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50/50 rule is crushing my enjoyment of drawing. Help needed (long rant inside)

4:50 PM, Monday July 31st 2023

I've been struggling with the 50/50 rule a lot, because it seems like it is specifically designed to demotivate me with all of it's constraints.

First, I struggled a little bit with what to draw, because what I drew casually, just for fun, was things around me, like objects on my desk or outside (I have a big garden with thousands of flowers and trees). However on the page for the 50/50 rule, this kind of use of reference is strongly discouraged - if not out right forbidden - in the first few weeks. So I abandoned what I used to draw for fun and looked for other ideas.

The same page also encourages to draw what I want to draw when I get the skills to do it well. But the thing I'm most interested in BY FAR, is drawing and hopefully, eventually painting people - portraits and figures - specifically and very deliberately from life and photo reference. But that use of reference is wrong, so again, too bad I guess.

I tried looking at people and drawing them from imagination, but it was a deeply unpleasant experience. Then I draw a little bit from reference and it ignited my will to draw more. So I forced my self to draw from multiple photos and again found it dire. So much so that I started dreading the whole idea of 'drawing done for the sake of drawing' as it's described in lesson 0 and started to look forward to doing the exercises. Except I stopped enjoying them because of the knowledge that every minute spend doing those, means a minutes forcing myself to do something I found not only extremely unpleasant, but also ultimately useless in my learning process. Which hurt extra much, because it felt like a waste of time, which is quite precious to me. Not because I have little of it, but because I'd much rather do other courses and go through drawing books (something I find immensely fun) in the time that I have to spend on '''''play'''''.

Yesterday I tried to just draw the first thing that came to my head and for some reason it was a pirate ship. I did a little childish doodle and started to draw different objects from the ship on the side (a barrel, anchor, lantern, ect.). This was somewhat stimulating and filed up a few minutes of the mandatory play time, which even felt a bit like play time, for a change. But then I got an idea to draw a scene of a podcast studio on a pirate ship. Add some silly jokes and props in the background and make all the equipment fit the theme. So I googled some microphones for reference and drew several, then I got some reference of old wooden planks and recreated them also. This is the exact process that Uncomfortable himself showed in this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWgXSxxEjgs&ab_channel=Proko). In fact, this is where I got the idea to follow the process from. The whole thing was so engaging and fun that I spend nearly 3 hours doing this to different parts of the studio. And then I realized that non of it counted towards my 50/50 rule time, since even though I was preparing to draw something from imagination, I've filled up several pages and spend all this time simply copying the reference.

This made me really mad and I didn't even go back to doodling after, because it soured my experience with the sketchbook. I'm sure I'll get over it and will go back to drawing something, but I really don't seen the point in following any of the rules listed on the 50/50 page, because it does not benefit me in any way listed there.

'It'll help develop skills that do need to be developed at some point'. No it wont. I'm not even saying that because I want to focus on drawing from life, but because I can (and did) learn plenty from drawing from reference, so doing exactly what the 50/50 demands, might eventually lead me to learn these still, but it certainly wont 'help me'. It will and it already did pull me away from doing exercises and drawing in a way that makes me develop these skills faster. So it might help those who do not draw at all outside on drawabox exercises, but not me.

'The "Downtime" spent on things other than active learning, preferably in a more relaxing fashion, will help you process the things you’ve learned, and absorb them more fully.' I know, that's why I want to draw and have fun doing it. The way that the 50/50 rule does that, forces me to draw in a fashion I don't find relaxing or complimentary to the course materials. Unlike drawing from reference.

'Cleanly separating work and play allows us to do each whole-heartedly.' Which is why I feel I should be allowed to 'play' and not be forced to follow strict rules, greatly limiting my enjoyment from the process of drawing. That's not play, that's just extra work. Work I wouldn't mind a little bit, but 50% of the time... That's way too much, it leaves me no time to actually draw what I want to, the way that I want to.

