I started drawing when I was 25 you can do it too if you try! Most people can only draw stick people if the only drawing they ever did was in grade school. You’ll find at first that you draw like a grade schooler, because well, that’s the last time you drew. You just pick up wher you left off. I find that is what discourages people from continuing. It’s to be expected though. You can practice your way up in no time. I know you’re not exactly asking, but thought I’d throw it out there for anyone who feels the same and feels like they can’t draw. You’ll catch up quicker than someone who’s really a child but it’ll take some work and some practice obviously! Just don’t give up because you draw like a child... to be fair you pretty much are drawing like a child at first. I recommend picking up a couple book and checking a couple YouTube channels!

Edit: r/ArtFundamentals is helpful used to be known as drawabox. First book I picked up was Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. I’ve picked up many many more since then!

I personally think the opposite. Photo realism is not "advanced". Painting impressionistically is not beginner either. What you need for impressionist painting comes off the back of photorealism. Copying a photo does not make you advanced. Infusing a photo with emotion and meaning makes you advanced. This painting is just that. And I love it. I am honestly tired seeing a photorealistic drawing and then clicking the comments just to see "Wow! I thought it was a photo" over and over again. Not to knock it, but this sort of work takes a different kind of skill. You need a handle (hah) on your brushwork and how you react to what you see. Difficult as fuck. Im still learning how to do this myself.

Learning "how to see" is definitely the cornerstone in becoming a better artist, though. That I agree with. Don't equate impressionism with not being able to do this. In my opinion they do it the best. I recommend anyone learning to pick up "drawing on the right side of the brain". Thats what personally helped me with getting things right. I used to draw photorealistic but I felt that it was an empty sort of exercise. Where do you go from there? Here. You go here. You express yourself.

Love the painting

On behalf of Chuck Klosterman...

1. Let us assume you met a rudimentary magician. Let us assume he can do five simple tricks--he can pull a rabbit out of his hat, he can make a coin disappear, he can turn the ace of spades into the Joker card, and two others in a similar vein. These are his only tricks and he can't learn anymore; he can only do these five. HOWEVER, it turns out he's doing these five tricks with real magic. It's not an illusion; he can actually conjure the bunny out of the ether and he can move the coin through space. He's legitimately magical, but extremely limited in scope and influence. Would this person be more impressive than Albert Einstein?
   
   
2. Let us assume a fully grown, completely healthy Clydesdale horse has his hooves shackled to the ground while his head is held in place with thick rope. He is conscious and standing upright, but completely immobile. And let us assume that--for some reason--every political prisoner on earth (as cited by Amnesty International) will be released from captivity if you can kick this horse to death in less than twenty minutes. You are allowed to wear steel-toed boots. Would you attempt to do this?
   
   
3. Let us assume there are two boxes on a table. In one box, there is a relatively normal turtle; in the other, Adolf Hitler's skull. You have to select one of these items for your home. If you select the turtle, you can't give it away and you have to keep it alive for two years; if either of these parameters are not met, you will be fined $999 by the state. If you select Hitler's skull, you are required to display it in a semi-prominent location in your living room for the same amount of time, although you will be paid a stipend of $120 per month for doing so. Display of the skull must be apolitical. Which option do you select?
   
   
4. You meet your soul mate. However, there is a catch: Every three years, someone will break both of your soul mate's collarbones with a Crescent wrench, and there is only one way you can stop this from happening: You must swallow a pill that will make every song you hear--for the rest of your life--sound as if it's being performed by the band Alice in Chains. When you hear Credence Clearwater Revival on the radio, it will sound (to your ears) like it’s being played by Alice in Chains. If you see Radiohead live, every one of their tunes will sound like it’s being covered by Alice in Chains. When you hear a commercial jingle on TV, it will sound like Alice in Chains; if you sing to yourself in the shower, your voice will sound like deceased Alice vocalist Layne Staley performing a Capella (but it will only sound this way to you). Would you swallow the pill?
   
   
5. At long last, someone invents "the dream VCR." This machine allows you to tape an entire evening's worth of your own dreams, which you can then watch at your leisure. However, the inventor of the dream VCR will only allow you to use this device of you agree to a strange caveat: When you watch your dreams, you must do so with your family and your closest friends in the same room. They get to watch your dreams along with you. And if you don't agree to this, you can't use the dream VCR. Would you still do this?
   
   
6. Defying all expectation, a group of Scottish marine biologists capture a live Loch Ness Monster. In an almost unbelievable coincidence, a bear hunter in the Pacific Northwest shoots a Sasquatch in the thigh, thereby allowing zoologists to take the furry monster into captivity. These events happen on the same afternoon. That evening, the president announces he may have thyroid cancer and will undergo a biopsy later that week. You are the front page editor of The New York Times: What do you play as the biggest story?
   
   
7. You meet the perfect person. Romantically, this person is ideal: You find them physically attractive, intellectually stimulating, consistently funny, and deeply compassionate. However, they have one quirk: This individual is obsessed with Jim Henson's gothic puppet fantasy The Dark Crystal. Beyond watching it on DVD at least once a month, he/she peppers casual conversation with Dark Crystal references, uses Dark Crystal analogies to explain everyday events, and occasionally likes to talk intensely about the film's "deeper philosophy." Would this be enough to stop you from marrying this individual?
   
   
8. A novel titled Interior Mirror is released to mammoth commercial success (despite middling reviews). However, a curious social trend emerges: Though no one can prove a direct scientific link, it appears that almost 30 percent of the people who read this book immediately become homosexual. Many of these newfound homosexuals credit the book for helping them reach this conclusion about their orientation, despite the fact that Interior Mirror is ostensibly a crime novel with no homoerotic content (and was written by a straight man). Would this phenomenon increase (or decrease) the likelihood of you reading this book?
   
   
9. You are watching a movie in a crowded theater. Though the plot is mediocre, you find yourself dazzled by the special effects. But with twenty minutes left in the film, you are struck with an undeniable feeling of doom: You are suddenly certain your mother has just died. There is no logical reason for this to be true, but you are certain of it. You are overtaken with the irrational metaphysical sense that--somewhere--your mom has just perished. But this is only an intuitive, amorphous feeling; there is no evidence for this, and your mother has not been ill. Would you immediately exit the theater, or would you finish watching the movie?
   
   
10. You meet a wizard. The wizard tells you he can make you more attractive if you pay him money. When you ask how this process works, the wizard points to a random person on the street. You look at this random stranger. The wizard says, "I will now make them a dollar more attractive." He waves his magic wand. Ostensibly, this person does not change at all; as far as you can tell, nothing is different. But--somehow--this person is suddenly a little more appealing. The tangible difference is invisible to the naked eye, but you can't deny that this person is vaguely sexier. This wizard has a weird rule, though--you can only pay him once. You can't keep giving him money until you're satisfied. You can only pay him one lump sum up front. How much cash do you give the wizard?
    
    
11. For reasons that cannot be explained, cats can suddenly read at a twelfth-grade level. They can't talk and they can't write, but they can read silently and understand the text. Many cats love this new skill, because they now have something to do all day while they lay around the house; however, a few cats become depressed, because reading forces them to realize the limitations of their existence (not to mention the utter frustration of being unable to express themselves). This being the case, do you think the average cat would enjoy Garfield, or would cats find this cartoon to be an insulting caricature?
    
    
12. You have a brain tumor. Though there is no discomfort at the moment, this tumor would unquestionably kill you in six months. However, your life can (and will) be saved by an operation; the only downside is that there will be a brutal incision to your frontal lobe. After the surgery, you will be significantly less intelligent. You will still be a fully functioning adult, but you will be less logical, you will have a terrible memory, and you will have little ability to understand complex concepts or difficult ideas. The surgery is in two weeks. How do you spend the next fourteen days?
    
    
13. You have won a prize. The prize has two options, and you can choose either (but not both). The first option is a year in Europe with a monthly stipend of $2,000. The second option is ten minutes on the moon. Which option do you select?
    
    
14. Your best friend is taking a nap on the floor of your living room. Suddenly, you are faced with a bizarre existential problem: This friend is going to die unless you kick them (as hard as you can) in the rib cage. If you don’t kick them while they slumber, they will never wake up. However, you can never explain this to your friend; if you later inform them that you did this to save their life, they will also die from that. So you have to kick a sleeping friend in the ribs, and you can’t tell them why. Since you cannot tell your friend the truth, what excuse will you fabricate to explain this (seemingly inexplicable) attack?
    
    
15. For whatever the reason, two unauthorized movies are made about your life. The first is an independently released documentary, primarily comprised of interviews with people who know you and bootleg footage from your actual life. Critics are describing the documentary as “brutally honest and relentlessly fair.” Meanwhile, Columbia Tri-Star has produced a big-budget biopic of your life, casting major Hollywood stars as you and all your acquaintances; though the movie is based on actual events, screenwriters have taken some liberties with the facts. Critics are split on the artistic merits of this fictionalized account, but audiences love it. Which film would you be most interested in seeing?
    
    Edit: For those wondering, these questions are a subset of Chuck Klosterman's Hypertheticals. I'd have included more but Reddit only allows 10,000 characters per reply.

I am by no means an expert artist so take this with a grain of salt but i can give you my advice:

it sounds obvious (and to be honest, pretty disappointing) but you just need to draw as much as possible, set aside an hour a day to just draw.

A good place is to start is to draw still-lifes with basic shapes at varying distances: something like this. this will let you start to develop an eye for lighting and how shapes and shadows interact. Search up how to properly shade if you're unsure.

while you're drawing these, start studying 1 and 2 point perspective: this slide makes it simple to understand and is pretty comprehensive. perspective is an essential tool which you'll need to understand.

keep drawing these basic shapes everyday, then start upgrading into more abstract shapes, things like wine glasses other shapes.
Maybe you can read Drawing on the right side of the brain?
It's probably one of the most highly regarded guide to drawing which really helped me to understand certain processes and logic behind drawing.

SIDE NOTE: Drawing from your brain memory/imagination is an incredibly difficult thing to do and not every artist is great at it. Use references and stills from life or books or the internet to develop your skill.

One of the greatest difficulties you will face is drawing what is there rather than what you think you see.

PM me if you ever need help with something.

If you dug this video I would suggest reading The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. I manage artists for a living and tell all my artists to read this book twice a year. Resistance is very very real and you can overcome. Don't wait for inspiration or motivation. If an artist tells me they only wait for inspiration, then I don't work with them.

In the Blink of an Eye (Walter Murch)

Shot by Shot (Steven D. Katz)

Making Movies (Sidney Lumet)

Hitchcock/Truffaut (Francois Truffaut)

Something Like An Autobiography (Akira Kurosawa)

​

Those are all must reads, in my opinion. But this is just off the top of my head. I'm not next to my bookshelf at the moment, so this is the best I can do right now! =)

​

EDIT: Back with round two.

Seductive Cinema (James Card)

Orson Welles's Last Movie: The Making of the Other Side of the Wind (Josh Carp)

A Hundred Years of Japanese Film (Donald Richie)

All the Emperor's Men: Kurosawa's Pearl Harbor (Hiroshi Tasogawa)

Making Documentary Films and Videos (Barry Hampe)

The Haunted Screen (Lotte Eisner)

Congratulations: you've found one of the limits of the English language, but it actually makes perfect sense when you realize that you're using the same word for two separate concepts.

You're afraid of failure in that (presumably) you are afraid that you personally will be inadequate (or create something inadequate, which means that you derive your self-worth from the quality of your work. Don't do that, jackass.), and as such, you postpone the work so that you never have to find out whether or not you are "good enough". People make mistakes (all of the fucking time), so there's no reason to value yourself this way.

The "failure" that you are maximizing your chances for is not the same short-term failure, but a much more permanent and related to your aspirations.

"Doing poor work." vs "Not reaching your goals."

Disclaimer: I'm probably projecting. Maybe you're scared shitless of being an Assistant Manager at Best Buy forever. I am, too, but I'm much more overwhelmed by the thought of doing "inferior" work.

EDIT: I've been working all day, but stay tuned for an update on this tonight.

EDIT 2: I'm getting some recognition right here, and that's not quite right. I pretty much just paraphrased the first couple dozen pages of the book The Now Habit by Dr. Neil Fiore. While I won't say that it will change your life, because only you can do that with work and motivation, it will help you identify why you feel unmotivated and why you procrastinate, and it gives you plenty of practical tools to beat these self-destructive tendencies. I was skeptical at first because after you identify why you procrastinate it becomes an instruction manual instead of a "philosophy of motivation" book, but I was able to use these tools to change my life in a great way.

Personally, I used The Now Habit, habitrpg.com, a webnanny extension for Google, and a few other accountability methods to "fix" my problems, but they ended up working. I still use all of these things, but I find that on days where I do disregard them I am still able to be productive, behaving as I would on any other day. I can NOT recommend a book any more than this one, but again, it won't change you if you aren't making an active effort to change yourself. I don't think that any one resource can change you, instead you change who you are using several of them. I used to think that people who keep their work space full of motivational quotes and posters were somewhat pathetic, but now I realize that these are some of the wisest people there are. They know what keeps them working hard and they surround themselves with it.

EDIT 3: You shouldn't derive your worth from the quality of your work because it's impossible to qualify and quantify your work. Is your job the only thing worth considering here? Your hobbies and side projects? What about your ability to inspire? How about how good of a role model you are? If your logic is simply anything that you contribute to society fits into the category of "things that determine your self-worth" then it's stupid to even think about what you're "worth" because of the limitless contributions that you make without realizing. A bystander might have watched you throw away some litter today and been inspired to eventually create a method of turning pollution into weather balloon fuel. You only see the tip of the iceberg. If I were putting together a team for a project, I'd much rather have the idiot who will work his hardest than the "unmotivated genius". Such geniuses are carry nearly no "value" if you're looking at work as the arbiter of value.

This doesn't even touch on the fact that there's no reason to have self-worth. Implying that you are worth X implies that others are worth W and Y. It's narcissistic to think that you're better than someone, even if you think that there are way more people that are better than you. In all reality, no one is "worth" more than anyone, and you shouldn't think that way. This train of thought has no reward and plenty of punishment. If you must value yourself and others, value based on effort applied on quality and improvement, not on the quality itself. "Not being perfect proves that you are perfectly human."

Sorry if there's shitty grammar, poorly explained thoughts, or ideas that aren't fully fleshed-out. It's been a long day and I'm way too tired, but I really wanted to give a little more to the people who were responding. Mostly, the recommendation of The Now Habit.

Because you're not using that organ to its fullest extent. Drawing On the Right Side of the Brain, by Betty Edwards can drastically improve your artwork in an amazingly short time. You can find copies of this book for free online, and it's well worth it. It teaches you how to draw what you see, rather than what your left brain tells you an object should look like. There are exercises that teach you to not draw an object, but rather the space around the object, freeing you to not draw a caricature of the object.

Drawing From the Right Side of the Brain is a classic with some great exercises. Have fun!

http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201

Hey man, you might enjoy looking up this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342485946&sr=8-1&keywords=drawing+on+the+right+side+of+the+brain

As somebody else who has resolved himself to learn how to draw, that book took me from shitty stick-figures to a Clint Eastwood sketch that still instills gushing feelings of inner pride from myself. All within days mind you.

Falar Top ajuda tanto quanto falar "ta uma merda" ou "foda-se". Mas aumenta o ego. Obviamente a pessoa que desenhou focou o tempo em sombras e luzes e detalhes, mas ta bem obio que quem desenhou não tem noção de anatomia, estrutura, proporção ou muita pratica. E isso é ok. Depende do que você procura. Se é um hobby, "só um desenho", ta bem legal. E muito bom que você passou 3 horas nele, mostra que você realmente gosta de desenhar.

Se você quer melhorar de verdade. Primeira coisa é aprender estrutura básica. Proporção, blocagem, anatomia etc. Entender um olho sempre vai fazer com que você possa desenhar olhos mais rápido, mais realistas e ai sim manipular ele para o tipo de olho que você quer. Seu desenho está muito 2D, mesmo com as sombras. tente entender que o olho é uma esfera dentro do cranio e envolta por pele. Não se preocupe tanto com sombras e luzes no começo, tenta primeiro fazer o olho funcionar.

Isso se da por vários motivos. Um deles é que você está desenhando o olho como um simbolo olho, o que vocÊ lembra como que seria um olho. Muito melhor tentar ignorar essa memória e praticar a observação, pelo menos até você entender. Tem um luvro chamado "desenhando com o lado direito do cerebro" https://www.amazon.com.br/Drawing-Right-Brain-Betty-Edwards/dp/1585429201 Recomendo bastante para entender isso.
Cílios longos, lápis mais escuro... Isso são detalhes. Não são eles que deixam seu desenho bom. O básico que deixa.
https://www.proko.com/how-to-draw-eyes-structure/ Proko é um mestre. Ignora as luzes, as sombras. Foca na estrutura.

Dito isso, pense agora no... Desenho. Um olho sendo só um olho não diz muito. Se foi um estudo, desenhe menor, desenhe mais. Um estudo não precisa de um olho renderizado. Ao menos que esse seja o foco do estudo. Um estudo precisa de 5 folhas, lotadas de olhos de vários angulos, alguns com contexto, olhos de diversas etinias, diversos formatos, com os 2 olhos muitas vezes (simetria é sempre bom de estudar). Se for um desenho finalizado, sempre pense num contexto, esse olho está no vazio? Numa pedra? num rosto? Numa pessoa desenhando um olho num papel? Desenhe esse contexto. Velocidade vem com o tempo, não se preocupa.

Espero que minha crítica, apesar de um pouco mais pesada tenha sido útil. Todo mundo que desenha já passou por essa parte. Se eu te falar "ta legal", você vai ficar feliz, mas vai cometer os mesmos erros pelo próximos 50 desenhos de 3 horas.

In my experience, the more experienced you are, the more an interview focuses on things like prior projects, architecture, teams, culture, etc. I just completed a job hunt where I interviewed with several major east/west-coast tech companies, and none of them asked LeetCode-style questions. I did get programming questions and take-home exercises, but they were practical ones (e.g., discussing a real-world problem the company has) or, surprisingly, lightweight bozo screens (e.g., traversing a tree and printing values).

But it really depends upon the company. My understanding is that Google's interviews still consist of multiple rounds of LeetCode-style questions, though I've also heard that's changing.

I've been involved in hiring at several companies now, and I think LeetCode-style interviews are on their way out. The more nimble a company is, the less-likely it is to ask you the traditional LeetCode-style whiteboarding question. It's the slower companies that are entrenched in their cargo-culted interview processes that still ask LeetCode-style questions, including some Big 4s and Unicorns. But that will change. No one asks "How would you move Mt. Fuji?" anymore. I imagine companies will continue asking programming questions, but I expect them to become more practical, typically covering the sort of problem you might encounter if given an offer.

Intellectuals in earlier times were walking a lot more than most people do today. In the book Daily Rituals: How Artists Work, the author describes the routines of a bunch of writers, artists and scientists (mostly from the 20th century) - and over and over they mention going on walks as a way to get exercise and clear the mind.

It does, but you don't need to know all of that to draw from a still photo of a face. Instead of drawing a skull, muscles, skin, you break the picture down into shapes and lines and draw those instead. You don't need to know any of the anatomy because all the visual information you need to draw it is already there without any knowledge of how it works.

It's possible to go from not knowing how to draw to being able to draw a pretty good face in just a week if you can learn to do this, there are several books that teach it. This is the one most people will recommend you. From there you just practice getting more accurate and learn how to actually do it (physical techniques to shade, how to blend, etc.).

He's being a dick about it but what /u/curdledS8 is saying is 100% accurate -- knowing how to draw from a still photo really well doesn't mean shit if you don't know how to draw form, how perspective works, etc.. It's not that impressive if you think about it this way.

/r/learnart

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

These two resources will pretty much do you for a while. The book is like learning the abc's for drawing. It'll run through everything a beginner needs to know. The sub-reddit will allow you to post your drawings and then get critique for them: really helpful tool.

For drawing kit all you'll need is a pencil or a pencil set and some paper. Don't go nuts with buying too much 'cause you never know if you'll like it enough to keep going.

It's generally accepted that CBT or, to a lesser (but self-manageable) extent, mindfulness meditation are things that are known to work for such problems.

For certain causes of stress, books like https://www.amazon.com/Now-Habit-Overcoming-Procrastination-Guilt-Free/dp/1585425524 or https://www.amazon.com/Willpower-Instinct-Self-Control-Works-Matters-ebook/dp/B005ERIRZE might be helpful, but YMMW; it helps some but for many (most?) people reading self-help books aren't sufficient to do anything and actual activities (CBT, meditation or possibly others) have a larger chance to help.

Most people do not suck at drawing because they do not know the technique, but because they do not know how to see. What you want to do is train your eyes and I recommend the book "Drawing with the Right Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards. EDIT: Here is the Amazon link and I just noticed there is a 4th edition! If I needed another I would get this to check it out but I am sure she added a lot of good things. The author studied the human brain to have a better understand of how drawing works so I am sure she added new techniques and things from current studies.

Try to look for it at a local library, I am guessing you are either Australian or English so I am not sure if they will have the book but you can drop about 20$ and then some for shipping from Amazon.

About styles: you develop it over time. I am not really talking about manga style, but your own flavor of doing things. I recommend trying out the manga style, but I do not recommend making that your main form of learning. That is bad, because (1) you are copying another stylized piece of work (you want to draw from nature or non-photoshopped photographs) and (2) you most likely will be learning mistakes and it is really hard to fix mistakes. I read some manga and Kubo and Oda are two artists I love and if you look at their beginning work, it is almost flat out horrible to where they are now. There are small nuances to other people's work and you want to be careful what you copy. The only thing you can copy are the masters (Da Vinci, other Renaissance masters). Here is a website describing what Da Vinci did for practice which I recommend everyone to check out, but if you are a very beginner, I recommend checking out the book I recommended first. Practice, practice, practice. Try to draw something once a day, even if it is just a stick figure.

(3) Drawing from imagination is very, very, hard. In the beginning a lot of your manga/cartoon/stylized work will look so stiff and maybe not so fun to look at. That will be because of basics and experience. Life drawing will be what corrects this. Look into that after you got the basics. Backgrounds and landscapes are usually another set of classes/studies so check those out after as well.

Other than that, those are my tips. I want to be clear to you, and any other beginner, that I beat myself up when looking at my earlier and current drawings. Drawing can be a challenge because you need to know when to look past your mistakes and look at the tiny improvements. This is a sentiment shared with a lot of artists so do not think you are alone. Do not give up. If it is becoming stressful it is so great to take a step back, work on another project, or just take a week off. I find this to be the challenging part of drawing.

Any other questions? I will try to answer to the best of my abilities.

Procrastination is more often than not, the result of anxiety.

Check out The Now Habit, I pirated (and later bought) it thinking it was a productivity and habit building book, and was then pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be largely about how anxiety keeps us from getting things done, and gives very clear strategies to manage it.

This would easily be in my top 5 (if not top 3) books on anxiety.

That said... as our MC is very much aware, the most damaging thing to the production would be for (a) the team to lose confidence in the director, and (b) the director to lose confidence in himself. So she finds a way forward that does enable him, but in a manageable manner. She turns what would be a negative conflict into a positive experience, one that gives the entire team more confidence going forward.

I'm the cofounder and software developer for a small startup myself. Do I cringe when my nontechnical cofounders try to change our requirements? Sure, but if it's for the best, you reschedule and replan and make it work if it's at all possible. And if it's not possible, you can't be negative off the bat - you have to still "enable" while trying to shape the conversation towards a mutual understanding of what a good compromise would be. Thus, snacks and positive monologues!

I'm reading Creativity, Inc. now, a management book by the CEO of Pixar, and it's astounding how much effort the Pixar leadership put into building a culture of creativity. If Shirobako's production company was Pixar, a senior level of leadership would done what the MC did, re-invigorating the team in the face of a dip of confidence in the director - they actually have a "Braintrust" that systematically makes sure these types of meetings happen early in the production cycle. But it's absolutely something that any employee can learn from. If you're interested in mitigating these types of management situations, I'd highly encourage you to read the book.

Comprehensive List of Books Relating to Music Production and Creative Growth

<br />

***

On Composition:

<br />

Making Music: 74 Creative Strategies - Dennis DeSantis
Amazon Link
This is a fantastic book. Each page has a general idea on boosting creativity, workflow, and designing sounds and tracks.


Music Theory for Computer Musicians - Michael Hewitt
Amazon Link
Really easy to digest book on music theory, as it applies to your DAW. Each DAW is used in the examples, so it is not limited to a specific program. Highly recommend this for someone starting out with theory to improve their productions.


Secrets of Dance Music Production - David Felton
Amazon Link
This book I recently picked up and so far it's been quite good. It goes over all the different elements of what make's dance music, and get's quite detailed. More geared towards the beginner, but it was engaging nonetheless. It is the best 'EDM specific' production book I have read.


Ocean of Sound - David Troop
Amazon Link

Very well written and interesting book on ambient music. Not only does David go over the technical side and history of ambiance and musical atmospheres, he speaks very poetically about creating these soundscapes and how they relate to our interpersonal emotions.


***

On Audio Engineering:

<br />

Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio - Mike Senior
Amazon Link
In my opinion, this is the best mixing reference book for both beginners and intermediate producers. Very in-depth book that covers everything from how to set-up for accurate listening to the purpose of each mixing and mastering plug-in. Highly recommended.


Zen and the Art of Mixing - Mixerman
Amazon Link
Very interesting read in that it deals with the why's more than the how's. Mixerman, a professional audio engineer, goes in detail to talk about the mix engineer's mindset, how to approach projects, and how to make critical mixing decisions. Really fun read.


The Mixing Engineer's Handbook - Bobby Owinski
Amazon Link
This is a fantastic companion book to keep around. Not only does Owinski go into great technical detail, he includes interviews from various audio engineers that I personally found very helpful and inspiring.


***

On the Industry:

<br />

All You Need to Know About the Music Business - Donald S. Passman
Amazon Link
This book is simply a must read for anyone hoping to make a professional career out of music, anyone wanting to start their own record label, or anyone interested in how the industry works. It's a very informative book for any level of producer, and is kept up-to-date with the frequent revisions. Buy it.


Rick Rubin: In the Studio - Jake Brown
Amazon Link
Very interesting read that is a semi-biographical book on Rick Rubin. It is not so personal as it is talking about his life, experiences, and processes. It does get quite technical when referring to the recording process, but there are better books for technical info. This is a fun read on one of the most successful producers in history.


Behind the Glass - Howard Massey
Amazon Link
A collection of interviews from a diverse range of musicians who speak about creativity, workflows, and experiences in the music industry. Really light, easy to digest book.


***

On Creativity:

<br />

The War of Art - Steven Pressfield
Amazon Link
This is a must-read, in my opinion, for any creative individual. It is a very philosophical book on dealing with our own mental battles as an artist, and how to overcome them. Definitely pick this one up, all of you.


This is Your Brain on Music - Daniel S. Levitin
Amazon Link
A book written by a neurologist on the psychology of music and what makes us attached to it. It's a fairly scientific book but it is a very rewarding read with some great ideas.


***

On Personal Growth and Development:

<br />

How to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie
Amazon Link
Although this seems like an odd book for a music producer, personally I think this is one of the most influential books I've ever read. Knowing how to be personable, effectively network, and form relationships is extremely important in our industry. Whether it be meeting and talking to labels, meeting other artists, or getting through to A&R, this book helps with all these areas and I suggest this book to all of you.


7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen R. Covey
Amazon Link
Similar to the recommendation above, although not directly linked to music, I assure you reading this book will change your views on life. It is a very engaging and practical book, and gets you in the right mindset to be successful in your life and music career. Trust me on this one and give it a read.


Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Amazon Link
You know the feeling when you're really in the groove of jamming out and all worries tend to slip away for those moments? That is the 'Optimal Experience' according to the author. This book will teach you about that experience, and how to encourage and find it in your work. This is a very challenging, immersive, and enlightening read, which deals with the bigger picture and finding happiness in your work and life. Very inspiring book that puts you in a good mindset when you're doing creative work.


The Art of Work - Jeff Goins
Amazon Link
A very fascinating book that looks at taking your passion (music in our case) and making the most of it. It guides you on how to be successful and turn your passion into your career. Some very interesting sections touching on dealing with failure, disappointment, and criticism, yet listening to your intuition and following your passion. Inspiring and uplifting book to say the least.


***

Happy reading!

<br />

They actually make a whole line of them for adults now! Go to a Barnes and Noble and check out the journal section and the self-help section and sometimes the spirituality section. They are everywhere! They became a thing again when self awareness and mindfulness started becoming a “thing”.


Some examples for anyone that’s into that sorta thing (I personally love them 😅)

Amazon


Do a Thing A Day

I used to think that too, but don't give up on yourself! I would certainly believe that art comes easier to some people than others, but you can learn to draw better. I recommend the book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, which has really excellent exercises aimed at people who have always considered themselves bad at art, interspersed with pop neuroscience that you should mostly ignore.

I've thought of myself as incapable of drawing well, and went through it a few years ago. This is me drawing without a reference beforehand, this is me drawing my own hand beforehand, and this is me drawing my own hand after a couple months of practice.

IMO, the best way to start drawing is with a pad of unlined paper and mechanical pencil.

But if you want software: GIMP is free (yay), Photoshop is the well-known standard (and these videos are good), PaintToolSai feels more natural to draw with, and I just started using Mischief (which has a natural drawing feel, infinite canvas, and vector-based). My recommendation is Sai, since it's cheap, easy, and fun to use.

To learn how to draw people, start working through the Loomis books, beginning with Fun with a Pencil. A classic for learning how to 'see' like an artist is Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. And when you start to feel frustrated with your work, turn to Art & Fear and Daring Greatly.

Let me know if you have any questions, and good luck with your art journey :)

I recently read Daily Rituals, about the work habits of successful artists, writers, etc. There were folks in there like mathematician Paul Erdos, who lived out of a suitcase and only worked or slept (meals were work time).

But a significant number kept a steady schedule and averaged maybe 6 or 7 hours of work. It was more about maximizing focus and efficiency than squeezing every last second out of the day.

Do you know about these?

We are two peas in a pod here.

Much like what you've described, I too have also chosen the hardest route possible, while trying to maintain some semblance of my own personality. No matter what, there's a plaguing feeling that I need to feel hardship in order to feel accomplished.

I wanted to be a photographer for my entire young adult life. For years, I spent time out in a park nearby our home, with a course catalog to an art school where I would later be accepted. Only a week before I was supposed to attend, my NMom drove so hard into me with guilt and anxiety about my chosen profession, that I caved and went into the traditional academia. I later graduated on a path to law school, but dodged that bullet and am now headfirst into a creative career. Still, I'm not exactly where I want to be with it.

I just said to my partner today, in the midst of a grief-crying, that I feel as though I've left myself behind a long time ago. I've taken on positions that make me, purposely, anxious and frustrated because that's the only emotion that makes me feel like I've made any progress. In my family, if there is no struggle, there is no achievement.

Recently, I've been working through a book called "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron (http://www.amazon.com/The-Artists-Way-Julia-Cameron/dp/1585421464). If you aren't an artistic type, don't worry – this book transcends the techniques of art and really drills down into some of the core feelings behind childhood guilt, shaming, gaslighting, and how to begin treating yourself with unconditional love.

It sounds nuts, but her voice throughout this book resembles the type of mother that I always wanted. One who supports me in my creativity, and nourishes my thinking instead of sabotages it.

Although I'm far from recovery, it has REALLY helped me gain a new perspective on who I am, what I enjoy, and that pain is not a prerequisite to happiness. That said, I'm having a terrible day today, so know that settling into your true self for the first time in your life will come in stops and starts.

Let me know if you end up buying the book. I would love to cheer you on as you go!

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is a book that teaches drawing as a skill rather than a talent, and gives tips like drawing upside down (which changes your perspective, thus how you draw something), etc. If I remember correctly, there are some remarkable examples of before and after drawings people did who didn't identify as naturally talented.

if anyone's actually serious about learning how to draw by reading a book about it, I can highly recommend Drawing on the Right Side of the brain by Betty Edwards.

