How to Escape Your Drawing Rut
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- Опубликовано: 24 ноя 2024
- I'm a Feature Story Artist at DreamWorks, and these techniques helped me improve quickly when I was trying to get my first feature story job. hope you find it helpful!
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4:00 "perfection is the enemy of growth" thank you for putting it into words.
A lesson I once had learned very, very well (and harshly) in college. I feel it's time to relearn it.
I love your tips for cafe sketching because I think when you start framing an illustration like that, you’re working on other skills too- storytelling, layout, maybe lighting it acting.
What really annoys me about myself is, if i try studying something new (lets say perspective) and i dont succeed within a few drawings with something i like, itll lowkey ruin my whole day. I still do it, but its really rough on me. Been like this for years now.
To this I would say frame drawing as less of a race, and more of a practice (like meditation, prayer, etc). Too many people focus on the completion of their work as the end all be all. In practice that makes you more of a magician pulling magic out of a hat at a fair. It’s not what makes you an artist. Too many people have a rigid idea of what an artist is. Try to be more open minded and accepting of the results you naturally get. It literally is not a contest. ‘Ideal’ draftsmanship gets you absolutely nowhere. You need to have the mindset of someone willing to grow otherwise you’re going to collapse everytime you try to branch outside your comfort zone. And btw that’s not indicative of your worth as an artist, it’s that you’re having trouble maturing in the area of the brain that needs to naturally expand in order to take in that new information that will help it branch out and grow. If you can’t start there, then yeah. You’re going to stagnate. Your mindset is not adequate and on par with the things you want to create, so it will not come to fruition
same with me
Something that helped me for a long time was doing daily studies, and limiting myself to an hour unless I was really, REALLY vibing with the piece. Master studies, studies of movie stills, etc. you will see improvement, while also setting a boundary for yourself bout how much you're going to invest in working on something. You will improve multiple areas at once, depending on the images you choose to study. Just make sure they are legitimate photos or work from credible artists, not AI generated, because then you'll be learning the mistakes the AI has put into the reference image.
Just when i started to notice that all my notebooks look like the wall of flesh with angry faces in every corner, I gotta mix it up and learn some anatomy, or interiors, etc.
Well im glad I came across this video, but also kind of relieved that for me, my notebooks are filled with cute anime girls on one page. Random sketches of man on another, and then just cubes and hair on another
I like to trace my favorite pictures then draw it side by side then redraw it without the image whenever I’m in a rut. Works for me
Thank you for this! As someone who has finally made it to my dream art college, I need to start diversifying my art and diversifying HARD. You experience and wisdom really shows through!! :D 💕💕💕
I don't know how this was posted 8 hrs ago and already in my watch later, but this is exactly what I've been needing for months.
I find myself needing the comfort of successes (or easy wins) to combat some pretty serious Big Bad feelings, but the lack of challenge feels like a shackle. Thank you for your inspiration, advice, and weirdly perfect timing.
Do you have any ideas as to how to combine the easy wins with jumping into new challenges? Maybe that'd make a good video too.
For example, I enjoy physiology, posing my monster characters in believable ways doing things that reflect their personalities, but I'm garbage at extreme shifts away from eye level perspective! Terrible at believable fabrics and textures! Only beginning to get a hang of shading, don't get me started on combining shading and color....
@@danaspoerl thats a hard one honestly. i think just try studying all the things your scared of, just drape some fabrics over a chair and just sketch it in all kinds of angles and try and see how the folds work. maybe take one of your monster characters and start by adding just simple fabrics on them. and different angles would be all just gathering as much reference as you could, and working from overlapping shapes first, into details after. I'm really happy you were able to find my video and have it be helpful!
I really want to follow this advice but I’ve been having a difficult time finding motivation.
I’ve been drawing for so long and still don’t feel good enough. I also barely have any time, so when I do find time to draw, I only want to draw things I enjoy.
