Props to the people who can make it in FZD, I could never lol. It sounds like so much work and I'd much rather spend several more years slowly getting better, rather than a single breakneck year that has an almost certain chance of burning me out and making me hate art. (Also I need an incredible amount of sleep to function. Just so much.).
I think most people take out loans to attend school so they wouldn't have that amount in their account either. But I don't necessarily think that's a good idea...
Hey Mithril! I think the most important thing is that you've created a roadmap for yourself. It doesn't matter if your goal will change in a couple years. Having the structured roadmap means that you can fine tune it over time as you move forward as an artist.
Completely off topic, but you look so nice in this video. I love the blue outfit and your hair. 🙂 Your conversation with your mom sounds like it was so touching, too. It sounds like you're having the same career crisis I had while I was in the middle of uni, honestly. Practically speaking, I knew going into uni that I wanted to be a full-time author, but money in the writing industry is notoriously slow and stingy (we are sadly the least paid group of creatives, period), so I have to have a degree to support myself until I get a readership. I'm hoping that by supplementing my writing with art, though, I might be able to go full-time sooner. Especially since I can combine these skills for a variety of other projects that have been floating around. (Art books for my novels, a small comic and/or graphic novel, etc.) I'm glad that you reconsidered FZD if only for the work/life/health balance, though. After spending years on 2-4 hours of sleep on any given night, I don't want to see you go through that. It's exhausting and I'm still recovering. I'm definitely excited about where you're going with your art journey, and can't wait to see where it takes you.
Thank you so much JS! I'm very excited for the warmer weather so I can pull out my cute dresses again :D. And yes! having a money maker is key, I wouldn't have any resources to be able to plan this all out without cashflow.
Hey Mithril, I just found your channel and it´s very inspirational. I wanted to ask you if you have some advice for my current situation. So from the looks of it I´ll have to work a full time job for about 2-3 years (not art related). My skill level is pretty underwhelming (couldn´t get into art school this year). I am currently doing the easy drawing course by Trent and plan on following this one up with an anatomy course on Udemy (Rich Graysonn). My question is: Are there some courses you can recommend and should I do digital art as well or just focus on one medium after another? Jesus Christ that comment got bigger than expected, sorry :P
Ive been thinking of the whole FIRE thing myself, but Im just wondering, alot of people dont really consider the investing aspect of FIRE. That part is important. I dont think its wise to save up all the way to retirement in a savings account. Another part about FIRE is alot of people in it are working multiple jobs to save more during their younger years. Right now, I only know the investing and saving aspect of things, I dont make much money though, so I definitely wont be able to retire super early. But I know how to invest better nowadays. All that considered, I would really like more videos on your view of the FIRE movement, and maybe theres more to it that you can get into, just like art and japanese. I would like to learn more because I have an idea of what I want to do, but learning about money took so long and it doesnt come easy. So I always want to learn more. Over the past few years I learned how to invest, how to manage a credit card to get the most point and money while keeping credit score high, and how to not spend too much. But theres so much in the actual numbers side of things I lack.
I gotcha, yeah I wouldn't consider myself particularly versed in financials and stuff. I was just taught good personal finance skills by my parents and school which has set me up to have these sorts of aspirations. After doing a bit of reflection lately, I wonder if my desire to have more money partially comes from me not really knowing what I want in life? I feel like money is like experience in a bottle, I don't know which skills I need points in, but when I do, I can apply funds to help me out. On the other hand, I don't want to miss out on things that would make me better, happier, etc just in search of money either. It's all quite the conund. I found this blog post lately and found it very interesting. I'd recommend you give it a read! livingafi.com/2021/03/17/the-2021-early-retirement-update/
Also, I think investing is important for every person, not just people looking to retire early. People need to get educated about their tax advantaged and non tax advantaged options and get started early
Sometimes I really wish I were in art school, but then I think about all the portfolios I have to make, and I have to compete against all the other great students out there. Then I’m like forget about it. I guess I’m afraid of competition.
I dont like competition either. I think if there was an art school with only teaching and no deadlines or grades Im down. I do that on my own already. but art schools have to work as an institutions, they're still businesses, and they cant be customized the way I want.