It's the only book that actually teaches you how to develop the perception to draw what you see and I can say that it's helped me. You are guaranteed results because you do a before-and-after portrait drawing to compare how much you have improved.

The best resource I have found for learning how to draw/ progress in your skills is the book "drawing on the right side of the brain" here is an amazon link to the BOOK
But it's very easy to find this book online for free as well.
Other resources were weren't actually drawing books, but more of anatomy books. They are really helpful to teach you proportions, and shows you how the body is built up from bones to muscles, to skin etc...
I would avoid those "how to draw ___" books. They only teach you how to draw that one specific thing and its hard to transition that into drawing your own thing. The book I linked above does a good job of teaching you how to "see" what your drawing. So when you are drawing an eye, or an ear, it teaches you how to break down the subject into shapes and lines. A couple angled lines and squiggles are a lot easier to understand and draw than a full image of an eye/ ear.

Making Movies by Sydney Lumet might work for you. He spends a chapter on each of th films he directed and talks a lot about his role as the director in each phase of the movie making process.

https://www.amazon.com/Making-Movies-Sidney-Lumet/dp/0679756604#productDescription_secondary_view_div_1482972580505

I love it. I can't help you, but I love it.

I used to work on lucid dreaming intensively, about 6 months in after all my techniques & known lucid dream producing practices I was able to achieve a state of lucidity while asleep each night. I believe in you friend!

Do you have a dream journal? They can help you begin recognizing your dream patterns.

Other than that I also highly recommend using the hand/face method. In dreams you have more or less than 5 fingers. While in a dream if you look at your hand and notice you have more/less than 5 fingers you can sometimes bring yourself lucid but it takes practice to not wake up immediately from noticing/excitement. Another thing is we don't dream faces, our subconscious fills them from the personalities our brains are thinking of, try and look at the faces (or lack-thereof) of the people in your dreams to remind yourself you're dreaming.

I'm working I tried to make the tips coherent as possible, sorry for any errors there may be.

There are a few books on lucid dreaming I highly recommend, I'll get you the names once I'm home.

It's something you have to keep at every night, but it's so worth the time it takes to achieve. Thanks for this post, I'm going to start getting back into it. Once you can reach lucidity while dreaming you get to live two lives and it's so rewardingly beautiful & fun. If you have any questions feel free to ask :)

Edit: Book #1 & Book #2 / Book #3

Those three books are all great ones for lucid dreaming, I only used the first two (Stephen LaBerge, very smart guy) initially but I added the third book to my repertoire later on and I highly recommend it as well. They're all pretty cheap on Amazon!

Get Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain (not a referral link).

Follow all of the exercises. It takes a lot of the mysticism out of drawing and makes it a skill you can pick up, practice and become better at.

I read somewhere that the reason that most adults draw like eleven-year-olds is that we are very self-critical during that age, and just stop drawing. Which means no practice and therefore no skill improvement.

If you really want to learn, there's a book which claims that anyone can learn to draw at least decently using their method.

(Sorry for imposing if you're not actually interested in drawing, I just thought I should mention it)

The Gifts of Imperfection by Brenè Brown. Addresses shame, vulnerability, and love.

Here is her TED Talk

Do NOT go into debt for film school.

If it is payed for, then sure, it should be a lot of fun. But your reel already surpasses 95% of what I see from students who have already graduated film school.

If you are taking out money to go to film school.... dont. Student loan payments are one of the biggest obstacles when trying to launch a freelance career. Also, a film degree doesnt mean dick to most people in this industry. Unless you want to have a 9-5 at a studio or something. And thats stupid.

Use the money to:

1. live for a year without having to take a job and start working for free on any set you can get on. This type of education far exceeds anything you will glean at a film school. By the end of the year you should have been
   
   or
   
   
2. use the money to make a low-budget feature. Your photography is already strong, now go buy:
   
   http://www.amazon.com/Story-Substance-Structure-Principles-Screenwriting/dp/0413715604/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=
   
   http://www.amazon.com/Screenplay-Foundations-Screenwriting-Syd-Field/dp/0385339038/ref=pd_sim_b_9
   
   http://www.amazon.com/The-Writers-Journey-Structure-Edition/dp/193290736X/ref=pd_sim_b_5
   
   http://www.amazon.com/Save-Last-Book-Screenwriting-Youll/dp/1932907009/ref=pd_sim_b_2
   
   http://www.amazon.com/Making-Movies-Sidney-Lumet/dp/0679756604
   
   Absorb. Read again. Then write and shoot your own movies. It will cost less than film school, it will be MORE fun than listening to failed film makers telling you how to make movies, and it could potentially launch your career.
   
   Also, if you are ever in New Orleans, PM me and I will buy you a beer.

Actually, thank you sir, this is that exact type of feedback I was looking for! Thanks for really reading carefully and walking through the book.

As for to the critic, it's quite straightforward, but I don't see any rudeness.

Clearly the book is more like a pure idea now, there is a long way to go (and I'm clearly settled to walk the walk). I always keep in mind the Pixar movies that are absolute crap at the beginning (according to https://www.amazon.com/Creativity-Inc-Overcoming-Unseen-Inspiration/dp/0812993012) and have to walk through multiple sometimes painful transformations until they finally become the masterpieces they are.

I also have to say, that I need to keep my audience in mind. If I wanted to be pedantic I could just as well print out the :help manual. What I want instead is to create something pragmatic and practical, lite and simple, something people outside of the Vim community could grasp and be productive.

The idea is get more people familiar with Vim, so that they can then go deeper after that, maybe join the /r/vim/ and learn from people like you ;)

Anyway, thanks again for the fantastic feedback!

Keep a dream journal. When you wake up, don't get up, don't brush your teeth, don't get dressed. Lie there for a minute and take the time to recall your dream. Then jot it down. In time, you'll get used to it your dreams will come to you more easily.

EDIT: source, personal experience and this guy.

Can't believe no one posted this. Drawing on the Right side of the brain. Purchase this book. I never finished it, but you would be amazed at the progress you can make. Drawing is all about forgetting what you are actually drawing; you need to break down what you see in reality into various shapes, lines, shades, spaces, etc. Try taking a simple drawing and copy it while it is upside down. You will be surprised at how much better it will look than if you did it right side up.

edit: unneeded capitalization

“Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do.

Remember our rule of thumb: The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.

Resistance is experienced as fear; the degree of fear equates to the strength of Resistance. Therefore the more fear we feel about a specific enterprise, the more certain we can be that that enterprise is important to us and to the growth of our soul. That's why we feel so much Resistance. If it meant nothing to us, there'd be no Resistance.”

From War of Art by Steven Pressfield

Source post (sorry for putting it up so late!):

This info was drawn from the work of Mason Curry who published this book about the daily rituals of how artists work.

It was then extrapolated into this infographic by Info We Trust.

I assume any such test is bullshit.

Seriously, I thought the fad of "why are manhole covers round?" had already (thankfully) passed.

But I'd expect cute little logic puzzles or riddles to be on it. There's a book called How Would You Move Mount Fuji that covers a lot of these sorts of questions.

All about Lucid Dreams. How to, sǝɔuǝıɹǝdxǝ, etc.

Please take discussions of the paranormal such as astral projection someplace else. Binaural beats are also inappropriate. Let's keep this in the realm of science.

Welcome to r/LucidDreaming! Please check out the sidebar and Wiki before posting.

***

• Quickstart Guide for Beginners - Know this stuff before you post!
  
  
  
• Frequently Asked Questions
  
  
• An excellent Podcast by TheLucidSage
  
  ***
  
  

  Rules
  

  
  

• 0. Be nice to everyone!
  
  
• 1. All posts must be related to Lucid Dreaming!
  
  • 1a. No posts regarding just the paranormal. There's /r/astralprojection (among others) for that.
    
  • 1b. No posts just about dreams. There's /r/dreams and /r/thisdreamihad
    
    
• 2. No advertising!
  
  ***
  
  

  Related Subreddits
  

  
  

• The everything about dreaming multireddit!
  
  
• Teaching Kids to Lucid Dream
  
  
• Lucid Dreaming Memes
  
  
• SleepParalysis
  
  
• Lucid Dreaming Speculation
  
  
• Dreams
  
  
  ***
  
  

  Some good ןɐıɹoʇnʇ links
  

  
  

• Finger Induced Lucid Dreaming This appears to be the biggest improvement in lucid dreaming techniques in a long time. Be sure to give it a try.
  
  
• Dream Views A good fairly comprehensive guide. There's also a great message board and an online dream journal.
  
  
• LD4all A message board, it's got solid information and good community.
  
  
• Mastering the Art of Lucid Dreaming A nice straightforward, step-by-step tutorial.
  
  
• All Day Awareness is a great approach. Also check out [Lucid Living] (http://wedreamnow.info/?cat=7). They are both effort intensive, but pay back in lucid dreams and more awareness in life.
  
  
• This FAQ was produced by the Lucidity Institute. It's not pretty, but is based on solid science.
  
  

  For when you are ready to obsess
  

  
  

• Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming is THE book on Lucid Dreaming. "A Course in Lucid Dreaming" is the most thorough lucid dream training tutorial with lots of charts for you to keep track of your progress. (No link right now.)
  
  
  ***
  
  

  Lucid Dreaming Acronyms
  

  
  LD - Lucid Dreaming - Being aware that you are dreaming while in a dream.
  
  
  RC - Reality Check - A test to establish whether you are in a dream or waking life, actively done during the day in hopes that the habit will continue within dreams.
  
  
  DC - Dream Character - Any personality you encounter other than yourself...well, occasionally it can also be yourself.
  
  WBTB-Wake Back To Bed - Waking up for 20-30 minutes, then going back to bed increases the chances of lucid dreaming. Use that time to read about lucid dreaming or plan your dreams, and make your intention solid. Can be combined with other techniques.
  
  
  MILD - Mnemonically Induced Lucid Dream - In short, MILD is telling yourself as you are in bed ready to sleep that you are going to become lucid when you dream, then visualizing yourself in a dream becoming lucid. Repeat until you fall asleep.
  
  WILD - Wake-Induced Lucid Dream - A technique in which you maintain consciousness while your body falls asleep. Not for the squeamish.
  
  FILD - Finger-Induced Lucid Dream - A technique using subtle finger movements as you fall asleep.
  
  SSILD - Sense-Induced Lucid Dream - A technique where you use awareness of your various senses as you cycle through them while falling asleep.
  
  False Awakening - False Awakening is in essence just dreaming that you woke up, only to usually immediately after either actually wake or have another dream of waking up from the previous dreams. Those can often happen multiple times in sequence. It can be a bit jarring but also fun. If those happen often use it to do a reality check every time you wake up (or think you do).
  
  SP - Sleep Paralysis - A natural, safe part of the process of falling asleep which causes you to be unable to move your body. The paralysis process happens to you every time you go to sleep. When you WILD and experience SP, you are conscious while it happens. Sometimes you may be visited by the dream transition buddies--relax and enjoy the show until you can interact with your environment. Attempting to induce SP is NOT required to achieve lucidity.
  
  

  ---

Beyond value or pleasure-seeking, one further root cause of procrastination behavior is caused by fear and pain-avoidance as described in "The Now Habit" by Fiore:

http://www.amazon.com/Now-Habit-Overcoming-Procrastination-Guilt-Free/dp/1585425524/

For example, a difficult task that seems ambiguous or daunting to begin might cause one to avoid starting altogether for fear of moving in the wrong direction (and fear of failure).

I'm going to give you some advice... Advice that every aspiring artist needs to hear.

For the first while you're going to suck at it. But if you keep at it, never accept defeat and keep pushing yourself you'll start getting good at it.

And art isn't a talent that comes naturally to some and not at all to others... Like any skill it can be learned and you can train yourself. So, if you face anyone getting up in your face about how you should stop or whatever, just tell them to eat a bag of dicks and shut the fuck up. (besides, it's not like they came out of their mother's womb with a full set of copics and a tablet... They had to learn just like everyone else.)

I don't know if this is really what you wanted to hear since it seems you are hoping more for concrete examples to learn from... But it's all I can really offer that hasn't been said yet.

So, good on you for wanting to expand your skills and best wishes!

EDIT: If you decide that you want to pursue this a little deeper than for a couple projects then I'm going to suggest that you look for and pick up a copy of "Drawing on the right side of the brain." ( Amazon Link to book. I am not affiliated, it's just the first amazon result I found. ) It's a phenomenal book that will really give you the tools you'll need to become an artist that a lot of those "how to draw" books don't cover. Things like learning how to actually see what it is you're drawing, how to draw what you see (and not what you think "ought to be there.") and how to actually understand on a deeper level the process involved in drawing/sketching/etc. which should really give you a leg-up in your pursuit.

I found this book to be especially helpful in overcoming the tendency to draw what you think you see.

TL;DR: Draw EVERYTHING, draw CONSTANTLY, and TURN OFF YOUR LEFT BRAIN!


As an artist, I will tell you what all of my art teachers failed to ever tell me, and hopefully help kick-start you into drawing.


First of all, as /u/Im_A_Nidiot said, draw anything and everything and draw constantly. It's hard to train your fingers to do what your brain wants them to, so just like exercising to become a body builder, you have to draw constantly. Whether it's someone you passed by on the street wearing a funny hat that you want to capture, or something you just dreamed up, always draw. If you can, draw for at least an hour every day. For detailed pictures that's an easy task, but if you have a busy life and can't just sit down and devote time to it, then sketch every time something comes to mind. 10 gestures or sketches a day will be much more helpful in developing the skill than just one or two occasionally.


Secondly, a big thing my art teachers wanted us to do but never explained why, was drawing still life or from life. Figure drawing, inanimate object drawing, drawing your own feet from your own perspective, it's all incredibly important. Why, you might ask? Because it builds a library in your head of what things look like. If you have a pile of stuffed animals, and you say draw one each day as realistically as you possibly can, then after a month suddenly you'll know exactly what that stuffed giraffe looks like and how to draw it in various positions, even ones you haven't drawn before. Same if you have a pet cat or dog and you draw it every day in various positions- you'll be able to draw a cat or dog from your imagination without much issue. So even if it seems trivial, draw from life! An exercise I would do is I would divide my work space in half, and draw the boring realistic object in one side, and then draw the same thing on the other side but with added "weirdness" from my imagination. If it was a pill bottle on one side, it would have an octopus coming out of it on the other. That helps keep it interesting and helps you expand your mental library.


And finally, once you start building your finger skills and your mental library, as /u/jus_richards already mentioned, I highly HIGHLY recommend buying Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. The entire purpose of this book is to train you to "turn off" your left brain, because it interferes with right brain activity which is what you use when you create art. Being an extremely analytical person, my left brain was always giving me fits whenever I would draw. Now I know how to quiet it down so I can draw, and it has done wonders for my work. If you are serious about wanting to learn how to draw, definitely invest in this book and do all the exercises.

> I'm really sensitive, I think by nature, but also by the virtue of learning how to monitor my dad's mood so I could avoid getting my ass kicked.

Being able to "read the room" is common with people who have lived through extended abuse. It can be a blessing and a curse to say the least.

Therapy will be the most thorough way of processing the traumas you went through. It gives you the opportunity to feel the feels, acknowledge what you lived through, and find peace within yourself. I personally have done cognitive therapy and EMDR and that has helped me a TON.

I think if we don't deal with our traumas than we tend to find people we initially think are different than our abusers, but they end up possessing the same qualities of other abusers. It's hard to know what to look for when abuse is all, or a lot of, we know. It is super shitty. I will let you know that I've been able to find genuine individuals that are good human beings. They are out there, sometimes we just don't know what we are looking for.

I'd also recommend the book The Gift of Imperfection by Brené Brown. She is a shame researcher who looks into why some people are authentic, and others aren't. To get a flavor of the book watch her TED Talk, the way she talks about vulnerability is powerful.

Some suggestions:

• Spend some time working on instrumentals
  
• Try writing a piece where it's okay to have 2 lines
  
• Give Object Writing a try
  
• Check out Writing Better Lyrics
  
• Work through The Artist's Way
  
• Continually make shitty writing every day. Occasionally something amazing will happen.
  

You'll notice that this is not a usual "to do" list in a few ways:

• I begin with leisure activities ala The Now Habit. This helps to bring me to the list in the morning, because I have prioritized "fun" things.
  
• Instead of a "YOU MUST DO ALL THIS" list, it is a "Pick what you'd like" list. This removes should from the equation and allows me to feel like I'm picking whatever I want to do.
  
• I have specific "Next Step" activities ala [Getting Things Done] (http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Things-Done-Stress-Free-Productivity/dp/0142000280/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1376176922&sr=1-1&keywords=getting+things+done); instead of vague items like "Work on Thesis", I have "Work on source spreadsheet".
  
• I did it NOW, in the evening (USA), saving me valuable ultra-productive morning minutes tomorrow.
  
  Hope this sparks a fresh idea for some of you!

This is normal. I always wonder about people who "love" to write. So don't beat yourself up over it.

I'd try reading these two books:

https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Inside-Out-Transforming-Psychological/dp/0471382663

https://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Through-Creative-Battles/dp/1936891026/

Good luck!

A lot of people here are talking about finishing the work they've started. This has always been a challenge for me. However, I recently did finish a full length album that I'm really proud of. It was a fucking battle every day, but it's done!. This book helped me a lot:

The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles

Highly recommended. Us synth nerds seem to have a particular problem with this kinda thing.

Nice platitudes won't help you or answer your question. There's no way internet strangers can answer this for you. No one can.


I can't tell you why but I can tell you that all your points are common mistakes in reasoning that are highly effective to sabotaging yourself.


You mythically define an "artist" and at the same time determine that you don't fit your own fake definition. The only definition of an artist I know is: someone who doesn't quit; the pain of not making art outweighs the pain of making mistakes.


You mythically equal art making with happy joy inspiring feelings. You determine you don't have happy joy inspiring feelings so you mythically rationalize you aren't an artist. Truth is - art making is work; people are lazy and look for excuses to not work.


You should read: The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.

I used to be an art zero, had the worst stick figures on the planet and I've had several shows in galleries. I knew someone who's hands permanently shook but was a kick ass painter and you'd wonder if other people were safe when she used an x-acto knife..

You need three things:

1. A mentor who can give you tips. That or youtube.
   
   
2. Practice. My god, the practice. I went through an art degree... oil painting? 1 painting a week... for 16 weeks. For two semesters (32 weeks total). Shoot a roll of film and develop it a week for 3 semesters (48 weeks). Drawing, 2 semesters, 3 drawings a week. Lots of practice.
   
   
3. Critique. I cannot emphasize enough how important a good critique is for helping you grow as an artist. Start posting to /r/ArtCrit
   
   Additionally, your inner artist like a child. A child, to reach it's maximum potential, must always be challenged, must always play (that's a child's job), must be protected from the assholes of the world, and must not be given false, positive encouragement (they need to be told when they're not doing well enough... no trophies for the losers). You must practice. Don't ask your friends and family for art advice or critique. Ever. People who don't support you should not see your art. (Read The Artist's Way, Art & Fear, and The Art Spirit)
   
   Ninja edit: Do not be afraid to use projectors and lightboxes until you get a firmer grasp on proportions and compositions.

Start with this: https://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards

Edit to add: https://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201/

1. Check out my answer here
   
2. Read Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon
   
3. Get off Instagram, Snapchat, and Tumblr and start making stuff instead of constantly collecting images of cool stuff someone else made.

Very sad. He wrote a terrific book called Making Movies that offers production insight on tribulations, confusion, and excitement on ordinary days in the film industry. One of the best books on filmmaking out there.

From a great book I read called "The Now Habit", the author talks at length at one point about how procrastination is in large part a fear of failure. We're so scared of doing something poorly that we often put it off and don't do it at all. (there's more to it than that, but my main point is the next part):

In that sense, one of the scariest things about a large project, or assignment, is that we look at it as one huge CHUNK of shit to do. We think about "I need to finish this assignment" or "I should have completed my homework by now" and what not. This causes our mind to almost shut down and simply refuse to go on. You think about this multitude of SHIT you have to start, and you can't handle it, and thus procrastinate.

In order to avoid this from happening, a great thing to do can be to break everything you need to do down into small steps. The author of the book I mentioned writes at length about how one should always aim to "start" something, rather than to finish. If you say "I want to finish this essay today" you are giving yourself a huge expectation you may not be able to accomplish. Even if you have only the conclusion to do, you should "start" on your first sentence of that conclusion. Even if you have 2 sentences left to write, you "start" on that last sentence.

If you have a huge load of math assignments, a lot of reading and stuff to do, think less about "finishing" and more about "starting".

Saying to yourself "I will start this chapter" will sound a lot better and more reasonable to a pressured mind than. "I must finish this book today".

An amazon link to the book can be found here, if you decide you would like to read it:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Now-Habit-Overcoming-Procrastination/dp/1585425524/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414962337&sr=8-1&keywords=the+now+habit

I bashed this answer out quite fast, if there's anything you'd like to ask me, or to elaborate on, just say.

Personally, I find that I don't get things done because I'm scared of not doing them well.

I worry about what other people will think of my efforts and so I prefer to procrastinate, rather than actually make any progress.


>The only way to get good at something is practise

Try starting a journal, even if it's only for a few days and record everything.

If you can identify what kind of feeling you were having when you avoided doing something, maybe you can change something to avoid that feeling.

It's a good idea to record every activity for a few days and even what you eat, just to see where your time goes and if there are patterns that trip you up.

• if you go out to eat do you end up spending the day browsing shops and not doing anything?
  
• if you're home alone in your pyjamas after noon does that mean you never get it together for the rest of the day?
  
  
  And don't ever be ashamed of not getting stuff done.
  Procrastination is a technique your brain uses to avoid stress.
  The problem is that avoiding problems almost never takes away the root source of the stress.
  
  So it keeps on coming around and you keep on using procrastination to avoid getting stuff done ( it's super effective!)
  
  I'd recommend the book "The Now Habit" by Neil Fiore.
  
  In particular it has a great analogy for getting things done.
  
  Imagine that your task is to walk along a wooden plank about 15cm wide. It's on your lawn and it's about 4 metres long.
  
  As long as you've got decent motor skills and are not drunk it should be no problem, we could all do it.
  
  What happens to you is when you want to walk on the plank you find that it's now between 2 buildings, 4 storeys up.
  
  The idea of walking across becomes terrifying, all you can imagine is falling to your doom.
  
  When people give you advice to "get yourself together" and "just do it" they're doing the equivalent of setting fire to the building you're in.
  They're hoping to force you out onto that plank so you can save yourself from burning.
  
  You might crawl out and even make it across with this approach but does it sound like a good way to reduce stress?
  
  Instead what you need is a safety net. A super strong net underneath the plank that means that whatever happens, you'll be safe.
  
  You can fall over and over again ( it might even be fun ) and just get back up and try again.
  
  In the real world you need small winnable challenges. Record every one of those wins.
  
  
  
• washed the plates
  
• opened word and typed title for paper due next week
  
  
  Create a book of win that will have tiny tiny victories. By the time you've added a few you'll find that your victories and goals achieved will get bigger and more frequent.
  Sometimes you'll screw up and fall back into bad habits
  
  
  As long as you keep starting, you'll eventually win.
  
  
  
  I've been reading advice like this for a decade and I still sometimes sit at home and cry because I didn't get anything done.
  
  The one piece of advice I recommend for everyone. everyone. is to get some exercise. The worst feeling I've ever had cannot outlast a single hour in the pool or a martial arts session.
  
  If you get up in the morning and don't know what to do, go for a walk.
  
  You might still not know what to do after your walk but you'll have a small achievement to write down in your journal for the day.
  
  Enjoy yourself :) Hope this helps a little, pm if you want to chat.

I recommend this book for people who want to learn to draw. I'm no artist, but I love drawing things. I'm about 1/3 a way through the book, and I'm already seeing my skills improve simply because I'm learning to draw correctly. Instead of drawing an object, draw lines that connect to other lines and are in relationship to other lines. Then, suddenly, you have a chip bag.

For enough gold you can always purchase an item like this to increase [Self-Confidence]. Also i hear that items from the Alcohol Merchant give temporary boost to the [Self-Confidnce] skill for select classes

Oh man, man, man. I've encountered so many, but it still surprises me when I run across someone who's going through exactly the same thing I went through. We always feel so alone, right? I lost my virginity at age 27. And not just my virginity, she was the first girl I slept with, cuddled, made out with, my first girlfriend, the whole deal. I wanted a girlfriend since before I was 8 years old, but I had a lot of issues that got in the way. I won't bore you with the details.

I can't offer any comfort except to say that I know exactly how you feel. I still deal with envy sometimes even now. I'll throw out the books that really put me on the right path, just in case you're looking for something to read. The Gifts of Imperfection, No More Mr. Nice Guy, and Models. Models is the best how-to guide to dating I've read. The other two were necessary to get me to a place where I could put those lessons into practice. Take care of yourself. Sex might seem like a huge deal, but you are really doing fine. Everyone figures out different things at different times.

No. No you are not. You are not pathetic. You are very seriously depressed, and that is not shameful; it is something that happens, and honestly something that happens to a lot of people. You are reaching out for help, and that isn't pathetic or bad or wrong - in fact, it's a difficult thing for a lot of people to do.

I sincerely doubt that you look the way you think you do. I think you probably are not ugly at all. But beyond that, there is no such thing as "too ugly to be alive". A person's worth is not predicated on their physical appearance.

That said, if you feel the need to get it, facial surgery is always a thing. It can take a while to save up for, but it's something to shoot for.

I know you think that the depression you're feeling will never end, but that's... well, that's the depression talking. All of the things that you're saying are very, very classic depression talk. I know it's cliché here, but are you seeing a therapist? Do you think you might be willing to try it, if not? Have you tried taking an anti-depressant - and do you think you might be willing to try it, if not; or if you have, do you think you might be willing to try a different one? I know that for some people the difference is like night and day - or so my girlfriend puts it, describing the way it is when she's off her anti-depressants vs. when she starts taking them again.

I know it's not a super-quick fix, but I can recommend some books that might be helpful:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Gifts-Imperfection-Supposed-Embrace/dp/159285849X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342046759&sr=8-1&keywords=brene+brown+imperfection

http://www.amazon.com/Cognitive-Behavioral-Workbook-Depression-Step-/dp/1608823806/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342046771&sr=8-1&keywords=workbook+depression

http://www.amazon.com/Unstuck-Guide-Seven-Stage-Journey-Depression/dp/0143115510/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342046788&sr=8-1&keywords=unstuck

I'm really sorry that things are so hard for you right now. But please, talk to somebody. You can get through this.

I recommend this book - The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles. This post reminds me of what Steve Pressfield refers to as resistance. If you were to follow his advice, I think he'd recommend taking on 'pro' habits and focusing on just one thing til it's done and viewing the drive to not complete it, in your case because another idea popped up, as resistance. And fuck resistance. Tell resistance to kick rocks and fuck on off while you put in work get your book done.

I'm still working on this, but my technique has definitely shown improvement. I clean for at least 5-15 mins a day. Small but it adds up.

Also, I don't get into self help books, but if you're a creative person or simply have a goal, I highly recommend [The War of Art by Steven Pressfield ](The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles https://www.amazon.com/dp/1936891026/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_hH3MybDT5QJ2K)

I did the same just using Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain and about 1 hour a night of practice.

You are a procrastinator BECAUSE you are a perfectionist. Your perfectionism is misguided, you can use it as a justification to sit on your hands for long periods of time. When I was in college I would not do essays or programming projects because "I'm not sure how to do it right yet. I'll think about it more and figure it out before I start." A week later I had still done absolutely nothing.

Your procrastination is a mood repair strategy you deploy unconsciously and habitually in order to protect yourself from feeling bad about not doing your work.

My advice? Learn a little bit about Growth mindset, shame and self-compassion. You need to find a way to quiet your perfectionism first. By taking care of the perfectionism you give yourself room to practice and failure won't be as scary. At that point I would put money on the bet that your procrastination will virtually vanish.

Good books for reading to deal with that:

• Solving the Procrastination Puzzle by Timothy Pychyl
  
• Mindset by Carol Dweck
  
• The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown
  
• How to Meditate by Pema Chodron
  
  Don't let 'perfect' be the enemy of the 'good enough'

That mole on your nose can be removed in a single visit to a dermatologist. The bump could be corrected with surgery down the road when you can afford it. A square-shaped face may be complemented with specific haircuts. But honestly, your attitude is garbage and needs to be corrected first. With all this negative self-talk ("Wah, I'm ugly; Wah, I'm unlovable"), you'd likely drive people away even if you were a 10. Read The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown, schedule an appointment with a dermatologist, and decide on a proper haircut.

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.

An approachable, kick-in-the-ass type book whose advice is applicable for anything in life, art or not. I can't recommend this one enough for procrastinators and self-defeaters.

Wreck This Journal?

Yes, this happens to me frequently!

Anxiety is a trigger of the "fight or flight" mechanism. The reason you lose productivity is that you feel anxious about whatever it is you are trying to accomplish. When you indulge in distractions instead, you indulge the need for "flight." You think, "I know I need to get started, but I don't know how. Rather than think about that and get stressed out, I'll get on Facebook instead so I don't get stressed out."

A great book for this is Steven Pressfield's The War of Art - Winning the Inner Creative Battle.

This book has helped me so much with that.

Not everything is relatable but it is still very good.

http://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Winning-Creative-Battle/dp/1501260626

If you like this I also recommend a book called Daily Rituals. Lots of writers included, plus other types of artists.

>Do you find that the standard system of technical interviews (data structures & algorithms) is an effective way of assessing candidates? Why or why not?

When I was an undergraduate, the dominant interview approach involved brainteasers like "why are manhole covers round?" Initially, these were reliable indicators of future success. But after every other company started copying Microsoft mindlessly and asking the same set of questions, the approach quickly became less effective. People optimized for interview performance with books like How Would You Move Mount Fuji? and How to Ace the Brainteaser Interview.

Brainteasers were mostly phased out after Google introduced the current approach involving data structures and algorithms. Initially, these were reliable indicators of future success. But after every other company started copying Google mindlessly and asking the same set of questions, the approach quickly became less effective. People optimized for interview performance with books like Cracking the Coding Interview and Elements of Programming Interviews.

There are certainly parallels between what happened then and what's happening now. The difference today is that people have taken things to another level with platforms like Pramp and bootcamps like Interview Kickstart. New businesses keep popping up that focus on cracking the current system, and I don't think that bodes well for its future.

But what can we do about it? The fact is that any interviewing process can be cracked once its format becomes popular and standardized. Let's say that some major company like Facebook introduces a new standard that involves candidates giving two-hour presentations about significant personal projects and then answering tough questions from a committee. You may be familiar with this format if you've ever applied for a research position. I actually think this would be great for 2-3 years until everyone starts doing it and Gayle Laakmann McDowell or whoever publishes "Cracking the Personal Project Presentation." And then a bunch of new businesses will pop up to sell you slide templates, professional reviews, etc.

In short, I'm not a big fan of the current system (EDIT: because it's been "cracked") but I honestly don't know of a better one (EDIT: that won't suffer the same fate).

Heres my take. The TL:DR is this... BUY AND READ THIS BOOK. It is the bible of lucid dreaming, simply written, and easily explained by a scientist, the pioneer of lucid dreaming, a Stanford professor, he is basically THE MAN! But for reddit, here you go:

1. Set a sleep schedule
   Go to bed and wake up at roughly the same time everynight, this is easy if you are employed or have kids etc, not so much for college students and partiers etc... Having a routine makes everything so much easier later, but is not a necessity...
   
   
2. Build Dream Recall
   Wake up and write down your dreams, every morning, no matter what. Keep a pen and notebook next to your bed. Writing them down forces you to remember them. If you wake up at 330 am from a dream, write it down at 330 am, you will not remember it as well at 8 when you wake up. This serves multiple purposes I'll get into later, but most importantly, you could have a lucid dream, but if you don't remember it, you fail.
   
