Yesterday, we dropped a new video about the concepts around the 50% rule. This is without exception, the most important video of the entire course.
https://youtu.be/n2Px_OAuXlI
2022-01-16 17:30
Uncomfortable
stormgadon
2022-01-16 19:09
Thank you very much, for the video and for answering our questions in the chat !
callmeeismann
2022-01-16 22:32
Thank you so much for this video, that was great. I've struggled to understand and obviously follow the 50% rule the entire time I've been doing Drawabox (on lesson 7 now). I've spent a ton of time following other courses, reading books etc and too rarely went out of my comfort zone trying to face my fear of failure head on so while my technical skill improved immensely, I've barely become better at actually creating art. This video has really made it clear for me why and how to change my priorities.
You can empathize incredibly well with your students' problems and a beginner's needs. I think that is a big part of what makes you such a great instructor. Huge props for that and thank you for everything so far.
Uncomfortable
2022-01-17 16:48
Thank you for the kind words! I think that's the hardest thing about teaching - going back and putting yourself in the head of your past self, before you knew all the things you know now.
[deleted]
2022-01-17 00:24
[deleted]
Uncomfortable
2022-01-17 16:48
They've definitely been coming up a ton - there are definitely specific areas that I'm excited to revise, just to stem the tide of questions, and this was a big one!
SummonedByCat
2022-01-17 07:05
i needed this!
I recently restarted the course and working my way through lesson 1 at the moment. The 50/50 rules is now more clear and I needed that push!
Uncomfortable
2022-01-17 16:49
I'm glad I was able to make it easier to understand, and hopefully apply!
Ashamed_Appearance83
2022-01-17 14:36
I didn't realize copying other images or following "how to draw..." tutorials was not part of 50% rule. Guess I gotta try to use my imagination now.
Uncomfortable
2022-01-17 16:49
It's definitely a common misconception I was eager to clarify.
Ashamed_Appearance83
2022-01-26 17:41
What about trying to draw something in your house? Like an object, person or pet in my house that's in front of me?
Uncomfortable
2022-01-26 18:46
That situation falls into the same category as working from a reference - except instead of an image, it's from life.
ExoticEngram
2022-02-24 22:44
Can you clarify what part of the 50% rule it falls under? Does doing as the redditor mentioned fall under study or play?
Uncomfortable
2022-02-25 00:03
As mentioned in the video (you can reference the same graphic in this section of the lesson notes), tutorials fall under the same half any lessons, courses, exercises, etc. And thus, time invested there should be matched in equal measure with time spent drawing for the sake of drawing, not pursuing specific/direct growth/improvement/results.
joshuagraphic
2022-02-11 17:09
Thank you for making this video.
Yes, the reps are important for developing a skill, but play is equally as important. This expands into the career that follows, as well.
It's not just about drawing for pleasure while you're learning. The 50% rule applies just as much when it comes being a professional. If you don't do half of your drawing, painting, etc. for yourself, then you'll go just as crazy.
Don't forget WHY you wanted to learn how to draw. Use that initial spark to ground yourself while you learn and while you work. :)
AntiTheory
2022-02-21 23:30
I'm about a week in to the Drawabox program and the 50% rule is painful. I enjoy working on the lesson plans because I know that I am working on motor skills and fundamental concepts of drawing and I'm improving with each one. Drawing stuff "just for fun" is all well and good, but I receive no satisfaction setting out to draw something and having it come out horrible. It's not an issue of fear of failure - I'm all for trying and failing and trying again so that I can make iterative improvements on my work. The thing that bothers me is the frustration of futility - setting out to accomplish something you want, failing at it, and learning nothing other than that my skills are not up to par enough to actually draw what I want because I don't have a grasp on the fundamentals like shapes and volumes and construction.
I'm going to try and split my time up more evenly from now on to see if it helps. I did coursework for 4 days and then remembered about the 50% rule so I've been drawing scribbles and doodles for the past 4 days to catch up, but it might not be quite so bad if I can do 1 day on and 1 day off of course material.
Uncomfortable
2022-02-22 19:00
At the end of the day, what the 50% asks for is undeniably difficult, most of all because its impact is not immediate in any way - it is a subtle thing that fundamentally, over time, helps us develop a much healthier relationship with not just drawing, but with the things we do in general.
