10-30-2014, 03:46 PM
@aks9- thanks for the advice man! real sound...I was (and still am) real scared to add value in case I fuck up the drawing and make it look horrific/frakenstein-ish haha but no you're right. I'm going to be practicing what you mentioned in the next set of figures I draw, hopefully.
So much shit soooooooo much shit is going on in my life. Both good and not so good. Well, not really...but the weight of my normal crap, along with some new additions, is really taking my stress to a whole 'nother level. Like, if a baby were in my predicament, that said baby would be poopin' and cryin' so damn much...I don't even know. I mean, I knoooow but, words can't express how much POOP and TEARS that would amount to.
Mom and dad are fed up with me staying home and trying to practice and getting better with art: I don't go out as much as I would like to because I don't have like-minded peers (I love my current friends, but they are really reallllly fucked up and a day with them would literally be a day closer to a 25 to life prison sentence), I'm not going to school, and I've been working the same smelly fast food job for a few years. I'm only 21, but they act as if I'm an antisocial man baby living in their garage. Ya know, dumb parent shit that some of us young aspiring artists go through when relying on mom and dad for food and shelter. I'm not even going to into the details of that type shit, 'cause Y'ALL ALREADY KNOW.
Anyways, in my effort to fucking compromise, I started looking at some cool art programs, workshops, and mentorship courses online. I looked at CGMA, Gnomon, Feng Zhu fAncLuB Singapore and some atelier type shit. I figured that if I showed an interest in receiving a more structured education, versus studying rather blindly in the confines of my bedroom, ma and pa would tack on a few more months to my "lease". Shidd, maybe they will let me stay another year! (Which is fucking dumb in the first place, because technically, if I were still going to school, I would have much more time to stay at home 'cause brainwashing)
I looked at this atelier in Chicago called The Ravenswood Atelier and was sincerely interested in going. But, upon further research, I realized that going to an atelier to learn about illustration and concept design was not unlike taking a basket weaving class in hopes of becoming a pornstar. Not really, but I talked to many people and realized that the emphasis was on mainly drawing something you see, and drawing it REALLY well...damn-near perfect even...and that was usually the gist....obviously, but you know; perspective is beautiful.
In the end I basically said fuck it: I was going to save the money I was going to spend at an atelier and just save it. Continue studying.
In between that time, I was still searching for solutions to ridding this thorn from my side. Apparently, there are some reallllly cool local people that are in fact, named artists in the industry.(which definitely means nothing, but I'm sure there is a reason why people know who Vance Kovack is opposed to ummmm...Kirsten Ulve (she's done work for the Littlest Pet Shop).) So yeah I contacted one person in particular and hollyyyyyyyyyyy shit....shit shit shit. shitshitshitshit. We've agreed upon a short mentor/student relationship. I've been asked not to disclose any names, so this person will be referred to as 'Hank Pym' from here on out.
Parents were initially surprised and a little relieved that I now have a bit of structure to something as mysterious and subjective as art.
...then, the MOTHER FUCKING WORKLOAD HIT ME. I was being fucking CARPET BOMBED by the homework and material I was assigned to complete and indulge in. Hank was hating me because I wasn't living up to his hell-standard. Parents are back to hating me because I am slipping up on chores around the house and yard(their hell standard) my boss at work is hating me because I have new priorities outside of work, and to put a cherry on top of this house of shit, I put a hold on my daily exercises due to chronic pain in tendons and joints all over my body. SO FOR 2 WEEKS, I COULDN'T EVEN ENGAGE IN EXERCISE TO RELIEVE THE STRESS.
I've learned to juggle the shit now...for example, this week, I only work 19hrs versus 35-40hrs. Now, I can make A LOT more time for completing thy parent's bidding and even MORE SO, allow myself more time to complete Fury's assignments and push them farther than what I was settling for. I feel good enough to work out now too; slowly trying to rehabilitate myself and ease myself back to my original intensity.
