Ya know, I just went over this German idea in art history class called Faktura- it’s the idea that artists should focus on using a medium’s strengths in their purest forms to create even better work (water color’s layering, photography’s light/shadow interplay, digital painting’s way of retouching and layering etc) when you talked about ink, it really made me think of this. We create with a different mindset in different mediums because it helps us better create whatever we’re working on

In Rudolph Steiner school we were not allowed to make lines as there are no lines around things in reality...There is however a distinct citchy unrealistic style that is very common in those circles

The "you draw like a girl" comment is so misogynist and disgusting, cant believe a teacher said this

Painting is so much nicer the editing or review concept test.

Gotta confuse them back with a "thank you"

It's not just belittling you, but being sexist on top of that. How does being "a girl" have any affect on your artistic capabilities?

@@Celanna192 yeah true, making art is for everyone and everyone has their own way and style ^^

It's bad that this came from a woman. She should know better. Really.

Use your heads guys. I believe this one is called “Irony.” If I was to interpret it I would think the teacher was taking from the ol’ phrase, “You hit like a girl”, possibly implying that he is “pulling his punches” or maybe afraid to commit to his strokes?? Yes, the phrase can be viewed as sexist but biologically and generally women would hit softer than men. So definitely an insult but meant to instill a drive for the artist to try harder. Take that as you will snowflakes, but obviously he has a deep respect for this instructor and learned how to “take the punches” “like a man”

I can squint all day but people don’t look like cylinders to me either 😅

Agreed

They tell you geometric shapes but the truth is look at things as 3d forms

Glad you are finding it helpful 🐻 That painting took 40(!) hours to do so remember that patience is a big part of the process even though it’s not one of the lessons in that course .

@@angrymikko oh my! I think I’ll focus on small painting for now. I have a small child and I’m happy I get a couple of hours to paint a week 😅

A great way to improve is to SLOWLY increase the complexity of paintings. Getting used to not finishing them in one sitting takes time. It’s great to enjoy a long process when you know you can steer it to the finish line but getting to that point too early will feel frustrating as it might look hopeless. It’s like swimming in open water. Stick close to the shore in the beginning and only increase the distance when you don’t have to worry about drowning anymore 🐻

@@angrymikko that is good advice. Thank you 😊

In der Kunst kannst du alles tun. Egal wie. Es gibt Techniken, das heißt aber nicht, dass du gezwungen bist nur diese zu nutzen. Wenn du Kunst machst, bist du ein Künstler. Genauso echt wie andere Künstler :)

I know right! In my case, I can draw well, but suck at painting. One issue is I just can’t paint patiently or methodically. Trying to stabilise my own way of painting. (Digital painting is what I mean. I’m that bad at actual oil chalk and water color)

@@evildinobot well in modern era that we’re living in my opinion digital tools are as good as traditional tools or maybe we are more of a designer than artist(think of it this way 😉)

Obviously I can only assume what she meant but I always thought she was trying to say I hold the pencil too light and that my lines are too loose. 🤷🏻‍♂️ I don’t think it had anything to do with the subjects in my art. If you told me now that my art looks girly I’d be like “yes?”. I’m aware of the gender roles people put on the kind of art I do and that doesn’t bother me. I used to have a lot of internalised homophobia about it but luckily I got over it so I can make the art I want to make. Loving your own art is really important to finding your own style and I hope everyone can get there. No matter what others might say about your paintings. Because at the end of the day it’s about finding your own audience and the people that gravitate towards the way you see things. That doesn’t come for free though. It takes courage to be yourself. In life and in art. 🐻

@@angrymikko I also wonder how the women in your class felt if they overheard that. But I’m sorry that she said that to you. Interestingly, I have a similar style of art to you and I’m a trans man, so I’ve really had to ignore the idea of what makes art ‘masculine’ as I felt insecure about it in a similar way to you. You helped a lot with that actually, so thanks

I used to waste so much energy thinking about the gender thing when I was working in video games. Now I’m glad to say that I spend that time into making my characters and worlds more interesting and in turn I’m definitely a happier artist because of it.

@@angrymikko that’s great to hear! It really shows in your work - it is full of joy. Thanks for sharing with us

​@@angrymikko Making loose and flowing lines is even a very good thing. If you then dial in the precision, which just comes over time, you're golden! What a terrible advise from someone who's supposed to help you and should know better.

