/ic/ - Artwork/Critique

[Anonymous No.4209253]

I want to end every habit and behavior of mine that works against drawing. I already deleted my online video game accounts, deleted video games in general. stopped masturbating as much (still struggling but fighting a good fight), stopped wasting time on people that don't share my will for self-improvement, stopped consuming media as much and reduced my time browsing 4chan and youtube. I am still here so I am not fully ascended but I can take something useful out of this site while I am here.

So a question to anons who want to do the same thing and succedeed or still try to succeed, what are the tips you can give me? What I really want from life is meaningful relationships and meaningful achievements. I am willing to sacrifice everything for those.

[Anonymous No.4209362]

>>4209253
You sound just like me, ever thought about having an art friend who'll draw with you?

[Anonymous No.4209407]

>>4209253
Health, fitness, yoga, meditation, books on mastery/mindfulness, good course to follow and a professional to regularly critic your work.

[Anonymous No.4209409]

>>4209407
Seconded

[Anonymous No.4209424]

Keep the ball rolling (beginning is hardest, build the momentum).

Don't be too hard on yourself.

The fact you're working on this is pretty cool, be proud of yourself and the small victories.

Replace those habits with others, like meditation and exercise

/Know you will succeed/

You may begin to make excuses to shirk what you're currently doing, but train your willpower by ignoring (not fighting) it and focusing on the task at hand.

You only fail when you give up; temporary stumbles are evidence you're moving.

Do not look back (can't stress this enough).

The fact you're willing to "sacrifice everything" tells me I'm not sure you need advice and you already know what's up.

Most importantly, have fun and take time to "step back" and assess your progress (being kind to yourself) as well as relax. Find time to laugh. Love what you're doing and find joy in the sacrificing of what no longer serves you and the building of a character you can be proud of (not the ego-stroking pride but rather a self-confidence and self-love)

One last thing, a habit I'd highly recommend you make room for:
Before you allow yourself to fall asleep at night, review your day; go back over it from start to finish, noticing what you did well and where you fell short.

This has a profound effect when consistently practiced (consistency is key; a 5 minute meditation once a day is far better than a 15 minute one here and there)
It gives you the chance to essentially "abreact to the karma" of the closing day and wake up with a clean slate.
It also helps to exercise the power of the imagination (visualizing) and willpower (going through the full day and not allowing your mind to wander from the task) though if you've never practiced such a thing before, it will, just gently bring it back.

Merry part, anon. Sorry for the long-windedness.

[Anonymous No.4209426]

Good stuff. Remember to take breaks though, they will help you too. Burn outs happen to everyone if you don't. Work hard and work smart.

[Anonymous No.4209432]

Try lifting weights, eating right, and sleeping right. It'll give you a longer and happier life than drawing ever will. You'll have more energy, motivation, and positive outlook on life in general. You'll be able to take failure easier. You'll be more disciplined. You'll be more attractive. And all you need are a few good habits to get started, and it doesn't even take up that much time in the week.

Working out is one of the best decisions I've ever made for myself, even better than deciding to pursue art as a career. Let it be the engine to your life.

[Anonymous No.4209453]

Do the most important stuff in the morning, it's when your brain has full power.
At first it will be tingling with ideas and analytical insight (first 1~2 hours), then it'll go into focus mode (another 2~4 hours), so use the beginning for exercising creativity, planning your drawings or what you have to do, and the focus time to really make progress on that task.

After that you have your lunch and repeat the process - but this time your creative/focus periods will be shorter or weaker in efficiency, so do something secondary, like doodling, listening to podcasts, reading books and taking notes (to study for real when you wake up).

Other than that, keep up the positive mindset. Band with /ic/ on the self-promotion thread if you want to have some sort of social media presence. Be kind to everyone, but expect nothing in return. Be grateful if/when someone acknowledges your work, but don't forget putting in the hours is the main factor to succeeding. Mindful practice, always.

[Anonymous No.4209508]

>>4209253
If you are who I think you are, do not over think it.
I will sacrifice everything, too.
lessthanthree

[Anonymous No.4209512]

>>4209253
It happens on a timeline.