   
3. Reality checks
   After you have a good amount of dreams written down (or voice recorded if thats your thing) Go back through them. Look for common occurances. For example, I often dream of my own home, but things are never right, there are extra rooms, things are arranged differently, you get it... Find things you often dream about, or things that keep occuring that should tip you off that your in a dream. Write these down and commit to doing a reality check every time they occur, for me, whenever I walk into my house, I check to make sure I'm dreaming. Usually just asking the question is enough to trigger lucidity, but not always. DO NOT BLOW THIS OFF. Don't ever answer a reality check with "of course I'm not dreaming" or you will in a dream state as well. I've made this mistake before, its pretty frustrating to wake up and recall that you said that while aboard a spaceship or something crazy... Google easy reality checks, like double checking digital clocks and rereading text (it changes in dreams, your brain is too busy to keep that stuff consistent)
   
   4)Setting yourself up for lucidity
   Now that you have a weeks or months of dreams journalized (results may vary) playing with your sleep schedule can be helpful, REM sleep (dream sleep) occurs in cycles of about 90 minutes. So 6 hours into your sleep you are entering a dream. Set your alarm for 6 hours or a bit after and get up, walk around, read about lucid dreaming, reread your dream journal, do some reality checks, focus your intentions on having a lucid dream, but in a positive, and not stressful way. Then go back to sleep half an hour or more later. You pick up in your sleep cycles and go straight into dreams, this makes it easy to become lucid, read up on WILD and MILD in Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming...
   
   
4. Congrats, you did it, but probably screwed up.
   Tons of people will tell you their first lucid dream ended immediately, they became lucid, it was exciting, they woke up... It happens... Research stabilization techniques, two popular ones are spinning, and looking at your hands. Spinning my change your dream setting, but really who cares, you can change it back or do whatever later... Keep trying, don't get frustrated here you are SO CLOSE!
   
   
5. Practice
   Not everyone can control dreams like a god their first few times, it takes practice. You have years and years of experience telling you people CANNOT fly, its hard to overcome. Do more reality checks in dreams, take it step by step... If you are lucid the hard part is done, just keep trying and you'll be a pro in no time!

Good luck with it, man. I've only had a handful of lucid dreams that lasted more than 10 seconds or so. They're a pretty amazing experience, and I imagine they could be useful if you could really develop your lucid dreaming skills, but it takes a pretty dedicated effort to get good at it.
This book is like the bible of lucid dreaming, and here's a pretty good forum that you can learn a lot from.

First of all, you need a plan. ADDers require a lot more structure than others, so you need a system of organizing tasks/time management that you think you can work with.

Second, medication. If you aren't diagnosed, see a psychiatrist and get diagnosed (make sure it's a psychiatrist, psychologists can't prescribe meds). If you are diagnosed, go see a doctor and talk about what meds are available. Medication will help you stick to the plan, and stay on task long enough to complete what you're working on.

Third, get a "Coach". This is a person who will keep you accountable. It can be a friend/co-worker/parent/spouse/whatever. Their job is to check in with you for a few minutes each day/two days/week and keep you on track. All they need to do is cover 4 topics, with the acronym H.O.P.E

H - Help, What do you need help with?
O - Obligations, What obligations do you have in the near future?
P - Plan, What is your plan to meet your obligations?
E - Encouragement, You're doing a good job!

I'd recommend some reading too.
Books that have really helped me are:
Driven to Distraction - Gives a thorough explanation of what ADD/ADHD is and isn't.
The Now Habit - Gives a really good plan to work through procrastination, but most importantly to deal with the guilt and anxiety that go along with it.
These are available in audiobook too. I find it easier to listen while driving/running/waiting in line/etc than to force myself to sit and read.

There are lots of resources to help, and your psychiatrist can answer a lot of your questions too.

Hope this helps :)

I really like Drawing on The Right Side of the Brain. Kind of unlocked my mind in how to approach drawing, it's helped me a lot.

The solution to your problems is quite simple: make a list of things that you need/want to do, then just fucking do it. Yep, there, I said it. I know it sounds harsh. But after years of reading, researching, and experimenting, I've found that precisely this is what it all boils down to: just. fucking. do. it. We end up building all kinds of mental scaffolds around the concept, with tricks and rewards and what not, but it all boils down to the same in the end.

Having a system in place to help you "just fucking doing it" can help tremendously, especially in the beginning. If you're willing to put in some time to work through them, I recommend The Now Habit, and Getting Things Done. Each of these books presents a different approach to productivity. You don't have to implement either system verbatim. Learn from them, try out things that sound interesting, and over time, build your own system.

Building and sticking to your system is a habit you will have to build. If that kind of thing is hard and/or interesting for you, please read The Power of Habit.

Don't just read them once and put them away. Read them, then take notes, then go over them again, and refer back to them every time you find something is lacking in your system. Don't read them cover to cover. They're quite long, and drag their feet through some sections. Skim them, check the index, and read through what sounds interesting, then go back and fill in the gaps if necessary.

https://www.reddit.com/r/learnHentaiDrawing/comments/c1izah/faq_21_we_have_a_discord_and_patreon/

​

https://drawabox.com/lesson/1

​

https://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201

​

The links above should set you on a good start. Do the lessons from drawabox, do the lessons from drawing on the right side of the brain. Unless you have a physical disability preventing you from picking up a pen, I promise you can learn. I will not lie to you and tell you it is easy, it is not. But learning the fundamentals will aid you greatly in getting better. There is no doubt in my mind it can be straight up tedious at times, and frustrating as all hell, but it is worth it.

​

The trick? Actually doing the lessons as they are told to you and not skipping around.

​

You can do it my dude, best of luck and happy lewding!

I took a drawing class at a community college. Cost me $35 plus pencils and paper supplies. It gave instruction and a reason to spent the time and focus on learning. I'd recommend that as the primary strategy.

A big part of learning to draw is to learn "to see". Most people don't actually see what they look at but instead they let their brains tell them what their brain/memory presumes they are looking at, abstractly.

This is where/why you get amateurish child-like drawing that look horrible initially - your brain "knows (better)" superficially and overrides what's actually hitting your eyes. Then you draw this abstraction and it's always wrong and unrealistic looking. So you have to "unlearn" this way of seeing things to learn to draw.

There are a lot of books on this subject:

http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201

http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Techniques-Learning-Peter-Jenny/dp/1616890541

http://www.amazon.com/Learn-See-Draw-Larry-Wither/dp/B0013MELQS

http://www.amazon.com/Your-Artists-Brain-right-brain/dp/1440308446

These books can be helpful and are often used in drawing classes but the first thing is to start drawing.

One other hint I've learned: the #1 and #2 parts of the face you MUST get right (and in fact you can do only these two parts and create a recognizable portrait - of a Western person for a Western audience) are the shape and details of the eyes, and of the nose/mouth. It's different if you are in Asia (asian models) - then it's the outline of the head/hair and nose/mouth.

It's a good start. Obviously you're unpracticed, but drawing is a very learnable skill and you've got everything required to learn it.

I'd recommend getting your hands on a copy of Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards. It'll get you past a lot of the common mental blocks that people who are new to serious drawing struggle with and you're right at the skill level where it'll be most beneficial. If you work your way through that, you'll be astonished at what you're capable of within a few weeks.

The neuroscience it talks about has largely been debunked, but the exercises and basic concepts are still spot on.

Traditional materials are the best place to start. Don't worry about anything fancier than pencil/charcoal and paper until you've got the basics down.

What you need to do first is study the Principles of Design and the Elements of Design. These are the first things students are taught before they can move on. Usually, they are taught alongside Drawing 101, where students become familiar with these elements in practice, drawing mostly contour drawings of still lives. You should also be learning about linear perspective. You should be focusing on how to break objects down into simple forms, like cylinders and cubes and cones and spheres. Learn to draw with your arm and not your wrist; you can do this more easily by drawing on large paper (18"x24" or bigger).

Once you've got those basics learned, you can move on to learning about drawing with value. Charcoal and a kneaded eraser work best here, I think. Start doing still lives of single objects, like eggs or fruit, small geometric forms like cubes and the like, and focus on how light moves around these objects. One thing our professor had us do is to wipe our drawings down with a chamois frequently. It keeps you from getting focused on your drawing, but gives you a vague guideline to continue from. It makes drawing more about process than product, which is ultimately your goal if you're learning; to understand the process of seeing and drawing.

Once you've got the concept of the process and how value works, start increasing the complexity of your still lives. See how large you can make them. Get some big boxes and chairs and stuff and set them up in the middle of your room and draw that. Then start drawing the room you're in. Now, go outside and draw the buildings outside. You might notice that they're like a larger version of the boxes you were just drawing!

If you can, take some classes at your local community college. They'll really help you along learning these basics. If that's not available, most schools base their teaching methods on Betty Edwards' Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. Pick it, and the accompanying workbook up, and you'll be well on your way.

You should also look at Andrew Loomis' books to help study most of these principles. George Bridgman is another godsend for learning to draw, as well as Burne Hogarth and Louise Gordon.

You should always be studying things from life to keep your skills sharp. Always remember that reference photos aren't cheating. You'll find that more often than not, they're a necessity.

I also heavily recommend you check out CtrlPaint's videos. They're focused on becoming a digital artist, but have a section devoted to traditional work and its importance in digital work. He also goes over the basics quite well and provides links to outside resources, as well as homework assignments for every video. Check it out, watch a video a day, and do an assignment with it, and you'll be putting yourself on the fast track.

One thing about drawing is that it's going to take a lot of patience. It takes a long time to develop your skills. Don't get discouraged! Learn to handle criticism, both good and bad. Critiques are your friend and whether you agree with them or not, they'll help you grow. Never ever rely on the excuse "It's my style!" because more often than not, if you have to use that line, it's a mistake you don't want to fix, not a stylistic decision. I've seen many people with great potential fail out of the art program I was in simply because they couldn't handle criticism.

The thing with the creative design process is that it is in many ways different from what you've been learning previously. Not just new, but essentially different. Actually, it utilises another brain process than the one you're used to.

People who just learns the tools and language of design, but not the way of thinking, usually ends up with creating stuff that lacks harmony.

Programming is creative; it requires logical thinking, problem solving, efficiency. These are typical left-side logical skills in your brain. Therefore, you are probably really good at using your left logical brain right now.

However, things like shape and form, composition, proportions, and the whole gestalt are not things that the left logical brain likes to handle. These are the skills of the right creative brain half. This brain half is hardly ever used by engineers, programmers, physicists, or linguists.

A book that takes you through the process of developing your right creative brain half is this one: https://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201

All about Lucid Dreams. How to, sǝɔuǝıɹǝdxǝ, etc.

Please take discussions of the paranormal such as astral projection someplace else. Binaural beats are also inappropriate. Let's keep this in the realm of science.

Welcome to r/LucidDreaming! Please check out the sidebar and Wiki before posting.

***

• Quickstart Guide for Beginners - Know this stuff before you post!
  
  
  
• Frequently Asked Questions
  
  
• An excellent Podcast by TheLucidSage
  
  ***
  
  

  Rules
  

  
  

• 0. Be nice to everyone!
  
  
• 1. All posts must be related to Lucid Dreaming!
  
  • 1a. No posts regarding just the paranormal. There's /r/astralprojection (among others) for that.
    
  • 1b. No posts just about dreams. There's /r/dreams and /r/thisdreamihad
    
    
• 2. No advertising!
  
  ***
  
  

  Related Subreddits
  

  
  

• The everything about dreaming multireddit!
  
  
• Teaching Kids to Lucid Dream
  
  
• Lucid Dreaming Memes
  
  
• SleepParalysis
  
  
• Lucid Dreaming Speculation
  
  
• Dreams
  
  
  ***
  
  

  Some good ןɐıɹoʇnʇ links
  

  
  

• Finger Induced Lucid Dreaming This appears to be the biggest improvement in lucid dreaming techniques in a long time. Be sure to give it a try.
  
  
• Dream Views A good fairly comprehensive guide. There's also a great message board and an online dream journal.
  
  
• LD4all A message board, it's got solid information and good community.
  
  
• All Day Awareness is a great approach. it is effort intensive, but pay back in lucid dreams and more awareness in life.
  
  
• This FAQ was produced by the Lucidity Institute. It's not pretty, but is based on solid science.
  
  

  For when you are ready to obsess
  

  
  

• Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming is THE book on Lucid Dreaming. "A Course in Lucid Dreaming" is the most thorough lucid dream training tutorial with lots of charts for you to keep track of your progress. (No link right now.)
  
  
  ***
  
  

  Lucid Dreaming Acronyms
  

  
  LD - Lucid Dreaming - Being aware that you are dreaming while in a dream.
  
  
  RC - Reality Check - A test to establish whether you are in a dream or waking life, actively done during the day in hopes that the habit will continue within dreams.
  
  
  DC - Dream Character - Any personality you encounter other than yourself...well, occasionally it can also be yourself.
  
  WBTB-Wake Back To Bed - Waking up for 20-30 minutes, then going back to bed increases the chances of lucid dreaming. Use that time to read about lucid dreaming or plan your dreams, and make your intention solid. Can be combined with other techniques.
  
  
  MILD - Mnemonically Induced Lucid Dream - In short, MILD is telling yourself as you are in bed ready to sleep that you are going to become lucid when you dream, then visualizing yourself in a dream becoming lucid. Repeat until you fall asleep.
  
  WILD - Wake-Induced Lucid Dream - A technique in which you maintain consciousness while your body falls asleep. Not for the squeamish.
  
  FILD - Finger-Induced Lucid Dream - A technique using subtle finger movements as you fall asleep.
  
  SSILD - Sense-Induced Lucid Dream - A technique where you use awareness of your various senses as you cycle through them while falling asleep.
  
  False Awakening - False Awakening is in essence just dreaming that you woke up, only to usually immediately after either actually wake or have another dream of waking up from the previous dreams. Those can often happen multiple times in sequence. It can be a bit jarring but also fun. If those happen often use it to do a reality check every time you wake up (or think you do).
  
  SP - Sleep Paralysis - A natural, safe part of the process of falling asleep which causes you to be unable to move your body. The paralysis process happens to you every time you go to sleep. When you WILD and experience SP, you are conscious while it happens. Sometimes you may be visited by the dream transition buddies--relax and enjoy the show until you can interact with your environment. Attempting to induce SP is NOT required to achieve lucidity.
  
  

  ---

I read a good book on the subject "touched with fire" by Dr. Kay Jameson http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/068483183X?pc_redir=1409721442&robot_redir=1

It explored the link between creative output and manic episodes.

Well, step one is to stop talking about yourself like that. I don't care if you think you're a "fucking pussy" or a "moron", don't say it to or about yourself. All it does is make anyone you say it to feel awkward, which reinforces it in your own mind. Of course it's never as easy as it sounds, so if you catch yourself berating yourself, try to take your mind off of it by doing something small to improve (for example, if you feel like you're not creative, get a piece of paper and doodle something. It doesn't even have to be good)

Confidence requires you to remember that you are valuable. Unfortunately, being 17 means feeling awkward and uncomfortable in your own skin sometimes, but that's ok. You just need to keep doing things you enjoy, even if you think you're not good at it, because that's the only way to get better. Even if you feel like a copycat (every creative person feels like that at some point. this book might also help)

You're going to look back at your teenage years and cringe no matter what. It's better to embrace it than to try and be perfect.

I believe this is the premise of the short, but great read by Austin Kleon : "Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative" https://www.amazon.com/dp/0761169253/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_5peUCb0Y5A9HQ

J'ai appris à 38 ans, alors que j'étais incapable de tracer une ligne droite.
J'ai utilisé 2 ressources principales : Reddit (/r/ArtFundamentals , /r/learntodraw) et ce livre, considéré comme le meilleur pour l'apprentissage

I don't know you or your experience, but this book has been helpful to me as a leader. She talks about how shame is something we should avoid. Instead, being clear with expectations and consequences if those expectations are not met is a better approach. I think the whole point is communication. We shame when we assume someone should know better. The other way, we explain to them how they should act and punish when that is not met.....so communication without emotion is key. This is all wayyyy easier said than done. And this is completely unsolicited. So please, know I have the best intentions and Namaste! https://www.amazon.com/Gifts-Imperfection-Think-Supposed-Embrace/dp/159285849X

The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown (a former addict and/or alcoholic....not really sure which).

She writes about The 10 Guideposts for Wholehearted Living:

1. Cultivate Authenticity – Let go of what people think about you
   
   
2. Cultivate Self-Compassion – Let go of perfectionism
   
   
3. Cultivate a Resilient Spirit – Let go of numbing and powerlessness
   
   
4. Cultivate Gratitude and Joy – Let go of scarcity
   
   
5. Cultivate Intuition and Trusting Faith – Let go of the need for certainty
   
   
6. Cultivate Creativity – Let go of comparison
   
   
7. Cultivate Play and Rest – Let go of exhaustion as a status symbol and productivity as self-worth
   
   
8. Cultivate Calm and Stillness – Let go of anxiety as a lifestyle
   
   
9. Cultivate Meaningful Work – Let go of self-doubt and “supposed to”
   
   
10. Cultivate Laughter, Song, and Dance – Let go of being cool and “always in control”
    
    Excellent sober living guide!

This is a bit tangential, but I have some awesome reading recommendations for you and any other perfectionists reading right now.

Are you sure you're not mistaking hours worked for productivity?

The most productive people I know aren't necessarily the ones that work the most, but the ones who work the smartest.

Some of them learn to delegate, giving them leverage. At even 5 hours worked a day they are ten times more effective than someone younger who works 14 hours. Most CEOs I know are like this. Also, many creatives I know now handle the whole creative teams now.

Some of them work in bursts - yeah, there is no life beyond work, but they work on a project basis, for a few months, and then take a month off. Or for a few years, and take a year off. A friend of mine sold her company for $10M recently, spent a year travelling, and now she's launching a new one, again, planning to work 3-4 years doing crazy hours until she sells the new thing.

Some people mix family and business. Me & my gf are like this. We work during the day, and for fun we do networking, conferences, and stuff. At home we talk about what inspires us - which usually is work related, and our since our closest friends work in similar occupations, even a Sunday brunch is an opportunity for inspiration etc. When one of us goes for an international trip, the other one often tags along, doing their work remotely.

Some other people I know do a few projects of different kinds at the same time. E.g. a friend I know writes books, does projects for corporate clients, and is a judge at a race track on the weekends. Another friend, at 33yo, is a world-known pro-gamer, wins programming competitions for money, builds stuff for a startup, and tries to launch an indie game.


Finally, I believe that in any creative profession, you absolutely need time to relax and get inspired. That's when the best ideas come from after all! If you're exhausted every day after work, then you most likely have suboptimal performance.

There is this story about a super-programmer, who spent 3 hours a day playing Quake on company time. When a newbie reported him to the boss, the boss berated the newbie: "I hope you didn't interrupt him - that's his way of getting thoughts organised."

Playing Quake might not be your thing, but perhaps if you do quick Headspace, or yoga breaks during the workday - on company time! - you'll discover that not only you get better ideas after that, but also end the day with some energy left in you?


There's also this nice book I found some time ago:

https://www.amazon.com/Daily-Rituals-How-Artists-Work/dp/0307273601

It's mostly about artists, but perhaps you'll find some inspiration there. There's also the book by Covey about the 7 habits.

tl;dr; productivity ≠ number of hours worked. also, if you have no energy after work, then perhaps you should work less, so you can be productive in your spare time as well

Okay, I'm digging deep to feel sympathy, sister, because you have a brain a lot of us (for example: me!) would kill for. And you find it annoying.

But I see that your suffering is real. And I have some advice that I truly believe will help you.

I don't know how to change your brain into a non-lucid dreaming model. But experience, including suffering, is all about how you frame it. So instead of trying to make lucid dreaming go away, I suggest that you turn this negative experience into a positive one by changing what lucid dreaming means to you.

Read this book to learn how to control your lucid dreams and use them to have adventures and explore creativity:

https://www.amazon.com/Exploring-World-Dreaming-Stephen-LaBerge/dp/034537410X

Read this book to turn lucid dreaming into a spiritual experience that deepens meditation:

https://www.amazon.com/Dream-Yoga-Illuminating-Through-Dreaming/dp/1622034597/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=SWEFST6G5DJKYNVB6DDT

Good luck.

I think this is it: https://www.amazon.com/Day-5-Year-Journal-Potter-Gift/dp/0307719774

It's got the other variations in the "Customers also viewed" links.

What speaks to one may not speak to another, but here's what I personally treasure.

Postmodern Magic - I don't 100% agree with Dunn, but his is the clearest explanation of the nature and mechanisms of magic that I've come across. There are lots of practical exercises to try, with good attention to detail.

The Neverending Story - No, really. Ende understands the power of narrative and the nature of will. The symbolism about and within Auryn is not just a stylized ouroboros.

Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming - Just like Postmodern Magic, this is full of practical exercises, along with case studies and theoretical underpinnings. It can get a little dry and repetitive near the end, but it's a great resource in general.

A few things I do, from taking a course at uni on idea generation:

• Keep a sketchbook or journal, or a combination of both.
  
  
• Pick something and make as many connections to other things as you can, it may sound lame, but mind mapping is actually really helpful in pinning down what you're thinking about.
  
  
• Explore! If you have a car, drive around, get lost, park somewhere interesting and walk around. Walk, ride, travel, explore. I do a lot of exploring and honestly, just seeing something new and refreshing away from my desk is quite inspiring.
  
  
• Take photos of things. This ties into the previous one, take photos of everything! Draw things from those photos, edit them, chop them up, stick them back together.
  
  
• Collect objects that you find interesting. I went to the beach a few weeks ago, I collected a handful of shells and rocks with interesting colours and textures. I have a pinecone I picked up a few months ago too, I like to look at it or touch it. It's amazing how much of an effect engaging your senses can have on your ideas.
  
  
• Engage in other hobbies. I play video games a lot and I've got a bunch of ideas floating around now for fan art I want to make.
  
  
• Keep images and text you find that you enjoy. I follow some subreddits on here that are good for finding that sort of thing, like r/designporn r/adporn r/abandonedporn r/wallpapers r/drawing etc. I also follow a few websites in a feed reader called Feedly which lets me save things and suggests new feeds related to what I already look at. One of my favourites is Fubiz.net which I discovered through my reader. There's some great stuff in there including architecture.
  
  
  My sister bought me this for my birthday one year and it gives some interesting ways to think outside the box and get you to be creative.

I agree with all of this. I have type 1 Bipolar disorder, and I one of the consequences of that is that I have to make sure that I don't drink caffeine or alcohol or do drugs to self medicate, but I'm very often tempted because of my moods.

A lot of bipolar people drink when they're too up and use uppers when they're too down (classically bipolar people like cocaine, but Sharon has said before that she's used a lot of meth). It can be really easy to become dependent because you can feel more even when you're self medicating, but you won't be even when you're not because your brain chemistry just doesn't allow that.

I recommend this book: http://www.amazon.com/Touched-Fire-Manic-Depressive-Artistic-Temperament/dp/068483183X

Here's a little list of best-sellers on Amazon and a few from this thread:

• Manufacturing Processes for Design Professionals
  
• Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative
  
• The Design of Everyday Things: Revised and Expanded Edition
  
• How to Draw: drawing and sketching objects and environments from your imagination
  
• Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products
  
• The Non-Designer's Design Book (3rd Edition)
  
• Universal Principles of Design, Revised and Updated: 125 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach through Design
  
• Envisioning Information
  
• Interaction of Color: 50th Anniversary Edition
  
• Art Fundamentals: Theory and Practice
  
• Creative Workshop: 80 Challenges to Sharpen Your Design Skills
  
• Design Basics (with CourseMate Printed Access Card)
  
• Graphic Design: The New Basics
  
• Style & Simplicity: An A to Z Guide to Living a More Beautiful Life
  
• The Color Scheme Bible: Inspirational Palettes for Designing Home Interiors
  
• The Laws of Simplicity (Simplicity: Design, Technology, Business, Life)
  
• Speculative Everything: Design, Fiction, and Social Dreaming
  
• The Art of Looking Sideways
  

Learning from someone better and plagiarism are two different things. And I don't think Ogilvy meant he copied word for word from Bob Sage.

He meant copying as in style. If you're copying to learn and understand how to write successful ads then go for it. You ultimately have to find your own voice, but you have to learn a process first.

Plagiarism is just copying word for word what someone has said without doing your own research.

But, it's okay to learn and copy styles from other advertisers, artists, comedians, etc. Gary Bencivenga talks about people copying John Caples, "When Doctors Have Headaches, What Do They Do?" It's in his marketing bullets #7.

In the end, your voice will probably be a mixture of many styles or an extension of what others have already created.

I haven't read this book yet, but check out Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon. Here's a TED Talk laying out the idea of the book.

“Good artists borrow, great artists steal.” -Picasso

Also, what's the purpose of having a swipe file if you aren't going to use ideas from it?

(Hell yes Runaways shout-out! The first comic series I ever collected in issues and still so very dear to my heart.)

Another rad lecture! I especially liked the idea that a character should have 7-10 sources minimum and half of them from outside the genre.

I don't think I have any questions for now but I did want to link Austin Kleon's essay (the first point) on copying the good way, which I think connects really nicely with your topic in the lecture! (Relatedly, I 100% recommend his book Steal Like an Artist (non-affiliate Amazon link). It's short and full of really great, grounding advice for creatives, especially budding ones.)

Looking forward to seeing everyone's characters!

Don't try to read any fundamental physics/engineering textbooks, they'll just bore you and you won't learn anything without also doing stuff like you would in a lab or for homework.

Instead read some books that inspire or entertain you. You won't have time or energy to read what you want once school starts. Here's some options:

• Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
  
  
• Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration
  
  
• The Martian

It's not you it's The Reistance aka your reptilian brain.

Read this book https://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Winning-Creative-Battle/dp/1501260626 it will explain everything, and how to get over it.

I came here to say this too. A friend who has written and published two memoirs keeps a notebook just for new ideas, If something occurs to her, out comes that notebook, then back it goes so she can get back on track.

And is there something else going on? The new story is always shiny, uncomplicated, not bogged down by the actual effort of making it happen. Being deep into the details of the second act is just not as sexy as fleshing out a new character or problem.

So part of the answer is just to do the work. Check out The War of Art or Do the Work by Steven Pressfield - two books that seriously pulled me out of depression and got me busting ass on my projects again.

Pencil to digital is just a matter of practice. If you have a few extra dollars, I'd also grab Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. That'll teach you how to draw. To learn what to draw, i.e. be more creative, get The Keys to Drawing with Imagination. Transferring to digital is just a matter of learning how to use photoshop and a scanner or a drawing tablet.

I apologise, those are Canadian links, but the books are also available in the US.

Well this isn't an overnight method but in all seriousness, this book is amazing. You work through the lessons and you will learn to see things differently, allowing you to capture, in a drawing, an accurate representation of what you see. I loved it.

http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201

This was recommended to me, and I'm just starting it myself. So far, really does make you believe that this is something a non-artist like myself could accomplish.

Alternative approach would be learning to draw. Contrary to common belief, it is actually a learnable skill. You won't be making Mona Lisa in a few months, because as with everything it takes practice, but you can shrink your restrictions and get a better understanding of what you can and cannot do.

I would recommend books and youtube video series for learning, few examples:

http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201

https://www.drawspace.com/lessons (used to be all free, now might require free account or a paid sub I don't know)

http://www.ctrlpaint.com/library/

If you follow the first book along, I can speak from personal experience that not only you will get a better understanding, but you will also actually learn to draw (this is coming from a guy that barely could draw stick people). You just need to stick to it and follow it to the letter.

This seems like the perfect place to get started, and having the kind of confidence that it takes to be able to ask for help when you need it is exactly the kind of thing you need to be successful with drawing. I've been on my own drawing journey for about six months now, from a starting place quite similar to where you were, and although I still have a long way to go I'll do my best to share what I've been able to find out along the way.

Drawing is much like learning any other skill, like math or a sport, and as such the best favour you can do yourself is to know how you learn things best and to focus on that. Always try to go for several different methods, since variety will help your learning process from getting monotonous, and remember that any type of instruction will be better than no instruction, even if it's not your first choice.

Also, drawing on a tablet is hard. The disconnect between pen and screen as well as the small surface and lack of completely accurate touch feedback can make it a difficult way to begin making art. It's fun and you should certainly keep it up, but I found it was much easier to learn the basics with a good old pencil and a cheap sketchbook, and then apply what I learn to my tablet paintings afterwards. Sketchbooks also have the great benefit of being portable, and going around and drawing things that you can actually see in front of you is essential to learning to draw well.

Books did wonders to help me. Check you local library to see if you can find some on the cheap. Try to avoid books that only deal with drawing on specific thing, like "How to draw cars" and such, since these are often far to specific and narrow in scope, when what you really need is a solid drawing foundation. Probably the highest recommended one for beginners is Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards. It covers all the basics and is geared to the complete beginner, and unlike a lot of art books that focus primarily on techniques it also talks a lot about the thought process behind drawings. Judging by your work, I think it would be the most help to you of anything, as your major problem seems to be that you are relying on "symbols" that represent what you are wanting to draw rather than direct observation, which is extremely common and was my major problem too. You can also find videos of her teaching the lessons from her book on Youtube, but I'd still recommend the book, as it allows you a better view of the examples, lets you double check the instructions and makes it so you can work at your own pace.

Taking a class can be invaluable, since you have someone with experience right there to put you on the right track. Many colleges and community centers offer art programs in evenings or weekends (and during summer break, since you seem to be a student) where you could get started. Asking at a local art supply store might help to put you on the right track there. My work schedule prevents me from taking classes on any regular basis, but I'm always on the lookout for short intensive and drop-in meetups that do fit in.

For web based ressources that deal specifically with digital painting, nothing beats Ctrl+Paint. You don't need to bother with the videos that require you to pay for now, there is a great deal of free tutorials that will help you get started.

After you learn the basics, it all comes down to practice and choosing what you want to focus on at any given time. More advanced books and classes can focus on different mediums or subjects, and the fun part is often exploring and experimenting on your own. The trick is to think big, avoid restraining yourself, laugh off every mistake and try again and practice, practice, practice.

So, I don't know whether you'll consider this good news or bad news, but the path to illustrating anything well mostly involves developing your artistic skills in general, and not one specific type of illustration. For example, you don't learn how to paint landscapes so much as you learn to paint in general, and then do a lot of landscapes.

Example: Randall Munroe, of xkcd fame. xkcd is very simplistic art (stick figures, for the most part), yet it looks better that most people's attempts at stick people. Why? Because he's an actual artist (by hobby, not by profession, although it's basically his profession now), not just some guy who decided to draw stick figures. Stuff like this is what he was working on back in his high school years, and he's clearly had many years of practice since then. His stick figures look better than the average person's because he draws them with attention to the details of human anatomy and proportions.

Okay, so what's the path? The boring answer: practice, practice, practice. If you really are willing to "put in the 10 years," then you already have the right mentality. But you probably want a little more guidance than that.

Step 1: Start thinking about art in the right way. You think you want to draw from your imagination, but what you really want to draw is reality that doesn't exist. What do I mean by that? Drawing "from imagination" isn't much different than drawing from life; it's just strictly harder. When you draw from life, you see something with your eyes and then copy it onto your paper. When you draw from imagination, you have to see it with your mind's eye and then copy it onto your paper. This means that your imagination has to come up with the details you'd normally see in the world, all on its own! That's very hard. (This is true even for stylized drawing, which I'll get to in a bit.)

So how do you learn to do that? Well, your brain can't come up with realistic details without knowing what realistic details look like. So, every artist needs to start by drawing from life. There's no way to get around it. BUT, there's a catch! If you don't have any artistic inclination right now, you probably don't really know "how" to draw from life! Eventually, you'll "get it," but for now you could use some guidance. So, you need someone to teach you. Assuming you don't have any private art tutor friends, you should get a book. The standard recommendation for new artists is Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, which, despite its title, is not a book about pop psychology and is a book about learning to draw "the right way" from the ground up. What is "the right way"? Basically, it's forcing yourself to draw exactly what you see without thinking about it at all. You need to learn to shut off the part of your brain that tries to draw things the way "they should look" and instead draw them the way "they do look." The book will teach you all about this.

