Transcripts
1. Skillshare Intro Vid: either My name, Miss Wilford Lee, and welcome to my skill share course the artist journey mindset. How to unlock your inner artist. I really wanted to make this course and make it open to all creatives from all different levels. Don't you worry and give you a chance to learn some really cool, effective mindset tools basically a tool kit for you guys to really improve your drawings dramatically. I really do believe that drawing is essentially 98% drawing with your mind. It's all about the brain, and the other 2% is basically just a pen in the paper that you're using. I also wanted to break this association with drawing on Lee being an art because it's also really good as an exercise for your brain because your brain is also a muscle and needs to work out once in a while. And if you treat it just says is important as your health and as your exercising your own body, you're going to see some really fantastic results out of it. So inside this course, you guys are going to be learning some really cool things, such as the four stages of learning the 25,000 years of artistic ability, theory, understanding, line quality and recognising symbols with line, how to avoid over inspiration, finding your own voice and, of course, the illusion of perfection. But in the course, you'll have your own drawing manifesto, a dry made by you with your manifesto written on it, your name and the date and kept their and hopefully, for the next year of that anniversary, you can check on your progress or drawn it as well. And guys I get a drawing can be very lonely, isolating and even very frustrating thing. But when you're with a good group of people and you meet an awesome community, it's so much fun and you learn so much faster that way as well. So I really hope you guys can come out to this kosher course and help you on lock your own artistic journey
2. 4 Stages of Learning: Hey, and welcome to the very first class of this course before stages of learning. So to start off this course, I want to share with you some concept that's really helped me out as a growing artist. I think it's really important for any artist, regardless of skill level, to really identify where they feel they are in their certain stage of being an artist, and that although there are different levels, there is no skill limit in being an artist as well. Even your favorite artists that you always admire probably deep down inside, still feel like they can always do better, one of the main reasons being that there's so much potential to draw anything around you. That's what makes drawing so amazing. And that's why I could be tricky to, because there's a lot of broad categories and some people may be more interested in one topic than the other. So just be comfortable with that and find something that you're really into and let that be the starting point for yourself and learn to grow your potential and finding and breaking your limits. So let's start with the first stage unconscious incompetence in this category Usually the person doesn't really understand and know how to do something yet, and they don't really necessarily recognize where they're lacking. Sometimes people may deny the usefulness of the skill, saying, Oh, it's not necessary or that's just a hobby. In order to pass the stage, the individual must recognize their own incompetent. They have to acknowledge in themselves the lack of skill that they don't have yet in order to. Also, this level really depends on the individual and how much of their strength is spent on willing toe. Learn something. So, in other words, unconscious and competences. I'm not good at this, and I don't know that I'm good at them. The next level is conscious incompetence. This is a really important step because about that person who does not understand, know how to do something. But they do recognize that they need to fulfill that lacking skill. Also important is they need to understand how to value the new skill as becoming important in order to improve. So in turn, the making of mistakes is super important in the learning process. At this stage and in the beginning, for all those perceived mistakes that you make that's probably fine. In fact, make us many mistakes is you can do as much as you can in the beginning because you have to kind of grind through those sessions in order to dig down deeper and find something essential to what you're looking for. Mistakes are such an important part of learning in general when you're drawing, it's about taking in other information, breaking it down and making filtering and all out. It's by making mistakes and learning toe. Identify that something is wrong, that we can learn to avoid those situations again. Another great part of that, too, is that as you progress and you learn from your mistakes, you can identify things that are going right or things that are going wrong in other people's work. And that could be very helpful in giving criticism or self analysis and developing your own art skill. So, in other words, conscious and competences, I know I'm not good at a yet, but I'm willing to get better. And really, just by watching this video congratulations, you're already at the second level, at least the third category conscious competence. So in this level, usually the person understands and knows how to do something. But demonstrating the skill or the knowledge requires a lot of hard work, focus and concentration, so it may be broken down into steps. But it's a very conscious involvement in terms of developing the skill you know. In the world of art, everything invisible is important. We're constantly getting millions, and bits of information pass into rivals every single second. And it's only up to our mind to really focus on one particular topic or thing in order to get the most out of it. This whole process is how we form what reality is around us and gives us focus. So there may be another category of artists out there that they feel that they are doing relatively good. They have understand a basic sense of anatomy, for example, but it takes a lot of