Poll: Which style mentoring thing would you prefer? (probably read below first)
You do not have permission to vote in this poll.
lectures, review and homework
46.15%
6 46.15%
themed and more freeform discussion like a podcast
53.85%
7 53.85%
Total 13 vote(s) 100%
* You voted for this item. [Show Results]

ImSkeptical wants to help you become skeptical! And with art things too...
#1
Information 
Hello! My name is Cameron Lai / ImSkeptical , and I wanna try give back to the community that has given me everything I've asked of it. So I would like to start a mentoring thing. But the way I see it, there's already all the information you need out there on getting good at representational art. Like seriously, we live in a magical age where there exists moving pictures with accompanying sound containing information so valuable it used to only be taught at the most remote and prestigious schools... for free! And the stuff you can access with something like 100 dollars, we learners have it pretty good.

So what do I plan to try to do if I think to teach more art tips n theory would just be pissing in the ocean. Building a speedy boat that wont sink! To drop the metaphor I just broke, what they tried but failed to teach in my highschool, and I'm willing to bet your highschool; how to learn, and learn with some modicum of efficiency.

To state again for clarity, I plan to share my wacky theories and ideas on how to effectively learn. Stuff like theories on how the brain works, how complex skills seem to be learned, ways of framing problems to make them easier, managing your dumb lizard brain to force it to do things it doesn't want to, strategies for attempts at managing your time efficiently. If these all sound really boring or things you already know, hi-five! If not hi-five, hopefully I'll match your expectations!


"But Cameron!" You, or at least the skeptical voice in my head, protests.

"What makes you think you have the expertise to teach this? Why should we think your wacky theories and ideas are any better than the next guy?"

Fair point you or me. Well time for a short life story!

Flashback - Before I decided to do art, I went to Uni. Some of my friends were planning to do engineering, which sounded fine enough to me, but sadly I didn't have high enough grades :(! So instead I got a science degree, planning to take some engineering units and swap over later in the year. But of the classes I took what really grasped my interest ended up being the psychology and the history of science, both of which were to become my majors. For the next 3 years I learned about things like what was different about greek science and modern science, and what parts of the brain light up when you rub someones foot. It was also during this time I learned some of what I want to mentor.

But there was a problem! I had graduated with a bachelor of science with a major in psychology and history of science. Wondering what to do with my life, I stumbled upon a feng zhu video about fov for some reason. It was then I discovered how you could draw cool things for videogames and movies and you would get paid for it.

So begins my art journey.

[Image: BfF0ict.jpg]

End Flashback - So continues my art journey.


To be a bit more serious, I still don't think I'm at a decent enough level of artistry to be educating much about it. Also I think there are plenty of people with way more expertise on how to efficiently learn skills. But I don't think there are many people who are okay at art who still remember what it was like to know nothing about art as well as being knowledgeable about skill learning in general as well as being a member of crimson daggers as well as having plenty of spare time. So hopefully you feel you can learn from me and we all have a great time together!

Anyway enough about me what will, you be doing?

Well I have 2 ideas about how to run this thing. One is the old boring livestream - lecture - discussion - homework framework which I guess works, I mean it worked for me. But the one I really want to try is a more freeform livestream - interrogation - dialogue - homework - podcast format. This is where I'm just gonna ask a bunch of questions related to concepts I want to discuss in-depth, and try to talk with my mentees to narrow down on ideas, and workshop out practical solutions. There are problems with this approach, like redundancy of information and potentially wasting time. But probably the biggest issue is I will need to select mentees that have microphones, can speak English well and are easy to converse with. But the gains are what I think is entertaining way to learn ideas, through listening to conversation and picking up ideas through osmosis i.e. podcasts and those old livestreams where people just talk to each other. Gotta risk big to win big.

So here's the play, either way i'm going to pick 2-3 people as mentees, with the intent to cycle maybe each couple of months. Will probably try an do at minimum 1 session a week, but the actual amount will probably depend on what can be worked out the mentees. Post a reply with a link to some of your art as well as a short pitch to why you want or should be chosen to be a mentee. If you are interested in the podcast style mentorship format, you're also going to send a vocal recording like the one I've prepared here - http://vocaroo.com/i/s006UPZvcBEX What you say in the recording is up to you, but keep in mind I'm using it as part the selection process! Record a few if you like, if you have a few ideas :D. I'll also stick a poll up.

