knockout!

[url href="https://knockout.chat/thread/14143"]V1[/url]

Just gonna quote Gloomy because its already the perfect description

[quote mentionsUser="1572" postId="445228" threadPage="1" threadId="14143" username="Gloomy"][img]https://i.imgur.com/XiZvIpY.png[/img]
[i]“Talent is a pursued interest. Anything that you're willing to practice, you can do.”[/i]- Bob Ross

[h1]WHAT IS THIS?[/h1]
In short, the New Artist Initiative is a group dedicated to, whether you've never picked up a pencil or you've picked it up and put it down over and over again, committing to art. Perhaps one of the biggest humps anyone may overcome in their art career is picking up the pencil, and not putting it back down. That rough period; that first year.

Here, we make a one year commitment to art. We keep each other drawing, share our works, encourage each other, and do our best to learn as a group. Every artist is at a different skill level and stage, and some of the artists that post here may be further along than you. But the really important thing is that all artists are on the same journey; to get better at art.

We share our art (daily if possible), tutorials, art books, videos, motivation, critiques, support, and any other resources. And in ONE YEAR from your join date in the initiative, we review your progress as an artist, and see what we've learned along the way, about art, life, and learning new skills. A list will be maintained of those who signed up, their join date, and veterans of the group. Veterans, for the record, are free to keep using the thread for as long as they feel like making art.
As well, a list of resources will be maintained on the first page of each thread, and I'll do my best to keep it updated with as many resources as I can find.

You [b]do not[/b] need to be an absolute beginner to join or use this thread! Almost all of us will have made art before. This thread is a dedication to pursuing it. Trying to find someone who has literally never drawn before would be almost impossible. So don't worry about that!
To learn any skill is to be a perpetual student. So don't be afraid to join at your experience level whatever it may be.

[h1]HOW DOES IT WORK?[/h1]
To join, simply post that you are joining and the date you joined up.
The same day, make a piece of art. It can be as simple or complex as you like. Post this in the thread, and keep it saved for reference once the year has elapsed. From there you are free to post your art, discuss your art, critique art, share tutorials, ask for encouragement, anything you want that's related to y'know, learning to draw.

I can't reasonably demand you post every day, but I *do* encourage it. I also encourage we all set a rule for ourselves, which I believe will make it significantly easier to get over the hump of actually starting to draw each day: Each day, require yourself to draw for a very small amount of time. I say 1 minute, but you can do 5 minutes if you think that works best. It doesn't matter what method you use to make the art; you can do this with a number 2 pencil and a restaurant napkin. The quality of the art doesn't matter, what matters is that you do your time every day. That you drew for that minimum amount of time.

The brain doesn't like learning new things, or doing things that take effort. But the trick is that it doesn't like STARTING things. It's much easier to decide to start drawing for just a minute and decide to continue for another hour or not, than it is to decide to start drawing for an hour.
And even if you decide not to continue. Let's say your house just burned down and you're really busy. That's ok, because you did your minute. You still drew today!

I STRONGLY RECOMMEND YOU SAVE [i]EVERYTHING[/i] YOU DRAW, EVEN SKETCHES AND PRACTICE. Nothing sucks worse than losing a piece of art you liked, or even whole months or years of progress you want to look back at, because you didn't save shit properly.
Come up with a filing system that lets you easily find any piece of art you did. Something that structures it by Year, Month, Day. For instance, on Windows for digital art, I might structure it as follows. 2020 > July > 7-02-20 Anatomy Practice.PNG Have folders for years and months at the very least.

[h1]ANY OTHER RULES?[/h1]
You are allowed to critique others art, and they are allowed to critique yours. Try not to take it personal, we're here to help each other. However, also don't be a dick. "I believe your perspective needs work, try this tutorial" is critique, "this is fucking dumb" is not.

NSFW Art is fine, but should be tagged appropriately. I don't believe any of us should judge anyone for what they choose to draw, whether it's fantasy illustrations of dwarves or furries shitting their diaper. We're here to draw, not to police what people can and can't draw.

While not a rule, just a friendly reminder that no matter how 'bad' you think your art is, you never have to be afraid to post it here. Even if it's a picture of a dog taking a shit you drew on a napkin at Denny's. This is a place of learning, not judgement. I know I don't believe in talent.

Tracing in an effort to learn how an artist accomplished something is fine, depending on who you ask. But what everyone can agree on is that you should [i]NEVER[/i] post traced artwork anywhere without explicitly identifying it as such and crediting the person upon who's work yours is based.

