I don't know how to describe myself, as a new artist or an old one. I have a BS in Visual Art from SUNY New Paltz, but it was very generalized and more about theory and concept. At the time, I didn't really grasp the basics in my drawing courses and painting classes. I hand more interest in Craft and Theory. My portfolio never coalesced because I just did the assignments. And I didn't really understand that assignments don't equate to portfolio pieces. Although I was inspired by and really enjoyed experiencing museums and galleries, for myself I never felt like I fit into the maker side of gallery aimed fine art, which my school did very well, but I didn't know where that left me. I finished up school while I was growing my family.
So after college, I spent the next ten years keeping house and raising my kids and just being human. I kept sketching, although my style and understanding were stagnant, about the same as my high-school level, and mostly focused on still life— nothing wrong with still life! Or high-schoolers! LOVE them both— I just wasn't growing. I am (mumblemumble) years old. My kids are getting bigger, but caring for them and keeping house and preparing meals is still the primary focus of my every day efforts. To do art, I steal the in between minutes and I stay up way too late.
About 2 years ago I started taking online classes through Paintable.cc, and within months I got very excited about improvements in digital painting. I will continue on with them, but now I am feeling like I also need to improve my sketching, my understanding of forms in space and especially the figure in motion and perspective, and I want to learn to attain that sense of flow and play in my line work.
I want to become an illustrator and possibly also a comics artist (I also love to write).
Like most, I struggle sometimes with motivation, especially when I am trying to grow and run into development walls that I need to climb but make my creative muscles hurt. But the feeling on the other side of the hurdle is addictive. So I'm hoping to make some friends to interact and strive with.
I think you miss an opportunity to show depth in here.The silhouette in the foreground flatten the drawing.There not enought overlapping object.There not much indication of scale of object to help the perspective.There also some strange texture left over that doesn't seem to have any purpose.There also that spike that bug me because it point to a corner never make a triangle point to a corner of the canva.
I would give this a 60 to 75%
I feel nothing in particular looking at this.The skull is really where the money at.Here what i would do scale down the hermit crab and make the skull not as big as the crab but rather play with proportion to make it almost look comical that he carry such a big skull around.I would also make sure that there alot of overlapping element in the background for example some fish rock and aquatic plant.
Heya. Welcome. Starting with lots of responsibility a bit later in life is a much harder balancing act. I know because i have done/am doing it (no kids but carer for elderly parents) Best of luck to you!
My single piece of advice besides being as consistent as you can and enjoying the work is to not wait to do a comic project of your own. Do it now. Don't wait for some magic skills to 'catch up' catch up by doing.
The forum is dead mostly, besides a few sketchbooks so feel free to join the discord. Quicker and better crits usually...though there's a lot of shit talking in the general chat.
(09-17-2018, 08:31 AM)Amit Dutta Wrote: Heya. Welcome. Starting with lots of responsibility a bit later in life is a much harder balancing act. I know because i have done/am doing it (no kids but carer for elderly parents) Best of luck to you!
My single piece of advice besides being as consistent as you can and enjoying the work is to not wait to do a comic project of your own. Do it now. Don't wait for some magic skills to 'catch up' catch up by doing.
The forum is dead mostly, besides a few sketchbooks so feel free to join the discord. Quicker and better crits usually...though there's a lot of shit talking in the general chat.
Props from one caregiver to another. I don't know if you feel the same about it for yourself, but I think my ideas are more relevant because of the time I've taken to care for my family; it's tested me in ways I don't think I would have otherwise bothered to grow in.
Yeah, I wandered over there to the discord and discovered the general chat... The other channels look cool, I will lurk for a bit before I figure out what to do.
As for making a comic, I'm also working on the writing skills I want to have. Because I don't have a specific plan for what story I want to tell, that makes it too vague. (I tried and it was all squishy). I've got a comics mentor/ publisher (who is already publishing a short story I wrote for one of his projects and guiding me through a proposal for my own project) and a writing coach/ partner (a good friend who talks craft with me and calls me on my shit) and a couple writing buddies that will go out and type at coffee shops so we are accountable to do it.
I would love to have for drawing the kind of support I've found for writing and then get the whole kite off the ground!
I completely understand what you mean by learning through doing though. I've taken a couple commissions from friends and I suddenly am driven to figure out very specific things I otherwise wouldn't have known I didn't know. The project teaches me what I don't know and drives me to seek out those skills fast.
I like your skull crab piece - it has nice structure to it and I am a fan of the texturing you have used.
I can definitely relate to juggling family life with art and writing. I struggle with how slowly I make progress but have been looking into how I can savour the journey above the actual destination. I'll let you know how I get on :).
I'm also planning a comic so if you need to chat about making comics, I'm always up for that, just drop me a PM or make a post in this thread here:
(09-16-2018, 02:40 PM)darktiste Wrote: First of all welcome.
Here a quick critic for the last piece
I think you miss an opportunity to show depth in here.The silhouette in the foreground flatten the drawing.There not enought overlapping object.There not much indication of scale of object to help the perspective.There also some strange texture left over that doesn't seem to have any purpose.There also that spike that bug me because it point to a corner never make a triangle point to a corner of the canva.
