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Apart from plein air and master studies, are photos the best way to study environments and become better at them. You know, what if I grind on environments for weeks non stop? Because that's my brilliant plan and approach to everything ever. I dunno.
Of course it would take at least a year before I see genuine results that could be comparable. I saw a conceptart.org post from Noah Bradley from 2010 and he posted his progression of one year and basically said that studying photographs and masters was his process. And it was really solid improvement. But knowing him he probably did loads of plein airs though...
I just don't want to be wasting time on something that isn't going to get me anywhere. So if anyone out there has tried this could you perhaps help me determine if this is a good approach?
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Well, in my (somewhat recently acquired) opinion, everything goes, as long as you apply what you've studied on a regular basis (whatever that means lol).
If you hop to my sb, you can see that, due to the fact I can't draw much, I've decided to do an "experiment" - I've basically done figure croquis from references for a while (as they don't require pressure/movement that much and I can't draw for more than, say 5-10 minutes). I've been doing them with understanding, I wish to underline that fact - I've been carefully looking at curves, points, relations, remembering stuff, visualizing after practice etc.
The result - recently, I sat down to do some figures from imagination and found out that I've regressed noticeably.
Conclusion - if you study than apply stuff daily (or maybe not daily, but, say, every three days), you will progress in leaps with each day (a bit of an exaggeration, but I'm talking from personal experience - I had a period when I've drawn a lot of hours per day, so I could actually study for like five hours and then apply for that same amount, and I've literally jumped in quality, understanding and "aha moments" on a daily basis). After like a month of doing quick specific quick studies without application, I have actually regressed (and I'll show it when I update my sb next time). To be honest, though, that month equates to about five days of grinding in terms of hours put. But still.
Of course, that is just my experience, I can't generalize. Personally, I like the "concept art" approach more when it comes to environments, as it leads to being able to produce solid stuff form thin air. Of course, it goes without saying that one should do all of the practices to some degree. But getting focused on grinding studies for a month, imho, won't result with a favorable outcome, because it's too passive, even though you focus and remember and observe while studying.
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Yeah I think you're spot on with that. I've been studying environments, colour, light and then spending even longer on trying to apply everything and it appears to be working out very well. It seems as though studying can also be a quick way of saying 'wasting time'. It's like a loop where I find myself thinking I'm learning when all I'm doing is mindlessly drawing/painting even though I'm making a concious effort to try and take in information.
Trying to apply and work things out really tests me and hurts my head a bit. I might not be studying but I'm designing and I think that can only be refined with time. Also, I will try to study environments more intently for specific aspects such as figuring out what a rock texture is like.
I hope your hand gets better though, sounds like you have quite the situation there 0.o I guess all you can do is wait D:
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I think whenever your head hurts, you are (sadly) on the right path:D
As you said, all that conscious effort and stuff simply evaporate somehow, if not supported with practical application in due time:)
