Problems starting with a...Drawing.

[Rowan]

Ok, I'm going to try to explain something in my crappy English. I hope you can understand it, so I can get some reactions.

Well, at the moment I'm 16 years and I really love to Draw. People tell me that I've got talent, so the idea of quiting Art never existed in my head. Ofcourse, at my age I have milions of things to learn, and I still have time to learn...so no problems at that point.

But with talent alone I'm still not there. The person also needs the urge to draw. Well, that's nothing new to you all. Everyday I feel I have to draw, even if it's for a few minutes. But here comes the problem: Starting with a drawing is just f***in hard. I mean, sometimes I have tons of ideas in my head, but for some reason I just can't start with one idea or another. It's hard to pick a thema. It's hard to think what I want to draw. It almost looks like I have too mucht going on in my head that I don't know where to start.

Is it a handicap, or what? Will it come by the time I grow? Because, I almost life on Art Forums. Peoples Art inspire me. Nothing wrong with that, but I think I need to many examples before I can start with a thema. Sometimes I can sketch someting in a few minutes and work it out...but sometimes it can also takes a very long time before I actually have an idea on paper that I can finish.

I hope you can all understand what I just said. Maybe you can help me out by saying something that will help me.

- Me.

[MrFrost]

welcome to the world of every bloody artist in the world....its nothing to worry about really...
focus on life studies, etch that into your brain. Get inspiration from other artists, copy their work....FOCUS on LIFESTUDIES....your inspiration will soon flow without fail. Just keep it up. You will see.

[Signature]

Well I don't think it is a problem that all artists have.
There are some artists that can't come up with concepts (who only have a vague idea of what they want to draw/paint)
and others who have refined images in their mind and can't draw/paint them.

More people will say that they are in the 2nd category.
My guess is that many people in the first category just don't want to admit that they have that problem and say they are in category #2.

You should make studies as MrFrost wrote. Observe the real thing and also look at photos.
When you have a vague idea of what you want to draw design the objects that you want to put into it.
Make sure you can draw them from any angle.
The more you know about an object, the better you'll get at painting it.
Then arrange them in coherent perspective and a coherent lighting situation and so on.

Rough sketches like the ones by Feng Zhu are a great way to practice arranging things that you can draw already.
http://thunder.sslsecure.com/~artbyfen/roughs.html

A balance of spending enough time on some pieces and doing the basic things over and over again is important.
Don't try to create an amazing piece by investing weeks now. That can't work.
You probably need more experience first.

[ELDER]

Draw everything and anything that interests you in any way. Don't worry about creating masterpieces each time you draw. Each time you draw you should be trying to gain knowledge and experience that you can use later to develop an idea. Get past the blank page by just putting something down even if it's just some scribbles. Just draw what is in front of you for now and then as you gain enough experience you can develop raw ideas from your head based on the experience you have gained drawing what is around you.

[Gambit]

I just had the same problem a number of months ago. Currently, I am increasing the urge to draw simply by doing it (and learning anatomy etc.) I too was told I am talented at art, although I'm not sure of my exact degree of talent. It is a difficult thing to measure.

My biggest problem with drawing is a lack of overall practice and expertise. This is because I always practiced at things I wasn't good at, to kind of "balance out". I pushed drawing aside as "trivial" because I could visualize anything from any angle. Drawing, I decided, was simply another (time consuming) step along the same line. This approach is wrong and not to mention from an entirely different kind of mentality.

The thing about people who are talented and people who aren't is that they both spend the same amount of "mental effort" using a certain area of the brain, but the talented person usually gets a much more desirable result from the same amount of "effort". Talent can cause a person to maybe feel lazy or like they aren't being productive because the task at hand seems trivial, obvious, or easy. However, in a society where specialization spells out most careers, not using your talent, or putting it off, definitely won't help you become an expert. A lot of untalented people can become experts too. This is another thing that could make a talented person feel lazy.

Wasted talent abounds. A lot of the most brilliant people on earth can rarely use their abilities. This is because society at large is made by and for "average" people. The sad truth is, some people have trouble with everything. Some other people, almost the same amount, are brilliant at everything. Both are tragic cases and both of these people have comparable problems. Those who are mentally slow have to constantly keep up with society, while those who are brilliant have to slow down for everyone else.

Speaking of talent let me tell you about my abilities (not to brag, heh, not much to brag over). In terms of IQ (the only way I know to measure intelligence/talent atm), I have a 140-point-gap between my high and low scores (60 - 200 IQ range.) This gap is said to be "extreme". Let me put it this way, I learned calculus in about a week flat and aced the exams without studying. All the while, just recently it took me about a week to plan out my daily commute to school. Still not sure which was more difficult... probably planning the commute. Point is, it is very hard to tell the difference between what you're good at and what you're not, at least until the competition starts... dang buses!

Still, don't confuse ability with expertise. Experts have a ton of practice over many years.

[FlipMcgee]

Do warm up sketches.

Doodle or copy an interesting ref just to get your juices flowing. Consider these warm ups as not being precious....disposable. So you don't have to think too much or labor too much. Take as much time as you need.

You might just discover something interesting to develop further as you do these quick sketches.

[teyekanik]

um I wont repeat whats allready been said. but have you tried writing it down? Sometimes jotting some notes on a seperate notebook will get the ball rolling into developing a story about what you are about to draw.. look at the best illustrator in all of history; Frank Frazzetta. His paintings had entire novels behind them. Just make some notes like who, what, where, ect. and it might help you narrow down your good ideas.. Also do small thumbnails.. .really quick gestures and compositions side by side.. maybe a dozen a page.. just store youre ideas on paper and then pick the best ones and save the rest for later..

every good artist I have evern know has had this problem at one time or another.