[bonapartebr]

Hi guys, I'm "new" to the website. I've been following the website and the forum for a while now, but I was ashamed to post something of mine before, now I'm seeking knowledge, no matter what.

So, I'm kind of angry with my drawings, I can't do them as the way I sometimes imagine, but I realize that they all have somethings in common, is it my style of drawing showing up or is just my necessity of training showing up? I practice so much and yet it seems I'm not getting anywhere...

Sorry about any mistakes with english, I'm from Brazil and sometimes I make some mistakes.

[AlexTLe]

Well if you are currently angry at your digital paintings, practice some more traditionally. I had the exact same problem like you, and practice worked fine for me. But your style probably isn't the thing holding you back, because most of the time, your art style is what you start off with and are most comfortable with (for me at least). Training would be beneficial, but i did most of my art self-taught with some videos and books. Some good books would be the Digital Art Masters Series, and for videos, there are plenty on youtube (i would recommend either "Feng Zhu" or "imaginefx". After you view those, try to practice again, maybe try the processes of the tutorials to further develop your knowledge of art. Also practicing too much causes stress, and thats not too good for you. Hope this helped.

[bonapartebr]

Thank you Alex, I guess you are right. I'm trying to paint again, but somehow I can't get it right, but I guess the problem is my lack of knowledge yet, could you recommend me some books about Light and Shadow ?

[nylelevi]

bonaparte - I think everyone goes through that stage. I definitely did and it really is just down to a lack of knowledge. Maybe you're trying to make something better than what your ability is actually capable of achieving at the moment because you don't fully understand what you are trying to draw. The more you study a subject (such as the structure of the face or the rest of the human anatomy), the more you will begin to understand it, and trust me you will definitely see an improvement. Eventually you will start to see what looks right and what looks wrong because you have that foundation knowledge and as you're drawing you can make adjustments as you go along.

I'm not sure of any good books that can teach light and shadow but I know that Andrew Loomis' Figure Drawing For All It's Worth has sections which outline the different planes of the human anatomy which should help you placing your shadows etc.

I think the key is to have patience. You'll be surprised how much quicker you actually learn when you're not trying to rush into it.

Also, your english is very good but if you need any extra help in portuguese then dont hesitate to ask

[bonapartebr]

Thank you Nylelevi! I feel like you nailed the problem, since that this is the exact feeling that I get when I imagine something ( specially when I'm reading a good book ) and when I try to draw it, it doesn't get out the way I imagined! And this is so frustrating because I have the composition all in my mind, the mood, the colors, the lines of perspective, but I can't get it right on paper or digitally. hahahaha...

I don't draw from life very much, but I do some online sessions of life drawing, since where I live there isn't any, does this help or drawing from real life is completely different?

Thank you for the portuguese help, but I'll try to keep to the english so I can get better at this too. hahahaha.

[nylelevi]

Ah I'm I helped Well I know that nearly every artist video I've watched or art book I've read will state that drawing from life is a must as seeing things in the real world can help you better understand what they're meant to look like, rather than copying line by line another artist's work or looking at a 2D photograph.

That being said, I haven't actually done much drawing from life at all so I can't really personally compare the two lol.

[bonapartebr]

Thank you very much once again for your help and advises.
If you have the time, could you take a look at a drawing a post it here? No one answered there, but I wanted some help to figure out what is wrong with it. =D

The link to my drawing post: http://cghub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11498

Once again, thank you so much!

[Saig]

Have the same problem...

It's just the gap between your skill and your vision of result that is filling with friggin hard work, but I'll agree - don't stress yourself too much. If you can't enjoy it - it's not worth it.

To paint\draw the same picture that is in your brain almost impossible. Just take it like the unreachable ideal that you're aiming for but always concentrate on workflow process.

If you try to compare picture on your monitor and that in your mind all the time you'll be mad on yourself constantly! Chill out, stay realistic, work hard.

P.S.: Sorry for my bad English. I hope it understandable...

[bonapartebr]

Yeah Saig, it's understandable! hahaha...
It really seems impossible to reach the image that I imagined, but like you said, I gotta aim for it. The gap between my skill and my vision still is a very big one unfortunately, but this is a matter of time and hardwork without stress like you and Nylelevi said. =D

[amileduan]

Nothing to feel shame,bonapartebr. Just like Vincent van Gogh,so just post your drawings here,you will get comments useful or not,but they are still helpful for your improvement.

[bonapartebr]

Thank you amileduan, I realized that I lost so much time being ashamed to post my drawings. There are people helping me get better already and I'm really happy with it, somehow I imagined differently. hahahha

[Helenni]

Calm down, man. I think you need to relax and let your brain rest. Then u'll find your way.

[bonapartebr]

Thank you Helenni, you're completely right! I calmed down a bit and got a lot of new references. I think I got better not only with my ideas but with my work too, even my style has changed a bit I think. =D

[Shorinji_Knight]

Style is the sum of your mistakes. The more you improve the more your style changes. Posting your work help others help you. Sometimes it make a huge difference.

[bonapartebr]

Originally Posted by Shorinji_Knight

Style is the sum of your mistakes. The more you improve the more your style changes. Posting your work help others help you. Sometimes it make a huge difference.

Thanks, you are totally right. Since I started posting my works here and at other sites, my work got really better, even my skill to translate things of my imagination to the paper got better. BUT, there is always a long long road ahead. hahahaha