I realized something today, i want to be an artist, i want to be able to draw things, and i want to be able to do it well.
Kind of late to start now, but who knows if i've got some talent for it. And so, after this linux funny business of mine hits it's deadline (Sunday) i shall start trying to draw.
I should give myself a deadline of 1 month for attempting to do so, and dedicate some time to it every single day.
One month from the time i start trying, i shall review my progress, my first and latest picture then i will go all out on one picture and see if this is something i can pursue.
I can design, but i want to create. If it just so happens that i will be able to draw then i won't need to worry about hiring an artist, won't need to worry about BUT still might in the end since it would heavily reduce development time to have an artist working with me. I must be the writer and lead designer after all, but well, we'll see.
To be honest a part of me is thinking "it's late to start trying to draw now, you should have started when you were 10" but another part is thinking "you can do this now, you'll just have to learn fast"
Which is why i decided i'll try, but on a 1 month deadline. I realize 1 month is a ridiculously short amount of time for something like this, but it's all the time i can give it unless it truly becomes a hobby. If i have some decent success with drawing, then i'll reward myself with a tablet and learn 2 Gimp. (I know how to use photoshop already and that shit was tough to learn. Gimp is even tougher to learn but i will have to learn to use it regardless, mostly because it's free, whereas if i'd want to professionally use photoshop i'd have to pay a huge chunk of cash for licensing it)
Fucking laptop is failing again, damnit linux, why don't you just shut up and obey already?!
Now today when i started it up, skype crashed on startup, i fixed that with some libpulse thing'mjug magic trick but after doing that the sound in skype went FUBAR (doesn't work at all) and chromium won't launch.
But i don't have time to deal with it now, now is time for PC...
Although i think, i think just maybe i should drop this linux business for today and try my hand at drawing, extend the linux business deadline to Monday instead.
Yes, that's what i will do! (Gotta do it while i feel like it)
I start with tutorials
My friend who i consider a skilled artist (he wants to be a tattoo artist) suggested drawing lots of triangles and linking them together, when i said "but that way you can't draw people" he replied "add cylinders too".
1 This one was kinda hard to follow cus of the accent.
It had a good point, "Trust in yourself and don't be afraid of making mistakes while you draw", this one has become second nature to me in every single thing i do, which is why i don't hesitate to do this. She seems to be drawing to impress her family and friends, my goals are not as shallow. PORN! (jk :D)
2 <- bound to take a while... yeah, i gave up on it.. too much text.
Now i learned i have to focus on
Learning to draw in 2.5D (i.e. 3D), both distances, and shapes, this can be done with drawing different geometry.
Organize/Sketch what i intend to draw roughly before i actually draw it.
Lighting & Shadows
Determine my art style (Easy to tell what i like, but i have high standards so this'll be tough)
Start by drawing portraits.
Lets see, my first image today shall be a monster portrait, where's my monster list! Dryad... yeah, i'll start by drawing a female dryad portrait.. For some reason i think that's easier than human.
Catch: I don't have any artist pencils...
Solution: Find a standard academic wooden pencil for substitute.
Pencil: Check
Sharpener: Check
Eraser: Check
Paper: Check
Lets try this.
Oh yeah, hanging in this bar isn't enough, i need to start counting... goal is 2 minutes.
Bar Hang: 20s
Ok, i decided what i'll do.
I'll pick a really really nice portrit by an artist i like (maybe hector enrique or shadman, i like tony taka but his style doesn't suit my personality) then i practice like mad on one facial attribute at a time... Eyes, Mouth, Nose,Hair, etc.... And eventually try to make my own portrait in a similar style.
Just who is this genius composer of the soundtrack in Non Non Biyori? this is amazing!
Anyways, i found a tutorial for drawing anime character faces, starting with the eyes, and i drew that, then i looked at the eyes of the characters in non non biyori and turns out they're drawn in the same style. However, this is not the style that i want to have, i want to have wider, sharper eyes (in general). That one is way too generic. However from that tutorial i should pick up on how to shape faces. get to that later. First hector's eyes.
