01-23-2016, 08:41 PM
Hey man, you're doing really great, it's easy to say as an older person and hard to see when you're younger but you really have your whole life ahead of you, just 20 years old and making this consistent effort you will be an incredible artist! I found this video really motivating:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdUASEaDZyc
About the social stuff - it's just practice, same as art. In fact so much of what we do in art is like a microcosm of life in good ways to approach things to get where we want to be. Consistent effort, noting the failings but learning from them instead of dwelling on them, keeping on trying again, not being too precious about things. I've had social issues in my life and got over them by volunteering at a community radio station and in the end they put me on air doing my own show, then I had to teach new volunteers how to use the equipment. It was terrifying but I did it and failed a bit and did it some more and now am much more confident in talking to people and in front of people. I'm telling you that stuff to say that if you want to get over that stuff, try and put yourself into a situation where you will push yourself to do stuff you aren't usually comfortable with (just like with art), but in a not too extreme way in a place where people are supportive and build up to it slowly (just like art as well!). Some kind of daily chanting or meditation practice really helps with that stuff too - with that stuff you focus solely on where you want to be, and disregard all problems since giving time to those thoughts drags them with you into the future. Eventually the stuff you want to do feels like it is seeking you out instead of the other way around. I can tell you more about that stuff if you want to try it sometime.
The anatomy stuff and gestures are looking really great too. I like the minimal look of the first figure. Since you have a good sense of proportion, you could try looking at the shadow shapes more - use the minimum amount of lines you need to lay in the pose then build it up by painting in the shadow shapes, I've been trying it recently and it's really fun and you can be surprised how dramatic stuff starts looking. Best of luck with everything.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdUASEaDZyc
About the social stuff - it's just practice, same as art. In fact so much of what we do in art is like a microcosm of life in good ways to approach things to get where we want to be. Consistent effort, noting the failings but learning from them instead of dwelling on them, keeping on trying again, not being too precious about things. I've had social issues in my life and got over them by volunteering at a community radio station and in the end they put me on air doing my own show, then I had to teach new volunteers how to use the equipment. It was terrifying but I did it and failed a bit and did it some more and now am much more confident in talking to people and in front of people. I'm telling you that stuff to say that if you want to get over that stuff, try and put yourself into a situation where you will push yourself to do stuff you aren't usually comfortable with (just like with art), but in a not too extreme way in a place where people are supportive and build up to it slowly (just like art as well!). Some kind of daily chanting or meditation practice really helps with that stuff too - with that stuff you focus solely on where you want to be, and disregard all problems since giving time to those thoughts drags them with you into the future. Eventually the stuff you want to do feels like it is seeking you out instead of the other way around. I can tell you more about that stuff if you want to try it sometime.
The anatomy stuff and gestures are looking really great too. I like the minimal look of the first figure. Since you have a good sense of proportion, you could try looking at the shadow shapes more - use the minimum amount of lines you need to lay in the pose then build it up by painting in the shadow shapes, I've been trying it recently and it's really fun and you can be surprised how dramatic stuff starts looking. Best of luck with everything.