Dealing With Fustration

[CarlSpringer]

Lately i havent been drawing for like 2weeks because everytime i pick up a pencil my motivation drops to zero. and i get fustrated about the way i draw and the way everything looks and how messy my shading is.

i dont no why im getting depressed everytime istart drawing. at the first week i thought take a few days of i did then started drawing and the same thing happened.

does anyone no what to do when the one thing you want to do is depressing you and fustrationg you?

and for me this is usually

[Vari]

Try something new. Buy cheap watercolors and play with them or pastels. Just explore new medium, that way you don't need to worry, because you will suck anyway, it will be your first time. It's always funny trying new toys.

[CarlSpringer]

hmm thanks i have colour pastels ill try that.

[Roboko]

I understand, but you need to get over it, you're not drawing to make pretty pictures, you're drawing to learn.

If anything, being happy with a drawing should be more depressing/frustrating, because it means you're getting comfortable, which isn't a good thing since it'll disrupt your learning and development.

[CarlSpringer]

i understand mabe im giving up to easy

[ajvenema]

make sure you have fun! youre doing this mainly because you like it.
also, check why you make mistakes, try doing it better, and when it works be happy. its more important that YOU grow then that you compare yourself with artists with ages of prachticing...

[CarlSpringer]

how do you as artists deal with fustration do you take a step back from your work to see what needs changing

[xinranliu]

It's not always a question of giving up or not having enough determination.

IMHO, frustration stems from bad results that are caused by a 'wrong' or inefficient drawing method. No matter how hard you keep trying, if you keep using an inefficient method you'll only make it worse and turn it into a bad habit. This is when the guidance of a teacher is the most valuable.

I've looked at your sketchbook, and drawing from what little experience I have, I daresay that you're not drawing accurately and your lack of drawing discipline creates frustration.

You need to find a way to learn a method that will satisfy your needs. It could be a really simple academic approach to drawing (block-in using straight lines and sighting to check your proportions and angles, starting from the bigger shapes then breaking them down to smaller shapes).

It's not easy... but with the right resources anyone can learn. Good luck!

[xinranliu]

Another thing: take your time and be very careful to avoid mistakes. I know that if I rush or 'get into the zone' and become unaware of what I'm doing, it's very likely that I'll make mistakes. Mistakes that I won't see until later on, when it becomes tedious to make a drawing correction. How frustrating is it when you realize that the nose is crooked when you've already spent two hours rendering it?

[CarlSpringer]

yes finding my method is one thing i do not have because i havebeen asking myself how do i begin most of my pieces and what is my steps/

i think i need to find a method

[Arshes Nei]

yes finding my method is one thing i do not have because i havebeen asking myself how do i begin most of my pieces and what is my steps/

i think i need to find a method

You just do it. Pondering over it and wondering if it will be bad is what gets you not to start.

Dirty up the paper, once a mark is already there then start working from there.

[Mr_S_14]

A blank page can't be anymore ugly or boring than it starts, so one might as well put something on it. You mentioned something about shading and not liking where you're drawings end up, Try doing some serious studies of just simple shapes and objects of their light, shade, shadow(remember the terminator edge). Like you're trying to get an A on the drawing or something, It could be your medium as well, The value scale is limited with Graphite, Try charcoal on larger drawing paper, maybe 18X24.

When drawing, If shading is your frustration, Start seperating the lights and darks imediately, don't save it until the end. Start with black and white, and find the scale inbetween by erasing and smearing. If you end up doing the charcoal thing, get some sticks(I'd suggest the brand Char-Kole for there softness) and pencils any brand, the pencils are good for the really dark or the really light, use the white one sparingly , but it can really make drawings kind of pop out or almost appear to come alive.

And like Arshes said, "Dirty up the paper" I think that's a great idea, my charcoals start by spreading the charcoal all over the paper to find a medium scale and working to the darks and lights there as well. That or when I work with graphite I like to use the side of a sharpened number2pencil to build the composition, sometimes I know the shape of something, just haven't decided on the details, this has worked for me.

Light and shade are also related to perspective, Try building up your perspective knowledge. A good book is Perspective Drawing and Applications by Charles A. O'Connor, JR
Thomas J. Kier and
David B. Burgey.
However you could probably find some good perspective references at the library as well.

Additional thoughts are...
1.Drawing Area: Make sure you have a drawing area ready to be used all the time, Dedicated just for drawing. don't put any other crap there, if you wake up in the morning and want to draw; you can. If you want to sit down and doodle for five minutes, you can, without having to spend that five minutes of spare time cleaning up your desk or making an area to draw.
2. Loud Music: Find some headphones and some Music and blast that Sierra Hotel India Tango when you draw, get in the zone!
3. Warm Up: Chocolate milk and a banana, I love chocolate milk ! that or hot chocolate , yum. Something that warms you up that's completely unrelated to drawing, Hot chocolate or excercise is what I like... yep !
4.Time: Have an hour dedicated just to drawing, and commit yourself. I use to always draw from Nine to Ten pm with maybe like a few minutes break at the half hour. Whether I wanted to draw or not once I started drawing, I was usually good to go!

[CarlSpringer]

i will try and dedicated an hour to drawing and try some different mediums. ive been trying my color pastels and in between trying drawing of the same thing im doing with te pastels.

