a.k.a.Ciel's scribbles.

[a.k.a.Ciel]

Well, this is definitely nerve wrecking.
I've only been drawing since September 2011 so I'm a little scared of posting among such highly skilled artists,welp...
Not sure how accepted Anime-esque fan art scribbles are here either :<


Well, here goes nothing!

P.S. My characters shoulders seem to suffer from "Broken shoulder" syndrome.
Hah!
Digital - Jan-Feb 2012
Studies - Jan 2012
Sketchbook stuff (WARNING! CRAPPY SCANNER ALERT!) - Feb 2012

[a.k.a.Ciel]

Bit of an update, started on light source. Going to try this in greyscale soon to overcome the problem.

The last is having fun with some new sketchy brushes I DL'd. I quite like them even if all the proportions of the image itself are...for lack of a better term; skewed.

[triggerpigking]

Youve got to be joking about only drawing since last semptember ive been drawing for a lot longer and my drawings are miles behind.

Anyway I think your costumes are really good I especially like the keyhole gloves on the third one down. It might just be the perspective but I think some of your arms are a bit dodgy the right arm in your second drawing down looks a bit shorter than the other although I do think that is probably just the perspective.

Either way good start so far keep it up.

[a.k.a.Ciel]

Youve got to be joking about only drawing since last semptember ive been drawing for a lot longer and my drawings are miles behind.

Anyway I think your costumes are really good I especially like the keyhole gloves on the third one down. It might just be the perspective but I think some of your arms are a bit dodgy the right arm in your second drawing down looks a bit shorter than the other although I do think that is probably just the perspective.

Either way good start so far keep it up.

I'm not joking at all *laughs* I used to draw like this though in September, I practice almost every day if I can.;


My arms are so weak right now, it makes me super sad. It's meant to be slightly bend and a little further behind him (it's basically holding the back of the box he's sat on). Perspective is so difficult x_x I need to work on it a lot.

And you aren't miles behind. You have a waaaay better grasp of shading than I do.

[ArtsySiridean]

I recognize Ishiawatari anywhere. Learn to color in Copic and Ishiwatari would be proud.

Good luck on your journey. And welcome to CA.

[triggerpigking]

Thanks yeah shading has always been one of my strong suites I was mainly talking about your linework and shapes which I dont think im that good at but im my own harshest critic I suppose.

Also I have the same problem with forshortening bodies what annoys me though is I can never find good guides for it hell ive been reading a bit of andrew loomis's figure drawing for all its worth and so far hes glanced over foreshortening with only half a page on it which still confuses me and he makes it sound easy.

[a.k.a.Ciel]

I recognize Ishiawatari anywhere. Learn to color in Copic and Ishiwatari would be proud.

Good luck on your journey. And welcome to CA.

Aye, I love the Guilty Gear series. I always play Zato though, disappointed I could never learn A.B.A, just don't have the patience for the poor girl. I adore the character designs of most every Aksys game though.

I've been trying with copics, but gosh it's no easy trip. And goddamn my wallet hates me for wanting to. They're so expensive here x_X

I love them though, I feel like I have a lot more freedom within my hand to get it right working on paper than digital, but at the same time I really enjoy digital.

And thank you for the welcome. I'm going to keep trying. No use stopping now!

Thanks yeah shading has always been one of my strong suites I was mainly talking about your linework and shapes which I dont think im that good at but im my own harshest critic I suppose.

I think most of us are. I think everything that I draw sucks XD.

Also I have the same problem with forshortening bodies what annoys me though is I can never find good guides for it hell ive been reading a bit of andrew loomis's figure drawing for all its worth and so far hes glanced over foreshortening with only half a page on it which still confuses me and he makes it sound easy.

The way I've been trying to understand it is just by making mental notes of how muscles change, like what gets smaller (I tend to create in blocks and stuff, hard to describe XD), Bodies I find relatively /OK/ depending on the depth of foreshortening, but arms. Aurgh, I really don't know where to start with them.

[a.k.a.Ciel]

A little more silliness. Sketching and scribbling. Saa. Perspectives and twisting bodies is hard.
Never drawn feet before :X

The first two were quick warmups taking about 1-2 minutes each. The last took around an hour.

[KONM]

I like the hands in your first post.

[a.k.a.Ciel]

Aurghaghagahgahgah. This digital blending thing isn't going so well, let alone with the glowing bits.

[a.k.a.Ciel]

If anyone knows how to make black and I mean BLACK skin look...alright. I would really appreciate it.
If you don't know what this is a fan art of, it's Street Fighter x Tekken's Pandora Mode.