Good video! I want to offer some advice as a working professional myself. In general, art school is hardly worth it even if you have aspirations to work in the industry. You'd be paying a ton per year to MAYBE land a job in the field that doesn't pay much more than the cost of your education at an entry art job. In your position I'd say it's far better to find a mentor to learn under who will hold you accountable. There are some very high quality drawing courses that you can download online at a fraction of the cost of ANY school you could think of. You might want to ask yourself if you're paying for the knowledge or for the expectation of being given an experience. Also, you're CLEARLY improving so I'm curious as to why you're allowing your impulsivity to overcomplicate your journey lol. I believe I've heard you say that you need an academic environment in order to improve, but this clearly isn't the case for you. If I remember correctly there were courses you wanted to download a while ago but you didn't because they were out of your budget, but from the way it sounds this is no longer the case for you. So why not take a step back and reconsider those courses for subjects like figure drawing? You're at the point where you should ALWAYS be doing figure drawings on the side (3min poses, 5min, 10, 20, an hour, etc.) in order to practice applying what you're learning as you learn it. If you don't you're likely to multiply the time it takes to get better. Side note... I almost had a heart attack at 0:42 LOL I've never seen anyone measure out every part of a figure that way. How did your brain not explode? 😝
Hiya, thanks for taking the time to give me some advice! "In your position I'd say it's far better to find a mentor to learn under who will hold you accountable...Also, you're CLEARLY improving so I'm curious as to why you're allowing your impulsivity to overcomplicate your journey lol." I agree and I've really been liking Evolve since this is the first thing I've truly been improving with. I think studying in studio with Kevin mentoring me feels like the next step after finishing all of Evolve rather than some crazy detour. Now that I have this option open to me, I feel like everything else pales in comparison especially given the cost and the time commitment. "I believe I've heard you say that you need an academic environment in order to improve, but this clearly isn't the case for you. If I remember correctly there were courses you wanted to download a while ago but you didn't because they were out of your budget, but from the way it sounds this is no longer the case for you." If I'm being honest, I'm mostly lonely. I feel like learning art in general is a rather solitary path, but at this point like, 4 years in, I really crave a creative environment that's supportive for art as opposed to talking with my family who try to discourage me from taking this seriously every step of the way. Most of my friends aren't artists and if they are, they're hobbyists who aren't really concerned with learning fundamentals or mastery. By "academic environment", I mean having teachers to ask questions to all the time, bright, studious peers, and a schedule to keep me on track. And also being able to dedicate myself to this full time rather than in between all my other obligations. "Side note... I almost had a heart attack at 0:42 LOL I've never seen anyone measure out every part of a figure that way. How did your brain not explode? " My head did indeed explode so I didn't finish the painting LMAO. How did you learn art and get to where you are now as a working artist?
@@Mithrilda Ahh I feel you. Being in an environment with other aspiring artists is definitely a cool feeling, but it's probably more accessible than you realize. Depending on where you're located, just about every big city (especially ones with art schools) have local figure drawing workshops you can sign up for. There are some near me in California that are free but take donations, and some where you pay like 20 per session. You get to meet people, make artist friends, etc. I do like the mentorship idea though, that would be good for you. How did I get to where I'm at now? That's a looong story lol I'd say the most important things for me were: - Being part of an online art community where I committed to posting at least two pages of studies daily, we kept each other accountable. - Picking rivals in those communities to keep me motivated when I saw them improving, keeping myself accountable. - Emulate success. When others at my level were improving, I copied what they were doing and added my own spin when needed. Everyone was studying from George Bridgman and Burne Hogarth and I fell in love with these books, but knowing HOW to study from them is crucial. - Taking formal figure drawing classes and learning from mentors. No matter what I'm practicing whether it's value, anatomy, shapes, composition, etc. ALWAYS be practicing figure drawing on the side and apply what you learn. - Learned the Atelier method of figure drawing, a beginner friendly process that teaches you how to observe your subject and spot your own mistakes during your process. - Observed professionals creating work similar to what I wanted to create, found out their stories, narrowed down advice/tips that were common amongst all of them and focused on that. If you focus on the advice that's common amongst most successful people, you narrow the risk of following bad advice if you don't know where to go.
Good luck with this! I fully support you :) I would love to go to some form of art school, but I also know that it's not feasable for me anymore. I can't just pick up my life and leave for a year haha. I might do some form of online mentorship, but I don't know who to go with just yet. I'll just keep trucking on doing this by myself haha. It's been working so far!
Thank you so much Liz! Good luck to you finding something that works with your current lifestyle. I see you're doing well though, I love seeing your beautiful botanicals on insta!
I know that feeling, that impulse / fire that sparks within to go and push your art to the next level. I've had it multiple times before thinking "Hey this program would be cool to enroll in" or "That school would be perfect to go to." Each and everytime I let that burst of inspiration slip by without ever really acting on it. Watching this video has once again brought up that feeling again. To be able to drop everything and grind art sounds like a dream, but a very possible dream. The fastest way you can grow is have a clear idea of where you want to go and what you want to do with your art. I hope you find what it is your are seeking, but for now it's time to grind!
Thank you, I definitely understand that feeling that you're talking about. It's never seemed possible for me until now, but definitely grinding now (there is much to grind on between passing exams, doing well at work, finishing Evolve homeworks, making videos) to make it happen sooner rather than later. As far as having a clear idea of where I want to go with my art...I don't really. Haha...welp, I guess I'll keep thinking on it, but definitely saving money and leveling up the fundamentals along the way.
