Anvar's Sketchbook till I get better

[Anvar Khamidov]

New entry. Cleaned up the previous sketch and started a new one

[Anvar Khamidov]

New update of yesterday's sketch. Can push this one further, but the piece is almost all solved so I will to another one. Thanks everyone!

[cgmythology]

Awesome updates! The lighting, colors, and brushwork are all aces. Curious to see how much you refine it further but it already look very solid and defined. Great work!

[Dominicque]

Hi Anwar and welcome to the forum! I think I can concur on doing straight master copies. It can help, but it can also get pretty boring. I was recently doing some studies of people sitting for an image I wanted to do and felt my productivity wander. I was only when I used that image as a basis for an OC did the enjoyment start to spring back up. Informative and fun. To add onto Darktiste's comment as switching it up, by drawing the same thing and making (un)conscious choices helps to get things to stick and also a good creative flow if you're in a creative rut.  Pretty much agree with the rest of your reply.

You have a very sound economy of brush strokes. I see you use a quite large brush. It's super amazing you can draw and capture the light so well just from your head. I'm extremely impressed with your latest imagination exploration. It's still dark, but less muted than the first images and the lighting is very strong, especially the highlights on the face. I also want to commend you on trying a top-down perspective as a more challenging composition. Really looking forward to seeing more of your work and perspective around here!

Hello Dominicque and thank you for your warm welcome. 

I totally agree that master copies become really boring when done just by themselves alone. The difference between imaginative exploration exercises and pure studies is vast. The enjoyment I get from painting a scene I have in mind is something that can't be matched with any exercise. And as a lot of things in art, your productivity heavily relies on your enjoyment. I will expand my roster to include more of these exercises that require drawing something from imagination. 

Thank you for all the feedback, it is very nice to hear, especially from a person who has been very consistent with their sketchbook thread.

Hi Anvar, it's only very recently that I've started to draw out ideas I've had in my head for a while. I was always in the mind set of 'I need to learn anatomy, perspective, form, value, colour theory, composition, etc, before I can draw what I actually want.' Coupled with the cognitive distortion that using references, including gleaning from favourite artists was akin to 'plagiarism', with all the opprobrium that comes with that. Mark making was mentally exhausting, because I never felt done, therefore the bar to clear just gets higher, and higher and higher... I'm trying to cleanse myself of this mentality. Doing studies towards a larger goal is always better, I find they I slow down too, and my focus doesn't wander. I guess that's great for long time retention. And, most importantly, you learn whilst having fun. Sometimes a study can feel like 'pulling teeth' if that's not what you want to be good at or create. It's a procrastination barrier. 

As I draw now, I get flashes of ideas in my head, so I either note them down or jot down a quick, perfunctory sketch. I always used to get super upset of /not/ being able to draw things super correctly, and used that (amongst others) as a 'value judgement' on myself as an artist, especially since drawing from imagination was/is the ultimate goal for mine. So, I'm super impressed my you. Especially, your seeming innate knowledge of lighting scenarios. I could really use advice.
I decided to try and buckle down and actually do a family 'lookbook' of a fandom I'm apart of, after putting it off for so long. I actually got PureRef to work for me. I was so reluctant to use a pose from a photo, even though it fit perfectly for what I needed. However, I did it yesterday and found myself really enjoying myself, and going through the process of finding the right poses , outfits and compositions. It came out so easy, I was so surprised! I have more to go, but I think it's best for me to really lean in to the process and the research part rather than the final image.