Getting back into the swing of things/starting over..

[Ironteenrich]

Has anybody ever stopped art for a prolonged period of time, then tried to get back into the swing of things? Over the past few weeks i have had a huge desire to get back into art, relearn everything, and start all over. Yet, I am afraid to it seems, i sit here and am like "ok... tonight I will start drawing" and never do. I haven't drawn seriously in over 2 years now probally, I am only 18, so it's not like i don't have plenty of years to perfect my gift or whatever. I'm just afraid to see how crappy I am now, or something like that.

I have always loved art, and wanted to do something with art. As I do now, i could see myself getting back into drawing, and pursueing it again, last time I just got frustrated with myself and quit.

I have bought two books, "Drawing on the right side of the brain" by betty edwards, and "The natural way to draw" by kimon nicolaides. I also purchased a SB to start with. My plan is to run through Edwards' book quickly, then begin to follow the leasons in Nicoliades book, and hopefully make great progress, essentially relearning everything.

Before when I use to draw, i was nothing close to 'great' or 'amazing' but I did think i was making great progress, and had many teachers and friends complement my art work along with telling me I should pursue it when I would say it is something I was intrested in doing.

Now... I sit here, and I have still yet to pick up a pencil again and begin drawing. Has anybody experienced this in the past? How did you guys finally get back into the habit of drawing?

[Ellingsworth]

"How did you guys finally get back into the habit of drawing?"

lol, I started DRAWING, duh! :)

After three years of doing nothing I decided I liked drawing and starting again just a few months ago, the first thing I drew was absolute garbage and after a month and a half I've progressed so much.

Not to sounds mean but, about thirty thousand threads have just been made about drawing and not having the motivation to draw. Just so you know. :)

[Ironteenrich]

"How did you guys finally get back into the habit of drawing?"

lol, I started DRAWING, duh! :)

After three years of doing nothing I decided I liked drawing and starting again just a few months ago, the first thing I drew was absolute garbage and after a month and a half I've progressed so much.

Not to sounds mean but, about thirty thousand threads have just been made about drawing and not having the motivation to draw. Just so you know. :)

Not mean at all, I know there are several threads, but they all seemed like they were about staying motivated, and not starting all over again...

That's cool, I was thinking of doing a self potrait to start everything out, then do another one later on to see how much i had progressed...

[Ellingsworth]

Yeah man, you just gotta make yourself do it, try doing some studies everyday, be consistent. Draw from life and read some books, I've heard the ones you mentioned were very informative and can help a lot. You might also want to start a Sketchbook here, try to update it daily and that way you can keep track of your progress and get motivated! :) Good luck.

[Ironteenrich]

Yeah man, you just gotta make yourself do it, try doing some studies everyday, be consistent. Draw from life and read some books, I've heard the ones you mentioned were very informative and can help a lot. You might also want to start a Sketchbook here, try to update it daily and that way you can keep track of your progress and get motivated! :) Good luck.


I would love to start a scetchbook on this site, but I do not have a scanner. My grandmother has one, who lives next door, I will see if maybe I can buy her's or something cause I don't think she has ever used it.. would be nice to get some outside advice about my art.

[Elwell]

...I am afraid to it seems, i sit here and am like "ok... tonight I will start drawing" and never do...
...i could see myself getting back into drawing, and pursueing it again, last time I just got frustrated with myself and quit...
...I have bought two books, "Drawing on the right side of the brain" by betty edwards, and "The natural way to draw" by kimon nicolaides...
You need one more book:
http://www.amazon.com/Art-Fear-David-Bayles/dp/0961454733

[dose]

Sounds like fear of failure is holding you back. Start looking into that now- it's not going to go away even if you start improving. The point isn't to get good enough or reach some level where you don't think you suck- you'll be creating a battle for yourself the whole way, judging every piece you do (or even every line you draw). Much better to look into why you're so hard on yourself and start giving yourself room to be at whatever level you're at. You'll learn much faster that way.

I can second the book that Elwell linked to as a good place to start looking into this kind of thing.

[dose]

Sounds like fear of failure is holding you back. Start looking into that now- it's not going to go away even if you start improving. The point isn't to get good enough or reach some level where you don't think you suck- you'll be creating a battle for yourself the whole way, judging every piece you do (or even every line you draw). Much better to look into why you're so hard on yourself and start giving yourself room to be at whatever level you're at. You'll learn much faster that way.

I can second the book that Elwell linked to as a good place to start looking into this kind of thing.

[wheezy]

You need one more book:
http://www.amazon.com/Art-Fear-David-Bayles/dp/0961454733

QFT

Outstanding book for inspiration and motivation.

[Darasen]

"How did you guys finally get back into the habit of drawing?"

lol, I started DRAWING, duh! :)

After three years of doing nothing ..:)

That can be easier said than done., sometimes people have been away from art longer than you have been alive. I myself have been recently trying to truly advance my art after about 12 - 15 years away of pursuing my own skills.


The folowing are some tips of mine. They are not about how or what to draw but ways I have used to re-kindle the creative spark for me and to get me in the habit of creating.

One of the things I have found to be most helpful is to have a designated area for your art. Somewhere you can leave your stuff out and not worry about it and you can just sit down (or stand) and paint or draw or sculpt or whatever. To me if I have to move the place mats off the kitchen table or dig out supplies or what ever it drains me and I rarely bother.

Standing is better than sitting. I do not know your age but we get so used to sitting. We sit at our jobs, (many of us anyway), we sit to watch TV, we sit in the car, we sit at our computers, we sit too much. Stand for a while as draw and it has more energy it gives you more energy and makes the creation process more enjoyable. When we sit we tend to turn off, I think it's social programming.

Create on real media not the computer. Computers have so completely crept into the many aspects of our daily lives that they are common everyday appliances. Art is not common, creating is extraordinary.

Draw BIG. Get a big pad of newsprint and piece of charcoal or a black crayon and draw big and lose, clear the creative cobwebs. DO not worry about the quality of your drawing just draw and the quality will improve.

Gah this post is getting long. Lastly look at art. I had the advantage for a time of being able to visit the Nation Gallery of Art in D.C. on a regular basis and I always left a better artist than when I walked in.

[tomwaits4noman]

when I finished art college I had a three year break from art.... did not plan it but life got in the way, I could not get a job in my field so just got a job to pay the rent ended up a relationship, left art behind me. relationship ended after 3 years and I needed to keep occupied something to keep me sane so I started drawing again. I also began to approach my art more seriously to take steps to improve and hone my skills.

To start drawing it is a small step just put pencil to paper of course you might be rusty starting off but here is the secret do it for fun draw without any aspirations to greatness just enjoy drawing who cares if the first few pics are terrible fall in love with the medium again once you start to do this you can then decide what areas you want to make improvements on and work on these areas.

It is like training for a marathon you have to take those first few steps because you want to after a while you can start training seriously strengthening those artist muscles.

[Mr Man]

Sometimes you need a direction with what to draw before you start actually drawing. Ive found that sometimes once Im all setup to draw Ive made the mistake of not know what to actually draw thus I just churn out random doodles and things that spring to mind. Ive changed my routine around now and I actually plan before I draw. Anatomy, observational drawing, blah blah.
Try a timetable? This is something I have recently tryed out.

Hope this helps somehow

Rich.