than thinking I was being overdramatic and ridiculous. Gonna be a rough and long road to get the money for CSP again, but I'll very much keep trying!!
🏴☠🏴☠🏴☠
Not sure if you know but csp usually goes on sale in march. It's around half off when it's on sale so you won't have to pay so much.
@@UsedRags :00000000000 no, I didn't know of this... gonna have to double down on getting the money soon with whatever job I can find in between my medical treatment then :D
Thank you!!! 🙏
I heard a therapist once say, “stop should-ing on yourself”. I make an effort to try not to say that word as much as I can
This guy talks a lot…
OF AMAZING THINGS AND TIPS FOR INSPIRATION THANK YOU
MISSED U SO MUCH OMG
As someone that burned out when i first started trying to draw multiple times, i really resonate with the past few videos.
But I do have to ask, how much of your current mind set do you think is helped out by the fact you did grind out a lot of those fundamentals and mileage early on when you weren't necessarily having as much fun? Do you look back at those times you were forcing yourself in a positive light as something that probably stilled helped you out in the long run though? Or would you say you regret doing it?
I just ask because I also want to draw comics, and have done a few single page type things. But its so time consuming and my lack of ability makes it feel like such a hurdle while I'm doing it that I feel like by forcing myself to try I'm going to just feel miserable and burn out again. Often I just find myself thinking that if I buckle down and force myself to learn a lot of those fundamentals it'd make drawing the comics more fun because I wouldnt be so stressed about every small thing and looking at the end result in disgust.
It seems like you are judging your own work very harshly. I'd say, even when you get reasonably good at things, if you have a very critical mindset those thoughts won't go away. There is always someone better than you. You will always see flaws in your work if you look for them. This is something that's tough about being creative. I really relate to your comment.
It also sounds like the idea of jumping in a big ambitious project does not sound fun to you right now. It's not exciting, but frustrating in your mind. Forcing yourself to do it would be the opposite of the point of this video. If trying out figure drawing everyday seems fun to you now, do that! If watching video's about fundamentals and making sketches seem fun, do that! Learning doesn't 'have' to be boring and forcing yourself.
Maybe you do want to work towards your goal of making comics, but the big jump makes you hesitant. Maybe you feel more excited about designing some characters? Or about making 3 panel comic strips? Maybe you want to learn how to draw fight scenes or expressions during a dialogue scene. Maybe you want to design some swords and learn to draw the hands holding them. All of those things are still super useful for your comics, so don't worry to much about doing the 'right thing' . If you don't have a lot of experience yet, everything you try making will cause huge improvement. It's actually a really fun time in that way!
It helps to have a project in mind and work on the fundamentals that way rather than trying to drill them separately. I hate character design, but I need to learn it better in order to tell a consistent story and not ruin otherwise good environments with crappy characters. Looking at things that way compelled me to design a character for the story and vibe I want to create instead of learning it generically . It’s like learning math with no application vs. learning a specific kind of math to create a rocket you’re already working on.
When you learn fundamentals for comics, think of objects and characters you want to create and then learn the fundamentals in that context. Think of the simplest object or character you plan to draw and use it for context, gradually adding complexity as you build your skills. Two birds, one stone. You learn the basics and are already comfortable drawing part of your comic.
Honestly, my art is really boring and flat. I keep it on S-5, pencil size 4, and do whatever in SAI. However, I have started learning Blender, and I think 3D art may be more my style.
13:50 Gee, and I constantly shame myself for drawing one OC I really like because I think it's cringe...
Process over product.
The truth has been told
There has to be a balance between being in your comfort zone and learning new things, other wise you'll stagnate in your skills. I personally prefer using a limited warm color palette for my anime girls, but I've recently switched over to using cooler colors heavy in blues and purples and it feels like I'm learning to draw all over again lol. It's been huge for clearing my art block.
I think you missed the point then. Stagnating is fine for a lot of people. Not everyone wants to be a world class artist or living it as a profession. There are people who just want to have fun, like a hobby. I feel like there are way too many people trying to give advice based on whatever has worked for them. But there are always revolutionists. It's like the typical, "back in my day". Completely agreeing with Sycra here.
My king took 17 minutes to explain the validity of drawing furries.
As the saying goes: "hate the work, love to work." As long as you spend more time drawing/creating (and having fun with it), than you spend dwelling on what you've already drawn, it's a net benefit.
"Should" is absolutely the most terrible thing for a creative person to fixate on...
Anyone wondering whether or not they should be an artist, the answer is a flat, unequivocal, *no.* Absolutely nobody, ever, at all, *whatsoever,* past or present, should be or have eve been an artist. Nobody... not Rembrandt, not Michelangelo, not Bosch, not MC Escher... none of them.
What you *should* do is get a desk job as an accountant, get married to someone who you hate, and have 2.4 children who hate you.
Fortunately, we don't always do what we *should.*
Yo
So in other words: pług out of Internet. Use people's advices only when you really want it.
No joy since raise of AI and it's abusers
Are you drawing with a mouse