[h1]WHY SHOULD I JOIN THIS?[/h1]
Your reasons for pursuing art, or joining this thread, are ultimately up to you, of course.
But let me ask you: how many times have you thought about being an artist, only to think "No, that's impossible, I just have no talent". Or maybe you did pick up a pencil and start drawing, but quit because you weren't immediately good and got frustrated? Or because you just couldn't get the motivation to keep drawing? How many times have you tried and failed to start? How often do you become afraid that you will get old and look back and regret not becoming an artist like you always wanted?

I know I have! And those are big fucking fears and doubts. But they're not unique ones - I think almost every artist, at some point, has gone through this. Every artist started by picking up a pencil and drawing something that looked absolutely terrible. Every artist has doubted if they will ever improve.

And so many people that could have been great artists, wanted to be great artists, have died never having really tried because they lost motivation, or because they simply didn't believe that it was possible for them.
These fears are hard to overcome, and it's enough to stop the vast majority of people from ever pursuing their goals and dreams, whether it's art or music or stand up comedy. It's not easy to overcome, especially not alone.

That's why you should do this. To stop making excuses about not having the right resources, the right equipment, the right amount of 'time', the right amount of mystical god given 'talent'. To be an artist, all you must do is make art frequently. And so, today, you have the chance. Become an artist. Decide to be one. And just start drawing. I, at the very least, am happy to be here with you all the whole way.[/quote]

tl;dr make something, anything and post here. Then do it again 364 times. The important thing here is staying committed to art for a year so don't go worrying about it looking bad. If the last 50 pages have told us anything it is that we're all nice people here ;)
Feedback and (constructive) criticism is encouraged too!

[h1]LIST OF THOSE WHO HAVE JOINED THE NEW ARTIST INITIATIVE[/h1]
1. Gloomy (Join Date July 2nd, 2020)
2. Ott (Join Date July 2nd, 2020)
3. Ogopogo (Join Date July 2nd, 2020)
4. Kasool (Join Date July 2nd, 2020)
5. Yunpol (Join Date July 3rd, 2020)
6. Afromana (Join Date July 3rd, 2020)
7. Beat (Join Date July 3rd, 2020)
8. SaintB (Join Date July 3rd, 2020)
9. Danial234 (Join Date July 3rd, 2020)
10. GLH (Join Date July 3rd, 2020)
11. HardlyBreaker (Join Date July 3rd, 2020)
12. Danz (Join Date July 3rd, 2020)
13. ShogoMechanics (Join Date July 3rd, 2020)
14. Trixil (Join Date July 3rd, 2020/June 1st, 2020)
15. Karpik (Join Date July 3rd, 2020)
16. Kamikaze (Join Date July 3rd, 2020)
17. Robutts (Join Date July 3rd, 2020)
18. Dubeard (Join Date July 4th, 2020)
19. Starless (Join Date July 4th, 2020)
20. Barbeerian (Join Date July 2020)
21. PortalModIV (Join Date July 2020)
22. MissingString (Join Date July 7th 2020)
23. Nask (Join Date July 10th, 2020)
24. Laffle (Join Date July 12th, 2020)
25. Yusuzio (Join Date July 15th, 2020)
26. Triiodine (Join Date July 23rd, 2020)
27. DizDizzio (Join Date July 25th, 2020)
28. Skerion (Join Date August 1st, 2020)
29. Luawolfie (Join Date August 4th, 2020)
30. Ninja Nub (Join Date August 6th, 2020)
31. Lillya (Join Date August 7th, 2020)
32. MasterKade (Join Date August 9th, 2020)
33. bryzgonaut (Join Date August 11th, 2020)
34. Maya2007 (Join Date August 12th, 2020)
35. Matrix374 (Join Date August 19th, 2020)
36. Super Abalone (Join Date August 26th, 2020)
37. hesoyam (Join Date August 27th, 2020)
38. SquidsEye (Join Date August 31st, 2020)
39. Ithon (Join Date September 6th, 2020)
40. Zenreon (Join Date September 10th, 2020)
41. IronBar (Join Date September 11th, 2020)
42. QwertyTSecond (Join Date September 20th, 2020)
43. Slacker101 (Join Date September 29th, 2020)
44. SimplyCorbett (Join Date September 30th, 2020)
45. Kobalt (Join Date October 8th, 2020)
46. Ethrich (Join Date October 13th, 2020)
47. Toasters (Join Date November 19th, 2020)
48. Ryrie (Join Date November 27th, 2020)
49. God of the Groove (Join Date November 30th, 2020)
50. Pyroknight (Join Date December 2nd, 2020)
51. Dayal (Join Date December 11th, 2020)
52. Velgi ( Join Date December 30th, 2020)
53. SFAriel ( Join Date January 11th, 2021)
54. Sharker ( Join Date January 18th, 2021)

(I'll assume you've joined if you've either posted your creation at least once or expressed desire to join [spoiler]even if you just procrastinate afterwards[/spoiler])

[h1]LIST OF VETERANS OF THE NEW ARTIST INITIATIVE[/h1]


[h1]LIST OF RESOURCES[/h1]
[q mentionsUser="1572" postId="445245" threadPage="1" threadId="14143" username="Gloomy"]
Check back for more resources! Feel free to post more, they'll probably get added!

