50 percent rule: Should I push myself to do my best?
4:24 PM, Tuesday March 19th 2024
Hello everyone!
I have a question about the 50 percent rule. Here's a little bit about my background: I have a job in art (by the grace of God!), but there are definitely some fundamentals I need to work on, so I'm doing Drawabox. To be honest, I've neglected the 50 percent rule until now, when I'm partway through the 250 box challenge...but I'm trying to follow the rule from here on out.
So here's my question: I've always wanted to draw realistic scenes out of my head, but this takes patience. I have more fun drawing quick cartoons. In Lesson 0, under the heading "The control muscle," Uncomfortable writes:
"Starting small can be as simple as doodling abstract and arbitrary shapes or patterns on the page. From there, you can start drawing simple representational things — silly little cartoons, nothing serious, nothing ambitious. And from there, you can start pushing into subject matter that may be a little daunting, because as you put time and effort into this, the barriers you put in front of yourself will get smaller, and they'll even start to move when you push on them.
Do not be complacent, however — always push against those boundaries. If doodling is easy, then try to push yourself up to the next stage, always keeping in mind and aiming for the things you want your future self to produce." (emphasis added)
I totally want to aim for those realistic scenes; and to a limited degree, I can draw semi-realistic art from my head. But the thing is that it takes so much time, and I get bored. It's not so much that I get frustrated with myself when my art doesn't turn out exactly how I want it to (though that definitely happens)...it's more that I get midway through a drawing or painting and know that I could do more on it to make it look realistic...but I'm burned out on that particular image I'm making, and I'm no longer having fun. And I know that the 50 percent rule is not about fun...but should I keep pushing myself to make my 50 percent rule drawings as best as I think I can make them, even when I don't want to work on them anymore? Or should I let myself move on when I get that burnout and do something that's more enjoyable for me?
If you can help answer my question, then many thanks!
Sincerely,
Grace