Hi Mithy, The secret to getting to where you eventually want to be is to invest at whatever income level you are at. 10% of your take home pay invested will insure you are a millionaire+ at 55 years old. It worked for me and I now create art for fun. Do what makes you happy though because money will not make you happy. Art makes us happy.
Great video Mith, it's been awesome watching your grind of evolve. I'm gonna be super jelly when you come out the other side with the rendering skills Kevin teaches. - Re New Jersey: while pursuing learning from your comfort zone is good, go outside your comfort zone and look to other teachers. Some advice I got after my bachelors degree was to study my Masters degree elsewhere to get engagement with other supervisors and people. I believe it's essentially the muddying of your skillset with the same approaches/ideas, it's nice to have the same mentor but consider exploring. I don't have your potential choice of going elsewhere to study (financially) so I stayed put but luckily I have different tutors and support staff for my masters. I do wish I could've gone to FZD. - You'd need to be very clear as to whether a Community college teaches Modern/Fine art or not. Fine art is very socio-political driven and far too intellectual for it's own good - which is why people generally bash on art school I think (looking at you Cal Arts). Less about grinding figure drawing, anatomy study and painting sadly. It can be very bias to the teachers belief structure and art likes/dislikes as well. I changed my major from art to media design in my final year of bachelors for these reasons. - General Painting skills could be learned anywhere - look for a community arts group that has classes. They'd probably cover how to apply traditional paint, what brushes to use, how colour functions, gesture drawing, etc. I understand Covid makes it a bit tough in 'merica, so I apologise if this isn't possible. This might fill that void of wanting more but keeping it accessible and allowing you to engage with other humans lol. - Your desire sounds important enough that it should overwrite everything. Do you want to be doing this for the rest of your life? You've said you don't want it to be a career/job so maybe you don't need to be so impatient in seeing the destination, just do it as it comes. Perhaps at the 5 year point of working you could take a sabbatical and spend a year just doing art full time, your hobbies would still be in reach as you'd have the time. Or you could do that right now if money allows, I think this could be an option to dump everything but art/hobby learning. A lot of those RUclips social artists say you need to drop your hobbies (e.g. gaming for me) to be able to work on honing your skills, this is the sad truth of it all. - Do you need to do this learning in person if you have access to classes/course outlines/scheduling online? You've effectively been doing this with evolve. You could look at Art School (Marc Brunet), CGMA, Schoolism, etc - particularly the ones that offer one-on-one or small group critique sessions. I have personally been on a self-tirade to learn all the fundamentals using this www.brendanmeachen.com/soloartist as my roadmap.
I think that's interesting. My boyfriend went through a similar thing where they didn't let him get his PhD at the same school so he had to apply elsewhere. I feel like there's definitely value in learning from different sources, but I feel like I'm nowhere near done learning from Kevin yet, haha. I'd love to explore other mentors and courses later on and keep growing afterward. I just wonder how I'll have the time and money to dedicate to this venture. One year is already a pretty big ask, but I guess that's a bridge to cross when I get to it. So I remember you're studying art and now you're doing art for your master's? What's your end goal for post graduation?
Just putting this out there you don’t need to dump out all your money to traditional schooling. There are some online art schools/classes out there like SVS, Schoolism, and Masters Academy.
I’ve always loved your videos & I love your beautiful soul. You are so passionate about this life/experience that your joy beams through the screen. I’m sure whatever path you decide, will exceed your expectations bc you’re already making the most of everything around you.
I have constantly debated with myself if i should go to artschool or not..with the cost being the main deterrent also having to study styles of art i have no interest in.What i ended up doing was short courses in specific areas i want to improve in like beginners oil painting and a water colour course..this has worked out for me the art side of things but means i still work fulltime in a job i dont like and constantly dream about how good it would be to study art fulltime and not have to do anything else.
I'm glad to hear you found a good solution for yourself! At this point in my life, art is part of it, but I'm also just straight up craving an adventure and the ability to do something crazy so I'm trying to make that happen by saving enough money to take a year off just to study art.
@@Mithrilda Thanks for replying,hope it works out for you..im trying to do the same,maybe by trying an associate degree for 2 years so i can finish before it gets to serious into theory work.
@@Mithrilda I went to Àni Waichulis in Pennsylvania. I had started at the with Anthony before it became Àni. My experience was outstanding. Currently I am the Dean of Àni Art Academies Sri Lanka and I opened the Anguilla school. The instructions for Fundamentals is just top notch. You have a lot of talent and it looks like your really enjoying the learning process. I hope no matter where you go you purse Art. The only advise I would give is don’t go into debt. You will not be able to apply what you know if you Accrue a bunch of debt.
@@Mithrilda yes housing and food would be in you. But cost of living there is low. Time to complete varies. All work can be done in 3 years. I completed in 3.5 while running a studio. Food for thought. Rather then think of net years to completion, consider building an unshakable foundation that you build off of for 50 years. Museums exist because art is difficult. Your investment in your self now pays off later in life. Time will pass anyway but what do you do during its passing? That’s up to you. Think back three years doesn’t seam so long ago. But ahead three years seems unreachable.
