{"id":2184,"date":"2015-07-17T20:18:48","date_gmt":"2015-07-18T01:18:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nathanielpayne.com\/blog\/?p=2184"},"modified":"2015-07-17T20:18:48","modified_gmt":"2015-07-18T01:18:48","slug":"on-constant-incremental-progression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nathanielpayne.com\/blog\/on-constant-incremental-progression\/","title":{"rendered":"On constant, incremental progression"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I decided sometime back in 2011 that I was going to really start focusing on improving my art. So, I&#8217;ve been drawing for a few years now.<\/p>\n<p>I mean, I&#8217;ve been drawing&#8211;more or less off and on&#8211;since I was a kid, but. Well. <em>You know what I mean.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>One thing that I&#8217;ve tried to do is give myself visual guideposts as I&#8217;ve been working to improve. Pieces of art that I continually return to, basically on an annual basis, as a check on my progression. One of these pieces is Link from the Legend of Zelda.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Behold.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\t\t<style>\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 25%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-2184 gallery-columns-4 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/nathanielpayne.com\/blog\/on-constant-incremental-progression\/wip-link-1000\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/nathanielpayne.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/WIP-link-1000-150x150.png\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-2188\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-2188'>\n\t\t\t\tLink 2012\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/nathanielpayne.com\/blog\/on-constant-incremental-progression\/fin-linkandnavi-500\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/nathanielpayne.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/FIN-linkandnavi-500-150x150.png\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-2185\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-2185'>\n\t\t\t\tLink 2013\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/nathanielpayne.com\/blog\/on-constant-incremental-progression\/fin-theherooftime-500px\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/nathanielpayne.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/FIN-theherooftime-500px-150x150.png\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-2187\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-2187'>\n\t\t\t\tLink 2014\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/nathanielpayne.com\/blog\/on-constant-incremental-progression\/fin-linkloz-500px\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/nathanielpayne.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/FIN-linkLOZ-500px-150x150.png\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-2186\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-2186'>\n\t\t\t\tLink 2015\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>So this is what it looks like when I draw the same character every year. What\u00a0I really notice from seeing this set laid out like this is not only how my skill with a pen has increased, but also <em>technique<\/em> and <em>style<\/em>. Some time in 2014 I started adding textures to my art, but I had no idea what I was actually doing, so I just cut them randomly into the background. In 2015, I learned how to set a texture to overlay and my world became larger by immense magnitudes. I also acquired a brush pen in 2015, so you start to see variances in line width, which greatly improved the look of my linework.<\/p>\n<p>Plus, man, I could NOT draw in 2012, could I? Yikes. But I still show it here because I should not be embarrassed of my history, especially once compared to my present.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s another, smaller, example. <strong>Hawkeye.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\t\t<style>\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 50%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-2' class='gallery galleryid-2184 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/nathanielpayne.com\/blog\/on-constant-incremental-progression\/fin-hawkeye-500px\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/nathanielpayne.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/FIN-hawkeye-500px-150x150.png\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-2-2190\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-2-2190'>\n\t\t\t\tHawkeye 2014\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/nathanielpayne.com\/blog\/on-constant-incremental-progression\/fin-hawkeyefalling-500px\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/nathanielpayne.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/FIN-hawkeyefalling-500px-150x150.png\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-2-2191\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-2-2191'>\n\t\t\t\tHawkeye 2015\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>There was so much wrong with my technical skill, even as recently as last year. 2014 Hawkeye&#8217;s\u00a0fingers are weird, I don&#8217;t know <em>what&#8217;s<\/em> going on with his legs, his torso is SO LONG, and that <em>HAIR?!<\/em> But, honestly? I absolutely <em><strong>ADORE<\/strong> <\/em>2015 Hawkeye. Interesting line width choices, much better styling around the fingers and shoes, I felt like I made excellent choices with hair and quiver. I don&#8217;t like how I drew the arrows (I completely neglected to add the ARROW TIPS, WHAT?). But other than that, I feel like 2015 Hawkeye is such a huge improvement over 2014 Hawkeye, it&#8217;s not even a close comparison.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s really the long and short of it, I guess. I&#8217;ve been spending the better parts of 2013, 2014, and most of 2015 so far, just DRAWING. As often as I&#8217;m able, as close to daily as I can manage. <em><strong>DRAWING.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>And that&#8217;s the big secret, really. You can&#8217;t really get worse at something you do <em>every single day<\/em>. You can only get <em>better<\/em>. And I&#8217;m definitely looking forward to putting together yet another retrospective of my progression as an artist in 2018, looking back at the six years that have preceded it. I&#8217;m actually excited to see how I&#8217;ve improved as an artist in the coming year.<\/p>\n<p>It can only get <em>BETTER<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I decided sometime back in 2011 that I was going to really start focusing on improving my art. So, I&#8217;ve been drawing for a few years now. I mean, I&#8217;ve been drawing&#8211;more or less off and on&#8211;since I was a kid, but. Well. You know what I mean. One thing that I&#8217;ve tried to do [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[253],"tags":[103,37,42,712,713,653],"class_list":["post-2184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-art","tag-business","tag-drawing","tag-illustration","tag-improving","tag-skill","tag-work","last-post"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nathanielpayne.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nathanielpayne.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nathanielpayne.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nathanielpayne.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nathanielpayne.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2184"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/nathanielpayne.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2184\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2193,"href":"https:\/\/nathanielpayne.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2184\/revisions\/2193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nathanielpayne.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nathanielpayne.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nathanielpayne.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}