Step 2: Developing your basic skill set. Assuming you picked up the book I just recommended, you're going to want to start reading it and doing the exercises. I recommend spending the first week of your artistic journey just blindly following what the book tells you to do. Do one exercise per day for the first 5-7 exercises, and read the material in between your practice. Do practice 5-6 days a week for at least 30 minutes each day (preferably longer, but we all have lives). Don't burn yourself out by spending an entire Saturday blowing through half the book. If you're having fun with your drawing, do some light doodles on the side, but don't undertake more than one major project per day. Spend your doodling time just playing with the pencil (or pen), drawing shapes, experimenting with holding the pencil in different ways, etc. Just have fun. Not only will this keep your brain fresh for the major projects, but it's learning in its own right because you're developing comfort and flexibility with your instrument.

Step 3: Embark on your own projects. If you've worked through the first 5-7 exercises of that book, then you probably "get it" a little more than you did before; enough to start drawing anything and everything that catches your fancy. At this point, you don't need to keep following the book. Feel free to only come back to it when you need ideas or inspiration.

Copy, copy, copy. Like a picture you see online? Copy it. Your version won't be as good, but it doesn't matter, because it's all practice. However, try to make at least 50% of your drawings from real life (as in, 3D objects that you see with your physical eyes), and not pictures you see in books or on the internet. Why? Because drawing from a picture is easier than drawing from life. Pictures are, by definition, "flattened" for you, so you don't have to interpret what you're seeing as much. You need to be able to visualize and interpret objects in 3D, so you need to draw from life.

Step 4: Challenge yourself. Although your art skill will have undoubtedly improved by this point, you're still super far from your goal. This is usually where people settle in to only drawing things that they can draw kinda-sorta well, like simple objects, or copies of cartoons without any shading. This is a huge mistake! You have so much to learn and you know it, so don't stunt your growth now. If you're not sure what to practice next, I recommend drawing human beings. Why? Because there's not a single artist on the entire planet that couldn't benefit from being able to draw people; it's basically a necessary skill. It's also difficult, and forces you to move out of your comfort zone. But it's also a highly desirable skill, and once your humans start looking, well, human, you're going to feel super proud of yourself.

How do you practice figure drawing? Well, if you can find real people to pose for you naked, then go with that. But, your friends and family probably aren't going to be comfortable with that. If you feel up to it, try to find a figure drawing class (check local community colleges). But, if all else fails, find pictures of naked people online (really not that hard).

Regardless of whether you decide to pursue anatomy at this point, there are two huge skills you should start working on about now: foreshortening and shading. This shit's super hard, and you're going to suck for a super long time at it. If you don't know what foreshortening is, it's basically the fact that objects warp themselves into optical illusions when you're not looking at them at right-angles. Your brain processes this seamlessly, but as a non-artist you've never thought about this before, so you're going to be terrible at drawing objects from all kinds of angles. Shading is exactly what you think, but there's no "secret" to it; not only is seeing light and shadow (in an artistic way) hard in its own right, but just getting the shadow to look right on the damn paper is a skill unto itself. NO MATTER HOW LONG YOU SUCK AT THESE THINGS, DO NOT BECOME DISCOURAGED. This is the death valley of art. Every single artist just needs to hammer away at this stuff until they start to become better at it, little by little. When you first start drawing, you usually make surprisingly quick progress. But this stuff? SLOWWWWW. Just do it and do it and do it, over and over and over. You will improve, very slowly, until you're actually kind of okay at it. Do not give up. Do not get frustrated. Block all emotion out of your head about this stuff, because you will not feel anything positive about your skills in this department for a long time.

Step 5: You're an Artist! It turns out there's no "endgame" for art. Every artist thinks they suck until they die, but around this time you'll start realizing that you can kinda-sorta draw almost anything. From this point forward, draw the things you want to draw, and go out of your way to practice the things you know (deep down) you need extra work on. Improvement at this point is measured in years, not months, but if you stick with it, you will become "a good artist" by the end of your 10-year timeline. Of course, at that point, you'll still realize there are infinite ways to improve, and you'll realize you're going to be working on this until you die. But congrats, that just means you're an artist.

---

Q&A

Q: All you talk about is pencil drawing here. What about painting??

A: Drawing with a writing instrument on paper is where you should start because it's super cheap, super flexible (you can do it anywhere), and super productive (the line is a fundamental artistic unit). You should start experimenting with alternative artistic instruments (marker, chalk, feathers dipped in lamb blood, whatever) near the end of Step 3. At the start of Step 4, feel free to start transitioning to other mediums, like painting (digital of physical). Painting is about "form" more than about "line," but you'll need the fundamentals you developed in steps 1-3 to paint anyway.

Q: What about cartoons/manga/anime/comic books/Tim Burton/Picasso? Those aren't realistic! When can I start doing stylized drawings from my imagination?

A: No matter how abstract or stylized something is, it always has roots in reality. That's why you need to never stop drawing/painting/etc. from real life and real photos. However, you can start experimenting with these fields in Step 3. Do not let them make up more than half of your time practicing, though.

Everyone starts off not knowing how to draw (with some very rare exceptions). It is definitely something that can be learned. For example, Van Gogh started learning art when he was about 27.

You should check out Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards. It's more than just step-by-steps and tutorials. It goes into detail about how to learn to draw and how your brain perceives and processes imagery. Once you do get started, keep at it! ...and marvel at the new super power you've acquired! :D

I can't really add anything to this conversation seeing as Maxwell Lord left such an excellent and thorough critique. However, one thing I will add is that you should definitely go out and pick up these two books:

• Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain -- this is one of the most important books I have ever read, as it teaches you how to view the world around you with an artist's eye. That may sound pretentious, but it had a hugely positive effect on me and my approach to art when I picked it up some years back.
  
  
• Understanding Comics -- Every comic artist, no matter how new or seasoned they are, absolutely needs to have this book in their collection. If you are even thinking of becoming a comic artist, read this book.
  
  I would also recommend that you get the superb art instructional books by Andrew Loomis. Unfortunately, a lot of these are long out of print but - thankfully - you can download some free, digital versions here.
  

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1585429201/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1463435275&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=drawing+on+the+right+side+of+the+brain&dpPl=1&dpID=516I7mz%2BZEL&ref=plSrch

This is a good book to learn how to look at things

Have you done the exercises in drawing on the right side of the brain? Stuff like blind contour drawing helps with those skill significantly, and seeing the atrocious craziness you get from it will help disconnect your "inner critique".

Another trick is to draw like you were a kid. I doubt that you were forcing it so much when you were a child, just do it the same way again.

Finally, have explicit process goals of doing 100 drawings or drawings in a few seconds. That'll help your mind focus on what you can control.

If this resonates with anyone, I HIGHLY recommend Stephen Pressfield's The War of Art (for anyone who has something they want to accomplish, not just artists). Trust me, best $10 bucks I've ever spent.

The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles https://www.amazon.com/dp/1936891026/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Ih0gzbNX9DZGB

1 month ago I thought it was impossible for me to draw something "nice". Now, even though I'm no DaVinci, I have improved my drawing skill. How, you ask? Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain book.

You don't need any prior experience, and just by dedicating 30 min/ 1 hour a day will improve your drawing skills dramatically.

Good luck!

drawing on the right side of the brain. It's a fantastic reference, and I guarantee you can find a cheap copy or borrow it from your library.

I would absolutely recommend beginning by reading Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, and doing the exercises. I'd follow it up with The Natural Way to Draw, again, doing the exercises.

1836to1846 has the right idea about focusing on shapes, not ideas, and drawing upside-down while you're first training your verbal mind to get out of the way and let you draw what you see, rather than the symbols you think you see. Drawing on the Right Side is exactly about that - teaching you that you can draw, and teaching you how to get out of your own way. After that, Nicolaides' book will teach you how to practice effectively.

Practice is absolutely the key, but getting some grounding in what to practice and how to practice effectively will allow you to get more out of it faster.

Your friend is sort of right about the pen. It can help do away with the "chicken scratch" method of drawing by forcing you to be more confident with your lines but you should stick with pencil for now.


I'm mostly self-taught as well (although I learned a bit from Watts Atelier until it got to be too expensive) and the sheer amount of information out there can be really overwhelming. I mean, there's so many things to learn: perspective, line weight, figure drawing, portraiture, landscape, etc.


What definitely helped me is realizing that I'm never going to stop improving as an artist. That means that I'm going to have my entire life to hone my skills. Even if you have to unlearn a lot of bad habits, you've still got plenty of time to practice slowly, deliberately and mindfully.


If you understand that you've got your whole life to get better, it's easier to formulate a strategy to get better. You've got to think about this in the long term. That means taking a month to work solely on anatomy, another month to work only on perspective, another month to work on tone and values, while always revisiting the skills that you've already cultivated.


For example, I've laid out my artistic goals 3 months in advance. That means that for the next 3 months, I'm only focusing on anatomy and gesture/figure drawing. My daily schedule this week looks like this:


warmup

1, 2, 5 and 10 minute gesture/figure drawings

study/copy hands from Bridgeman's Constructive Anatomy book

draw 50 hands

spend about 10-15 minutes drawing hands from memory and comparing them to the references I was using earlier

work on something fun


If I have extra time, I'll work on some more anatomy studies but it depends on how busy I am with work/life. After this week is up, I'll move on to arms, then the core, then legs, head, etc, following the same setup I've made. Maybe the next 3 months, I'll move on to perspective drawing but I haven't thought that far ahead yet.


If you're confused about where to start, just pick something that you're the weakest at and start drawing that. It's a grind and you're going to be producing hundreds, if not thousands of drawings but that's the way to get better.


Like I said, if you start thinking in the long term, it gets less overwhelming. I'm gonna link some resources that really helped me out.


Books

Perspective Made Easy

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

Fun With a Pencil Actually, anything by Loomis.

How to Draw Kind of a technical book but goes into really great detail about perspective


Youtube Channels

Watts Atelier Highly recommended. Watch his figure drawing videos. Also, if you can spare the cash, join his online school. It's fantastic and very structured course in drawing. Definitely look into this if you have trouble deciding what to learn next.

Proko This guy has great intro videos for figure drawing. I think he learned at Watts Atelier as well.

New Masters Academy They have a ton of great videos about everything. Definitely look into Glen Vilppu's figure drawing series. He's the god of figure drawing.

Alphonso Dunn Really great pen and ink tutorials


Sorry if I overwhelmed you (ironic, considering your original post) but I just wanted to share some stuff that's really helped me develop a schedule and get better. Let me know if you have any questions and I'll do my best to help you a fellow art student out.


TLDR: You have plenty of time in your life to get better, so make a schedule and stick to it.

Don't believe it.

Anyone can learn to draw. You first need to learn how to see.

Start with https://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201

Drawing on the Right side of the Brain is a very impressive educational resource:
http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201/

I can't draw well, but this book is helping me get better. I need to spend more time with it and practice more, but it definitely showed me that I could do it.

This is an awesome question, and good for you for identifying what you need and reaching out to others. For me, it is so validating and encouraging to hear that I am not the only one struggling with my sense of self-esteem and self-worth, and I hope that you also feel less alone by reading the answers in this thread.

A year ago, my low self-esteem was debilitating.I couldn't work, I was living in state of fear that the people I loved would stop loving me, and I spent a lot of time being disgusted with myself. Today, I am slowly and deliberately learning to love myself more everyday, and I am seeing positive results in my life as a result of my efforts. For instance, my relationships are healthier, I feel anxious less frequently, I feel more competent in my work and hobbies, and I am more willing to take risks. Here are a few practical things that I have worked for me so far:

• Therapy. The first day I walked into my therapist's office, I told her I had anxiety issues. Within 15 minutes of listening to me, she was telling me to go buy a book on self esteem for our next session. Reading that book was like reading a record of my inner life; I couldn't believe how accurate it was. My therapist worked through the book with me and helped me reflect on my thought patterns. I can't afford therapy anymore, but the dozen or so sessions that I went to made a huge difference to me.
  
• Journalling. The process of writing down my thoughts forces me to turn them into logical sentences. This is important for me because a lot of the time, my internal narrative is illogical and not fully formed. Putting those thoughts down on paper helps me look at my thinking more objectively and wholistically. I also do things like make lists of things that I am good at, my positive traits, my accomplishments, etc. Making these lists gives me ammo when I feel bombarded by negative thoughts.
  
• Asking my friends for help. During a particularly low time, I asked my closest friends to write me a letter about why they liked me, ways I inspire them, etc. I read these letters regularly, which means that I remember their words when I feel low.
  
• Learning about Psychology. Learning about how my brain works, both physiologically and psychologically, has helped me look at my self-esteem more scientifically.
  
• Practice. This is the most important thing. Just like any skill, you've got to put in the time if you want to see results. This doesn't happen overnight. Whatever you do to help you love yourself and think more realistically (yoga, journalling, meditating, relaxation, reading, exercise, etc), do it regularly. Behaviours leading to unhealthy self-esteem are habits, and you've got to work to override those habits. The best way is to train your brain when you feel good so that you are stronger for when you feel low.
  
  Be patient with yourself, and take the time to find things that help you individually. Building new, awesome life-long habits takes a lot of work. The progress can feel really slow--I know it sure does for me. However, it's totally doable and lots of people have made this happen for themselves. You can do it! Here are some resources that have helped me so far:
  
  Breaking the Chain of Low Self Esteem. The book I read in therapy.
  
  The Upward Spiral. For learning about how your brain works. Highly recommend.
  
  You are a Badass. Quirky encouragement.
  
  The Gifts of Imperfection. Lots of practical advice in here.
  
  Excel at Life While this site is ugly and disorganized, the content is quality.
  
  The Power of Vulnerability TED talk by Brene Brown
  
  The Healing Power of Self Compassion A podcast about the science of self-compassion.
  
  
  Thanks for reading my giant post-- I'm really passionate about self esteem :) And as a general call-out: I don't know many other people who struggle with self esteem and self compassion, so if anybody wants message back and forth and talk about it, I'd love that :)

Hey, you have nothing to be humiliated about. She should be ashamed because she raped you. You are not at fault for what happened.

I believe you. Please please please go find a therapist and work through this trauma. You don’t have to live with this by yourself.

Reading the book “The gifts of imperfections” by Brené Brown helped me to get past the guilt and shame after my sexual assault. I had done karate for years, but when the moment came I was too drunk and asleep to be able to do anything about it. I felt so guilty for not “trying harder” to get away. Now I know I did the best I could, and my body choose to freeze because it thought it would survive the best that way.

Hey dudes.

This one helped me tons with the concept of vulnerability. It's important to immerse yourself in that fear, be mindful, and then grow.

https://www.amazon.com/Gifts-Imperfection-Think-Supposed-Embrace/dp/159285849X

The Gifts of Imperfection helped me understand a lot of my self-worth issues.

> I do yoga, workout, try to be healthy and no matter what I just feel unworthy of love.

You're trying to tackle the problem from the outside. The way I know to tackle it starts on the inside, sitting with and leaning into your negative self-perception and challenging it kindly. As I understand it, this "unloveable" thought has a lot more to do with how we view ourselves than how we are. Imagine how you'd feel if you completely accepted yourself as you are right now, everything about yourself, flaws and all, no need to change or achieve anything, all completely accepted as it is now in this moment (put aside the idea of how hard / impossible that is, just imagine you could already). Feels really good, right? That's something we can work on and get better at, for sure.

I have no fear you'll find the videos that suit you best. We generally are resourceful enough when the need calls for it. Best of luck to you on that front.

The most difficult thing I found is the same most difficult thing every person of every new venture finds: sticking with it. I didn't. I started getting used to it, started getting good at it, and then I froze 12 hours (not consecutive) into a fantastic painting and stopped. I still have the file unfinished on my external. Do not make my mistake. I regret it. BUT... I'm making up for lost time and have since restarted learning to use it and my programs again. So, trust me, Pastanro, I'm right there with you.

Consistency! If you practice one thing, practice it hard! Do it for a month, not a day. Nail it into the ground so it will be a useful step to stand on for the next part of your journey. And no cheating! Start from the bottom again. It will not be wasted practice. If you're a master of anatomy, spend time practicing what you've already mastered and it will help you acclimate to this new tool that much easier. Don't take off learning things you don't know just quite yet. Ease into it. Be proud of the starting work you do. In 5 years, you'll look back and be even more proud of it.

The rest - the workflow - is more or less up to you to decide. Which program you enjoy (I use ArtRage; the tools and canvases have actual texture and aren't as stale as a soft round "brush"), which brushes you use (if in a Photoshop-esque program, try playing with the jitter settings, I hear that helps give it more life), to how you hold it (ideally in such a manner that makes using the buttons on the stylus more useful), to how you paint (I don't paint portions of the drawing at a time, I paint full layers: sketch, rough paint, final paint, etc), which keyboard shortcuts you assign to the tablets buttons... these are all things you'll discover for yourself as you evolve with your tool, as it becomes an extension of you.

I also recommend accountability. Setting up a conceptart sketchbook or a deviantart profile (I prefer this) serves as a means of "showing up for work." If you can build an audience or a few friendships, they'll notice when you're being lazy. This makes the process a little less "I'm roaming around in the dark alone"-ish. It also feels fantastic to know you have fans, especially when they stick around and prove they're keeping an eye on you.

None of this is technical advice per se, but that's because I firmly believe the biggest challenge is mental. You're battling far bigger demons at the soul level when you set out to learn something new and follow a dream. Fanning those flames inside you is more important than what you're forging. So if you listen to only one piece of advice I have to give, get a copy of this book: http://www.amazon.com/The-War-Art-Through-Creative/dp/1936891026

If you put yourself out there somewhere on the net, send me a link. I'd like to follow along.

"Some men only begin to live when it is time for them to leave off living." This is the danger of procrastination: wait long enough and you run out of time.

I don't have an analysis for you. Instead, I have a book recommendation: The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. I read this back in September of 2013 and have been writing more than ever. Great motivator and offers you great advice for overcoming Resistance.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Awesome! You should start posting there! I enjoyed the read.

Have you ever heard of The War of Art by Steven Pressfield? I highly recommend it.

In order of impact:

1 - The War of Art - https://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Through-Creative-Battles/dp/1936891026/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1549035419&sr=1-3&keywords=war+of+art

The most important book I've ever read. If you are pursuing any creative endeavor, I would say this is required reading. It's a super quick read, with every page or two covering a quick idea or example. I read it a bit of it every day before starting work on my music. It's like my bible.

2 - Atlas Shrugged - https://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Shrugged-Ayn-Rand/dp/0451191145/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1549035527&sr=1-1&keywords=atlas+shrugged

Taught me the value of hard work. Gave me the confidence that if I put the work in, I could achieve great things.

3 - How I found Freedom in an Unfree World - http://metaphysicspirit.com/books/How%20I%20Found%20Freedom%20in%20an%20Unfree%20World.pdf

Even if you don't agree with all of it, it definitely helps put some new ideas out there that can change how you view things.

You absolutely must read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. I went through the same type of self-sabotage thinking and this book really helped me to take that negative voice and use it to my advantage.

Here are just two quotes from the book:
> If you find yourself asking yourself (and your friends), "Am I really a writer? Am I really an artist?" chances are you are. The counterfeit innovator is wildly self-confident. The real one is scared to death.

> Are you paralyzed with fear? That’s a good sign. Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do. Remember one rule of thumb: the more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.

Keep at it!

It seems like your problem could have two facets.

The first (maybe) is that your being too literal in your listening, and that's tough because you're clearly emotionally tied to that music. Try listening for principles, not specific figures. Don't listen to melodies, listen to phrase length in relation to harmony, rhythm, structure, and how that varies from song to song. Don't listen to solos, listen to where the solo comes from, what musical material is the solo being based on and how that functions within the context of the harmony, rhythm, song-as-a-whole, etc. Don't listen to drum patterns, listen to how a particular pattern supports a particular melody, hook, etc. The human brain is incredibly good at picking up on and replicating patterns. If you listen for melodies, solos, beats, etc. that's what you'll replicate and your music will sound much like that of which you're listening. But if you listen for relationships, functions, principles, you will not only be armed with a deeper understanding of how a music you love and respond to works on a fundamental level, but you will be able to apply those principles to your own music and grow as an artist.

Second, if you're throwing away ideas that sound both too much and not enough like your intentions, that's not not a musical problem, but a mental one. That sounds like Resistance. And Resistance is the biggest obstacle to any creative endeavor you will ever face. It it cunning - note the impossible double standard it has forced you into. Resistance doesn't want you to grow, doesn't want you to better yourself. It feeds off of you "rage quitting." I cannot take credit for the term or definitions. That honor goes to Steven Pressfield. His book The War of Art is one of the best I've ever read. It's saved my ass many times. It's a sort of cheesy title but in terms of impact on my life, it's this one and maybe one or two others. I'm sure I sound like some zealot missionary but read some of the comments. And if you can't afford the 10.29+shipping, PM me and I'll mail you my copy (as long as you send it back eventually). I've been where you're at and it fucking sucks.

"The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield.

It's more directed at creative professionals but deals with the same resistance problem.

Hi,

I did something similar a few times, following a hunch and throwing away the work of years.

There are many aspects to this I guess, but the thing which might be the most interesting right now would be: Why don't you want to finish this?

What's below the surface, what is lingering beyond the surface of wanting / not wanting something?

Would crashing and burning the whole thing now make it easier to reorient? Do you feel like you're going in a direction you are not sure you can manage to be in?

Do you feel like you'd like to have some time for yourself to figure it all out?

I think that if you can finish it in any way now you should try to. For your parents and for your future self. You can be proud that you finished something big, even if you didn't feel like it in the end. Which is a thing to be very much proud of I think.

I am often times taking the path of least resistance, but I know it and I am kind of concerned that I might be a quitter... at least some part of me feels like that. You could nip that in the bud now! :)

Also, be mindful of "Resistance" rearing its ugly head and trying hard to keep you from finishing, being its strongest when you almost reached the mountain top.

There is a great book called "The War Of Art": http://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Through-Creative-Battles/dp/1936891026/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421863874&sr=8-1&keywords=the+war+of+art&pebp=1421863877374&peasin=1936891026 - which I feel is amazing.

Amazingly written, amazingly concise, to the point and giving you lots of examples to identify the snake that is resistance.

And it can give you the strength to power through it too, I think.

I don't have it here right now unfortunately, or I'd quote you the passages related to Resistance becoming stronger the closer you get to your goal.

So know, Resistance is real, cunning and strong, and is a force always coming at you right from the point you know you need to go in your life. So it is naturally strongest and will try to keep you from finishing when you're so close.

Doubts? Resistance.
Feeling unwell? Sit down and do the work. It's Resistance trying to keep you from working.
Relationship troubles? Resistance.
Too early? Too late? Resistance.


So, while Resistance tries to make it hard to reach your goal, it is at the same time the perfect compass: Just face into the direction of the biggest resistance, and you're going exactly where you're supposed to be going. You'll be at the mountain top faster when you're going towards the mountain, no?

And, at the end, some more compassionate advice again:

Maybe, if you're afraid that you are about to hit the last nail into your own coffin which is the rest of your life now by finishing this degree - if you feel like you're not sure if you are ready to start your career in the field you're currently in - maybe make a deal with yourself: If you finish this degree now, you'll give yourself some time to do nothing or reorient yourself and maybe find something else if you feel like it after all of this.

Maybe get some support in this direction, maybe you can talk with your parents or a friend or your partner about it - tell them how you're feeling and that you are gonna power through and finish this degree, but aren't not sure if you're entirely on the right track yet and that you're gonna allow yourself some rest and / or reorientation after your degree.

Maybe make a plan on what you'd like to do after your degree instead of immediately joining the workforce? And if, after your degree, you should find yourself suddenly full of motivation to start a career in you field, that'd be a nice surprise too, don't you think? :)

---

Best wishes, time to do the laundry, i'm procrastinating on that one for days now! That's probably why i'm wrote this too! I'm off to do it now, I promise! :)

On creativity peaks, etc. That varies from person to person. A good source to get an idea of the variety of working habits/rituals of (arguably) productive people can be found here:
Daily Rituals: How Artists Work

Title is a bit misleading, there're more than just artist's accounts in there. Great read--really opened my eyes to the idea that society's imposed time schedule may not work for everyone. Also seeing the breadth of variety in approaches gave me a lot of things to try out myself in an effort to optimize my own creative/productive cycles and daily routines.

I saved it on my desktop, so no. Google search reveals this book

I've always thought Hypertheticals could be interesting podcast fodder.

maybe they worked at microsoft and got in like the mid80s?

although then the process was arguably worse lol. "How would you move mt fuji?"

https://www.amazon.com/How-Would-Move-Mount-Fuji/dp/0316778494

etc

then again. for that id guess OP would just say something equally terrible. "you dont need to prepare for those, you either have the intelligence or you dont" or something that shows massive survivorship bias for luckily answering one of those super vague questions correctly 30 years ago

a techincal process which everyone can spend time preparing for is GOOD. for everybody

• Most people that have never heard of lucid dreaming, and are taught what it is, have a lucid dream that night.
  
  
• The best way to lucid dream is to become more conscious of your surroundings in real life. If you teach yourself to always be looking around you and wondering "am I dreaming? Is this a dream?" eventually you will start to ask those questions while dreaming, allowing you to notice you're dreaming.
  
  
• A big help are reality checks. When you're awake and you're wondering if you're dreaming, you can do a reality check. One good reality check is holding your nose and trying to breath in through it. If you're awake you'll be unable to breathe in, if you're asleep you'll still be able to breathe even though you've held your nose. As in the previous point though, you have to keep doing these reality checks in real life, until they're so imprinted into your routine (and subconscious) that you'll do them in a dream too.
  
  
• Are you dreaming right now? Possibly. But here's another reality check for you. Read this paragraph again, is it any different? In dreams you can't read the same piece of writing twice, it changes.
  
  
• Once you realise you're in a dream, don't stop and think. You'll wake up. Dreams are narratives that you follow through forward momentum. If the narrative stops, then you stop dreaming. One tip is when you realise you're dreaming, start running (or spin around really quickly) and this keeps the dream going. For reals.
  
  
• Lucid dreaming is different for different people. Personally I can't suddenly create a number of lesbians in front of me, because to do this I have to stop and concentrate, which breaks the narrative and makes me wake up. Instead I've learnt to use expectations to create something. For example, I may expect something to happen if I run around the corner. So I run around the corner and there it is. So I can't create lesbians, but I can expect them to be somewhere, and when I get there, they're already there. Hard to explain really.
  
  
• If you want more information on lucid dreaming, the best book to read is anything by Stephen LaBerge, who is considered a lucid dream expert. This one in particular is good: Exploring The World of Lucid Dreaming
  
  
• If you want a great, easy to read book about the different stages of human consciousness and cool things our mind can do, then I suggest reading The Head Trip which contains a huge chapter on lucid dreaming.

Second time in two days I get to pitch this book. It is fantastic.

Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming by Stephen LaBerge

I haven't personally read it (yet), but it has an excellent reputation among the lucid dreaming community. It's basically THE book for those interested in lucid dreaming.

I just sent this to my dear friend's little boy for his birthday. He'll be 5, and I think it'll be something super fun for the family to do together :D I hope he likes it!

Clinical psych grad student here. While the phrasing on all of these is less than stellar, there are some ways to quantify similar claims. The wording on this is very poor, but hey, it's tumblr, not a psychological review. One book for the bipolar disorder claims (and that disorder is one of my main areas of study), would be Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Tempermant. If you want, I could dig up sources for the other claims.

While I will say the methodology and retrospective analyses/diagnosis are not entirely safe, some ways they've used to quantify these are:

• Noble Laureates in poetry hospitalized for mania, depression, or both.
  
  
• Number of artists of all forms with bipolar disorder in their family tree (bipolar does seem to have a strong hereditary component)
  
  
• Behavior indicative of bipolar disorder in various creative figures
  
  Obviously, this methodology isn't the best, but I believe some additional studies have been done, and the data do indicate at least some level of correlation. While correlation isn't causation, it seems unlikely that creative endeavors would lead to bipolar system.
  
  That being said, I still feel this romanticizes mental illness a little too much. While silver linings are good, mental illnesses are not super powers. I've struggled with mental health problems for years, and while I don't think I would just wish them away as the experiences made me the person I am today, I don't think we should glorify this and go from "Hey, at least there's an upside" to "This is a superpower."

A few things off the top of my head:

Creative Confidence By Tom and David Kelly (IDEO) - In fact, anything by these guys as IDEO are a great resource for design thinking.

Wacom Pen and Touch S Perfectly adequate starter tablet for sketching on a laptop.

Sketchbook Pro to go with it

Product Sketches - Great book with sketches of everyday things from Ideation to presentation quality.

Making It: Manufacturing Techniques for Product Design - Really good book covering the basics of industrial processes to manufacture objects.

Copic Multiliner set - maybe with some stationary. I fucking love stationary. Could combine this with a Moleskin or Field Notes notebook

Steal Like an Artist - cute, short book with a great message about how its not what you steal but how you steal it.

Kor 'Hydration Vessel' - I've had one for like 3 years.

Re: the whole "ideas aren't affected" thing, I think it's a somewhat misguided screed for originality. There's a weird idea among some creatives that all of their ideas must be original homunculi and come out of their brains fully-formed with only a little bit of tending until they reach their utmost state. I see it a lot with musicians and writers who don't want to be seen as obviously inspired by or "stealing" from other artists, though I personally think "stealing" is an important part of creativity.

But inspiration can come from anywhere from any reason. There shouldn't be any shame in saying another artist inspires you, and I can't think of any greater compliment an artist could receive than to think that their work inspired such action in someone else.

Have you heard of the book "The War of Art"? I've been reading a few pages a day to motivate myself and help overcome my fears.

I think the only way that your life can change is if you identify at least one thing that need changing. Yes, other possibilities for change can happen beyond that but you have to have a jumping off point. Otherwise you're just standing in a dark room screaming CHANGE MY LIFE. It's not really going to work.

Book I would recommend:
The Artist's Way

Learn how for yourself, read these two books.

1. How To Get Control Of Your Time And Your Life
   
   
2. The Now Habit
   
   You will learn how to manage your time and your emotions in regards to time management( really life management ).

I mentioned this in another comment, but I suggest this book, http://www.amazon.com/The-Now-Habit-Overcoming-Procrastination/dp/1585425524

While not perfect, the authors strategies worked for me when nothing else seemed to. After falling into a major anxiety and depression spiral I finally feel better work after employing about half of the ideas in this book.

Have you read Betty Edwards' Drawing on the right side of the brain? I personally went through a similar before and after transformation as these student pictures show.

Me too! But I started reading Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain and went from this to this in three drawings. Completely changed the way I thought about drawing things!

Edit: Bonus drawing from when I was three.

Vamos lá. Minha experiência com desenho:

• Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, da Betty Edwards.
  
  Tentei, cheguei até um pouco antes da metade. Me frustrei e desisti.
  Motivo da frustração: Grande parte do livro é a moça te falando "agora você deve estar satisfeito com o que fez, olha o que meus melhores alunos fizeram para você comparar". BITCH EU NÃO ESTAVA SATISFEITO OK?!
  
  Depois de anos, revisitei meus desenhos e pensei "Olha, até que ficaram legais sim, pqp".
  
  
• Já testei o /r/ArtFundamentals (Drawabox).
  
  Extremamente massante e arranca a tapa toda a maravilha de desenhar algo. Fiz durante uns 3 meses, não cheguei nem na lição 3 (depois de formas livres). Mas foi o que mais me manteve disciplinado, e a qualidade de alguns dos meus traços (até na escrita) melhorou um pouco.
  