I think the mentorship program will be really good for you given your goals. I went to the American Academy of Art. And as you have said you take a lot of classes that have nothing to do with what you want to study, this is due to accreditations. The school didn't used to be like that when my brother went and I was incredibly disappointed. I couldnt even draw in my Anatomy class like he did because of accreditations. I dont regret my time there fully, I still use the techniques taught to me in my life drawing classes and fundamentals. But I no longer recommend art colleges unless, someone wants to work in the industry and not freelance/hobby. Having that piece of paper does help getting your foot in the door and making connections within the industry you may not normally have. But I hope this mentorship does wonders for you. Being self taught is a hard and slow process. Having trained eyes by your side and a year to soak all that knowledge should be amazing for you.
Gotcha, yeah I've heard similar things about Gnomon ever since they started their accredited program. I guess there's just more money in it since you can get federal funding, student loans, etc. But it makes me sad that they are moving away from what students actually want in order to do it. Thanks for the encouragement! Definitely trying to make the numbers work rn so I can do it :D
@@Mithrilda Yeah exactly, it also helps students if they want to transfer so they dont lose credits but it more about the money the school can get. It really is a shame. I went to art school to learn about art, not the 4th dimension and string theory (seriously this was a required math class in my college). I really hope you can make this work out for you and take your art to a new level *hugs*
@@Mithrilda Yup its on Michigan Ave. Its a very small school (2 floors in a office building) They have many talented alumni like Alex Ross, my brother, Gil Elvgren etc. I dropped out my 3rd year because of the courses, it was overloaded with things that dont pertain to art and some personal stuff which also pushed me to leaving. I found it to be a waste of 10k a semester. I also found out that I didnt want to work in the industry either, I just wanted to freelance/hobby. The actual ART classes were good and amazing I loved most of my teachers in that section and they taught me a lot. BUT if you want to learn the same Fine Art Techniques that the Academy teaches I would go to the Pallete and Chisel (also in chicago) if they actually still have in person classes (still in pandemic mode). A lot of alumni go there or teach there as well (or they used to, it been a while since I was a member) but its also VERY affordable.
Great for your hard work on applying art school! Be aware, I have heard that art school may not directly teach you art because the coursework has been applied logically, not creatively. I wish your art school is great and not logical, but boosting your creativity!
Have you heard of Savannah College of Art and Design? Also called SCAD? They have a 93% employment rate of their students and I personally toured it and asked a lot of questions. I myself would want to make my own manga or comic. Kind of like how you want to make your own characters from imagination, that’s what I want to do. I want to make stories that people love and enjoy. I definitely learn best in a classroom while there is a teacher, not e-learning. So if you are like me I’d suggest not to go to a school while the pandemic is still here. It’s a private college as well so the tuition for in state and out of state students is the same. Also, the art I’d want to study is called sequential art, basically fancy for comics.
That's pretty cool, I've never heard of the term "sequential art" before! Yeah, I looked into SCAD for a second, but $200,000 for just tuition and housing is wayyyy out of my budget. No matter what, I don't want to go into debt because I feel like that takes away freedom rather than building toward it. I'm happy you have the opportunity to attend though! I'm sure it'll be an amazing experience if you decide to go.
@@Mithrilda Since I’m still in school they told me I’d be able to knock off the price with scholarships and one specifically if I kept my GPA above a 3.5 takes off a bit of the cost, and I can understand housing 100%, if I went I’d be moving as a permanent resident. I’ve looked up some reviews from forums and people are saying the dorms can be quite cramped depending on the a variety of factors. Best of luck to you, I’m here to cheer you on your art journey! We’re gonna make it to our end goals, and then we’ll have to set another goal so that we keep improving. HOORAY FOR ART!
When I saw the title I was like me too. Doing my best to apply for next year.
Oh snap, good luck to you!
Sending love and support
Early! I’m first I think to btw love you’re vids :)
You are first! I'm so glad you've been enjoying my videos
You have seriously improved so much since you started out. Congrats
Thank you very much!
if i had Money and the possibilty i would go to an atelier , maybe jeff watts'
Props to the people who can make it in FZD, I could never lol. It sounds like so much work and I'd much rather spend several more years slowly getting better, rather than a single breakneck year that has an almost certain chance of burning me out and making me hate art. (Also I need an incredible amount of sleep to function. Just so much.).
I think most people take out loans to attend school so they wouldn't have that amount in their account either. But I don't necessarily think that's a good idea...
Hey Mithril! I think the most important thing is that you've created a roadmap for yourself. It doesn't matter if your goal will change in a couple years. Having the structured roadmap means that you can fine tune it over time as you move forward as an artist.
