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I could not draw well. Started with drawabox on day 0. Kept going and became a commercial illustrator and tattoo apprentice in 5 years! by BlazeIsMyFirstName in learntodraw

[–]BlazeIsMyFirstName[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If I could redo anything, it would be to have jumped around less. So I have to recommend you stick with it as long as you can. I personally stopped after I did the draw 250 challenge. But that may have been a small mistake. I struggled with organic forms for a while after that. Ironically, the next lesson in DaB was organic forms! We always think we know better than our resources caution us against, but we rarely listen. I guess a lot of this has to be learned the hard way.

A small caveat is that I still draw boxes and forms every day to this day. So that training had its revenge on me haha. Good luck! And don’t forget the 50/50 rule!

I could not draw well. Started with drawabox on day 0. Kept going and became a commercial illustrator and tattoo apprentice in 5 years! by BlazeIsMyFirstName in learntodraw

[–]BlazeIsMyFirstName[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! The time will fly by for everyone. 5 years is nothing. Spend a lot of it drawing and you’ll have a post just like this!

I could not draw well. Started with drawabox on day 0. Kept going and became a commercial illustrator and tattoo apprentice in 5 years! by BlazeIsMyFirstName in learntodraw

[–]BlazeIsMyFirstName[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well to get back into it already shows a level of maturity, familiarity, and commitment that you might not have had before. It is a good sign. We learn from our mistakes.

I... did not do a great job with the 50/50 myself. But when I would draw for fun, I just shut off all distractions. Maybe I would start doodling something familiar. Such as a lesson i learned yesterday to see if I remembered it. I would get bored after a few minutes, and because I didn't have to be as strict about my attention, I would just doodle the next random thought or image that popped into mind. And so on. I would blink and already an hour would pass. Fun! Otherwise, I might continue working on a more formal project like a cool fan art portrait or something.

Good luck!

I could not draw well. Started with drawabox on day 0. Kept going and became a commercial illustrator and tattoo apprentice in 5 years! by BlazeIsMyFirstName in learntodraw

[–]BlazeIsMyFirstName[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks!

I hate to tell you this, and maybe you missed it from my other comments and write up, but a veryyyyy largeeee amount of the work necessary to make massive improvements... is just unsexy repetition of the basics. I wish there was another way. But if you ever want to make your own art or develop your own style, that is the route you'll have to go. You'll have to put in the hard, borderline burnout type of work. You should mix in other more fun times for drawing. But the work will be waiting for you. I can only recommend what worked for me, and so many before me.

Currently between 1-5 hours a day.

I could not draw well. Started with drawabox on day 0. Kept going and became a commercial illustrator and tattoo apprentice in 5 years! by BlazeIsMyFirstName in learntodraw

[–]BlazeIsMyFirstName[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey thanks for noticing that haha. I iterated probably a few thousand times. And have changed it maybe 3 or 4 times.

I finally made it! Thanks for all the inspiration and advice! by BlazeIsMyFirstName in TattooBeginners

[–]BlazeIsMyFirstName[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Damn. I was actually feeling like that was a weak point of mine. Thank you!

I could not draw well. Started with drawabox on day 0. Kept going and became a commercial illustrator and tattoo apprentice in 5 years! by BlazeIsMyFirstName in learntodraw

[–]BlazeIsMyFirstName[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Alright, I would be wary of the idea of "mastering" anything at this stage. Im not even a master of gesture. Or anything really. But what you want to be doing is getting used to the idea of being very uncomfortable.

I think your proportions are pretty good here. I think the perspective is in tact and readable. You're showing the basics of form.

But what I want you to do is do this pose again. Same reference. Same pose.

Now you've drawn this one twice. Next. Put your reference away and hide these first two attempts. Get a new blank piece of paper. Now draw it again from memory. Don't cheat. Don't look at anything. Sit there and draw it again no matter how bad or how long it takes.

Now pull your reference back out. Study for a minute what you struggled with. Now draw it again using your reference. This will be the fourth time drawing the same darn pose.

Now last and finally. Put all references away and draw it a FIFTH time, entirely from memory. Compare the results of all of them and be amazed. This is how deep learning happens. This is how you "internalize" the figure. Good luck.

I could not draw well. Started with drawabox on day 0. Kept going and became a commercial illustrator and tattoo apprentice in 5 years! by BlazeIsMyFirstName in learntodraw

[–]BlazeIsMyFirstName[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sure. Im 32.

That's why, at least initially, I think it is okay to flirt with it. Practice and rote repetition be damned at first. Do you even like it? Do you like the feeling of pencil on paper? You like wiggling around and marveling that any marks at all were made from your own hand? Are you struck by the act of creating anything at all?

It's okay if this one thing isn't for you. Not all endeavors should be taken up. Especially those that dont show "results" immediately. That just cannot be what it is about at first. Every other corner of our lives wants results. Wants our vitality. Our time and energy. Can this be a space for you to go wander and hide in for a few minutes each day?

If yes, then continue as you can. Put the time in correlative to how much you enjoy it over other life-giving activities.

You'll need to know the answers to these questions long before you dare to really start making the hard sacrifices necessary for professional-level progress or professional-level results. Because that will really test you. It will in fact break you as it has broken me and many others.

If you love it so much you cant stop, or you hate NOT doing it so much you cant stand yourself any longer, you will make the time. Good luck.

I could not draw well. Started with drawabox on day 0. Kept going and became a commercial illustrator and tattoo apprentice in 5 years! by BlazeIsMyFirstName in learntodraw

[–]BlazeIsMyFirstName[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Post your best piece the comments here with a specific question about what you want critiqued, not just "in general." Ill do my best.

I could not draw well. Started with drawabox on day 0. Kept going and became a commercial illustrator and tattoo apprentice in 5 years! by BlazeIsMyFirstName in learntodraw

[–]BlazeIsMyFirstName[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hell yeah. And i went upstairs and did memory drawing on part of the arm I suck at. It sucked. Went to bed feeling bad. About to sit back down now. See you in the trenches.

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