I'm gonna just chuck out a few more fan arts and then the real work begins.

[Whitevillage]

If I may give a suggestion, I think you should concentrate more on the solid form of what you want to draw. Your work doesn't show much depth. Work from life, take art classes or get a friend or family member to pose for you and draw everything like geometric objects from life.

I see you like 2D fighting games, good for you! Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo and Guilty Gear X2 Slash are one of my all time favourites.

[a.k.a.Ciel]

If I may give a suggestion, I think you should concentrate more on the solid form of what you want to draw. Your work doesn't show much depth. Work from life, take art classes or get a friend or family member to pose for you and draw everything like geometric objects from life.

I see you like 2D fighting games, good for you! Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo and Guilty Gear X2 Slash are one of my all time favourites.

Solid form of what I want to draw? I'm new to art so I need that one explained XD.

Art classes aren't available and my friends arent willing to pose (I've asked =( )

I've been drawing objects lately. It's just difficult trying to retain all of it when I'm 7 months new to drawing X3 I seriously regret not picking up a pencil sooner. I might actually get the point x_x (No pun intended)

[nofu]

Not sure if anyone has pointed that out but a lot of your drawings seem to be stretched diagonally (bot left to top right). This becomes especially evident when you do faces that show just the left side. I've seen this in a lot of beginner artists' works and is a somewhat natural side effect of being right handed but I think you should try consciously countering it.

[Whitevillage]

Solid form of what I want to draw? I'm new to art so I need that one explained XD.

What I mean to say is that you should focus on the masses and it's depth of an object. Try to draw as if you're sculpting, try to imagine to feel the masses and draw them. With a lot of life drawing done, you will understand what It means more clearly.

[DvrJeroen]

I think it would be a great exercise to draw basic objects such as cubes and spheres from life, like you did in post #2.
It's important to know how light and shadows work, and observing these things from life would be the best way to get these things right.

[a.k.a.Ciel]

Not sure if anyone has pointed that out but a lot of your drawings seem to be stretched diagonally (bot left to top right). This becomes especially evident when you do faces that show just the left side. I've seen this in a lot of beginner artists' works and is a somewhat natural side effect of being right handed but I think you should try consciously countering it.

Would drawing small on the under-sketch stage then blowing it up be the cause of this?

But how do I counter it?

Telling me to act as if I'm sculpting is...kinda lost on me. I've never sculpted in my life. The only drawing I did beforehand was tech. I understand things better as lines.

[nofu]

Basically it's because bot left to top right movement is the most natural for the right hand (this is also why right handers tend to draw the faces from the left side [of the drawee] more than from the right because it has more lines in that direction) . And sometimes when you get lost into one detail versus the other instead of looking at the big picture this can happen. Just try to keep the whole thing in mind; you know, tinker on whatever detail you are on while keeping the pose/perspective/anatomy under check. It also helps if you lay down the sphere and lines of the face before instead of starting from say an eye (because this effect is usually most noticeable in faces).

Also, I think what Whitevillage might mean is that,
There are two schools in observational drawing: one is drawing the thing how you know it is and the other would be drawing it how you see it. First puts emphasis on form, needs you to understand the object and it's mass and if need be draw the same thing from a different angle without seeing it from that angle (try imagining walking around a sculpture, now do that in your head). The other doesn't want you to question what you're drawing too much; ignore that you know that it is a bottle, just draw it, just draw it as you see it even if at first you think what you see is weird and if you're consistent enough it'll come together. Both are valuable skills and with experience you'll know when/where to use one and where the other. Both can be applied to drawing from imagination as well. You're kinda trying to take the easiest parts from both: knowing what you're drawing (but not understanding it, not imagining it like a sculpture) and trying to draw it as you see it (but constraining yourself with what you know of it). god, I'm a horrible explainer.
I think so far you are drawing things how you guess they should look like from a very certain viewpoint but if you are guessing things then oftentimes one makes mistakes and if you guess too many, in this case, bodyparts you make different mistakes and distortions in different ways/directions in each of them and in the end the thing as a whole doesn't make sense anymore, it doesn't come together (these mistakes can happen even if you use reference). That is why you should always think three dimensionally, like you could walk around it and it would look put together from every angle.

