This is just a simple post. I've been on the edge of burnout for weeks now and so I'm making the decision to take a complete break from social media for a while. I want to really take the time to get back to my senses and find out a strong 'why' for what I want to accomplish in my lifetime.

Art School has been fun. I'll keep on drawing and learning, but no social media usage. This break could be a few weeks, a month, a few months, or even longer. And that's okay. Sometimes in life you need to make tough decisions. I want to thank everyone who commented on my posts with feedback, it really helped me out and I'm grateful for all of it.

With all that said, Goodbye

I'm back! I've just finished my university semester and I'll be taking things slow, posting an update on my work once a week. I feel the best thing would be to just restart the assignments for Term 2. I'm starting with this sketch I made today of a face. Maybe things will pick up over the summer, but whatever the case I'll be mindful of my energy and will pace myself effectively. Feedback is appreciated.

It was hard to get my mind to be comfortable with working as I got back into this, but I feel things will improve as time goes on. I didn't do much work, but here's what I've got. This honestly feels immensely overwhelming, and so I'll be taking things a day at a time. This isn't something to be rushed.

The Photoshop knowledge is something I'll likely get back to later, since currently I work in Procreate. But I did try out creating the text and smart objects. Using 4-Point perspective was very tough for my mind to wrap around, and I'd need much more practice with it. The last image is a sketch I made as I created custom brushes in Procreate.

For anyone wondering, 'Kozub Art' is referring to my other online art accounts ( DeviantArt: https://www.deviantart.com/kozub-art, YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCesps3wEqTTOtawnTRpayxg )

I'll see you next week!

I am burnt out again..for real. I need to take a step back from social media, trying to build a career, grinding / overworking, and unrealistic / soul-crushing expectations and pressures. I see it as downright disrespectful to expect myself to keep working and have my body literally die and give up on me.

The biggest lesson is that work is not life, and it's not worth it to put work over one's health. You don't always have to have everything figured out in your life. It's okay to rest in uncertainty.

So I'll step away for the month of June ( at least ). I need to step up and heal. It's frustrating that as soon as I have the time to try and put in effort into this, I get burnt out. But it is what it is, and my health is my highest priority. Burnout came from things outside of this, from other areas of my life. I suppose recovering from burnout isn't as 'easy' as I'd thought.

I'll see you again when I come back and am actually refreshed and 'reborn' ( in a sense ). My aim would be to return in July, but I don't want to put any expectations on returning so soon.

The real issue is that I've just been afraid..

I've reflected deeply on myself and I realized the way I've been thinking about work and rest ( and the relationship between the two ) and my beliefs associated with them have been completely toxic. Taking time off entirely might seem good on the surface, but I'd just be back to where I was. Slow and steady is where it's really at ( for me ). I might reach 'success' faster if I worked more, but I'll be able to actually sustain myself by going slow.

I'll be recovering over the month of June, and I might as well learn to keep going and take it easy. I see this as a test to see how committed I really am to my art. I'm not backing down now. Posts will be once a week, showcasing what I've learned and my progress ( it won't be too much, and that's okay ).

Alright. So I got into TERM 3 and decided to go for the chest anatomy portion first. This past week I got through everything and went along with the class, finishing things off with the first portion of the assignment. Here's what I've done:

While I've been learning new things, I've also been making sure to go over older content. For now this has been getting back into gesture drawings and facial anatomy ( so much to re-learn and master! ). Here's a glimpse at where I'm currently at:

IMG_0129.jpg3622x1746 1.98 MB

Overall, this past week has been tough because all of the internal fears I've had to overcome, reflect on, and release. Hopefully at some point things will get easier as I calm my mind with meditation ( been at it for a few years and it's helping me understand my mind now ) and rest. I'll see you next week. Oh, and feedback is much appreciated! Also, thank you for replying with your support.

I've had a rough week, and I'm taking this week completely off from ArtSchool. There are a lot of very high-stress and anxiety provoking things occurring in my life and I wish to gain some perspective on it all instead of forcing my creativity to come out. I love to learn and work, but I need to learn that the world isn't going to end if I simply have enough self-respect to take a break. Here's what I've created this past week.

I will post an update at the end of the month with my progress. I have internal things to figure out and external chaos to learn to live in peace with.

I've learned a lot, and released a lot. And growing my 'muscle' of discipline ( if you can call it that ). I'll be posting an update monthly ( so I can focus more on the work itself ).

I can hardly believe I began art school almost a year ago ( last July, in 2020 ). But anyway, that's all I have to say for now. Here is a look at my progress since the last post:

I'm open to receiving feedback on these, so feel free to point out what I need to work on. I'll see you next time!