50-50 Rule Question
https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtFundamentals/comments/q4qxua/5050_rule_question/
2021-10-09 18:24
Psturtz
Should this rule apply when youre just starting out? For example Im still on lesson 1, and I find when I try to do drawing for fun, so much of my time is spent watching videos about other topics so I can learn to draw them. I dont think I have the fundamentals to really draw much of anything when I cant even draw an ellipse well yet.
Should that time learning other things count towards the 50-50 rule? Or is it only the time spent actually drawing?
Uncomfortable
2021-10-09 20:10
The 50% rule splits time spent drawing into two halves. One half consists of both Drawabox and any other lessons, tutorials, studies, exercises, etc. The other half consists of drawing done purely for the sake of drawing. Not to learn, not to improve, not to impress anyone or yourself.
Its purpose exists to accept that your drawings are not going to turn out as you want them to the vast majority of the time, to get you comfortable with the idea of drawing without needing the end result to turn out well, and to develop the endurance to progress long-term despite the many bouts of frustration you will face.
Students who struggle with it - of which there are many ultimately struggle with the idea of drawing when they know the end result will turn out badly. It's the mentality that the immediate result determines whether the time was invested well, or if it was wasted - and that's a very short-term mentality to have.
Psturtz
2021-10-09 20:15
Ok that makes sense, thank you
DesignerMundane
2022-06-10 16:37
Hello Uncomfortable, I saw from Lesson 0 that you mentioned that "If however, youre completely comfortable with that perhaps after youve done your 50% rule time without reference for a few weeks, just to be sure you can go ahead and use reference, with one major caveat: you may not simply work from a single reference image, effectively copying it as it is."
Is that mean when I actually feel comfortable with drawing from my imagination and it is also not beautiful at all technically or aesthetically then I can proceed with drawing with reference but not copy the references? Is it?
Uncomfortable
2022-06-10 16:57
It's more when you're comfortable with deciding what it is you want to draw, then go finding the references that will help you in producing that specific goal, rather than finding a reference and allowing it to dictate the entirety of what it is you wish to draw.
References should only be tools - you define the goal you're working towards.
DesignerMundane
2022-06-10 17:12
Thank you! :D