I think that’s one way to look at it. I think if you are doing something creative, you are an artist. If you want to KEEP doing creative things, it is imperative to identify as an artist. We want to behave in a way congruent with our identity, so if that involves making art, there is way less mental friction to start and do the actual work.

fr, like how the fuck do you even "draw like a girl" besides just bein a girl that draws???

i feel like that comes from sports, basically locker-room talk it's incredibly sexist and makes no sense in art

This isn't "next level offensive" it's normal level, plus wasn't it a woman saying this to him?💀

@@mrpickles-hb6zx So what? A woman saying it makes it less sexist? Make it make sense!

I think its funny since shes not only sexist but she also called herself bad :P I think she should've lost her job tbh

My next piece has already gone through 3 different techniques both digital and traditional and it’s going to have 2 more just because that’s what that piece needs. Also includes line art because it’s just faster for that one piece. As a concept artist I learned to just get to get to the finish line as fast as possible. Often I needed to convert my entire style for the project in question so I learned plenty of shortcuts that I still use every day.

Details are always easy to do, especially when zooming in. It's possible to create a bubble where everything looks fine and is effortless to control. With line art, it is inherently a bit harder to stay in the big shapes because a line covers only a tiny portion of the canvas. I respect everyone who has that type of restraint. Using huge brushes in the beginning almost automatically keeps me zoomed out, so I don't need to battle that urge as much.

@@angrymikko that is such an incredible way of thinking about it oh my gosh

I’ve taught concept art for so many years now that it’s not just binary between these two elements. With students throughout the years you start noticing how everyone has a different way they see and understand things. When someone doesn’t understand an idea it usually helps to have different ways of explaining it. Through practice, images or metaphors. Just explaining the same thing twice rarely if ever works.

This way of working extends beyond lines and block-ins. In my work I’ve faced many art style challenges trying to fit my design to the needs of the project and I’ve learned to notice friction that’s either medium specific or due to my lack pf skill. Skill problems need more time to work on that’s possible within a project and I work on those after my work is done. However medium specific friction can be immediately solved in most cases by switching my approach and that results in a better product for my client and less stress on my part as all of my work is design not the actual painting that I’m handing them over at the end of my part.

There are many ways to draw so breaking that down in a future video in some exercise might be a good idea. Sometimes just changing the tool can be eye opening too. Like a charcoal so thick that it’s hard to make lines with or a marker that is good for layering. The good thing with experimenting is that you can free yourself from the idea of being good and just focus on if the method clicks well with you or not.

@@angrymikko That's a lovely idea! Just found some old charcoal sticks the other day while spring cleaning! They were my wife's but they never used them and said I can have them. Haven't used them but the idea of getting to try them and seeing if laying down values works better for me has me pumped to learn to use them 😁 hadn't thought of that, thank you for the idea!

I always felt like in my own workflow the details in a drawing always seemed deceptive as they seem to nearly disappear after the colours are introduced. Same for colour blocking. The light always seems more important to the mood than the decisions on what each local colours are. That’s why I never got a sense that I’m planning a finished piece when so many of the main elements of composition were still unknown. This doesn’t apply to artists who leave a contrast gap between colours and lines but for me it is a huge issue since I rarely leave my lines in anyway. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Just the same way there are ways for painters to draw there are just as many ways for craftsmen/women to paint. It's all about starting from the language that’s closest to your comfort zone and SLOWLY adding techniques from that other field. The problem with UKposts in these sort of assignments is that one has to ever sell the results with stunning thumbnails but honestly the progress might look slow and unimpressive at first. Most learning processes in art do take time but if you find the goal worthwhile that shouldn't scare you from moving forward.

My pleasure. Being consistent at art is getting good at facing those inner doubts over and over. Every painting is just a pile of random scribbles before it starts looking like something. Art is unique from skills like playing an instrument or dancing in that the beginning shows no signs of promise nor skill. Even when you do have the fundamentals even when you have the skill you still need to convince yourself that you can do this every time. Being ready to face that challenge and overcoming it with every piece is part of being an artist. Art is for the brave.