Sometimes trying to change up how we approach it, and how we group our time, can definitely make it a little less difficult, but ultimately it is going to be an uphill climb. So for that, I wish you the best of luck.
FarYogurtcloset3711
2022-03-17 01:50
First of all, thank you for creating Drawabox, putting so much care and work into creating free resources for beginners. I have a question regarding the 50% rule (though I feel I already have the answer to it).
When I'm done with the Drawabox lessons, I often want to try and create "little beginner artworks". I have a vision in my mind, and I want to transfer it onto the page in a beautiful and impactful way. I'm not really trying to learn and improve my skills, so it's not exactly "active learning".
However, I'm not drawing with total abandon and no regard for success. I want my drawing to be as beautiful and faithful to my vision as my current skills allow. That makes me quite anxious: I will erase a mark several times before I'm satisfied, I will feel the need to use a reference (not because I want to know how to draw the object in the future, but because I want my drawing to be good). And I certainly don't tear my drawing to pieces when I'm finished.
So does this qualify as play, or not? (99% sure it doesn't) And if it doesn't, should I allocate time to this activity (in addition to learning and playing), or should I stop worrying about making "beautiful drawings" altogether for now?
Thank you very much
Uncomfortable
2022-03-17 17:02
Thank you for the kind words! And you are correct - the fact that you are preoccupied with producing something that achieves a certain standard of quality excludes it from the 50% "play" time.
Ultimately my expectation is that if a student is going through Drawabox as a beginner (as most are), then worrying about creating "beautiful" drawings is going to be more of a distraction, and it is a far better use of your time to simply draw for the hell of it - for now.
If you have prior experience and are doing Drawabox to "fill in holes" then it depends. Students who have past experience may be better equipped to apply the 50% rule to their situation, but not necessarily. Always go back to a simple rule of thumb - if you struggle to just draw for the hell of it, then that's a problem that needs to be addressed, and it's more important that allocate time to addressing it over your desire to create pretty pictures. Once you're more confident in your ability to experiment and play without issue, you can decide where you want to take time from in order to produce your own "portfolio" type works.
Lucretia9
2022-04-06 15:52
Why do the last 4 video's show as being uploaded in the last 3 days, have they been modified?
Uncomfortable
2022-04-06 17:54
Yep, that's correct. Due to the new partnership with New Masters Academy, I had to reedit some of the parts of the video, and unfortunately Youtube doesn't allow you to swap in a new video for an old one.
crashwater
2022-05-03 12:42
Thanks for this great course. I have just discovered it. I have a lot of questions about what counts as play. Just for starters:
Does trying new materials or mixing two materials count as play as long as we are not doing full on materials tests, swatches or that kind of thing? This is another case where a lot of the fun comes with making something beautiful and different. Sometimes I am inspired by another artist's work and want to try something similar.
At least this gets me over the fear of opening materials up, using them and marking up pages.
Uncomfortable
2022-05-03 16:57
It's a good start. At the end of the day however, I think it's important to ask ourselves if we're actively choosing to do one thing over another - for example, playing with new materials (a low-risk activity with no clear outcome to strive towards) versus, say, drawing something with a clearer sense of success/failure.
That's not to say that we should be striving for that success (given that this contradicts the core purpose of the 50% rule), but rather that there is a definite possibility that some people will actively then go on to avoid anything with a clear goal, given the fear that they aren't equipped to achieve it as they'd like right now.
If it's really just because you're interested in playing with new media, then absolutely, have at it. Just always be sure to reflect on the motivations of why you want to do that for your 50% rule, over something that can potentially be a lot more intimidating.
crashwater
2022-05-06 02:36
Thank you for that.
Another one: Where does Urban sketching fit into this idea of work or play? It is enjoyable because of the discovery, based on direct observation but it still involves a lot of interpretation because of the need to simplify.
Uncomfortable
2022-05-07 00:28
Generally I think that should be fine, but it comes back to a simple rule: are you choosing to draw a particular thing because it genuinely interests you, or because it's easier/safer than the things that do?
ozyu
2022-01-16 19:08
agreed.
I was stuck for decades as an artist and these courses enabled me to progress. Thank you for breaking down what the fundamentals actually are, why it is so important, and how to get better at them. Revisiting boxes alone made my art better and faster.
Uncomfortable
2022-01-18 02:54
I'm thrilled to hear that!