Down the rabbit hole

This adventure is very slow going.  It feels like I am learning a whole new language, the language of visual expression.  I am learning how to see, very slowly.  It is odd, learning how my brain naturally processes information visually and making that conscious.  I am starting to see forms differently, all around me.  Breaking them up into basic shapes, trying to see perspective, looking for cues for plane changes.

It is as though I am undertaking an Artistic Ngundro (more on this idea a little later when I have more time to delve into it.)  Laying the Foundation for creative expression, building the temple so the God can indwell.  It is slow going so far, as there are so many areas I have to educate myself on, the simple basics of drawing, which it turns out are the basic ways of thinking about form.  This mental training can really be applied to any area of visual thought.  Some are more important to drawing than other fields, such as perspective.  Perspective for the sculptor is not nearly as important.  However, teaching the mind to think in basic masses and shapes is key to a proper visual vocabulary.

As I am training myself, it is hard to remain focused, trying to learn so many different subjects.  Color theory, composition, perspective, sketching, gesture, mass and volume.... not to mention learning the various necessary programs- zbrush and painter 12 being the two main programs I am interested in.

My training and exploration is also taking me across a variety of educational sources, both books and videos.  The training systems of people such as Michael Hampton and Glenn Villpu are becoming indispensable.  As well, the videos of Gnomon Workshop are amazing.

I am trying not to focus too much on being creative right now, and just practicing simple exercises to get my skills up a bit.  I simply dont feel confident enough yet to let my imagination go wild.  Once I have a better grasp of fundamentals I will slowly branch out.

One thing I am starting to do is gestures and life drawings from photos to study design, form, volume and gesture of figures.  I am doing this in Painter to get a feel for it.  Oddly, I find artistic creation on a computer to be a lot less intimidating than pen on paper.  Not sure why this is... perhaps because it is new to me, and I can build a fresh set of associations to the digital medium.

Anyways, I wasnt planning on anything too long right now.  Just thought I would post up one study I did the other day in painter.  I am reasonably happy with it, and thought I would share...

I know I need to get down to even more drawing, just pumping them out.  Going out to parks or coffee shops and drawing people and scenes.  That is the only way to really get better.  I am currently looking into some task management programs to better organize the subjects I have to study, and setting myself projects and assignments, and weekly or monthly goals.  Then I can keep track of how much time I devote to each thing every week and get a good grasp on how I am using my time.

Small steps, but still plugging along.  I want this too much to give up, even if I am stumbling rather blindly through the dark trying to train myself.