I notice he rarely draws characters that look straight at you (they usually have their face angled, looking slightly to the side, might be one of the reasons his pictures look so great..
I decided to find 3 pictures.
1 2 3
Lets see, i love most things about his art style, but his eyes aren't exactly sharper, lets look at shadman.
1 2 3
Lets see out of these 6...
2 by elsevilla
1 & 2 by shadman
seem to suit the style i have in mind, problem thought that shadman really even more rarely than elsevilla points the eyes directly out of the image, but that'll just be good practice. so i'll practice all 3 of these.
Allright, mimicking these, the one i liked best was elsevilla's one (see? my judgement wasrather off that shadman's style was for me, i do know through his art though that me and him have a lot in common)
And out of the 3, Raven's eye was most successful, Korra's least.
I learned a lot from this, Especially shadman's work, i notice that he relies very heavily on colors over outlines when detailing the eyes (he avoids drawing lines whenever he can i believe) and he uses lighting and shading to make the eyes appear lifelike.
However not only do i like elsevilla's eyes the most, i also found it the easiest to draw, so i'll try to draw his other ones now.
starting with 1
From drawing one, i realized the same thing about elsevilla's eyes, however he doesn't avoid drawing lines so much, instead he has a lot more shading in his pictures than shadman. I think what makes his art so good is probably the combination of shading and coloring really really well. Vibrant colors and dark shades.
Went pretty decently, now 3
With 3 i decided to take it to another level, i drew both eyes instead of just one, but the second eye i drew more as a copy of my own drawn eye rather than a copy of the original, surely it was nowhere near as good, but... it still works. I'll stick with this one, i quite like it, next up is mouth i guess. Once i've rested my neck.
Bar hang: 30s (ouchie)
The thing that i know is that it must become natural for me, i need to be able to draw an eye practically by instinct. So i need to have sort of a pattern.
However, i notice that artists while they do have certain rules they work within, boundaries... they don't usually stick to just one style for each body part, for example, they sometimes draw fat people and sometimes skinny, the eyes don't always have the same shape, only "roughly" the same shape. Something to worry about later.
I think i'm going about this the right way, instead of following a tutorial made by some medicore artist, i should try to mimick the art style of an artist i actually like, then once i'm good at it modify it to what i want my art to be like.
I've gotta start somewhere, but it's within my nature to start at "hard", that's why i started with Gentoo when trying to learn linux, then ended up with arch cus gentoo was a bit too hard. (Not too hard, too unstable unless it's in the hands of an expert that is) Jumping in the deepest pool i can find to learn to swim, so there's no saving me if i sink.
I like to think that the limits of my learning from a source, is the capabilities of said source. Learning from the weak won't make me strong, learning from the strong will be a lot tougher but more worthwhile.
I also know that learning by seeing is not exactly a good way to learn, but it seems like the only option when learning to draw (all tutorials just make me draw images that have already been drawn, so why draw shit when i can try to draw quality, like elsevilla's stuff?)
Anyways, mouth, same images, lets see.
Shadman's 1
Elsevilla's 2 and 3
Why? they actually draw the lips. And not in a super weird position.
I'll start with Korra...
As i kind of expected, doesn't work out, it's too simple, it requires the rest of the face to be identified as a mouth, largely because the lips are very minimalistic (only the lower lip is drawn, lips aren't shadman's style) but also because the teeth don't have any lines.
Elsevilla's star wars chick worked out pretty decently, but it relies heavily on colors which i'm not using just yet. And so, finally the amazon...
I actually slightly modified this one myself, but it looks pretty decent. So, nose...
Nose looks good on all the pics. I'll take Korra and the amazon for it though
Korra's nose looked pretty decent, the amazon's nose takes a whole lot more skill to make but also looks fairly decent.
The last remaining two pieces of the puzzle are ears and hair. I think i'll start with what i've already learned though and try to sketch a face.
It was reasonably successful for a firs tt ry, and i haven't done hair yet. Let's see, hair i'll take from elsevilla's 2.
As i expected, hair is tough to copy, you can't exacytl copy it line for line, only the outlines.