I tried to follow the instructions at first and it's gotten so bad that I started to associate my Wacom tablet only with the painfully unpleasant process of forcing myself to draw without reference. I dug out a sketchbook and it somehow help a little bit, for a moment, but then yesterday happened and I'm still not looking forward to completing my 50/50 rule.

This might be a somewhat of a common experience and I'm sure others have struggled greatly with the 'play' part of the course, but I feel extremely frustrated with it, because 'drawing for the sake of drawing' was something I loved before drawabox and now I can't do it. It's stressed throughout the course all the time that I have to follow the instructions as closely as possible, so I don't want to go against any - even the smallest - of suggestions.

Maybe I could survive on doodling random stuff from imagination, like I did with the pirate ship, but I genially can't see a single benefit of that, over just drawing how I want to. So what should I do? Just suffer through and first few weeks (which is not much longer I suppose) and then try to adjust to the multiple references or quite the course? Or should I just ignore this one instruction and draw in a way I find fun and productive? When I write it like that and looks like a rhetorical question, but I seriously don't know, drawabox is so autistically incessant on never-ever-and-under-no-circumstances-ever-at-all letting you delineate from any tiny instruction, that I want to be careful with how I approach it, since I trust these rules are made in this every specific and narrow way for a good reason.

tl;dr - 50/50 rule is supposed to encourage 'drawing for the sake of drawing', but due to its restrictions on the use of reference, it took away all my will to do just that. Help.

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3 users agree
6:59 PM, Thursday August 3rd 2023

So I googled some microphones for reference and drew several, then I got some reference of old wooden planks and recreated them also. This is the exact process that Uncomfortable himself showed in this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWgXSxxEjgs&ab_channel=Proko). In fact, this is where I got the idea to follow the process from. The whole thing was so engaging and fun that I spend nearly 3 hours doing this to different parts of the studio. And then I realized that non of it counted towards my 50/50 rule time, since even though I was preparing to draw something from imagination, I've filled up several pages and spend all this time simply copying the reference.

It's not only the process I demonstrate in the aphantasia video I made for Proko's channel - it's also the process I demonstrate in the video which introduces the 50% rule, specifically at this timestamped point, where I talk about the third frequently asked question. I demonstrate creating a larger scene from many different pieces of reference. This process does not simply involve copying reference mindlessly - the ideas of the larger scene we're creating are our own.

At least, that's if I understand it correctly. What I'm gathering from what you stated is that you created your own scene, and populated it with things you pulled from reference. The important thing is who's making the decisions - when you're just copying a reference directly, it's very easy to shut your brain off and not make choices for yourself. This severely limits our capacity for drawing from our imagination, although even when it comes to doing portraiture and stuff, using the reference as a source of information rather than something that makes decisions for you is critical. The control needs to be in your hands.

As long as the control is in your hands, and you're making decisions of how things are arranged, where they go, what you need where, etc. then you're good as far as the 50% rule goes.

For what it's worth, while you've struggled immensely with the 50% rule, you started only willing to draw things from reference, but eventually you pushed yourself out of your comfort zone, and had a great time with it. That is, by and large, the point.

7:46 PM, Saturday August 5th 2023

Note from admin: this was initially sent in as a report of the above message, not a reply. I've gone into the database in order to correct this mistake, so if the timestamp appears incorrect, that would be why.

Hey, thanks for the response but I think I didn't describe what I did in the most clear detail. I didn't put these objects in a scene, just copied them onto the page (here is one of the pages from my sketchbook. https://imgur.com/a/9wFNrr7 I copied both of these from individual ref images), to use as inspiration to create a scene afterward. This is what you did with the pidgin/tiger Griffin in Proko video, while in the 50% rule video, you only showed an illustration made from a combination of references. There was no mention of copying them individually before combining. If it was implied that that's what you did and that it is ok to copy individual reference in that context, then I missed and I guess I should have payed more attention, my bad.

The important thing is who's making the decisions - when you're just copying a reference directly, it's very easy to shut your brain off and not make choices for yourself.