Either way, everything is going to be recorded and put on youtube. Also art will be discussed I'm not that insane :p. I'll be selecting people around the start of next month, hopefully enough people are interested! Feel free to message me if you would like to co-mentor as well, I think that might be cool too. Thanks, stay awesome!

--------------------------

_______ For clarity to apply ________

- post link to your some of your arts
- why you want or should be chosen - pitch yourself, be creative!
- optional - a voice recording from http://vocaroo.com/ or something equivalent

Deadline for first bunch - 7th of June

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#2
Sounds super exciting! As usual my time schedule wont let me join directly but i will follow it as close as possible. Super theme for a mentorship!

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#3
Hell I'm down! A couple of ideas I use to practice I snagged from peeking at your sketchpad anyway! haha ...and missed the boat with Brent, Dan, and Christian the last few rounds.

Hmm.
I few things that come to mind for my reasons...
-bridge the social learning gap that often comes from interacting with other people
-help and encourage one another; using social sonar to bounce ideas off of one another.
-pooling resources, observations, and opportunities
-drawing from your own experiences and paths.
-encourage with responsibility. I've heard that one of the best ways to learn is to teach, which I'm interested in eventually, so I'd like to learn from your experience up close. Plus, I'm down to be a guinea pig! ^_^
-learning to communicate clearly in a visual medium for an intended purpose.
-your art speaks for itself of a level that I recognize I'm not at. I think part having any level of progress is being able to be teachable/willing to learn.
-having someone critique my work would be AMAZING. I know there's basics I miss in almost every drawing I do and would love a spotter to steer me.
-hanging out and having a BLAST! XD

I also think being tied into a group/environment with other people has a level of social responsibility that being on your own doesn't have. One of the biggest parts of getting better at a skill is of course constant repetition and pushing in those areas that are uncomfortable.
I've noticed most of the groups on the forums fall apart without some sort of driving force/direction/guiding-hand. Its been sort of funny to watch these mentorships crop-up because most people don't feel qualified to teach, but simultaneous most of the people that have had someone help them are the ones that are still here. Being in a healthy tight-knit-group supercharges your progress!
A lot of people that are still here/engaging are the ones who are in constant repetition and getting better because of it; correlative, but not per-say the only path to victory, which is why I'm curious what ideas and concepts you've come across. ;D
Either way! Don't want to miss the boat with this one, so I'll drop my name in the hat all the same!


I think this worked?
http://vocaroo.com/i/s1qubAqfCqtF
my links for sketchpad and blog are below...

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#4
This sounds really interesting! I'm not sure though if I can join because I sometimes have a tight schedule and I'm not always at my home base. (Also, I'm rather shy about the voice recordings...XD ) but I'll do it like Wolkenfels and try to follow as closely as possible! (:

SKY IS THE LIMIT

DeviantartSketchbook
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#5
As someone who frequently has trouble getting himself to do more arts (i do manage more or less to get a certian number of pages done per day )Ive always done more when ive been in a more learning enviroment / group to talk about these things (of course they are usually physical enviroments far away from my comp).And i always thought maybe i just need a mentor or such that might be willing to get my dumb ass through stuff i might not otherwise know how to get through .
Ive missed out on some of the groups here or i just find them intimidateing for whatever reason but this seems as good of a group as any . I dont mind doing voice if need be as well .(I got a excellent quality mic and my english is pretty good , on a side note the Vocaroo thing isnt workin for me )

A link to my sketchbook can be found below (ive improved a bit since page 1 (i like to think :P))

My Sketchbook (do help me out)
http://crimsondaggers.com/forum/thread-4216.html

And if your rather curious on some older stuff here's my deviantart

http://greatdictator.deviantart.com/
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#6
Hey, I'm probably late but I'd like to join too. Like Greatdictator, I get more motivated when I'm in a learning enviroment and one of my biggest problems is not knowing what to practice/study/learn next... I think this is also a great way to get me more into the community, make friends and a way to fight my shyness (lol) and practice my english.

Vocaroo didn't worked with me so I tried this: SpeakPipe

Sketchbook (not many stuff there yet)

It's ok if the spots are already taken, I'll follow this anyway and probably do the assignments!
Thanks for this chance btw, greatly appreciated.

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#7
There's already a few applicants, but I guess I should try just in case I have the opportunity for this. But first I just want to say thank you for doing this! It's going to be super awesome, I can tell.