[Anonymous No.4209628]

>>4209253
Are you doing focussed art practice 4h a day? Because if you aren't doing that, all that other shit does not matter. If anyone out there honestly thinks that masturbating is the thing holding back their art gains... boy do I have news for you. It's cool to learn how to master your will and learn new habits and all, but if you aren't already practicing consistently, all this discipline is a mere excuse, just another distraction. Learning to draw every day is much easier than resisting natural urges. Baby steps, people.

[Anonymous No.4209725]

start with small amount of time doing what you want. this builds a habit, gradually add more time to that but don't force it. the more you do something the more you get used to it so it'll be easier to continue. eventually you'll feel like shit whenever there's a threat of missing or knowing you miss. with time you also know that it's ok to miss days because you know exactly what you will do the next time you draw, you'll be resilient to falling off the wagon for long periods of time.

take breaks. one way to manage time is to write down the time you start something, then when you stop note the time. this can be a way to manage those acts that work against drawing as you said. it's very difficult to go cold turkey on all that, your brain naturally needs diversion from the hard work you're doing. after a few months you should be able to build a habit of focused work at least 4-6 hours (given whatever free time you have). you can prioritize what's important to you, and possibly be able to handle those distractions in a controlled time since you know they're not helping you toward your goal.

>>4209453
>Do the most important stuff in the morning, it's when your brain has full power.
not for everybody. night owl type people/delayed sleep phase may be much more productive in the afternoon or night. on a free day, i'd use the morning to wake up and do mindless chores i know i don't want to do later in the day. i can't focus on brain tasks much before lunch. i recommend people experiment with what hours are most productive for them.

[Anonymous No.4209827]

>>4209253
This is the stupidest thing I've read all day. I mean, yea its a great idea if you want to, and may Allah forgive me for uttering this phrase, if you want to create the most soulless, narcissistic art there is. Media, interactions, experiences, etc... are necessary to create good art

[Anonymous No.4209881]

>>4209253
That's great anon, it really is! Just remeber you're playing a winnerless game so from time to time you'll do yourself a favor to not stress to much about it

[Anonymous No.4210078]

>>4209362
Sure, I never had any of those and I've been avoiding discord servers because most of the time they are just circlejerks with people not really drawing or talking about it.

However if you know any good ones, I'll join

[Anonymous No.4210270]

>>4209725
>not for everybody. night owl type people/delayed sleep phase may be much more productive in the afternoon or night
I'm a night owl and I still work better right after waking up.
I should clarify that by "morning" I just meant "whenever you wake up", so that might be at any time of the day.

But yeah, experiment.

[Anonymous No.4210278]

>>4209253
Don't try to fix everything at once, you'll just become overwhelmed. Know that it is a marathon not a sprint. Do something that benefits you daily.

[Anonymous No.4210325]

It's important to still have hobbies, make sure you're still playing video games you love, readijgnbooks, watching movies. If all you domis drawmall day you'll lose your inspiration and become a really boring person.

[Anonymous No.4210353]

>>4210325
>It's important to still have hobbies, make sure you're still playing video games you love, reading books, watching movies

To be honest I stopped doing all these. I can't find any enjoyment in today's games or movies, it's all riddled with simplistic designs, controversial promotion and I feel like media today work primarily to split fanbases and stir some shit up. None of my friends play games that I like so it's even easier to just abandon it all for the sake of more time or better mental health. I have no interest in digging through old stuff either, what's dead is dead. All of this makes me kinda jaded and not interested in fiction whatsoever, the only books I read are all about self improvement. I wonder if there's anyone here who feels like me.

[Anonymous No.4210356]

>>4210078
If possible you should get an irl art friend. Social forces are incredibly strong, we are social beings and if people you care about pursue art you will be energized far more.

[Anonymous No.4210408]

>>4210356
>irl art friend
>when I don't have irl friends at all

[Anonymous No.4210412]

>>4209253
>>4210353

You sound like such a fucking faggot.

[Anonymous No.4210436]

Browse wikiart.

