I need to learn to relax an not take it so seriously 😠
2yr
@jweller
Brand new to drawing. I’m having trouble just letting go of my drawing inhibitions. Get nervous about drawing to next exercise and go back to fundamental shapes for a few days.
This is very common amongst many of us, the problem is we see someone like Stan and their skills and we expect ourselves to be able to do it right away. Trust me when I say we all start at the same spot. I'd say just have fun with it and remind yourself why you wanted to pick up drawing in the first place, that helps me get out of a bad state of mind when I'm drawing; I also feel like my drawings improve too. Another thing to think about is what does your drawing space look like? Is your desk cluttered? What about your room? When the place around you is cluttered your mind picks up on that subconsciously. Another thing that has helped me is throwing on some classical music when I draw. It doesn't have to be classical, but the idea is the music will help you get into a better mental state and stay there. Lastly, reach out for feedback on your work! You shouldn't be embarrassed of drawing something "bad," we have all started where you are at right now, and many of us still have those thoughts about being good enough. You just have to keep pushing, and draw a ton! If you ever want advice you can personally @ me and I will try my best to help you, because like Marshall says, "you have something to say," meaning there is something deep inside you that wanted to draw, now go out and give it a chance to speak, and more importantly enjoy just making art whether you think it's bad or not! How good do you think you'll become after drawing for a year straight? What about 10? The good thing too is that you can be an artist for as long as you're alive!
I think a lot of us do the same, especially if we're working through a course. One thing you can do to "cleanse your palate" is to use a completely different medium in another sketchbook. Do an eye. A piece of fruit. A loose landscape. ANYTHING that is not what you're studying. This will help reset your brain, keep you from burning out AND you may be surprised by how much you like what you create when you don't hold yourself "accountable" and just let yourself have fun. Good luck. :)
I am an engineer by trade and struggle with the same issue. I just started a month ago and had to talk myself off the perfectionist ledge. Give yourself permission to be ok with imperfections. It’s your sketchbook and it’s a journey you don’t have to share anything you don’t want to. It’s pretty liberating once you break yourself out of negative talk and are just happy about the journey of drawing. I suck at it, but it’s ok. My drawings a month ago are way worse than my drawings yesterday. It’s cool to start seeing improvements. Hope this help! Keep it up!
Agree with this completely. Also, as you said, keeping a record of your past works to compare to the present day really helps, as there is concrete evidence of improvement. The other thing that helped for me was giving myself permission to just throw out a drawing that I was really unhappy with. It helped free up my mind a bit and let me just dive into a new drawing without worrying about the result.
Im getting back to it after a fairly long rut
The initial block is strong but showing up consistently every day for a couple weeks without any expectations is the way to go
you WILL improve if you just do it. Thank me later
What's the rush buddy? and it's okay to go back the more the better Don't force it m8 try to draw things you like and fun to you, take breaks but not long ones, good luck.
