I whinge a lot about not drawing enough, or not being a good enough artist, so I’ve decided I’m going to revive an old project of mine that never went very far, 1000 Drawings. My original idea–which also fell by the wayside quite rapidly–was that what I needed to do in order to actually become any good at art is just keep drawing the same damned thing until I got it, and then move on to another piece. (This icon is one of maybe 3 pieces I actually did that with.) I figured once I’d done a thousand drawings, I’d probably have a fair handle on what I was doing. (I am not clear on whether this meant 1000 finished pieces or 1000 rough pieces. It probably ought to mean 1000 finished pieces, which would make God Alone Knows How Many Roughs. Possibly it also means I should do a second gallery for the finished stuff. I’ll have to do that later. When there’s more than one piece to showcase.)
Um. I’m not sure there’s much point to this posting beyond announcing I’m going to give this another whirl. Well, there are some points. One is that I should probably try drawing in pencil instead of ink, because it’s harder to correct mistakes and get it right the first time if you can’t erase. I wonder if I can find my pencil box. Hm.
Another is I’m not necessarily looking for critique or commentary, though of course if people feel like it, y’know, go ahead. But I basically know what my weaknesses are as an artist, and I can generally see the problem when I look at a piece. I don’t necessarily know how to *fix* it, but that’s the whole point here, is to practice and learn. I’ll probably put my own comments about the sketches into the comments on the gallery.
Lastly, anybody who wants to is welcome to join me. :) Oh, and tonight’s drawing is here. That’s all. :)
Dave Sim, of Cerebus fame, also came up with something like this at some point. I probably don’t remember it precisely, but the story went something like this:
Dave often got asked at conventions how people could learn to draw as well as he could. He suggested getting a huge stack of blank paper, a few feet tall. Draw something on each page. When you’re done, you’ll know how to draw.
I’ll a join you, and claim my flowers (<-- see Icon) as my first drawing. oh and #1 Who ever told you your not a good artist needs to be hit about the head with a large plank. #2 If you could get everything perfect first time then you couldn't possibly be Human.
This is what I like about drawing–even if you haven’t done it in a while, your skills grow while you’re away. I think it has something to do with the fact that you’re always looking, observing, etc.
Here’s a tip: When you’re reasonably happy with a piece and you’re at the point where you may start screwing up any minute, scan it, open it up in a paint program, and go to town. Paint programs offer blurring and layers, and you don’t have to mess up the original piece.
OR, what I do when it comes time to color since I’m not that good at coloring in my drawrings, is make a copy of the drawing, and color over it. That way, you can add detail to the copy and if you mess up, go back to the original. Some may say it’s cheating, but what’s the freakin’ technology for anyway?
Oh, and good FREE program, comparable to Photoshop (as far as tools an amateur needs) is Paint.NET . I use it to make all my graphics. Also, GIMP is good, but a little harder to figure out. Paint.NET is designed for newbies to be able to figure things out quickly.
Okay, off to comment on the drawring! :D I’m glad that you’re starting to draw again. All good art is, is pratice and interest. Everyone has talent, it’s about developing it.
Oh, for goodness sakes. :) Nobody told me I’m not a good artist. I’m a perfectly competent artist. I am nowhere near the calibre of artist I would like to be. My criteria are perhaps a little high, but I’m the one setting them, so really, it’s ok, I don’t need to be reassured. :)
Also, yay for joining me! If you’d like a gallery, lemme know.