Great job my friend😃very nice,looked awesome😃❤️
each of your videos open my eyes, making me see something in a different way. so inspiring, keep it up
Completely off topic, but you look so nice in this video. I love the blue outfit and your hair. 🙂
Your conversation with your mom sounds like it was so touching, too. It sounds like you're having the same career crisis I had while I was in the middle of uni, honestly. Practically speaking, I knew going into uni that I wanted to be a full-time author, but money in the writing industry is notoriously slow and stingy (we are sadly the least paid group of creatives, period), so I have to have a degree to support myself until I get a readership. I'm hoping that by supplementing my writing with art, though, I might be able to go full-time sooner. Especially since I can combine these skills for a variety of other projects that have been floating around. (Art books for my novels, a small comic and/or graphic novel, etc.)
I'm glad that you reconsidered FZD if only for the work/life/health balance, though. After spending years on 2-4 hours of sleep on any given night, I don't want to see you go through that. It's exhausting and I'm still recovering. I'm definitely excited about where you're going with your art journey, and can't wait to see where it takes you.
Thank you so much JS! I'm very excited for the warmer weather so I can pull out my cute dresses again :D. And yes! having a money maker is key, I wouldn't have any resources to be able to plan this all out without cashflow.
Hey Mithril, I just found your channel and it´s very inspirational. I wanted to ask you if you have some advice for my current situation. So from the looks of it I´ll have to work a full time job for about 2-3 years (not art related). My skill level is pretty underwhelming (couldn´t get into art school this year). I am currently doing the easy drawing course by Trent and plan on following this one up with an anatomy course on Udemy (Rich Graysonn).
My question is: Are there some courses you can recommend and should I do digital art as well or just focus on one medium after another?
Jesus Christ that comment got bigger than expected, sorry :P
Ive been thinking of the whole FIRE thing myself, but Im just wondering, alot of people dont really consider the investing aspect of FIRE. That part is important. I dont think its wise to save up all the way to retirement in a savings account. Another part about FIRE is alot of people in it are working multiple jobs to save more during their younger years.
Right now, I only know the investing and saving aspect of things, I dont make much money though, so I definitely wont be able to retire super early. But I know how to invest better nowadays.
All that considered, I would really like more videos on your view of the FIRE movement, and maybe theres more to it that you can get into, just like art and japanese. I would like to learn more because I have an idea of what I want to do, but learning about money took so long and it doesnt come easy. So I always want to learn more.
Over the past few years I learned how to invest, how to manage a credit card to get the most point and money while keeping credit score high, and how to not spend too much. But theres so much in the actual numbers side of things I lack.
I gotcha, yeah I wouldn't consider myself particularly versed in financials and stuff. I was just taught good personal finance skills by my parents and school which has set me up to have these sorts of aspirations. After doing a bit of reflection lately, I wonder if my desire to have more money partially comes from me not really knowing what I want in life? I feel like money is like experience in a bottle, I don't know which skills I need points in, but when I do, I can apply funds to help me out. On the other hand, I don't want to miss out on things that would make me better, happier, etc just in search of money either. It's all quite the conund. I found this blog post lately and found it very interesting. I'd recommend you give it a read! livingafi.com/2021/03/17/the-2021-early-retirement-update/
Also, I think investing is important for every person, not just people looking to retire early. People need to get educated about their tax advantaged and non tax advantaged options and get started early
Sometimes I really wish I were in art school, but then I think about all the portfolios I have to make, and I have to compete against all the other great students out there. Then I’m like forget about it. I guess I’m afraid of competition.
same
I dont like competition either. I think if there was an art school with only teaching and no deadlines or grades Im down. I do that on my own already. but art schools have to work as an institutions, they're still businesses, and they cant be customized the way I want.
Good video! I want to offer some advice as a working professional myself. In general, art school is hardly worth it even if you have aspirations to work in the industry. You'd be paying a ton per year to MAYBE land a job in the field that doesn't pay much more than the cost of your education at an entry art job. In your position I'd say it's far better to find a mentor to learn under who will hold you accountable. There are some very high quality drawing courses that you can download online at a fraction of the cost of ANY school you could think of. You might want to ask yourself if you're paying for the knowledge or for the expectation of being given an experience.
Also, you're CLEARLY improving so I'm curious as to why you're allowing your impulsivity to overcomplicate your journey lol. I believe I've heard you say that you need an academic environment in order to improve, but this clearly isn't the case for you. If I remember correctly there were courses you wanted to download a while ago but you didn't because they were out of your budget, but from the way it sounds this is no longer the case for you. So why not take a step back and reconsider those courses for subjects like figure drawing? You're at the point where you should ALWAYS be doing figure drawings on the side (3min poses, 5min, 10, 20, an hour, etc.) in order to practice applying what you're learning as you learn it. If you don't you're likely to multiply the time it takes to get better.
Side note... I almost had a heart attack at 0:42 LOL I've never seen anyone measure out every part of a figure that way. How did your brain not explode? 😝
Hiya, thanks for taking the time to give me some advice!
