A Peek Into My Middle School Sketchbook

Sometimes I like rummaging through my old sketchbooks for the sake of memories so I thought I'd share some and give commentary. This is from the years 2007-2009 and for perspective, I graduated middle school in 2008. It was so long ago that I'm not really embarrassed to share them anymore, haha.

The middle image is of course the sketchbook in all its ripped and worn out glory. To me, each bend and crease is a sign of character and aged wisdom. Many nights were spent sprawled across my bed and drawing before I eventually fell asleep. Anyway, let's move on.

In the upper left-hand corner you'll see the first page of the sketchbook. The text reads "Merry Christmas" and "2007." A trend you'll notice is that I liked to draw my characters tall and stick thin with mittens for hands. The stick people anatomy didn't go on for long, but the mitten hands certainly did.

The upper middle picture is my take of a pointy dragon. I was quite proud of it at the time since I didn't use any references. I was excited to show my best friend, in which he responded by pointing out that it was too pointy. Everybody's a critic.

In the upper-right corner and lower-left corner the images are actually related. The bottom picture is supposed to be a character spread sheet for a comic I was developing named "Another Day, Another Problem." It based on an MMORPG I was playing at the time.

The middle column sans the sketchbook, each include pictures where I revisited and drew and "updated" version right next to the older one. The text " '12 " is scrawled to the side to show that I had drawn the newer version in 2012. I won't mention that in one of them I was actually making my own Sailor Moon character.

Lastly, in the bottom right-hand corner, is supposed to be a realistic portrait of Joe Jonas from the band The Jonas Brothers. I was also proud of this one at the time. Surprisingly, it wasn't the only attempt at a realistic portrait. I also drew my sister.

Well,  I hope you enjoyed taking a look into my dark past as a budding young artist. Consider showing some of your old art or works in general in the comments!

On Handling Criticism

Let’s say that you are fairly new to the online drawing community, and you decide to post a piece that you’re incredibly proud of. You’ve spent hours on it. You make sure to tag it properly to optimize the amount of people who see it.


You come back a few days later to view the feedback and awesome! You see comments of people liking your work. But among those comments, you see comments you are less than excited about.


“The shadows seem random, where is the light source?”

“Lol, I can’t draw hands either!”


“The legs on the woman seem abnormally long, you could do with shortening the bottom half of the legs.”

You are a little hurt, though the comments definitely could have been a lot worse. What’s a person to do?

I frequent art communities and it’s always a little disheartening seeing artists disparage constructive criticism, especially those who work off commissions! I understand how the comments sometimes come off as rude when they are unsolicited, but are always worth listening to.*


*Keep in mind I only mean constructive criticism given in a polite way; rude and offensive comments should be ignored.


It’s best to keep in mind not to take the criticism personally. The commenter is coming from a good place and to them, they are only trying to help.


Let’s take a look at one of my pieces for an example:

I would definitely want to come back and improve upon this piece, or recycle the idea completely. There's a lot to work on here, barring aspects I'm incapable of improving due to lack of skill.

• The hands. Proportionately, they are too small. Also, they could use some dynamic posing, instead of a boring open palm.
• Detailing the face. I could do a lot more with this. If I gave her colored lips, I could do without the thick line outlining her mouth. I could also add detail to the eyes. Thinning the lines would help with adding more detail.
• The coloring of the fishnet stockings. I colored outside the lines in some areas and instead of using black for the netting, I could use a dark grey to make it look more realistic.
• The heart? The plain heart is supposed to be symbolic, but I could probably make it look realistic, adding a darker tone overall.

Well, I hope picking apart my own drawing eases the pain of analyzing your own art once in awhile. Be open, and you don't have to agree with every criticism, but just be able to take it into consideration.

Favorite Hands-On Activities with Bonus How-To

There are different mediums in which art can be created. Writing and photography are art in their own right. While I’m also familiar with those types, I would like to bring up the “crafts” aspect of arts and crafts.

