Hand Practice

why do i keep seeing whole videos on advice for artfight from “veterans” or whatever. here’s all the advice you need:

you don’t need to draw every day

you don’t need to fully render every drawing, sketches still count and the person receiving it will still love it

you don’t need a fully polished ref sheet for every single character, having a basic one or even just a colour palette along with whatever other art you’ve done works fine in most cases

you don’t need to draw a fully rendered piece every single day do not burn yourself out or injure yourself for funny little internet points good lord

boom done there’s your 15 minute video

When you're a kid/teenager everyone expects you to base your career around your passions and interests and that works for a lot of people but it's not the full story. I wish they would also teach students to consider the lifestyle that career would require.

Like... if I had to choose a passion and work a career around it, I would probably work at a zoo or aquarium. But those jobs require a lot of schooling with STEM classes (which I hate) and a lot of early mornings (which make me feel ill) and an obligation to work in person with no flexibility to move (which makes me depressed). So even if I'd enjoy caring for animals all day, it's not a good career path for me.

My current job is travel writing, which is not my passion. I like it, but it's not my passion. But I work a flexible schedule, I can live anywhere, I get a travel stipend, and my team is really chill. So it works for me.

Rather than solely focusing on "What topics do you like?" I think we should ask students "Of the careers that suit your preferred lifestyle, which are the most interesting?"

24.09.2024

Sooo updates?

I haven't posted in a while I know. I forgot about my goals for a bit and then I was terribly behind schedule and didn't have time to post.

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Last months:

🎨 I have managed to finish 4 artfight attacks and start another one before the end of July. My goal was five but it was my first time joining this event so I'm proud of myself. It was a fun experience and everyone on the site is very nice.

📚 About homework... I'm pretty disappointed on myself. I procrastinated until the beginning of school and ended up with a lot of overdue work during the first days. Thankfully I got my sh-t together and finished all my homework so I can focus on lessons. There's plenty of time to get better I guess...

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Now:

📚 Studying for a presentation I have tomorrow, in English (second language). I hope I'll do well... I'm very nervous about talking in front of the class. After this I'll focus on science and math since the tests are coming soon, I have a lot of notes to copy and study but I think it's manageable.

🎨 Art practice is currently paused to focus on school work. When I'll have enough time again I would like to learn about character design because I have an oc concept I would like to improve.

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[Photo: my desk at school with my little companion Dragonite!]

Hey, I'm back! Taking practice tests for the B2 exam <3

If only I had the ability to write down everything. What an interesting journal that would be.

"It took me TWO years to finish this sketch book!" Well that's cuz you're not fuckin sketching. Those are fully painted pieces dawg that's a renderedbook. I've gone through four sketchbooks in my off time this year alone I just draw stupid faces and shit for fun. pussy up like the rest of us and start drawing stick figures with guns

"The day was beautiful, warm and clear. It was the end of August."

– Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

13 year old me would think current me is so cool and hot and that's really all that matters

"Don't use Libby because it costs libraries too much, pirate instead" is such a weird, anti-patron, anti-author take that somehow manages to also be anti-library, in my professional librarian-ass opinion.

It's well documented that pirating books negatively affects authors directly* in a way that pirating movies or TV shows doesn't affect actors or writers, so I will likely always be anti-book piracy unless there's absolutely, positively no other option (i.e. the book simply doesn't exist outside of online archives at all, or in a particular language).

Also, yeah, Libby and Hoopla licenses are really expensive, but libraries buy them SO THAT PATRONS CAN USE THEM. If you're gonna be pissed at anybody about this shitty state of affairs, be pissed at publishing companies and continue to use Libby or Hoopla at your library so we can continue to justify having it to our funding bodies.

One of the best ways to support your library having services you like is to USE THOSE SERVICES. Yes, even if they are expensive.

*Yes, this is a blog post, but it's a blog post filled with links to news articles. If you can click one link, you can click another.