  
• Ctrl+Paint:
  
  Testei muito pouco a parte de desenho "clássico", mas o cara desenha bem. Minha crítica é que logo na primeira aula ele já recomenda comprar um lápis que não é lá muito comum.
  
  
• Drawing for the Utter and Absolute Beginner, da Claire Garcia.
  
  É interessante, as primeiras lições são uma mistura das lições do Drawing on the Right Side e do ArtFundamentals. Não consegui avançar mais por falta de tempo, mas pelo que eu folheei o livro, é o que mais mostra técnicas diferentes (e por isso, aumenta o custo de materiais).
  
  
• Curso presencial:
  
  Fiz um uma vez um tempo atrás. Não suportei mais de 3 aulas porque o professor era péssimo.
  
  
  Dito isso, vou de acordo com o /u/crazy_student, vá com o Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain (se concentre só nas técnicas).
  Recomendo também o ..For the Utter and Absolute Beginner. O livro se baseia nas mesmas técnicas da Betty Edwards no começo, tendo em vista o desenho observacional (na vida real), então um complementa o outro.
  
  
• Bonus: Eu tenho também o You Can Draw in 30 days. Dá pra brincar de perder o medo de produzir algo.
  
  NOTA:
  
  
  Eu sei que existem outros autores, livros e conteúdos. Sempre existiu e sempre existirão, mas foram esses que eu corri atrás.

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain: The Definitive, 4th Edition
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1585429201/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_aHx9BbTMCRC26

Pick up introductory drawing books. I whole-heatedly recommend starting with one and only one source: Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain: http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201.

As you start you'll need to learn some fundamentals: draw what you see, not what you think you see; don't draw in symbols; learn about value, line, and shading; learn about constructing volumes that look like they inhabit three dimensions; learn about proportion; make a habit of practicing every day; perhaps more importantly, learn how to take and give artistic criticism.

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain will teach you to do all these things and is certainly enough to get you started. Do not proceed with trying to draw in a stylized manner, you'll simply learn bad habits. You can proceed to style after you've made some headway into drawing realistic forms and figures.

Hey, you. Please, please read The Artist's Way. It changed my life. I will even send you one of my extra copies, if you don't have the money to spare.

Look, everyone is right that it's easy to fall into the trap of procrastinating by trying to learn how not to procrastinate but the truth is that it can also be helpful to learn some practical techniques.

I would suggest The Now Habit by Neil Fiore

One thing I learned reading The Now Habit, that may apply to your situation, is that our internal dialogue is crucial. When you tell yourself you have to prep for the next D&D session because you'll otherwise disappoint the players, you create resistance. It's like an external force trying to push you, and your own emotional self pushes back. You drag your heels. You procrastinate.

If instead you turn the situation around and tell yourself that you want to prep because that will lead to a few hours of doing something that you really like, then the force comes from inside. It doesn't meet resistance. You can even become so absorbed that the act of prepping itself becomes pleasurable.

Now, one of the traits of ADHD is that it makes it harder to envision that desirable future. Harder, but not impossible. You can exercise this deliberately, like an underdeveloped muscle. I am working with a behavioral coach to help me with this, but you can find resources to do it on your own if you prefer. Either way, I definitely recomend that book I mentioned, even if it isn't specific to ADHD.

Go read The Now Habit by Fiore.
Come back when you've finished it.

It's going to tell you why you're procrastinating.

https://www.amazon.com/Now-Habit-Overcoming-Procrastination-Guilt-Free/dp/1585425524

Can I recommend "Drawing on the right side of the brain" by Betty Edwards? The neurological stuff is a bit washy but the overall concepts and teaching to draw what you see are the most valuable thing I have found for general drawing skills.

http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406140554&sr=8-1&keywords=drawing+on+the+right+side+of+the+brain

It will take you a long way in a short space of time.

Are you a reader? Check out Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. I know it may seem silly, reading a book about drawing, but the approach they take is that really a "lack of drawing skill" is an issue with perception. Something else you can work through are the Loomis books. There are .pdfs of them to be found here. I've just been reading and plugging away at the examples in the books, picking up tips and tricks along the way.

SUBREDDITS: Even if it's just to see someone else's work and be inspired, pick up techniques. /r/drawing is great to see a lot of pencil stuff. Also, they have a whole sidebar of resources. /r/redditgetsdrawn may be one of the best modded and fun subreddits there are. You get to see so many different styles, and now they just launched /r/watchredditgetsdrawn for time-lapse videos of some process. Most of these are digital paintings, but you still pick up tips and tricks. But on RGB, all skill levels are welcome, there is no down vote button, and people are very positive and willing to critique. Plus, you get a some interesting things to attempt to draw, generally people, but some of the submissions are fun. I actually created an "art" multi reddit that contains:/r/doodles, /r/drawing, /r/drawings, /r/Illustration, /r/learnart, /r/redditgetsdrawn, /r/SketchDaily, /r/Sketching, /r/watchredditgetsdrawn. Don't be afraid to put your stuff out there. Eyes on something with tips and helpful critique will go a long way.

And lastly, break yourself of this notion that drawing is a magical skill or talent that some people possess and others don't. Very few people are able to free draw something straight from memory, and if they do, they likely practiced that form many times before they could do it. Practice, practice, practice and have fun. Don't be afraid to use trace paper to fix a first version, don't be afraid to experiment. Watch any drawing video you can and look at as many drawings as you can.

I recently started about a month ago of wanting to learn how to draw and have found the above super helpful. The amount of improvement I've seen in just a few weeks from a lot of the above is so encouraging. My trade is motion design, and I can't wait to see how learning a new technique or skill will shape the way my work comes out. Don't get discouraged, it will feel hard at times, and it will feel like work. Make a habit of sketching or drawing something daily, even if it's just an artists mannequin. With pencil, realize almost as much erasing goes into a drawing as lead does.

Enjoy the journey.

I'm not far from your age, and while I've been drawing off and on almost my whole life I've only recently been getting serious about improving. I'll share some things that have helped me.

One book I'd recommend you buy above all others is Drawing on the Right side of the Brain - Betty Edwards. It's good even if you have never drawn before. Cartoons are a stylization of a person, so its good to study and draw people. If money is a factor, Andrew Loomis ebooks are free. Fun With a Pencil in particular has stuff thats good for cartoons.

Communities such as here and /r/LearnArt are good to get critique and to get help if you can't see where you are going wrong. If you are dry for ideas there is also /r/SketchDaily and /r/DailyDraw.

Youtube is an awesome resource. Proko did a good series on the Loomis method for drawing a head and its features. Will Terrell is one i found recently that's fun to watch, does a lot of cartoon/caricature and comic stuff.

The only way to improve is to practice. Get you a sketchbook and a some pencils. Don't worry about making every page a masterpeice. Beat that thing up, doodle, draw whatever in it. If you mess up, just flip to the next page. Draw draw draw! Things that catch your eye, old comic super heroes, Bugs Bunny, anything really. Draw as often as you can, I'd say an hour a day if that's possible with job and family. If not, just whenever you got some time. If time and money allow, take a class if you can.

Don't be afraid to use references. The mind can't remember every detail about everything. Even masters use them.

Definitely skip 2D CAD. 2D CAD is just a way of automating drawing by hand.

Go with 3D. With 3D you actually build the part virtually and catch all the interferences, check fits, evaluate clearances, etc. I don't know about SketchUp but all of the commercial packages can generate 2D drawings from the 3D models automatically.

Also, regarding artistic skills, get the book "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain". Even if you just spend a tiny bit of time working through a few of the chapters it will radically improve your ability to draw what you see/imagine. The book is geared towards artistic drawing but I am an engineer and the book helped my sketching/drawing skills tremendously See this comment

Also, if you aren't already familiar with the basics of drafting I highly recommend the book "Freehand Sketching for Computer-Aided Design and Engineering Graphics".

TL;DR: skip 2D (AutoCAD, DraftSight) go with 3D (SketchUp, Inventor) get some books

if you're interested in taking some time to read a book and maybe buying a few art supplies. "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" a book by Betty Edwards is pretty amazing for improving your drawing technique by leaps and bounds(from personal experiance). You can find it on Amazon.Link

If you're just starting out, I would suggest 2 things. First, go through Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. It will get you going quickly.

Second, learn to critique your work. You can't fix what you don't know is wrong. It's a simple, but not easy thing to do. Every time you do something, when you're done look at it and honestly answer 3 questions, how do you feel about the piece overall, what do you like, and what could you improve on. The most common mistake I see people make is to make excuses for things they don't like. If you can see it and it bothers you, it will bother someone else.

There are a number of other things that you can do to help, but starting with a good foundation and a comfort with self critique will get you far.

Drawing On the Right Side of the Brain

Last year I hated drawing realistic, until I read the book Drawing on the right side of the brain. (You can easily find the PDF online)
With simple drawing exercises you can really improve the way you see things and then draw them. I think it helped a lot of people at different stages of their art.
When I tried it there was a self portrait you draw at the beginning and the same at the end and you can see a real progress. Try it on, invest some time and show us the difference.

Só precisas de uma coisa. Este livro: Drawing with the Right Side of the Brain



Lê umas críticas e vais perceber.

HYPERtheticals. Bring it on, u/shoppingbot! I got this for my girlfriend at some Christmas, is fun on road trips.

Non-mobile: This.

^That's ^why ^I'm ^here, ^I ^don't ^judge ^you. ^PM ^/u/xl0 ^if ^I'm ^causing ^any ^trouble. ^WUT?

Doing more RC's isn't going to help that much. They are mostly to use to reaffirm you are dreaming after you have realized you are dreaming. In fact I haven't done an RC in a dream. I've also read that asking dream characters if you are dreaming is unreliable, though I'm sure its a person to person thing.

Though, make sure you make them at regular intervals and not at random. I set an hourly alarm on my phone to just buzz and let me know.

And everyone has a hard time in their infancy of actual lucid dreams. It really just takes practice.

Something I started doing was, what I believe is called, Lucid Living. Its where you take time out of your day and just realize reality. Realize you can realize. Take in as many details as you can. I was having a hard time having my first LD, but after I started this I had my first 3 in the next week or two, but sadly school started and I haven't had the time for Lucid Dreaming.

Another thing that helps is read something about lucid dreaming before bed. Get into the mind set. Pick up Stephen LaBerge's book Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming, lots of helpful and basic stuff in there.

If you need to know anything else you can PM me, I spent a good chunk of my summer basically researching this stuff.

Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming got me lucid in a couple weeks of the simplest exercises back when I was experimenting with this stuff years ago.

Later I discovered 3 elements to lucid dreams:

1. Sensory clarity. The dream becomes hyper-real, like VR in all 5 senses, ultra HD vividness.
   
2. Awareness of dreaming. You know you are in a dream.
   
3. Control of dream content. You can make things appear and disappear, or change the scene altogether.
   
   When I've been lucid, I usually don't have all 3 fully. Often I'll have sensory clarity and awareness but lack full control of dream content, or I'll have awareness and control but not full sensory clarity. Having all three is quite the trip.

So unfortunately it seems most of the initial research I did into certain techniques on this subreddit was before I had made an account, so I don't have any of them saved. :(

A few links though, in case you haven't checked them out yet...
From the sidebar:

• Quickstart Guide
  
  
• FAQ
  
  Probably worth investigating all those other sidebar links, I haven't done so myself yet, but they look promising. :)
  
  GREAT Wikibooks article on LD induction techniques:
  
  
• LD on Wikibooks
  
  Awesome Book:
  
  
• Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming (8 bucks from Amazon, definitely worth the purchase. Good to have something to read about LDs when not at a computer.)
  
  There were several times in my two experiences where the dream began to fade. If I hadn't done these things the dreams would have ended far before they got really interesting:
  
  
• Dream starting to fade away? Look at your hands, rub them together, touch your face with them. When I looked at my hands in the tale above, there were a dozen little thumbprint-swirlies spinning on each palm. Helped stabilize the fading dream.
  
• Spinning also kept one of my dreams going. I've read you shouldn't spin frantically like a madman or anything, but a few twirls definitely kept my first LD going, somehow. :)
  
• Reality checks: since I wear a digital watch (technically an iPod Nano on a wristband, but it has a watch too), checking my wrist for the time is extremely natural. I check it many times a day while awake, and in most cases digital displays just don't work right in dreams (though I've heard of exceptions.) If the time is changing crazily every time you look at it, or has nonsensical times displayed as mentioned above, you're probably dreaming.
  
• If you wake up and remember you were having an awesome dream, don't open your eyes and don't move your body at all. Imagine with all your might that you're still there, wherever you were. Hold onto the image, don't think with words, and you may fall back into it. It helped me above, and has helped me get back into several non-lucid dreams I was enjoying in the past.
  
  General tips from personal experience:
  
  
• Avoid cannabis if you can. For me and many others, it inhibits dream recall. Having a LD is no good if you don't remember it. Vividly remembering dreams and the occasional epic LD is worth the tradeoff, IMO.
  
• DREAM JOURNAL. Most important thing ever. The entire second LD I posted up there would have been lost had I not suddenly remembered the dream while taking a piss this morning, and I quickly dashed into my room to grab it and write down all I could. Not only does merely having one next to your pillow with a pen ready seem to increase dream recall, but can help when you're retelling your adventures. My initial write-up for all this felt a little off, so I went back and read it and noticed I had omitted some important things I didn't remember, though I had written it all down mere hours before. Also, don't get lazy with the dream journal. There's been a few mornings where I woke up and remembered a dream, but I groggily thought "meh, I'll write it down later" before turning over to snooze for a bit. When I got up ten minutes later, all memory of the dream was gone.
  
• I have noticed that I remember dreams much more often if I've been reading about dreams/LDing the day/night before going to bed, and remembering more dreams means a higher chance of remembering the lucid ones.
  
• Wish I had the old reddit links, but alas. I'd say keep an eye on this subreddit, check every submission for more tips from folks more skilled this than I am. (Only 2 so far!) Read other people's stories and see what worked for them.
  
  It took me a couple months to have the experience after I REALLY started researching it, so I'm sure it's only a matter of time for you if you keep at it, friend. :) Dream on!

The proportions are perfect. Probably because it was traced, but the drawing lacks soul. The contrasts are off. The line quality is poor. All in all it probably still took you a long time and the practice will pay off down the road.

I suggest paying more attention to the subtle changes to the contour of your subject. A great drawing or painting also has good contrast transitions aka shading. Pay very close attention to the transitions from light to dark... especially subtle transitions.

Keep practicing my friend. This painting was only a stepping stone.

A great book that helped me a bit is Drawing with the right side of your brain.. Give it a read over and then get back to drawing. :]

Don't be intimidated by the tough to draw parts. Try drawing the contours of the ear, and the fine details in the eyes and face. The worst thing that can happen is you'll see the mistakes, and gradually learn how to do it better next time. If you want to improve , just keep practicing and check out some books like Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. It has some outdated psuedo-science to it, but the exercises can really help you learn some of the basic skills essential for portraits, and you've already finished step 1 of the book the self portrait.

This is the book we used in High School way back when. Others have also told me to get it when I asked about getting back into drawing.

I am sure others in here will have way more experience with this stuff than me though.

If you don't mind giving you tips from my experience after 20+ years drawing, i'll bullet list it and you're welcome to add-on or change anything. I'll give you my own tl;dr at the end.

1. purchase this book: http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376710571&sr=8-1&keywords=drawing+with+the+right+side+of+the+brain
   
   
2. purchase the workbook: http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Workbook/dp/1585429228/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y
   
   
3. Purchase a 100 page sketchbook and draw 4 things per page front and back.
   
   
4. Use real humans and reference pictures of animals to practice drawing anatomy
   
   
5. Once you go digital, get or somehow download, Paint Tool SAI
   
   
6. Play around with it, but honestly, find as many tutorials with it and keep working with it.
   
   
7. When drawing digitally, make sure you zoom out periodically to make sure your proportions are matching up
   
   
8. since you have photoshop, paint tool sai will work with it since it can save .psd files
   
   
9. tablets are amazing, I personally have a widescreen format wacom tablet
   
   
10. practice every day, as much as you can and however time will allow you, just practice, but more importantly, draw from life. Real life stuff will lend to your own personal style and you can develop it from there.
    
    
    My TL;DR
    
    I've spent my whole life drawing. I'm 30 now and my mom says when I was 3 I picked up a crayon and drew a witch and it looked like a witch. Ever since then, my family only ever bought my art supplies for birthday and christmas. I spent my younger years thinking i'd animate for Disney, then I discovered comic books. I eyeballed the characters and drew them over and over till I could draw them from memory. Eventually I was making my own.
    
    I was slatted to attend an art college out of high school, but money and family fell through and I was left, literally, heartbroken. Feeling as if I wasn't good enough, I spent the next 3 years working and not doing any art at all. Eventually I couldn't put it off any longer and I decided to start up again. Still drawing based on other artists, my style developed very slowly. I had the usual artist anger of feeling stagnant and then eventually getting over the hump.
    
    I've dabbled with online webcomics, i've made tattoos for folks, and i've done some character designs, but it wasn't until last year that I decided that I should take my love of character concept design and try and put it to use. I googled "good video game schools" after having a bad run in with art institute, and found a place here in Washington called Digipen.
    
    I was accepted and part of my summer assignment was to purchase the book "Drawing with the Right side of the brain". Honestly, i'd never been much for reading books to further my art, but considering I had to do this for my summer assignment, I did. I've been doing exactly as they instructed me, and after practicing with the portions of the head and etc, I immediately noticed a difference.
    
    http://sammiblackrabbit.deviantart.com/art/Riverwind-comparison-390032834
    
    the right side is a sketch I did the night before. The left side is one I did the next day. I was floored by the improvement. I know my style isn't what some like, but for me I felt 100x better with my progress and that was just a single night.
    
    Working with this book has been so inspiring to me and so amazing.
    
    I will say that I too had started out with pen and paper and hesitantly moved to digital, but paint tool sai makes it so easy to sketch, line and color all in the same place. Tablets make it that much more joyful and I feel like i'm unlimited in my creativity when I work digitally.
    
    I hope some of this helps, and I hope you find your groove :)

My best advice to you is to practice drawing from life, a lot. There are also a couple of books I recommend, Anatomy for the Artist and Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. Anyone who wants to make a graphic novel, regardless of their chosen style, should put in lots and lots of hours of drawing nude models in dynamic poses. Find an artists co-op in your area that meets regularly with life models and practice, practice, practice.

Try the book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. Highly recommended. I got it out of my local library.

You never know what those people in the photos are struggling with. Some may be depressed themselves. Maybe completely unhappy in their marriages or jobs but feeling unable to do anything about it. Etc etc. You just never know.

​

Have you watched or read anythin by Brene Brown? She has spent her whole CAREER studying and writing about shame. When I went through my SECOND divorce (sigh) and felt like a complete failure (and my family shaming me didn't help any), she was my lifeline. I read three of her books and watched her TED talks several times.

https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability

https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_listening_to_shame

​

These two books changed my life:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/1592403352/

https://smile.amazon.com/Gifts-Imperfection-Think-Supposed-Embrace/dp/159285849X/

Who you are is important. You are important.

It would be helpful if you could figure out why you're being indecisive. There are books for every reason that you could come up with.

Are you indecisive because of:

• Fear of missing out? Try mindfulness (I have no book recommendation for this, sorry!)
  
• Fear of making a mistake? Being Wrong, by Kathryn Schulz
  
• Crippled by outside/social forces? Try stoicism. The Daily Stoic (website) or Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.
  
• Finding motivation to do anything at all? Is this depression? Is this a lack of things around you and in your life that you actually like? Get help or otherwise get to know yourself deeply.
  
• Avoidant behaviors spilling across life zones for some other reason, such as possibly trauma? Get professional help-- that's a deeper problem than finding motivation. I personally found Brene Brown useful with this situation.
  
  I think the key is to just start somewhere. And the good news is, you've started here :) Best of luck!

This may be controversial but if you read between the lines of most of the biographies of the saints mystics you’ll see that many or most suffered from mental illness.

I’ve always thought of this as someone referring to St. Paul was talking about in 2 Cor. 12:7-10

> a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

The bigger our cross the bigger our graces to be holy.

It’s good to let your sisters talents and virtues inspire you but don’t let that tempt you to imitate her... vices (I don’t mean to be judgmental)

Beyond that Id suggest reading The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown

It is a powerful read and I use its wisdom constantly in my ministry

I really recommend The Gifts of Imperfection

Have you read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield? If not, check out the reviews, and then buy it.

No tricks per se, otherwise forcing yourself will be short lived and will produce low quality results. Having said that, this is what I did / do:

1. Read "The War on Art" you'll understand why it's so hard to start doing something that you want to badly (TL;DR: it's your lizard brain / the resistance. Still read the book)
   
   
2. Your brain works better in the morning, we all know that. And there are soooo many things we need to do distractions, well.. writing is your job, and you get paid with those distractions. Wake up and don't do anything until you have written some (you can quantify yourself what this some is, 250 words? 500? 2,500??) not even brushing your teeth, and surely not breakfast (that's the pay for writing). Questionable about bodily functions, it all depends how well you perform under pressure (jk). YMMV
   
   
3. Develop better habits, starting from #2 above.
   
   Quotas seem to work, you can have a words quota, or time quota, or a combo.
   
   What I have seen working is a quotas, you determined how many words/time a unit of writing is, let's say 500 words or 30 minutes; and how many units is your minimum per day. You take it from there.
   
   Here's the real trick you have just read my thing and you're not going to like it at all. Great! You and I are not the same. Pull it apart, be the brutal editor of my work, make it so that it works, pretend you're doing it not for you but for a friend who asked you for help. Then... follow your own advice, but for the sake of the Muses and the Gods of writing, keep #1.
   
   YMMV.

>My stalemate, my plateau was a lack of vision. I hope I can gather from that infinite well, too

​

Inspiration comes best to those who don't wait for it. Read this book, The War of Art asap, it helped me a lot.

​

Kind of a digression but there's some fairly subtle occult themes, nothing that would scare off mainstream folks, but he invokes the muses, talks about ritualizing your creative time to more easily move into a creative mindset, and personifies creative resistance as a sort of demon to be overcome. It's been a while since I read it but from memory I think there's even some bits in there about working with your daimon or higher genius. I highly recommended it.

Read (or stream on Audible) the War Of Art by Steven Pressfield. It will change your life. You’re giving into resistance. Something inside of you is afraid and stalling, keeping you from actually doing. I feel its pull as well. It’s also what convinces me to watch Netflix instead of writing music. Stop losing the war.


The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles https://www.amazon.com/dp/1936891026/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Sh6WCb4JJ3QT0

Edit: spelling

Hey there - this struggle happens to all of us at some point to a certain degree. One thing I do when I'm in that space is to try to not accomplish anything, just open up the DAW, find a sound I like and play with it. It often leads to some really great ideas, and reminds me that I got into music because it's fun and feels good. Sometimes I'll do a YouTube search, find a tutorial on something I don't know how to do, and work along with it. It get's me back in learning mode. Beginner's mind.

Also, Brian Eno's "Oblique Strategies" are helpful. They seem to be hard to find. I got a deck of them, but can't remember where. But there is also a free app you can pick up.

And lastly, I'll recommend this book to all, even if you don't have writer's block. It's an inspirational little book applicable for all artists, regardless of medium. Stephen Pressfield's "War of Art"

http://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Through-Creative-Battles/dp/1936891026/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425426738&sr=8-1&keywords=war+of+art

I love your post. Your thoughts on "the resistance" made me think of this book. I highly recommend it. It's a pretty quick read:

http://www.amazon.com/The-War-Art-Through-Creative/dp/1936891026

It's one of those things where you ask 10 people and you get 20 different answers.

https://drawabox.com/ is a good start, so is https://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive-ebook/dp/B005GSYXU4 . Or - if you have a different opinion - start from where you want.

The journey is long, with dead ends, false starts, backups, traffic jams... but learn to love the process, that is the secret of art or anything else in life.

If you want easy and linear process, try this. You can't go wrong.

If you were to ask me:

STEP 1: https://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive-ebook/dp/B005GSYXU4

STEP 2: https://drawabox.com

STEP 3: by the time you've done 1 and 2 above, you'll know what you want to do next.

Yes. FWIW, it's a reasonably common thing for creators to feel. A couple book recommendations:

• Art & Fear
  
• The War of Art

no, no, /u/MattDemers really did mean "War of Art"! The title's obviously a play on Sun Tzu's work, but War of Art has to do with overcoming internal creative hurdles and the like. Here's the link to the Amazon page.

I haven't read it myself yet, but I saw it on a suggestion thread on a different subreddit a while back so it made its way onto my "look into" list.

This book by Stephen LaBerge is supposedly one of the best books about learning to self induce lucid dreams.

http://www.amazon.com/Exploring-World-Dreaming-Stephen-Laberge/dp/034537410X

Sorry, I hope I didn't come across hostile. I didn't really like that book but that may just be because I've been spoilt by reading so many better books, it's probably quite interesting to someone who's not heard all this stuff before.

Yes jargon is a bit of a curse. Someone started a thread asking something similar earlier but they deleted it, so I'll just copy and paste my suggestions here...

There's no one-best-guide but there's a lot of trash.
IMHO you probably want to get about 2/3 books to get a balanced learning.

I'd recommend these:


Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming?
http://www.amazon.com/Exploring-World-Dreaming-Stephen-LaBerge/dp/034537410X/ref=pd_sim_b_2

Are You Dreaming? Exploring lucid dreams, a comprehensive guide http://www.amazon.com/dp/0957497709/ref=cm_sw_su_dp

Advanced Lucid Dreaming: the power of supplements

http://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Lucid-Dreaming-Power-Supplements/dp/1430305428/ref=pd_sim_b_4

The Conscious Exploration of Dreaming
http://www.amazon.com/Conscious-Exploration-Dreaming-Discovering-Control/dp/1585005398/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381059873&sr=1-1&keywords=conscious+exploration+of+dreaming

First two are must reads, third is useful if you're interested in supplements, fourth is less of a guide but has some useful info. The author Ryan Hurd does some good e-books too.

A lot of the other books out there are really dumbed down or get all wishy-washy and paranormal. Oh and don't bother with "learn to lucid dream in 30 days" or most of the other cheap e-books as you'll only end up wasting your money.

It is a tough industry in many ways, and built around some very specific cities. One decision you should make is what exactly you want to do in film. If you want to be an artist and create your own films, you don't necessarily need to go to film school or even work your way up in the industry. There is lots of cheap gear available. Chances are you have more than enough film making gear right now in your phone and PC, more than you could have dreamed of affording 20+ years ago- when film was film.

So if you want to work in the industry, it will mean 'paying your dues' and might mean never getting to make a film on your own - schools, training programs, etc... are a good idea. You might be poor for awhile, you might have a job so busy and high pressure that at the end of the day more film work (even on your own dream projects) might be the last thing you are interested in doing. Another approach is to come up with a solid day job outside of the industry so that you can pursue your own creative pursuits on the side until such time as they pay off. If you have to count on film making to pay the bills, you would be very fortunate to direct corporate videos and cooking shows and stuff you might not really feel. You will be so close to your dream, but so far away at the same time and that can be frustrating - depending on your goals. If you want to make films on your own terms, you can and should start right away. Don't feel bad if the first 5 or 10 of them are terrible. You are working the bugs out. Read Lumet, a bit of Mamet, and some Rodriguez. Watch a lot of Making of docs on Youtube.

​

Robert Rodriguez wrote El Mariachi with a bit of a brilliant approach. He listed all the interesting ('expensive') things he had access to through his friends (a pit bull, a bus) and incorporated those in his script so it looked a little more big budget. If you write a helicopter landing on a bridge, you would have to pay for it. If your grandma has access to a tennis court and your uncle has a dirt bike - write that instead, and you could pull it off for free. Don't get caught up buying gear, use what you have. You don't need to use lacking gear as an excuse for not making something, and don't need to use buying gear as a replacement for being creative. I have seen that a lot in film, photography, and music. You could hypothetically make a great film for free as a flip book on a pad of paper, and if you do you could show that to people that would help pay for more gear if you need it. Anyway, ramble ramble - free advice is usually worth what you pay for it. Good luck!

• Polish movie posters
  
  
• Sidney Lumet's "Making Movies"
  
  
• Mark Harris' "Pictures at a Revolution"
  
  
• Anything from the Criterion Collection
  
  
• A subscription to MUBI, which is sort of like curated Netflix

Sidney Lumet's book, Making Movies, covers most of the spectrum and is simply a great read.

As for other books, they are generally more technical. For screenwriting, there's McKee's Story; for editing, there's Reisz and Millar's Technique of Film Editing; for cinematography, there's Blain Brown's Cinematography Theory and Practice. And Lumet's book would complete this tetralogy, being a book essentially about directing.

Here are a list of my favorite behind the scenes:

Hearts of Darkness (The Making of Apocalypse Now)

American Movie

Full Tilt Boogie (The Making of From Dusk 'til Dawn)

And the BEST book tha I've found (and buddy, I have a lot of 'em) is Making Movies, by Sidney Lumet. This takes you through every step of the movie making process by a master filmmmaker. I cannot recommend this book enough if you really want to know how hollywood movies are made.

Good article.

This is a good (and quick...<1-2 hours) read to go along with #10: http://www.amazon.com/Steal-Like-Artist-Things-Creative/dp/0761169253/ref=zg_bs_4737_4

I was going to post a long comment, but looks like I am late for that party. So to keep it short, read Steal like an artist by Austin Kleon. Then go make something and fail miserably...
And then learn from that, and try again.

1. I've been gifted exactly 0 times
   
2. I'd love this! or anything from my wishlist really...
   
3. Omnomalicious: To be incredibly delicious. "That cookie was omnomalicious"

These books are more theoretical and about self growth as a well-rounded designer, if you want game theory others listed some great ones like Rules of Play and Book of Lenses. That said, here's my list:

• Level Design For Games: Creating Compelling Game Experiences by Phil Co (Valve)
  
  It's more of a broad game design book since it talks about all the pipelines / processes of all departments coming together, with an emphasis on scripting / level design for crafting experiences. Portion of the book uses Unreal Engine 2 as a reference, but you can probably use UE4 or something else to follow along the actual game design lessons he's teaching and not have the take away be a technical tutorial.
  
  
• Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Ed Catmull (Pixar)
  
  I cannot describe how invaluable this book is, if you're only to get one from the list it'd be this one. While it does covers Pixar's history as a frame of reference for a lot of stuff, it's also more importantly about their ideology for fostering creativity, productivity and work/ life balance -- all of which are important and can be applied to Game Design.
  
  
• Peopleware by Tom DeMarco and Tim Lister.
  
  I read this one after Gabe Newell recommended it one of his interviews and it was at a time in my career when I was working at a AAA studio struggling with the corporate forces that got in the way of creativity / productivity. It was one of those that changed me as a developer. It's more from a management point of view, but seriously applicable if you are collaborating with other people in game development, either on the same level as you or those who rely on your work to do theirs. Or if you are going to work at studio, AAA or indie, it's also an insightful book to evaluate whether the culture cultivated by management is in your best interest so that you have the tools to do your best work without burning out.
  
  
• Rework by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson (Basecamp / Ruby on Rails)
  
  This one is like Peopleware but not as exhaustive, it's an easier read since it's a compilation and edit of blog posts the authors wrote on their old website 37signals. It's more or less about getting stuff done and filtering out noise, simplifying things to make results better -- this one is relatable for planning game project milestones. A lot of it will sound like common sense that a lot of people may say they already know, but it's surprising how many don't actually practice it.

Ah, lei mal o editaste.