I wish so could go to an art school and be taught, but it feels like you have to be skilled in the first place to even hope of getting in.
Also, this is sort of related. I plan to try cafe sketching, but people won't just stay still, a barista for example will be walking around doing different things. So how do I capture her form, if its constantly changing positioning?
@@brendanhaugh5134 hey these are all valid things, its very hard to start and get the fundamentals down, finding motivation is also one of the hardest things i struggle with. i will say you dont need to be very skilled to get into an art school, the point of it is that they will train you, just have some basic knowledge and your good to go, ignore all the insane social media students that are industry ready, reality isnt really like that. i didnt even know how to life draw before i went to art school.
and also cafe sketching is tough, i usually just try to quickly mark down what someone is doing and fill in the blanks, sometimes the drawing just doesnt work out and thats ok. i often just draw people eating a meal cause they will repeat the same actions over and over lol. most people just cheat and draw a lot from imagination even when cafe sketching.
You can get into community colleges pretty easily and without any portfolios. All of their classes tend to be very basic. You typically spend the first year/year and a half learning the same lessons regardless of where you go to school and how much you pay. The thing that makes or breaks one’s experience is the teachers, they are always a gamble… good luck!
god I feel this.
Hey, i know this is a month old comment but! If you find a school you like, try to go and look if they have an open day, or ask what they might be looking for for your portfolio.
If I got into an art school with drawing that were two years old and had bad anatomy, I'm sure you can too.
My school is very experimental, they want to see students try new things and use new materials. Maybe find one that fits your vibe?
The marker tip is a great one! I work in a coffee shop and I often draw on sticky notes when it's slow. I only have access to markers and I inadvertently have increased my drawing confidence a ton since I can't erase.
I also found that I have a tendency to "over detail" and make something look busy when I feel like I made a mistake.
This is also a sign that I need to start drawing people and move away from reference drawing. I only really draw realistic animals I find online lol
dude the "drawing a story" instead of drawing a hand or face etc is life changing wtf
This is so true. I knew someone who would only paint the same exact character in every single painting they made, their self insert. Often they complained and vented about how they don’t like how their art looked, how they felt stuck. I mean I tried to tell them to step outside their comfort zone, stop painting the same exact subject for every painting, and do something new and different, but they said they didn’t want to. To this day they are still stagnant in their artwork and mindset.
Perfection is the enemy of growth, well put
Great advice! The workout analogy is spot on- I hadn't thought about it that way. I feel like that's what makes actually boarding a scene, SO helpful with improvement. You're forced to draw things you might avoid otherwise.
I love your list of comfortable drawing benefits, because I never think of it as beneficial. Maybe I should mix that perspective into my reps
Some great tips here, great to see some
Messaging about just drawing and trying to get the word perfection out of artist mindset as well.
this pops up on my recomendation and thanks for the tips, sometimes it is just hard to draw something you're not comfortable off, but yeah you have to try other things aswell.
going to use this advice next time i hit a drawing rut!
Omg I feel like I've been stuck just the way you described and even though I know thw answer to the problem I just don't do it 🗿 this video was a wakeup call. "Perfection is the enemy of growth" I'll write that down on my sketchbook for sure!!
I recognize some of my own mistakes. Going to take your advice! 👏 🐝
Please make a vid about actually picking up the pen and draw, i always get this feeling of there's nothing i can draw even though im holding a pen sitting down and looking at the sketch book.
Also really good video, its a really big eye opener for me. Hoping to see morr
Hey Daniel! Great advice, as is the video itself! You approached it kinda like a storyboard too :D
Trueee. Practising what you're afraid to is great advice.
Bro you've changed my perspective on drawing and am getting more confident with my work
I always stand by the pen over pencil tactic. Truthfully I never used it as a "tactic" per se, it's just that it was easier to get away with doodling in class or studies if I used a pen.