I like being able to actively do something with me hands, whether it’s stringing beads into a bracelet or folding paper to take form of objects. Some of my earliest memories go back to elementary school, where my mom and I would often make beaded bracelets. I would help her so that she could sell them to friends or co-workers.

Now, I want to tell you about some of my favorite and simple craft activities.

Lucky Stars

Click here for image source

Lucky stars are small paper stars that you can make out of strips of paper. The reason I love doing these is because it’s a simple way of making small decorate pieces. All you have to do is use colored and patterned paper and fill a glass jar with them. Decorate the jar or add a bow and it can make a cute gift for a friend. To learn how to make them, look here!

Knitting

I learned how to do the basic garter stich a few years ago but recently got back into it. I find knitting to be therapeutic and usually multi-task movies while doing so. I am currently halfway through a deep red scarf! It’s my first full-fledged knitting project and it’s funny to see the amount of mistakes lessen the longer the scarf gets.

Washer Pendants

A friend taught me how to make these pendants while I was visiting her in Austin, so unfortunately I don’t have the exact tutorial since the ones I have searched for differ, but it’s super simple. Here's what you'll need:

• Scrapbook paper
• Metal washers
• Craft/wood glue
• Glossy Accents
• X-acto knife
• Nail file

The quick run-down: First you're going to use the metal washer to help trace out the shape of the scrapbook paper with the x-acto knife. Carefully cut out the middle, too.

Second, paste your paper ring onto the washer. Press down while wiping away any excess glue and then wait to dry.

Third, use your nail file to smooth out the edges.

Lastly, carefully spread the glossy accents liquid all over the top of the washer. I advise to start circling the inside ring and go outwards. The goal is have no air bubbles.

Wait to dry, string it, and you have yourself a necklace!

Feel free to let me know what your favorite crafts are.

My Own Art Aspirations

In a previous post, namely "Never Too Late", I briefly mentioned that I don't want to pursue an art career. I feel like I should expand on that and talk about what I do hope to find in art as strictly a hobby.

To me, art has always been an expression of my feelings. I know that seems like the most basic reason to draw, but it’s true. When I was 15 years old, I had a massive crush on my best guy friend which was somewhat mutual, but there were complications that prevented a relationship of any sort. He told me about a dream he had of us, that involved a future with roommates and a conflict that came up.  I don’t want to go into detail, but it was a realistic dream with a coherent story that could be followed. I proceeded to draw out the whole thing in a comic format because I thought it was amazing.

The point of all that was to demonstrate what I meant by expression of feelings. I only drew for fun, with no intent on improving or wanting to improve. Improvement happened naturally (a little) with how often I would draw. I didn’t care about subject matter outside of humans.
And until recently, I feel a little more conscious about it. I want to expand and draw all types of things like scenery, vehicles, and even aspects of fantasy worlds. The sad part is I’m not able to sit down and draw as much as I used to. But it’s a temporary problem, I just have a handful of things to focus on at the moment.

Right now, I’m in school to be a social media manager. I really loved the classes I’ve been taking and it’s a great experience. Truth be told, I also wouldn’t mind being an artist somewhere down line. My biggest art related aspiration is to illustrate a comic book a few decades from now. That gives me plenty of time, I think.

I want to use art as a means of expression, in addition to drawing to improve so that it’s possible to make a livelihood from it.

#Inktober2016

mrjakeparker,com/inktober

It’s that time of year again where artists from all over the world participate in something called “Inktober” which lasts for the duration of, you guessed it, October!

The major premise is to create an ink drawing every day in order to enforce good practicing habits and self-improvement. While this is the example followed by most, you do not have to draw every day in order to participate. Anyone is welcome to try it out!

Here’s how to join in:

• Use ink (ballpoint pens work fine if you don’t have anything else).
• Draw daily, bi-weekly, or however you see fit (try to be consistent!)
• Post to your favorite social media platform
• Tag your work with #inktober and #inktober2016

The trend started in 2009 by illustrator Jake Parker as a personal challenge where it then took spread to others. You can also use this link to find other resources from the artist himself to use.