Mis libros favoritos :

Para entender que motiva a la gente :
https://www.amazon.com/Drive-Surprising-Truth-About-Motivates/dp/1594484805
(Este video es un buen resumen pero el libro vale la pena) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc

Sobre management en entornos creativos : https://www.amazon.com/Creativity-Inc-Overcoming-Unseen-Inspiration/dp/0812993012

Sobre coaching

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1904838391/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1904838391&linkCode=as2&tag=reainc0a-20

You can make it man! if you can bring or receive books i'd send you some good but quick read books since you'll have the time:

The Emperor's Handbook: A New Translation of The Meditations
Duncan is really good to listen to, if you want to dive in deep look for when he had ball cancer. Then out of respect you should meet Duncan's Mom parts 1 & 2. Chris Ryan's 'Tangentially Speaking' can really get you though feeling lost by learning how to enjoy the experience.

If you feel you're a creative or ever wanted to start a business, i'd buy you The War of Art. But both those books really influenced me when I was younger by exposing me to new perspectives on everyday problems I faced.

Don't give up man. There's many ways to improve.


1.) My best advice, is find a good teacher that you like and feel comfortable around. Once you do you'll really begin to improve and like your sound.


2.) If you can't find a teacher there's plenty of online resources


3.) This is probably the best and hardest way to improve; it's very slow but the pay off is amazing. Transcribe everything. Start with the Beatles or CCR and transcribe simple chord songs and slowly (I mean after several months of doing this) move on to harder material.
This method is not recommended as it's hard, but it'll make you damn good.


Don't give up bro, I've played guitar for 5 years. I sucked for the first two, was mediocre the last 2 years and it's only recently that I've begun to get good. Just like anyone can learn algebra or learn to read anyone can play guitar.

Two Books to Recommend (On the Mental Aspect of Music):

Effortless Mastery - Liberating the Master Musician Within
by Kenny Werner. This book is simply awesome.

• Download it here (It's a safe download, I uploaded it myself. Shhh!)
  
  Zen Guitar - Philip Sudo
  
  
  don't click me! :)
  
  
• Even more awesome, it not only changed how I view music but also my life. This is personally better than Effortless Mastery, as what you read in the book not only affects your music mindset but spreads into your life. Buy It
  
  Two Final Tips
  
  

1. Just get into the habit of practicing, even if it's only for 5mins everyday. Make sure it's at the same time.
   
   
   
2. There's a cycle. Practice -> Improvement -> Motivation -> Practice -> Improvement - Motivation ->
   
   
   Occasionally you'll hit walls or plateaus at which point, watch Crossroads or listen to Zeppelin and remind yourself why you started playing, then go and practice.
   (-> = leads to)

First of all, for technique/practice, consistency in the woodshed is key. My daily routine is very repetitive, to the point that it is incredibly boring. But the improvement is so amazing, that I'm still excited to do it every day. I also kill the monotony with something to occupy my mind, usually either a sitcom or reading material, once I had the routine down.

[This is my daily routine], which takes about 90 minutes if you go nonstop, at the tempos marked (which will take some time to work up).

Secondly, your performance anxiety should be addressed. My professor in college had a required course for the whole tuba/euphonium studio called "Performance Anxiety: Understanding and Coping."

I had some mild anxiety then, but the class helped. The class was almost 20 years ago, but here's the largest takeaways:

• Perform as often as you can in front of an audience. If you have a weekly student recital class like larger schools of music do, sign up as often as you can prepare something. Start with easier solos, and work your way up.
  
  
• Read these books, which were the required reading of the class:
  
• • The Inner Game of Tennis (There is a music version, but consensus is that this is still far superior)
    
• • Effortless Mastery: Liberating the Master Musician Within
    
• • Zen in the Art of Archery (Very short read, can be done in the same day)
    
    Two of the three texts are not music books, but are read by students of just about every single discipline and apply it to their area of study. They will take years to understand on new levels, but you should be able to get some immediate results and understanding of your situation.
    
    As I got older, I've found the best way to quiet those nerves is to overprepare for anything. My teachers used to say "an amatuer practices 'til he gets it right; a professional practices 'til he can't get it wrong." When I'm in a position where I know I cannot screw something up, I actually enjoy the performance, butterflies and all. And I've been in some very high stress situations, with fewer train wrecks each year. This takes some massive time management, but it definitely helps. I usually set a goal to be "performance ready" a few weeks out, so I can do some very picky polishing of the performance.
    
    This is a lot more than I thought I'd say on the matter, but there should be a lot here to help. Happy shedding!
    
    Edit: After perusing the other comments, it looks like you might have a difficult professor. Sounds like you should sit down and decide if he's helping or hindering your progress. To be candid, I never really think of a trombone player being very good for tuba students. Maybe some pedagogy, but there's enough differences in the two instruments to warrant a specialist at the collegiate level. Great euphonium players can teach tuba, just as my best teacher was a tuba player, but they both doubled strongly on the other instrument. Unless your professor can be considered a professional tuba player to some extent, you might need to find a different school to finish your education.

Not exactly what you asked for, but it'll change your life. 12-week process to dial you into to your creativity...

https://www.amazon.com/Artists-Way-Julia-Cameron/dp/1585421464

... and here's some ideas.

https://www.google.com/search?q=rumi+poems

https://www.google.com/search?q=hafiz+poems

https://www.google.com/search?q=therapeutic+metaphors

Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming

https://www.amazon.com/Exploring-World-Dreaming-Stephen-LaBerge/dp/034537410X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1506122659&sr=8-3&keywords=lucid+dreaming

Really informative book on Lucid Dreaming and a lot of the techniques apply to expanding consciousness and mindfulness that served me as a good starting point to exploring more into this and other topics.

https://www.amazon.com/Wheels-Life-Chakra-System-Llewellyns/dp/0875423205/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1506122938&sr=1-1&keywords=wheels+of+life

This was also another great book when I started looking into meditation and more mystical methodologies. It definitely is subjective but both are interesting reads!

Both are easily found online for free too.

Exploring the world of lucid dreaming

Here you go: https://www.amazon.com/Exploring-World-Dreaming-Stephen-LaBerge/dp/034537410X

Despite the fact that you burned to death...are these nightmares of the "wow, that was scary and weird" or the "my whole body is shaking and I can't sleep anymore" kind? For the last one I'd go see a specialist (can get ugly, can be nothing, though). For the first kind you could try to deal with them, trying to remember them actively, writing them down after you wake up, reading through these notes, recognizing patterns and stuff. I've started reading a book about lucid dreaming some time ago which suggested these things to be easier able to recognize that you're dreaming and, after that, taking control of the dream. Also, if you feel like having some writing skills, you could turn them into (short) stories.

I would recommend getting this book highly over just reading /r/LucidDreaming or tutorials. In fact the book strongly recommends getting to the point where you are journaling/remembering one dream a night and categorizing your dream signs before you even attempt any of the techniques to go lucid.

He states clearly if you do not practice your dream recall/journal then it will not only making doing the techniques difficult but even if you do manage to go lucid you probably won't remember when you wake up.

Meditation practice will also immensely help with your attention to detail and what is there.

Wreck This Journal?
Oddly enough, I just ordered one of these for myself!

William Goldman's Adventures in the Screen Trade is a great read on the subject and details some massive flops (and successes) Goldman was involved with as a screenwriter. Goldman is a great writer and its a fun and easy read.

Making Movies by Sidney Lumet predictably focuses more on the director's side of film production and has a good amount of "what it's like."

If you're not already familiar:

http://www.amazon.com/Touched-Fire-Manic-Depressive-Artistic-Temperament/dp/068483183X

Touched by Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament is an amazing and scary book on the topic. The author argues that it is a legitimate question for us to ask what would be the price on society if we could cure this ills. One one hand the person may lead a less miserable life, on the other society would lose great works that never came to be.

On the appendix there's a very long list of famous artists and their suspected diagnosis, based on personal life, correspondence, third person anecdotes, and body of work. Suspected because many conditions were not discovered until after their deaths.

> Have read hundreds of books in the self help and eastern philosophy category, but these days they don't do anything for me.

It's very low quality literature.

Sounds like you would like Martha Nussbaum, she is a very well respected scholar and has written a lot on the Ancient philosophy (ethics mostly), including stoicism (somewhat critically) - in a manner that is also relevant for the person living today. I am thinking of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

> Would like to read something that was written by people who were severely depressed or overcame tragedy.

Then you should probably look at autobiographies or empirical research into depression (1, 2, the author is a clinical psychologist). Philosophy is aiming at maximally objective, reason based interpretation and argument, not interpretation of the past ethical theories based on their personal feelings.

Edit: also, I haven't read this myself, however, it crossed my mind as something that might interest you.

Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament
https://www.amazon.com/Touched-Fire-Manic-Depressive-Artistic-Temperament/dp/068483183X

Even though you're feeling like shit you're willing to reach out to others who can relate and I think that bodes really well for you feeling better. There are a lot of great comments here already and it's a testament to the fact that your post is very honest and relatable. The main point being it really sucks to be bipolar and I couldn't agree more. However, there are potentially good side effects.
There is a popular belief that bipolar people can be especially creative with the combo of mania and tremendous insight into the human condition. You may be interested to read the book [Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament] (https://www.amazon.com/Touched-Fire-Manic-Depressive-Artistic-Temperament/dp/068483183X).
Go easy on yourself, you didn't ask to feel shitty on your birthday and the awful feeling will pass. :-)

An interesting take on such a topic: http://www.amazon.com/Touched-Fire-Manic-Depressive-Artistic-Temperament/dp/068483183X

I would suggest reading Steal Like an Artist.

The main idea of the book suggests that originality comes from having so many different sources of inspiration that nobody can actually pinpoint where the specific influences were.

I wouldn't condemn copying necessarily. I originally work as a graphic & web designer, and when I started out, I used to copy different styles because they inspired me and I thought it not only looked cool, but it worked functionally. Now after a few years I feel as though I'm starting to develop my own style from it and I'm refining specific elements in it to make it my own.

My belief is that the purpose of copying shouldn't be to sell or get signed. What it should mean is to take an idea that resonates with you and explore it, expand on it and put your own spin on it. I think the problem is when people put ego/popularity/sales before the integrity of their art, which unfortunately is what the music industry runs on in our society and is why we see so many similar sounding songs in EDM.

Yup, correct. Absolutely WONDERFUL book. I highly recommend purchasing it and reading through it every time you feel in a creative drought. It's a short read (hour or two) and immensely energizing creatively for me. Amazon link

Steal Like an Artist

Girl!

The first and most important advice I can give you is to buy/rent the book "Steal Like an Artist". It's the best book for getting you into the mindset of just creating. Read it whenever you start doubting yourself. In fact I'm going to read it tomorrow since I've just reminded myself.

The biggest thing is to just relax! Ignore your sister and your mom, and just bear through the task of making yourself draw. Get a sketchbook. You know and I know that the first drawings will be bad, which is why you always allow yourself a warm up. Skip the first page, and just PLAY, EXPERIMENT, EXPLORE, whatever! It really doesn't matter what you do, because you're just basically telling your hand that it's okay to try.

So you mentioned you're more technical. That is a strength! You want to do fashion? Okay, so get a book on human anatomy and study it. Copy the figures, body parts, poses, bones, muscles, etc. Draw folds and wrinkles in cloths. Most of all just draw from observation. Go to cafes, libraries or public transit (wherever people are sitting still, distracted for long periods of time) and draw them, what they wear, their expressions. Get SO inspired that you can't help but record their moment. Make their moment YOURS.

The fact that you see this as a hobby is actually great, because you can use the art to relax instead of getting really agitated about it. One thing I did to get more confident about drawing in public was to get in touch with people on meetup.com and find people that do sketching in public. I don't know if you live in a bigger city or in the country or what, but there are many groups out there that make it their mission to find fun locations to do some sketching. The choice to draw people, architecture, landscapes, or doodle is your choice. Getting together with your community can seem scary at first, but you get to meet a lot of people that have a common interest, whether they're in art school or see it as a hobby. You get to hear a lot of other perspectives and trade around sketchbooks. I know it sounds scary, but trust me, I was in a pretty similar situation as you, and this has really helped me not feel anxious about drawing in public and showing other people my work. You should also try to post on reddit when you want to, and just ask for areas to improve. Let me know if you're in Toronto, because there are a couple of groups I can let you in on.

By the way, a couple of years back, I moved to a different country and wasn't able to bring any of my art supplies with me. I didn't make art for two years, until I realized it was a fundamental component missing from my life. The things I mentioned above are some of the pieces of advice I could have used a few years back. I would advise you to be patient with yourself, draw as much as you can let yourself (to blow off steam or whatever), and read various books on subjects that you think will help you. Try to draw as many different things as possible (people, water, cloth, animals, etc.). Just don't tell yourself that you can't. Accept the drawings that don't make you proud as a step in a long, long process. One medium that I think helped me with confidence is the Micron pen, or felt tip pen. Using pen keeps you from second guessing. It's so permanent and the lines are expressive, so you learn to go with the flow. Alphonso Dunn has a great youtube channel with tons of videos on various subjects, all with micron pen. Look him up!


I hope some of this helps. Good luck!!

Stealing from one source is theft, stealing from a lot of sources is research.

For more reading on the subject - See Austin Kleon's book "Steal like an artist"

I've heard a lot of people say good things about this one:
https://www.amazon.com/One-Line-Day-Five-Year-Memory/dp/0811870197/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1480439032&sr=8-4&keywords=5+year+diary

I highly suggest reading the recent book by Pixar's Ed Catmull: http://www.amazon.com/Creativity-Inc-Overcoming-Unseen-Inspiration/dp/0812993012

Lots of great stuff on the mindset of failure. Here's one great bit.

> Candor could not be more crucial to our creative process. Why? Because early on, all of our movies suck…Pixar films are not good at first, and our job is to make them so—to go, as I say, “from suck to not-suck.”

> Think about how easy it would be for a movie about talking toys to feel derivative, sappy, or overtly merchandise driven. Think about how off-putting a movie about rats preparing food could be, or how risky it must’ve seemed to start WALL-E with 39 dialogue-free minutes. We dare to attempt these stories, but we don’t get them right on the first pass. This is as it should be. Creativity has to start somewhere, and we are true believers in the power of bracing, candid feedback and the iterative process—reworking, reworking, and reworking again, until a flawed story finds its through line or a hollow character finds its soul.

You can read a fuller excerpt here: http://www.fastcompany.com/3027135/lessons-learned/inside-the-pixar-braintrust

Also check out this bit from Toy Story 3 & Little Miss Sunshine writer Michael Ardnt re: Pixar

> I thought they must have some foolproof system, some big Pixar story machine, but they actually just make it up each time as they go along. Pete Docter’s [Pixar writer-director] analogy is ‘Everyone holds hands and jumps out of the airplane with the promise that they’ll build a parachute before they hit the ground.’

Here's more about their culture of failure (reading the book now)

> Mistakes aren’t a necessary evil. They aren’t evil at all. They are an inevitable consequence of doing something new (and, as such, should be seen as valuable; without them, we’d have no originality).

> Left to their own devices, most people don’t want to fail. But Andrew Stanton isn’t most people. As I’ve mentioned, he’s known around Pixar for repeating the phrases “fail early and fail fast” and “be wrong as fast as you can.” He thinks of failure like learning to ride a bike; it isn’t conceivable that you would learn to do this without making mistakes— without toppling over a few times . “Get a bike that’s as low to the ground as you can find, put on elbow and knee pads so you’re not afraid of falling, and go,” he says. If you apply this mindset to everything new you attempt, you can begin to subvert the negative connotation associated with making mistakes. Says Andrew: “You wouldn’t say to somebody who is first learning to play the guitar, ‘You better think really hard about where you put your fingers on the guitar neck before you strum, because you only get to strum once, and that’s it. And if you get that wrong, we’re going to move on.’ That’s no way to learn, is it?”

/u/hellxxfire - Absolutely agree! :)

/u/Acornriot - Thankfully for my shorter (essay style) pieces...I've got my process down.

As for fiction...so far I've got:

• Just write (keep a log of the idea,,,and each time I make changes) the image I see in my head...follow the characters as long as I could.
  
• See the structure so far.
  
• I use plot points and story arcs to get to the questions I need. For example....I broke down a couple of scenes from 'Grace Is Gone' and was able to come up with what I needed (What does the inciting incident help achieve? What could be a connection to the past? Once the protagonist thinks that there are two options...what's the hidden one?) to progress on a short story.
  
• Write based on those prompts - for the short story I went long hand...when I do screenplays I just make notes and type (as formatting is better typed)
  
• Update draft
  
• Reread (If I typed up something from long hand, I see some gaps and plug them...also...I get some ideas and add them as I go. If I already was typing...I print it out and read it --- much better if I bring it with me and read it in between tasks...while I am out and about)
  
• Review structure (if needed --- for particularly long things. Does it make sense?)
  
• Submit/Publish (Thankfully I've recognised my 'perfectionistic tendencies' --- and no longer spend hanging on to a piece of work longer than I have to. Because it's quicker...not only to get the right feedback....it's also quicker for it to find the right audience.)
  
  Now I realise the phrase ('trial and error') is not enough...because you'd be keen to want to know where to find 'things to trial' right?
  
  I've got these:
  
  
• Write Your Screenplay (What I like about what Jacob does is he says why a story works....and how a story could be tweaked)
  
• Creativity Inc --- Biggest takaway is treating a story similar to how an archaeologist would treat a discovery...the best version is there...you just have to find it. :)
  
• The Story Grid Podcast - Was quite interesting to 'listen in' to another writer going through the process. Even if my focus is more of screenwriting....I'm pretty sure there were a number of things that helped me get to some epiphanies. And thinking about it...I think it would be genre (sticking to it and understanding it)
  
• The Q&A with Jeff Goldsmith - My favourite episode was Eric Heisserer's one. This contributed in making me think of other avenues for my writing (which made me open to short stories).
  
• The Blacklist's Script Breakdown - I'm pretty sure that this contributed to my idea of doing a 'Film to Script' exercise. My thought was: 'Why bother with the script when the best version is the one that's is out in the world?' (Well....I know now that sometimes the film doesn't live up to the script ---- that's okay...I'll just focus on the films I really enjoyed...because there may be instances that I may not be able to get a copy of the script to compare)
  
  My favourite writing action point? Only focus on the strategy that leads me forward. :) I may want to wade into Michael Tucker's analysis and keep taking notes...but that won't get me closer...and would likely result in me feeling overwhelmed...so...step by step. I only 'wade' when I'm stuck (that is...if my current process has resulted in a brick wall....so far....none yet!)
  
  Edit: Expanded the 'trial and error' phrase! :D

God do I despise the mods of this subreddit. The reproduced below apparently is a duplicate post that is not permitted, presumably because it could be placed here instead:

​

BioWare what's your mailing address? I'd like to donate ten copies of Creativity Inc.

Link here to the amazon page for this book. Written by Ed Catmull, the head of Pixar from before it was even Pixar, Creativity Inc. is essentially a story about Pixar's history and how Ed and the other leaders of Pixar tried to first make a successful animated movie, and then maintain that success. It talks about how one movie they made required a lot of crunch and burned people out, and they resolved to never do it again, and haven't. It talks about growing a company where two different projects are worked on by different teams, and ensuring nobody feels like there is an A team or B team. It talks about making sure the driving force of a movie is the experience, not the technology or pleasing some shitty executive. It talks about giving responsibility and accountability to a single person who owns the project and makes decisions.

It basically talks about how Pixar tried to navigate every god damn pothole BioWare tripped on, and maybe if you read it when it came out in 2014 we wouldn't have this dumpster fire of a game.

It's possible your local library has a copy of this book:
https://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Winning-Creative-Battle/dp/1501260626?sa-no-redirect=1&pldnSite=1

What may pertain to your problem is his concept of Resistance.

>I'm horrid in the motivation department

I hear this almost every day of my life, and I have the same response: Motivation is like gasoline. It's high-octane, but it's not sustainable. Motivation is great for when you're starting to workout. You go to the gym for 4 days a week. You feel great, you've accomplished something. You're on the way to a healthier lifestyle. You're happy that you did it, but you didn't like doing it. You forced yourself to do it.

If you want to be physically fit -- not just lose weight -- you need dedication. I wake up at 5, I'm in the gym by 6 and I've done my workout by 8. This is my routine, It makes me happy to exercise. I like it. If I can't do it when I'm scheduled to, I know I won't feel good that day. I don't get that release; I know working out always makes me happy after I've done it. I don't want to deprive myself of future happiness. Dedication and routine are what makes you physically fit. Motivation gets you started.

You might benefit from this book.

Effortless Mastery is a book on meditation for musicians that was recommended on a recent discussion forum thread along with some other books and techniques.

Don't give up!

Go to a good teacher. Good music teachers can identify your weak spots, teach you more effective practice habits, and show you techniques that will raise your game.

It is likely that there are fundamental guitar skills that you never learned. The lack of those skills probably hold you back. Once you have strong fundamentals, learning to play songs is much easier.

Also, pick up this book which teaches a whole new way to think about musical improvement.

For getting over writer's block, I strongly suggest doing morning pages like in this book. (A lot of helpful stuff is in this book, I strongly recommend giving it a read, but if there's nothing else you take from this book, it should be this, I'd say)

https://www.amazon.com/Artists-Way-Spiritual-Higher-Creativity/dp/1585421464

Basically, buy yourself a little journal. Every morning, fill three pages in it by hand, it should take around a half hour to do. Doesn't matter what it is. Write literally anything that comes to mind no matter how pointless or foolish or self-concerned or nonsensical you think it is. The point here is just to fill 3 pages with whatever is in your mind. I have even heard of people who have on certain days simply filled all three pages with just cursing, like "FUCK YOU" over and over again. Sometimes that's just how you feel.

Then, and here is they key, do NOT read it. Don't throw it away, but don't read it, either. Part of the point is to write without judging whether what you have written is good or bad. Make sure you do it consistently. It works best when you keep to it every morning.

A lot of people will tell you that the best way to get over writer's block is to start writing something, anything. And, this exercise done consistently I think you'll find will clear your mind of the unhelpful thoughts cluttering up your mind, later for when you want to express yourself. I find myself thinking, "Oh I already thought about that," or "I'm tired of harping on that, I'd like to think about something else now." Or sometimes by needing to fill the three pages, it forces you to think about something preoccupying you in a new way, and you feel encouraged by your fresh perspective.

RESOURCES!

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain - I hear it's an awesome book. Definitely on my wishlist.

Mark Crilley - Awesome dude, and just plain fun to watch. He doesn't really go into much detail on most of the stuff he does, but it's really cool to watch his workflow. Check out his videos on perspective drawing.

Proko - In my comment above. Does really nice figure drawing stuff.

Ctrl+Paint - Mainly for digital painting, which I'm trying to get into.

Draw with Jazza - Really good illustrator. Hard to follow sometimes, though.


I'm probably forgetting a lot, but resources are everywhere! Go find em!

http://www.penciljack.com - Level up through the forums. Loston Wallace + Smitty (The Legendary Paul Smith) are frequenters. Get tips from people that know what the fuck they're talking about.

I suck at drawing, but I know the good books, and they'll likely recommend them too:

http://www.amazon.com/Figure-Drawing-All-Its-Worth/dp/0857680986/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377364025&sr=1-1&keywords=andrew+loomis

Anything by Loomis. Steve Rude, Alex Ross, and many more see his books as integral to their artistic education.

http://www.amazon.com/Perspective-Made-Easy-Dover-Instruction/dp/0486404730/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377364049&sr=1-1&keywords=norling+perspective+made+easy

http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377364114&sr=1-1&keywords=drawing+on+the+right+side+of+the+brain

Good luck!

I've spent a good chunk of my life single, and I agree. It's easy to fall into a comfortable rut.

One of the things I do is try on a new hobby every three months. The current one is drawing; I picked up a copy of Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, the associated workbook, and some pencils and I'm working my way through the exercises. Even if I end up not sticking with it, I'll pick up a skill and--more importantly--I'm keeping my brain soft and open to new things.

I've got a long list of things I'd like to try but alas I'm a poor grad student who hasn't yet found work, so I'm kind of limited.

Why does this keep happening to me?

Stalkers online and IRL everywhere.

I learned with this book https://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201

Take the time to do each and every exercise even if it feels trivial. And it's important not to be interrupted during the exercises.

The next hobby I spend the most time on after knitting would be (pencil) drawing. It's a cheap hobby, won't take up space, and at least for me it's meditative in the sense that after a few minutes I get into a deeply concentrated state, where time flies and all other thoughts get blocked out - it's just shapes and shades.

I never thought I knew how to draw, or that I'd be good at it, so I got a book. I went through (an older version of) this book, and honestly - it's like learning to ride a bike. At some point it just clicks, and it's a whole new world after that. Drew this a few weeks ago (from a reference photo), and that's coming from someone that maybe knew how to draw stick figures before really deciding to learn how to draw. If I can draw something that makes me go "oh wow, I managed that", so can others.

What are good starting points?

I just got a Surface Pro 4 a while ago and the pen that comes with it has really got me interested in drawing. It's something I've always wanted to do, but thought I never could do. With the Surface though, I could make as many mistakes as I want (and learn from them) without having to start from scratch or need fresh supplies constantly.

I'd absolutely love to draw or paint a portrait of someone, for starters, but the problem is I have absolutely no idea where to start. There's just so much out there to pick and choose from. Any ideas?

I've heard the book Drawing on the Right Side of Your Brain is good, but there's just so many resources out there it's a little overwhelming.

I am by no means an expert, been drawing for six months definitely still a noob but this is the only book I've ever read http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1585429201 and I highly recommend it.

It doesn't teach you how to draw, it teaches you how to see, and how to trigger the right side of your brain. Which is life changing and can be used to learn things like mediation, or yoga as it is such a great release.

When the right side of my brain is operating I get into this amazing zone where I can see life in a completely different way. It's hard to stay in this zone but when I'm in it time passes by unknowingly, the music I'm listening fads away and I'm completely grounded. In this zone I can see every facet of someone's face, and understand how lines bend, curve, and contract.


This is when my drawing comes to life, and I'm actually drawing what I am seeing. Unfortunately in the beginning and even now I can only stay in zone for short periods, but the more I practice the longer it stays and the easier it is to trigger.

I learn how to draw by trying to draw what I see then if I get stuck I look at everyone else's work to see how they saw it and compare the two.

For example that one chick who posted "I was told to post my mug here." The bridge of her nose was immensely hard to draw and also for me to understand what I was actually seeing there. If you go through you'll see some artists got it right while others changed the pose, or how it looked.

Or artectors post I saw it and just started drawing all those amazing shapes in the shadows of his face. I never finished it http://i.imgur.com/tdVRMXg.jpg but I learned a tremendous amount from it. Like the top right curve of his check starts the curve down to the chin. Or the right side shadow at the end of the mouth not only curves up but outlines the cheek and the smile. Now I can see that in other drawings I can't really draw it yet but that will come with practice.


So for me I'm learning to see first then the technical part of actually putting that on paper will come after that. I hope this helps.

Also I feel obligated to say I just got out of a bubble bath, I'm in a robe and bette mildler song came on my mp3 player while writing this . So it might explain all the feels. Lol


Oh and here's my first drawing like six months ago of the wifey http://i.imgur.com/sAbnfpX.jpg BOOM!


~Eric

The Gifts of Imperfecton by Brene Brown. She is a social worker and does research on shame. In the book she focuses on the importance of letting go of your expectations in exchange for happiness. I'm constantly recommending it to friends and rereading it myself. I love that her work is based in real tangible research, it makes it feel like something more than self-help

You're awesome! I love this sub too it makes it feel like I'm not alone. Going through all these past things in order to heal yourself can get really lonely and exhausting sometimes. :) It makes it feel like there's light at the end of the tunnel.

Here's some stuff that really helped get started in recognizing my internalized shame and made me feel more hopeful about things, maybe some of it will be helpful to you too! :

on vulnerability

on shame

[and her book]
(http://www.amazon.com/Gifts-Imperfection-Think-Supposed-Embrace/dp/159285849X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1457589080&sr=8-2&keywords=brene+brown+imperfect) that I just started reading, give it a shot if you like her TED talks.

>your attitude leaves nothing left for you to enjoy

Spot on. I was miserable for years in college, and forced myself to be miserable. If I did something dumb, I'd punish myself by breaking something I liked or throwing something I valued away. I figured I deserved punishment for doing something wrong (does my extremely religious upbringing come through?) I'm finally getting past this. I found this book was pretty helpful.


I had another remark about this sub. I think its a great idea, but its kinda small, and I really don't want it to fizzle out. Do you think it could be posted to some of the mental health subreddits? Maybe /r/Anxiety, /r/depression, etc? This might get it some attention and help people hear advice that helps others.

She has a great book btw. I mean... i heard from a friend... i'm not secretely the... sappy... emotional type... backing away slowly

Read "The gift of imperfection" by Brene Brown. Seriously. Read it. You are good enough. If there are things you like to improve: Do it. Get your ass up and do it. Love yourself (which will lead to improving yourself automatically because you care. And I don't mean masturbating. Flossing maybe, but not masturbating.), people will notice that. You will be more confident. You will be who you are. And soon enough, you will attract someone that will like you almost as much as you do.

Edit: I switched from mobile to laptop instead of going to sleep to also add this link, so you better read this: http://www.reddit.com/r/getdisciplined/comments/1q96b5/i_just_dont_care_about_myself/cdah4af

Perfectionist? Comparing yourself to others? It's definitely worth considering a change in perspective. This is a great read for perfectionists.

It's not just that you'll be much happier if you're able to lower your expectations and play more for yourself.
You'll progress faster with a change in mindset.

> Something about having a finished song vs 8 bar loop makes me anxious.

You're not alone. You might check out The War of Art. It's about overcoming the self-sabotage that many artists deal with.

Couple of things to try:

Check out Mini-habits to get you moving.

The other is to try to just focus on the process:

"When your goal is to pay attention to only what you are doing right now, as long as you are doing just that, you are reaching your goal in each and every moment" - Thomas M. Sterner from The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life

Lastly there is a great book by a writer on the battle to create and write called, The War of Art.

Just my two bitcoins - I hope it helps. Hang in there!

For more details on a type of writing that helped me through the end of my first deep relationship, check out this book.

Personally, it really helped me organize my mind through a rough time.

"The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron is kind of a classic.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Artists-Way-Julia-Cameron/dp/1585421464

Hi there!

I am also an AoNM, and an aspiring novelist. I struggled with the same block about writing for a LONG time -- in fact, I've really only gotten past in in the last few months, but I am now almost 80k words into a novel which I have been trying to write for years, and expect to have a complete first draft within a few weeks.

I'm honestly a little embarrassed to be recommending this, but do you know what finally helped me get over the block? This book: http://www.amazon.com/The-Artists-Way-Julia-Cameron/dp/1585421464

I will be the first one to tell you that it can be cheezy, and preachy, and that it places a much greater importance on God or a 'creative spiritual power' than I, as an atheist, was really comfortable with, but bear with me.

The basic tenants are that you keep a stream-of-consciousness diary every day, to get all the anxiety and stuff out of your way, and have an 'artist's date' each week, to get used to setting time aside for yourself regardless of what is going on. But it is full of essays about letting go of perfectionism and the overly critical voice in your head, of acknowledging the injuries other people have done to you in the past which make it impossible for you to create freely, and has lots of exercises to help you do that. It's hard to describe well, I feel, and I was extremely skeptical of it at first, but I can't ignore how very much it helped me once I really gave it a chance.

I know for me growing up, I was constantly "not wanting to do something just because I [wasn't] interested." No amount of threatening, bribing, waiting, removing the opportunity was going to change that. It wasn't about the thing at all, it was about asserting power/control over my young life. I think especially as a "gifted" child this is especially psychically important.

As an adult, I've recently been reading The Now Habit and I was actually wondering how I would have received those ideas as a child (maybe especially personally funny to me since in elementary school I used to like reading any self-help/child-rearing books my parents had around the house anyway) or if you would be able to use the ideas to actually motivate an under-performing child.

It is sad to look back and wonder what you could have been done if you'd felt free to do it.

I recommend two books for a start:

The Now Habit for dealing with Procrastination.

Getting Things Done to deal with time management.

Both books helped me as they both have useful strategies that I use every day.