Fuckkkkkkk...I'm so happy. I have no room to slack off, ya know? This is a recipe for success. I am under a strict deadline (gotta be moved out by June 1st) and I have some cool direction when it comes to getting a foothold on this improving-upon-my-art game we all play. dat Split Screen co-op type shit.
But yeah, it's been real cool learning under Hank Pym: I commute to the city once a week for critiques and demos (demos sounds like "dem hoes". I commute to the city once a week for "dem hoes") and when I get home, I clean up the house. Yay, for rhythm.
I MEAN, THAT'S WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT REALLY: FINDING YOUR RHYTHM.
**************************************************************
Working on art alone is very lonely though...I love this community, I just hate the fact that it's online haha Imagine, a small town populated by daggers.
I do hav-excuse me, HAD, a friend that was very into art too. He decided to go to school in the city to study animation at a really neat art school. BUT, he's taking his personal growth too lightly; the only time he does anything remotely artistic is when he is going to his little classes. I even told him in person and via chat that HE NEEDS. TO GET HIS FUCKING SHIT. TOGETHER. Learn to study, do some research, immerse yourself in your fucking craft and stop relying on a dumb diploma to get you jobs....and that's if he even graduates...
I'm as selfish as I am angry: his ignorance his preventing me from having a study buddy. HA!!!
SO, yeah...I'm gonna become more active on the forums. I want to do some cool study group type stuff, but I am 100% unreliable when it comes to that, I found out last year. For the sake of others, I shall remain in exile. But more than anything, I want to see the peeps I talk to. It was such a breath of fresh air meeting my mentor...I haven't seen another person drawing, in person, in I think 3 years. I actively tried to be around like-minded people and people who share the same interests but they DON'T EXIST. Not where I live at least.
But for now, that is time and energy wasted. Pointless to delve in futile acts; gotta focus on myself and my own improvement for these few months.
Feels nice writing this out. I won't be able to do this often though, simply because of what my responsibilities entail, (hence my rambly rants and sappy sob stories. I love alliteration)
************************************************************************************
For those who happen to give a fuck, here's the art:
a lot of it is redone because it it wasn't up to Hank's standard. Doing work on someone else's time encourages efficiency: if I spend too much time on the stuff, I may not finish everything but If I rush them, the quality will obviously cause him to make me redo them.
Mr. Pym studied at the Safe House Atelier, hence his method of teaching. I'm working on the plates out of Charles Bargue drawing course supplemented with figure study (he's been trying to get us a live model to study, but whoever was coming up kept getting lost when driving up here) and he is having me do tons of texture balls(glass, matte finish, leather, etc). He is stressing perfection when do those. The first set of 20 are NOT perfect LOL the second set is better...the bargues drawings can become huge time sinks in an effort to get them down perfectly, but like I mentioned before, he doesn't give a fuck if I summon a drawing into our three- dimensional material world; if I don't complete ALL of the assigned drawings, I fail, and I must redo them :l His method of drawing the figures online are something I need to get use to also: he wants a perfect contour of the figure while keeping in mind normal stuff like proportions. He said that there is such a strong disconnect from what I draw from imagination compared to what is real, that he doesn't even want me to draw from imagination or creatively apply concepts I learned as long as I am learning under him.
This made me realllllly skeptical, like, is this dude just a fucking photocopier? How did he make it this far in the industry when he's obviously been relying on reference all these years???...he must've realized this last night, because as if sensing the unease in me, he showed me a quick example of what he is able to do after applying all of the studies and lessons he's trying to teach ME; he whipped out this perfectly rendered figure of this nude beautiful woman in less than 2mins. His sense of form and light and anatomy is so strong it allowed him to conjure an image without skipping a beat. I've never seen anything like it simply because I've never been around the immediate presence of fundamentally-sound artists.
But anyways, I'm gonna empty my cup and forget what I know so I can fill myself with his knowledge, and only after we are finished will I take it and make it my own.
I gotta keep slapping water so in the future I'll be able to break boards!!!