[b]Art YouTube Channels[/b]
[url href="https://www.youtube.com/user/DrawWithJazza"]Draw With Jazza[/url] - Has made numerous art tutorials, books, and even an app, which you can find in playlists on his channel. Currently has a focus on doing strange art challenges, but it's a good reminder that art is for fun too.
[url href="https://www.youtube.com/user/MattPilh"]Mattias Pilhede[/url] - Has dabbled in art tutorials, but also has a lot of videos about the struggles that come with becoming an artist. A great watch for motivation
[url href="https://www.youtube.com/user/AndrewPPrice"]Andrew Price[/url] - Mainly a 3D artist but some of his stuff are more general to art as a whole. His talk about [url href="https://youtu.be/vM39qhXle4g"]Habits of Effective Artist[/url] and [url href="https://youtu.be/Qj1FK8n7WgY"]Color Theory[/url] are a great watch for fundamentals. His donut tutorial playlist is extremely good too if you're looking to get into 3D (FOR FREE)

[b]Websites[/b]
[url href="https://drawabox.com/"]Draw A Box[/url] - "A set of free exercise-based lessons that focus on the fundamentals - the skills you'll need to make sense of all the other resources and tutorials out there. First we focus on the basic mechanics of mark making, and how to use your arm. By the end, we develop a strong understanding of form, 3D space and construction."
[url href="https://www.ctrlpaint.com/library/"]CTRL+Paint[/url] This is a collection of short, free, videos on the basics of digital painting. Hundreds of them. Did you learn something? Tell a friend about the site. Want to learn more? Check out the store.

[b]Books[/b]
[url href="http://www.alexhays.com/loomis/"]Andrew Loomis[/url] - Andrew Loomis is a 20th century artist who's works were heavily featured in magazines and advertising. However, he is perhaps best known in the modern day for his series of instructional art books. Here, they are preserved and available for download as .PDFs for free! Many an artist begins here.
[/q]

Holy fuck we made it to v2?????????????????
That's incredible.
I'm sorry I haven't been able to manage this thread more, I've been in a nonstop fight with my own depression plus I have a lot of projects I'm working on for YouTube and stuff. I'm trying to get in to art more with the new years, but I won't say much about it cause I think talking about stuff makes you less likely to do it.
I'm fine with someone else running it though, I'm just glad I got something like this started. It means a lot to see you guys trying your hearts out at art and I hope every one of you makes it as an artist.

[quote mentionsUser="1572" postId="665028" threadPage="1" threadId="19917" username="Gloomy"]Holy fuck we made it to v2?????????????????
That's incredible.
I'm sorry I haven't been able to manage this thread more, I've been in a nonstop fight with my own depression plus I have a lot of projects I'm working on for YouTube and stuff. I'm trying to get in to art more with the new years, but I won't say much about it cause I think talking about stuff makes you less likely to do it.
I'm fine with someone else running it though, I'm just glad I got something like this started. It means a lot to see you guys trying your hearts out at art and I hope every one of you makes it as an artist.[/quote]

thank you for what you have started. Yeah I wanted to make the next thread so that I could keep the op updated with new members and resources and whatnot since I guess I'm pretty active (and probably the one with the most free time here). I'm not very verbose and your op was already well-written so I just ripped that instead but I promise to keep this one updated!

I wish you good luck on your other projects and mental health! I hope you'll be able to lift yourself up to pick up a pencil again :)

The Exit Sign Man, but as a thief.
[img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/787151780449746984/795157355172069397/20210102_211027.jpg[/img]

Day 16. UnityChanKAGURA
[img]https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/033/451/412/large/fadingz-1500.jpg[/img]
Found the design [url href="https://unity-chan.com/contents/news/unitychankagura/"]here[/url]
and it was a fun day to draw this

Ya got a letter.
[img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/787337000863662103/795277957433131038/letter.png[/img]

he sits
[img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/580328398690320386/795324777321594890/unknown.png[/img]

Working on a Catgirl-ified Ranger from Quake 1. Which I plan to turn into a 3D model once I finish this character concept art.
Idea spawned from a silly chat with mates on the quake discord server I hang around.