It's comforting for me, even if I can get the details right with a pencil, there's smth about using a pen and basically doing "fk all" with it that makes the process fun. And you really learn to not care about the mistakes. Over time, I managed to control my line width even while using thicker pens.
I'm a pretty big victim of the "draw same thing/character over and over again" though. I don't run from drawing hands and legs or even trying anything new, it's just that when i do, they come out bad most of the time on traditional art, or I always end up getting sucked away into drawing a new piece when I'm drawing digitally.
Motivation isn't an issue for me, but time is. So I just draw whatever it is that I enjoy when I can, and rarely put in the time for fundamentals. There's no doubt that's what holding me back.
Cafe sketching sounds fun, but where I live, casually going to a cafe (especially alone) is really not a thing, and ordering anything from there is pretty expensive, regardless of which cafe I visit. I can try emulating the experience though, pretty sure videos and images of cafes are all over the internet.
This channels a hidden gem
I agree with you, it can be very gard but if you keep going at it to can help a lot
i love your art and advice.
Here's a funny story. When I first entered high school months ago, I took a drawing class. It was amazing because while we didn't learn too much (it is an intro class designed to familiarize yourself with the mediums) I still improved way more than I did the previous year simply because it was a class focused on realism and it forced me to try new things. I have improved so much
I liked a lot! My friend and I are doing one challenge of drawing 50 different heads that we found on Pinterest. And we chose to draw with pen to feel the power of challenge and embrace the chaos of "I can do this without erasing and even we make a mistake, ok" :P
man, I haven't done any proper cafe sketching in a long time. I definitely want to try your suggestion some time, because I struggle with backgrounds, and it could be something to try out
What should you if you’re worried someone will see you sketching & call you a creeper for staring at them? I kind of stopped cafe sketching because I’m always afraid of that situation happening
you can always try sunglasses lol. honestly i just let people notice me and most of the time they dont say anything, just try not to stare too long haha. it helps if you draw them nice and they are happy when they see it.
getting out of the comfort zone is somethin i actually love to do, seeing what i can improve on. "the legs im drawing looks odd" forced/made sure i drew full bodys as much as i could. "damn i cant draw pony's like in mlp" focused on drawing a character i liked from the show
a great thing i like tellin myself when im struggling and seeing cool artists is "one day i'll be able to draw something like that"
This man is a legend👑
Thank you, this is an amazing video with lots of tips I'll be sure to implement next time I'm out sketching. I know that I avoid the tough parts of drawing, just need to face it so I can see actual, tangible improvements.
Do you think you'll ever consider general art tutorials like learning the basics of anatomy, angles and such? I've always wanted a more simplified look to my art over something more realistic and looking at much it the character art in this video, while I do see something very similar to what I want to achieve visually, it also makes me realise how much more complex it is than it seems on the surface. Very good video btw :]
thank you! and yes i do eventually want to hit those topics! once i have a clear vision of what i want to say in the video!
A few years ago, I decided I would no longer draw the same ponies over and over again (MLP), and start drawing anthro animals as a stepping stone for myself towards drawing human beings, as the act of drawing a human face brings me so much frustration. Now, I'm feeling pretty confident with the human body (shoulders down), and this year I'm trying to dedicate a portion of my drawing time to drawing human faces, even if it pains me to see what's wrong and not know how to fix it.
Though, that's where references comes in handy. Especially referencing how to break down the face in the way that I'd like, because realism brings much more frustration than progress. (For me, in this instance at least.)
I've been specifically trying to do something with each drawing this year that I've not done before, be it drawing plants, a landscape, or a dynamic pose and new lighting, I think this year is gonna have a lot of growth for me. The first 3 drawings alone have shown tremendous progress and I can't wait for more.
Good luck drawing, everyone! Remember! References are your friend, and tutorial breakdowns can sometimes be useful to understanding things like how to make metal look shiny, or gems look... gem-y.
This was so helpful! Thanks so much.