Yes, but I believe it is almost impossible to copy an semi-complex reference directly. I made many decisions while trying to adhere to reference, everyone makes decisions when they copy reference. Often subconscious ones, sometimes deliberate, to stylize, simplify, leave things out, exaggerate, ect. This is obviously common knowledge and I'm not writing this to imply that you don't understand that fact. I'm sure you do, especially since as far as I can tell, this is part of the reason why you recommend not to follow a single reference during the 50% rule - because drawing from reference is studying. It develops these skills and improves your subconscious decisions, as well as develops a deeper understanding of the object you copy and expands your visual library. So I believe the assumption is that when I do that, I'm not really drawing for the sake of it and instead to improve these skills. Thing is, I'm fortunate enough to enjoy that process so much, that I would do it even if it didn't develop an skills. I'm not thinking about any of these benefits when drawing from a single reference, I'm just enjoying myself.

when you're just copying a reference directly, it's very easy to shut your brain off and not make choices for yourself. This severely limits our capacity for drawing from our imagination, although even when it comes to doing portraiture and stuff, using the reference as a source of information rather than something that makes decisions for you is critical. The control needs to be in your hands.

I think that 'copying a reference directly' MIGHT sometimes lead to mindlessly recreating each line, carefully, yet without much though, and that it CAN be limiting some people's creativity. However, there is a way to use a single reference and not do that. Yes, perhaps this can be difficult for some people, but it is harder for me to do the opposite. I always use reference as something I refer to, not something I copy 1-to-1. As I wrote earlier, 'it is almost impossible to copy an semi-complex reference directly'. This might not be the case forever, but at my current skill level... I mean, come on... I have to take liberties and I sometimes also do, cos I think it's look cooler. So it's both a necessity, and a choice. It helps me get better, and it's super fun. I can (and often have to) still use my imagination and creativity when drawing from a single reference image.

And speaking of creativity - I'm sorry if this sounds patronizing, but I think this might be a bigger issue for people with aphantasia. I don't know that, so sorry if I'm misrepresenting your experience, but believe me, my creativity in terms of picturing images in my head is not dependent on my ability to draw them and vice versa. I can imagine things WAY better than I can draw them and I do not need reference to help me visualize them. Drawing parts or whole images from reference helps me break them down and simplify into objects I can construct better and more accurately. It does not necessarily help me picture them better. I know exactly what I want to draw, with exhaustive detail, I simply lack the skills to convey that on the page. I always could visualized complex scenes and characters in my head. When I was a kid and draw a lot, when I was a teen and didn't draw at all and still now as an adult who recently started to draw again. So I highly doubt that I'm at a risk of loosing this ability, by using references a lot. I don't want to sound arrogant, so I'll admit, suppose I might be wrong, but I'm willing to take that risk.

For what it's worth, while you've struggled immensely with the 50% rule, you started only willing to draw things from reference, but eventually you pushed yourself out of your comfort zone, and had a great time with it. That is, by and large, the point.

On that you are absolutely right and I'm glad that I did the little doodles without reference, it was pretty fun and not something I'd be likely to try out without the 50% rule, so I'm thankful to it, for pushing me to do that exercise. I will for sure do it sometimes from now on, but there is no way in hell I'll spend half my time drawing that way only. I spend a considerable amount of time on exercises and doing an equal amount of time of drawing without reference or using multiple ones, would kill my enthusiasm I currently have for drawing, so nothing seems worth that. But...

As long as the control is in your hands, and you're making decisions of how things are arranged, where they go, what you need where, etc. then you're good as far as the 50% rule goes.

If I understand this correctly, I can just use a single reference and still make decisions and therefor comply with the rule, so that's reassuring, I guess there was no reason for me to worry about it so much.  

9:47 PM, Saturday August 5th 2023

If I understand this correctly, I can just use a single reference and still make decisions and therefor comply with the rule, so that's reassuring, I guess there was no reason for me to worry about it so much.

