The dreaded job search. . . where do I even begin? It really has a way of shattering your sense of self-worth. Maybe it's the act of condensing who you are onto a sheet of printer paper, only to have it tossed into the recycling bin. Or knowing that AI software combed through your application and deemed you thoroughly unworthy to even be assessed by a living, breathing person. . .
This post features the la crème de la crème of my art supply collection. From Mei Liang Pretty Excellent watercolors, to Prismacolor Premier colored pencils, have a read through my top recommended artist and student-grade supplies.
Watching your art improve over your first couple of years is an exhilarating experience. It's full of anticipation and wonder—and makes you feel like you can take on the world. This video showcases my art improvement from the very beginning, until the end of 2018. In other words, I go through every single drawing in my infamous "crappy Walmart sketchbook". Yes, the sketchbook I purchased during a fateful summer afternoon when the fan-art driven desire to learn how to draw slapped me in the face (RE: My Coming of Age Art Journey (Part 1) – Finding Inspiration).
Art is born from self expression. It's essentially an outlet used to make sense of your thoughts—especially when you're feeling just a tad neurotic. It's a form of storytelling. Of…
Let's be real for a second here. What is it like to learn art as an adult? When you ask people how long they've been drawing for, they typically answer with "for as long as I can remember". And don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful thing to pick up on your creativity at a young age. . .
But this world is littered with imperfection. It's a shame that it takes a global pandemic for us to realize this. I've been reaching out to a wide range of people. Some I'm in contact with on a regular basis, and others I haven spoken with in a while. Tense times bring about social unity—even during a time of social isolation.
. . . I didn't feel 100% about my love for art, and was afraid to fully come to terms with what this experience meant. So before deciding to jump back into creativity, after what I labelled a moment of "artist block", I purchased a Parisian paint-by-numbers set and slowly chipped away at it. Note, that it's been about 3 months and I'm less than a quarter of the way through. . .
I'm convinced that 90% who've made it this far are bound to complete the entire challenge—I mean, we're already in so deep, it would be ludicrous to turn back now. So far, I say that Sketchtember made for major improvement in my ability to illustrate. Since I'm currently inking my sketching, the process is just making what already exists more permanent. Huevember, on the other hand, will be quite the adventure. Coloring isn't exactly my forte, so it'll be interesting to partake in the challenge.
This was my first time stepping out of my university's sketch club and joining the wider art community at large. It was nice, and I felt personally rewarded in taking initiative to go on my own. There were a ton of prizes being given out, and I mean a ton. I'm surprised everyone didn't walk out with something. I certainly didn't. But it was fine because I created the following piece:
This experience was most definitely an interesting one. When drawing characters, I typically stray away from backgrounds—mainly because I have no clue where to even begin. But at one point, drawing a floating character on the middle of a page no longer makes the cut. It was about time to step up my art game, and experimentation makes up a large part of this. I initially drew out a thumbnail of characters from each of the zodiac signs. This scene in particular is of a Taurus on a treasure hunt.