[aaron_Lamzilla]

If you ever wonder why some of your fellow classmate or friends seem to improve faster than you,
there are logical factors that can help explain this. The following are a list of factors I will highlight

Time factor- This one is a no brainier. It s common sense that the more time you spent doing an activity the better you will be at it. But time spent without intensity and intention will get you only to a certain level.

Intensity factor- It s like building muscle for strength, the harder and more intense you push in each workout, the more result you will gained. One way to gauge your intensity level is if what you are doing is too easy, then maybe you need to increase your intensity level and push harder. If your not pulling your hair out, throwing your pencil on to the wall, and shouting in frustration at your monitor, then maybe you aren't challenging yourself enough.

Intention factor- Working with intention is like understanding what your weakness is and knowing which specific muscle to focus on to build stronger so you can hit the next level of performance.
For instance, if you are weak in drawing, maybe it is because of you lack the fundamental of perspective or a strong mental visual library or you have lack of control of how you lay down your lines. Whatever it is, you need to identify the culprit and intentionally work toward strengthing those weak areas.

Consistent factor- When Michael Jordan hit the game winning shot at the buzzer to beat the Utah Jazz for the Championship, he made it look so easy. But I bet that he practiced that shot a million billion time for him to decide that 's where he want to put that nail in the coffin. If you want to get better at concept design and improve at a rapid speed, you have emerge yourself fully into it. You have it live and dream in.

To be very good at a specific skill require a life time of dedication. At the beginning you have to do it consistently with intensity and intention if you want to improve your craft. You have to work hard and work smart and stay persistent.

To read more: http://conceptart-101.blogspot.com

[fersteger]

It's true! Not only is it time spent doing a thing that makes you better and more confident at doing that thing, but also understanding what you are doing.

You blog seems cool too, you're gathering a whole bunch of knowledge in one place, awesome!

[aaron_Lamzilla]

Thanks man. Yea, I just want to put a blog together that I would have love to have when I was going thru concept design school. I would have made less mistake and wasted less time.

[aaron_Lamzilla]

More to come this month!

[amileduan]

Can't agree with you more about this,many newbies of CG industry should read this,and develop their learning plan clearly.

[Failstar]

Thanks for the share Aaron! I have much appreciation for your blog and thankful for the info you are sharing with us

[aaron_Lamzilla]

Thanks for the kind words. Much appreciated!

[Liquidsun]

Originally Posted by amileduan

Can't agree with you more about this,many newbies of CG industry should read this,and develop their learning plan clearly.

Great thread and this is a great idea but total beginners don't have the knowledge to develop a clear learning plan, that's the problem!

I'm desperate to learn and I read that practising drawing circles, straight lines & ellipses was a good way to train your hand eye coordination and improve lines, but yesterday I read that if a pro wants a straight line they use a ruler or shift+click in photoshop or they use the ellipse tool or a circle template.

This is why most self-learners give up (especially older people who have families & jobs) because they don't know what to study and get confused with the amount of information out there. It's all very well people saying "Just draw!" but most people are looking for a clearly defined learning path, even if they don't stick to it 100% it's still a set of guidelines to keep them focused on exactly what needs to be learned.

So, if you were to start again from zero with the knowledge you have, how would you approach it, what would your learning plan be?

[aaron_Lamzilla]

Hey Liquidsun,

Thanks! I know it can be confusing and frustrating as a beginner to sift thru all the info out there. My blog http://conceptart-101.blogspot.com is designed to be a beginner 's guide.

For a fresh beginner,I recommend these posts:

10 things you can do to get started to become a concept artist

Too old to switch career path?

[LadyShanta16]

this is a good post. Back in 2011, people at Gaiaonline keep telling me that I'm not a good artist. Maybe through the years of drawing practice, I have pride in drawing. Now that pride is gone.

[LadyShanta16]

I don't understand why many people just view my profile and stuff but not tell me about it. I feel so ignored. I am a type of person who wishes for attention. Are there any advice on how to persuade people to talk and get to know me? i will appreciate and good words you would give me. I'll be waiting.

[aaron_Lamzilla]

Hey Ladyshanta, the best way to make friends and connect in the art community is to find people alike that are going thru the same process of development and improvement. And help each other out and build a support system. You just one or two person to feed the energy off each other. Never loose pride or your passion, keep that fire in you. The moment you lose that, it s game over.

Don't listen to people who do not give constructive critism, they probably don't much themselves. You have to believe in yourself before anyone will believe in you.

Regarding you character sketches, it s a really good start. One thing I like what you did in your drawing is that you broke things down to simple shape. And I will advise to keep doing that. Learn the basic of anatomy and break it down to simple shapes. Second, I notice, you time yourself in your drawing. For now, I would just focus on getting the anatomy down into basic shapes first and slow it down a bit. Your speed will directly influence by your visual memory of anatomy. Keep up your positive attitude, and you will get there.

[neil15]

very true, the dedication applies in every field but if you add some smartness along with the hardwork & evaluate yourself constantly & could accept your mistakes,,then thr are lot more chance to succeed.