We are already into the third week of the Fall Semester at the School of Visual Arts. It’s very exciting as always to start with a new group of students. With new students growth is always pretty dynamic. I’ve already seen substantial improvement from week one to week three. It’s pretty amazing.
But what about artists taking their fifth or sixth drawing class. Growth is not so fast. Sometimes you feel as though you are not growing at all. You see yourself going backwards. This is the classic plateau everyone hits in life drawing class. I don’t know about you guys but I do not have a group of models hanging around my studio waiting to pose for me at will. So needless to say in between semesters I get a little rusty with my life drawing skills. We all do.
The good news is with each semester the plateau that we hit, it’s duration, gets shorter and shorter. It used to be for me the beginning of the semester was agony, I hated doing the demos because quite frankly my eye hand coordination was in the gutter. However I have noticed that my plateaus are getting noticeably shorter. It’s week three and I actually liked the drawings I completed in class. Just two years ago I wouldn’t get back up to speed with my life drawing skills until much later in the semester.
So how do you break through these plateaus. First you just have to get through a bunch of not so pretty drawings. Don’t be perfect, just do it. Just draw and see what comes out onto your pad. Embrace the bad and move on.
So why are my plateaus getting shorter? They are getting shorter because I have completed thousands of life drawings as well as thousands of figure drawings. When you have completed that many drawings your skills because intuitive, they are ingrained in your subconscious. You don’t have to consciously think about each mark you put on the paper, it just flows.
You can do the same thing. Just draw as much as you can from life, quantity does matter. Draw everyday for ten minutes is a motto I have come to embrace and teach. Drawing everyday for ten minutes will get you to that 3000 drawing mark.
I’d love to hear how you break through these plateaus. Any breakthrough ideas are welcome.
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September 25th, 2009 at 9:04 am
Hello to Matt,and a big think you for the e-mail and have me an other join you on your web page and what you are doing to make artist life are little better is wound full can weight to here from you am a fine of your wok now you what many up come artist are look for.Keep up the good work.Shadrack.
September 25th, 2009 at 12:36 am
Matt, this is really helpful. Thanks!
What I do to improve is that I compare my paintings with those of my favorite artits, of course I see the difference and this really helps me and motivates me to do more. Also I try to get unconfotable with either the medium or subject matter. I try not to love my art too much cause it may take me to stick to that level. I hope it helps.
Thanks again. All the very best/
September 24th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
When I hit that speed bump I just take a break from doing any type of detailed drawings. I just concentrate on doing parts of the body or really loose drawings. This way I know they are not supposed to looked super gorgeous. Honestly I think this does something to my head and later on I can see a little bit of change.
September 24th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
There’s no such thing as a learning curve, someone told me once. When you start something new you get better very quickly, then you get worse (the plateau). Many people give up at that point, not realising that the head is assembling the information. Then it “clicks” and progress is fast, until you hit the next plateau. Incidentally the most useful drawing tip I ever got was to put the date on the drawing which is helpful for motivation later. Last thought: has anyone else heard of the Malcolm Gladwell theory: do anything for 10,000 hours and you will be world-class. End of rant.
September 24th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Well, actualy the best way I found of getting through the plateau is to make a breake. I don’t have an art related job, so when I find my drowing skills are not progressing any more I put it on a shelf and wait. It may take two weeks or a month – I never know the exact time beforehand. But then it just… happens, the will and passion for drowing comes back and I find my skills are going better. Progress is not that fast as it could be, maybe, but it is pretty natural.
Another way is to look through a large in number of artworks done by famous and favourite artists. The result is somewhat temporary, but faster. I find it useful to do before start drowing.
Thank you Matt and everyone for sharing your experience!
September 24th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
When I feel like I’m getting close to a plateau and I think I’m not really improving, I find that what helps is to find something I’m lacking and then try to improve upon that. I look at really good pieces of art by great artists, and I ask myself, “What qualities does this artist have in their work that I don’t have in mine?” It’s usually easy enough to find something you’re not good at. Then you can set that as a goal you wanna improve on. Figure out a plan of exercises that you think will help you learn what you don’t know, and go from there. There’s always something to improve on, and if you aren’t improving, it’s probably because you’re lacking a goal to strive towards.
September 23rd, 2009 at 7:56 pm
I agree with your method. 10 min a day drawing is basically what I can afford, having a standard non-art related job. At least I get some time to draw and paint with my daughter, mixing family and art. For example, today I painted a cute bunny rabbit in a dress with my daughter… its not the subject I would have done on my own, but it gave me the opportunity to play with colors and blending them, and try out brushes (cheap crayola paints and brushes, mind you). So that’s my little art exercise to break out of the stiffness.
One thing I can add to break a “plateau”, and which I find to shake my stiffness, affect my style, and also learn something, is to draw something I’ve never tried before. I gave myself an assignment to do an illustration, and broke it down in elements. Something I’ve never done before. So here I am, drawing rocks one day, astronauts another, etc… trying out different styles, and molding them. I’m still green, but sometimes one gets in a rut, especially if your drawing time is limited. I find that drawing never-drawn subjects shakes you up and possibly makes you learn and discover art tendencies you didn’t know you had.
Thanks for the great tip, Matt.
September 23rd, 2009 at 7:05 pm
My son, now 17, taught me a valuable lesson when he was younger, about 12 or so. When he heard me saying “I can’t draw, what’s wrong with me? Why am I so rusty?!” he always replied “Draw a monster Dad.”
Many years later this has proven to be the perfect solution for me. Drawing a monster disconnects me from shooting for perfection. When you draw a monster many things happens. 1. It frees you up from pre-conceive idea about creating a perfect pretty drawing. 2. It is fun right off the bat. 3. It engages you in all kind of abstract shapes (like the infamous “peanut shape”) and by the time that you’re done you end up with a satisfying rendering, your hand muscles are loose and you’re all psyched up and ready to tackle your regular figurative drawing. So, go ahead, give it a try… “Draw a monster!”
September 23rd, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Thanks everyone for the great feedback.
September 23rd, 2009 at 3:40 pm
Plateaus or blocks do happen alot in the tattoo industry. Especially if you do alot of the same style of work. The problem in the tattoo industry is that you are not aloud to have a off day. Your schedule is booked anywhere from a week to a year in advance and your customer is coming in for a tattoo today. You have to do THE BEST no matter how poor your abilities are on a given day. It is through this that I feel perseverence is truly the only tool to overcome lifes little road blocks. Push on, loosen up, and commit till completion.
September 23rd, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Matt,
Don’t the drawings that are bad or need more attention, give you the weaknesses that you need to work harder at correcting? I get up early every morning to do my 10 minutes +, practice drawings. I do them in my car at work, and I get so engrossed in the drawings, I don’t want to stop.
I review the drawings from the day before, to get an idea of what practice I need for that day. Perspective on some days gets a little out of whack. I find myself using shading more and more to make things look more realistic. I am making more of the marks for references points and that helps a great deal.
I thank you for all your tips and tricks to improve the drawings I am doing.
September 23rd, 2009 at 10:39 am
You must be psychic. Or else it happens a lot this time of year. Anyway, you have encouraged me. I will try the 10-minutes-a-day idea. You’ve probably said that a million times. How did I miss it?