"In your position I'd say it's far better to find a mentor to learn under who will hold you accountable...Also, you're CLEARLY improving so I'm curious as to why you're allowing your impulsivity to overcomplicate your journey lol."
I agree and I've really been liking Evolve since this is the first thing I've truly been improving with. I think studying in studio with Kevin mentoring me feels like the next step after finishing all of Evolve rather than some crazy detour. Now that I have this option open to me, I feel like everything else pales in comparison especially given the cost and the time commitment.
"I believe I've heard you say that you need an academic environment in order to improve, but this clearly isn't the case for you. If I remember correctly there were courses you wanted to download a while ago but you didn't because they were out of your budget, but from the way it sounds this is no longer the case for you."
If I'm being honest, I'm mostly lonely. I feel like learning art in general is a rather solitary path, but at this point like, 4 years in, I really crave a creative environment that's supportive for art as opposed to talking with my family who try to discourage me from taking this seriously every step of the way. Most of my friends aren't artists and if they are, they're hobbyists who aren't really concerned with learning fundamentals or mastery. By "academic environment", I mean having teachers to ask questions to all the time, bright, studious peers, and a schedule to keep me on track. And also being able to dedicate myself to this full time rather than in between all my other obligations.
"Side note... I almost had a heart attack at 0:42 LOL I've never seen anyone measure out every part of a figure that way. How did your brain not explode? "
My head did indeed explode so I didn't finish the painting LMAO.
How did you learn art and get to where you are now as a working artist?
@@Mithrilda Ahh I feel you. Being in an environment with other aspiring artists is definitely a cool feeling, but it's probably more accessible than you realize. Depending on where you're located, just about every big city (especially ones with art schools) have local figure drawing workshops you can sign up for. There are some near me in California that are free but take donations, and some where you pay like 20 per session. You get to meet people, make artist friends, etc. I do like the mentorship idea though, that would be good for you.
How did I get to where I'm at now? That's a looong story lol I'd say the most important things for me were:
- Being part of an online art community where I committed to posting at least two pages of studies daily, we kept each other accountable.
- Picking rivals in those communities to keep me motivated when I saw them improving, keeping myself accountable.
- Emulate success. When others at my level were improving, I copied what they were doing and added my own spin when needed. Everyone was studying from George Bridgman and Burne Hogarth and I fell in love with these books, but knowing HOW to study from them is crucial.
- Taking formal figure drawing classes and learning from mentors. No matter what I'm practicing whether it's value, anatomy, shapes, composition, etc. ALWAYS be practicing figure drawing on the side and apply what you learn.
- Learned the Atelier method of figure drawing, a beginner friendly process that teaches you how to observe your subject and spot your own mistakes during your process.
- Observed professionals creating work similar to what I wanted to create, found out their stories, narrowed down advice/tips that were common amongst all of them and focused on that. If you focus on the advice that's common amongst most successful people, you narrow the risk of following bad advice if you don't know where to go.
Good luck with this! I fully support you :) I would love to go to some form of art school, but I also know that it's not feasable for me anymore. I can't just pick up my life and leave for a year haha. I might do some form of online mentorship, but I don't know who to go with just yet. I'll just keep trucking on doing this by myself haha. It's been working so far!
Thank you so much Liz! Good luck to you finding something that works with your current lifestyle. I see you're doing well though, I love seeing your beautiful botanicals on insta!
Sounds like you got a quarter life crisis
I am in same situation as you😔😔😔😔
I know that feeling, that impulse / fire that sparks within to go and push your art to the next level. I've had it multiple times before thinking "Hey this program would be cool to enroll in" or "That school would be perfect to go to." Each and everytime I let that burst of inspiration slip by without ever really acting on it. Watching this video has once again brought up that feeling again. To be able to drop everything and grind art sounds like a dream, but a very possible dream. The fastest way you can grow is have a clear idea of where you want to go and what you want to do with your art. I hope you find what it is your are seeking, but for now it's time to grind!
Thank you, I definitely understand that feeling that you're talking about. It's never seemed possible for me until now, but definitely grinding now (there is much to grind on between passing exams, doing well at work, finishing Evolve homeworks, making videos) to make it happen sooner rather than later. As far as having a clear idea of where I want to go with my art...I don't really. Haha...welp, I guess I'll keep thinking on it, but definitely saving money and leveling up the fundamentals along the way.
You're a constant inspiration. Thank you
wow this spoke to my soul. i love these videos.
Hi Mithy, The secret to getting to where you eventually want to be is to invest at whatever income level you are at. 10% of your take home pay invested will insure you are a millionaire+ at 55 years old. It worked for me and I now create art for fun. Do what makes you happy though because money will not make you happy. Art makes us happy.
That's awesome! I'm definitely looking into financials as a path to future freedom and it's awesome that it's worked out for you!