[Kfeeras]

get some inspiration, buy a book of an artist you like, or play a game you love, or go to a concert or whatever and use that energy in your drawing

[JeffX99]

Just work through it - when you're not happy with somehting try to figure it out and find a better way - sometimes that means stepping back to some simple stuff you can handle - basic forms, shading, etc. Drawing a really nice sphere or group of spheres, well lit with careful observation and good composition is a lot better than drawing a crappy anything else.

Also just learn to love the process - try to develop and enjoy the sense of line or the tools you use - you're not going to keep at it and continue to grow through the hard stuff if you don't learn to enjoy the process first.

[CarlSpringer]

also i know i want to be a Concept artist and some times get side tracked to drawing other thing. but do i have have to study the anatomy all the time. because sometimes i see something i would like to draw but doesnt really relate to drawing or learning about the anatomy.

[Coen]

I just posted a great video that might help!

[JJacks]

also i know i want to be a Concept artist and some times get side tracked to drawing other thing. but do i have have to study the anatomy all the time. because sometimes i see something i would like to draw but doesnt really relate to drawing or learning about the anatomy.

Drawing anything helps. You don't have to study study study all day long. Take time to draw what makes you happy. As long as you don't neglect your anatomical studies and such, then there's no problem. Isn't that what our end goal is anyways; to practice so that we can have the skill and freedom to draw what we like?

You can't completely get rid of frustration but you can change your attitude to decrease frustration. Know that not everything you do has to come out amazing and that all of these tries are building up your drawing experiences.

[CarlSpringer]

i have found a book that has some process to draw and have taken up that stlye to use until i find my own

[darkwolf29a]

I used to be afraid of making that first mark. I was so worried that it would be a mistake. I found it actually stopped me from doing anything, period. That was sooo annoying. My answer? In the upper right corner of the paper I put a checkmark. Not a big one, just something I could see. It was my way of telling myself that the paper was already junk now, because it could never go back to being white and clean. Sometimes, if I NEED the whole page, I'll make that mark on the back, so no one else will ever know it's there. Any method I can think of to allow my brain to start was what I was looking for. I think I found it. Now, I just start.

If you think drawing paper is bad...wait until you pick up a paintbrush. Now THAT is a new kind of terror, since you can't erase paint. You can only cover it up. LOL

[CarlSpringer]

thats true i always wanted to paint but never had the time and space to. lol i love painting and i cant even paint

[darkwolf29a]

How much space does it take, honestly? If I had to worry about having space...I wouldn't be drawing, honestly. And...I almost through with a beginning painting class. We have done monochromatic, local color, and complementary colors. They started us drawing, then conte crayon, pastels, then paint. None of that takes much more room than a place to put your still life...or whatever you are painting, and your paints. I use a TV tray for that.

I'm not knocking ya...I'm just saying.

[CarlSpringer]

mabe ill have to try it. i always wanted to learn to paint so mabe ill have to get some paints and some brushes and just give it a go

a artists best friend is fustration thats what ive learnt

[Ravendell]

To be quite honest, i'm actually constantly looking for frustration because thats where my learning moments come from. If i'm not atleast a little bit frustrated it means i'm in my comfort zone which increase the learning curve. Many people are scared to make mistakes, because thats how we are nurtured in this society.

Frustration is GOOD!

[CarlSpringer]

i always told myself futstration is good until it actually came and i became discouraged, but now im not. now im going to start looking at why something fustrates me and take notes on that so i can conquer it on my next piece of work..

i think my problem is im scared of making line i need to stopt trying to make every line perfect

[Mr Man]

i think my problem is im scared of making line i need to stopt trying to make every line perfect

Don't bloody let fear rule your life. Draw something that you really want to draw, whatever the subject matter do it now! Don't give a crap what the outcome is, just begin to enjoy mark making, there is nothing to lose.

Also try out continuos line drawing. At first I wasnt convinced about the process, but I soon realized that it loosened me up a great deal.

Have fun for a while, understand how you apply marks, get used to the interface as it were. Don't make excuses because they are hollow and pointless.

Paper is your friend, decorate it with love. Enjoy!!!

[CarlSpringer]

thanks for all the comments. i will try and start working on my Line art and then branch into Tone and value study

[Gadbury]

The problem for me is I build it up to be this big thing, like the next drawing I do has to be better than the last, and this rarely happens (with me anyway). I think you have to try and get the ball rolling again by just drawing anything, and at the same time realize that its just practice.

[CarlSpringer]

point taken i always think my next drawing is going to be better but that is no always the case

[smugbug]

I don't think, I just throw down that first line onto the paper (or screen, if I'm sketching on the desktop). Sometimes, that feeling we think is frustration is just outright fear.

Fear of "I'm so going to suck at this" or, "this is going to be wrong". You have to get rid of that fear. Just draw. See where it'll take you. Take your sketchpad outside, just sit down somewhere and start drawing. There is no "wrong" or "right" way to sketch. As long as you sketch.

There's a book out called, "An Illustrated Life" where it's all about a variety of artists' sketchbooks. Folks from Crumb to James Jean. Every single one of them have a totally different way they approach their sketchbook and sketches. Very illuminating.

I remember at Revelations watching how everyone on a big screen doing a demo began their digital process. All different. Again, illuminating. Just showed again, there is no "right" or "wrong" way.

So just sketch. Use frustration as a positive: it shows you have a desire to do this; you have a desire to learn; to improve. That is a positive.

What else is a positive is to just empty the mind as you put pencil to paper (or stylus to tablet). Just go with the flow.