CHeck the book the Now Habit by Neil Fiore. I think he was the pioneer in driving this understanding of procrastination. http://www.amazon.com/The-Now-Habit-Overcoming-Procrastination/dp/1585425524

This sounds like a really short summary of The Now Habit by Neil Fiore. It's very much in the vein of a standard American self-help book, but contains many enlightening observations about how and why we procrastinate, and practical tips for avoiding the behaviour without getting bogged down with guilt about all the time we waste.

google for "unschedule" and
http://www.amazon.com/Now-Habit-Overcoming-Procrastination-Guilt-Free/dp/1585425524

This guy allegedly helped PhD students at Berkeley (?) to be able to move forward when they got stuck working on their thesis.

Also use positive reinforcement behavioral training on yourself - if there are other things outside of your list that you like doing, then if you go to class and stay awake or stay of reddit and /. for a half day, treat yourself.

To save time on the "save the articles for later perusal" I use Opera, set reddit to open new stories in a new tab, then save the 25 or more tabs using the Opera File->sessions->"Save this Session" I number them consecutively and I am at 450 or so. I never go back to them either. But I don't waste time bookmarking or saving pages otherwise.

The hair thing sounds a bit worrisome if you are a dude.

This book is supposed to be great for overcoming procrastination.

http://www.amazon.com/Now-Habit-Overcoming-Procrastination-Guilt-Free/dp/1585425524

My problem is that I procrastinate reading it. =/

That 32 hour number sounds really close to the amount of time that I feel best at.

As for how I track time, I've gone through lots of variants, the last being inspired by a really great book call "The Now Habit" and the system called the Unschedule.

It's basically just a table that represents your week, but most importantly you only schedule stuff you have to do like eat and sleep, and fun stuff. You then fill the empty remaining space with work as you do it.

In the books it's assumed that you do it on paper, I do it on my galaxy note phone with the stylus. I color code everything. Here is an example.

I would highly recommend the book and figure out your own ways to implement it. I like using my phone stylus because it is fast, always on me, and easy to edit.

Target 40 hours with the rest dedicated to exercise, non-work writing, non-work reading, and non-work socializing.

I've tried the other way, and this way helps me be more productive.

Keep in mind that how physically healthy and attractive that you look as outsized impacts on how people react to you in sales and business development situations. People who put in 'hero' 80 hour weeks months on end usually suffer badly in the health department. Few businesses can really be run by just one person. That's why you hire other people.

Good books on this:

• E-Myth Revisted -- on how overwork causes most small businesses to fail
  
  
• The Now Habit -- book by a psychologist about how to schedule off-time to decrease procrastination

Tl;dr: Yes, everything you are thinking is bullshit that your brain is coming up with to protect you from your fear of not being good at what you are doing.

Yes, anxiety is the root of a lot of procrastination. I also have anxiety about perfectionism and it's quite paralyzing. And quite common. People seem to be saying, "Just write something, who cares if it's bad or wrong? Just do it!" which is not actually super helpful. The problem with a lot of perfectionists is that they feel as though the quality of their work is a reflection of who they are as a person. If your work is bad, that means you are bad or stupid. It means every decision you made in life that got you to this point was wrong because you're terrible and you will never be good at anything and you have wasted your life by not doing something better. And everyone will see that you are stupid and terrible and they will hate you and pity you.

And that's pretty bad, so our brain decides that if we don't do any work at all, we will never have to really confront how terrible we truly are.

This is, unfortunately, wrong. Because if we do the work we will actually realize that we are not as terrible as we thought were are or that being bad doesn't have the dire consequences we thought it did.

You mentioned that you can't afford to do poorly because you'll get a bad grade. What you are doing is catastrophizing. You're saying, "if I write something for this class, it will end up bad, and I'll get a bad grade, and then I'll fail, and then my GPA will sink, and I'll never get a job, etc." Truthfully, the worst thing you could do for your grade is not write anything at all, so even something bad is better than nothing. Also, you are in a class. You don't have to be great at writing. If you were already great at it, you wouldn't need the class. It's okay to have room for improvement.

So I think we can all agree that the best course of action would be for you to write something. So how do you get over the procrastination hurdle?

1. Stop telling yourself "I should write" and start saying, "I want to write." You do want to write, that's why you're here. That's why you're in that class. You want to learn how to write, so own up to the fact that this is a choice you had made and it's something you want. Literally say it out loud to yourself.
   
   
2. Choose a time to do it and at that time, actually say out loud to yourself, "I get to work on my writing now." I know this sounds like kooky bullshit, but there is actually psychology behind this. When you say that you should do or you have to do something, the brain perceives it as a punishment and wants to avoid it. If you think of it as a positive choice or a want, then you are less likely to dread it.
   
   
3. Consider breaking it into smaller chunks. I find that getting started is the hardest part, so for me, if I tell myself "I am just going to write one paragraph, and that's enough" once I am done with that, I am typically more excited about continuing. I do this with the gym too. I tell myself "I'm just going to walk there and exercise for 20 minutes and then come home" and by the time I'm there and going, staying longer doesn't feel like a huge hurdle.
   
   This book is good for helping understand procrastination. I don't do any of the exercises or things he suggests, but it helped me reframe some of my thinking about why I procrastinate.

Try reading this book too - Now Habit. It is pretty good for procrastinators.

A few books have changed my life. Most directly these two:
The Now Habit and Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life

On a personal level of how I view the world Man's Search for Meaning by Vikto Frankl and The Moral Animal: Why We Are, the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology have helped me to understand the people in the world around me.

Spiritually, Siddhartha and the Book of John in the New Testament have helped me to be a better human being.

Highly recommended: http://www.amazon.com/Now-Habit-Overcoming-Procrastination-Guilt-Free/dp/1585425524

If you're using chrome, download "Strict Pomodoro" and start using that. Do four chunks of 25 minute work then take a break. You click the timer and it'll start counting down those 25 minutes and lock out pages like facebook and reddit. There's also pomodroido if you have an android device.

At some point, read "the pomodoro technique" as Heykidcatch recommended.

Get on amazon and order a copy of The Now Habit (that's the UK site btw). I've read a couple of chapters and its very good.

For now though, focus on getting started. Clear your desk, think about what is the one thing you really need to do, get out what you need to do it and think about one place you could start. Now you're ready to hit that timer button and start working. Don't do anything but work until the 25 minutes are up.

Also, forget about reddit for now. Come back and check your post in a few hours when lots of people will have replied.

If you really can't draw at all, I'd strongly recommend learning how to draw with pencils before trying to paint. There are basic skills you need to pick up about how to get what you see down on the page, and if you're trying to do that along with all the added complication of learning how to use watercolours you'll just be making it really hard for yourself.

I can't recommend this book enough: http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201

You can't learn to draw by wishing.
Do it by setting a goal and start to learn. Spend a few bucks and start with :
http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201

This is a very efficient and science based approach on how to draw. It really works very well.
Within a few sessions you will be amazed at how much better you can draw.

Just do it! :)

This guy helped me a lot! http://www.dueysdrawings.com/drawing_tutorials.html
Drawing is one of those things that anyone can learn to do well, it's just a matter of practice and patience. But Duey's tutorials give a great run down of basic techniques to master, good tips most people starting out wouldn't think of and even gives a great list of essential materials and how to use them properly. I had been drawing for years without knowledge of all the right tools and blending with my fingers (a drawing sin as taught in school!) before I stumbled upon that site and found out that the oils on your hands are bad for the paper and to blend with tissues and blending stumps! Had always been artistic growing up but Duey honestly helped bring my work to a whole new level and made me appreciate the art form all the more. His free tutorials are definitely enough to become really good at drawing but if you want to refine or further advance your skills, he mentions a book on his site that he learnt a great deal from, which I ended up buying and definitely recommend. There's also another really good one here: http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201
No matter what method or techniques works for you, the most important and also the most difficult thing is to just stick to it and keep drawing!

This describes the premise of a left brain and right brain in layman's terms. For a whole book on the topic go read Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. It explains the idea of symbol drawing more in depth and provides a bunch of exercises to go with it. Some exercises require you to have a see-through pane (like glass). I've read that some people think it's okay to just skip them, but I did those too. You can work through the book in about a week of 2 hours each day and hugely improve your life drawing skills. You can see some before/after pictures here and I can attest you that the progress depicted is accurate.

Overall, I think that the author uses way too many words to describe the concepts presented, but there simply is no other book (I've heard of) that describes the same concepts.

I highly rec. this book: http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201

Nice work! I love the texture of the hair.

If you want to get more realistic you'll need to start trying to draw what you see instead of what you think you see, if that makes any sense. For example, the eyes you drew are symbolic eyes, not really what eyes actually look like. They may resemble your eyes but they're missing the anatomical structures that make real eyes work.

I just picked up this book which covers pretty much exactly the problems you're having here: http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201. So far I really like it and I bet you'd find it helpful.

(And if you don't want to get more realistic please ignore me! You didn't say what you were going for so I was just guessing.)

Good news for you:

1. You're drawing
   
   
2. You realize that you need improvements
   
   
3. This book "Drawing with the Right side of the brain" is a self paced guided method to learn drawing by un-learning what we know that's not useful. The book is inexpensive, I am sure your local library has it, or you could buy it online, no need to get the latest edition, it's a classic, so even an old edition will do the trick.
   
   
4. Keep at it.

Then this book is made for you. Autor here focus on encouraging persons who thinks they can't draw and convince them that everyone can do it. Great book.

Old skool style book: Betty Edwards' Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

This book more than any other got me to get past the brain's symbols that were getting in the way of the drawing, to see what was actually in front of me.

Admittedly both artistically trained and not a parent, so I don't know if this is too out of left field. Though were I to have kids, and find out they have a thing for narrative art. I'd get this book and this book off the shelf and show it to them. I wish I had these books when I was just learning how to draw.

Don't force them to do any of the lessons out of it or anything. Just keep it as a reference book for them, if they choose to want to go beyond stick figures. These two books have pretty much all the information required to render objects and people correctly, and apply that towards the conventions of comics and narrative story telling.

As an aside though, drawing in particular is a trained skill. You could learn alongside your kid if you had the time/energy.

I would truly start with classics of art and design:

https://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201

https://www.amazon.com/Primer-Visual-Literacy-Donis-Dondis/dp/0262540290/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=a+primer+in+visual+literacy&qid=1550624258&s=books&sr=1-1-fkmrnull

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https://www.amazon.com/Visual-Perception-Elementary-Two-dimensional-Perception/dp/3721202775/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=2d+visual+perception&qid=1550624302&s=books&sr=1-1-fkmrnull

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https://www.amazon.com/Portfolio-Beginning-multidimensional-approach-learning/dp/1633221423/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=drawing+basics&qid=1550624463&s=books&sr=1-8

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You basically want to dig deep into the absolute fundamentals presented in drawing and design and apply them. Think daily sketches, daily exercises in composition, life drawing, etc.

Classes will not curb your individuality.

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A lot of people have this fear. The paintings you make in class will look academic. This means other trained artists will be able to tell they were created for learning purposes. Studies have a distinct look, but many studies are revered.

​

Ultimately, classes will get you closer to your true style. All humans have an innate way we draw. Drawing with The Right Side of the Brain goes into this well. I highly suggest picking it up. It is my opinion that formal training will get you through these predictable stepping stones quicker than teaching yourself. In this way you will achieve art with individuality faster than self taught artists. Teaching yourself is a viable option. It just takes a lot longer.

​

Step one to being a good painter is learning how to draw. Pick up a sketchbook. Draw what you see very often.

Check out a book called Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain: http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201. You'll immediately improve as you learn things like not drawing from symbols and learning to draw what you see. Most people get stuck in the symbol drawing stage when they're in elementary school, which is why it's embarrassing to pick it back up as an adult. It'll look like a child's drawing until you learn WHY it looks that way, and learn the proper way to perceive things you're drawing. It's also extremely friendly and approachable for beginners.

I have seen "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" recommended a few times when this question has came up: http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201/

Essentially the book teaches you to draw 'what you see' and not what you know is there.

You should check out the book "drawing with the right side of the brain", super critically acclaimed book that is great for learning

also, yes, anyone can draw well with enough practice

http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457397330&sr=8-1&keywords=drawing+with+the+right+side+of+the+brain

Here's the same info in a different graphic. It comes from Mason Currey's relatively recent book Daily Rituals. Someone would have to check the book to see where he sourced the information.

On the one hand, his book a way to demystify "genius" (a concept I don't really believe in) by emphasizing the fact that all these geniuses actually worked their asses off to achieve what they did. On the other hand, it's another form of idolatry.

Some famous artists to check out:

Chuck Close is paralyzed and uses a powerchair.

Henri Matisse had stomach cancer and was mostly home and bed-bound for the time that he did his famous cutouts.

Here's a wikipedia article listing some other famous disabled artists.

If you move over to the classical music world, Violinist Itzhak Perlman had polio as a kid and now uses crutches and a scooter to get around, and plays seated.

Percussion megastar Evelyn Glennie has been profoundly deaf since age 12.

Ludwig van Beethoven was deaf when he wrote most of his late works, including the 9th symphony which has the famous "ode to joy" chorus

Moving over to writers Fyodor Dostoyevsky had epilepsy, Jorge Luis Borges lost his sight and was blind by his mid-50s.

In terms of learning disabilities and psychological disabilities there are too many to count (but I'm running out of steam so I'll let you google that one for yourself).

If you want to connect with contemporary disabled artists google "disabled artists community", "disabled artists collective", "disabled writers" and the like.

Carolyn Lazard's work jumps to mind as something that you might be interested in.

I'll also recommend you check out the book Daily Rituals: How Artists Work, edited and with text by Mason Curry. It has a lot of primary source material of different artists, writers, scientists, etc talking about their daily rituals. A significant number of them either work directly around an illness or there is one implied. It's an interesting read for those of us who need to work a little differently from the norm.

I'm really big on learning from others and also try to find the routines, habits, and tricks of those who I may be able to model myself after and have found a few helpful links like;

https://podio.com/site/creative-routines

http://dailyroutines.typepad.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Daily-Rituals-How-Artists-Work/dp/0307273601/?tag=dailrout20

Gift one:[have been dreaming of the day i get a rainbow dash backpack] (http://www.amazon.com/My-Little-Pony-Rainbow-Plush/dp/B00AD9DVUY/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1ACYBPXW50GS&coliid=I3AJSFZGMS037R) or even [to become boba fett] (http://www.amazon.com/Darker-Fleece-Hoodie-Multi-Colored-XX-Large/dp/B009ST66GG/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=YCQA0VLK1CQ8&coliid=I3RPOIYG8GZ332&psc=1)

Gift Two:[very cool card activity] (http://www.amazon.com/HYPERtheticals-50-Questions-Insane-Conversations/dp/0307587924/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1ACYBPXW50GS&coliid=IHY3DIW5NGM5L)

C'mon...gimme.

you guys always look beautiful and amazing and i love u both<3

Diaries? This is one of the reasons I've started journaling. I would highly recommend this Q&A a day book. I only write about a sentence a day and it definitely helps jog my memory.

This is the only thing I know of that may be close to what you are looking for.

http://www.amazon.com/Q-A-Day-5-Year-Journal/dp/0307719774

[This.] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0307719774/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1425997272&sr=8-1&keywords=q%26a+a+day+five-year+journal&pi=AC_SY200_QL40&dpPl=1&dpID=51Pfe-r-JbL&ref=plSrch)

The first thing I would suggest is to slow down :)

Lucid dreaming is a fairly deep topic to just jump right into. A lot of people discover it and become super excited, but ultimately lose focus and stop trying altogether. The best thing you could do right now is start reading and taking in as much information as you possibly can in an organized manner.

I'd suggest visiting this site and completing the tutorial section. It explains one of the most common ways to achieve lucidity in a friendly, easy-to-read way. Buy or somehow "obtain" Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming by Stephen Laberge. It's a bit "out there" at times, but maintains a down-to-Earth feel more often than not.

Try to recall at least two dreams a night, but it sounds like you've got that down already. On that website, you'll learn that it's important/helpful to go back and rewrite the end of your dreams to include a section where you realize you're dreaming and become lucid (for whatever reason.)

Practice reality checks, but don't just go:

> Am I dreaming?

Do something along the lines of:

> Am I dreaming? What have I done in the last half-hour? What did I do before that? What did I have for breakfast?

If you practice the latter enough you'll eventually do the same in a dream.

Read your dream journals or read other peoples' lucid dreams and use that as inspiration to keep up your reality checks.

And have fun! Don't be discouraged if it takes you a day, week, or month to have your first lucid dream; Stephen Laberge said some of his students have taken a while to really master the concept, so take your time.

You have to focus on dream recollection, and after you can remember your dreams, you have to then start practicing lucidity. It actually isn't that difficult, it's more a matter of motivation and piecing things together at first then it is your actual memory. I already linked to the [lucid dreaming] (https://www.amazon.com/Exploring-World-Dreaming-Stephen-LaBerge/dp/034537410X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1512078155&sr=8-1&keywords=exploring+the+world+of+lucid+dreaming) book before, and when I did it, it only took me a day or two to actually start being able to recall them, although it was slowly remembering pieces. Someone mentioned Astral Projection, and I do believe personally it's a real thing, but more a a meditation or form of lucid dreaming, not the spiritual bullshit. Just keep at it, get a book if you have to, but it really is something anyone can do. I have actually had two lucid dreams that I can remember, but both of them didn't last long. One I was a hockey player, and as soon as I realized I was dreaming Someone threw me into the side glass of the arena, the air horn went off and I immediately woke up. And in the other one I was a dinosaur sleeping under a tree, realized I wasn't actually a dinosaur, and then went back to sleep in the dream. Point is, is that when you do actually figure out how to lucid dream, you will get kicked out of it unless you practice, or know how to prevent that.

Read this book.

This answer is legit.

From Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming, by Stephen LaBerge: http://www.amazon.com/Exploring-World-Dreaming-Stephen-LaBerge/dp/034537410X

Also r/luciddreaming

All about Lucid Dreams. How to, sǝɔuǝıɹǝdxǝ, etc.

Please take discussions of the paranormal such as astral projection someplace else. Binaural beats are also inappropriate. Let's keep this in the realm of science.

Welcome to r/LucidDreaming! Please check out the sidebar and Wiki before posting.

***

• Quickstart Guide for Beginners - Know this stuff before you post!
  
  
  
• Frequently Asked Questions
  
  
• An excellent Podcast by TheLucidSage
  
  ***
  
  

  Rules
  

  
  

• 0. Be nice to everyone!
  
  
• 1. All posts must be related to Lucid Dreaming!
  
  • 1a. No posts regarding just the paranormal. There's /r/astralprojection (among others) for that.
    
  • 1b. No posts just about dreams. There's /r/dreams and /r/thisdreamihad
    
    
• 2. No advertising!
  
  ***
  
  

  Related Subreddits
  

  
  

• The everything about dreaming multireddit!
  
  
• Teaching Kids to Lucid Dream
  
  
• Lucid Dreaming Memes
  
  
• SleepParalysis
  
  
• Lucid Dreaming Speculation
  
  
• Dreams
  
  
  ***
  
  

  Some good ןɐıɹoʇnʇ links
  

  
  

• Finger Induced Lucid Dreaming This appears to be the biggest improvement in lucid dreaming techniques in a long time. Be sure to give it a try.
  
  
• Dream Views A good fairly comprehensive guide. There's also a great message board and an online dream journal.
  
  
• LD4all A message board, it's got solid information and good community.
  
  
• All Day Awareness is a great approach. it is effort intensive, but pay back in lucid dreams and more awareness in life.
  
  
• This FAQ was produced by the Lucidity Institute. It's not pretty, but is based on solid science.
  
  

  For when you are ready to obsess
  

  
  

• Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming is THE book on Lucid Dreaming. "A Course in Lucid Dreaming" is the most thorough lucid dream training tutorial with lots of charts for you to keep track of your progress. (No link right now.)
  
  
  ***
  
  

  Lucid Dreaming Acronyms
  

  
  LD - Lucid Dreaming - Being aware that you are dreaming while in a dream.
  
  
  RC - Reality Check - A test to establish whether you are in a dream or waking life, actively done during the day in hopes that the habit will continue within dreams.
  
  
  DC - Dream Character - Any personality you encounter other than yourself...well, occasionally it can also be yourself.
  
  WBTB-Wake Back To Bed - Waking up for 20-30 minutes, then going back to bed increases the chances of lucid dreaming. Use that time to read about lucid dreaming or plan your dreams, and make your intention solid. Can be combined with other techniques.
  
  
  MILD - Mnemonically Induced Lucid Dream - In short, MILD is telling yourself as you are in bed ready to sleep that you are going to become lucid when you dream, then visualizing yourself in a dream becoming lucid. Repeat until you fall asleep.
  
  WILD - Wake-Induced Lucid Dream - A technique in which you maintain consciousness while your body falls asleep. Not for the squeamish.
  
  FILD - Finger-Induced Lucid Dream - A technique using subtle finger movements as you fall asleep.
  
  SSILD - Sense-Induced Lucid Dream - A technique where you use awareness of your various senses as you cycle through them while falling asleep.
  
  False Awakening - False Awakening is in essence just dreaming that you woke up, only to usually immediately after either actually wake or have another dream of waking up from the previous dreams. Those can often happen multiple times in sequence. It can be a bit jarring but also fun. If those happen often use it to do a reality check every time you wake up (or think you do).
  
  SP - Sleep Paralysis - A natural, safe part of the process of falling asleep which causes you to be unable to move your body. The paralysis process happens to you every time you go to sleep. When you WILD and experience SP, you are conscious while it happens. Sometimes you may be visited by the dream transition buddies--relax and enjoy the show until you can interact with your environment. Attempting to induce SP is NOT required to achieve lucidity.
  
  

  ---

This one is generally considered the best. I think it's exactly what you're looking for. I have it and it's helped me immensely.

Great book. Must read. Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming

Get this one instead, it is the definitive guide to Lucid Dreaming. Sorry, not available in ebook, and, no it's not mine.

http://www.amazon.com/Exploring-World-Dreaming-Stephen-Laberge/dp/034537410X

off the top of my head:

Meditations, with The Inner Citadel as a reader

Letters from a Stoic

A Guide to the Good Life by Irvine

Do The Work by Pressfield as well as The War of Art by Pressfield

Managing Oneself by Ducker

Man's Search for Meaning by Frankl

What Predicts Divorce by Gottman

Nicomachean Ethics

Models by Manson seems to be popular on reddit

So Good They Can't Ignore You by Newport, as well

I'm currently reading Triumphs of Experience by Vaillant and find it insightful.

The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles https://www.amazon.com/dp/1936891026/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_cP1ezbF60AMRT

Perhaps what you're feeling is what Steven Pressfield calls 'resistance' is his book "The War of Art". Resistance has a way of manifesting itself into a number of different forms that prevent you from getting your work done and from your description your anxiety might be part of that. I get that too, especially at the start of my projects and when I'm near finishing. The good news is that resistance can be beaten with the right mindset.

If you've never given it a read I highly recommend it; it should be standard reading for all creatives IMHO. Even for non-creatives it's probably the best anti-procrastination book I've ever read.

https://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Through-Creative-Battles/dp/1936891026

War on Art by Steven Pressfield
Its a very quick read and is inspirational at any stage of life. I try to read it once per year and it's my go-to book to bring on a plane.

no, rogan recommended this book: http://www.amazon.com/The-War-Art-Through-Creative/dp/1936891026/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345025678&sr=8-1&keywords=war+of+art

Not Sun Tzu's Art of War.

" I will no longer procrastinate moving towards my dreams." Lol implying you're not NOW? Check out the book The War Of Art, trust me.

Here: http://www.amazon.com/The-War-Art-Through-Creative/dp/1936891026

Amazing story, I relate. You take the blinders off, it gets scary. Boys run back to their crutch, Men begin walking toward a new life. Don't go back there bro. Mentor others on here, this is incredible. You're truly an inspiration!!

Uhhh... are you sure you're looking at the right book? I don't recall any of that.

Regardless, the book has a pretty simple premise: If you want to be a professional writer, sit your rear end in a chair and write. The only way to get good enough to find work is to put in the work first.

There, I saved you 11 bucks.

Here's a list of some of my favorite books on writing:

• The Art of Fiction
  
• Techniques of the Selling Writer
  
• Sin and Syntax
  
• The First Five Pages
  
• The War of Art

You're overthinking this. All of those things you listed are excuses. They seem reasonable to you, but they're literally just false roadblocks.

There's only one thing you need do: start.

Don't think about the thousand things you think you're supposed to do or that you think you need, just start.

Also, go read The War of Art.

You ever read The War of Art?

Or listened to Eric Thomas?

Or Jocko Willink?

Have a read through The War of Art if you feel you need a kick in the ass.

> Brutally harsh is good.

I'll try to be gentle but keep in mind this is just one guy's opinion on the internet. I base a lot of my critiquing from what I've picked up in songwriting books by guys like Pat Pattison and Ralph Murphy.

I want you to know overall I like the feeling of what you're going for in this one.. but yeah, you're writing needs some work and here's how I think you stand to improve

• Hook writing - I know, I know.. it's trite to say you need to write with a hook. But here's my case for it, the job of the songwriter is to keep the listener listening and one tool to do so is to set a hook in your pre-chorus and/or at the very least by the end of you chorus. Many times I'll start with the hook and write the chorus first, add some detail with the verse, then add a bridge for counterpoint or contrast.
  
  
• Detail, detail, detail - Your verses essentially are saying nothing.Tthe reason why is that the narrator is telling how he feels. And Ralph Murphy said, in so many words, the listener doesn't care how the narrator feels. At least until the chorus. In your verses you should be putting in as much detail as you can. Every line should move the story your telling along.
  
  
• Verse development - Another side of that is that your verses are telling a story. And their job is to give the listener something relatable and universal enough that they can imagine. All your favorite songs already do this. So before you write lyrics, think about and even write down a beginning, middle, and end development. A popular one is I, you, we or another is Aristotle's advice that the narrator must feel pain(traumatic even), fear (of something happening, and catharsis (a happy ending).
  
  
• Chorus - your chorus should tie all of the detail in your verse together. This is the payoff and where the narrator can talk about thoughts, feelings, and ideas. I'm reading your chorus as :"See I'll sink/Under this ship/And I'll drown/If I don't find land" now that's an okay chorus. Except that none of your metaphor in the rest of the song have anything to do with sailing.
  
  
• Rhyming - The rule of thumb is to keep the same rhyme scheme in your verses but change it up in your chorus. You've set up an XXXAABCCB rhyme scheme your first 'verse'. The first three line stanza has nothing to do with the rest of the song. Also, none of the lines in the chorus rhyme. That causes a lot of instability and when I'm in a chorus getting the big payoff I want to create at least some stability.
  
  
• Rhythm of words - If you really want to dig into it, you could break the words up into iambs and trochees. An iamb is accented on the first syllable and a trochee on the second. Finding what you want then modify the lyrics to fit that rhythm will give your lyrics uniformity and a sing along quality. That's probably a bit advanced right now though any good rhyming dictionary should have a section on it
  
  You're going to get better the more you learn and the more you write. If you want to take it seriously you should be writing every single day. Again, I'm just a guy on the internet but I feel you would get a lot out of these resources:
  
  Writing Better Lyrics
  
  Ralph Murphy Lecture
  
  The War of Art

Check out The War Of Art.

Just start. No excuses. Inspiration is bullshit. Just to the work.

I just bought Hey Whipple Squeeze This as a parting gift for our intern, and The War of Art for myself.

For me, there's no better book for getting me to work on my projects.

https://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Through-Creative-Battles/dp/1936891026/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Judo Heart and Soul is my all time favorite book when it comes to the martial arts... Incredible read. It's geared towards Judo but applicable for all martial arts (especially BJJ since they're so close). Unfortunately its hard to find a cheap copy these days... keep your eyes out though, it's awesome.

https://www.amazon.com/Judo-Heart-Soul-Hayward-Nishioka/dp/0897501373/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479199419&sr=8-1&keywords=judo+heart+and+soul

The War of Art and Turning Pro by Stephen Pressfield are probably the two books that have had the greatest effect on my life, overall. They're not about martial arts per-se but the lessons within are HUGELY applicable for what we do... I'm constantly re-reading these books. They're short reads and each page is kind've it's own story or lesson so you can literally open the one of the books to a random page, read for a minute, and be inspired for your whole day... I can't recommend them enough. They changed my life. IMO Turning Pro is the more life-changing of the two books but you have to read War of Art to fully grasp the concepts he's discussing... War of Art is kind've the "pump you up to do great things" sorta book and Turning Pro is the one that hits you with reality and teaches about how you can actually achieve your goals.

https://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Through-Creative-Battles/dp/1936891026/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479199494&sr=8-1&keywords=war+of+art

https://www.amazon.com/Turning-Pro-Inner-Power-Create/dp/1936891034/ref=pd_sim_14_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1936891034&pd_rd_r=G102YZA1NVHWGXKPFCJ6&pd_rd_w=wotM4&pd_rd_wg=GFqOl&psc=1&refRID=G102YZA1NVHWGXKPFCJ6

A friend and Relson Gracie brown belt just recommended The Zen Way to Martial Arts to me... I ordered it the other day and can't wait for it to arrive.

\https://www.amazon.com/Zen-Way-Martial-Arts-Japanese/dp/0140193448/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479199396&sr=8-1&keywords=zen+way+to+martial+arts

On a similar note I'd like to recommend The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield. It's a book where each chapter is at most a few pages, sometimes even a single page.

The entire premise is to define everything that holds you back from creative work/writing as resistance and then find ways to short-circuit it and overcome your blocks. Very highly recommended as a great pick-up and put-down type book to give you a jolt to get working!

You're experiencing resistance. You recognize your anger and disappointment for not following your excitement, but when you get to the reason it didn't work, you say, "I tried." You are the only one keeping you from accomplishment. You are accepting defeat.

If there's something you want to be doing, you have to do it. Every circumstance is not the same, every opportunity is not the same, so it's not that you missed out on your one chance. It's that you're missing out on a chance every moment you spend watching TV instead of writing that book. If you never try to accomplish anything, you never will. It can be hard to resist the thoughts that it didn't work, it won't work, it's too hard, but when you do, you'll recognize how awesome it feels.

If you're interested in reading a book that could help, check out The War of Art

Edit: Also, this brief story can help you see it from a different perspective: The Chained Elephant

>Why can't i just do shit, it's so easy

Because it's easier to do the same shit you've been doing.

When you're feeling low and haven't had a taste of success, doing things that matter feels pointless, yet it's the only way to better your life as you say you want. I would suggest you read a few books, The War of Art and The Slight Edge that might nudge you in the right direction.

I actually just recently got these books, they may not necessarily be what you're looking for but these have been absolutely informative to me

p.s I checked these out of my local library but I'm hoping to purchase these soon.

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

Digital Painting Techniques

Make Great Art on your iPad

Another book to check into - Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain: The Definitive, 4th Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005GSYXU4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_-E-vCb4HH5CHN

You could take up drawing, it's extremely cheap and is a very good way to spend time by yourself. I find drawing to be meditative and rewarding, you have the satisfaction of making something yourself as well as learning to see the world differently.

All you need are a set of pencils, a decent sketchbook, a kneaded eraser, and some decent instruction. I'd recommend learning first from Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain and then moving on to figure drawing. Try Dynamic Figure Drawing or Bridgman's Life Drawing. You can also look up the work of Andrew Loomis for more instruction, which are available as free PDFs.

Later you can experiment using vine charcoal (which can be erased easily) to get the hang of a different instrument than a pencil. Try laying charcoal on its side and making big strokes. This is the first step towards painting. You could even try painting with black and white acrylic only which really isn't much different in terms of skills or cost. If you can get good at drawing I promise you can get good at painting. It just takes a bit of dedication.

> Think of yourself as a human being with normal working body parts, the only difference is that you have what is essentially a rogue AI in your brain. It randomly runs junk code at random times of the day saying "hey now's a good time to look at porn". That code just somehow got implanted in you somewhere along the way, it didn't originate from you, and it is not an inherent part of you, at all.

