NathanP

Wow, what an injurious past XD Sorry to hear about your broken arm. I also have a slightly crooked finger from volleyball. I really enjoy the overhand grip for drawing with pencil. Yay for the Powerball; I'm glad you have access to one.

You're welcome. I wish you the best going forward.

I'm sorry to hear of your pain due to drawing. I know all our bodies are a bit different and have different strengths and weakness, but I don't remember having had wrist pain from a lot of drawing for the last 4 years (now, computer mouse and keyboard usage is a different story :) ). How do you hold your pencil/pen and how tightly? Your grip should be rather relaxed (avoid the death grip!). Do you draw a lot with your fingers and wrist? For detailed work this is necessary, but for bigger parts of your work such as gesture, long lines, ellipses, etc. try locking your wrist and moving your whole arm including from the elbow and shoulder. I do recall getting shoulder and general arm fatigue, but with consistent daily usage my arm adapted and got used to it. How big do you draw? The smaller you make your drawings, the more tiny detail work you'll have to do.

I'm no doctor, but to compensate for the huge amount of computer work I do, I've been regularly using the Powerball most mornings for a few weeks; I think it has helped. I'll also occasionally do some extensor exercises to try to re-balance the forearm muscles for carpal tunnel discomfort. Also on the computer side of things, I recently switched my mouse usage to my non-dominant hand to give my right hand a rest. I do still have wrist issues due to high computer usage.

Hi Rhyldur,

I'm glad you're still trucking on. As we discussed, I got on the Finishing Train as I stepped away from DAB and I'm enjoying the ride . . . or is it a marathon XD. I just began my own art collaboration in the form of a sketchbook. I have made the only contribution so far, but I will soon be passing it on to another artist to add to it: Follow My Lead.

Never thought of it since I don't consider my drawings to have much personality or style to even collaborate with someone. The more I learn the more I realize how far I am from the point of consider myself even an "amateur" artist.

From what I've seen of your work you have a lot to offer; you have much room to grow and so do I. Style is the result of our process and the natural tendencies we develop as we create and grow. An authentic drawing is (probably) as unique as your fingerprint. Would you (yes YOU) at least consider making a contribution to the collab at some point? I could try to mail the book to wherever you are in the world. You're the only artist I connected with consistently on DAB and would love for you to be a part of this collab.

I never joined Discord, but thanks for the suggestion.

Right on, Drusk. Quality stuff.

Hi Rhyldur,

Well this was a too long break, to be honest. I'm really sorry for leaving you hanging. You did not overstepped any boundaries, it was just my life getting rougher and harder that I was emotionally drained to even answer some messages.

I'm glad there was no offense, but sorry to hear your life's getting rougher. I would encourage you look to God for strength and guidance by reading the Bible (listening to what God has said) and praying (talking to God). He does care; God can use hard times to lead us to Him.

• “Napalm Girl” Kim Phuc, from iconic Vietnam photo, on pain and forgiveness | Brief But Spectacular

• Choosing Forgiveness | Kim Phúc Phan Th? | TEDxVienna

I'm quite pleased and proud of what you have accomplished and I hope you the best outside DAB.

Thank you.

Have you ever considered doing collaborations with other artists? I've had the interest for a while, but I don't know any professional / committed artists.

I wish you the best Rhyldur. If you ever want to get in touch you know where to reach me.

Hi Rhyldur,

I hope you're keeping well. I decided not to finish Drawabox. I finished Lesson 5 and have been focusing more heavily on illustrating recently. I learned much from DAB, but I feel that my time would be better used finishing art rather than spending so much time on exercises.

I probably won't be on the DAB platform much; so if you'd like to connect you can do so at nathan at nathanparkinson dot com.

Take care.

Hi Rhyldur,

Coming at you with another finished piece! This time with some digital spice!! A special appetizer I like to call Fishlev.

I plan to do more digital art; I've got my first drawing tablet on the way! Woot woot!!

I hope you're doing alright. Sorry if you feel I've been pressuring you to spend more time on art than you're ready for right now. My intention was only to encourage you along your art journey, but since I've not gotten a response in a while I wonder if I've overstepped my bounds. I hope to hear from you soon.

I do like that idea of using simple geometric forms first. It would be great to see a kinder progression in difficulty level leading up to the big exercise, and maybe not soooo many dissections; if the point is just to plant the seed, perhaps 1 page could suffice. I spent 5 months on lesson 2 mainly because of the Dissections exercise XD

I feel I have a decent level of determination with DAB because I'm committed to finishing it, but I could definitely see how many (maybe most) people might quit at lesson 2 or just rush not really understanding the exercise. DAB is a very lengthy marathon.

Hi Vyse,

I agree; unfortunately (as I recall) the examples weren't aligned with the instructions, but I do think the instructions and exercises were still really valuable. It strengthened my ability to mentally hold a form in my mind and try to project the shadows onto the surrounding forms without actually having to draw it first. I'm still not very good, but I can see the potential value in actually getting that level of control of form and shadow. I think the exercise also helped me grow in my ability to receive instruction, and I also leveled up in Perseverance and Tenacity :)

I hope you're getting along well with Lesson 3. I have yet to begin Lesson 6 as I'm working on making more finished art for now, but I plan to try to carry on with DAB as well.

If Uncomfortable happens to read this comment, I would suggest that maybe he could request permission to use the work of a student who did the exercises correctly as an example until he has time to redo it himself.

Hi Rhyldur,

I finished an image!!! Woohoo! I tried to treat it as if it were client work done to the best of my current ability with tools I'm fairly comfortable with. Boy! That was a challenging week fighting procrastination and other mental baggage, but I was able to work through it and come through on time with a finished illustration: Here, Kitty Kitty.

Same time next week? ;) I hope you'll join me with the skills you currently have. You do have something to offer now. Please don't wait decades before you allow yourself to make finished work. Just use whatchya got. I usually feel a lot of satisfaction from actually finishing something; I know I did this time.