[alisn]

hi ciel i like your sketchbook

[a.k.a.Ciel]

Basically it's because bot left to top right movement is the most natural for the right hand (this is also why right handers tend to draw the faces from the left side [of the drawee] more than from the right because it has more lines in that direction) . And sometimes when you get lost into one detail versus the other instead of looking at the big picture this can happen. Just try to keep the whole thing in mind; you know, tinker on whatever detail you are on while keeping the pose/perspective/anatomy under check. It also helps if you lay down the sphere and lines of the face before instead of starting from say an eye (because this effect is usually most noticeable in faces).

So essentially, when working, especially in digital. Learn to zoom out every once in a while?

Also, I think what Whitevillage might mean is that,
There are two schools in observational drawing: one is drawing the thing how you know it is and the other would be drawing it how you see it. First puts emphasis on form, needs you to understand the object and it's mass and if need be draw the same thing from a different angle without seeing it from that angle (try imagining walking around a sculpture, now do that in your head). The other doesn't want you to question what you're drawing too much; ignore that you know that it is a bottle, just draw it, just draw it as you see it even if at first you think what you see is weird and if you're consistent enough it'll come together. Both are valuable skills and with experience you'll know when/where to use one and where the other. Both can be applied to drawing from imagination as well. You're kinda trying to take the easiest parts from both: knowing what you're drawing (but not understanding it, not imagining it like a sculpture) and trying to draw it as you see it (but constraining yourself with what you know of it). god, I'm a horrible explainer.
I think so far you are drawing things how you guess they should look like from a very certain viewpoint but if you are guessing things then oftentimes one makes mistakes and if you guess too many, in this case, bodyparts you make different mistakes and distortions in different ways/directions in each of them and in the end the thing as a whole doesn't make sense anymore, it doesn't come together (these mistakes can happen even if you use reference). That is why you should always think three dimensionally, like you could walk around it and it would look put together from every angle.

I do use references, but I sometimes find myself veering off from them because the reference in question doesn't have the same body build and stuff. I use them to get a general feel of angle. Which...seems to have seriously failed me =/

It's mostly the muscle mass. If I draw it from observation as I often see it, it doesn't come out too bad. But then when I start adjusting the muscle mass and all that, it goes to crap.
That's usually when the guess work is coming in.

I guess this all comes with experience though?

I keep getting the feeling that I should already know all of this but don't?

[nofu]

Personally I think that if you work so close in the early stages of a drawing (laying things out) that you need to zoom out considerably to see the whole thing, then you should try working smaller.

I don't really know when you SHOULD be knowing these things , these are just stuff that you pick up along the way and build upon, sooner or later on your own too, for some this is just more intuitive. I'm just trying to give advice that I might have wanted to get when I started. Don't put yourself down too much.

And about the muscles, get your hands on some anatomy drawings or even books. See how they are under the skin, how they are connected. What flexes and what relaxes when you move in a certain way, try to get behind the logic of it, grope yourself etc. With some practice and braintraining it will make constructing figures a lot more easier in the future.

[a.k.a.Ciel]

Personally I think that if you work so close in the early stages of a drawing (laying things out) that you need to zoom out considerably to see the whole thing, then you should try working smaller.

I mean, when I'm working on paper, I can see everything alright, so I know where I'm working.
When I work on digital, I work REALLY like, closely, like super zoomed in.
Then when I zoom out I kinda head explode.

I don't really know when you SHOULD be knowing these things , these are just stuff that you pick up along the way and build upon, sooner or later on your own too, for some this is just more intuitive. I'm just trying to give advice that I might have wanted to get when I started. Don't put yourself down too much.

I put myself down a lot =( More than what's healthy unfortunately. It's kinda a hinderance.

And about the muscles, get your hands on some anatomy drawings or even books. See how they are under the skin, how they are connected. What flexes and what relaxes when you move in a certain way, try to get behind the logic of it, grope yourself etc. With some practice and braintraining it will make constructing figures a lot more easier in the future.

Gotcha. Just got the PDFs for a few Bridgman books. Already have Loomis so I figured I should expand. I use Posemaniacs and a few nude photographers on dA too.
I think I just need to stop getting distracted. When I start anatomy, I get an idea and just want to get it out right away.

[a.k.a.Ciel]

Almost ashamed to post these T_________T

[a.k.a.Ciel]

Okay let's try that again...I'm almost too ashamed to post this T____T No progress at all.

[Riley Stark]

WTF do you mean you're embarrassed? Those last studies don't look bad to me..?

