hey, yeah, It was more responsive a few months ago, but it isnt as responsive. It's hard to find a proper art community. I understand how you feel.

Hi, thanks so much, I was away for months because I had a really tough project. I really appreciate what you are saying. There is people helping me and supporting me, and people that really know their stuff giving me feedback, but I gave the wrong people my attention. I do have a very wounded ego because of my school and for reasons I don't feel like I deserve or can control, but I do know that I can keep learning, getting better and see my achievements. Thanks a lot

Thanks, yeah, we all have our own experiences, but I feel like some feelings are kept inside and theres a need to vent them. I'm really happy that you haven’t given up on art, it's my passion as well, every little project i get to work on really makes me happy. I have learned that sometimes a break is necessary, do I've learned that to not get frustrated theres a need for a schedule. I usually get more frustrated with what other people say. But everyone has something to work on which in my case would be not to let other people affect me. I also appreciate that you took the time to read my post :)

Thanks a lot, it is very comforting to read this, I know they might answer or might not, it just would be lovely to have some of your idols (if we can call it that) give a response. Even if they dont i dont mind. Im usually very cheerful and positive about this, but from time to time this ocurrences really hit me hard

@Ruth Salmun I'm glad you've trusted to tag me for feedback on such sensitive and relevant issues. I empathize with your frustration and I'm sorry that it feels so tough to get through. But I think it's really great that you've taken the courage to share it, these feelings really need to be vented out. One thing I should let you know is that @Stan Prokopenko is on paternity leave right now (his baby daughter was born like a few weeks ago), so I'd say he might not be able to give a lot of attention to the community again for a least a few months. As for @Marshall Vandruff, he's a really great guy, but I just haven't seen him interact much with anyone in the community here (and believe me, he's been tagged a lot :) ), so my guess is that either he has a lot of work going on or he's probably not getting notifications from Proko's beta site (or both). Anyway, what I mean is that it's possible that they don't reply, and if they don't, it certainly will have nothing to do with not liking your work, because there is several reasons why I believe they WILL like it (I'll get to that in a minute) - but maybe they won't answer just because they won't see your message (who knows how many other notifications Stan will have when he gets back), or perhaps other things will get in the way (these guys are certainly busy all the time, but after all they're only human beings stuck with 24-hour days, physiological need for rest and eat and tons of family issues and adult life chores to handle, just like the rest of us...), so they just might never have a proper moment to sit down and read your post with the attention it deserves - but that does not define the quality of your work AT ALL. And here I quote the wise words of @Teresa Bolen: "I think they would both agree with me that as much as you might like that input, you don’t NEED their input to reach your goals". I hope this doesn't discourage you, but rather the opposite: sets your confidence free to stand on its own a bit more, without having to rely your trust for your art in the feedback of other people. Feedback is definitely helpful and important, especially when it comes from those we look up to, but remember no human is "the owner of truth", so you should never let other people's opinion be your main or only source of validation. This applies to your "idols" just as much as it applies to the ignorant people in your school or wherever. With all that said, I hope Stan and Marshall will be able to reply someday. Let me talk a bit about your work: I think it's really good!! The anatomy studies look accurate, the portrait proportion study looks thorough, and I dare to guess even Scott Robertson himself would be proud of your perspective studies. Your rendering skills are certainly not bad at all as well. You have some outstanding student work here, miss, and it's pretty clear to me that you have built a solid foundation up to now, so I'll quote Teresa again and say: "If you haven’t already, take some time to celebrate your accomplishments. You’ve already slayed some of the biggest dragons." If you allow me some suggestions: 1) Perhaps see if you can find some room for a bit more gesture practice in your study sessions (or if you're already doing it, maybe share them here as well). Gesture is such an important and often overlooked skill. Depending on the professional goals you're aiming for, they might be just as essential as perspective and anatomy. 2) I think you're at the point where you might try to start being more aware of your the linework quality in your sketches. Your perspective studies have pretty clear and decent linework (I mean just the line quality itself, aside from the quality of the forms and 3D construction, which look stunning) - but in the anatomy studies, perhaps the linework could be given just a bit more care. See if you can use some cross-contours, as well as some more line thickness variety. Not that you need to polish your sketches, no way, but just see if you can gear the quality of your lines towards a stronger feeling of flow, clarity and confidence overall. 3) If you haven't yet, maybe you could slowly start to develop your own personal projects? Consider what exactly you want to do with your art skills and just breezily start doing some "self-assigned jobs" on your own, with a lot of experimentation and no pressure to publish. This usually helps you get a clearer glimpse of how to apply the things you've been learning. A few thoughts on things you mentioned: . Personally, it seems to me that the fruitful years of Facebook are in the past - and I dare to guess that's why Stan is working on this "Proko 2.0" project with such an emphasis on community features: so it functions as a social networking tool on its own and Proko won't have to rely on Facebook or other social networks anymore for community interactions. So it's no surprise that you find the Facebook page is not helpful - sorry about that, but since you are here, feel free to rely on this beta site whenever you want to interact with other Proko people - the site is in Beta now, so there's still few of us, but hopefully, when it's officially launched, the whole Proko community will migrate here. . Never, ever, ever forget your health. Back and wrist problems tend to be common among artists, since we put a lot of effort on our wrists and spend a lot of time sitting down (often in bad posture), and these problems tend to get much worse when we neglect the proper care they require. Keep doing your hand exercises, try to make your workspace as ergonomic as possible and, if you can, maybe consult a healthcare professional (a physician, an orthopedist, a physical education consultant...) to guide you through the types of physical exercise you could do to help alleviate body stress and prevent future problems. Many artists have a hard time working out regularly because they're often so dedicated to art, but doing any kind of physical exercise should be a priority in everyone's lives, since our bodies are biologically made to be moved. . Almost 100% of the entertainment art, illustration and design industries worldwide are using digital tools. So, unless you're being criticized for using digital tools by your future boss or the owner of the studio you want to work in, don't listen to it. (Although it never hurts to draw and paint traditionally once in a while as well, at least for fun or exploration - it helps keep our senses heightened). On the other hand, if you're aiming for fine arts and gallery work, maybe talk to other people who have better experience in these niches and see what they recommend. Finally, what I'm sensing underneath all this is that maybe you might be a bit tired or burned out. You seem to be dedicating a lot of time to studying and evolving in your art skills - although that can get you pretty awesome results, don't forget life is more than just work. More and more often, I've been seeing all kinds of students and professionals around me with incredible achievements, but feeling like a mess inside. This fast and demanding society we're living in has no pity on us as individuals, and this seems to be leading more and more people towards anxiety disorders, burnout syndrome, PTSD and depression (which might be good for mental health professionals and for the pharmaceutical industry, but it sure is terrible for us as people). So, whenever possible, try to make some room for leisure, free time, new things, social interactions and having fun. If you'd like, maybe start doing meditation, it's really helpful. Whatever it is, just make sure to fit in some constant and generous breathing space in your daily life. And gently allow yourself to get proper sleep and rest every day, this is how we recover the energy we need to get through pretty much anything. I think this is all I've got for now. :) Sorry it got too long! Hopefully, you might find it helpful in some way. Feel free to reach out whenever needed. Best regards! \o/