Any advice on practice routines? Digital artist here

[paroket]

So I'm a somewhat intermediate digital artist (a few years of non-serious experience) and I'm looking to get a lot more serious about my training, since I want to achieve professional levels of expertise.

Currently I'm working on shape manipulation and structuralization, learning to draw forms in perspective, deconstruct forms into basic shapes, but all of my efforts have felt very... Loose, I think is the word. I feel like my learning is really lacking direction and structure, despite my willingness to put in the time.

Basically, I know what to practice--I just don't know HOW to practice it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[darktiste]

Here a few pillar of self learning

Direction
Priority
Structure
Simple Repetition to Complex Repetition
Feedback

The problem of self learning is that the exercise are not the most common share topic.

The problem you have right now is you have no feedback loop if my assumption are correct you have nothing that scream at you from time to time to ''reassure you that'' there is a ''sense of direction'' and an understading and a mastery of what is practice.

Personally as long as you draw and show what you draw you should not worry right away if how it done is ''wrong'' or not. That leak of direction will show on itself and mostly likely it will be corrected through proper feedback if you have a certain degree of lucky but you can't assume everything will be gold nugget of critism.

Right now how to practice cannot be establish since you don't show anything or stated any priority or direction.

There is a structure to how thing build on top of each other. Would you learn to draw building without perspective? That would be possible but very limiting. So as we can see from this example yes there is not necessary a need to know how to order thing you can get a result but if we understand priority and structure we can get a better sense of direction that actually do not limit the outcome. Would you draw a ball in the dark? How would you know it a ball if it doesn't have value? Would it not be just a circle?

When you have no ''teacher'' you have no self correcting mechanism or ''Structure''this is why observational drawing is a pillar of learning to draw because by drawing what we know we can see how reality put structure to what we see. We no longer learn from a single source we learn from deduction and share knowledge.

In simple word the answers to your question is found mostly by doing and observing and assembling process and reproducing step that have been successful done before but that a to a certain degree depend on the intention(direction) and what information find you as you search for them.

You can't expect a well formulated answers if there is no ''data'' to extrapolate a answers that fit the question. A topic is a great start but it doesn't give use a starting point otherwise we have to assume you are at the very beginning of learning that fundamental.

[JosephCow]

I think I would one of two things. Do assignments, or structured lessons. Which for construction and perspective, there are many books and videos out there. But just doing abstract exercises, just to learn and problem solve without pressure of making something cool can give you direction and put you on a track.

Or learn by application. So if you have an idea for a bigger picture that could use what you're practicing, that can be a good way to practice and give yourself direction. For example you might want to draw the interior of a castle, and that could use a lot of perspective concepts like drawing a staircase, or measuring space. Just an example. That way you have a specific reason to WANT to figure out those things, and that can challenge you in a fun way.

Either way seems to be effective, though. Not sure there's anything else more specific to add without seeing any of your work.

[paroket]

Apologies, I shouldn't have asked for help without attaching my work. I'll share a few examples of that below.

https://imgur.com/aXjQFUa 
https://imgur.com/ixo2Azb 
https://imgur.com/cVvSq0Q 
https://imgur.com/yzAEmv1 
https://imgur.com/aFXeWoc
https://imgur.com/mIdRwUz
https://imgur.com/vsVmKs6 

I included a few of my character designs, full drawings, and also a couple recent practices i did (one being unfinished). All of this is up to date, I made sure not to include any old stuff.

I feel like a few things I'm lacking in currently are variety, perspective, and proportion.
For variety:
 - I tend to stick to a slim, average body type
 - Typically, I don't stray from humanoid creatures. I also don't draw environments very often. The environment attached in the second link is a rarity for me
For perspective:
 - I struggle to draw objects correctly from a particular perspective. This is particularly obvious when I try to draw extreme angles, dynamic poses, etc.. It doesn't look like the character is drawn the way they should be, considering the camera angle.
 - I also find it difficult to construct bodies out of the guidelines I set up sometimes. Still working on that.
For proportion:
 - Reiterating over my previous point, I find it difficult to convert guidelines, basic shapes, etc. into forms like humanoid bodies.
 - I get the proportions messed up often, especially when drawing foreshortening.

I hope this is enough! And thank you for all the tips so far :)

[darktiste]

There is no real magic wand. As long as you identify some area to improve on and practice solution that can help fix the issue you are doing great. Some people are to bias to even see the flaw in there work so you can be lucky you got eye and an honest hearth this is already stopping many who are shackle by an ego.

The thing you can practice is certainly simplification as you said the concept of turning complex object into simple geometric. Finding the subject matter is often the biggest problem. The rest is simply understanding what geometric shape make the most sense to use as the ''place holder'' this topic really rely on observing and decision making it really depend what you choose to draw on that particular session. But let say you choose for whatever reason to draw tube connected to a tube it not really logical to choose a serie of sphere to simplify that group objet but you could certainly use a bunch of rectangle box to help you draw cylinder. it just about what would be logical choose really not using to many shape to describe thing at first. My advise for this type of study is to take picture from new paper like let say a car ads and to just think about what are the ''big shape'' you see.Try to visualize a chair for example what would you use to create the most basic chair. Then you move to more complex subject from session to session.

