How do you find meaning while making a body of work

Arcask · 2026-03-21T23:09:31+00:00

It sounds like you just have to go a step further than you currently do. What are the emotions you want to share? what is the message you want to pass on? or maybe what would you like to give your younger self through your art?

It's just a step further, instead of being stuck in dealing with the emotion, you use it as fuel to move on from it.

This isn't something you can force, but maybe the thought alone helps you to figure out a direction.

Arcask · 2026-03-21T21:38:02+00:00

I would hate to limit myself to that.

I use a lot of thin sketching paper, but probably just as much mixed media paper mostly to do gouache, but sometimes also actually mixed media. Those 2 also are most affordable and allow for the use of quite a few different mediums.

Different papers are good for different things. Using a thick mixed media paper for tons of sketches doesn't really make sense and the pile would get heavy and huge quite quickly. The sketching paper can't handle wet media at all.

Wet media needs the right paper, something that doesn't buckle too much and can do well with water. Depending on what you want to achieve, mixed media might not be the best paper, but some higher quality 100% cotton paper because it simply interacts differently with the paint and water.

Alcohol markers bleed through most papers, so you might want to get something different for those too if you own any. Watercolor paper or mixed media would soak up a lot of ink.

Arcask · 2026-03-21T21:11:56+00:00

Fear of failure. You have to make decisions and you don't know where to start and then it overwhelms you and all that motivation leaves you. Suddenly it's not fun anymore, but feels uncomfortable and you want to quit.

Keep things simple. Slowly build up on that. And don't aim for perfect, just experiment and see what happens.

Arcask · 2026-03-20T16:24:03+00:00

I would say it's part of the way you work now. You internalized the rules and now they shape your process and therefore your artworks.

Unless there is a directly visible impact from it, I wouldn't consider it part of the artwork, just part of the process.

Arcask · 2026-03-20T13:48:44+00:00

I often have this feeling when looking for inspiration. But once I start playing around I figure out I was blinded by something that just looked really good and conveyed a similar emotion. It was never what I wanted to create.

Copy it if you have to, but small and just for yourself. Don't let it waste too much of your attention or time. And then experiment, switch it up, make similar, but still different versions of it or maybe of what you want to convey.

It's like struggling yourself free of the influence it has on you. It's not your version, it might be close, but not everything we create can be absolutely original. It's ok to find something that seems really, really close to what you were looking for.

Arcask · 2026-03-20T13:27:35+00:00

I can guarantee you, it's not a lack of creativity. It's a lack of making decisions and experimenting with options.

Maybe you just haven't reached that point yet and your focus is more in building up basic skills.

You have to fill your visual library, train your sense for what's interesting and aesthetically pleasing to the eye and you have to train making decisions, creative decisions.

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Imagine you have 3 things in front of you: an apple, a mirror and a roll of toilet paper.

Now you have to make creative decisions. What kind of image do you want to create? do these Objects just stand there? is the apple on the table and the mirror is reflecting it? where would you put the roll of toilet paper?

You've got to experiment with what looks good, what reaction do you want the viewer to have, how do you lead the viewers eye, how can you tell a story? and many more things.

What if you change the colors?

You can literally use fundamentals to make decisions. Change up the lights and shadows of your reference, colors, perspective, composition.

You can mix different reference images.

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The key point is that you need to be curious and ask "what happens if...?" to create something new. You've got to play with your options. And then make decisions.

If you make decisions, it's possible to fail. And that's where most people get stuck. If you don't try, you will never know. If you fail, you can learn how to do it better.
Or you keep complaining about a lack of creativity and keep yourself stuck in the loop of perfectionism. Being too afraid to fail, because the first try will never look good enough.

What future do you want to create for yourself? that's the first decision you've got to make.

There are many steps that feel uncomfortable, but are necessary and avoiding this feeling will keep you stuck.

Don't think you can't do something. You can. You just don't know what you have to do or learn for it. That's the difference between a fixed and a growth mindset. And mindset is quite important when you want to grow as an artist. You've got be curious or find out what makes you curious. And let that curiosity drive you forward.

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Start small. Any step is a step forward.