I often find the richness of storytelling comes through that process. When I’ve spent 20 hrs in the same scene I know where I am who the characters are and what storytelling devices I can leverage to get that point across for others as well.

I'm a writer and I always discover the story as I write 😊 I would wager that musicians go through the same

That makes sense, writing is a lot like painting and vice versa. 🎨🖋️

Thank you 🐻

I think I know what you mean. I would suggest to just not draw "outlines". I see the shapes in 3D as you do, so THAT is how I draw, in volumes. Outlines are NOT volumes, but I think people here are confusing the two terms. When I draw a character, landscape, structures, animals, fantasy or reality, whatever, I more easily visualize those things and spaces that way. Like sculpting almost. I have sculpted a little in both an additive way (like using clay) and a subtractive way (like in stone). Even those two sculpting materials are very different from each other, yet when you "see" it as volumes, they are very much the same. To me, this includes drawing, even though it is 2D, I visualize in volumes. So when drawing a human or some creature, I have to have a clear vision in my mind what I want to draw, and then start with the organic center line that may be the "spine" OR it represents the center line of action the character is built around. Then I would flesh it out and loosely place those volumes (or body mass) in place. There is always some contrapposto going on, because who wants a boring figurative pose? So those "geometric shapes" that some people have brought up here in the Comments section, and they say they hate drawing that way because it is too restrictive or feels dead, have it confused. Some art instructors may suggest that because they think breaking down volumes into their flat 2D shapes are easier for art students to digest, but some students appear to misinterpret that and think they are doing ONLY that and not visualizing the whole process. Then student may focus their intent for some reason on ONLY trying to find and draw flat geometric shapes first, (and their sketch feels rigid), and miss the most important part of capturing the ORGANIC line-of action-in the character's pose, or the center mass line which beautifully sets the stage for those 3D volumes. This is true for even portraits. But on the other hand, if I am doing a project (or aspects of a piece of art) that may have 2D graphic elements, I just automatically approach the design work as "flat". I just love drawing and painting, and I think the sense of flat 2D and dimensional 3D volumes each are a natural fit for the end result that you want for a particular piece of art.

@@pat4005 I really appreciate everything you said and I do relate to the last paragraph sometimes it rquires 2D sometimes 3D thinking... And I will be sure to try to apply you method to mine and see how it goes, plus am just a beginner so this really really helps thank you so much 🙏

I have a tablet but I’ve always preferred drawing on paper instead of digital drawing. My next piece is also drawn on paper and the painting process is digital. A lot of people think drawing digitally is easier but it’s worth keeping an open mind to traditional options.

Vision is mysterious because it’s not just a physical way to sense the world. So much of what we see is tied to the way our brains interpret that information. And that method is very different to all of us. This also applies to colour. The greatest superpower feeling with art is when you start seeing colours that you previously didn’t notice. Our mind tries to simplify reality with easy symbols. But we are capable of so much more than that if given enough time to see past those simplifications.

The fear of white paper can also be a reason why this happens to some. It’s kinda easier with digital or opaque paint when you can just start with a mess but with drawing it’s a bit harder to come up with ways to start from chaos. 🐻

@@angrymikko Fr. Whenever I do anything, I always tone down the paper so it's more grey.

My next piece is done with line art on a2. I do use them for when the piece calls for it.

@@angrymikko I think its great, If i could understand the more paintry approach I could incorporate it into my linework pieces.

I’d love to make one but honestly those are too expensive for someone like me. I do have a print shop in Inprnt though so there’s that 🖼️🐾

And thank you for the kind words:)

Have you considered publishing your book using kickstarter or indiegogo? That could be a good option to make it possible ✨

THIS painting took 26 hours☝️+the colour editing was about 2hrs in Photoshop. New paintings always seem like shiny possibilities but even those end up with their own unique visual problems to solve. That’s where the real learning growth happens though so I feel obligated to encourage you to push through that phase or alternatively start paintings with a more limited scope. Trying to learn multiple things in one painting is never a great idea in my opinion. A 26 hr painting is not better than a 4hr one. It’s all about what and how you are telling your story through your art. A 20 minute sketch is sometimes a louder, more powerful way to make your point than drowning it in rendering.

@@angrymikko Thank you for the answer ... limited pallet and only using one brush seems like a good start :) I thought that it is 40hrs from reading the comments :) My mistake!

