01-29-2015, 10:47 AM
Hey there! Thanks for stopping by before. I looked through your SB and you have some really interesting things here and a lot of great advice from some wonderful Daggers ;)
I won't be making this too long (I hope) but here are a few things that I can suggest - and hopefully I won't be repeating something already mentioned.
So regarding materials, if you can, I would suggest joining NMA (New Masters Academy http://www.newmastersacademy.org/home/) - they have a fantastic range of lectures you can follow along and learn from Glenn Vilppu, Steve Huston a.o. amazing artists at a bargain price. I had subscribed for 3 months and the amount of stuff I learned is really valuable. If there's anything about materials that you want explained, see how to use them, or just plain fundamentals to keep you going, I definitely recommend it. You could spend hours looking at tuts on youtube and other tuts on DA explaining some stuff, but sometimes watching it, taking notes and rewatching a lecture again can really help out.
I can see that you want to be a scientific illustrator and that's a fantastic goal. About doubting yourself.. don't. Doubt and fear are dream-killers, trust me. If you really want this, and you seem to put the work into it, don't stop. Find ways to just keep going, keep learning, spot your weaknesses and work on them. When people don't comment or like your stuff, it might be because they're interested in another art-domain - can't tell for sure, but don't worry about it too much. Communities (and people part of them) differ, so don't let that bother you much. Instead focus and invest your time in doing more studies. Better pay-off, more skills. DONE. ;o)
In terms of classes, taking some would definitely be beneficial if you can find the right ones for what you're after. I don't know your specific goals, but seeing that you're UK based, I'm sure there are plenty of opportunities. For anything else, after a lot of questioning and researching, I've come to realize that nothing replaces knowledge of fundamentals and practice. It's the base for anything else. And even if you won't become a concept artist for the industry, take a look at some of Feng Zhu's videos - he occasionally paints insectoids which could be of interest to you, and you can see how he approaches them through the use of perspective. Granted, scientific illustration is not really close to that, but it might help you a lot to see better. :)
So it ended up being longer than intended, but I hope there are some bits that can help out a bit. Don't stop working hard, keep learning, and keep building on what you already know. You will definitely grow, just gotta give it time and be more patient. :) It will pay off in the end.
I won't be making this too long (I hope) but here are a few things that I can suggest - and hopefully I won't be repeating something already mentioned.
So regarding materials, if you can, I would suggest joining NMA (New Masters Academy http://www.newmastersacademy.org/home/) - they have a fantastic range of lectures you can follow along and learn from Glenn Vilppu, Steve Huston a.o. amazing artists at a bargain price. I had subscribed for 3 months and the amount of stuff I learned is really valuable. If there's anything about materials that you want explained, see how to use them, or just plain fundamentals to keep you going, I definitely recommend it. You could spend hours looking at tuts on youtube and other tuts on DA explaining some stuff, but sometimes watching it, taking notes and rewatching a lecture again can really help out.
I can see that you want to be a scientific illustrator and that's a fantastic goal. About doubting yourself.. don't. Doubt and fear are dream-killers, trust me. If you really want this, and you seem to put the work into it, don't stop. Find ways to just keep going, keep learning, spot your weaknesses and work on them. When people don't comment or like your stuff, it might be because they're interested in another art-domain - can't tell for sure, but don't worry about it too much. Communities (and people part of them) differ, so don't let that bother you much. Instead focus and invest your time in doing more studies. Better pay-off, more skills. DONE. ;o)
In terms of classes, taking some would definitely be beneficial if you can find the right ones for what you're after. I don't know your specific goals, but seeing that you're UK based, I'm sure there are plenty of opportunities. For anything else, after a lot of questioning and researching, I've come to realize that nothing replaces knowledge of fundamentals and practice. It's the base for anything else. And even if you won't become a concept artist for the industry, take a look at some of Feng Zhu's videos - he occasionally paints insectoids which could be of interest to you, and you can see how he approaches them through the use of perspective. Granted, scientific illustration is not really close to that, but it might help you a lot to see better. :)
So it ended up being longer than intended, but I hope there are some bits that can help out a bit. Don't stop working hard, keep learning, and keep building on what you already know. You will definitely grow, just gotta give it time and be more patient. :) It will pay off in the end.