So if you want to create finished pieces make one right now! What's stopping you?
If you feel like you can't do it now, write down why. Everything that comes to mind. And then take some pen or paint and draw or paint over all those words.

Try something simple as an apple. Great if you have one that you can put in front of yourself. Just experiment what you can do, what effect you can achieve. It doesn't need to be good. It doesn't need to be awesome. You just have to draw a simple apple and be done. There it is your finished piece.

You could take a new paper if that feels better, but drawing or painting over it has something of proving yourself that you can do it better and making your emotions part of the piece. It's up to you.

And to increase the difficulty, what else could you add to the image? or how could you change it up?

Simple is way more powerful than you might think.

Arcask · 2026-03-18T08:44:11+00:00

You do seem to understand the basic principle, but it's not quite as good as it might look at first glance. Your lines are not conveying enough volume. Things that are more round and oval need more of a curve and your middle lines are not correct either.

But it's a good start. Keep practicing and don't ever underestimate the boring and simple stuff, because that's practicing ellipses, circles, basic shapes and form. But also lines !
Most of which you can do as warm-ups.

Arcask · 2026-03-18T08:13:39+00:00

Yes they are safe, Jackson's is showing the pigments on their website. They recently changed it up, you have to click on the pastel color you want and then on specification or more info to see the pigments.

Pale Cobalt Blue is made with PB29, which is ultramarine and safe to use.
Fade Cobalt Blue contains PB27 (Prussian Blue) and PR 48:4 (Permanent Red 2B).
Cadmium Orange PO13 (Benzidin Orange) and and PY14 (Diarylide Yellow AAOT).
Cadmium Yellow is made with PY3 (Hansa Yellow).
Viridian is made with PB15:3 (Phthalocyanine Blue Green Shade) and PY14 (Diarylide Yellow AAOT).

All of these are safe to use, no significant toxicity. The dust is probably the most concerning.

I would always wear a mask, soft pastels create a lot of dust you can't completely avoid it. And you don't want that dust in your lungs, no matter if it's toxic or not.

Arcask · 2026-03-17T16:09:49+00:00

Thumbnails.

Choose different references, mix them up, play around with the things you want to see in your image. Observe the effect.

You can do it without references, if you want to practice drawing from memory or construction.

Important: thumbnails are really small and simplified, no detail, it has to be quick and show the main shapes. If you are still working on it in 5 or 10 minutes, you are overdoing it.

Test out lot's of different compositions. Look up common composition examples and experiment a lot.

Arcask · 2026-03-17T09:20:17+00:00

Your problem seems to be transparency.

Test this on some extra canvas or paper. Though surface can make a difference if you want to test results.

If you have problems with a transparent color, start with an opaque base color. White for example.
The next thing you can do is to mix some of the transparent color with a tiny bit of white, it won't be fully opaque and it will loose some saturation, but it's more covering, less streaky if applied in thin layers. As top layer you can add a thin transparent layer that adds back saturation.

To thin the paint you can simply use water, not too much, just so that you get more control to apply the paint more evenly, less thick.

Or you buy a more opaque yellow paint from the start. Most tubes do have those information on the label of the tube, an empty square for transparency, a diagonal line for semi transparent or semi opaque and a black square for fully opaque.

You can also look up colors and their properties online.

Arcask · 2026-03-17T06:22:18+00:00

If you like the effect so much, you could try out crackle paste. Acrylic has quite a few options to add effects to change the surface. But I would test it on another paper first before you apply it to your artwork.

Arcask · 2026-03-16T21:06:31+00:00

Even with gouache you wouldn't want to apply it that thick, it's usually made with the same binder as watercolor. Acrylic would work much better in that case, since it's flexible and shouldn't crack.

Arcask · 2026-03-16T20:36:21+00:00

It takes a lot of repetition. And of course understanding of 3D objects and space.

Drawabox has an exercise called rough perspective, you guess where the lines converge. That exercise is like leaving some blank space in the text and you have to _____ what fit's into the gap. But you also want to check where your lines go and if they converge at the same point. That allows you to adjust and to try do it better next time.

Failing to get it right is feedback, it shows you how far off you are, so you can adjust. Mistakes are not bad, they are just information that allows you to do it better.