Personally, I don’t like drawing in ink as it seems permanent and I like being able to erase my mistakes or erase the extra lines I make in sketches. Clean lines are just not something that get along with me. The Ctrl + Z shortcut is my best friend in drawing programs.

Then I realized that part of challenging yourself includes stepping out of your comfort zone.

I did end up creating a few doodles last year to start off with, but did not end up following through. Actually, I didn’t make it past the first week. Oops.

True to the Inktober spirit, these were originally posted to my twitter. I believe I used sharpie for both drawings, and sharpie will probably continue being my marker of choice for this year. My excuse for the uneven lighting is that I did not have a working scanner at the time.

I hope to broaden my horizons by drawing less humans, but we'll see how that goes.

The Inktober page has an official prompt list which is what I'll probably be piggybacking off of, but that is totally optional. I hope more people can get in on the action!

Never Too Late

A common question I like to ask people once we’re starting to get to know each other is, “Do you like to draw?’ Answers vary a lot, but the answers that always to stick out to me are those who express interest, but are hesitant about starting.

Typical reasons include:

• “I liked drawing as a child, but stopped.”
• “I would love to, but there’s no time.”
• “I’m no good at it.”
• “I think it’s too late to get started.”

The last two responses always break my heart (the most)! Sure, drawing is not for everyone, but I firmly believe that if you want to, then you can.

The “I’m no good at it” response has to be my least favorite. No one is born with a golden paintbrush in their hand. While there are incredibly talented artists out there, they, too, have to hone and strengthen their skills. Art is a skill like any other, which will take time and dedication to get better at.

I totally understand the doubt and hesitance, because I’ve been there myself. Because sometimes I struggle with these thoughts too, as I’m nowhere near to what I think is a professional level. But there comes a point in time where you have to work past these fears. My current career aspirations don’t have anything to do with art, but I’d like to think that somewhere down the road if I wanted to become a comic book artist, I could do so.

Even celebrities that we know of hadn’t reached their dreams until adulthood.

• J.K. Rowling began writing Harry Potter in her mid-twenties while in poverty and faced multiple rejections.
• Samuel L. Jackson was 45 years old when his role in Pulp Fiction granted him fame.
  

I just think they are some good examples of not to give up if you want to start pursuing an interest later in life. This is just as easily applied to art. The important thing is to devote time to it often and keep at it.

Copying in a Safe Way

As an artist there are laws that protect your artwork, whether it’s a traditional piece, computer graphic, or a photograph. Also as an artist, you may want to use others’ work to incorporate into your own, but you don’t know how far one can go until you start infringing on someone else’s copyright protections. The line can be quite muddy, but there’s a simple method you can use to guarantee you are not breaking any laws.

Here is what you will need:

• A camera (phone cameras work fine)

• A friend (optional)

• Your imagination

That’s right, you’re going to take your own reference photos! This is a 100% guarantee that no one can accuse you of copying or cheating. Some people already mistakenly think that using reference material is cheating, but they’re doing themselves a huge disservice if they are artists themselves. Even seasoned professionals use references!

So grab your camera and photograph anything that might come in handy! I personally have a folder named “References” that I keep in Pictures. If you want human poses, this is where a friend comes in handy. You can ask them to take photos of you, or you can take photos of them! Try different poses such as leaning or walking, standing or sitting, or more dynamic moves like hitting or kicking. Experimenting with perspective will help a lot in the future when you’re making more complicated pieces.

Besides humans, you can try photographing;

• Textures (bricks, wood panels)

• Buildings

• Animals

• Vehicles

Usually, you don’t have to worry about referencing random photos in the privacy of your own sketchbook, and I highly recommend looking at references in order to practice! (Please do.) But in today’s digital age, a young and budding artist may want to share their work with the world, and that is a wonderful thing, though you have to be careful from handling others’ ideas.

My hands in various positions