Will jumping around get me anywhere?

[JParrilla]

So lately Ive been drawing my ass off and I feel really good about it. The issue Im having is that I cant get myself to do repetitive studies of the same thing. For instance I cant get myself to draw more than a page or 2 of hands in one day.. I just have the urge to jump around and draw something else. I can draw all day long.. its not an issue with drawing itself.. its just WHAT im drawing. For example today I did a page of hands, a page of torsos, 2 pages of box figures and a page of faces for my "study" portion of my day. Will I ever really get this shit in my head without doing tons of repetition of the same thing? At the same time I want to improve in many areas so there are so many things I need to tackle. I feel like by only doing a few studies of everything and not many studies of one thing.. Ill just forget alot of what Ive learned. Am I wrong?

[KarylGilbertson]

I disagree. I think that you're doing the right thing. I don't think one day is enough time to totally forget everything you've been working on, especially if you pick it back up the next day.

Just keep on truckin, you'll improve like crazy if you keep up that schedule.

[Amber Alexander]

I think what you're doing is just fine, I think the important thing is to not avoid whatever you're weaknesses are.

[JParrilla]

thanks guys.. I always do work on my weaknesses I was just concerned that I wasnt concentration enough on one thing and I would end up in a jack of all trades master of none kind of situation.. but at the same time I want to be good at so many things

[Enydimon]

When it comes to the basics of art, you shouldn't be worried about being a Jack of all trades; master of none. It's the stuff you should be getting good at it. Creative drawings are still fine too.

I think what your brain is trying to do is to prevent you from burnout, which is a good thing.

[dcorc]

In the end, its desirable to know all this stuff. I see no problem with working on several different areas simultaneously, it stops boredom and frustration from setting in. I also think a lot of us learn in what I think of as "loops" - that we keep swinging back round to things as we identify them as an area that needs more practice/study - and that on each pass we become more receptive to aspects that we perhaps missed, earlier (a good reason to re-read old textbooks - coming back to it with more knowledge, it can often seem like a different book!).

Dave

[Nibras]

I do this too, at first I would try to just get my self to focus on 1 thing and that would totally block out all motivation/urge to draw.
Just keep it this way, study/draw from mind/ study/ draw from mind, you're still actually applying what you learnt and it'll stick for much longer.

[Qitsune]

Learning art should be hard work but it should be fun. If jumping around is how you have fun, so be it. If you wanted something tedious, going into admin or accounting would be more lucrative.

[JParrilla]

thanks so much guys! I just had this idea for example that in order to get good at drawing faces... I needed to draw like tons of faces per day. The problem with this is 1. I eventually get bored.. and 2. it doesnt leave me much time/energy to work on other aspects of my drawing that need improving. So instead I adopted my way of just doing a smaller quantity of each subject... while fitting in more subjects.

[KarylGilbertson]

Seems like a good practice to me.

[jeremygordon89]

I do the same thing. I study from different books (such as anatomy, animal anatomy, digital painting, etc.), and I spend maybe an hour on each book before it bores me. Then I may come back to it later in the day. Maybe every now and then it would be good to spend a whole day just drawing whatever your weaknesses are, so that you can make a larger improvement faster. That's just what I do.

[Katfayheirti]

You're not alone

[AChipps]

Jack of all trades and master in none is just an expression of spreading yourself thin, but it don't mean you can't master all you do. While you are jumping around you are keeping the joy of art, and not letting it become work, and that is good, because you can never learn while you are sleeping through a seminar. You do learn a lot when you are very interested. The more interesting you make it the better you learn.

[JParrilla]

what you guys are saying makes alot of sense. I feel like although Im working in so many areas.. I will eventually realize my weaknesses.. and then I can devote more time to that specific area. For example If I realize I draw arms worse than anything.. Ill do double time on arm study

[Helioth]

Google's motto: Work should be challenging, and that challenge should be fun.

Make it so! (however you please)

[dcorc]

... I just had this idea for example that in order to get good at drawing faces... I needed to draw like tons of faces per day. The problem with this is 1. I eventually get bored.. and 2. it doesnt leave me much time/energy to work on other aspects of my drawing that need improving. So instead I adopted my way of just doing a smaller quantity of each subject... while fitting in more subjects.

I think there's another problem with it, too. I see lots of threads (particularly in the sketchbooks) where people are working very hard, and producing a lot of stuff, but they are making the same errors over and over - for example doing lots of quick inaccurate head drawings, when they would be far better (learn more, make more progress) by slowing down and doing one properly. Practice is important, but I'm not so convinced that sheer brute force practice is so productive - often what's required is more reading/understanding, and then putting it into practice.


Dave