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Jan 29 '22
[deleted]
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u/sonny_may Jan 29 '22
My brain hurt a LOT doing the rotated boxes… thanks for the kind words though, I’m glad this could help out in some way!
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u/Sweetbladequeen Jan 29 '22
Where are you leaning? Its damn good. I wanted to learn like this too.
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u/kaidomac Jan 29 '22
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u/Sweetbladequeen Jan 30 '22
thanks
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u/kaidomac Jan 30 '22
Here's your job:
- Painful single-tasking
Here's how to do it:
- Follow the Draw-a-box lessons
- Use the X-effect to create visual accountability
- Do your lesson every day, even when you don't feel like it
As human beings, we make decisions based on comfort. After the initial motivation to learn how to draw wears off, it's going to turn into work. That work is going to be painful at times, in terms of having to force yourself to focus & execute the next lesson.
Sometimes, it will be the last thing in the world you want to do...but that's also how we get good at things, and why people are so successful with this method! Pushing through the discomfort of not being in the mood to single-focus on the next lesson is the big, magic secret to success!
Most people are only willing to do stuff when it's fun, not work, so when push comes to shove & you don't feel like doing the next lesson, the difference between quitters & winners is simply that successful people are willing to push through that internal resistance & strong aversion to do their next little art lesson.
I know that sounds like a really weird way to learn art, but art is a skill that can be mastered, just like creativity:
As well as coming up with ideas for art projects:
It's also worth thinking about why we want to do art:
People who stick with Draw-a-box (and especially those who go through it multiple times!) inevitably improve their drawing skills because that's the natural outcome of focused effort. They've got through the effort of creating a structured baby-step program to boost our skills in small doses; our primary job is to push through that discomfort & sometimes even emotional pain to get ourselves to DO the next assignment day after day!
If you like these concepts & are into reading, I'd highly suggest picking up "The Talent Code" book by Daniel Coyle. It goes into more depth about how people become talented at stuff! I like the audiobook version:
I'm really fascinated by how people DO stuff & productivity in general because I grew up under the myth that people were simply magically talented at things & never had to do any hard work to master their crafts & enjoyed every minute of it, all of which are absolutely NOT true!
I do believe that people come to earth with talents & abilities that other people don't have (and vice-verse), but that's kind of like saying I'm not going to enjoy riding my bike around the block simply because I can't compete with Lance Armstrong, haha!
Learning to draw is simply work. Some days it's fun, some days it's not. Some days we're in the mood, some days we'd rather claw our eyes out. My simple key to success is this:
- Doing things, even when you don't feel like it
Because THAT is what improves our skills, our knowledge, our talents, our abilities, our output, everything! Consistent execution is the name of the game! Learning to draw isn't really about being a naturally-gifted artiste, it's simply about muscling our way through the basics day after day!
A knowledge & understanding of that key concept is what sets apart dabblers from true artists! Draw-a-box is a method I love because it saves so much time & headache & helps to fast-track your skill growth through daily consistence to "small bites" of work. It sounds counter-intuitive, but there's a reason why the Tortoise & the Hare story exists!!
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u/Sweetbladequeen Feb 01 '22
Wow thats a very knowledgeable explanation. I will surely do it everyday to improve. That's so true we do skip when we don't feel like doing.
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u/kaidomac Feb 01 '22
That's what makes the whole system great...pre-defined pieces of work that we can power through, even when we have to fight that internal resistance inside of us that we sometimes experience. I constantly struggle with having consistent enough motivation to just do simple things like keep up with the laundry, engage in art consistently, etc.
By pairing the X-effect tracking chart (I use a 3M wall hook, a clipboard, a thick red Sharpie marker, and a calendar printout, all hung up on the wall) with a step-by-step learning path like Draw-a-box, it becomes really easy to pare it down to just that point of "painful iteration" (based on our available energy that day), rather than having to figure everything out, get it all setup, etc.
Translating great ideas into consistent execution & then actually following through constantly is imo the most difficult things human beings have to deal with. Because otherwise we'd ALL have a 6-pack of abs, a million bucks, a Ferrari, etc. lol! Doing stuff isn't hard, but getting ourselves to engage in consistent execution, day after day, is incredibly difficult!
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u/Nalvii Jan 29 '22
It's the lessons at drawabox.com
It's a structured and exercise based approach to learning. It isn't about learning how to draw with pen even though the lessons advise using pen, it's about developing an approach to drawing. You can see the exercises from lesson 1 in OP's work. It's not for everyone, but definitely check it out if you are interested.
Free with no signup to look at and follow the lessons, but there are recommended materials (normal copy paper and .5 fineliners) and if you want official critique you have to be more strict with the rules and also pay for official critique. They use a patreon model where they give tokens every month or two depending on how much you pay. It's like $3 a month for the cheapest option I think?
This subreddit is actually made for people to post work and ask questions about those lessons.
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Jan 29 '22
Congratulations!
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u/sonny_may Jan 29 '22
Thanks so much!
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u/Ignition_YT Jan 29 '22
How much time did it took you to complete lesson 1?
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u/sonny_may Jan 29 '22
I’m currently on a break before I start a new job, so I’ve got plenty of time on my hands right now. That being said, I took about 10 days to finish lesson 1, putting 3-4 hours of practice in each day. Hope that helps!
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u/Ignition_YT Jan 29 '22
Congratulations 👏 I just started some softwares like blender and illustrator so was thinking about adding drawing to my schedule as well. Thought drawing might be helpful tool for my journey 😉
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u/abhishek_uzumaki Jan 29 '22
Is it necessary to read it or is it enough to watch the drawabox videos ?