May '21

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!

May '21

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.

May '21

Take care dude! I hope you're able to come back refreshed and ready to go.

Jun '21

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 ).

Jun '21

I've been at this for over 3 years now (I think), in that time I've had different schedules to reflect on what I thought mattered. sometimes its a bit more work, sometimes its art. there have been times I've felt burnt out as well. Luckily I've been able to adjust, hopefully you can find a good balance. Good luck

Jun '21

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.

Jun '21

The hatching style for your portraits is nice! The lines are so clear.
But for gestures, I'd recommend doing more long fluid lines :smile:

9 days later

Jun '21

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.

13 days later

Jun '21

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!

Jun '21

I think your work is really good, Joe! Especially the the anatomy deconstruction.
One thing that might help you: when you are doing 30sec and 1min gesture drawings, do not focus on drawing/copying the outlines of the pose, but try to „feel“ the pose and draw that then…. Probably not the best explanation, but maybe a quick look at Proko‘s figure drawing videos (I think its called How to draw gesture), might help you.

https://www.proko.com/course-lesson/how-to-draw-gesture/assignments

The difference between the two ways of drawing the gesture is, that with one you focus on copying outlines and with the other you focus on a very essential thing: the pose itself and what it tries to convey.
Also: do not get hung up on little details like the bump of a particular muscle thats sticking out, try to portray the figure using simple C-shaped, S-shaped and straight lines.
But the video will explain everything in more detail! :smile:

Good job, and keep it up!

1 month later

Aug '21

I'm about to enter my last university semester and finally graduate at the end of the year. I plan to finish ART School by the end of 2021 ( if not, by mid-2022 to the end of 2022 ), and I'll focus on characters, creatures, and environments ( these are the things I am most passionate about creating ). Thank you for the suggestion regarding the gesture drawings, I watched the video and it made a lot of sense ( though I'm still adjusting to that loose method of drawing them ).

Here is a glimpse of where I'm currently at:

I'll be working diligently on TERM 4 this month, and will post an update at the end of the month. Feedback is appreciated, and I will see you soon!

19 days later

Sep '21

Here's the work I've done on TERM 4:

I went for analogous colors for the character at the end. Otherwise, here's where I'm at for older content:

The faces were too much for me to learn all at once, so I've gotten back to the basics of simple shapes. Once I finish the anatomy portion of TERM 4, I'll extend the amount of time I spend on each gesture drawing so I can draw all of the muscles ( loosely ). So I feel by the end of the year I'll have much better knowledge of anatomy than when I began. My semester has been challenging for the first week or so, but now that I'm back in "school mode," it should be easier to to adjust and balance my time.

Anyway, I'll continue working on TERM 4 and getting my act together. I'll slow down as well, since patience is key ( and this will be a lifelong journey ). See you at the end of the month!

16 days later