That is a good idea and I do plan on doing that eventually 
right now I’m focusing on getting my foundations back, I didn’t realize how bad they were but whooo boy I have lost a lot in eight years (how old am I??)
2 point perspective practice:
) I was thinking “I could do this in 30 seconds in Blender” 
I know, I should be nice to myself. This 2D stuff is so hard for me. With 3D, I feel like I can find improvement when I practice, it’s a lot harder to see that with 2D. Hopefully I’ll look back at this in a year or so and say “wow, I can do so much better now”
I suspect drawing just requires more work.
With 3D we just learn to do something new. In 2D - we learn… and have to override years of bad drawing habits (which everybody inevitably acquires even if they identify as “non-artist”) 
Starting with how we hold pens and sit with the tablet.
There will always be “bad days” where everything just doesn’t want to work out for no apparent reason at all… but look - yesterday was great So we know you definitely can do it.
To that end, there will be some on paper boring technical exercises tonight
Yes, I know, I should just be drawing cubes because I’m not advanced enough for this yet, but this is mostly cubes, right? 
I’m trapped in hell- rural Arkansas, surrounded by many very loud people in a house built entirely out of 1/2 white pine planks, with no WiFi and computer, to be precise- but at least I have a sketchbook, and at least this horrible hellhouse has a nice balcony view 
And here we thought Oklahoma was bad. :sympathy:
The state of that centre post around the top is slightly worrying.
The state of this whole house is slightly worrying it was clearly built to flip, all the wood is untreated and you can already see it warping, the ceilings are bulging in many places in a way that does not bode well for future rainstorms, it fails every electrical or fire safety code I’ve ever encountered, and quite a lot of the furniture is very literally hot glued together. For the record, we didn’t choose this place
Oh how American houses were
Some looked like they weren’t built for rain.
IDK about architecture, but in Jpn, integrity is reputation, so you know. No need to rebuild half the house after someone lives there, the clean-up crew leave no spots, rewaxed, and packaged like a product on a shelf. At least for rentals in the centre, they have huge companies who manage their homes, patrol them, really well. I’m going to be anxious when (if) I get back to the US.
And I will force everyone to take their shoes off!
You people are sick 
And I’m gonna sure as hell miss washlets.
I’m bringing one if there isn’t.
First off - thank you for updating your 2d sketchbook! It’s inspiring and refreshing at the same time. I just wanted to hop in and mention that, in my short experience with 3d and a bit longer in 2d - 3D is easier in the places where 2D is a lot harder, at least for me.
You don’t (really) need to figure out perspective in 3D (obvious, duh) but while I say “obvious” - tbh it isn’t really obvious to me unless I try to recreate the same stuff in 2D.
Of course 3D is extremely complex and demanding technical-wise, but 2D is a whole other mountain to climb. Currently figuring out my practice/study plans for 2D and really feeling this.
So - no, it’s not just bad days. 2D is hard. Keep going!
Thanks for your encouraging words, @good_omen !
@Minamookevlar , I’m also horrified by American houses
Still in hell but I filled a page with a very, very, blunt pencil. Back home tomorrow.
I know that the important thing here is consistency- doing it every day- and not quality. Brain goblin demands quality but brain goblin can suck it.
I drew an African Violet just now - 45 minutes start to finish. Used a real-world reference (my African violet on my desk). No tracing or anything, just me looking over at my plant and drawing it This was entirely digital, I’m more comfortable using digital but I try to do paper anyway because I know it’s really good for you.
I really want to drill down on 2D and get better here. I want to be able to make concept sketches for myself, and some things are just easier in 2D. I also want to be able to create art in any circumstance, not be tied to my computer. I’m not giving up on 3D or anything, I just really want to round myself out as an artist and be able to make beautiful 2D drawings, sketches, and paintings.
I used Affinity Photo for this- the Comics G Pen brush for inking, the Rough Graphite Tilting brush for sketching, and the Fine Gouache brush for the color. I know Krita is a more traditional painting program, but I really like digital art in Photo. Photo’s UI is a lot easier to understand for me, I’m sure if I took the time to master Krita it would be better but I just can’t figure it out
Thanks for looking!
Lot to practice here - lighting, perspective, smooth curves in sketching, and shiny metal, which is really difficult to work with. I didn’t do particularly well with the fork, but the allen key is halfway decent. Both took about an hour combined.
This isn’t a hard and fast rule, but I’m trying to draw at least one small thing every day, entirely by hand, no tracing or anything. I have nothing against tracing as a learning tool, but it’s also very much a crutch- at some point, you have to be able to create things from imagination, which requires the ability to draw basic forms without tracing.
Without a doubt the best thing I’ve done recently is the Allen key- I can only hope I can get metal to look that good again in the future.
I have no sketchbook, pencils, paint, or pens, and I’m trapped in the American Southwest for another 36 hours or so, but I do have Adobe Fresco (on a phone, not a tablet) and my wife is currently the one driving. So I finger paint!
Edit: I should have waited to start painting, the terrain just got beautiful again on the plane here, I read Composition of Outdoor Painting by Edgar Payne, which is an incredible work (if a bit pretentious) is highly recommend to anyone
Your progress sharing is truly inspiring. It’s great to see that you’re not afraid to fail and commit to a schedule. That will definitely be worth it after some time. Looking forward to seeing more.
Thank you, I really appreciate that! It’s definitely intimidating to share, but I think it’s worth it to get feedback
It’s really not that bad ! at least you’ve got the broad strokes right 
As an exercise I think it’s super helpful ! And I find the result interesting !
Sometimes when I get tired watching a series I try to draw the character on a paper while watching it, of course they move all the time, shots are short : the result is visually less interesting than if I spend 1 hour on it with a static image, but it helps a lot to make progress !
Keep up the good work !
It’s true, finger-painting isn’t really a medium where you can go beyond broad strokes at least those turned out decent though! I do plan on doing more landscape paintings in the future- both digital and traditional (gouache), right now it’s just something to pass the time driving through the glorious splendor () of southern Colorado.
I like that character sketching idea, I’m not sure I have the skills yet for people but I suppose the only way to know where I’m actually at is to try. I should be able to practice drawing more going forward, I’ll be sure and try a human sketch soon