[img]https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eq1b8GHXIAstvei?format=jpg&name=medium[/img]

[img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/580328398690320386/795434894506852382/Untitled_Artwork.png[/img]
i can only draw mudkips but that's not too bad a fate

Hey if I can indulge myself a little, I wanted to ask. Does anyone reckon this thread has done them some good, or been a help in any way?
I guess I've been feeling a little down about myself and the things I've tried to do lately, so if it's just my brain being depressed and stupid I'd like to know.

Also as for where I'm at on art, I figured out how to make a 10x10 grid on photoshop. I'm gonna start filling that with sketches of spheres over and over and ocer like in the loomis book. Till I get to 1000. I think I might try that with all the fundamental shapes until I can say yeah, I can knock you out a cylinder no problem, any size, any perspective, whatever

It helped me with some morale boost to do something everyday (and now draw a piece a day during my vacation)
I wouldn't say I rely on this thread, but it definitely helps seeing myself and others improve.
Here's what I have done in 2020 in reversed chronological order, mostly done in the later half of the year.
[img]https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eqm8EMhU0AUhMDz?format=jpg&name=4096x4096[/img]

Fuck circles and fuck perspective
I got ten done tonight getting increasingly frustrated with each one until I realized the last two were done on the wrong fucking stupid god damn layer
I don't know why this is pissing me off so much right now but fucking
i just feel like I'm not gonna make any progress and im wasting my fucking time and ugh
sorry

[quote mentionsUser="1572" postId="666263" threadPage="1" threadId="19917" username="Gloomy"]Fuck circles and fuck perspective
I got ten done tonight getting increasingly frustrated with each one until I realized the last two were done on the wrong fucking stupid god damn layer
I don't know why this is pissing me off so much right now but fucking
i just feel like I'm not gonna make any progress and im wasting my fucking time and ugh
sorry[/quote]

Coming from a rather decently seasoned artist, I continually feel, and always will:
Fuck circles, and fuck long continuous curves. They're frustration incarnate.

Trust me, [i]a lot[/i] of people feel like this. Not mine, but BOY do I fucking relate:
[img]https://i.imgur.com/MiHkYzB.gif[/img]

In short, don't worry about it. It might be one of those things that will plague you no matter how good you get, and [i][b]that is perfectly okay.[/b][/i]
It says nothing about your overall skill just because one seemingly simple aspect challenges you, just keep it up, you can get there, even when the shanpes daunt you!

Edit: Phew I didn't know you were trying to draw so many, yeah I agree with Pyroknight below me.

[quote mentionsUser="1572" postId="666263" threadPage="1" threadId="19917" username="Gloomy"]Fuck circles and fuck perspective
I got ten done tonight getting increasingly frustrated with each one until I realized the last two were done on the wrong fucking stupid god damn layer
I don't know why this is pissing me off so much right now but fucking
i just feel like I'm not gonna make any progress and im wasting my fucking time and ugh
sorry[/quote]

would definitely not recommend grinding circles like you're doing, 1000 is a ridiculous amount. easy way to burn out and you will neglect other parts of drawing. find some portraits you like and draw them using observation and loomis. as you draw more you will get the control to freehand them, so spend that mileage drawing instead of grinding

[img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/719197133147996231/793719006044618762/unknown.png[/img]

Day 17
[img]https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/033/482/872/large/fadingz-ishtar-1500.jpg[/img]

[b]Edited:[/b]

I had to do a lot of geometry drawing CAD/math functions/chemistry molecules etc. for calculus, mechanical engineering, organic chemistry, nanotech, whatnot classes, so I guess that is where I was forced to learn perspective. (Though I gotta say drawing organic chemistry compound is fun!)
It is a grindy task on its own... for anyone trying to find motivation to draw, definitely just what whatever they want to draw.
I never did 100 box challenge or something monotonic for 100+ or 1000 times.
I still need to draw physics diagrams now for work (My team works on physics engine for game), but nothing as crazy as 100 boxes.
It becomes to laborious for something to do by my own free will. Even for the 1 painting a day thing I am doing now, I just draw whatever I feel like drawing.

More Bread!
[img]https://i.imgur.com/8AAy7Bi.png[/img]
Wood texture from texturehaven. Also slapped punchy on the letter cuz it felt right.