Awesome tips, thank you! 💖
Lol, in my case its the opposite, i cant get comfortable drawing haha. Im trying to work out my consistency and style, anatomy, diversity in character design and 3dimentional aspects of it/perspective, especially that im in the animation field. Its really interesting seeing people stuck in their comfort zones, because it shows! Wish i had one tho even for a moment lol, it can get pretty frustrating
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS i really needed to hear it
This is very helpful, thank you, I enjoyed the video❤
I need to draw with pen.
There are designs I do with pen, like zentangle, but those rely on mistakes being okay, and my own perfectionism carrying me. (That same perfectionism being what kills drawing)
Thank you so much for making this
What if my comfort is working on the things that scare me?
I bounce between surface level exploration in subjects I find challenging, and can never seem to stick around long enough in each one to make a difference. That initial feeling of facing my fear satisfies the need to break away from whatever routines I developed in the short-term. Short-terms breakthroughs & long-term stagnation.
People can be comfortable and draw at the same time? What?
Thankyou so much for making videos like these keep on going this is helping me as an animation student
Thanks, honestly I got too complicit in some of the things I draw. I’ll use your advice ❤️
So good Daniel
Fantastic advice!
Great advice!
Great advice, Daniel!
I saw a shorts or a video about being satisfied with what you have will limit you from other paths or potentias...? Idk how to English so forgive me.
And I also saw about videos about how having the perfectionate mindset is bad.
Thanks for making this video!!!
I hope more people see this.
This is the first time I've said that more people should see a video.
This video was really helpful, thank you!
This goes for both the subject matter and your technique
Haven't really hit a rut
ruts are boring
practicing doing poses/anatomy
getting the shapes and perspective right
although seeing this video reminds me I need to practice more hands, feet, perspective, and composition
been practicing arms and legs recently used to be awful at it few weeks ago
This video was very helpful! I’m always trying to draw new things out of my comfort zone, but every time I do I get frustrated and impatient sketching and erasing and sketching and erasing and sketching and erasing and end up making no meaningful progress. I think I’ll try to sketch with a pen next time and see if that helps!
So true!
Great tips!!! Snug approves 👏
Your artwork is cute. Are you on any image platforms?
Great advice :D
Amazing
This came at such a perfect time for me. Been struggling to convince myself to draw for a while now. Thanks, Dan 🫶
Fabulous! Thank you!
Thanks I needed this
Love the tips !
Great Tips!
Good stuff! Got some stuff to practice lol
bro thank you so much man
Good video
"...and then, all of a sudden stopping when they reach the hands and legs..."
The horse part jumpscared me I peed my pants
(Joke)
Thank you so much for your hard work, I have a question, when I do Cafe sketching does it matter if it's on a sketchbook or digital/application?
Honestly I prefer sketchbook, just cause it forces me to move on and draw other stuff while with digital i can spend a while fixing drawings.
i have all these bad habits and as he listed what i should do i was actively screaming "i dont want to"
I wish I was good enough at drawing to have a rut😭
How did you know... HOW
Although I've been making a template for heads generalistically to be able to draw over for each character for reference. Maybe this isn't the same thing. I've been trying to draw heads that look up while facing forward and I can't figure out how it'd look because it's a reaaaally weird angle... I hate that angle despite it being important for certain scenes...
“Oh cafe sketching! I can do that.”
**cut to my third world country where i probably shouldnt bring out electronics in public for too long**
**cut to me being a kid who cant really go anywhere without my parents and they probably wont let me start doodling at restaurants**
I really don't like the pen thing, I've tried it multiple times and it ALWAYS just leads to me giving up.
Always improve...always be pushing that bar up. I agree that it's good to take that thing that gives you problems, and work on learning to draw it. Think about where your art will be in five years. I'm currently in that hole where I need to draw something different, and I know it.
Fucking called me out in less than a minute 💀
If you’re still taking video suggestions, would you please make a video of people making original characters for themselves and not for social media?
