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Jamie C.
•
1yr
added comment inCritique - Simple Animal Portraits
Perhaps not a popular opinion, but here goes: Having struggled with how to approach this assignment at the start, does anyone else find it super frustrating that Stan gets wrapped in analyzing submissions from folks who are way, way beyond the beginner level? This isn't the first time, but it feels like he's getting distracted by "ooh this is nice" and not focusing on the actual lesson at hand. This was billed as a basic fundamentals course for beginners, but there are obviously a lot of samples here that are from artists that are very experienced, if not already professional. Maybe they're just showing off or maybe they're chasing Likes, but it makes what was supposed to feel like an entry level course - and the community attached to it - much more advanced and really exclusive than it arguably should. I could care less if my own submissions are critiqued, but it leaves at least me with a "Why Bother" feeling when we're examining stuff from concept artists and other obviously experienced artists in what's supposed to be fundamentals class. For me, a relative absolute beginner, it would be much more helpful to learn things from people making the same mistakes common at my level. Perhaps I misunderstood the course intent or maybe I'm not the intended audience. If I could offer a critique, it would be more productive to dedicate more time at the start of each project assignment for a clearer statement of what the assignment is - or more importantly *isn't* - and perhaps some more examples, and then to more selectively chose examples that highlight those specific goals. Just my two cents; thanks.
@aster_fizztooth
1yr
I feel the same way about the clarity of assignments, I always need to watch the critiques to truly grasp what the assignment is and I get frustrated that I didn't do it the right way the first time because I was missing the do's and don'ts.
Another problem I have is that while it's marketed as a basics course, it feels more like step 2 in your learning journey. You need to have a lot of prior knowledge. I feel like there would need to be a video just on HOW to observe and think and the whole "Draw what you see, not what you know" and other tips of the same caliber for absolute beginners who might still have a lot of bad habits.
The bean is often referenced, but there isn't a link to it anywhere. So having the old youtube videos linked as bonus material to use to study would make the "beginner" part a lot more accessible. Things just clicked for me when watching the structure basics, beans and mannequinization videos and I feel like they should be linked somewhere to help other people on their learning journey.
The exercises are great and force you to learn through different methods, but I find the book "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" a lot more beginner friendly than this course. It teaches the reader that they CAN draw and reinforces their morale, which I find more important than pure technical skill since most beginner artists are defeated, feeling like they can't draw or don't have a talent for it. I love this course and I have never learned this fast before, things just click a lot of the time. However, without the prior knowledge I already possess, I feel like I would have already abandoned the course because of a feeling of "not being as good as the others".