That is correct, it is entirely possible to use a single piece of reference while not being beholden to it. I'm going to take the "I guess there was no reason for me to worry about it so much" as a sign that you understand the role of the 50% rule better, and that you will be able to apply it without as much pain going forward.

I am going to note a couple quick points below to clear up a number of additional misunderstandings I noticed in your reply, but hopefully we can set this to rest.

  • Doing direct studies as I did in the first demo in the pigeon/tiger griffin video is a very useful tool when creating illustrations. It's not something I included when talking about the 50% rule however for two reasons - firstly because the direct studies would fall into the "study" half of the rule (even though it's part of a project that will also include more drawing from your imagination and using those references as a source of information, what determines which half a task falls into is not the overall project but rather the task itself). It is of course something you can opt to do, in order to help flesh out your understanding of the kinds of objects you're going to be using in your later illustration/designs, but keep in mind that it too has to be balanced out in the end.

  • When discussing the point about doing a study with/without making decisions ourselves, you're very focused on what your skills allow for, and what they aren't quite capable of achieving. That's not actually relevant to the point here though. What we're discussing here speaks to the intent of the student. Beginners, when doing studies, will focus largely on what they see in their reference, and then reproducing it on the page as they see it. Do they succeed in doing that as accurately as possible? No - but again, it's the intent. The intent is to see, and to reproduce, but they're missing the interprative step that sits in between. This is similar to what's explained here in Lesson 2 in regards to how we approach texture. It's common for students to observe, then to transfer it to the page, but to skip the "understanding" step in between.

  • From what you've said, it sounds like you are beyond this beginner stage - at least in your use of reference - and that is what has led to the confusion. Drawabox regards every student as a beginner, because it is too easy to leave gaps in one's understanding unaddressed if we worry about considering what a student might already know and what they might not. I will say that the underlying frustration you've expressed speaks to there being a lot of room for you to gain greater control over your impulses and your overall discipline (there's no task we assign after all that should reasonably be painful to do - at worst they would waste your time, which is by no means the end of the world), so the 50% rule still serves a significant purpose there - but when it comes to the specific mechanics of using references and how to avoid allowing them to make all the choices for us, you may well be fine.

  • In terms of the aphantasia point, I would advise you not to fall into the trap of thinking that the things you see in your head are anything more than the impression of detail and complexity. What you see there is not - and if you consider it logically, simply cannot be - enough to draw from accurately. I totally understand that it gives the impression of it. I myself did once upon a time have the ability to see vivid imagery in my head (I lost it either due to puberty, or due to one of a couple blows to the head when I was a preteen), and I've had long conversations with others who have strong visualization skills. This includes my girlfriend, who is on the opposite end of the spectrum with hyperphantasia, which can sometimes manifest as maladaptive daydreaming.

  • Anyway, the point I'm making here is that what really matters here is our capacity for memory. If you imagined a tiger was in front of you, what that tiger looked like could only be composed of things that exist within your memory. There's either hard, tangible things that you recall about what tigers look like, and then there's the fuzzy, blurry, vague gaps in between those facts. When those things exist in our mind's eye, where we visualize them, we don't notice the presence of the holes in our recollection. They only become obvious when we try and translate what we hold in our head onto the page. That's why you may feel you have a comprehensive idea of what it is you'd like to draw, but when you actually put it on the page, it falls apart.

  • Another way to think about this is the reverse of symbol drawing. A beginner sees a fir tree and when they go home, they try to draw it on a piece of paper. While the tree was full of complex detail, different branches and pine needles, with rough texture for the bark on its trunk, etc. the beginner draws a rectangle for the trunk, and stacks triangles atop it to build out the foliage. Why? Because that's the totality of what they recall - it was all heavily simplified into this symbolic, representative form. Then the beginner looks down at their drawing, and is aghast - that's not what the tree looked like at all! But while they were drawing it, and while they were imagining it, that's not how they perceived the things they recalled. This is because "symbols" don't exist in such an obvious manner in our heads - rather, the brain gives us the feeling that we're thinking about something much more complex and detailed, even though the facts held there are very simple.