Okay, reasons I want to join:
- I need the kick in the ass
- I finally have some free time during the next three months, and I also need to get into drawing more during school
- I think having someone constantly being there to help me work hard is something that will keep me going more
- Working together will also help, I tend to work better when I'm involved in a community
- Becoming friends, networking, just hanging out and being awesome
- Getting lots of critique on my pieces and being able to help out others, too

I have drawings up on my sketchbook and my DA, but I don't post there too much. The link is in my sig!

Again, thanks so much!

EDIT: Okay, I guess I'll add some more stuff.

I'm ZC, my name is Ellie, I'm 18, soon to be a sophomore in college this fall. My major is painting, and although I'm getting more of a traditional training in school, I'm definitely looking to teach myself more commercial illustrations and design. I'm eager to build a portfolio and my goal is to be at a professional level by the time I'm 20, so around a year and a half. I may not have the most impressive sketchbook but I'm dedicated to improving and becoming a better artist.

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#8
I'll be selecting start of next month because I'll be at a workshop out of state. So feel free to submit /edit your applications all the way till then. Its not first come first serve! Try sell yourself as best you can, being a little different will not hurt :D.

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#9
I really like this idea and I want to thank you for putting in the time to do this!

I also think the idea for having it be a more freeform discussion podcast is really good and a much better idea than to just do the same old standard lecture/homework format. There are so many courses done in that fashion already. An open discussion format will also mean that the mentees will have to participate more and we'll get to see deeper into their minds, so it'll be much more interesting to watch/listen to (providing the mentees are willing to open up and speak their minds and really dig into the topics that come up). Podcast discussion are interesting because you not only get facts and knowledge, but you also get to see a live recount of people's emotions and decision making processes and you get to see the way people think.

So, those are my thoughts on it, and I'd actually be quite interested in joining in. It seems a bit gratuitious to list a bunch of reasons why I'm more suitable to be picked than anyone else, why it would benefit me more than others or why I would benefit you more than others would, so I won't say anything in that regard.

My interest in joining mainly comes from wanting to hear more about the stuff you learnt about psychology and learning, learning how to learn more efficiently and "skillfarm" has been a fascination of mine for the past couple of years, but I honestly am quite terrible at it, I get confused and overwhelmed with the vast possibilities and my attempts to systematise an overarching plan never work satisfactorily, I've ended up "shelving" many of my interests so I can just focus on a few main ones, so any knowledge or insights you have into that process are very compelling to me.

Anyway, english is my native language and I have a microphone : ) and if you decide to go ahead with the discussion format then I'd really be happy to join in. I'll see if I can record some voice thing soon (it's late at night here now so I can't)

And some of my art: www.000eyes.com

Thanks!

"If you want liberation in this life, there is no area that you do not watch. Watch the breathing, watch the posture, watch the flow of energy, watch the texture of the mind, watch the response to objects." - Namgyal Rinpoche
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#10
I'd be glad to join in on the study train if possible.

Link to works would be
http://crimsondaggers.com/forum/thread-1...ge-11.html - sketchbook first and foremost
http://rindoukan.deviantart.com/
http://rindoukan.tumblr.com/

even though I try to keep most places updated with some minor stuff.

Reason for joining is simply to get better and be able to finally aquire some actual work.You poses abilities that I would like to be able to apply to my own work, and I feel that overall learning "how to learn" would be beneficial since being self-taught is not a perfect formula.
I'm not picky about the format of the studying as long as it works.And I'm willing to do whatever it takes.I'll be up to the task.

Weither I'm chosen or not I'm glad to see that the mentoring corner isn't completely dead over here.

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#11
My application:
http://i.imgur.com/oqp5deE.jpg

My art:
http://righteousyouth.deviantart.com/

Voice (really bad quality):
http://vocaroo.com/i/s0QXZRfyyn8Z

(Sorry for any grammatical/spelling errors).

Thanks!
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#12
Just to be clear, I'm probably gonna message people sometime on Sunday (8th) about stuff, which keep in mind is Australian time, so it'll probably be Saturday sometime for American folk.

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#13
Alright the chosen mentees are

Dhenzel
ZombieChinchilla
Heliux

Sorry if you didn't get picked! If anything its because you were too good and I find it awkward enough giving people advice as if I know better than them, let alone if they seem to be doing awesome stuff already. I also had to be a bit picky on the English speaking front, which I'll try make up for at some point. I consider myself exceedingly lucky to have been born into the whole English thing and also extremely lazy for never picking up another language.

So, hopefully within a week or 2 I can get to recording the first session with the peeps and the learning for everyone can commence. Thanks everyone for showing interest, it's really appreciated, you're all super awesome!

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