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Horse pic stuck in starting gate...
What do you do when you get a long way into a drawing but feel disheartened because it’s not looking the way you want it to look? Do you persist and keep going, or face facts, give up and move on to something else? I have spent a long time on the horse so far (maybe halfway) and then have walked away from it as the tiny hairs were too obvious and thick, and now I have been unable to pick up a pencil again. Should I keep going and try to fix it? My perfectionism is obviously rearing its head. Appreciate your advice all.
Ihor, v and 8 others11 Comments-
Well Nicole,I wish I could de of some help to you. I face with the same situation as you, I’m anxious to hear what Ali and Larry have to say.
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hola nicole, te cuento que me sucedió lo mismo y me costo volver a dibujar me esta costando mucho volver ha coger la rutina.
te digo lo que yo hago, lo dejo apartado y hago otro cuando pasan los días vuelvo a mirarlo y si puedo arreglarlo lo hago si no puedo lo hago de nuevo en otro momento
también te digo que tu caballo me gusta
algo tan bonito como dibujar nos tiene que hacer disfrutar 😉
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Hi Nicole
Your horse is taking shape very well especially the details on the harness. Don’t get discouraged, this is an opportunity for you to spred your wings and develope new artistic technics. I think most artist have experienced this same dilemma.
I have had that happen a few times and when I have erased my mistakes so many times that my drawing is not salvageable, I use it as a practice piece to develop the skills that I seem to be lacking at the time.
I am drawing a portrait of my daughter now and there are a lot of details that are not coming out just right, such as eyes eyebrows, lips and shading. I have adjusted things so many times already that I am close to making it a practice piece.
I drew the horse exercise not to long ago and I listened to Ali’s every word and made sure I understood what they ment. I watched every stroke he made with the various tools he used, in essence, I tried to copy every thing he did. Some times I felt like he was making the base coats way to dark and I would never get the results necessary to make the drawing look real, but it always came out looking well as long as I was being a copy cat.
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Great looking horse so far. Practice what you want to do and come back to it another day. You’ll figure it out.!
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Nicole, my advice would be to keep going. 😊
What you’re experiencing is incredibly common, especially when you’re working on a piece that matters to you. In fact, many artists reach a stage where they stop seeing the drawing as a whole and only see the flaws.
Looking at your horse, I don’t see a drawing that needs to be abandoned. I see a drawing that is still in progress.
The hairs that are bothering you now may not even stand out once the surrounding values, textures, and details are finished. One thing I’ve learned over the years is that a drawing often looks its worst somewhere around the middle. Then suddenly, after a few more sessions, everything starts coming together.
Perfectionism can be a useful teacher, but it can also stop us from finishing work.
From what I can see, you’ve already put a lot of good work into this piece. I’d hate to see you stop now. ❤️ Keep going, Nicole. I think you’ll be glad you did. 😊-
@alihaiderrehman thank you. I definitely was focusing in on the flaws! I’ll keep moving through it.
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Wijze lessen die we hier leren, ik zat ook even in een dip maar heb de draad weer opgepakt want het teken leerproces is veel te leuk om te laten vallen! Dus diep ademhalen en dóór !
Succes allemaal 🙏🏼😁
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I completely understand how you feel. A drawing is a very long process, and I often go through exactly the same thing. There are many moments when I look at my work and think, “This is terrible, I’ve ruined it,” and I put the pencil down for a while.
My experience is that this technique is actually very similar to painting. The more layers you build up, the better and more realistic the drawing becomes. The first few layers often look like a child’s drawing and can be quite discouraging. If I judged my drawings at that stage, I would probably give up every time.
I’ve also learned that mistakes are not as disastrous as they seem. When I don’t like something, I carefully lift it out, rework it, and often the result ends up looking even better. The faint traces of the previous layers can add depth and richness to the final piece.
I can show the different stages of my horse drawing, and you’ll see how rough and unfinished it looked for a long time before it started coming together.
My advice would be: keep going. Take a break if you need to, but don’t abandon it because of one area you’re unhappy with. Adjust it, soften it, rework it if necessary. Every layer is helping to build the final result, even the ones you think are mistakes right now. Persevere—you’ll be surprised how much it can improve.
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@SEDITH love the work and thank you for sharing your journey. I’ll keep going!
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Thanks everyone. I really feel supported and encouraged to keep going. I think I froze because I’m at a tipping point where I could make things worse or get to the finish line feeling proud. I appreciate all the kind words. Continue I shall! I’ll post when I’m done (even if it does end up a dud!)
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i actually like it wish i could do as well !!
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