Thank you for the reality check in the artist process. It has helped me to see revisions are not an admission that I can’t draw but a natural part of the creative process for showing work.
Great dragons!! I'm not an artist, but word processing makes revisions faster and easier than back in the day. 2nd, 3rd and subsequent edits really smooth out the bumps.
The colors on your dragon design are really great! And this was interesting for me to read because as a designer and writer of essays, I am all about revising, maybe a little too laboriously (I do so many revisions on writing 😬). For design, it's such an important part of the process, to iterate, especially for product/UX, that I can't imagine separating the two. I think that's why I find drawing on paper such a different creative act that I'm getting acquainted again because there is no "undo" button 😂. Sometimes I wish there was.
Thank you Jenna! I wish I had your designer brain—can totally see how the revision and many rounds of feedback is baked into that process! And so I love that you are now getting in touch with your improvising brain working directly with paper :)
This is awesome! And I love you dragon design-- super creative! If I were in town on February 10-- I’d totally stop by! But I’ll still be in CA! Anyway, revising my art is something I totally struggle with. Unlike in my writing, where I know and am comfortable with it not coming out right the first time or the 100th time! For my art, if it isn’t good the first time, I figure I can’t do it! Which is so not true! All artists start with a draft and revise and refine and move on from there! So I’m trying to do this with my art and get over my own block! So thanks for sharing your process, it is hugely helpful!
Thank you Bridgitte! CA is a great place to be this time of year anyway :) And yes, what is it about art that can bring on that mega impostor syndrome feeling? Perhaps because we are used to revising essays in school, but art has been socialized to be based on "talent" that you either have or don't... regardless, the same process applies and many great artists' initial sketches are quite a mess!
You are soooo right! I don’t think I ever thought about it that way! I took art classes in high school— I always liked them, but I know my teachers never thought I had talent, and they were never under the impression that art could be taught! And I have seen many artists beginning sketches— sometimes its hard to believe the final product came from them! Thanks for the reminder!
I love your cute dragons!! Thanks for sharing your process, lots of useful tips to try! My problem tends to be similar - I used to work from a reference using it only once (e.g. a photo of a landscape) and when it didn't work I just discarded it and moved to the next one. Lately I am learning to work on the same reference in various ways, first creating compositional thumbnails, value and colour studies, creating more studies in various media, etc.
So glad you found it useful, Lisa! I love your perspective on working in multiples with a single reference—I need to try that! It makes the connection with the initial reference/inspiration that much deeper and more meaningful too <3
Hardest lesson most creatives learn! I tell my kids, each of them creative in their own way, that art happens in revision. First draft is for you, revision is for the viewer/reader/listener/etc.
Thank you for the reality check in the artist process. It has helped me to see revisions are not an admission that I can’t draw but a natural part of the creative process for showing work.
Great dragons!! I'm not an artist, but word processing makes revisions faster and easier than back in the day. 2nd, 3rd and subsequent edits really smooth out the bumps.
The colors on your dragon design are really great! And this was interesting for me to read because as a designer and writer of essays, I am all about revising, maybe a little too laboriously (I do so many revisions on writing 😬). For design, it's such an important part of the process, to iterate, especially for product/UX, that I can't imagine separating the two. I think that's why I find drawing on paper such a different creative act that I'm getting acquainted again because there is no "undo" button 😂. Sometimes I wish there was.
Thank you Jenna! I wish I had your designer brain—can totally see how the revision and many rounds of feedback is baked into that process! And so I love that you are now getting in touch with your improvising brain working directly with paper :)
This is awesome! And I love you dragon design-- super creative! If I were in town on February 10-- I’d totally stop by! But I’ll still be in CA! Anyway, revising my art is something I totally struggle with. Unlike in my writing, where I know and am comfortable with it not coming out right the first time or the 100th time! For my art, if it isn’t good the first time, I figure I can’t do it! Which is so not true! All artists start with a draft and revise and refine and move on from there! So I’m trying to do this with my art and get over my own block! So thanks for sharing your process, it is hugely helpful!
Thank you Bridgitte! CA is a great place to be this time of year anyway :) And yes, what is it about art that can bring on that mega impostor syndrome feeling? Perhaps because we are used to revising essays in school, but art has been socialized to be based on "talent" that you either have or don't... regardless, the same process applies and many great artists' initial sketches are quite a mess!
You are soooo right! I don’t think I ever thought about it that way! I took art classes in high school— I always liked them, but I know my teachers never thought I had talent, and they were never under the impression that art could be taught! And I have seen many artists beginning sketches— sometimes its hard to believe the final product came from them! Thanks for the reminder!
I love your cute dragons!! Thanks for sharing your process, lots of useful tips to try! My problem tends to be similar - I used to work from a reference using it only once (e.g. a photo of a landscape) and when it didn't work I just discarded it and moved to the next one. Lately I am learning to work on the same reference in various ways, first creating compositional thumbnails, value and colour studies, creating more studies in various media, etc.
So glad you found it useful, Lisa! I love your perspective on working in multiples with a single reference—I need to try that! It makes the connection with the initial reference/inspiration that much deeper and more meaningful too <3
Yes, exactly! And you find new details and ways to present the reference all the time ❤️
Hardest lesson most creatives learn! I tell my kids, each of them creative in their own way, that art happens in revision. First draft is for you, revision is for the viewer/reader/listener/etc.