Art Stark
I'm here.
I'm here at Proko so I can eventually focus on 'what' to draw and not on 'how' to draw.
Art Stark
8d
Blue Sketchbook p. 59: Faces
Being busy is unfortunately just a poor excuse.
There are no less or more busy people.
Everyone has 24 hours a day.
We all have to work, study, rest, sleep and do other things.
The common good we all have, before we die, is time and all what we can do is to manage it so that we are at least happy or satisfied.
I would not need an external or special alarm for such an activity. From what you have said it seems to me that this is far too much to take on at one time.
Reflect, prioritise what you are doing. But be also gentle with yourself and do not worry too much. The time will come and you will study this subject as you wish or imagine.
Personally I have found time at night, usually before going to sleep. Instead of mindlessly watching something on the media available today, I would just take a piece of paper, a pencil and a reference and start, going back to that idea from the past that I had also given up on for a long time. I was and am aware that this would not lead to anything recognisable and I did it to myself, occasionally posting my work here and there looking for some feedback and receiving very little or nothing. But that does not bother me and I just try to carry on.
An hour or half an hour or 15 minutes a day is really not too much for our "busy" lives. You just sacrifice less important things, and when it becomes a habit then you are on the right track and everything becomes easier.
No offence, but if you find what I have said offensive, I apologise. Keep studying and progressing. I wish you every success.
Art Stark
13d
Wow! Thank You!
To begin with, I am not offended. I am very grateful that you took the time to answer my post.
What you have said rings true with me:
• I do, indeed, think I am taking on too much at one time. I have no idea why I am in such a hurry.
• I have not been very gentle with myself. In fact, the only one who has been offensive to me lately is myself!
• "Instead of mindlessly watching something on the media available today…" At night I have found myself going down the rabbit hole of news sites and YouTube, which always depresses me.
• "An hour or half an hour or 15 minutes a day…" The tyrant of self-doubt whispering in my mind demands hours a day of serious study before one is allowed to have some fun. I forgot I can just sit down with a pencil for 15 minutes to enjoy drawing. How did I forget this? I'm so silly sometimes.
Again, thank you so much. It's a pleasure to meet you.
— Art
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15d
I literally have 50 alarms for every day and each tells me what to do :DDD It sounds ridicules but it's great, but only if you're actually following them XD
15d
“I literally have 50 alarms for every day…”
Allowing for 8 hours of sleep a night, that would be (50 alarms / 16 hours) = 3 or 4 alarms per hour — so, an alarm every 15 to 20 minutes of your waking life.
That’s impressive, and your daily productivity must be through the roof! While I don’t think I could muster that level of efficiency, I see how a few alarms a day might help to keep me on track more. Your idea is definitely worth considering.
Thank you so much for contributing to this little chat of mine. I appreciate it!
I suppose I should start my day now… maybe even set an alarm or two… or, at least check what time it is. :P
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So… Very… Much! How do you handle it?16d
On the one hand, I'm certainly getting a lot of bang for my buck from the Drawing Basics course. On the other hand, I wish each section of Drawing Basics was its own course. It feels like this is going on forever. It's why I never finished the Anatomy course.
Ideally, I would like to draw and paint everyday, while keeping up my studies of fundamentals a few times a week, while keeping up on Master studies in my free time, while occasionally going outside to sketch, when I'm not doing laundry or chores or work or going to the gym. And that doesn't include the Loomis and Gurney books gathering dust on my shelf. Or allowing for free time to just be. Oh, and sleeping — sleeping is sort of necessary.
Admittedly, these are really great problems to have. So, while the above may seem like complaints, they are more a source of puzzlement. So, how do you handle it?
23d
Asked for help
Level 1: seals-and-sea-lions-02. Building momentum.
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24d
Asked for help
Level 1: seals-and-sea-lions-01. 39 more to go.
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1mo
Asked for help
I think this level 2 part is a bit above my skill level but I gave it a go!
28d
The first sketch really shows some wiggling motion! The second definitely has a happy attitude. And the third sketch with the gal just hanging out on one elbow rocks! Structure where needed, contrast between simple and complex areas, and she looks totally chill! Nice job!!
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1mo
Asked for help
Level 1 - I think I need to add more structure so that they're not just blobs (even though they are...)
28d
Very expressive. I'm finally working on this project and I'm finding it hard to find structure also. Lots of C and S curves, but not many straights. Although, the last two sketches do seem to have structure. The straights are slightly curved, but they seem to be straights none the less. Great job! :)
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2mo
Asked for help
1-Musketeer: Not too bad in the face but mouth too high and the hat is way too wide on both sides. Problem at left cheek bone too... 2-soldier: Not too bad in the face I think. Nose is wrong, and again the hat is skewed. 3-girl: Mouth should be higher and to the left. Ear and neck on right side way too far towards the edge.
I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to make the drawing a mask like Proko does in the vids! I can't just drag or copy+paste the drawing onto the red layer as he does...! Frustrating but I just set the layer to 'Divide' on top of the reference and that worked well enough to check the measurements...
2mo
Asked for help
I feel like I could stay in this task for ever! Easy to get obsessed by trying to simplify shapes. I noticed that one challenge is to simplify and yet another is to make the character cute and cartoony (like Proko manages to do...) My portraits often ended up creepy or downright scary...! In any case it's been fun to practice seeing and drawing shapes.
2mo
Wow! You've been busy! The stretch & squish of shapes in arriving at so many possibilities is great! And still getting loads of expressions while keeping it simple. These look like the beginnings of fun character designs.
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3mo
Asked for help
Simple Shape Proko Portraits #3: The Rooster
3mo
Asked for help
Simple Shape Proko Portraits #2: The Hippo — Preliminary sketches included.
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3mo
Gutsy work! I get dizzy just 'thinking' about drawing from this one. I would need loads of light guidelines all over the place. Anyway, I'm impressed… and can't wait for your 'demo video.'
1 of 3 : Safe to say that the proportions are way off in this ink study. Rembrandt has this really unique piece that I fell in love with. I had a lot of fun trying to copy the line work with digital ink brushes.
2 of 3 : Hand holding a crown drawing by Raphael, I felt a little frustrated when I wasn't able to decipher how this simple drawing felt so real and the overlapping lines built the tone that he captured in this (seemingly) simply drawing. But then I remembered he's a master...
3 of 3 : Infant Christ by Raphael in a masterwork drawing book I picked up somewhere. I think this one came out rather well!
These were attempted before watching the demo
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3mo
Asked for help
Master Studies of Loomis, Mignola, and a 1903 Purina ad featuring Old John Graham.