Okay the fucking art: (the red pen is what my mentor uses to indicate where I'm fucking up and to indicate a REDO)
So much shit soooooooo much shit is going on in my life. Both good and not so good. Well, not really...but the weight of my normal crap, along with some new additions, is really taking my stress to a whole 'nother level. Like, if a baby were in my predicament, that said baby would be poopin' and cryin' so damn much...I don't even know. I mean, I knoooow but, words can't express how much POOP and TEARS that would amount to.
Mom and dad are fed up with me staying home and trying to practice and getting better with art: I don't go out as much as I would like to because I don't have like-minded peers (I love my current friends, but they are really reallllly fucked up and a day with them would literally be a day closer to a 25 to life prison sentence), I'm not going to school, and I've been working the same smelly fast food job for a few years. I'm only 21, but they act as if I'm an antisocial man baby living in their garage. Ya know, dumb parent shit that some of us young aspiring artists go through when relying on mom and dad for food and shelter. I'm not even going to into the details of that type shit, 'cause Y'ALL ALREADY KNOW.
Anyways, in my effort to fucking compromise, I started looking at some cool art programs, workshops, and mentorship courses online. I looked at CGMA, Gnomon, Feng Zhu fAncLuB Singapore and some atelier type shit. I figured that if I showed an interest in receiving a more structured education, versus studying rather blindly in the confines of my bedroom, ma and pa would tack on a few more months to my "lease". Shidd, maybe they will let me stay another year! (Which is fucking dumb in the first place, because technically, if I were still going to school, I would have much more time to stay at home 'cause brainwashing)
I looked at this atelier in Chicago called The Ravenswood Atelier and was sincerely interested in going. But, upon further research, I realized that going to an atelier to learn about illustration and concept design was not unlike taking a basket weaving class in hopes of becoming a pornstar. Not really, but I talked to many people and realized that the emphasis was on mainly drawing something you see, and drawing it REALLY well...damn-near perfect even...and that was usually the gist....obviously, but you know; perspective is beautiful.
In the end I basically said fuck it: I was going to save the money I was going to spend at an atelier and just save it. Continue studying.
In between that time, I was still searching for solutions to ridding this thorn from my side. Apparently, there are some reallllly cool local people that are in fact, named artists in the industry.(which definitely means nothing, but I'm sure there is a reason why people know who Vance Kovack is opposed to ummmm...Kirsten Ulve (she's done work for the Littlest Pet Shop).) So yeah I contacted one person in particular and hollyyyyyyyyyyy shit....shit shit shit. shitshitshitshit. We've agreed upon a short mentor/student relationship. I've been asked not to disclose any names, so this person will be referred to as 'Hank Pym' from here on out.
Parents were initially surprised and a little relieved that I now have a bit of structure to something as mysterious and subjective as art.
...then, the MOTHER FUCKING WORKLOAD HIT ME. I was being fucking CARPET BOMBED by the homework and material I was assigned to complete and indulge in. Hank was hating me because I wasn't living up to his hell-standard. Parents are back to hating me because I am slipping up on chores around the house and yard(their hell standard) my boss at work is hating me because I have new priorities outside of work, and to put a cherry on top of this house of shit, I put a hold on my daily exercises due to chronic pain in tendons and joints all over my body. SO FOR 2 WEEKS, I COULDN'T EVEN ENGAGE IN EXERCISE TO RELIEVE THE STRESS.
I've learned to juggle the shit now...for example, this week, I only work 19hrs versus 35-40hrs. Now, I can make A LOT more time for completing thy parent's bidding and even MORE SO, allow myself more time to complete Fury's assignments and push them farther than what I was settling for. I feel good enough to work out now too; slowly trying to rehabilitate myself and ease myself back to my original intensity.
Fuckkkkkkk...I'm so happy. I have no room to slack off, ya know? This is a recipe for success. I am under a strict deadline (gotta be moved out by June 1st) and I have some cool direction when it comes to getting a foothold on this improving-upon-my-art game we all play. dat Split Screen co-op type shit.