Like I said in the other thread, these things take time. You're being waaaaaay too hard on yourself. Lighten up! Art is hard work (and rightfully so), but you can't always take it so incredibly seriously. Each time you pick up the pencil you improve, whether you see it or not. Sometimes the improvement is small and hard to notice (because it happens in such small increments), but it does happen. Don't get all harsh on yourself, even if you want to.. It's counterproductive.

As far as your rendering/blending issues - it's been said before: paint from life a bit. Grab simple objects, set up a simple light, and then paint what you see. You'll start to get a feel for painting form pretty quickly and you can practice blending because you'll actually have something right in front of you to compare to. (It makes it so much easier when you can see it!) While painting simple objects doesn't like sound much fun (I know -- we all want to paint things we like), your pieces from imagination will really start to show improvement if you do it. You can't paint the things you don't know and that's why artists practice so much -- gotta build up that mental library of knowledge so you can draw from it (no pun intended) when you need to!

Keep at it, but give yourself a bit of a break on being such a harsh critic. Let the people here do the critiquing for you -- they're likely to be more fair than you're being to yourself, and they all want to see you get better so they're going to be more helpful by pointing you in the right direction, too. ^_^

(BTW - Never knew the thing about the sketchbook icon under the text towards the upper right. Learned something new! You probably will get more traffic here if you put the link for your sketchbook in your signature, though.. I'm guessing most people don't know about the icon because everyone seems to do the signature link instead. XD)

[markey2011]

hi ciel..cool sketchbook!..riley is right...you should be patient, in time you'll notice that work will change, -it has to be if you work really hard, keep on practicing...everyday if you have the time, and observe other artists works..like how they paint faces..or draperies..or how they draw armors, swords and stuff..try to draw a study in any angle you want..and if you feel frustrated - you could always take a break....goodluck..

[a.k.a.Ciel]

WTF do you mean you're embarrassed? Those last studies don't look bad to me..?

Like I said in the other thread, these things take time. You're being waaaaaay too hard on yourself. Lighten up! Art is hard work (and rightfully so), but you can't always take it so incredibly seriously. Each time you pick up the pencil you improve, whether you see it or not. Sometimes the improvement is small and hard to notice (because it happens in such small increments), but it does happen. Don't get all harsh on yourself, even if you want to.. It's counterproductive.

As far as your rendering/blending issues - it's been said before: paint from life a bit. Grab simple objects, set up a simple light, and then paint what you see. You'll start to get a feel for painting form pretty quickly and you can practice blending because you'll actually have something right in front of you to compare to. (It makes it so much easier when you can see it!) While painting simple objects doesn't like sound much fun (I know -- we all want to paint things we like), your pieces from imagination will really start to show improvement if you do it. You can't paint the things you don't know and that's why artists practice so much -- gotta build up that mental library of knowledge so you can draw from it (no pun intended) when you need to!

Keep at it, but give yourself a bit of a break on being such a harsh critic. Let the people here do the critiquing for you -- they're likely to be more fair than you're being to yourself, and they all want to see you get better so they're going to be more helpful by pointing you in the right direction, too. ^_^

(BTW - Never knew the thing about the sketchbook icon under the text towards the upper right. Learned something new! You probably will get more traffic here if you put the link for your sketchbook in your signature, though.. I'm guessing most people don't know about the icon because everyone seems to do the signature link instead. XD)

My main problem is lacking confidence. When I can't get something right right away,I start basically ripping my own work apart going "That's not right. See. You failed."
I know I should leave it to others but I've gotten mixed opinions from people. Some consider my self critique right, and others tell me to lay off.
I think I've tried to ask from advice from too many places so it's just got all muddled somewhere.

I did try a quick start on a background with no sketching, just flat out painting. I haven't started refining but I got this;
I get scared of posting because I've had people rudely "critique" my work on another forum because they didn't like the concept.
(What I mean by that is their straight up method is going "It's wrong. Do it again.")

[Ohaeri]

This is a loooooong post, but I hope you read it.

My main problem is lacking confidence. When I can't get something right right away,I start basically ripping my own work apart going "That's not right. See. You failed."
I know I should leave it to others but I've gotten mixed opinions from people. Some consider my self critique right, and others tell me to lay off.
I think I've tried to ask from advice from too many places so it's just got all muddled somewhere.

I did try a quick start on a background with no sketching, just flat out painting. I haven't started refining but I got this;
I get scared of posting because I've had people rudely "critique" my work on another forum because they didn't like the concept.
(What I mean by that is their straight up method is going "It's wrong. Do it again.")