focus in order to make sure that everything is being put together properly. So, in other words, conscious competence is I know I'm getting better, but I need to focus properly in order to improve in the last stage unconscious competence. At this point, the artist has so much practice with particular skill that it's become second nature almost subconscious, and it could be performed very easily. As a result, sometimes the scale could be performed by also doing another type of activity in unconscious confidence. You will also be able to teach other people depending on how and when it was learned. So this speech is very interesting, too, because everything should be second nature, right? And another interesting step to take Ford is to kind of teacher share things if you've learned with your friends or co workers for anyone else who was interested in drawing, too. In doing so, you actually learn a second time yourself by a learning hunt to express these things and see how well you've internalized all of these lessons. And regardless, wherever we are on this level of competence or the four seasons of learning, there are so many different sub categories of this level structure in every asset of drawing. Because drawing is so broad, it's such a big category. Someone can have the four stages of competence in drawing the anatomy of humans or the anatomy of animals or the diversity of plants off cities of fashion of vehicles. I mean, the list are really endless, and it's really up to you and your passion in terms of how to really break down the four stages of each subcategory in order to broaden your abilities and perceptive abilities as an artist. And remember, everyone is on their own completely different artistic journey. What's important is that we kind of build each other up, find the right community in order to support each other, and in doing so, you're going to learn tenfold and improve much more than you really do expect. And so, in this change of perspective of what mistakes really are, I hope that this can help you and how they approach drawing with confidence and enjoyment. So let's learn to enjoy the process of drawing itself, because regardless, every single drawing that you do is just another step in experience of getting better as an artist.
3. 40,000 Year Old Artist Theory: Hey, welcome to the next class of this course, the 40,000 year old artists theory. So what if there was a theory out there that could dramatically improve your drawing just by really understanding about the concept? So, for example, check out this cave painting. This is from the Cave of Altamira in northern Spain, called Qala del Castillo, called Cave of the Castle in English, it is a sight for the world's oldest known collection of prehistoric art. Using radiocarbon dating, El Castillo is estimated to be more than 48,800 years old. It holds more than 150 paintings. Que paintings are among the greatest and most fascinating discoveries of human culture as well. Way find them all over the world and clean more than 300 in Europe alone. And they have been analysed and interpreted ever since. It's really fascinating to see to get a little glimpse of what the early artists would be doing at such a time so different from where we live now. Now, let's check out a piece of art made from a child. I wonder if you could start to see where I'm going with this. Do you notice any similarities in terms of detail or abstract nous or level of comprehension and drawing? Think about it like this in the beginning, even if we never knew how to draw way start at one base level. We have 25,000 years of artistic ability coursing through our DNA, and we can literally see the improvements of the evolutionary state in our art through conscious practice. You see, we all start from a primal place, and it's up to your personal relationship with drawing to see how far you can progress. The most amazing thing that we have now is the Internet, because we have so much access to beautiful an amazing courses on this go share courses like this, even a lot of great videos, a new tubas. Well, there's so much abundant information in learning how to improve yourself as an artist. If you think about it before, to draw, the human anatomy must have been one of the most tiresome in kind of stressful thing to do . Before they were ever books on the anatomy or computer programs and naps, people literally had toe find cadavers in order to improve and really analyze and draw. So they became so in depth into that stuff that they became professionals at it because they had no other choice. But now we have this amazing ability to get access from all the teachings have ever been passed down and documented so far in human history in order to help us improve. In fact, you probably see tons of videos on digital art and how to improve in the digital age. And who knows what's gonna happen in the future of art? Something beyond Z Brush or Oculus of I've drawing Quill again. The dreams are limitless, withdrawing. So now we're in luck because more than ever, there's a lot of people out there were willing to share their ideas, such as myself, to kind of really give out some great ideas and concepts in order to improve yourself as an artist. There is no race in the life of an artist. It's just about raising awareness and helping share those perspective values. So I really do hope that this constant could be very, very powerful, because it was for me when I first learned it on. I still take it to heart in terms of how I'm always evolving and I really want to test myself and see how far can I go beyond what's expected of myself Or maybe in our timeline, our generation of life. So really, get into the big, broad mind scapes about what you can do, potentially as an artist and who knows where your path will be going five years later to 10 years later, you will eventually start to see an amazing, wavering path of artistry throughout real life, based on the broad interest that you've developed as you were growing as well. So what are you waiting before? God that pencil and start building up your skills?
