Honest - Art School Journey

Hello everyone! I go by Honest, it's very nice to meet you all!

My art journey is probably similar to a few others, depression has been a constant roadblock that's kept me from having the drive to pursue my dreams. I've wanted to draw for years, but it just never clicked. I always felt lost, aimless, and simply unable to figure out what to learn or how to learn it.

I decided enough was enough and wanted to try again, even if it meant stubbornly planting my feet in the ground and declaring I would not give up this time. So I've been bopping around the web, trying various things that never quite gave the structure I think I needed. Which leads to sitting on youtube scouring video after video, looking for an answer.

Which is why I'm here! Marc's videos were informative, I enjoy the art, and it promised a structured approach to learning to draw that was immediately appealing. I look forward to really, for once, trying. Wish me luck, and I hope you all find success too <3

I just signed up, but here's my first pass at 1-point perspective! All of the lines are freehand to try and build up my line confidence, which is why they are a bit uh...lop sided. Clearly I've got work to do!

Oof, been a hectic week so I didn't draw as much as I wanted. Honestly, despite that I've still been reading, watching videos, and picking up the pen more often than before so. Maybe that's how it all starts!

Here's what I have been poking at with Term 1.

Pen control was pretty straightforward! Drawabox helped me establish these basics, though I do notice my lines sometimes tend to bend a little so that requires some practice. Circles will take more time but honestly, getting even as close as I am now is a BIG improvement.

Gesture drawing was really when I felt out of my element, but also taught me a lot. Having to quickly look at and interpret poses without second guessing myself or jamming the undo button was hard, and it's especially clear that I was far too fixated on getting it "right" for awhile before realizing it's a stick figure. The exercise isn't figuring out the exact proportions or making sure it reads well, it's in seeing a pose and breaking it down. Definitely going to work this into my routine for more practice until it looks cleaner.

Gonna do more drawing now, appreciate any feedback you all have, thank you!

TBH I think I was distracted while drawing the bottom middle one by my roommate's big fat cat, haha.

I appreciate it, and honestly hearing that it'll get worked out as I practice is really encouraging. Thank you!

Couple more Term 1 assignments done! I've decided to post my first shot at these as well as my thoughts, and after a few months of practicing them in the background I'll compare my results!

The first picture was a drawover. It was easy enough to do, but to be honest it was a pretty solid introduction into constructing bodies.

Second image is poses based off of references, no tracing. If I were to have a goal in mind with these courses, it's to become a character designer of some sort. Even if it's just making my own creations, I have a wealth of ideas I want to put onto paper. I felt like this exercise was a great way to push me a bit further towards that goal! Looking at it, I'm still very iffy on proportions (Especially the size of limbs compared to the body), anatomy, and foreshortening. But to be fair, prior to this if you asked me to draw a stick figure it'd look pretty off so. This is a fantastic improvement already!

Forcing myself to post this one because I simply did not have an easy time following the instructions for it. (Told myself I would post my first attempts at the homework, regardless of quality) Something about following step by step exactly makes the whole thing fall apart for me. I'll have to re-watch the video a few more times and take several more cracks at this, but at the very least I learned where certain landmarks are on the body so that's a start.

I've learned a lot so far, but still feel very new and kind of lost. For right now, the thing I'm trying to establish is consistency and repetition. The more I regularly practice, and the more things I stick into my practice rotation, the better. Within reason of course, not going to kill my hand over it. But for now, my goal is to peek my head into Term 2, while trying to finish a Term 1 assignment or two a day if possible.