I started this zodiac series couple of years ago. After a very long break I finally completed the project few months ago. It was really satisfying and admittedly it's one of the few projects I pushed to completion so far. I set my goals quite high, so I feel more challenged and invested. I don't complete every project I set out to do, but I believe I still get more art done this way. Also I'll explain more what I mean by saying a "project".
I first learned of this method from Feng Zhu and his incredible free Youtube series called Design cinema. I learned so much from his tutorials and he is actually the main inspiration for why I share my drawing steps in detail even before blogging.
This is an example I did in 2014/2015
Over the years I've learned how to explain my steps better, but I've also improved my skills more, so I can show more.
First About the Drawing:
I started all zodiacs with some tiny thumbnails to get a good idea of what I want to draw. For some zodiacs like Sagittarius I did over 5 sketches because none felt right, but for Pisces I got the idea pretty quickly.
I actually didn't work in the order, I tried to, but sometims it's better to follow the flow than force yourself to follow the steps.
After the thumbnails I did the pencils sketch over which I drew the outline with felt pens. Last but not least I drew with color pencils. I tried to use color variety overall in the project, so I have around 3 blue/red/purple dragons.
Back to projects
You should set projects because they require dedication and research. This way you're more likely to focus on art that interests you, instead of following the trends and never really discovering yourself. Those of you who followed me since the start, know I went through a (long) dragon phase and it all stared with a simple challenge- draw 100 of something and I chose dragons. I first made a list of things that interest me and things that I thought might seem cool to others. However, I knew to draw 100 sketches, I would need to have the most fun with it. In the end I drew way more than 100 dragons and did lots of smaller dragon projects including this dragon series.
After the life changing event, I spent a lot of time reflecting on what I want to draw next. I still try to consider often what I really want to do and not follow what I think others want me to draw. I make lists of everything I currently want to work on and try to focus on maximum 5 things at once. I know that sounds a lot but it's a bit hard to decide out of 50 choices. I've accepted that my interests change often and I use it to my advantage. The point of projects is to have a goal, it can be any size you decide. However having at least 3 drawings per project, gives you a more professional look. This displays that your drawings weren't just a happy accident, but that you've mastered it. Also you get to see interesting improvement if the project takes longer to complete.
Even 1 drawing can be a project on it's own if it's extremely complicated and takes long time and dedication to complete. This is particularly helpful for those learning to draw, you practice patience but you'll also see faster improvement which will motivate to you to continue. You don't need to know how to draw everything, but you should take the time to realize what you really want to draw and which artists are influencing your style. Also if you know you want to draw lots of characters, you should realize that you need to spend some extra time learning anatomy. If you really want to learn everything, then you'll need to know why, so you can remind yourself why you're doing this when things get hard. I've had many instances when I was proud or dissapointed in my art, but I know that not every drawing has to be perfect to achieve my goals.
I didn't want to spam all of the eggs, so if you want to see your zodiac egg, just let me know your sign in the comments ^_^
5 at once is crazy.
I can't finish one drawing... So I have made unfinished work my "style" :D
Haha, to be fair it's not 5 drawings at once, but goals (well, maybe a few drawing at the same time). Right now I'm doing the fish set, 30min sketches, consistent blogging (being consistent is pretty hard for me and trying to diversify what I post), another personal art project I started but haven't posted anything yet, also the work is on hold for now but might be back to it anytime soon, so I'm using the extra time on the previous 4 things mentioned.
Probably forgot something, but I'm sleepy and going to bed soon ^^
Thank you for checking out the post!
Thank you :D
You have a character for your creative work. I like them. So cute. I'm a Leo Girl anyway 😁
Yay and than you ^_^
❤️
Yay Pisces looks awesome :D
I think my project is big enough, not squeezing any more in ;D
Smart and yeah I think it's better to concentrate on one thing, but I get bored too easily, so switching things constantly keeps me more active. Even then I still take breaks from everything, it's just not obvious :)