4. Understanding Line & Symbols: Okay, I'm gonna give you guys some really cold, hard truth. We may be mis categorizing. What drawing really is We see it as a form of art, which it can be and is. But there's so much more to it. It's a form of brain writing, a tool for learning, If anything else. It is a way of observing the world, and it can be done any time, any place. And it all starts with just a line, and you want to know what the craziest thing about line is. Line doesn't exist in nature. Line is just a concept, a visible trail that we make that begins in the labyrinth of her mind and at the same time , lying just doesn't exist in nature. And I'm sure you can take a look all around you and you'll see a lot of lines everywhere. But Atomic Lee, a smooth edge or straight line, can have very bumpy or jagged lines at a subatomic level. And this is what makes line so amazing the concept of it Linus, a gift that helps us create form in the dimensions of the world around us, and it also helps us unlock of world inside of us, and many people don't even know or or see. A simple line can possess the potential of a 1,000,000 interpretations because it's also the act of symbolic mark making from diagrams, maps, doodle stick figures, these there are all symbols. A very easy exercise that you could do is find a photo of a cartoon or very, very simple drawing of, ah, part of the body like an eye or nose, or just another symbol in general. From there, take a look at it for just five seconds, put it away and then try to reach dry it within 25 seconds. You can repeat this for at least 5 to 6 times. The more the better. But as you do this, you'll start to realize that you were trying to capture what the main overall symbol is. Later you can actually improve by finding more complicated images or other ones where you can bring your own interpretation into a It's pretty amazing how it also helps us form language by combining lines and two letters and from words into sentences. Even in Chinese hand characters, award looks more like a symbolic image making amore iconographic compared to English. The act of creating symbols gives more visual information as well, deeper meaning When combined with other symbols in drawing, we learned to interpret the symbol of things, and with enough study in practice, our ability to draw that symbol becomes more sophisticated or even the direction of a line , or even the most subtle squiggle can make a huge impact into what it means. It enables us to go beyond what we see in front of us, allowing us to experience the essence of any subject matter by giving it more inter meeting . And the more we practice drawing, the better our relationship with world approves, and as a result, we can learn to express it easier. Drawing an interpreting line will always exist. It's such a intimate process that no camera can never recreate. Cameras capture an instant moment, whereas drawing is more like a slow dance. And it takes time to experience the moment. And you can't bring a camera into your inner dream the only way to bring it out to dry it out. So give more appreciation and thought into your lines next time you're drawing, because they'll always help you find a way out when you're in search of understanding
5. How to Avoid Overinspiration & Find Your Voice: all right. Think of an object person. Place anything, Okay? You got it. Almost 10 times out of 10 you'll find the answer that you're looking for with Google, right? Gonna get immediate results and immediate knowledge about it, which is pretty cool cause we're living in amazing times where any idea that we have we can kind of manifested in some form in order to observe it and for the artist's inspiration is a creative nurturing that we feed on. It's really important to surround yourself with good art, right? But the dangerous is not from starvation of inspiration, a rather indigestion from over inspiration. This has ever happened to you. You get up, you're all excited and ready to start dry. But you want to start first by looking out some awesome photos on instagram or Pinterest. And as you're browsing, your eyes get heavy and you realize you haven't even been drawing for the past hour. You end up missing your opportunity to create while being scrolling through other people's work. Another issue with over inspiration to is that too much of in may actually hinder in finding your own voice. And let's get really just looking at something