For example, some people on Twitter will only follow the artist for a specific character, but not the other characters the artist makes along side them. Those people then tell the artist non stop to keep making that one character over and over, instead of letting the artist draw what they want to draw.
ily
I just don’t draw people… at all…
huh- I do want to…
HMmMmmMmmmmmm
I’ll try, being scared of it is sad :,)
My mind:
I MUST GO FIND A PEN NOW…
Great tips but you wanna specify a little more, your improvement in other areas shouldn't necessarily be in understanding completely different subjects like going from character drawing to tackling architecture or background art, but rather exploring different parts of the fundamentals better. Like instead of drawing the same couple of angles with small modifications draw from more extreme or exaggerated angles. Try out different rendering styles, experiment with anatomy more, etc.
In short: Draw more intentional
1:30 “what if you get an opportunity for a show about cars?”
well i would ignore it because there’s nothing interesting to me about drawing cars. or men. or horses. everyone’s so focused on making yourself “employable” as an artist. what happened to making art about emotions or just what you love? why is it every art rut has to be solved by learning to draw shit you don’t care about? why is the focus of a video, about struggling to express and draw something new, employability?
Time to sketch furries and backgrounds
Bill Watterson consistently illustrated the same character for a decade, eventually stepping away, yet he's now a millionaire. What's your rationale for not achieving the same? And spare me the 'I'm not Bill Watterson' spiel, as numerous other creators have amassed wealth by staying within their comfort zones. So, what's your justification now?
who says bill watterson didn’t draw other things before that or on his own time? he definitely did, you can tell by looking at his artwork from “the mysteries”
I hate drawing people cuz they move
Just picture them, and then trace
Make one move no more
Study the remains
Not doing this kills your artist ganes 💪💪💪
Im scared of women, thats why i draw them.
don't tell me what to do.
Whatever happened to drawing for fun? You make a lot of assumptions about the viewer- that they want to "improve" in your sense of the way, that they want to be employable, and that they ought to value being employable over just drawing because it makes them happy...
You’re making the same assumptions. Who is them, and why are they watching a video about getting out a drawing rut, yet complain that they’re completely happy in their drawing rut?? If you’re seriously happy and content drawing the way you draw, why are you watching this video?
@@shawnsullivan6584 A lot of people feel like they're doing drawing 'wrong', or that they *have* to do things like draw to be employable, even if that's not exactly what they want to do. And I have a feeling that seeing big thumbnails everywhere with text like "DON'T DO THIS" or "THIS IS WRONG" is a contributor to that.
Ok sooooo.... what does your week look like?.... what type of job do you have? Yeah... you just don't learn much sitting down once a week smh. Or I'm slow in the head. Sock of this type of content. Even if it's true. Only ppl with lots of time seem to have a chance.
Early on I pushed myself to never purposefully hide hands, which helped me out a bit now.
Feet still suck to draw.
I always stand by the pen over pencil tactic. Truthfully I never used it as a "tactic" per se, it's just that it was easier to get away with doodling in class or studies if I used a pen.
It's comforting for me, even if I can get the details right with a pencil, there's smth about using a pen and basically doing "fk all" with it that makes the process fun. And you really learn to not care about the mistakes. Over time, I managed to control my line width even while using thicker pens.
I'm a pretty big victim of the "draw same thing/character over and over again" though. I don't run from drawing hands and legs or even trying anything new, it's just that when i do, they come out bad most of the time on traditional art, or I always end up getting sucked away into drawing a new piece when I'm drawing digitally.
Motivation isn't an issue for me, but time is. So I just draw whatever it is that I enjoy when I can, and rarely put in the time for fundamentals. There's no doubt that's what holding me back.
Cafe sketching sounds fun, but where I live, casually going to a cafe (especially alone) is really not a thing, and ordering anything from there is pretty expensive, regardless of which cafe I visit. I can try emulating the experience though, pretty sure videos and images of cafes are all over the internet.
Great advice!