Not enjoying my work

[Peebee]

Hello Mike and friends,

Hope you all are doing well ?

I think I am not fully grasping the concepts. I am a visual learner and learn faster when I watch someone draw. I can’t grasp the new videos on shadow.I guess that’s too advance for me right now. Maybe I need a step by step guide and lots of homework because I’m jumping steps that are beyond my current skill . I am taking on a challenge which is too hard for me but I only want to draw dogs .

Can you guide me and critique my work.

I lost my baby Buddha two months back and this is his incomplete drawing.

Regards,

Priya.

PRIYA-Buddha.jpeg

[Peebee]

This is my reference

[Alessandra]

I don't understand...it seems to me that your Buddha baby is coming very well out of your pencils.
In any case you can look at the Drawing Basic video

[Peebee]

@Alessandra thank you . I’m good at copying and I haven’t grasped the technique well so a lot of guess work which puts too much strain . Don’t feel confident and can’t find my flow. I guess I’ll go back to watching the videos again .

[Mike Sibley]

There's some guesswork in this, but I think this is probably what Buddha looks like when I extract him from your photo. Close? Close-ish?

PRIYA-Buddha-head.jpg

I can’t grasp the new videos on shadow. I guess that’s too advance for me right now. Maybe I need a step-by-step guide and lots of homework because I’m jumping steps that are beyond my current skill.

Yes - possibly. Only you can be a judge of that. I do the same when I watch videos on video editing - sometimes I really don't understand it.... yet. But I DO know it's possible and that the facility exists. So, one day I will need it; I'll know where to go to learn about it; and because I need it, it will make sense.

Looking at your drawing of Buddha - which I think is utterly charming and well-drawn - you don't NEED to know about shadows. Except for very localised cast shadows. You only need to understand that one side of the head will be darker than the other (depending on the lighting direction) or, if both are the same, that the light is shining from in front or behind. And that's it. It really is all you need to know.

Then one day you'll decide to draw Buddha sitting on a path in your garden. And you want the shadow to appear on the path and then continue up the wall. Now I think the videos will begin to make sense.

As for your drawing - Buddha is looking good. Your drawing is sharp and confident. You're not flitting about here and there, but drawing a section at a time, so you give yourself time to fully understand it. And I can see you really do understand each area. The eyes are shiny. The nose is dry. The hair is very believable. What more do you want?

I’m good at copying and I haven’t grasped the technique well...

Oh, yes, you are! And yes you have! At your stage, there's nothing better to help you learn than copying. When you're still having to think about HOW to draw something, copying gives you a goal to aim for, and it removes the need to interpret. If the technique you choose produces a result that looks like the reference, then that's ideal.

I can see from Buddha that you ARE good at copying - and that you understand what you're copying, and that's a real bonus, and a huge step in the right direction.

[Peebee]

@ Thank you Mike for the encouragement. Watching your videos have helped me so far .I am taking a few steps back and revisiting all your videos from the beginning . The picture you have extracted looks a lot better . The black is a good black .I should have gone darker . I guess next time

[Mike Sibley]

Thank you, Mike, for the encouragement. Watching your videos have helped me so far. I am taking a few steps back and revisiting all your videos from the beginning. The picture you have extracted looks a lot better. The black is a good black. I should have gone darker. I guess next time

I extracted it because I wanted to better appreciate the detail and the work you put into it. It's as dark as I think it might be... and that I consider it should be

As long as the nostrils and pupils are a solid black, all is well. But the main thing is, I can see you really put a lot of thought into this as you drew it. That is to say: you didn't just blindly copy what you could see, but you looked at each area in detail, and thought about what it was before drawing it. That way you built in what you understood and already knew about it too.

Keep going. You're doing well.

[Peebee]

This is very encouraging. The idea is to keep at it . hopefully one day I get to join the 2 day workshop .That’s a good goal to have in mind . Till then I’ll keep practising.Thank you so much .

[JayS]

PeeBee,
Your post reminds me of a phenomenon common to many artists. There is a point in the development of the work where the artist is discouraged. The drawing just doesn't seem to fit the image you have in your head and perhaps, most especially, in your heart. This is, I believe, the "work through" moment. It is the moment where you put aside your feelings and keep drawing. We've all been there. I was once told that an artist can't see improvement from one drawing to the next. But if you keep your work and look back 5 drawings you will clearly see how far you've come. In time your work will be absolutely wonderful. As others have pointed out what you are doing is great. You are improving with every pencil stroke. Mike is a great teacher and you will truly enjoy his workshop.

[Peebee]

@JayS I like how it’s turning out but it’s the process which I’m feeling overwhelmed by . I have to learn to stay ahead of the doubt . My drawings have improved and I know I’m jumping steps so now I am revisiting the basics again . It’s good to go back to the basics . I have learnt so much from mikes videos , hopefully I’ll get the opportunity to learn more . Btw your work is very inspiring : )