And i have sketched a face, nothing like a Driad as originally intended, but a face no less. I forgot the ears though.
Pretty? no
Good? no
Decent? yes.
Excellent considering it's the first thing i've drawn for like... years. Stickmen not included.
OH, that's right
I forgot shading. But that's not something i can do just yet.
Before i call it a good day for trying to learn to draw, i think i should try to draw a portrait without any assistance, i.e. the only help i'll have is the tmental images i've got from drawing what i have up till now. So, dryad or something? i'll try. If i have any success on this whim of mine of trying to draw in the deadline i've set, i'll probably scan in and upload my progress online for all to see. How far i came in a month. If i'm dissatisfied though, i won't. So pray i succeed. Well (it actually seems like i will, judging by my progress already in one day, we shall see)
Eyes done.. Pretty successful.
Nose done... better than before maybe.
Mouth done... Lips successful, rest not so much... i'll redraw this part...
Lips are barely half decent, thep roblem is teeth.
Hrmpfh, that'll do for now. So, hair and ears...
I called drawing only 1 ear, turned out ok i guess.
Overall, obvious amateur work, now to make some lines so i can call it a dryad...
There, dryad :)
It's definitely nothing pretty, in fact this is fucking creepy, but for my first attempt at original work, it wasn't so bad. Now, i'm putting art on hold until linux is finished. i bettered hurry up and finish linux, because this was kinda fun. When my 1 mont hdeadline of practicing art (in which time i will also be working on the game btw, artwork will just be between the lines kind of thing) i will draw this same dryad again. then compare the two, if i can see any remarkable difference and decide to pursue this i'll scan them and upload them to somewhere nice, maybe i'll make a deviantart page or something, after that i will buy myself a nice tablet and start drawing in my PC. If i reach that point, i'll give myself 3 months deadline to decide whether i can realistically be skilled enough to draw the artwork for my own VN and be satisfied with the art or not. If i fail, that'll be the end of my artist career unless it turns into a hobby like i said earlier.
I should try that triangle thing...
Oh right... i got so caught up in art i nearly forgot my workouts.
Headstand 80s (1m, 20s) <- wow, i didn't lose much of my capabilities in doing this one....
Short Bridges: 150 (<- wow, i lost 0 out of these, last time i did them i did 150 too, or 3x50 in 1 go)
Crow Stand: 30s (thought i didn't even make 20 last time O_o, this one is kind of sick btw, balancing...)
So what, the guy is doing crow stands and headstands now?! that looks fucking retarded! i can't imagine that doing anything much! (<- right?)
Well, i agree, they look completely retarded... But they're a build up for handstands, which are then in turn a build up for handstand pushups.
"Handstand pushups? are those even real? i thought that only existed in anime!" yes, me too... until this workout program told me it's the stuff for noobs... Which is what motivated me so much, i thought "wow, if i can do even just 10 handstand pushups, i'll be pretty satisfied with my bodily strength... this guide says i can do a lot more brutal stuff than that so lets go!"
The major difficult stepping stone towards handstands is the crow stand, it's a difficult act of balancing yourself with your hands as the only bodypart touching the surface, a slight failure and you'll crash face first into the floor.
My progression standard for going from crow stands to "Wall Handstand" is 1 minute stable crow stand.
Then from Wall Handstand to Half Wall Handstand Pushup is 2 minutes handstand.
I supposedly need 2 minutes of headstand to progress to crow stand, but i decided since they're so different (one of them is meant to balance your body with your hands alone on the ground, the other is meant to adapt your body to being upside down) i decided to just do both of them simultaneously, and i will keep doing headstands until i get to wall handstands. Why? they're convenient as they strengthen my neck and scalp, and strengthening my neck is particularly useful for headbanging without getting a sore neck for 4 days afterwards. Last metal festival i went to which was last summer, not long after i had been doing these exercises i was that one guy on the way back home that didn't have a sore neck.
Headstands is why, it's a shame really that i'm so good for headbanging but i rarely go out at all. But "When" i do go out, it's usually for a metal concert ^_^
Now, i hit the progression standard on short bridges, which is 3x50 (on the easier exercises though, i buff things up a bit and combine them all into 1 large set instead of 3 sets) so tomorrow i'll go back to Straight Bridges, which i never progressed beyond yet.