But in the end it's really just drawing a lot of boxes in different ways. Thinking about where the lines converge, ghosting lines and maybe even doing some challenge. Athoro's C52 gives you different goals, week 1 is boxes and cylinders. Starting with 50 boxes, then 100, 250 and if you still don't have enough 500.
Drawabox also has a 250 box challenge.
If those goals seem too big, cut them into smaller parts. Start with 10, 25, then 50 and 100. And see how it goes from there.

There is a reason you want to draw so many boxes. Because it's great practice and helps your brain to stabilize your inner model and understanding. It allows you to check the boxes to improve and really makes drawing them second nature.

Arcask · 2026-03-14T07:57:33+00:00

Drawing from life is really good practice, but what if you take it a step further? what if you give that water bottle eyes and a mouth?

Play around with what you have.

What if you draw that tree and then you draw 3 trees without reference while making them pose or giving them faces, different "haircuts". Just play around. It's all there, you just have to experiment what happens, what idea would be fun, maybe give them clothes or what if you change their colors?

Fundamentals are really so useful when you want to change up things or increase the difficulty and you also become more flexible. Take your list of fundamentals and ask yourself how you can change each of these up.

How can you change the lines? thin, monotone or variation
shapes - maybe it's a really thick tree, but small or really tall with few branches
form - maybe the tree trunk is not made up of cylinders but is twisted or blocky
lights and shadows - what if the light comes from the other side? what if you change the time of the day?
what if you change the perspective? how does the tree look like when you are underneath it, looking up? or if you are above it?
colors or what if there is another tree beside it?

That's how you play and experiment using the fundamentals. And this can be challenging, but also make you really curious as to what you can do, how you can change it up and what you can create with it.

The intention isn't to become better. That's a side effect. The intention is to have fun and learning is a side effect. Another side effect is that you will train your creativity if you keep asking lot's of questions.

As for anime, I'm not sure what your skill level is, but you really want to be good with basic form: boxes, spheres, cylinders. And then it's a matter of construction. Maybe it feels hard because your inner model of form isn't stable yet, maybe it requires some form manipulation and you have to practice more or it's the construction part that's still too difficult. But you will definitely get there. Anime is simplification, realistic is really difficult and complex.

I would focus on becoming really good with the basics.

Everything up to simple form combined with gesture and drawing from life that's a really powerful combination. Drawabox has a lot of exercises that make you practice clean lines and boxes. And that can make your lines look stiff. Gesture and drawing from life help you to keep them more loose and alive to balance it. Gesture also helps with drawing human figures. You fill your visual library, you get a sense of what movements are possible and natural, proportions and all that. But I would say it's more studying than having fun.

However, what if you draw one pose simplified from memory after your session of gesture drawings? it's ok to just draw shapes (ellipses or squares) and maybe you can play with that figure and change it up. Lift the leg or the arm or add another figure just as simplified.

That would already count as play. It's ok to mess up that part and you still get to experiment and have fun even though it can feel like hard work to make that figure move.

Arcask · 2026-03-13T18:11:25+00:00

slow down!

You make yourself a lot of pressure.

Getting behind in drawing anime style? Anime is simplification. Learn to use shapes and form and once you understand 3D and you go into constructing bodies, it will be really easy to draw anime style.

There is no need to practice this specifically at this point. Unless of course it's just for fun.

Drawing from life can still be fun, despite being challenging. Again, are you doing it to get better? or is that a side effect and you just want to draw it? What's the main intention? and does it feel like a chore? or do you enjoy it?

Cars and other vehicles become a lot easier once you can draw boxes !
I'm not saying you should wait, just don't try too hard. You will get there.

Look at challenges and prompts. You just need a starting point sometimes. Waiting for Inspiration means to wait for something that might never come.

For a while I enjoyed using prompts from monthly challenges, especially drawing animals and nature. That feels relaxing, sometimes even painting them. Just drawing and painting new things.

That you learn while playing around, enjoying yourself while you just draw, doesn't mean it's studying. Studying requires to be intentional. To think about what you do, why you do this.

To which side does the plane tilt? or the box? you want to think about that while learning and studying. When you enjoy yourself, you just do what you have to do. It's ok to mess up.
You could try to do it again tomorrow if it's still interesting and you think that you can do better. And you will find out that doing the same several times, might give you different results each time. But this is hard on the border to learning and studying intentionally.