  • To be clear though, you're not at risk of losing your ability to visualize. I'm just saying that it has a lot less of an impact than you might think. In fact, the discrepancy between what one sees in their head and what they're actually able to capture on the page is a very common source of frustration for students, making them feel like they're broken or not "talented" - when it's really just a misunderstanding of exactly what that visualization entails.

  • Fortunately that doesn't mean that as we develop our skills, our capacity to remember all of this complex information improves. It does, but what matters more is that we learn to organize the information we glean out of our reference images. We learn to prioritize, we learn what kinds of things are more important, and what information doesn't really need to be retained. From there, a subset of the overall information of the reference we studied can be integrated into our visual libraries, to be pulled out later when drawing from our imagination, or to help decide what kind of reference we might need, or even to help us take what imperfect reference we might have at our disposal and make it useful for our specific purposes in a given project. At its core, what we learn is not really to expand the breadth of information we can hold in our minds at once - we learn how to better organize it so we can make more efficient use of the capacity for memory and recall we already have.

I hope that helps clear up some potential misunderstandings. But in general, I think you've come to better understand what the 50% rule is for and how it can be applied, and I expect if you hold to it, it will continue to help you develop your overall discipline while also broadening the potential applications of your skillset as it too develops.

5:07 PM, Sunday August 6th 2023

Yup, that about clears all the confusion I knew I had, and then some :P. Thanks for taking your time to respond.

2 users agree
8:01 PM, Tuesday August 1st 2023

I think if the 50/50 rule is creating this much anxiety for you then I wouldn't follow it that closely. For me I'm treating draw a box more for the principles of what is being taught and kind of treating everything else as like suggestions. I think its important to always relate what you learn back to what it was that attracted you to drawing in the first place. I think this rant is bring to light your own process of doing things, which I think is great. If you enjoy working from reference, then work from reference. If you find it frustrating to draw from your head, then keep it to a minimum. So instead of 50/50 it could be like 80/20 or whatever. In my opinion, I think the rule is meant more for concept artists/industrial designers as they are the ones who have to make things that don't exist.

When you said :

" The same page also encourages to draw what I want to draw when I get the skills to do it well. But the thing I'm most interested in BY FAR, is drawing and hopefully, eventually painting people - portraits and figures - specifically and very deliberately from life and photo reference. But that use of reference is wrong, so again, too bad I guess."

I actually think the 50/50 rule contradicts your main goal. Atelier schools draw/paint from life/references (master studies) all day every day. So its definitely not a wrong way to study. In fact, that's the traditional way of studying art. I think this is a case of trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. I think the rule is meant for an artist to be able to retain information better so that when they go to concept something, they can refer back to their memory and frankenstein something together to make something new. That also doesn't mean that going through draw a box wouldn't be helpful. There are definitely good things you can take away from doing this program.

I wouldn't dismiss the rule completely because even fine artists who work from reference most of the time will still draw from their head when doing rough thumbnails during the planning stage. Of course that would depend on what they were making. I think a good example is Alex Ross. He'll do thumbnails from his head, but when he gets to the final image, he'll get reference for everything, the models, costume, lighting, props, etc. There is a video of him talking about his process and he said something like when he was still in school, he saw that all the info he needed was in the reference he took and that he didn't see the point of making something up from his head and he just stuck with that process. It's a good way to see if something works or not very quickly without wasting too much time.

You mentioned that you would rather look at other resources or do something you find more fun. I don't know how you plan on pursuing your art education, but the way I'm doing it, I'm almost treating it like if I was in school. So like one day I do draw a box, the next day I go to new masters academy, another day I go through an anatomy book, another day I do a study from a comic book I think is cool, and one day I don't even draw all and just look at art I like. Then the following week, I do it all over again. You don't have to put all of you energy into draw a box. You could devote maybe 5 days out of the week to drawing/painting figures/portraits from life or reference and then maybe on the weekend do a draw a box exercise. Of course it would take you a while to finish the whole program, but at least you are moving towards your real goal. Definitely switch it up however you see fit.