I'm in a similar stage right now. I had to pause my art learning process to work 2 months so I can pause the work a few months studying again.
i think that the pathways are about spaced repetition
Great job, God bless
Great video Mith, it's been awesome watching your grind of evolve. I'm gonna be super jelly when you come out the other side with the rendering skills Kevin teaches.
- Re New Jersey: while pursuing learning from your comfort zone is good, go outside your comfort zone and look to other teachers. Some advice I got after my bachelors degree was to study my Masters degree elsewhere to get engagement with other supervisors and people. I believe it's essentially the muddying of your skillset with the same approaches/ideas, it's nice to have the same mentor but consider exploring. I don't have your potential choice of going elsewhere to study (financially) so I stayed put but luckily I have different tutors and support staff for my masters. I do wish I could've gone to FZD.
- You'd need to be very clear as to whether a Community college teaches Modern/Fine art or not. Fine art is very socio-political driven and far too intellectual for it's own good - which is why people generally bash on art school I think (looking at you Cal Arts). Less about grinding figure drawing, anatomy study and painting sadly. It can be very bias to the teachers belief structure and art likes/dislikes as well. I changed my major from art to media design in my final year of bachelors for these reasons.
- General Painting skills could be learned anywhere - look for a community arts group that has classes. They'd probably cover how to apply traditional paint, what brushes to use, how colour functions, gesture drawing, etc. I understand Covid makes it a bit tough in 'merica, so I apologise if this isn't possible. This might fill that void of wanting more but keeping it accessible and allowing you to engage with other humans lol.
- Your desire sounds important enough that it should overwrite everything. Do you want to be doing this for the rest of your life? You've said you don't want it to be a career/job so maybe you don't need to be so impatient in seeing the destination, just do it as it comes. Perhaps at the 5 year point of working you could take a sabbatical and spend a year just doing art full time, your hobbies would still be in reach as you'd have the time. Or you could do that right now if money allows, I think this could be an option to dump everything but art/hobby learning. A lot of those RUclips social artists say you need to drop your hobbies (e.g. gaming for me) to be able to work on honing your skills, this is the sad truth of it all.
- Do you need to do this learning in person if you have access to classes/course outlines/scheduling online? You've effectively been doing this with evolve. You could look at Art School (Marc Brunet), CGMA, Schoolism, etc - particularly the ones that offer one-on-one or small group critique sessions. I have personally been on a self-tirade to learn all the fundamentals using this www.brendanmeachen.com/soloartist as my roadmap.
I think that's interesting. My boyfriend went through a similar thing where they didn't let him get his PhD at the same school so he had to apply elsewhere. I feel like there's definitely value in learning from different sources, but I feel like I'm nowhere near done learning from Kevin yet, haha. I'd love to explore other mentors and courses later on and keep growing afterward. I just wonder how I'll have the time and money to dedicate to this venture. One year is already a pretty big ask, but I guess that's a bridge to cross when I get to it. So I remember you're studying art and now you're doing art for your master's? What's your end goal for post graduation?
Just putting this out there you don’t need to dump out all your money to traditional schooling. There are some online art schools/classes out there like SVS, Schoolism, and Masters Academy.
That's true! However there's stuff that I'm looking for that I can't find in online art courses (and I can afford the luxury).
I’ve always loved your videos & I love your beautiful soul. You are so passionate about this life/experience that your joy beams through the screen. I’m sure whatever path you decide, will exceed your expectations bc you’re already making the most of everything around you.
Wow, thank you so much! Your kind words mean a lot to me :))
You should try jeff watts atelier. It's more affordable. It's where proko and slew went to school
It looks really cool! Still has those California living expenses 😅
Sent in my portfolio last night hopefully i get the results to get into l.s.a.d🤣
Good luck, rooting for you!
I have constantly debated with myself if i should go to artschool or not..with the cost being the main deterrent also having to study styles of art i have no interest in.What i ended up doing was short courses in specific areas i want to improve in like beginners oil painting and a water colour course..this has worked out for me the art side of things but means i still work fulltime in a job i dont like and constantly dream about how good it would be to study art fulltime and not have to do anything else.
I'm glad to hear you found a good solution for yourself! At this point in my life, art is part of it, but I'm also just straight up craving an adventure and the ability to do something crazy so I'm trying to make that happen by saving enough money to take a year off just to study art.
@@Mithrilda Thanks for replying,hope it works out for you..im trying to do the same,maybe by trying an associate degree for 2 years so i can finish before it gets to serious into theory work.
I learned a lot from Àni Art Academies. The style that you working in would fit well there. They also offer full scholarship. Don’t go into debt.
Interesting, I looked it up and they offer tuition for free for students? Which location did you go to and how was the experience?
@@Mithrilda I went to Àni Waichulis in Pennsylvania. I had started at the with Anthony before it became Àni. My experience was outstanding. Currently I am the Dean of Àni Art Academies Sri Lanka and I opened the Anguilla school.