I would give this a 60 to 75%
I feel nothing in particular looking at this.The skull is really where the money at.Here what i would do scale down the hermit crab and make the skull not as big as the crab but rather play with proportion to make it almost look comical that he carry such a big skull around.I would also make sure that there alot of overlapping element in the background for example some fish rock and aquatic plant.
Thank you for the critique. I will keep these things in mind if I ever rework it, and for future pieces.
Some of the advice would change the focus and mood of the image, however, since I intended this to be more of a portrait of the crab, not a portrait of the skull and not a scene entire. I have not focused on depth or setting any more than I would have for a seated human figure. While I can see how you have docked me "points" for those aspects, I believe you are confusing style and preference for content.
It may have been more comical to have a smaller crab and a larger skull and playful was what I was aiming for, so that could help. I am still learning to toy with such aspects. And you are right about the angle in the corner. That bothered me while I was making it. But I kept it because I gave myself a time limit and I was okay with that weak point on a fun image in exchange for moving on. I wish I had seen it in the planning stage and not the rendering one! The eye will learn.
The texture issue is a funny one. I have gotten vastly different feedback on it. When I made the image, I provided one with and without the texture artifacts, and there is a 50/50 split of opinion from all of the feedback. I liked them both and felt that it would depend on client preference if this wasn't a personal piece.
I'm sorry, most of all, that you feel nothing looking at it. Although it's no masterwork, it makes me happy when I see it, and I meant it as a cute greeting image for a smile at a little irony.
Thank you for taking the time to respond. I love getting feedback and improving! ~n<3
(09-17-2018, 08:31 AM)Amit Dutta Wrote: Heya. Welcome. Starting with lots of responsibility a bit later in life is a much harder balancing act. I know because i have done/am doing it (no kids but carer for elderly parents) Best of luck to you!
My single piece of advice besides being as consistent as you can and enjoying the work is to not wait to do a comic project of your own. Do it now. Don't wait for some magic skills to 'catch up' catch up by doing.
The forum is dead mostly, besides a few sketchbooks so feel free to join the discord. Quicker and better crits usually...though there's a lot of shit talking in the general chat.
Props from one caregiver to another. I don't know if you feel the same about it for yourself, but I think my ideas are more relevant because of the time I've taken to care for my family; it's tested me in ways I don't think I would have otherwise bothered to grow in.
Yeah, I wandered over there to the discord and discovered the general chat... The other channels look cool, I will lurk for a bit before I figure out what to do.
As for making a comic, I'm also working on the writing skills I want to have. Because I don't have a specific plan for what story I want to tell, that makes it too vague. (I tried and it was all squishy). I've got a comics mentor/ publisher (who is already publishing a short story I wrote for one of his projects and guiding me through a proposal for my own project) and a writing coach/ partner (a good friend who talks craft with me and calls me on my shit) and a couple writing buddies that will go out and type at coffee shops so we are accountable to do it.
I would love to have for drawing the kind of support I've found for writing and then get the whole kite off the ground!
I completely understand what you mean by learning through doing though. I've taken a couple commissions from friends and I suddenly am driven to figure out very specific things I otherwise wouldn't have known I didn't know. The project teaches me what I don't know and drives me to seek out those skills fast.
Thanks for responding! Very encouraging. ~n<3
Ha! I just looked you up and realized I've been subscribed to you on Youtube for quite some time! Thanks for making your videos.
(09-18-2018, 07:34 AM)Artloader Wrote: Welcome to Crimson Daggers Nikki :).
I like your skull crab piece - it has nice structure to it and I am a fan of the texturing you have used.
I can definitely relate to juggling family life with art and writing. I struggle with how slowly I make progress but have been looking into how I can savour the journey above the actual destination. I'll let you know how I get on :).
I'm also planning a comic so if you need to chat about making comics, I'm always up for that, just drop me a PM or make a post in this thread here:
Anyway good luck with your journey and welcome again :).
Totally! It's about savoring the journey. It gets a little frustrating to see others jetting ahead, but I have learned to respect my own pace, as long as I'm making progress or at least enjoying a few scribbles between tasks. I would love to talk about comics. I don't have a lot of the "grew up reading all the comics" personal background; the interest only grabbed me a few years ago while reading Holly Black's "Good Neighbors" series and following a few web comics, so I have a lot to learn!
Thanks again for the greeting. I found you on Discord and sent a friend request ~n<3
Heh, I really need to make more videos, been ages! Thanks for subbing :)
Wrt family 'obligations' I agree totally. I've definitely learned a crap ton about myself and trying to hone some uber patience, and to try and fully accept others for what they are; it's a work in progress. And yeah it can even be inspiring creatively, I have an idea for a comic strip myself called Dementia Dad or some thing like that based on my experiences.
Doing all this stuff while arting is certainly not easy but as long as you don't add extra pressure to yourself I think it can be a nice release!
