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@toromanticart
•
3yr
added comment inLightbox 2021 Portfolio Reviews
hi, I'm an old man,,my stuff is horrible, probably has nothing to do with the works here.
However, I have a question for many years so in the end I decided to publish, I write it for anyone (even the users of the forum are exceptional artists) will eventually want or be able to read, but I understand that there will be no answers.
if at almost 40 years, 38, it is too late to reach professional levels, is thinking about it just madness? (I have been trying to improve for about 5 years, I have the desire to become almost decent in drawing and in art, to try to learn from about 10, the first 5 I would say I threw them into asking me if it made sense and in worse attempts.) by age maybe I should draw but without expectations on the level.
goal, doubt, would be this, will I get to do something decent, in case it could ever be considered for age?
I use traditional media but I had made attempts with digital and I was about to try again, I have almost broken my pc for a year, and I had not found myself with the tablet without a screen, the difficulties in returning to paper, then I only do blind drawing.
as genres, I like figures, portraits, humans and animals, I love comics, actually I like a thousand genres and subjects, this feeds the chaos .. oops.,,
Duncan Clench
3yr
It's never too late. I am 35, my dad decided to become a surgeon at 33 in a foreign country, with small kids, anything CAN be done.
Don't doubt your capacity, discipline is the only difference between you and the artist you want to be. I am a total amateur, and in exactly the same boat ... the courses on Proko or local courses will be a HUGE help to you.
Just thinking about it IS madness. But doing it consistently and deliberately? Not at all.
So, go here https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtG4P3lq8RHFRfdirLJKk822fwOxR6Zn6 (proko's beginner playlist) and go nuts.
I flip between traditional and digital, I find that trying something out in traditional media to get a feel and then using the speed of digital to iterate gives the best results, but everyone is different.
Why do you want to improve? What inspires you? Who are the types of artists who's art speaks to you? Pick 2-3 art parents and study them, try to emulate, copy etc.
But most of all stop thinking and just draw, every day, pick up a pencil and start making marks and see what happens. Commit to 5 minutes (I promise that once you start you will never spend just 5 minutes).
Also, maybe ignore social media, it gives a super warped perspective of what sketchbooks are or what progress "should be like". It shouldn't be anything. It's art, it is fundamentally subjective, work towards what YOU want.
Good luck, hang in there and please don't worry. And you know what, if you don't enjoy it? Just take a break. It's not a race.
Really respect you posting as I can tell you are worried, don't be. And if anyone says otherwise ignore them, as they are not someone you should be around in your art journey. That said, be realistic, don't quit your day job to work "work on art", you can reach a professional level in your spare time no issue and you might find you don't want to go pro. You might just want the freedom to have a direct connection between your artistic desires and the page you are drawing on.
Have a great weekend!
Duncan Clench
•
3yr
This is perfect ... I only paint from imagination and I have never once planned one of these, I tend to just randomly do brush strokes or paint a sky and then just pick our shapes and keep going until I think it looks cool.
Feedback super welcome, I have been doing art for 2 years and want to get to a stage where I can paint whatever landscape I like, not just noxious dusklike hellscapes ...
This one is called "A Balrog is Forged" and I did this after re-watching the Lord of the Rings Extended Editions, the Balrog was always so cool and there is not much about them in the lore so I took a lot of liberties.
I like the drama of the light and the energy of the red embers. It's a very emotional piece.
Marco Fornaciari
•
3yr
Hello! My name is Marco, I'm from Italy and a couple of years ago i started my art journey. I left my previous job (contability and management) to focus only on art and completely changing my life.
I really love portraits and realism, that's probably my main goal but i'm still trying to learn a lot of different subjects and technique to integrate into my work.
If you could give me your opinion and critiques on my stenghts and weaknesses i'll be really really happy!
Thank you Proko, the amazing artists on this site and all the team behind it! You literally changed my life, i could never thank you enough.
I saw your painting of the white wolf on reddit and it blew me away, super cool stuff.
Duncan Clench
•
3yr
Asked for help
Hi!
My name is Duncan and I am 35 year old amateur who started 2 years ago and has been trying to improve.
I am not sure I would enjoy a career as a professional illustrator but I would like to reach a level where it would be possible if I so wished and mainly I want to achieve "fluency" in that I am not limited in composition or subject matter (from imagination), for example I tend to gravitate towards dark moody scenes partly because I think it looks cool but also because I think it's much easier to hide the details since I am a beginner.
I would like to achieve a painterly style as I really want to avoid that overly smoothed digital look, which would be suitable for fantasy and sci fi illustration (I guess my work is probably too abstract for Magic the Gathering nowadays, but that was my original dream ... ).
Basically, would really like some feedback on how I am doing, what is going well / not so well for my desired goal of "fantasy landscapes from imagination".
Good luck everyone! (and yeah whoever said this was like writing a letter to Santa was spot on).
David Schneider
•
3yr
Hi! I'm David, a freelance illustrator and concept artist.
I have a pretty broad range of skills and don't want to focus on one specific thing, so I do environments as well as characters/creatures.
My goal at hand is to get a steady stream of freelance income, while my ultimate goal is creating card art for MTG.
Thanks for this opportunity!
David
Duncan Clench
•
3yr
Asked for help
"An Impossible Choice ... An Unbreakable Promise"
Tried to paint characters and do some storytelling, as I have been learning painting by doing landscapes for the last couple of years.
Would really appreciate some feedback on what works, what doesn't and what colour scheme works best. I am leaning towards the red as it's the most dramatic, but the blue does convey hopelessness as well, which fits the theme.