I was referring to the “Green Park Bistro” painting that’s in the art course I was commenting on.

Better late than never. Sounds like you still had the same kind of pull towards art that kept you trying despite having frustrating experiences. Glad you didn’t give up 🐻💖

There’s nothing wrong with being self-taught. I can, however, understand why that route can feel frustrating sometimes if you’re going through a long period where you’re not seeing progress. Art classes are often designed on stacking information to make it easier for the students to absorb information in a logical order. Everyone can do those exercises even without art school, but they’re not all fun assignments. The colour theory video linked at the end is one of those useful assignments, but I don’t think many would push themselves to do that on their own. Being self-taught requires a lot of discipline, but it’s completely normal to feel like the progress is slow. Many people in art schools think that way, too; it’s just that they’re surrounded by people in the same situation, so it’s easier to deal with that resistance. Stay strong and try to connect with others on that same path. You’d be surprised how many are making progress but still have moments where they doubt their abilities and need support to continue their journey. 🐻

@@angrymikko Maybe one day I'd get back and connect with people once more. Right now I'd rather focus on myself and establish my foundation, so I won't lost myself anymore when I'm at a crossroad.

Who says good art needs to be skilful at all? Art that feels “true” can be done in so many ways that it is just better to find a way that communicates your viewpoint in the most powerful way. Nobody is going to show up in your workroom and give you a permission to do your own thing. That needs to come from within.

The last sentence perfectly sums up what I think about that too so all I can say is that I agree. 🐻

It's perfectly possible to use a thin-ish brush to straight up draw with oils on your canvas before you start painting. The chosen colour can even work in the layering of hues in the final version. If you feel drawing helps you can also just draw on the canvas as well. Just use beefy fixative before taking the paints out. There is not more frustrating than having carefully planned lines mix with the paint.

Why wouldn’t I read this? I read ALL of my comments! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a nice comment 🐻💖

@@angrymikko thank you

After going through this life lesson I ended up finding many other similar things about the way I make art that just ended up as part of my style later. It’s surprising just how many unknown walls around there are holding us back, before you are forced to test if they actually matter at all.

But for real tho wtf does drawing like a girl mean? Come to think of it when it comes to art I’ve never felt it was gender based or you had to be masculine or feminine with how you made it. That’s generally a weird ass comment.

Vivid makes every painting look better so I don’t have to try as much 😅

I just wish someone had told me this when I was younger but better late than never 😅

@@angrymikko for sure good sir. :)

Many of the videos on my channel are also assignments on my art classes similar to the ones I did in school myself like: ukposts.info/have/v-deo/sIBhk3p_kYucpI0.htmlsi=hVvyZmVO-yEuAH_l There are also plenty of assignments I do that are born out of experience teaching art and noticing some of the pain points students have. Like this: ukposts.info/have/v-deo/gYGgg2lqpG2mjoE.htmlsi=StaPFR0Ssr1vSDJy On top of my videos here I also have a massive library on this channel’s membership where I have hours of art tutorials, assignments, and tons of exclusive live streams, colour lectures and also just chill work sessions.

There is a line art method where you can suggest shadows and shapes without covering them completely. Not sure if that would help but it could be a good in-between bridge between the methods. Btw almost all of my “clean” line art is drawn that way and that just might be the reason why. Hard to explain in text but I’m sure I’ll do that in future video when I’m back in drawing mode. ✏️

Never going to use a screen protector again. The iPad is one with the faster of the 2 ram speeds. It’s an M1 but the chip and generation matter way less than the ram so check that first if you’re thinking of buying one.

I mostly use ipad with procreate. I used to paint everything in photoshop but these days I thinks too cumbersome.

Yes I am!

You can see the exact size at 15:41 in this video

When I was a kid I used to only use watercolours but I was like 18 back then so it was ages ago. I know some plein air painters just sketch in with watercolour so while that’s definitely doable, I for one feel like that’s way too much pressure to be enjoyable to me. Another approach is to do a very light wash of the main shapes with wet on wet technique and then add lines on top when you already have a vague blocking going on. I used to use this technique with urban sketching and I think it's fun if you can learn to like the lively line work that comes with this combination. I’m sure there are other methods but these are the only things that come to my mind right now.