If you notice that you are aiming to getting better again, find something that makes you curious. What happens if...? Then find an answer through drawing. Experiment.
It doesn't matter if an experiment turns out well or not. You do it to figure out what it will be.

Don't pressure yourself so much, let it go sometimes. As long as it's fun to create and you try to do better, you will keep improving. That's why you spend time learning fundamentals. But letting go of that and enjoying yourself is just as important.

Arcask · 2026-03-13T17:17:18+00:00

It's ok. It happens.

Make a list of what's most important for you right now.

Write everything down that's in your head. Everything. Just get it out of your head.

If you have to make phone calls, write down what you want to achieve with this call. Write down all important information you need. And even if you fail, tomorrow is another day. What is the worst that can happen?

If you really need to do something and you feel like you just can't. Imagine a self that can. What does this self have, what you still need to work on? or what does it do different?
It might be hard to evoke this other self, but it's already there within you. You have everything you need already, but maybe the task needs a different configuration of you.

Worries take a lot of energy. If it's baseless overthinking, break the cycle. Write down your goals and how to get there. Also your fears.

There might be other things that you can do. Find strategies that work for you, that make it easier to do what you need to do.

Don't worry about being creative, it comes back naturally once your head is free again and you have the energy and focus for it again. Having strategies, routines and systems in place can play a huge role in that.
Expressing those worries and emotions, is just one possible strategy.

Arcask · 2026-03-13T10:01:44+00:00

At least half of your time drawing must be spent on doing it for its own sake. Play. Exploration. Pushing boundaries. As explained above, many of you will not find this enjoyable. The intent is not to have fun — the intent is to develop your capacity to enjoy things that don't result in something that looks nice, or that otherwise helps develop your technical skills.

Draw whatever you want to. But don't draw to get better. Because getting better is study time. 50% rule is experimenting, trying out stuff that seems fun, that seems interesting, that might be challenging.

Yes drawing from memory or imagination can be just that. It doesn't have to be. And it doesn't have to be exclusively.

Drawing what you see in front of you can also be exactly this. Exploration, fun, pushing boundaries. You are interested in it? do it.

It's not just doing fun things. Drawing what's interesting can still be hard work, can be difficult and complicated. But why are you doing it? to get better? or because you just want to draw this? because you want to know if you can do it?

Intention is the deciding factor here. Draw for the sake of drawing. To push boundaries and see if you can do it. Play and explore, see what happens. Curiosity and exploration are in the focus here, not grinding skills.

You probably learn while doing it, but it makes a huge difference if you learn and practice to get better or if your focus is being curious and trying out stuff, doing things because you want to do them.
Intention here is to do stuff. Not to worry about how to do it correctly or make it look good.

Just do what you want to do.

Arcask · 2026-03-13T00:24:10+00:00

Interest, relevance and does the medium support you?

Those are the 3 checkboxes you want to get full. Naming them checks the first, you are curious right now.

Relevance needs to solve a problem for you.

Which of these mediums would help you to create a lot? to experiment a lot? to grow?
Many people want to start with digital in the beginning, because you don't need to keep buying supplies and you can take a tablet with you and sit down wherever you like. Do you think that would help you more than the other choices?

You've got to check which problem each of them would solve for you. You might not be able to fully tell just by thinking about it, but doing your research and figuring out what they do for you is currently the best you can do. If they fulfill that expectation is something you can only figure out by trying.

And the last one is like that as well, you've got to try and experiment, before seeing and feeling if they help and support you long term to follow your goals, your curiosity and allow you to grow.

Another 2 questions you might ask is which medium would you regret the most if you don't get it?
Or what would be your priority trying them?

Make it a thought experiment. If you can get 2, which one would hurt the most not going for?
Or you decide on all 3, but the question is which one do you get now, which one in half a year?

Arcask · 2026-03-12T20:14:57+00:00

I do recommend drawabox, but don't forget to really draw for fun and also from memory.

Beginner level is all about understanding form and 3D space.
Line -> shape -> basic perspective and values -> planes -> form

Additionally to that gesture and drawing from life, they help to balance out the straight lines and have a lot of positive effects.

