Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!

[SiuiS]

This is excellent, and my only regret is that I didn't think of it first!

Ooh, Thanqol does that to us all the time! Only it's more "bah! My only regret is I'm so lazy I thought of this months ago but no one will ever know!"

Huh, you're actually the second person to make that suggestion... *wheels turn*

Yeah, it's a pretty big thing. And after having seen what Dis can do with skin (~!) I'm tempted to dive in to painting myself...

I actually disagree with this. Every time I experiment, even if it's a godawful failure, I've learned a lot of actual, usable things. And then, months later when I'm rummaging in my bag of tricks for a specific effect, I'll have a bunch of things to call on and an informed choice as to what works best. I did a whole bunch of experimentations with fire effects a while back, found one I liked, and I can just come back to it whenever I need to. It's a permanent upgrade to my visual arsenal.

And it's not like experimentation takes up my entire draw practise time. I typically do an entire picture 'standard' except for a few colouring and shading techniques that I take huge gambles on, even if it risks ruining the entire picture. I learned from Day 254, for instance, a lot about the limits and variance of the bristle brush, and I learned a three-point shading technique that I absolutely adore. In subsequent pictures I'll practise those lessons while experimenting with other things. In the same picture, I used lessons on solid black+transparency slider from previous experiments to get the shadow right. It all adds up, and flows together. Everything has use, like a big pile of Lego blocks.

Yes, attempting rote-drawing of standard humaniform heads until I can do it reflexively is an enormously appealing concept which often features prominently on my to-do list. But I don't have enough Lego to start building and refining the style I want yet. I don't have a good way to do hair. I haven't practised enough with skin tones. I can't draw figures in physical contact right. I want to experiment with these things until I've got understanding of each conceptual element, until my Lego box is full of pieces, before I work on refining a style.

I'm getting closer, but I'm also getting better at seeing which areas I'm completely clueless on.

Well, I thought about this and how to best condense the argument down to about quibbling over language. I found this;

Hats are a a pain in the Mark. And quality paper is awesome! But don't be afraid to do roughs with bad materials. You lose masterpieces, but you gain skill always.

And as a repeat from last time; drawing is 90% perception. I[f] you see something wrong, good! Nothing sucks more than no having a way to improve. If something goes awry, focus on that! Bring it up here, go to a book store and browse. If you see a neat art style, try to duplicate what's so neat about it. So long as you come away able to see something you couldn't before, you come away understanding more.

That paragraph got away from me, so post and bed.

Which seems pretty much like he agrees with you, doesn't it? Keep moving, always keep moving, even if you have drag yourself forward by the fingertips, even if you rake yourself over coals.

But there's another way to look at it. "jog if you have to, run if you must; but at all other times, go at your own pace". What I'm advocating isn't that you're wrong, Thanqol, so much as saying occasionally practicing things you have not yet mastered will yield more than throwing in things you honestly have never tried before as well.

But... For me, the outcome is vital. SiuiS too. Whether for good or ill, we actually stop, right in the middle of a work, and come back when we have the improved skillset to handle it. Because practice is practice, and that's fine. But something intended to be a finished work...

Like you've said, Games live or die on char gen. For us, a work lives or dies in the foundation. And if that foundation is good enough, it must become a finished work, because this particular set of factors can need come together again. The lines are infused with the passions and mindset, the connotations and particulars of that moment, and each moment is utterly unique.

Is this good? Probably not. We have exposed a point where we disregard our own advice and visibly suffer for it. But again, I don't want to sway you all so much as make sure you are rolling the concept around in your mind like a stone, learning it's weight and heft, before deciding that; no, this rock isn't the one you want.

-

Diego, yes we are on a phone. But our laptop hardware isn't much better. Admittedly the home wireless (Ponyville, or Canterlot if we had the high end reciever) made things easier, but only marginally. But that was the point, silly! I can't participate. Spoiler boxes are my bane >>;