Improvement

[Handagotes]

I've been drawing a lot every day, focusing on improving as much as I can.

I'm a bit worried that I am not improving at my full potential rate, as if I'm possibly not making enough progress as I should be
with the right practicing methods.

I come here to ask, what would be the best thing one should do to improve at drawing as fast as they can? Maybe certain daily challenges or exercises to try every day?

Any opinions/information on this would be great.

[piskorz]

Hehe, I'm having exactly the same thing. "I'm improving too slow. Am I doing something wrong? omgomg" I think everyone got this and it's good.

As for certain exercises I think it depends on person. Figure out what exactly you want to improve (for example: faces) and find ways to improve in this field (autoportraits and loomis)

[Jared D]

It comes down to drawing everyday and doing things that are said over and over this site:

www.posemaniacs.com/ and http://lovecastle.org/draw/ Gestures. For a starting artist you'll want to do it a hour a day if you have the time, also draw people on the bus and cafes.

Study books by: Andrew Loomis, Burne Hogarth, Glenn Vilppu, George Bridgman, Harold Speed, etc you'll see names like these a lot for a reason.

Master copies, still life, and drawing casts shouldn't be over looked but at the start a still life of whatever's around is great to get in the habit of doing everyday.

Learn to draw the cube, sphere, and cone from any angle.

Life drawing 2-3 times a week is great but more is always better, can't get a model then get a mirror.

Draw from memory, half your time drawing put into this alone is a good idea. You have to apply what you learn.

If all you're looking for is the magic of how people going from "meh" to "awesome" in a year then here it is: they are drawing 12 hours a day, 6-7 days a week.

Start a sketchbook here on the site if you can upload your art in anyway.

[SvenKaizen]

you´re improving slowly, what´s the problem? imagine not to improve at all.

exercising every day will pay off after years, not after a week or a month. just go on.

[Januz]

Improvement doesn't happen in a linear fashion. You might be getting better at some things slower than others. As long as you're doing, you're getting better.
Just keep pushing

[Fhade]

I usually try to find any possible way of making what I'm drawing. Shading methods are what really helped me manipulate an object.

[Ghast]

I used to think in terms of improvement which in my case turned out to be more self destructive than anything else, but the greatest thing I learned was that, as someone already stated, improvement is not linear, nor will it be noticeable in the short span of a few weeks or a few months or even a year. You'll only notice it when you look back after putting in as many hours as possible of really studying and understanding what you are copying and attempting to learn, and comparing earlier work to your current pieces. "You make good work by (among other things) making work that isn't very good, and gradually weeding out the parts that aren't good, the parts that aren't yours." (Art and Fear) so the more bad work you grind out, the closer you are to getting that one piece that really shows that you've absorbed what you've learned. So I wouldn't worry too much about improvement just worry about putting in the time

[progressordecay]

Good points here,
Learn to draw basic shapes squares,triangle, circles. Then learn to train your eye to see in cubes, cones, sphere ( at least in a 2.5d/3d perspective)
It can be daunting trying to grasp all these techniques but I found it easier when you have a mini mile stone set into place.
depending on what you enjoy drawing, mine are skulls and still is, so I practice drawing many of them day in day out, referencing at first then one without ( rinse and repeat) draw for a week, keeping a visual journal of it and at the end of the week, flick through on the progression and see what needs to be improved.

Eventually I moved on to Eyes, hair, lips and built on it till I got the gist of the human head ( its outer features and also the internal;bones)

Theres going to be days where its slow and you think theres no progression but there is also days where it just clicks and consumed in a trance state of improvement.

[Handagotes]

All this info is great! Thanks so much! I'll consider starting a sketchbook for viewing and critique purposes

[transitsoul]

I can honestly say doing the forms and learning to draw the basics such as the cube helped me a lot this year and learning basic perspective helps a lot helps you the see the form a lot easier

[JeffX99]

I've been drawing a lot every day, focusing on improving as much as I can.

I'm a bit worried that I am not improving at my full potential rate, as if I'm possibly not making enough progress as I should be
with the right practicing methods.

I come here to ask, what would be the best thing one should do to improve at drawing as fast as they can? Maybe certain daily challenges or exercises to try every day?

Any opinions/information on this would be great.

Yeah...slow down. Feel groovy.

It isn't a race. When I say slow down I mean contemplate and think about the larger picture...what are you after? What direction do you want to head in? What path do you want to follow? Just doing a ton of crap studies because someone says that's what you should do is bullshit. Way too often around here people say "do this...do that..." but they don't even know why.

That said, drawing fundamentals are the foundation of visual art, visual communication and design, so that's a good place to start. But while focusing on the basics you should also be doing a lot of self reflection and research to expose yourself to the variety of art out there and the type of thing that excites you.

[denzalan]

I have been drawing as far back as I can remember. But as I got older and got serious to improve, I discovered that setting deadlines usually cause me to work harder/better. But it is a bit of a risky double edged sword because if the deadline is really important or down to a very small amount of time, it can get strenuous. But even when I get stressed like that, after it is all over and I can let it all settle, I end up with some new skill

[ceddo]

Thank you Jeff! I'd like to stress your point about slowing down, because I think it's gold. The world is going at a fast pace these days, and it's easy to be sucked into the mindset of 'more'. But the quality of the thoughts in between your work determine how effective that work is going to be in nailing your weaknesses, improving your strengths. It IS worth making space for thought and reflection, and it is okay to have fun too. All the stuff I do in my life contributes to my artwork, not just the art-related things.

[JeffX99]

Exactly ceddo - well said. Art doesn't just happen when you're holding a pencil.

[[email protected]]

Keep in mind that the road of art is long and twisted. If you think you're moving to slow, there may be different reasons: you're not walking fast enough, you're heading in the wrong direction, or you're doing fine, without knowing. Don't just assume the latter, but keep pushing and seeking feedback from people who walked that road before.

[The Think Tank]

I bet you are improving faster than you think. Its harder to see improvements in your own work than it would be for others to see it.

[themegagod]

http://www.damnlol.com/a-little-moti...you-22380.html

It might give you a smile, but It give me a little kick in the pants; maybe it'll help you too?