I was out for awhile
polycounter lvl 7
around 5-6 months of not doing any art because school is hard yo.
Now I can't even draw a straight line, or even figure out where to begin again.
I'm scared.
Should I just start over completely? I want to get back into my last project but.. I can't even..lines maaann!
halp
Now I can't even draw a straight line, or even figure out where to begin again.
I'm scared.
Should I just start over completely? I want to get back into my last project but.. I can't even..lines maaann!
halp
Replies
Post it here.
You need to show us your work on Polycount if you want help beyond just the string of technical questons you've asked in the last year. Good you're asking questions about that. Bad that we can't see ANYTHING at all.
Do you have a portfolio?
Why weren't you at least drawing traditionally? I know the pressures of life can sometimes get to be a bit much when having to get free access to a computer for long enough to do anything really rewarding digitally, but sketching is easy and you can do it at lunch break with quick observational sketch dumps, or just drawing a cool thing because you want to.
School is hard (trust me, I know), but that's a hell of a long way to let your skills dwindle down to. Not even doodling in your margins? Bah. I guess sometimes you just need to learn the hard way, but if you're at all serious about this? Even with college or uni or whatever you go on to do-- don't do this "no art because other difficult thing" stuff, for your own sake. Don't stop doing art if you can at all help it. Even if you can only do it like once a week for an hour, take that chance with all you've got.
I lost a year + of art progress because I was floundering in school and with life, so heavy, heavy bias from me. Take it with a grain of salt, but I'm blunt about it because I care.
Anyway, bad news time: You need to draw/sculpt/model.
It's the only way you'll get that skill back. Start taking a pocket sketch book around with you if you don't already, so that if you see someone interesting you can quickly get your own version of them down. If you see an interesting little mechanical bit, or you notice the way the trees/sun/buildings make a neat composition. Doodle a dragon or a pirate or a zombie or whatever takes your fancy. Your little mushroom guy from way back looks like he'd be fun to doodle.
But just... sculpt, model, draw whenever you can and certainly whenever you want to. The only way you'll get better is by doing it more (with focus on learning, of course, but I digress).
I'd start by some theoretical refreshers to get my motivation back up, myself, but it depends on the person.
Things like the PSG Art Tut and Ctrl+Paint for 2D, [ame="
For you, if you're really floundering that much, I'd recommend just drawing some lines and turning them into things. Maybe doing some figure/gesture studies to ease yourself back in. I personally found my artistic happy place when I figured out a good way to approach gesture drawing-- doing a bucket load of 30sec gestures was something that broke me out of a slump that had been going on for about 3-4 months. Is there something similar you can do in 3D if you want to get back into that? IDK, modeling small props maybe or some quick and simple sculpts of organic things you like.
Get feedback, improve. You'll be back up in no time. This post is a clusterfuck, but I hope some unified message gets across in the end, haha.
Good luck.
(PS. I'd suggest starting over. You'll get back to where you were faster if you don't dwell on lost skills but rather re-learn and make sure you remember them on a project you can toss out, then go back to your bigger project.)
(PPS. I CAN'T GET A YT VIDEO TO EMBED PROPERLY ON ITS OWN, BUT I MAKE A TEXT LINK HERE AND IT EMBEDS!? Of course.)
well...practice how to draw straight lines man.
As funny as it sounds, it is essential.:)
The more you do, the faster you'll start producing the good stuff.
So, get to it!
Why did I laugh?
I guess that's what happens when you don't have discipline. It may happen to me for days or weeks but months??
Cuz you're a bit of a jerk?
Same goes for three-dimensional arts. So practice how to draw a straight line, and when you succeed, practice how to draw a perfect circle. It shouldnt really take you more then an hour.
Blond, you don't know all of the variables involved to make a character judgement on the reasons behind someone being inactive.
Personally, last year I had a similar event that took my time away from being active for nearly 8 months. But I didn't notice any noticeable reduction in speed when I started back up again. If anything, I felt faster.
From what it sounds like you may not have been extremely proficient before becoming inactive, so taking long breaks can have a more dramatic result. I would suggest to set some goals and work towards them slowly.
What do you love doing? Or more simply, what do you find yourself consistently doing week to week when you're not doing school work?
As Marcus Mumford has sung, "In these bodies we will live / In these bodies we will die / Where you invest your love / You invest your life." These aren't pithy poems, this is a serious worldview I think honest people should recognize as truthful axioms.
[ame="
For example, I know a friend of mine was really active in the local uni party scene. Knew a lot of fraternity borthers and sorority sisters, made a lot of friends during his time there. Had strong relationships with his little sisters and bros. If he wasn't doing school work, it was investing in his relationships with those people. Went to EDC, Hard Day of the Dead, took in a whole gamut of electronic music as a music consumer.
This is in contrast to me. I spent a lot of time making games with other student developers on campus, spent nights in lab getting tasks done and fixing lighting on levels, importing new art assets. I prepped for GDC, focused on getting internships, working on art while eating my meals at the same time. My friend's consequences included hangovers, cramming for assignments. Mine were a lack of parties, numerically few friends, didn't know many people from other disciplines.
Do you know why parents seem to not have time to go to parties, bars, hobby functions on their own? Because they tend to prioritize their children in those cases.