The image looks a little bit like you've used a soft brush in PS to draw with. (If I'm wrong, I apologize ). Unfortunately there's a lot of bleed with the colors when you draw that way, and it makes it almost impossible to get something that looks solid. What helped me is trying Bumskee's method: http://www.conceptart.org/forums/sho...d.php?t=107217




On motivation and self-confidence, I was in your shoes not too long ago. I thought that if I didn't beat myself up I would just get lazy, slack off, and not amount to anything (or something along those lines). I also believed that if I didn't beat myself up first, other people would beat me up (which you have indicated that you also believe). That's called apron wringing, btw, and it can be used positively, though it often isn't.

But, see, the thing about beating yourself up is that you are literally sapping your willpower when you do it. Stress of any kind causes your dopamine system (also known as the reward system) to activate. The reward system is the source of all cravings, basically. After your stress center activates, it sends you into a reward-seeking state. You then believe that the reward is the only way to feel better, so you seek it out.

One study compared how much people would want chocolate cake before and after they were made to feel bad about themselves by dwelling on their personal failures. Even people who didn't like chocolate cake suddenly found themselves wanting a piece after making themselves feel bad. However, turning to food, games, shopping, drugs, or almost any other reward promised to offer relief by the dopamine urge doesn't create long-lasting stress relief. So immediately after someone who feels bad turns to rewards for stress relief, they are apt to go looking again as soon as they're done.

Stress relief activities that actually work are:

- Exercise
- Praying, attending a religious service, or a similar activity (even joining a philosophy group counts)
- Reading
- Listening to music
- Social interaction
- Getting a massage
- Spending time outdoors
- Meditating or doing yoga
- Spending time with a creative hobby (one that doesn't stress you out!)

The least effective are:

- Gambling
- Shopping
- Smoking
- Drinking
- Eating
- Playing video games
- Surfing the web
- Watching TV or movies for more than two hours

The effective strategies work because they don't rely on dopamine to work. Instead, they release mood-enhancing neurochemicals like serotonin, GABA, and oxytocin. These in turn shut down the stress response.

The mechanics of stress are more subtle than most people think, in fact. Another study done showed that people who listened to reports of death on the news responded more positively to ads for luxury products (think Rolls-Royce, Rolex, etc.). Even television dramas and movies have exactly the same effect. Another study had some people watch a death scene in a film called The Champ, and those people were willing to pay three times as much for something they didn't really need. The control group had watched a documentary about the Great Barrier Reef, and they basically didn't buy.

By making yourself feel bad, you're tempting yourself to give in to things that don't work. You're tempting yourself to give up, draw less, and be less likely to share your work if you do manage to overcome the hurdle you've set yourself. It's no wonder you feel like you're never going to catch up--you enjoy it so little, because there is so much stress involved, that every minute of drawing is going to feel like torture. Even thinking about enduring a few years of this is understandably stress-inducing.


So here's what I'm challenging you to do. Think of this as part of your drawing homework.

Try really hard to notice when you're being down on yourself. If it's really ingrained then it'll be hard for you to realize you're doing it. But try to catch yourself. Then, when you catch yourself, do one of the following:

- Go outside for five minutes.
- Sit and meditate with your eyes closed for five minutes (just set a timer, and breathe in slowly while thinking "breathe in" and breathe out slowly while thinking "breathe out". Try to slow your breathing down noticeably during the five minutes).
- Do jumping jacks for five minutes.
- Pray or meditate (only if you want to or are religious enough to do it)
- Call a friend and chat
- Switch to another creative hobby for five minutes. (This is my weapon of choice; I switch to doing fractals for a few minutes and then go back to my drawing.)

Then, after you come back from your break, say to yourself:

"Everybody is bad at drawing at some point. It's okay to be bad at drawing."

Or better yet, look at this thread: http://www.conceptart.org/forums/sho...d.php?t=135551

Then go back to what you were doing. But notice that you feel better, and try to notice what that feels like. If you are like me, it will completely weird you out, because you aren't used to feeling okay when you're drawing. But it's a good feeling and one you should hold on to and protect. Definitely not one that you should try purposefully to destroy, like I was doing.



I'll leave you with a quote from a really helpful book I recently read--which is also where I got most of this advice--called The Willpower Instinct.

