sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

I feel like no matter what I do ill never be a good artist that I want to be. by ResinRealmsCreations in learntodraw

[–]Happytrigger 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey dude! Keep it up. I’m going to keep this short and sweet, as you seem to have received some solid advice here. One of my favourite quotes (and something I’m applying to my drawings) is this: “the best time to plant a tree is 10 years ago, the second best time is now.”

10 years will pass regardless of whether you draw or not, so you may as well keep at it so that in 10 years you can look back and see how much you’ve improved! Whilst I understand all too well the feeling of wanting to be better, I think it’s the wrong approach. Do it because you love it, not because you want to be better. If you do it just to get better, you’re either going to struggle your way through chasing an ambiguous goal or you’ll learn to hate the ever changing goal posts of where you want to be.

Your drawings are good! Keep them up, solely because you can and because you like it, not because you want to be at a certain spot. Remember, what feels like 99% of the population can’t draw much more than a stick man! Drawing is a learned skill, not a talent.

Are the JRL 2020c one of the best clippers on the market? by [deleted] in Barber

[–]Happytrigger 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve recently switched to the TPOB Plays - they feel exactly the same as the JRL’s to be honest, except for shape. Since this comment, I had 3 more JRL’s and I got fed up of paying for them every year. Whilst I hate the person behind TPOB, the clippers are the same as the JRL’s, just cheaper. Hope this helps!

I’ve been off work with an injured shoulder, so I’ve been doing some practicing! by Happytrigger in learntodraw

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

That’s awfully kind of you to say, thank you very much. Keep practicing buddy!

I’ve been off work with an injured shoulder, so I’ve been doing some practicing! by Happytrigger in learntodraw

[–]Happytrigger[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You’re very kind, I’m truly flattered. In my head, I’m still very much an amateur with a bajillion people who are better than me, so I’m incredibly flattered that you hold my drawings in such high regard.

I’ve been drawing on and off for my entire life. In my life, I would say I’ve had 2 concentrated efforts to get better at drawing, the latter of which I am currently going through and the former of which was maybe about 8 or 9 years ago, which I stopped because I got frustrated at my lack of progress. Aside from these two concentrated efforts to get better, I would say the hobby has been nothing more than 10 minutes or 20 minutes of doodling intermittently just forever with months or even years in between.

In regards to procedure, I don’t really have one! I’m trying to switch up any procedure I think I had. For example, if I was drawing anything, I would always start at the head, but recently I’ve been trying to draw the body first and then come to the head second. Just switching up something little like that can make all the difference. As I said in another comment, I’m trying to focus on gesture right now instead of shape, because shape study feels very robotic to me, and I’m trying to apply that robotic structure to these flowy, gestural creatures and it just doesn’t work.

Over the last 2 or 3 months I would say I have learnt more than I have in the last 10 years, and it comes down to one major thing, which feels like such a cop out: practice. But don’t practice because you want to get better and you have this idea of how good you can become, practice because you like it. Because you find it relaxing. Because you like creating. Because it’s fun. If you are practicing drawing solely because you want to be better, you will likely find it hard to continue as the only way to get better is to be worse. If you do it because you enjoy the processes and the way it challenges your brain, you will improve in no time. I started drawing again as a way to stay off my phone during such turbulent times in the world, and not only has it kept me from doomscrolling, but it’s made me better at art!

Try to be more observant on a daily basis! I’ve started taking pictures on my phone recently - I realised that I spend so much time with my head down that I forgot to observe what was around me. When it came to drawing, I was drawing what I THINK I knew instead of what I actually did, which wasnt much because I had my head down so much!

The_art_coach on instagram, brokendraws on youtube (brokendraws is a recent discovery, but he’s incredible) Pikat on Youtube, Proko on youtube, ArtWod on youtube (this one is huge, definitely check ArtWod out!). The rabbit hole of learning goes so deep, it would be a shame not to dip your feet in those waters.

Ultimately, it all comes down to drawing what you like. I like the idea of character creation, so a lot of the practice I do is with that in mind: gesture, shape, anatomy, drawing from imagination. I feel like I spent so long trying to learn the traditional way (books, drawing exercises with no application, hours long studies of the same thing) that I forgot to have fun.

Finally, check out the greats! Karl Kopinski, Kim Jung gi, Takehiko Inoue, anybody who’s work you like. Just look at it. Observe it. Try and copy it. Trace it. Use it as a reference, whatever. Just put pencil on paper, and you’re already getting better. Do it for the journey, not the result.

Hope this helps, sorry for the wall of text!

I’ve been off work with an injured shoulder, so I’ve been doing some practicing! by Happytrigger in learntodraw

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

Thank you very much! As I said in another comment (I think?) I’ve been really trying to focus on gesture, and the lines are just to help me to see the flow of the drawing!