[quote mentionsUser="1572" postId="666083" threadPage="1" threadId="19917" username="Gloomy"]Hey if I can indulge myself a little, I wanted to ask. Does anyone reckon this thread has done them some good, or been a help in any way?
I guess I've been feeling a little down about myself and the things I've tried to do lately, so if it's just my brain being depressed and stupid I'd like to know.

Also as for where I'm at on art, I figured out how to make a 10x10 grid on photoshop. I'm gonna start filling that with sketches of spheres over and over and ocer like in the loomis book. Till I get to 1000. I think I might try that with all the fundamental shapes until I can say yeah, I can knock you out a cylinder no problem, any size, any perspective, whatever[/quote]

Personally, the thread have helped me increase my output tenfold which I guess is helpful when you're starting out. This is also the only place I've been shilling my work so theres that social aspect squared away, mostly kept them to myself before :)

[b]Edited:[/b]

Oh and ummm, its not related to art at all but being in this thread have made me......lurk less. Like.....I can now confidently post on the forums :o

-snip don't wanna bloat my post, I'll repost after someone breaks my merge-

for me it's sorta hard to post here because I keep comparing myself to others. i know the best way to get over it is to just keep drawing for myself but my mental health isn't the greatest so I end up getting stuck in loops which is why I delete my shit constantly :(

i think I might be improving at least a little though

Art Summary! Meant to do it last thread but thought it better to save it for this one. Split into 2D and 3D because I guess they're different enough.
[img]https://i.imgur.com/CGQT7yd.jpg[/img]
I only began doing 3D in mid-april (sorry i lost my donut :c)
[img]https://i.imgur.com/6iMTjmA.jpg[/img]

Compiling this made me realize 2 things:
1. Holy shit I need to draw more dudes
2. My work and style are pretty scattered and lacking focus which is I guess kinda expected.

Of course there is a larger volume of work thats shittier and not shown here. Pretty neat that I only started drawing because I thought this [url href="https://i.imgur.com/mw02D6Y.png"]tablet test[/url] looked neat. Would've only used the tablet for 3D purposes otherwise.

[h2]BONUS:[/h2]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/ifyJzzg.jpg[/img]
A collection of ALL the props I made since April, ones that I finished and hadn't lost the texture for at least. Its pretty chaotic since I didn't stick to a single art style or look, that and it was too laggy for me to light it up properly :v

[b]Edited:[/b]

[url href="https://megafile.cc/d/VY8Z/dd"].blend file in case anyone wants it (why?) Beware its bloated as hell and I'm not sure if the textures packed properly,reply to me if it isn't[/url]

[quote mentionsUser="4757" postId="666554" threadPage="1" threadId="19917" username="Danial234"]My work and style are pretty scattered and lacking focus which is I guess kinda expected.[/quote]

Wanted to pitch in some advice. Your art (both 3D and 2D) can be sold. People will buy it & the quality is there. I wouldn't give this stuff away unless it's part of your endgame in regards to getting work or making money.

Regarding the discussion on grinding/drawing what you want etc. I'll put in my 2 cents and say that you'll really have to [b]carve out your own path[/b] when it comes to how you want to get better. This has been my experience over the past half year. If you're finding that something isn't "working" for you, i.e. you're getting tired or burned out, switch it up and do something else. Eventually I think you can settle on a set of things to do that works for you, that you enjoy doing, changing it up in terms of subject, medium, etc.

I really don't believe there's a wrong or right way to pursue that goal. For some people, doing exercises over and over again (like drawing boxes) [i]is[/i] what works for them. The DrawABox / Peter Han Dynamic Sketching method essentially [i]starts[/i] with doing this. It's a much more technical and draftsmen approach to drawing, and it [i]can[/i] give you great results if you have the discipline to actually work through the exercises. The before and after student results are evidence of this. Peter Han's art is evidence of this. But it's not for everyone, and Peter never claims that it's the best approach to learning to draw. But at the same time I don't think it's right to be dismissive of this method, because everyone learns differently.


I personally really only want to draw people. So the past few months I've been doing portraits. Within portraits I practiced painting eyes, got bored, noses, got bored, ears, etc. and then got bored of portraits altogether. Now I'm going back to figure drawing and construction and I'm having a lot more fun again. This is what I mean by switching it up

basically tl;dr is that i'd advise exploring different methods/subjects/etc. until you find something you like doing, without being too dismissive of any one thing initially, you may end up liking it. you don't have to be as methodical as I am about "making a set of things to do", but I think the exploration aspect is what i'm trying to get at, so don't get too tunnel-visioned on one thing either.


great that we got to a 2nd thread!