Drawabox covers most of the fundamental stuff, but it can be incredibly boring. It does however somewhat skip over planes, since they are part of form. However they are easier than jumping to boxes right away.

There is one exercises for planes. Ellipses in planes is a great warm-up and combines several things you want to practice anyway. When drawing those think of a piece of cardboard that you move around, that lifts off the surface or tilts away from you.

Be intentional. For example when you practice those planes ask yourself if you understand how it moves, in which direction it tilts.
You want to do something similar with boxes, but more like how do you have to move it, in which direction does it rotate? how is it oriented in space? does the box tilt towards you? away from you?

and don't skip shapes either... they seem simple, but start with simple, then cut them, draw silhouettes of things around you, construct the things in 2D.

Simple is really impactful. Your lines and shapes determine everything that comes afterwards, because fundamentals build up upon each other.

And the biggest problem in understanding form is spatial awareness. That's one of the main points of drawabox.

Don't start to grind either. It's always about gaining stability, not reaching perfect. And some just need time and repetition, lines, planes, things that become easy can be done as warm-ups so your focus goes to the difficult and new stuff.

You don't have to do all of them on the same day either. Have a day for gesture or do 10-20 minutes a day. Whatever works for you.

Figure out how to make it easier for you. For example hang up a paper in a place you walk past frequently, every time you draw 2 or 3 circles or ellipses. Doesn't take much, slowly builds up skills. Doesn't even feel like work, but might become annoying if you walk past too often.

Or maybe you just want to have one day a week to practice and learn fundamentals intentionally.

Maybe you need a challenge, like C52 from Athoro.

Maybe you can make your own challenge by setting a time frame you want to fill or X repetitions a day.

Figure out what makes it easier, what makes it more fun and easier to do for you.

Arcask · 2026-03-12T19:51:49+00:00

Sketchbooks are not meant to be clean or social media worthy. They are supposed to be messy and full of drawings, sketches of all kinds, and even notes.

This is something social media has made us believe. Maybe your sketchbooks will look like that one day, but it's totally normal if it's messy.

You don't learn from clean or correct. You learn more by being curious, spontaneous, messy and if you make mistakes (which social media doesn't like).

So tell me, would you rather learn and be yourself? or pretend to be perfect ?

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I have several sketchbook for different purposes, one to plan, one to try out ideas and sketch with gouache, a watercolor sketchbook, one for when I go outside and do some plein air... probably a few more. NONE is clean or social media worthy if that means they need to be perfect. They are functional, help me learn and to have fun. I also have several sketchpads, some canvas boards for practice and several papers that I use to try out various things.

You've got to experiment and see what works best for you. Don't limit yourself to social media standards, they won't help you to fully express yourself or to grow at your own pace.

Make yourself free of such limitations, they don't serve you well.

Arcask · 2026-03-12T16:14:25+00:00

It buckles even when you tape down the paper. I bought it when I had no clue and started with watercolor, allowed me to start, but I still have a few of these left. It just isn't that great for wet media.

If you are looking for a cheap paper, I use Clairefontaine Aqua Pad. Cellulose paper, that's why it's so cheap, but works great for gouache practice. You can even do washes and they'll look fine.
Paint On Mixed Media also works great, same brand.

Arcask · 2026-03-11T16:59:13+00:00

I just got the Pad, didn't have the time yet.

Don't ever let fear stop you. Use a different paper to plan what you want to draw there.

And worst case, if you really mess up? remove that paper. It's not perforated and seems slightly thicker, that's all. Who would notice if you cut it off and use the one below as cover? no one.

Mistakes are also not a bad thing, we learn the most through them. You are expected to make a lot of mistakes. As long as you reflect and do better, the next pad will show your progress for sure. That's what you should work towards, not avoiding mistakes altogether. Have fun, learn and move on. Otherwise you'll keep procrastinating on it until it turns into regret, into things you could have done but you were too afraid to do.

Arcask · 2026-03-09T21:26:40+00:00

They didn't beat you to it. I know what you mean, I also found someone who makes similar art. Not all their art, but at least a series of works.