I think the biggest disadvantage that I've seen from only being able to draw from reference is that it can stop people from drawing at all if they don't have the right reference. It can cause inaction and even cause demotivation because they really wanted to draw/paint this thing but they can't because it isn't in front of them. With all that said, I think the worst thing that can happen is that going through this will cause you to quit art all together. So I would take it easy with the whole rule thing, switch up your studying, and to make sure to draw what you actually enjoy that way you can keep moving forward.

9:41 PM, Tuesday August 1st 2023

That sounds like a very health attitude, I'll definitely consider it. So far I got 2 replays and both suggest adjusting the rule a bit, to suit my own habits and needs better. Seems obvious in hindsight, but I feared - and still do a little, but significantly less - that bending rules like that can hinder my progress in the long run.

Draw a box had such an amazing impact on me initially (not that long ago that is), that I wanted to follow every command to a t. I still believe that the way it changed my attitude is like, 95% positive and that the feedback is amazingly expansive and personal, especially considering the price. The community is great (as you showed yourself ;)) and most of the lessons and exercises are quite brilliant. But there are little flaws in how rigid some of the instructions are. I told my self that they may not be wrong and simply the justification for them is not complete, or even that I simply don't get their benefits now and will with time, but I think it's time I come down to earth a bit. Now I see that even Uncomfortable probably doesn't think that way xD.

So yeah, I think I'll see what works better for me and do that. Following other courses and books instead of hours of involuntary drawing from imagination might make me appreciate drawing from imagination, who knows :P. One way to find out.

10:06 PM, Tuesday August 1st 2023

I would have had the same mindset you have if this was a school setting or like I'm paying a lot of money and I'm being graded. Then I would have felt that pressure that I can't deviate at all, I don't want to fail, I'm paying all this money, etc. But because this is all free I'm pretty relaxed about it. Anyway, good luck with everything!

0 users agree
3:43 AM, Tuesday August 1st 2023

There is some real frustration here that I can relate to. To begin with, I think you may be rigidly interpreting the reference rule. Uncomfortable says that the use of reference is both Ok and not Ok. It depends on how you use it. When you talked about drawing the pirate ship, you mentioned that you did a childish doodle (which is totally fine) but then wanted to add something to the deck. You looked for a reference to see how to draw a microphone and some planks. Whether it is Ok or not to use reference here has to do with how you use it. My interpretation is if you google a microphone and pick an image and then render "that" microphone, then there is a problem. If you look at a few pictures because you don't really know how to draw a microphone at all and then do your own thing, your fine. I think this is because when you draw your own thing, you are synthesizing all the important information about microphones and then using that to make a drawing. I think it is counter intuitive but looking at a few pictures of microphones and then drawing your own, no matter how "bad" the drawing looks is still better then rendering a photo from Google.

If you are stuck on what to draw, I highly recommend the drawing prompts on this site. Most of them come from the promptathons every few months. I have really enjoyed doing them. I often need to use reference to draw my ideas, I just don't copy what I look at. As a bonus, each prompt has samples of other peoples work to look at. There are all ranges of skill there.

When I first started trying to learn to draw, I was rendering different things in my house. The drawings were Ok but not great. Then I learned about more fundamental skills like perspective, structure, value. After that, my drawings were terrible. But that is because fundamentals are hard and take a long time to learn. Uncomfortable says something in the 50% rule that is really important: "To put it simply, it becomes a lot harder to learn how to play when you’ve developed the technical skill, and the expectations that come along with it." You have to learn how to play. Anybody over the age of 12 gradually loses the ability to play as children play or draw as children draw, without expectation. Don't overlook the value of a childish doodle.