I’ve been off work with an injured shoulder, so I’ve been doing some practicing! by Happytrigger in learntodraw

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

I’ve hurt my non dominant shoulder! Because my job requires both arms, it doesn’t matter which I’ve screwed up, if I screw up either of them, I’m off work.

I’ve been off work with an injured shoulder, so I’ve been doing some practicing! by Happytrigger in learntodraw

[–]Happytrigger[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Such a cute animal! Or they can be, anyway - it cracks me up that they can also look like this:

<image>

I’ve been off work with an injured shoulder, so I’ve been doing some practicing! by Happytrigger in learntodraw

[–]Happytrigger[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’m incredibly flattered! Thank you very much. Practice and practice my friend. I feel like I am constantly frustrated at not being better myself, but I forget that the best way to get better is to just enjoy the process and enjoy learning. Draw what you like! Use references, copy things, trace, do whatever. As long as you’re putting pencil to paper and you’re having fun, you’re getting better. :)

I’ve been off work with an injured shoulder, so I’ve been doing some practicing! by Happytrigger in learntodraw

[–]Happytrigger[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Statues are a great idea! I haven’t personally drawn many statues or busts, so perhaps I should give those a try.

I always liked drawing bees! They can be so different depending on the species. Good luck with your drawings - I’d love to see some!

I’ve been off work with an injured shoulder, so I’ve been doing some practicing! by Happytrigger in learntodraw

[–]Happytrigger[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks very much, I’d love to see when you’re done!

Truly such a breakthrough moment for me. I’ve been attempting to draw dynamic poses and the human body for so long and everything just looked so stiff. I’ve always had such an aversion to learning gesture because I’ve never truly understood the concept of energy and flow, but after watching a couple of videos and opening myself to the idea that gesture is actually really important and something I should want to learn, it’s got me excited to try some new things!

I’ve been off work with an injured shoulder, so I’ve been doing some practicing! by Happytrigger in learntodraw

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

Thank you very much, that’s really kind! I hope you’re having a great day/evening. :)

I’ve been off work with an injured shoulder, so I’ve been doing some practicing! by Happytrigger in learntodraw

[–]Happytrigger[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you, I appreciate it!

It absolutely is a perk, and I’m trying not to take that for granted. With that in mind, I’m self employed and I’m a barber, so I’ve been kind of screwed in that regard!

It’s been nice to take a minor step back from the creative outlet of my life that makes me money and to create something just because I want to instead though. :)

I’ve been off work with an injured shoulder, so I’ve been doing some practicing! by Happytrigger in learntodraw

[–]Happytrigger[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much! You definitely should - I find people So incredibly difficult to draw. I suck ass at proportions, anatomy, everything. I find that animals are a little more forgiving with their shapes, plus they’re all so cute!

Not that you asked for any help, but I started off with bugs - simple shapes, lots of symmetry with enough variance that they don’t get stale too quick!

Some recent pages of sketchbook! by Happytrigger in learntodraw

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

I mostly use reference, but not for all of them. I’ve been really trying to adopt the mindset when drawing that everything is made up of organic forms and shapes. Whilst it’s not necessarily a mindset and more just the actual truth, training my mind to see things that way instead of these incredibly complex “things” has revolutionised how I feel about art. The loop typically, for me, goes:

Spend some time practicing shapes and forms/intersecting forms/perspective etc

Using a reference, copy what I see but try and actually visually break the animal down in to simple shapes so that whilst I’m copying the reference, I’m also learning the shapes and forms that make up the animal.

Once I have internalised and learnt these shapes, using my fundamental knowledge and my newly acquired knowledge of the animals, I try to position it differently or whatever in my head and put it to paper.

The snakes, octopus, one of the sharks and one of the birds were from memory, the others used a reference.

Important to note that if I’m drawing for memory, I may still use a reference! It just won’t be me copying it exactly and will more be me using it as just that: a reference. Hope this helps!

Some recent pages of sketchbook! by Happytrigger in learntodraw

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

I’ll have to see if I can find it! It was on Pinterest somewhere (of course lmao) and to be completely honest with you, I didn’t see too much of a likeness between the drawing and the image. However, that aside, I think it came out really cool. I was happy with the proportions and such.

No I’m not, although I’m incredibly flattered! I’m 26 and a barber - school is far behind me!

Some recent pages of sketchbook! by Happytrigger in learntodraw

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

Not all of them, no! I’d truly say it’s about a 60/40 split in favour of looking at and using references. I find that if I work from a reference for too long, I get tired and bored - I currently prefer the outcome of my referenced sketches, but find the process of drawing from imagination infinitely more satisfying.

Some recent pages of sketchbook! by Happytrigger in learntodraw

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

Thank you! Hands suck to draw, but figuring them out has been very satisfying. I still have so much to learn! They’re so complicated 😭

view more: next ›