Is this a good plan to improve my skills?

[FallenLegend]

Cick here to see my current skill level (hint it starts with AMATEUR and ends with Newbie )

I am working a lot to improve my skills and become an amazing digital artists . but this year I want to have concrete goals instead of being so aimless like last year (I started with cubes and ended with hair...).

Here is my plan!:

1.-Practice perspective (Being able to draw a cube in any angle) MAIN PRIORITY and ONGOING
2.-Learn the basics of anatomy proportions (third priority)
3.-Learn to shade basic shapes MAIN PRIORITY in both digital and traditional medium
4.-Draw a lot of still life SECONDARY PRIORITY
5.-Draw a lot of gestures from models after number 2 TERTIARY Priority
6.-Learn the basics of color theory Fourth Priority
7.-Always Drawing from references to avoid the "cartoonish look" of my drawings SECONDARY PRIORITY

What do you think/ would advice me?

[vineris]

Cick here to see my current skill level (hint it starts with AMATEUR and ends with Newbie )

I am working a lot to improve my skills and become an amazing digital artists . but this year I want to have concrete goals instead of being so aimless like last year (I started with cubes and ended with hair...).

Here is my plan!:

1.-Practice perspective (Being able to draw a cube in any angle) MAIN PRIORITY and ONGOING
2.-Learn the basics of anatomy proportions (third priority)
3.-Learn to shade basic shapes MAIN PRIORITY in both digital and traditional medium
4.-Draw a lot of still life SECONDARY PRIORITY
5.-Draw a lot of gestures from models after number 2 TERTIARY Priority
6.-Learn the basics of color theory Fourth Priority
7.-Always Drawing from references to avoid the "cartoonish look" of my drawings SECONDARY PRIORITY

What do you think/ would advice me?

It is extremely frustrating to give people advice, have them say "yes, this is wonderful!" and then two months later you see them again, still asking for advice, and seeing no evidence that they have actually done anything since then. Nobody can help you until you help yourself. They will only repeat things you have heard before until you process the advice you have been given and move forward.

[FallenLegend]

It is extremely frustrating to give people advice, have them say "yes, this is wonderful!" and then two months later you see them again, still asking for advice, and seeing no evidence that they have actually done anything since then. Nobody can help you until you help yourself. They will only repeat things you have heard before until you process the advice you have been given and move forward.

I have been practicing... I just want to be more focused that's all.Becuase I have practiced stuff I wasn't prepared for.


Sorry about that.

[Slothboy3000]

Just get on with the perspective stuff. I don't think making plans for things in the far future will make you draw any better right now.

[Black Spot]

Do a ton of still lives.

[Star Eater]

Just draw.

[sone_one]

What do you think/ would advice me?

go for it. succeed and fail. adjust. incorporate. grow.

[ebi]

I kind of agree that making lists probably won't help you (trust me, I used to be rabid listmaker -still am sometimes-, I'd make lists for everything you could possibly imagine, and they'd go like five years into the future... And what I've learned from making lists, is that you spend a whole lot of time planning stuff that's not going to happen anyway).

If you must do something list like, just set a goal for yourself as a reminder, like "I want to get the fundamentals of drawing down". That should be more than enough to keep you occupied.

Now, I'm a beginner myself, so I'm sure there's other people who know this stuff better than I, but here are some things that you can do:


1. Get a book that explains the fundamentals of drawing. This way, you won't have to worry about making all those lists and lose focus, because the book will tell you what to do.

One book that's recommended a lot over here is "Drawing essentials" by Deborah Rockman.
I have this book myself, and while it can be a bit of a bore to read through it ( sorry, just my opinion, I can only handle this book if I read small chunks of it at the time), if you actually take the time to study the text and follow the instructions, you'll be well on your way to becoming a better artist. This book deals with drawing from life, perspective, figure drawing ... And if you get the second edition you'll also get a bit of color theory.

Just open the book, and work your way through picking up whatever you need to reach your goal.

2. Just draw. This is pretty much the method I'm using now, along with the book up there.

Mix up your routine with studies from books and real life.

If you have trouble coming up with stuff to draw, think about one thing that you would really like to be able to draw and then for one week(or longer, I just said one because I have the attention span of a goldfish), set small goals that will help you draw that object.

For instance, last week I really want to draw fruit from life so I did. And this week, I really want to continue to learn to draw heads. So my plan is to do studies from Loomis' book, and apply what I learned there in real life (by doing a self-portrait, hopefully more than one). On the side I'll do some perspective because it seems like a pretty important subject that will help solve all kinds of problems.

The reason why I would advise you to do it this way is because you'll actually enjoy learning new things, instead of forcing yourself to do what your list tells you to do and getting discouraged.

At least, for me the moment I told myself that I could draw whatever I wanted, drawing became so much more enjoyable.

And if you keep drawing with your big goal in mind, I don't think you can really go wrong.

[dierat]

It's great that you have a list of stuff that you need to work on, but I wouldn't worry too much about ranking them in order of priority. Just pick something you want to work on and work on it. Even if you end up over your head a little bit, you will still learn from the experience and gain understanding of what areas you still need to improve in. When you identify something that's really standing out as a problem in your work, feel free to drop whatever you're currently studying and work on it. The great thing about studying on your own is you don't have to wait until X project comes up - just do it. In my experience, the more extra duties you give yourself (like making lists or figuring the perfect study schedule), the more you're just delaying from getting actual work done.

[Elwell]

It's great that you have a list of stuff that you need to work on, but I wouldn't worry too much about ranking them in order of priority. Just pick something you want to work on and work on it. Even if you end up over your head a little bit, you will still learn from the experience and gain understanding of what areas you still need to improve in. When you identify something that's really standing out as a problem in your work, feel free to drop whatever you're currently studying and work on it. The great thing about studying on your own is you don't have to wait until X project comes up - just do it. In my experience, the more extra duties you give yourself (like making lists or figuring the perfect study schedule), the more you're just delaying from getting actual work done.

Bingo.

[SpectreX]

From my personal experience I must agree with dierat, as soon as you start making lists it is an excellent way to keep postponing the drawing.
Just keep in mind what you need to improve and draw.

As for myself I stopped making lists, all I need to know is that I need to improve perspective and anatomy.
Whenever I feel like studying I do one of those 2, if I don't feel like studying I doodle (this will keep the fun in it as some might lose it from only doing studies).

[Ally Hodges]

Don't forget to have some fun!! Your list would bore me to tears if I didn't have any humor in it. For instance, could you make the cubes have faces fighting each other? Can your figure studies have some wacky gestures in addition to serious ones? Make it fun and you'll draw more.