Confession time. I probably don't follow that 50% that well. But I am still learning, still drawing and and still having fun. As long as that continues, I think how I do things is fine. There are many paths to the top of the mountain.

9:14 PM, Tuesday August 1st 2023

Thanks for the replay, have to say I found it quite motivating, but I still don't fully understand everything. I didn't explain myself very well when I described the process of copying from google, so I'll try to do it better now. The video I referred to is 20+ minutes long, but the specific part I was thinking about is around this time stump https://youtu.be/LWgXSxxEjgs?t=633. This is where Uncomfy shows how he copies several references of single images and only after that he does a drawing from imagination, combining them. This is what I was doing with the microphones and damp planks and other elements. He calls the process of copying the reference 'study' and talks about how he focuses on different elements when doing these. I assume that this is how he thinks everyone draws from reference and I did not think or analyze at all what I was drawing when going through that process myself. It was super fun and freeing, which is what I believe 50/50 is about, but nope, can't have fun that way, because it's a 'study' and this time is dedicated to not studying(?) I guess.

As you wrote 'My interpretation is if you google a microphone and pick an image and then render "that" microphone, then there is a problem.' I interpreted the instructions the same way and I simply do not understand WHY that is. Because I might accidentally think about getting better at drawing at that point and then it's not 'drawing for the sake of drawing', or something stupid like that? I don't get it and it's ok if you can't explain that either, but if you think you can, I'd love to hear it.

As far as ideas what to draw go, I've seen the prompts and didn't exactly think they're necessary for me yet, but if they'll help me to take multiple references and combine them together without doing these 'studies' first, then yeah, I will give them a shot.

Also, I'm a little surprised at what you said about your drawing getting worse as you were getting better with fundamentals. Do you mean that they seemed worse to you because the expectation increased, or that they actually got worse because you lost some abilities as well? Because if its the latter, that's fascinating and I'd love to hear more about it.

3:16 AM, Wednesday August 2nd 2023

I think the ultimate goal of the 50% rule is to keep or create a sense of play and joy while drawing. No matter how good you get technically, if you lack enjoyment it is just drudgery. Most people will quit learning long before they reach that technical level of skill. When I do one of the prompts, this one [https://imgur.com/a/MWjWa0w] for example, I am absolutely trying to make the best drawing I can. I looked at pictures of dirigibles, of pirate ships, I took pictures of myself in poses. I didn't copy any of those pictures, just used them as mental imagery to draw on my own. This was not a study. It was just drawing a picture. I think even when an artist is doing a personal project for fun, they may be consciously applying what they have learned.

If it is any consolation, many people have written in about their struggles with the 50% rule. I think I struggled with it too. I think having fun and not stressing too much is the key. Maybe you could try a personal project that is a bit more involved. I asked a writer friend of mine to send me something that I could try to draw as a comic book. I have no idea what I am doing but it is fun and certainly burning those 50% minutes.

When I mentioned about learning fundamentals and getting worse, I was specifically referring to rendering a picture or object versus using fundamentals to draw the same thing. If I draw a car and I am just rendering it, I can do a pretty good job copying that car. But I am only drawing "that car" in that particular position or lighting. I don't learn anything about any other car. When you use fundamentals to draw, you are drawing any car. What you learn can be applied to all cars you may draw in the future. The problem, at least for me, is that fundamentals take a while to learn so when I first tried to apply them to something like a car, the drawing was worse than when I just tried to render it. I am equally bad at drawing all cars everywhere however. This sounds bad but as my fundamentals improve, I will improve in drawing all cars everywhere also.

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Faber Castell PITT Artist Pens

Like the Staedtlers, these also come in a set of multiple weights - the ones we use are F. One useful thing in these sets however (if you can't find the pens individually) is that some of the sets come with a brush pen (the B size). These can be helpful in filling out big black areas.

Still, I'd recommend buying these in person if you can, at a proper art supply store. They'll generally let you buy them individually, and also test them out beforehand to weed out any duds.

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