where else to turn?

[loadedpencil]

i dont know where i should post this.
i think here is fine since im asking for mentoring type advise/help/opinions/guidance ect.

im at a point in my art where i can fill up a sketch book every... 2 or 3 months and i dont feel like im getting any better. i dont think im learning anything even though i read my how to draw books and i read anatomy books. and i take the classes and i do figure drawing and anatomy. ive been self teaching digital painting for years.


yet im still frustrated with my work. its like my mind just wont get the information or wont hold it. or.. i have no idea.

im in a rut.
and i just need help.


and if somebody says oh hey man youre great ill teach you all i know in the process of reading this.

be my guest.



http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y25/gungrave515/art%20stuff/sketch.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y25/gungrave515/art%20stuff/Picture005copy2.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y25/gungrave515/art%20stuff/guy.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y25/gungrave515/art%20stuff/nero.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y25/gungrave515/art%20stuff/carp002.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y25/gungrave515/art%20stuff/practice.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y25/gungrave515/art%20stuff/carp002-1.jpg



ps. sorry i dont know how to post from here.

[neverville]

Your work reminds me of my own work from years ago before I discovered "constructive" figure drawing. I too was stuck in a rut.

While your attention to detail is quite good I can see that there is little in the way of "construction" to your figures. Your characters lack a sense of depth and dimensionality. Your profile and front-on characters are proportionally fine but your three-quarter and posed figures seem to be struggling to break free of their two-dimensionality. This artistic phase always reminds me of medieval art before the renaissance principles were explored.

I managed to break free from a similar rut/phase by going through a careful study of Byrne Hogarth's book "Dynamic Figure Drawing". That book is really the bible of all constructive figure drawing books; I've looked at a lot of others and (in my humble opinion) none even come close to being as complete and concise as Byrne's or as being so thoughtfully laid out in progressive lessons (be careful not to confuse it with his other book "Dynamic Anatomy" which has a much different focus).

Although it's focus is drawing the human figure, the principles Hogarth lays out have helped me in every area of my drawing.

When I studied that book I was careful to follow the lessons in the order that they were presented (I put myself through a bit of a boot-camp actually). There's a temptation to just hold onto the book as a "drop-in" reference book, but I'd encourage following the lessons strait through from beginning to end since each principle he demonstrates builds from the previous principle.

Some people are a little turned off by his powerful "formulaic" approach to constructing anatomy. And it's true, when you follow his process everything starts to look like his figures at first. But over the year I've expanded and elaborated on what I've learned and incorporated his process into my own unique drawing style.

I hope that helps!

[loadedpencil]

thanks for the reply
the very helpful reply at that.


i just found out about a guy named robert hale. yeah his guy is pretty much fantastic. my school provides his tapes and i bought a book of his.

but id still like an anatomy or figure drawing mentor

and i got a 9x12 wacom on the way (jumps!)
so i would like a digital coloring teacher too. im alrite i just need some refining and actual practices that will make me better.

my biggest problem is i dont know what to draw or paint for practice or to improve.

im a lvl 16 pokemon battling lvl 16 pokemon and gaining exp very slow.

[arttorney]

Mentoring has substantially slowed down lately, and even in the best of times there were many more people in your position than people willing to mentor them. I think you need to be proactive to find your mentor.

First think about your goal. If it is "illustrator" then you definitely must master figurative work. If it is "general video game artist" then you still should, but probably need to fill in some other skills too. If it is "make money as some kind of artist" then your direction opens up quite a bit, since there are a lot of ways to make money as "some sort of an artist." (We might not be talking about a lot of money so pick a kind of artist you would love to be.) Maybe you have already pieced your way through this inquiry and have come up with your goal. Expressing that goal out loud will help others know if they can help. More importantly, it will help you know which people you might benefit from sending a private message to asking them for help.

I tend to be weak at figures myself, but I have a still active mentoring thread http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=108748
where we (including me) are trying to get better at structuring figures in various poses. We are doing head tilts and turns this week. You are welcome to join in if you can't find anybody else.