But yeah, it's been real cool learning under Hank Pym: I commute to the city once a week for critiques and demos (demos sounds like "dem hoes". I commute to the city once a week for "dem hoes") and when I get home, I clean up the house. Yay, for rhythm.
I MEAN, THAT'S WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT REALLY: FINDING YOUR RHYTHM.
**************************************************************
Working on art alone is very lonely though...I love this community, I just hate the fact that it's online haha Imagine, a small town populated by daggers.
I do hav-excuse me, HAD, a friend that was very into art too. He decided to go to school in the city to study animation at a really neat art school. BUT, he's taking his personal growth too lightly; the only time he does anything remotely artistic is when he is going to his little classes. I even told him in person and via chat that HE NEEDS. TO GET HIS FUCKING SHIT. TOGETHER. Learn to study, do some research, immerse yourself in your fucking craft and stop relying on a dumb diploma to get you jobs....and that's if he even graduates...
I'm as selfish as I am angry: his ignorance his preventing me from having a study buddy. HA!!!
SO, yeah...I'm gonna become more active on the forums. I want to do some cool study group type stuff, but I am 100% unreliable when it comes to that, I found out last year. For the sake of others, I shall remain in exile. But more than anything, I want to see the peeps I talk to. It was such a breath of fresh air meeting my mentor...I haven't seen another person drawing, in person, in I think 3 years. I actively tried to be around like-minded people and people who share the same interests but they DON'T EXIST. Not where I live at least.
But for now, that is time and energy wasted. Pointless to delve in futile acts; gotta focus on myself and my own improvement for these few months.
Feels nice writing this out. I won't be able to do this often though, simply because of what my responsibilities entail, (hence my rambly rants and sappy sob stories. I love alliteration)
************************************************************************************
For those who happen to give a fuck, here's the art:
a lot of it is redone because it it wasn't up to Hank's standard. Doing work on someone else's time encourages efficiency: if I spend too much time on the stuff, I may not finish everything but If I rush them, the quality will obviously cause him to make me redo them.
Mr. Pym studied at the Safe House Atelier, hence his method of teaching. I'm working on the plates out of Charles Bargue drawing course supplemented with figure study (he's been trying to get us a live model to study, but whoever was coming up kept getting lost when driving up here) and he is having me do tons of texture balls(glass, matte finish, leather, etc). He is stressing perfection when do those. The first set of 20 are NOT perfect LOL the second set is better...the bargues drawings can become huge time sinks in an effort to get them down perfectly, but like I mentioned before, he doesn't give a fuck if I summon a drawing into our three- dimensional material world; if I don't complete ALL of the assigned drawings, I fail, and I must redo them :l His method of drawing the figures online are something I need to get use to also: he wants a perfect contour of the figure while keeping in mind normal stuff like proportions. He said that there is such a strong disconnect from what I draw from imagination compared to what is real, that he doesn't even want me to draw from imagination or creatively apply concepts I learned as long as I am learning under him.
This made me realllllly skeptical, like, is this dude just a fucking photocopier? How did he make it this far in the industry when he's obviously been relying on reference all these years???...he must've realized this last night, because as if sensing the unease in me, he showed me a quick example of what he is able to do after applying all of the studies and lessons he's trying to teach ME; he whipped out this perfectly rendered figure of this nude beautiful woman in less than 2mins. His sense of form and light and anatomy is so strong it allowed him to conjure an image without skipping a beat. I've never seen anything like it simply because I've never been around the immediate presence of fundamentally-sound artists.
But anyways, I'm gonna empty my cup and forget what I know so I can fill myself with his knowledge, and only after we are finished will I take it and make it my own.
I gotta keep slapping water so in the future I'll be able to break boards!!!
Okay the fucking art: (the red pen is what my mentor uses to indicate where I'm fucking up and to indicate a REDO)