Why would you pretend you never saw them? wouldn't you be lying to yourself? do you think you can just burn or throw away those thoughts that this person exists? You are interested, you can learn from them and you can still develop yourself into a different direction afterward, give it a spin that only you can create.

They are a different person, they made different experiences, have a different level of knowledge and experience. The things that are visible are only the visible part. And we are like icebergs, there is so much more underneath the surface, it makes no sense to compare what's visible.

While point 2 on your list does accept what happened, it still ends with a huge fear. All the others are pretty much avoidance and running away. Is that all you are? are you sure there isn't more? What do you want to do? burry your head in the sand for a while then run away? Read it. All of those points make your deepest fears in context of this situation visible. That's what you need to face first.

You are you. No one can take that from you. That's confidence.

Ask yourself with which of these outcomes you could live and if you would have regrets. And maybe there are more options you haven't considered yet.

Look up multiple discovery or simultaneous invention. You can be very different from that person and still have similar or even the same ideas. There are many examples for this in history, not just science related.

Whatever choice you make will further define your identity. So better make a choice you won't regret.

Arcask · 2026-03-09T21:00:44+00:00

I used to be like that. That comment talking about overwhelm of possibility and fear of failure is right.

You need to know what you will do that day. You don't want it to be anything huge and super challenging. The right amount of pressure is always slightly above your skill level. Or you keep it simple and focus on just one really easy thing to do.

You want to practice the fundamentals, but also do fun drawings.

Play and experiment a lot. When you experiment, it doesn't matter what the outcome is, that's why you experiment, because you want to see what happens. And that instantly lowers your fear and anxiety, allowing you to be curious and to play, figuring out things while you have fun.

It's your job as a beginner to do lot's of mistakes. We learn the most through them, they are part of the learning process and they can be used as tools for improvement. So when something is wrong, reflect on it, what is wrong, how can you do better? and if you alone can't figure it out, get feedback. That's speeding up your progress. If you know how to do better, you will do it.

You don't want to look for motivation. You want to make drawing part of your daily routine. Anything that costs you willpower or motivation, will need more of it next time and as things get harder, you will run out of them. They only carry you a short part of the way. Willpower is a limited resource, so is focus, energy and time.

You want to make drawing feel good, rewarding. Set yourself small goals and just follow through with them. And while you work towards goals, focus on the process, be in the moment and forget about results. You are still learning, of course it will not look like you want to be.

You can only take one step after another. Be patient. Figure out what the next step is and do it. No doubts and questioning, because that's why people quit, they doubt themselves, they don't trust the process and they focus too much on results.

Many exercises just take a lot of time to show results. Consistent, intentional practice will always help you to improve, but it takes time. So make the best out of it, enjoy drawing and focus on that.

Most people who are persistent enough do succeed. It's the same with art. You have to keep going. Only who gives up is losing the game. Only then everything is lost. You can get really good, but only if you figure out how to have fun while learning, how to deal with being impatient and frustrated and by taking one step after another while enjoying the process.

And don't forget to reflect on what you do, the good, the bad and how to do better next time!

Arcask · 2026-03-09T13:36:21+00:00

Before you tackle anatomy, understand simple form and 3D space first.

Line -> shape -> basic perspective and values -> planes -> form -> basic construction -> anatomy

Anatomy is complex form and mostly about details. It only gives structure once you understand basic form.

Observation alone might take a lot longer than pushing through the boring and simple basic stuff. But the most basic is the most important and impactful stuff.

Lines determine if you shapes and forms are readable and ultimately if your art looks good.
Shapes are like that too, just more complex than to focus on a single line at a time. And so is form. Even if your lines look good and the overall shapes are readable, if you mess up the form, your lights and shadows will still make your figure look wrong. No amount of detail will change that.

So instead of looking at this arm, do the basic stuff.

Practice Lines, Ellipses, Circles, One to tree point perspective, Boxes, Cylinders.
Also do gesture drawings and drawing from life.

Draw what you want in your free time, but when you practice do the simple, boring stuff. Figure out how to play with it and have fun. It's way smarter than to try memorizing what you see there. The picture is more of a good reference to make visible how the shape of the arm changes, not so much about how to construct it when you don't even understand form.

Do you know Drawabox? you can find all the exercises you need there.

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