Don't be surprise by foreshortening it certainly not a easy subject matter.I don't have any particular advise for you on that apart execept learning from comic book master they are really the champion of dynamic gesture and foreshortening.

It hard to give you any specific advise because you don't work with a ''method'' or a specific tutor so my advise is find a ''simplification school'' basically the approach that use by a master to simplify the body into simple geometric solid. This way you can have a consistent ''approach'' at least for the human body. Object and scene are more a per case problem as they come in a infinite amount of simple to complex.

Some of the stuff i am saying is ''pretty obvious'' like if you struggle with proportion well be willing to expand the range of body type you draw and study from... if you don't study them you can't reach in your experience bag to draw them convincingly...

For perspective there is really no secret. Know the rule play by the rule. Practice practice practice .But also practice drawing in perspective in a very simple to complex fashion otherwise it overwhelmingly complex. Plotting everything in perspective is not the point being able to estimate will certainly help alot but that come with a great deal of experience. There is no point to learn how to draw a cathedral if you can't draw a cube. Here simplification is really a big plus but it won't be necessary as you will eventually rely more on visualization and visually measuring.

You basically struggle with thing you probably shouldn't be dealing with right now to put it simply because you which to be at a point where your skill are just not at right now not because of arrogance but because you want to draw comic which is a very complex topic and require alot of different fundamental to properly render. But you simple leak the experience of doing and probably the theory that make it possible.

Be patient and work smart and work consistently at it.

The best thing you really can do for yourself right now is show your work and voice what you find difficult atleast this give you a journal of your thought that you can revaluate as you go. But most important establish a short term plan and execute the plan by creating or gathering exercise that are relevant to answers your specific issue.

[paroket]

It seems so simple now that it's put into words, and I'm honestly disappointed in myself that I was too scared to practice the basics sooner.

Since I've never had an actual education regarding art, I've spent years just drawing, doodling, creating whatever I wanted. Granted, I never made anything amazing. Where I should have spent my first few years practicing core fundamentals, I was already trying to be the next Michelangelo. I was sorely wrong.

Admittedly, the reason that I've been apprehensive toward practicing fundamentals is--at least I think is--because of the sunk cost fallacy. I've spent so much time already, that I feel like I should be past the fundamentals. I realize now that truly the best thing I can do for myself is start from the beginning and diligently practice the basics and become confident before moving on.

Thank you for telling me all of this and setting me straight. I hope to find consistency in my practice soon. I appreciate this discussion greatly.

[darktiste]

You can always draw what you want(by that i mean you don't need boring subject matter but sometime you kinda have to just because not everything is your cup of tea and something are drawn because they need to fill the space.

Choosing subject matter is similar to being in front of a blank page it easier to draw what you want but it not always what needed to be on the menu that day if there other subject matter that you would benefit from. So it in my opinion it ok to take time to determine what you want to draw and sometime it just better to challenge yourself with random subject matter just to make sure you avoid the ''always in my comfort zone'' which you know you be kind of struggling with.For example in the proportion issue well you kinda have to consciously decide to you know...not just do be doing the thing you feel good about because it not helping you progress. It about finding a middle ground of i know i can do something i done before but i need to try to get out of that box.

Personally i recommand to be a little bit more involve when choosing subject matter you certainly can choose what you draw on the spot but is it really giving me an opportunity to grow that often the angle i want to have when i choose subject matter.

You always have to also account the level of difficulity of a subject matter is realistic subject for me to tackle this right now? Is this above your my current skill set? You will be face with time where you bite more than you can chew and you need some moment of courage where you don't necessarily know if you will be able to pull it off and some moment when you will have to understand that something is missing and you need to go back and fix what was holding you back (being able to discern when you just want to quit because you simple can and quitting a project because burning out is going to do more damage than good that what give you longevity but certainly not using burn out as an excuse to drop the ball consistently sometime you kinda have to go regardless otherwise you risk developing the quitter excuse where you just trick yourself into feeling like you can't and that not courage that lazyness and being self serving to avoid that you have to have a high level of self control. Some day are hard yet quitting as it cost because quitting give you a feeling of imposter syndrome. Like you do something just to be something you can truly commit to. So doing art you really need to check your mental state because it partly a mind exercise.

It really in those hard moment when you become creative in problem solving this help you build perseverance and in those moment of introspection you understand yourself better.

[JosephCow]

Honestly the work you posted looks pretty good! Especially the second to last, the human construction study looks nice. I like the comic page. The perspective on that one seemed okay honestly, though there wasn't anything crazy going on with that page. All the issues you described are kind of ongoing areas for improvement for anyone who draws, so you shouldn't feel like you're a beginner forever until you master foreshortening or extreme angles. Nobody is perfect at that, both of those are just more difficult to do.

Probably the best thing to do is just keep practicing and challenging yourself. Post a sketchbook thread here on CD!