Dear Reader,
Today I would like to talk about the project pile of shame most artists have. Stuff one will finish someday, when one gets round to it. I am no different.
I would like to begin with saying I’m okay with having a projects pile and no need for shame. I think it is normal that not all ideas and stuff one begins will spark enthusiasm till the end and maybe are simply not as good as one initially thought. The good ones I usually return to. I do like to have some stuff in my backlog where I can turn to when I feel like drawing and sometimes something will scream “You wanted to finish me!”.
Like this drawing:
I had this traced lineart lying around for 2 months before I got round to painting it, and it did begin to feel like I would never finish it…But when wanting to use my gouache colors again this fell into my hands and was perfect since I could start immediately.
Premature sharing
One thing I have noticed is when I show off WIPs online, (which happens when documenting the process or from the “need” to post something < -hate that thought/feeling) is , I’m often less motivated to finish the piece, than if I hadn’t talked about them.
The talked about/showed off WIPs often feel like they’re basically done or that I now MUST finish them since I said I would what makes me not want to. That mental odd checkmark or the pressure to deliver both are really bad for motivation.
Have you had similar experiences?
The solution would be to not show WIPs off but that isn’t always possible.
The knowledge that it will be harder to finish the project does help, since I can brace myself for it and not get taken by surprise by the feeling of “blergh” towards finishing a piece that I was originally enthusiastic about and not confuse this feeling with this isn’t worth finishing.
I think not finishing projects is only a problem when you NEVER manage to finish stuff and in that case I think the problem lies elsewhere. The fear of failing is all to common. I will go more into that another time.
Seeing larger scale projects through
Now let’s talk about larger projects. Comics, books etc. Motivation will always wane, and these will always become a chore and hard at some point, This is where routine is your best friend.
For my How Schmoe Draws Books ( Sketch Every Day and Draw What You Love) I had a clear schedule: on Fridays I created a tutorial. No excuses, I made time for it and on top of that I also published them on my Patreon. ← This helped me in particular, because the extra stressor of not wanting to let a bunch of people down to whom I promised stuff kept me on track.
Same with this newsletter, since I said it will come on Mondays I make sure it does, hahah not that this is set in stone for ever. I might change it at some point cause having 2 fixed days for certain things is not always easy , but I’ll let you know if things are to change! :P
So sometimes extra pressure can be good. But this is just me. I love evaluating how I function and then apply and put in my fail safes for the projects that I think need doing most.
I also have projects that I am very lenient with and then get annoyed that they don’t come along as well as I would like them to. But not all projects can be a priority. time is limited so the projects on the backburner have to be patient for a spot in the higher priority list.
If you never have done a longer project my advice to you is don’t start too big. With comics, start with short comics maybe… a couple pages. Then you can tell if it is for you and you are left with something doable and not a mountain of unfinished work that makes you feel like you failed. Small constant wins are the best to keep going.
REPLAY OF THE FREE Portrait Demo
Oh btw the replay is available to watch here for free until August 5th, 10:00 BST. After this date the replay will be available to watch exclusively in Creative Club.
TUTORIAL: Week 7 from10
I really love indirect lighting! It is my go to way to shade characters in most of my pieces . Here is how I do it:
WEEKLY PRACTICE
This weeks weekly practice again has nothing to do with the tutorials, I wanted to step a little out of my comfort zone and draw some vehicles… to make it easier I only chose cute ones! :D
This weeks references
And here are some of your last weeks practices <3
Will you join me again this week? :D
If so tag me on Instagram. I will share some in my stories and here <3 #schmoescosyartclub
Love,
Schmoe<3
Arghhh! The "need" to post something is so icky.
I'm changing slightly how I show my WIP.
I take pictures of the process but only share them when I have it 90% of the way there.
At that stage I already know for sure I am going to finish it, and I don't have to share or post as soon as it's done since I just shared the WIP it gives me some buffer time.
I’m at the early stages of some longer term and larger scale projects and this was such an important read for me today. Thank you!