is not really enough sometimes to get the most. Confucius has a proverb that goes, I hear and I forget. I see. And I remember I do, I understand. In other words, there are great benefits in doing a study sketch of peace. It gives you greater appreciation for the work that goes in and maybe even some insight in how the artist's mind may work. Also the best way to use inspirational references to really analyse in question. Why? Why do you like this particular piece? At first glance, it may overwhelm us emotionally from its awesomeness, but I have to start to calm down, really tried to break down all the different pieces of what makes this piece so great for you, and that is also a form of studying as well. So here's a recommendation to make the best of inspiring piece of reference. Find a topic whether its anatomy, houses or character designs just fill up an entire page of study sketches on one side of a paper. Once the pages completely full, start drawing on a new blank page, but without looking at the references or your studies, see how much understanding has soaked into your mind. Keeping this have it will help you strengthen your personal understanding, withdrawing and help you gradually holding your own personal style without taking too much of someone else's. So remember, nourish your creativity, try not to over binge on inspiration.
6. The Illusion of Perfection: There are two ways in which an artist reacts to in a really amazing piece. Wow, it's amazing. That really motivates me to start drawing myself or, well, it's amazing. I could never draw like that myself. Starting sometimes. Give me the hardest part for an artist because of self doubt that holds us back. And the issue really isn't about the amount of time that you drop but getting yourself to start drawing. So give yourself a chance. If you say you're gonna draw for an hour to 30 minutes instead, make it easier for yourself by the time you're reach. When you originally plan to stop, you'll stay motivated to continue anyways. And from there the goal is to be finished, not perfect. It touches back on not wanting to make mistakes. But as we discussed in the last video Mistakes or your friends and the tensions to one owns weakness and art will take you a long way. Alexis Carrel once said Man cannot remake himself without suffering, for he is both the marble and the sculptor, so it's not about making the perfect piece of art. We could even end up not finishing and holding back waiting for that special moment for us to continue when we feel like we're worthy of it. The key to finding perfection is being in a state of perfection, appreciating a moment that will pass and never come back. And you did your best and riding that wave and finding that moment where nothing else existed between you and the drawing. So here are some recommendations Aiken give in helping you find the state of perfection. Number one. Get a sketchbook compact is also better. Use it for more than just drawing, you know, and your notes. Right ideas and and drawings is you go. There's an art form to the sketchbook as well, which will get to in a future course. But this book has the potential to be filled with the collection of ideas, no matter how small. A weird together it comprises the book with so much more potential. If you keep this happened than over the months, you'll be proud of the collections of sketchbooks you'll have and even reminisce and see all the work that you've been going through. It helps put things in perspective with how results show number two create a personal ritual listening to a favorite playlist of your music. Get your favorite pet besides you. Anything to get you into that special state of mind? Number three. It's about hyping yourself up and getting excited to draw. Even if your fears and negative emotions start to cloud your mind, manifest them into your drawing. It could be just as powerful have used into a creative outlet. You'll be surprised how we can resonate with someone through the quality of your work. I truly believe that anyone is capable of drawing because drawing is just about traveling into the imaginative landscape, following paths and finding tools created by other artists before you. But in the end, you must go and find and create your own path, and hopefully other artists will begin to follow your trail, and that will inspire them to eventually go on towards their own as well.
Wilfred Lee, Artist / Influencer / Comedian
