It hit me a few weeks ago that I really need to knuckle down and practice my drawing far more then I have been. I feel such a long way from where I want to be at with my art and I see that the reason for this is simply because I am just not putting in enough. The procrastination and laziness needs to cease, I have been guilty of both these things way too much lately. It is a slow process, and I know that it is going to take me weeks, even months if not years of consistent drawing every single day before I see a noticeable rise in my skills. This is something I need to get past. I need to realize that patience in my development is a virtue. I need to stop expecting my talents to exceed at such a fast rate, it takes time, a lot of time. Those artists I admire, such as Todd McFarlane, Greg Capullo, David Finch and Marc Silvestri only reached the level of expertise they are at through commitment and constant practice. This is my problem, failing to stick at it. I need to keep digging this hole, digging it deep enough until I hit water. I know this is the only way, and there is no getting around the huge volume of work I need to get through before I can call myself a pro.
So I bit the bullet last week and made a promise to myself that rather than pulling the ol’ sketch book out once or twice a week to do some drawing, I am going to pull it out every day and try my best to do as many drawings in it as I can. It’s been two weeks since I made that promise, and I have stuck firmly to it. I can see that already, drawing from photos, and the works of various artists such as David Finch and Marc Silvestri, I am gradually improving. The things I am learning while doing these sketches are starting to stick in my head. The improvement isn’t huge, but it is there. I know there are going to be those out there who say it is wrong to draw from another artists work, but all I know is it is helping me to build my confidence and solidify my own style. Yes I am copying their work, but solely for practice and nothing more. And I suggest other aspiring artists do the same, copy the artists you admire. It is wrong to call it your own, and all it will ever amount to is experience, but we must not forget that experience and practice is the key to developing as an artist. I think if you do anything enough times it starts to build itself into you.
I have a little over half a year left until I begin drawing up my graphic novel. The fact that I am already starting to see my skills improve in only two weeks tells me that if I can stick with it and be consistent, with enough patience and time I will reach my goals. Now in saying that I am going to start uploading scans from my sketch book to my blog, very possibly on a daily basis. This isn’t to show my work off, but rather it will be a tool to motivate me to draw every day, it will serve as a kind of dead line that I need to stick too. Also, my blog has been kinda quiet, so if nothing else it might bring a little life to this place.
So I’ll talk a little about these first few sketches from my new sketch book. As I mentioned, I started this sketch book less than a fortnight ago and have tried my best to do at least one or two sketches in it a day. I still have to do some more scans (I don’t have the time to scan anymore tonight), but the sketches are from a range of works by the artists David Finch, Marc Silvestri and Ed Bene’s, all of which I feel will serve as the greatest influences over my work. I admire these artists, and although I am endeavoring to develop my own style, the works these artists do in particular definitely lye in the direction I want to head in with my work.
I will be uploading some more scans from my sketch books, hopefully tomorrow with any luck. So if anyone is reading this, keep a look out for my new daily updates.
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