harvest 48

More random sketches. Offbeat theme day, I suppose.

So it had occurred to me at some point, if I ever wanted to do a comic and properly, I had to fundamentally change how I drew, ground up. At the time I had this painting oriented style where everything was drawn to and for the color. I would in occasion leave anatomically incorrect sketches for the painting stage and I'd often fix things late in the stage. This proved to be quite the wrong way to draw.

Lines interact with each other and there's not a good way to 'fix'em later' when you're already painting them. This would often leave my art looking funny, stiff and incorrect. I had wronged the very commandments I wrote to remind myself.

I was once a line artist, going roughly at the rate of 1~2 full sketchbooks per month in the best of times. Once I went full digital, gone was that tradition. It's probably been 6~7 years since I've filled a sketchbook, and around 5 years since I drew something serious on paper.

In essence, I had forgotten how to sketch on my long journey Joe Pesci knows where.

Every attempt at doing a meaningful amount of comic only led me to realize how serious this problem was. Everything came out stiff and awkward and because of it, it all seemed pointless.

Then I decided to take the journey back, and thus are the results on my blog.

It's still an ongoing process, with rediscovery of some of old tricks I used to use, and others new to my inventory. But for now, enough to make progress on the very thing I announced to the world that I would do.

All is indeed quiet on the west front.




Also, Addendum to the 15 commandments:

1. Always try new things

2. Draw broadly

3. Stay focused

4. Have an idea

5. Feel the dimension

6. Always study

7. Try to enjoy it

8. Take as long as you need

9. Trust your eyes

10.You already have everything

11. There's no such thing as a bad style

12. Never copy

13. Keep your strokes economical

14. Get your sketch ready

15. It'll take a long time. 

16. Keep yourself healthy at all cost.
I can't stress enough how important this is. If your health suffers, so will the quality of your work. I've experienced this first hand and many corners were cut simply because I was too exhausted and the brain just produced massive amounts of frustration. Sometimes for days I just sat and did nothing due to my body just not getting enough energy.

Sleep well, wake up early, eat healthy food, jog everyday. Do whatever possible in your position to keep your body and mind at top condition.

17. Your work environment matters.
This is kind of a sub-commandment to the number 16. Your environment must also be supportive of your overall health.

There are many factors such as the air quality in your room, the chair and the floor you're sitting on, the monitor you're looking at, and etc.

But the most important of all, the sitting.

You'll work a lot in an enclosed space where you'll be expected to sit for hours. You must feel comfortable while sitting! Your health depends on it.

If you are suffering from back pain after hours of work, you may have a cheap, flimsy chair, or worse, an uneven surface. You don't want to be sitting on a chair on an uneven, angled floor.

Get a nicely flat surfaced floor and a high quality chair with good lumbar support. This will save your life, and your spine from what is quite possibly the most painful experience imaginable from the bent spine.


That is all.