Next monday i hope to progres through wall pushups again doing a 1x150 so i can hurry back to where i had progressed with pushups before.
One thing that's unique about this training program is that unlike most others that either focus on beefing up OR focus on losing fat, this program is about training yourself to get maximum "functional" strength in as short a time as possible, it's meant to make you superman in a year or two, with as little effort as possible. (2 exercises per day 3 days a week? takes under an hour each of these 3 days man... and the exercises are so light that i usually don't break enough sweat to need to shower afterwards, however... my muscles feel it a lot more than any gym workout.)
It focuses on mastering your own body, doing this will make you capable of stuff bodybuilders can only dream of. No matter how many weights you lift you ain't gonna do handstand pushups... This is because lifting weights focuses on manipulating objects outside of your own body, the human race actually used to be stronger, in general and on average BEFORE the gym craze, think about that a bit :)
I've tried all kinds of workouts, this one is the only one that ever suited me because
1: low time consumption
2: i can do it at home (although i had to get myself a pullup bar)
3: it's brutally efficient (you get toned like a beast in just a month or two, if you don't have fat to hide it that is)
4: It's focus is the same as mine when i do workouts, i don't do workouts to look good, but to gain functional strength. That is strength that i can actually use to be superior to others in any physically straining situation.
I also hear, although just from the book with the program, but i hear that doing these workouts also translates to being stronger at the gym (i.e. manipulating objects outside of your own body) and that most people who are good at bodyweight training (calisthenics) will usually be able to pwn regular gym-goers if it comes to a competition of who can lift heavier weights.
I'll have to put that to the test a year from now or so
Now i'm drifting so far off topic from development and what i was doing...
But that's ok, i've decided that this is to be my personal blog, rather than an actual hands on development blog, i shall create another one later dedicated solely to Amodos Universe game development later. When the time is right and i've announced something.
I decided I'd be better off making a deviantart page early. If I'm aiming to learn fast then that's definitely the place to ask for help. Google didn't do a particularly good job. My drawing is done for today, but i'll do more of it tomorrow. I think i changed my mind about waiting with it till this linux business is over, yeah, i'll start now. it's not like i need to dedicate entire days to this stuff (like linux >_<)
But well, here's my quite empty profile...
Oh i just realized, I can learn a lot from shadman's speedpainting videos, it seems what he does is that he starts by drawing a sketch, then imports it to photoshop and draws on top of it.
Looking at his first speedpainting vid and his latest, the quality of his art has gone up ridiculously much, and he is drawing top quality retarded fast. I mean 3 hours for that? serious? Give me 3 days and i won't be able to draw anything half as good.
I'd like to draw in a style not so different from his actually, being able to learn from him (even if not very well, since i only get a split second to see him do like a couple of minutes work) is priceless.
However it's not like i can reach his level in a year, or 4 months. I can maybe draw something similar to his stuff, but he's got shading (guess the name comes from somewhere huh) and a lot of details that i'm not gonna learn to make in just a few months, hell, i need to work hard on making my art look like it's 3D.
Bar hang: 30s
Oof, by now my skin is really starting to show some callus(?) or just tear. I'll consider giving it rest tomorrow.
Lets see, i'm aiming for becoming a semi-decent character artist in a month. At least this good.
Then if that succeeds, 3 months from them i want to be as good as jadenkaiba if that succeeds i'm switching my focus to environment, drawing backgrounds.
I should note that hector enrique (elsevilla) uses corel painter, while most artists use photoshop.
My traditional art style which will be sort of anime/manga-like is all good and fine, but in the end i think i'd really like to be able to do some badass CG like this eventually.
I'm rushing a lot, i know, it might be considered unrealistic by many, and i will find out i guess. I realized that there simply are no good artist tutorials, the best i can get is learn how to make a mediocre looking object (body, face, tree, chair...) then turn it into my own technique and style with time as i modify it to look better, or what i think is better.
That's it for today i guess.
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