Do you know why successful entrpreneurs tend to be quite knowledgable about investors, capital generation, or why a certain state policy is hampering their tax solutions? Because they sacrificed time from doing other possible things like helping with battered women's shelters, or leading their kids' PTA group at school.
Where you invest your love, is where you invest your life.
its not a matter of discipline. as leinad put it, there were a series of reasons that took and currently are taking all my time away, not allowing me to dedicate myself to 3d. i love it, really. but while i was striving to land a job as a 3d artist, i was offered a position in a different field that paid better, but took much of my time away, add to that other personal problems such as finals, relationship problems (alright, that can be put to a second plan, indeed we broke up because "i didnt have enough time for her" -.-), etc.
currently i find myself in a dilema, that is, keep the nice job i have that keeps me away from 3d, or go back to 3d and TRY to get something, and throw away what i have gotten so far.
saying its "lack of discipline" is utter bulshit, since my day would need 48 hours to be able to dedicate myself to all those things. im the sort of person that when starts something, dedicates the whole day to it. when i was only in 3d, i would wake up modelling, and go sleep modelling. as you might guess, currently i cant do that. sure, i still use photoshop, illustrator, i still doodle sometimes (whenever i can, for the funz), but dedicating my time to a complete model, uv mapping, texturing, rendering, counting the days i will be able to do that again, even if its just for my pleasure. cos really, i love it.
edit: @moose, sorry for hijacking your thread :S
Maybe a week is exaggerating, but I mean taking a long break and coming back to then see your skill has atrophied from lack of practice. This is obviously pretty frustrating and makes it all that much harder to be confident in the quality of your work. I'd say if you're able to during breaks, at least try to sketch - even 20-30 mins a day will help to train your artistic eye and keep you focused.
i know, it really takes a lot away. you forget the tools, commands, all the tricks you used to know, and remembering them takes a lot of time... currently thats the most i can do, sketch. indeed i have a sketchbook where i draw, but just to keep my mind occupied while on pause. but one hting im more than sure, is that ill have to regain much of my skills i used to have. might not take as much as it took the first time, since its only remembering, but will take a bit nonetheless. but i dont mind. i like challenges ^^
why would you take such a long break from something you enjoy
The reason why I stated my times of breaks is because I find that many people, especially those starting out, have an idealistic perspective on the kinds of people who get decent at art. The reality is, if you live long enough youll experience plenty of things that take priority over art (especially if youre not doing it professionally for work). Family obligations and major events, death of loved ones, and even the lack of resources can completely change your perspective and focus. These things have very little to do with discipline.
Granted, in this case it may be indeed an issue with discipline, but I try not to assume the worst attributes in people when given little information. Things are generally a bit more nuanced.
The main advice I would give is to not give up, and stick to it if you enjoy it. Obviously, not taking breaks will expedite the process of improving your skills but the most important thing is to not give up.
Hmm.....
Lately been asking this to myself really. Should be because of Christmas.
Like, if you stopped playing or seeing video games for 4 months, would you go back to thinking PS2 era games were top-of-the-line great looking? ...I really doubt it.
I think it's reasonable when you're out of practice for your pace to slow down a bit, might take a few days to get back those habits of keyboard shortcuts and workflow steps, but the core of your skills shouldn't really disappear. Does this actually happen?
I've often found stepping away for awhile to be beneficial, not unlike putting a project down for a day or two and coming back to it with "fresh eyes", but on a much larger scale.
True, true. You need money to survive and if have family / education must focus on it first.
exactly.
and as regards skills going away, trust me, it happens. i used to draw before, and i was really good at copies... renoir, mostly. today if i pick a renoir and try to copy it, it will suck bad, i will need at least some 10 tries to get back to something close to what i used to be.
You should be. Or, all of us lazy bums should be when 14 year olds are practicing like mad and just learning for free from tutorial videos.
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php/277127-dragning-s-sketchbook
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1945256&d=1397006231
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.phpattachmentid=2067824&stc=1&d=1417378854
you can't go back and spend that time differently so focus on taking steps right now to become the artist you want to be.
you might feel like you've deteriorated now but with some effort you can push back to where you were, and much quicker than you originally got there.
The year before I went to art school I did at least ten acrylic and oil paintings and god knows how many drawings. During art school I wound up doing more code and design than art. In four years I did a total of 1 (one) actual painting and a handful of drawings. Needless to say, I sucked when I got out. I was so rusty that I couldn't believe the work I did in high school was actually mine. Then the recession hit and I got a job where I had a lot of free time at a register, so I brought my sketchbook. Within a few months I was back where I was before college and improving. I haven't let my skills drop since.
You just need to build up your art muscles again, simple as that.
me gusta ^^
No one produces masterpieces all of the time, just focus on having fun in the process of creating and avoid distractions as necessary to maintain a happy balance. Who knows, maybe you'll find your "blue period" in the process
Oh, and remembering art theory usually helps when you're stuck on something. Aka solid shapes complementing curves, color wheel bullshit, compositional elements and an interesting range of sizes, energetic drawings versus clean line work etc.
Basically don't be afraid of working and work!
Taking all the advice and will do my best to benefit from it!