The instructions for Fundamentals is just top notch. You have a lot of talent and it looks like your really enjoying the learning process. I hope no matter where you go you purse Art. The only advise I would give is don’t go into debt. You will not be able to apply what you know if you Accrue a bunch of debt.
Wow, that's amazing. So the tuition is free, but I'd still need to find my own lodgings and food right? How long is the program?
If you need a letter of recommendation dm me and I will write on for you.
@@Mithrilda yes housing and food would be in you. But cost of living there is low. Time to complete varies. All work can be done in 3 years. I completed in 3.5 while running a studio.
Food for thought. Rather then think of net years to completion, consider building an unshakable foundation that you build off of for 50 years. Museums exist because art is difficult. Your investment in your self now pays off later in life. Time will pass anyway but what do you do during its passing? That’s up to you. Think back three years doesn’t seam so long ago. But ahead three years seems unreachable.
I think the mentorship program will be really good for you given your goals. I went to the American Academy of Art. And as you have said you take a lot of classes that have nothing to do with what you want to study, this is due to accreditations. The school didn't used to be like that when my brother went and I was incredibly disappointed. I couldnt even draw in my Anatomy class like he did because of accreditations.
I dont regret my time there fully, I still use the techniques taught to me in my life drawing classes and fundamentals. But I no longer recommend art colleges unless, someone wants to work in the industry and not freelance/hobby. Having that piece of paper does help getting your foot in the door and making connections within the industry you may not normally have.
But I hope this mentorship does wonders for you. Being self taught is a hard and slow process. Having trained eyes by your side and a year to soak all that knowledge should be amazing for you.
Gotcha, yeah I've heard similar things about Gnomon ever since they started their accredited program. I guess there's just more money in it since you can get federal funding, student loans, etc. But it makes me sad that they are moving away from what students actually want in order to do it. Thanks for the encouragement! Definitely trying to make the numbers work rn so I can do it :D
@@Mithrilda Yeah exactly, it also helps students if they want to transfer so they dont lose credits but it more about the money the school can get. It really is a shame. I went to art school to learn about art, not the 4th dimension and string theory (seriously this was a required math class in my college). I really hope you can make this work out for you and take your art to a new level *hugs*
@@Lilyia wait is that the school here in Chicago? I was looking into it since it's nearby
@@Mithrilda Yup its on Michigan Ave. Its a very small school (2 floors in a office building) They have many talented alumni like Alex Ross, my brother, Gil Elvgren etc. I dropped out my 3rd year because of the courses, it was overloaded with things that dont pertain to art and some personal stuff which also pushed me to leaving. I found it to be a waste of 10k a semester. I also found out that I didnt want to work in the industry either, I just wanted to freelance/hobby. The actual ART classes were good and amazing I loved most of my teachers in that section and they taught me a lot.
BUT if you want to learn the same Fine Art Techniques that the Academy teaches I would go to the Pallete and Chisel (also in chicago) if they actually still have in person classes (still in pandemic mode). A lot of alumni go there or teach there as well (or they used to, it been a while since I was a member) but its also VERY affordable.
Love this! Get it girl
Thanks Alan xD
Great for your hard work on applying art school! Be aware, I have heard that art school may not directly teach you art because the coursework has been applied logically, not creatively. I wish your art school is great and not logical, but boosting your creativity!
Hello pretty girlfriend, your drawing is wonderful
Have you heard of Savannah College of Art and Design? Also called SCAD? They have a 93% employment rate of their students and I personally toured it and asked a lot of questions. I myself would want to make my own manga or comic. Kind of like how you want to make your own characters from imagination, that’s what I want to do. I want to make stories that people love and enjoy. I definitely learn best in a classroom while there is a teacher, not e-learning. So if you are like me I’d suggest not to go to a school while the pandemic is still here. It’s a private college as well so the tuition for in state and out of state students is the same. Also, the art I’d want to study is called sequential art, basically fancy for comics.
That's pretty cool, I've never heard of the term "sequential art" before! Yeah, I looked into SCAD for a second, but $200,000 for just tuition and housing is wayyyy out of my budget. No matter what, I don't want to go into debt because I feel like that takes away freedom rather than building toward it. I'm happy you have the opportunity to attend though! I'm sure it'll be an amazing experience if you decide to go.
@@Mithrilda Since I’m still in school they told me I’d be able to knock off the price with scholarships and one specifically if I kept my GPA above a 3.5 takes off a bit of the cost, and I can understand housing 100%, if I went I’d be moving as a permanent resident. I’ve looked up some reviews from forums and people are saying the dorms can be quite cramped depending on the a variety of factors. Best of luck to you, I’m here to cheer you on your art journey! We’re gonna make it to our end goals, and then we’ll have to set another goal so that we keep improving. HOORAY FOR ART!
Heyy, have you been studying Japanese?
Yep, I'm a few months in now. You can find some other videos where I talk about it on my channel.