[Anonymous No.4210439]

>>4209253
fix your sleep schedule
don't eat too much shit
don't be too hard on urself

[Anonymous No.4210458]

>>4210356
The problem with irl art friends is that 90% of them are casual drawing narcissists who only draw anime or in a certain "style" and are complacent with only drawing 3/4ths floating heads. It's even worse when they critique your drawing and give you literal Instagram tutorial tier advice. Pic related is what I just drew reading through /ic/ right now. I've only been drawing a year but there is a distinct difference between me and the casual artist who's been "drawing" for 5 years. Sure there are a few times I meet artists with pure unadulterated raw talent, but they also only drew casually and had no hunger for improvement even though they could surpass me in like 3 months

[Anonymous No.4210498]

>>4209253
Keep fighting the good fight, anon, I'm also trying to do that as well. My particular way of dealing with this is instead of outright deleting videogames or stuff like that I just set a schedule to play only a certain amount of time per day, same thing for anime, 4chan, etc. I took all of this down to 3 hours a day so I can spend the rest of the day (~9-10 hours if you exclude eating, bathing and shit like that) focusing on what's important. I know I'm not disciplined enough to follow a set schedule, so instead of slotting activities to specific hours of the day, I just go like "okay, drawing for x hours today, 4chan for 30mins, etc" and I just do that in whatever order I feel like, I just make sure that I actually follow it.

[Anonymous No.4210501]

>>4209424
Not OP, but thanks, anon. The world needs more people like you.

[Anonymous No.4210519]

>>4210458
You think you're hot shit huh

You sound annoying as fuck and maybe tone down that ego

[Anonymous No.4210530]

>>4210519
I literally only shit on people who dont share the same need for improvement as I do. I send them those mega files from the video/demonstration threads on here,
I show them Loomis and Vlippu, ask them to join me for a still life or maybe practice gestures together, but they reject ALL of what I offer and just tell me that their fucked up collar bones are a style. I'm not bragging I just fucking hate how there is NO ONE I know irl who's passionate about art enough to at least sit down for an hour to do a still life at the very least.

[Anonymous No.4210533]

>>4210530
How old are you?

[Anonymous No.4210538]

>>4210533
28. Why?

[Anonymous No.4210541]

>>4210538
go to a life drawing class then, meet more people

But to be honest you're going to burnout trying to do this method, seen it happen time after time

[Anonymous No.4210547]

>>4210533
18, the other reply isn't me.

[Anonymous No.4210558]

>>4210547
>>4210541 Still applies

[Anonymous No.4210637]

>>4210530
I share the same mindset. Underachievers are fucking cancer. Wish you the best.

[Anonymous No.4210640]

When I masturbate, I drink my own semen. Needless to say, I hate it, but it is my way to repude doing it in the future. That, way I try to avoid knowing that I'll need to consume what I produce as a punishment. This habit has reduced (but not stopped) my inclination towards porn.

[Anonymous No.4210679]

>>4209253
this is literally what i'm doing myself.

i've found so much more peace now by eliminating my digital life to just the very bare bones, the majority of my time is to just draw/cultivate the craft itself.

it took awhile but i'm finally a point in my life where i feel like there's something that just clicked with me and drawing now.

>>4209362
us 3 should try being art friends, i mean i don't know what other popular communication platform we can use besides discord but i'm not a fan of discord groups either.

Maybe us 3 can just add each other and know each other slowly assuming we are having the same mindset as OP? feel each other out and if it doesn't feel right just leave no hard feelings about it.

here's my discord if you two are interested or anyone that's has a similar mindset as OP.

screamsofanobody#7666

[Anonymous No.4210732]

>>4210640
That is fucked up and pathetic. Just practice drawing.

[Anonymous No.4210754]

>>4210640
If you have the willpower to drink your cum then you should have the willpower to not jerk off. In the end it doesn't really matter how many bad habits you kick if you're still not productive. Focus on doing more meaningful work and you'll have less time for compulsive behavior.

[Anonymous No.4210866]

>>4210679
Nice, I'll try adding you

[Anonymous No.4211572]

>>4210640
I don't get this, I drink my own cum when I masturbate sometimes and plenty of other people do it too, how is that going to help you stop watching porn?

[Anonymous No.4211577]

>>4210541
Not everyone burnsout with this method though. It's called a psychological transformation, when something clicks and everything changes.

Baby step process is often the best, but it's not the best for everyone.

[Anonymous No.4211699]

>>4211577
Sounds like he hates the taste. Of course, what he doesn't realize is that anything you do alongside an orgasm is going to become enjoyable by association. Granted, he doesn't seem like the type to realize much at all.