If you think the key to greater willpower is being harder on yourself, you are not alone. But you are wrong. Study after study shows that self-criticism is consistently associated with less motivation and worse self-control. It is also one of the single biggest predictors of depression, which drains both "I will" power and "I want" power. In contrast, self-compassion--being supportive and kind to yourself, especially in the face of stress and failure--is associated with more motivation and better self-control. Consider, for example, a study at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, that tracked the procrastination of students over an entire semester. Lots of students put off studying for the first exam, but not every student made it a habit. Students who were harder on themselves for procrastinating on their first exam were more likely to procrastinate on later exams than students who forgave themselves. The harder they were on themselves about procrastinating the first time, the longer they procrastinated for the next exam! Forgiveness--not guilt--helped them get back on track.

(I really recommend the book by the way. It's amazingly helpful.)

[a.k.a.Ciel]

Ohh that thread. I remember looking at that a while ago going "I doubt I'll be able to get that right...maybe in a few years."
I don't have a lot of faith in my skill.
I used a squarish pencil brush for the painting. It was coming out so blurry so I gave up x_x

I know all about the psychology, It just sucks that I can't seem to pull myself out of it. I haven't always been so pessimistic. Just a lot of recent events have stopped me from feeling confidence. People like bringing my happiness down for some reason.

I feel constantly stressed lately, it's mostly work-related but I never really get rid of the stress when I'm away from work, it just lingers then affects my drawing.

Sorry if this seems a little scattered, trying to type around people chattering around you is difficult -_-

[Ohaeri]

It just sucks that I can't seem to pull myself out of it.

You've just gotta notice when you're echoing things people are saying in your mind. Think about this:

Suppose you're walking down the street and some random guy comes up to you and says, "I know you murdered that boy! You can't hide from me!"

Your brain would go, "Crazy person" and move on, perhaps call the police. But you wouldn't sit there worrying, "What if he's right? What if I am a murderer?" Because you know you're not a murderer.

But if someone says, "You're terrible at drawing. You should quit." Your brain does not move on because it is something you've internalized about yourself. Your brain will say, "This person is right. I am terrible at drawing." Not only that, but even if it's something neutral, like "You need to work on your painting skills in photoshop." You probably think, "Man, I suck at Photoshop" and it makes you feel bad.

And you don't even notice you do this. I would be willing to bet money that you just do it and you don't even think about doing it. I know because I was there.

So I'm telling you that step one is to notice when you're doing this. Step two is to stop the cycle--go do something else, feel what your body does when you pour negativity over yourself, and try to do something else. Tell yourself something else. You don't have to lie to yourself and say, "I'm great at drawing!" but you CAN say that it's okay to be not so great at drawing. Because it is.

Then, you sit down, pick up the brush, and just do it. And anytime you try to give yourself shit about it you stop, you think about what you're doing to yourself, and you stop the cycle.

I'm telling you right now, this is not something someone else is doing to you. Even people who tell you, "Wow! You are so much better than me, how do you do it!" will not break you out of this. (I mean, look, you've already gotten one: http://conceptart.org/forums/showpos...84&postcount=3) That's because it's inside you and it's something only you can change.

I remember looking at that a while ago going "I doubt I'll be able to get that right...maybe in a few years."

This is exactly what I'm talking about. You told yourself you weren't good enough and talked yourself into quitting. You've got to stop. If it were a friend of yours saying this to you, you'd recognize it as that person being abusive (EDIT: Although after reading about your friends, maybe you wouldn't. Just trust me on this, it's an abusive thing to do). But you don't because it's you. And it's a cruel thing to do to yourself.

I feel constantly stressed lately, it's mostly work-related but I never really get rid of the stress when I'm away from work, it just lingers then affects my drawing.

Try five minutes of meditation a day. I'm serious, there are studies that show that people who do five minutes of meditation usually also start exercising, eating a better diet, quitting smoking, and a variety of other difficult-to-do activities. This is because meditation shuts down your stress response. Mindfulness also helps with resisting cravings. Next time you catch yourself feeling down, just sit and think about what the sensation feels like. For me, it's a burning in my stomach and a tightness in my lower back. Then breathe in and imagine that the breath soothes away those bad feelings. Keep breathing for five minutes, then go back to what you were doing.

You can do a similar thing with drawing. Say to yourself, "I'm going to do this for five minutes, and after that, if I feel too bad I can stop." Then, after five minutes, evaluate how you feel, and if you want to stop, stop. This way, you've gotten drawing done--which shuts down that little gremlin in your head saying, "You're a faiiiiiiiilure"--and you've stopped before it feels to bad.

Please, just try it before you say, "That's not something that will help." Because that is the abusive part of you talking, and if you keep listening to it you will feel worse and worse.