Reminds me of The War of Art. Steven Pressfield personifies your rogue AI idea as "Resistance," a sort of anti-muse that acts like an invasive mental pest distracting you from your priorities.

> But that's just stupid.

What is?

>100% of our time isn't dedicated to music. You dont always have to be doing something that's pushing your music forward

Of course not and nobody is advocating for that. But we are talking about something that is holding you back whenever you ARE making music. Getting anxious, overly judgemental, restless and/or empty-minded are very common feelings when working on music, or at least for me.

One thing I would recommend to everybody is trying to get past those said feelings. Cope with them, acknowledge them and not focus on them too much. There is a great book that talks about this, War of Art (not Art of War). It focuses mostly on this overly-judgemental feeling, sometimes referred to as "Writers Block".

When I first started to make music I would get the "writers block" and feel annoyed by it. Nothing wrong with talking about it, but it doesn't solve much. And that's the point (I think) OP was trying to make, or at least I am trying to make.

I feel you, I get creative blocks when I try to make music. I suggest looking into creative processes, they are meant to use in times like these and the more you study them the more you'll be able to find your own that works

Here is some examples I found online: https://simplicable.com/new/creative-processes

Ive also read some books on creativity I would suggest picking up some of them for yourself also.

Here's one I like: https://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Steven-Pressfield-ebook/dp/B007A4SDCG

Hey, I have a different life experience but similar in many aspects. As far as creativity goes, overcoming that fear and producing I found this book helpful. This author has a few views I roll my eyes at but it is helpful and motivating.

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

Read the War of Art by Steven Pressfield
www.amazon.com/dp/B007A4SDCG

Bascially you are experiencing resistance in the form of procrastination.
Fix a writing schedule and stick to it, Motivation or Not. Once the routine is set follow it religiously. Once your fingers are moving and the words start appearing on the page, motivation will follow.

Books that really helped me make a change were The War of Art, GRIT, and The Kaizen Way. All linked below :)

And to be honest with you I was never a morning person either. It took me 3 weeks of going to sleep at 10 and waking up at 5 before I could finally do it and not want to kill myself haha. But it gets easier, and your days become a bit more manageable when you've got a headstart on the world. No matter what time you get up I always recommend getting right out of bed whenever possible.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007A4SDCG/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B010MH9V3W/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GU2RHCG/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

The enjoyment should come from the drawing, not be a destination where you feel you fail if you don't get there. If you want to draw there is a really great book called The War of Art. One of the ideas in the book is that there are internal battles that keep you from getting where you want to be. One of mine is not wanting to waste paper/pencils/supplies and I have to over come that and "free" my guilt of that and be free to fail and keep drawing.

El mejor consejo que leí para aprender a controlar el crítico interno fue en el libro The Artist's way.

La autora recomienda escribir todos los días algo que ella llama the morning pages, tres páginas de escritura libre acerca de cualquier cosa que te venga a la mente. Si no te viene nada a la mente simplemente llena 3 páginas con "no se me ocurre nada". No importa lo que hagas después con esas páginas. Las puedes quemar o tirar a la basura. Lo importante es acostumbrarse a escribir con seguridad.

Otro libro muy interesante relacionado con el arte se llama Art and Fear. Hay un pasaje que no tiene desperdicio relacionado con el crítico interno.

> The ceramics teacher announced on opening day that he was dividing the class into two groups. All those on the left side of the studio, he said, would be graded solely on the quantity of work they produced, all those on the right solely on its quality. His procedure was simple: on the final day of class he would bring in his bathroom scales and weigh the work of the "quantity" group: fifty pound of pots rated an "A", forty pounds a "B", and so on. Those being graded on "quality", however, needed to produce only one pot -- albeit a perfect one -- to get an "A". Well, came grading time and a curious fact emerged: the works of highest quality were all produced by the group being graded for quantity. It seems that while the "quantity" group was busily churning out piles of work - and learning from their mistakes -- the "quality" group had sat theorizing about perfection, and in the end had little more to show for their efforts than grandiose theories and a pile of dead clay.

Seeing as you have a lot of good replies already I want to say first I've been there. And I also wand to recommend reading and following "the artists way". It's a great way to help get you to feel unstuck. The Artist's Way https://www.amazon.com/dp/1585421464/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_HklDxbCBE1W2D

Let me know when you figure it out....I literally don't enjoy anything but reading, video games, sex, and playing with my son without chemicals. After years of abusing myself I barely enjoy those things a lot of the time and I'll spend hours psyching myself up to read a book or play a video game only to find out my time is up. And then 'I don't do anything.'

And I can't stay sober longer than a week. This isn't the only reason--a big reason is that drugs literally just are shoved in my hand due to my job. But if I actually enjoyed doing something, anything, I would be happier and it would be easier to just say no.

I think for now just go to meetings and don't be too hard on yourself, you come back gradually. That's what I'm doing and hoping for. Longer you're sober the closer you get to the person you used to be that liked all that stuff without any help. We've been running the other direction for a long time.

(p.s. check this out, it's helped me before
http://www.amazon.com/The-Artists-Way-Julia-Cameron/dp/1585421464

TL; DR: We're not going to enjoy stuff until we're sober for a while. Everything sucks in the beginning. Stick it out. You aren't alone.

I really like [The Artist's Way] (https://www.amazon.com/Artists-Way-Julia-Cameron/dp/1585421464) by Julia Cameron. In essence it consists of a morning ritual of thirty minutes of free-form writing and also doing something for yourself every week (an artist's date)

Both Julia's parents were manic-depressives (in the bad old days) and she was an alcoholic and drug addict, married and divorced from a famous guy, and hospitalized with a nervous breakdown before cleaning herself up. The book grew out of her efforts to heal herself.



It didn't make me an artist but I liked the ritual and found it quite relaxing — it also made me realize how badly I treat myself, something I am still dealing with. I had thought I would go through my journals — perhaps on a weekly basis — and rewrite some of the stuff but in the end I found it was enough to simply let all the thoughts go, simply writing them down (taking a brain dump) was relaxing enough.

Edit: I realize you are also interested in mood tracking, this could also easily be included.

Check out the book "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron

It sounds a little cheesy, but when I have the discipline to do it The Artist's Way really helps.

While it deals with creative laziness moreso than physical laziness, Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way is a really interesting book that addresses becoming more creatively/artistically motivated, which I think can certainly transfer over into physical/psychological motivation as well.

Become your own artist, Try reading The Artists Way It may not be the short-term solution that you were looking for but I can attest to the long term help you will receive.

Force yourself to write for a set amount of time a day-- don't wait for inspiration to strike.

That being said, continue to fill your creative well-- with art, movies, experiencing life.

Sorry, such a brief comment, but check out The Artists Way-- it's an amazing book that may help you to dispel "writer's block" :) http://www.amazon.com/The-Artists-Way-Julia-Cameron/dp/1585421464

A lot of times procrastination is a sign of a deeper symptom - wanting to be perfect and tying your self worth into it. A lot of times, people (including myself) will put off anything that might threaten this view that we have of ourselves as perfect because failing threatens our self worth. It kind of goes like this.

1. Have project with deadline
   
   
2. Pressure builds, you put it off because if it doesn't work out, you're not to blame right? You never really gave it your best shot.
   
   
3. More pressure, deadline comes putting a fire under your ass to get it done.
   
   
4. Its completed, maybe not 100%, but its good enough and hey, if I really had tried, it would have been spectacular.
   
   
5. Success from the previous round means more work. Promise of more work and more chances to fail only lower motivation. You feel shittier and the cycle continues.
   
   I think this is extremely common. So how do you break out of it? Its not easy, but you have take steps to detach yourself from this constant perfect vision of yourself and just be willing to do the work to a level below perfect, but do it consistently. Have a huge paper? Just write an outline with some good not great paragraphs and add to it later. Huge project? Get a small step of it done. Success and feeling successful isn't about "winning" or being perfect, its about steady, small bits of production.
   
   A good book is The Now Habit, that helped me with some of these feelings.

I just started reading The Now Habit so I don't know if it really works, but it seems highly recommended on Reddit and Amazon.

Read "The Now Habit":

http://www.amazon.com/Now-Habit-Overcoming-Procrastination-Guilt-Free/dp/1585425524/

Money well spent.

You may also be dealing with procrastination as well. I'd definitely recommend checking out The Now Habit. It's a pretty short book to help with it.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Now-Habit-Overcoming-Procrastination/dp/1585425524

Read the Now Habit by Neil Fiore. You will thank me later if you do.

This guys blog has helped me a ton! Arguably as much as /r/NoFap and /r/pornfree. Other great reads are The Demise of Guys ebook and I'm currently reading The Now Habit. I'm only like 1/8th of the way through TNH and I can tell you that it will for sure change the way you look at doing work and maintaining habits. Bold & Determined blog is good because it's just a no bullshit "grab your fuckin nuts and be it" kind of blog. Also the guy in that video Greg Plitt unfortunately died 3 days ago so RIP

> I think you need to understand more about what procrastination is.

Well actually in the Now Habit by Neil Fiore Phd, the author explains how procrastination is due to picturing yourself finishing a task, as opposed to starting it. It blows the amount of work out of proportion, and it's more comfortable to offset the task than having to deal with it.

This is why procrastinatr asks you for a few basic steps and a time estimate: it tricks the brain into believe that it's starting with the task.

Secondly the reward mechanism is based on an excellent book called the power of habit by Charles Duhigg, which explains the 'cue, habit, system' loop, which is exactly what procrastinatr tries to exploit.

Thanks for your input nonetheless, still taking it on board.

this book helped me, i'd recommend it

http://www.amazon.com/The-Now-Habit-Overcoming-Procrastination/dp/1585425524

There's an awesome book you should read call 'The Now Habit' by 'Neil Fiore'. It goes through all the insecurities and psychological barriers that stop you from taking action on stuff; it really helped me understand the reasons behind some of my more unhelpful behaviours.

Here's some notes someone did if you want to get an overview. :)

It sounds like you are on a road to burn-out. I've crossed the precipice and fallen into that abyss many times. At 31, I finally have some real insights on this subject.

The transition from student to professional can be daunting, and particularly so when you enter into an arrangement that resembles being a student -- i.e., working from home, especially in a research capacity. All of those old pressures come back -- you end up having the same lifestyle/problems as a professional that you did as a student. If you don't develop any better stress and time management mechanisms than you did back then, there's no reason to expect that the outcome will be better or different. Online jobs are especially bad for procrastinators, especially since Web 2.0 and its explicit focus on distracting you.

It sounds like you are employing avoidance as an anxiety-abeyance strategy against the rising tide of work, which never seems to wane no matter how much you work. Then you feel like you are always busy, always behind, always need to be working -- even if you instead spend your time procrastinating, online shopping, etc.

Making endless to-do lists and schedules is another penchant of the avoidant-obsessive personality type. The problem is that the schedules themselves become a visual manifestation of your anxiety, hence you tend to avoid them too, and end up feeling worse.

It might be beneficial for you to go to the office more often, to feel more viscerally-connected to your work and your colleagues. Perhaps you'll find the millieu motivating -- perhaps this is the solution to your problems. But maybe not, because as someone with these tendencies who has worked in an office building, I can tell you that it's just as easy to feel buried in that situation.

The resentment in your relationships, caused by not spending time with them owing to a sense of dread over work un-done, is just going to get worse and result in those relationships withering and dying. I would recommend taking a notebook to the park and trying to understand the root of your work-related issues. It won't happen immediately -- you'll have to devote time to it regularly in order to develop the sort of self-psychoanalytical facilities that allow you to view your self from a detached perspective. Once you figure them out, explain them to your friends and family, so that they might gain a sense that your absence from socializing with them is not personal.

As for how I've dealt with these issues:

• Have a morning ritual to get you ready to go. Although it's obvious, I find that waking up, eating something, showering, brushing my teeth, using mouth rinse, and washing my face brings me from a drowsy, non-alert state to fully on-line and ready to go.
  
  
• Exercise! Every god damned day. No excuses. It provides me with the clarity of mind and energy necessary to approach my work.
  
  
• As you mentioned, sleep is absolutely critical. I try to get up at 8:30 or earlier every day, so that I can put in productive time, and actually feel good about what I have done at the end of the day -- good enough that I don't feel guilty about doing non-work-related things.
  
  
• The book Getting Things Done has a lot of good advice for organization. In particular, write down everything that you need to do in every area of your life, and have it on a piece of paper in a file folder. When it's written down, it's not in your brain floating around causing you anxiety. Make sure your to-do lists are task-oriented and not goal-oriented. For example, "cure cancer" is a goal, not a task. "Read XYZ paper on cancer research" is a task, not a goal. Write each task on its own piece of paper so that you can consider them in isolation without getting overwhelmed by the totality of the work.
  
  
• Keep daily progress reports. Writing down something on a paper that says "DONE" at the top of it lends visceral satisfaction to progress.
  
  
• I find it helpful to regularly re-frame my work. I.e., rather than just having a to-do list of actionable items, I devote some time every day to writing down where I am within a project, where I want to go with the project, and the steps I can take that will get me closest to it.
  
  
• If it is possible for me to work on something off-line (i.e. if I am editing a document, programming, doing mathematics or whatever) I often disconnect my internet connection. If I need to look something up, I either do it on my phone or plug in my internet connection temporarily. Perhaps that isn't an option in your case.
  
  
• If you struggle with getting started on your work, focus on that specifically. Don't spend an hour repeatedly checking Facebook and reddit. Do it once, and then find a way to get your head into your work. Perhaps by reviewing the work you did yesterday, reading your to-do actions, or taking a walk. I like to go to the park with a print-out of yesterday's progress report and my to-do list.
  
  
• Take breaks during the day. Some people like the Pomodoro technique. I tend to work for about two hours at a time, before my eyes start glazing over, at which point I go for a walk around the neighborhood, take care of chores around the house, etc. Anything to take your mind off of work for a bit -- and resist the urge to let your mind wander back until you sit down to work again.
  
  
• Take dedicated time off. When 5/6PM rolls around, you are done for the day. Stop thinking about work. Don't do any work at all on the weekends. Eventually, you will re-frame your thinking so that you come to think that a particular block of hours is dedicated to working, and the rest of life is yours to do as you please. This mindframe itself is beneficial to productivity: given that I only have N hours to work, I certainly want to make the most of them so that I am less buried tomorrow, and can enjoy life even more tomorrow.
  
  
• Don't discount circumstantial factors -- in your introduction story, surely the stress of being in a different country apart from your loved ones was detrimental to your mental state. We like to think that we should be infallible, but circumstances can definitely affect your mood and productivity. For me, I find that keeping my apartment clean (spotless, in fact) is very important. When there is miscellaneous stuff strewn about in my perihperal vision, it leads to anxiety. It makes me view the world as homeostatic, which is not what I need when I need things to change (i.e. the amount of things on my to-do list).
  
  
• If you drink alcohol, it will affect you the next day. Keep it limited to two drinks except for special occasions and the weekend.
  
  You might benefit from books on personal psychology. I found Too Perfect excellent and insightful. The NOW Habit had some useful advice in it as well.

Try Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards

This book has helped a lot of people improve their drawing skills by quite a bit. My middle school art teacher ran us through something similar.

A set of before and after examples

warning: long post incoming

tell your son that he is at the best possible age to pick up drawing. if he draws a lot now and keeps it up for the next several years he'll eventually become good. by the time he's out of high school he could be almost pro depending on how his artistic pursuit goes.

every single artist, even those with natural talent, started off from the same place. it takes a very long time and a lot of bad drawings to get to a place where your art "looks right".

"how to draw books" are largely crappy because they tell you "copy this" without actually teaching you the basic fundamentals that all artists have to learn. there are very good books out there but you have to talk to actual artists/be part of actual art communities to really learn about them.

honestly, the most important thing at this stage for your son is for him to learn not to be too hypercritical of whatever he does and for him to have fun drawing. i can't stress the "fun" part enough. of course this is probably hard for him to do at this point because he's a kid and kids get frustrated pretty easily, but keep encouraging him.

one thing that might be helpful is showing him "here and then" comparisons which show that artists get a lot better over time. i could give you some examples if you want, from my own art even.

while the main thing is just for your son to learn to have fun and keep drawing, i suppose it wouldn't hurt for me to post a couple of the resources i've amassed over the years. However I cannot stress enough that no book, video, tutorial, or whatever can substitute the hours and hours of drawing that are required to get better. again, the most important thing is for your son to draw a lot. the rest will come with time.

another thing to keep in mind is that everyone is different, there are many ways to learn art and everyone learns better through different ways. some artists mostly just copied other people's art to learn, others did detailed focused studies of art fundamentals, some used tracing as a learning tool (not to claim the art as their own). there are many different ways and techniques that are all basically rooted in the same fundamentals. i'd say it's most important right now for your son to try a bunch of stuff out and see what helps him the most. there is no "best way".

with that said...

http://www.ctrlpaint.com/library/

this is a site focused on digital painting primarily but there are a lot of videos about basic drawing techniques and a lot about the struggles/psychology of art. this is a good place to start.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5dyu9y0EV0cSvGtbBtHw_w

this is one of the best youtube art channels around. these [are] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ck4NuQWZ-kk&list=UU5dyu9y0EV0cSvGtbBtHw_w) some good videos to get you started out.

http://funkymonkey1945.deviantart.com/

this guy is a phenomenal artist and has tons of amazing tutorials/breakdowns on his page. give it a look, you can try and ask him for advice yourself if you want. he's a super nice guy so if you ask politely for advice i'm sure he can give you better direction than i could.

books that i think would be the most useful/important for a beginner:

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain don't pay too much attention to the "science" in this book, it's the drawing exercises that you really want. it will teach your son to draw what he sees much more accurately.

Fun With a Pencil Andrew Loomis is renowned for being a really good art instructor. any of his books are worth owning but for your son i'd recommend starting with this.

Vilppu Drawing Manual In terms of introducing a beginner to basic artistic fundamentals (especially form) this is the best book i've found so far.


i apologize for the long post, but this is a topic i'm pretty passionate about. if you want more help, guidance or resources you can feel free to pm me and i'll help you to the best of my ability.

https://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0

http://www.welcometopixelton.com/downloads/Animation%20by%20Preston%20Blair.pdf

Here you go this is an incredible book.

Keep working on it. You have a sense for humor and timing that is deserving of the effort to refine not only it, but your art as well.

Some books that may interest you:

• Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards - This is handy as an inspiring introduction to the mental perspective of art, ie how to draw what you see and not what you think you see.
  
  
• How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way by Stan Lee and John Buscema - There are hundreds of lousy books with instructions on how to draw cartoon characters. This isn't one of them. This is a breakdown of how comic art is formed, from the elements of illustration to the basics of composition, all packaged in a format to be enticing to novice artists who happen to be comic fans.
  
  
• Perspective! for Comic Book Artists by David Chelsea - A straightforward guide on how to represent perspective in illustration, with lots of supplementary explanation and art, in an amusing comic format.
  
  

I think you did a pretty solid job on both images, especially the dancer one. I would recommend that you use more really dark blacks in small amounts just to create more contrast. Also, more gradual and soft blending (try a blending stump) although much of gradual blending takes practice. When I took Drawing I, I read this book...

http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201

and it is truly amazing. It makes you think about drawing and seeing the world around you differently. If you are serious about drawing I would definitely read it.

Good work and good luck!

That's solid for 12 man, congratulate him. And if you are thinking about encouraging this but don't know how, maybe consider getting him some books to study if he wants to be harcore.

...Now, you draw one so we can power rank your skills.

20 y.o. Here's a bit of mine

Make money- I want to open a surf shop in the town I grew up in. I want to be my own boss so I'm taking business courses and I'm trying to learn how to make my own clothes. I worked at a place on the boardwalk this summer and I had a chance to print t-shirts and see the process of the business. It's really not that hard and I think I can handle the business part of it. There's probably not a lot of money in it, but in the off season, I figure I can do something else to make money.

Keep in shape- Sorry man, but I don't think you can count going to the gym as a hobby. It should be more of an obligation really. You should enjoy it, but because of the good that you are doing for your body. Find a sport to play there's so many I'm sure you'll find one. Who cares if you suck, you will find people your level. I've been a tennis player pretty much all my life. It's a great sport and you only need a few things to have a great time. A racket, a couple balls, and a partner! I work at tennis courts in my town too and I see people in their 80's still playing! And like a bunch of other sports I'm sure, you can take lessons to get better! The gym is great exercise, but you should really try to get the thrill and competition of a sport.

Creative- This is my favorite one. Over the last year or so I've been going crazy trying out new ways to express myself and it's honestly the most fun trying to tap into it. I like music a lot. I spend a few hours a week just looking for new music. All kinds, have an open mind to new things! Then last january I said fuck it and bought a guitar. There's a bunch of free opportunities to learn to play whether its from a friend or online. This is the site I've been using and I'm not great or anything, but being able to (somewhat) recreate some sounds from my favorite bands is so satisfying. I've also started to take up drawing. This is the one that's most difficult for me because I was always aweful, but I bought a book to teach me. I've realized you're going to need a lot of help if you want to learn or do something. And that's ok! I've been taking videos and playing around a bit with some old editing software I got a few years back. Unfortunately this hobby is halted, since my video camera was confiscated at a concert :( Also, I'm not really sure which category this fits into, but I've taken an interest in cooking as well. Nothing crazy, but I can put together a few decent and healthy meals. It's really rewarding making a meal for yourself. Even more-so if you share it with friends for the hell of it!

Dude start trying anything. Really anything you can think of that you are interested in. You'll realize things aren't really as hard as you think. If you aren't good at something, well that's ok too. Just find something that interest you and work towards it and slowly get better. Cut out time wasted and put it towards creating something that you can be proud of. It doesn't even have to make money.. any skills you learn will benefit you in some way, or at least give you an outlet to clear your mind. Play around with life! Test yourself and see what you can really do. I might be going a little overkill. I almost feel like I'm hitting a mid life crisis already hah but you should really experiment, it's a hell of a lot of fun. And not I'm not speaking directly to you, but generally people just need to cut out some wasted time being distracted watching tv to do something that requires thinking and action. At least substitute some tv/movie time for reading. It gets easier to find things that interest you once you get going! I'm sure you'll find something man just remember to have fun with it. Hobbies are hobbies, thats all theyre for, so don't worry if you think it might not benefit you in some way, because it will.

Edit- Formatting

Not a drawer by any means myself, but a buddy of mine learned and swears by the book Drawing on the Right Side of Your Brain as a resource for people who are not 'natural' artists.

He also suggests drawing things by turning them upside down and copying them, as a way to force an emphasis on mechanics and technique by drawing something unfamiliar.

I am not an artist, but I did want to learn to draw better. It was recommended that I read drawing on the right side of the brain by Betty Edwards. It's a pretty awesome book. I definitely enjoyed reading it, and improved my drawing considerably by working through it. I got the latest edition, but any edition should help you.

The biggest part about getting better is time. Drawing takes time. Practicing takes time. So when you start, keep at it.

Drawing isn't messy. I immensely liked Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain (well the half I read anyway). Super impressed by what I was able to accomplish (maybe I'll try to pick it up again). Check into welding and metal working / sculpting. The dark welding helmet only allows you to focus on the little puddle of molten metal directly in front of you; I don't think about anything else when welding. Don't let anyone tell you that you shouldn't start with TIG welding.

it can. There is a whole section about how to draw. However there is no definitive resource that can teach you everything. Supplemental resources you can use are draw a box and Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.

Learn it :)

Reference! When drawing a character always rely on reference! No need to reinvent the character unless that's what you are going for.

Draw what you see not what you think you see. This tip is a bit more ephemeral though and ties into references. When drawing from reference really look at how each body part curves and connects. There are usually a lot of subtle curves.

Anatomy is your friend. Once you understand how anatomy works you can kinda bend it to your will. You can mold it and still have it look "right."

Other than that, to get rid of the hairy/scratchy looking lines, commit to the lines you draw. Don't constantly redraw the same line over and over trying to get it just right! (unless this is a rough sketch, then scratch away!) Usually for inking a drawing you should have a rough idea of where you want your lines to go in pencil. Practice the line you are going to draw in your head. Ghost your line a few times. And then commit and put your line on the page. Dont go so fast you cant controll the line but dont go so slow you get all the tremoprs in your hand to show up in the line.

Hmm, for other tips I wish I knew when starting, dont be afraid to reproduce someones art. Copy (do not trace) it onto the page as close in detail as you can to the original image.

Im a huge advocate of this book as well, its hugely eye opening for a beginner if you have no sort of training. It does contain lessons and requires you to have supplies on hand but its well worth the effort of going through it.

Lastly here is the first time I drew Fidget and the most recent redraw attempt! The first was when I first started drawing about two years ago. The second was about seven months ago.


P.S. Keep ALL your drawings. Whenever you feel like you are not making much progress go back and look at them. You will definately notice your progress.

Any kind of drawing you do is great! But if you wanted to draw in a more realistic way, take a look at the book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. It's for total beginners and you advance SUPER-rapidly. The neuroscience behind it is not accurate, but the exercises are really amazing. You realize that the main thing is 'seeing' better, not 'drawing' better. And you can really 'get it' pretty quickly! Just in case it's something you want to explore. :)

This is where/how I learned about negative space. I learned about composition from my photography days pre-painting; mostly from Andreas Feininger and Henri Cartier-Bresson.

I have a lot of respect for this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201

The sidebar has good stuff (the Loomis books are pretty good). If you've got a little bit of money to spend, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards is fantastic.

Your best bet is to find a class. A good teacher can identify your weak spots and give you tips and exercises specifically for overcoming them.

As far as websites go, I really like wetcanvas.com for its forums. The artists there are (in general) fairly advanced and a lot of them make a living from their artwork; but they are generally supportive of beginners and will provide honest, direct, blunt critique if you ask for it.

Keep in mind that no amount of reading or video-watching or class-attending is going to make you a better draftsman. It is all about practice and identifying mistakes. Do the work, get critiques, do more work.

I have about a dozen books on lucid dreaming. This is the best one. Unsure if they have an audio version. Otherwise it's been a while since I've read anything. I went through a self-help/psychology phase and purchased a bunch of books I haven't gotten all the way through yet. I should read more.

Wow great stuff. I'd also suggest Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming by Stephen LaBerge to anyone interested in lucid dreaming.

Dreamviews is a great community for beginners and advanced dreamers alike. You can even keep a dream journal there to help with you journey. Witch is very helpful.

And anything by Dr. Stephen Laberge is great. He literally wrote the book on lucid dreaming. Literally.

Don't be discouraged if nothing happens for a while. It might take months before your first lucid dream. You just have to actively be thinking about it day and night. And if you are interested enough, it shouldn't be that hard.

Also once you obtain your first lucid dream, it wont last very long. The second you become aware you are dreaming, you will become too excited and you will wake up. This will happen the first few times until you get over the initial excitement of being in another world where absolutely anything is possible.

Good luck and sweet dreams.

Please read my previous post. Two weeks is not enough time. It takes months.

http://www.reddit.com/r/LucidDreaming/comments/rsvp7/the_three_steps_for_learning_to_lucid_dream/


http://www.reddit.com/r/LucidDreamingForKids/


http://web.archive.org/web/20090626100930/http://www.realityshifter.com/2007/mastering-the-art-of-lucid-dreaming-full-series/


http://www.amazon.com/Exploring-World-Dreaming-Stephen-Laberge/dp/034537410X


http://esotericonline.net/docs/library/Lucid%20Dreams/Stephen%20LaBerge%20-%20A%20Course%20In%20Lucid%20Dreaming.pdf

This is very common, and I was super disappointed when this would happen to me. One solution that might work is closing your eyes and spinning in place... sometimes you end up in a different setting, and otherwise it seems to take your mind off of getting too excited/distracted.

I really recommend Stephen LaBerge's book, there are a variety of techniques to help induce them and heaps of interesting studies into lucid dreaming.

Try a website called www.dreamviews.com their forums have all sorts of willing experienced people to help you with your journey. also, read this book
http://www.amazon.com/Exploring-World-Dreaming-Stephen-Laberge/dp/034537410X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1250035755&sr=8-2

I read something about it in LaBerge's book "Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming".

In his experiments, LaBerge came to the conclusion that time estimates in lucid dreams are very close to the actual time. So if you feel in your dream that 10 minutes have passed, it corresponds to approximated 10 minutes in real life. This being said, if your dream seems to last for days or years, it's because of the same effect that is used in movies. You see/experience one scene (for example someone is going to bed) and a second later another scene (the same person is getting up). Your brain accepts that and makes you believe that a whole night had just passed by.
(Chapter 2: "Preparation for Learning Lucid Dreaming")

So according to his studies, it might be impossible to really extend a dream for a very long period of time. It's just an illusion.

Wayyyyy to long to write an explication however try this book http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/034537410X/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/178-9666926-9920365

Here's a link to the book off of Amazon if anyone's interested.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/034537410X/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/188-6842444-5404204

I think you should get Wreck This Book! I also have this on my wishlist (Duct Tape version) and it just seems like an extremely fun book. It gets you active, creative, and let's you also have a keepsake. This would be something you would enjoy having (and hey, we can go through it together by having the same gift!)

/u/wherepoetrygoestodie made a good list so far.

I will give my art director this Wreck this journal

A bike spoke light, safe and fun

or this revolutionary book

I gave this to one of my friends who was having severe writer's block. IUNNO IF IT'D HELP YOUR WEIRD MIND, but mebe? MEBE?!

And yeah, I was singing "Wow, I Can Be Sexual Too" for like two weeks after the Say Anything show here.

Making Movies, by Sidney Lumet
(http://www.amazon.com/Making-Movies-Sidney-Lumet/dp/0679756604/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394078386&sr=1-1&keywords=making+movies+sidney+lumet)

On Directing Film, by David Mamet
(http://www.amazon.com/Directing-Film-David-Mamet/dp/0140127224/ref=la_B000APXE7Q_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394078307&sr=1-1)


Film Directing Shot by Shot, by Steven D. Katz
(http://www.amazon.com/Film-Directing-Shot-Visualizing-Productions/dp/0941188108/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394078422&sr=1-1&keywords=film+direction+shot+by+shot)

They're the highest regarded movie making books. They're extremely practical without losing a sense of wonder or passion about movie making.

Watch FilmmakerIQ, DSLRguide, D4Darious, Basic Filmmaker, Film Riot, Every Frame a Painting, LightsFilmSchool, nofilmschool and etc. similar channels that you discover on your own

Watch a fuckton of movies.

Make your own projects--write, shoot, direct, light, etc. just create stuff and learn about what specific parts of the process intrigue you the most, and focus on those.

Read this book and also this book.

Get on set, that's how you'll gain most of your experience. Start as a PA in the production department and you can work your way up from there to another department. Get on as many sets as you can in the beginning, like indie shorts and web series and student films, and make friends with the people you meet. BE A NICE PERSON AND STAY IN TOUCH WITH PEOPLE.

Be open to all the possibilities and don't assume you know what all the jobs are and what they involve, because you don't. You never know what you'll end up being interested in--as an aspiring writer/director I really wanted to learn cinematography (I dropped out of school) by working in camera department and tried to transition to being a 2nd AC or camera PA from just a regular PA on a student thesis so I could learn the ins and outs of how cameras work, however I ended up being assigned to G&E (grip and electric) which I wasn't thrilled about. However I ended really enjoying it and a year later it's still what I do.

You'll go through bouts of discouragement and experience lots of ups and downs, and it'll be easy to lose hope quickly, but the only way you'll know for sure that you'll fail is if you give up, so don't ever give up if this is really what you want to do.

I always feel you get better information reading works by practitioners than from academics or journalists. My two favorite film books:

In the blink of an eye by multiple Oscar-winning film editor Walter Murch is probably the best book for understanding film editing and the theory behind why it works.

Making Movies by Sidney Lumet (who presumably needs no introduction) is the best all-around book written on filmmaking.

Touched With Fire Goes over this in quite some depth

Even with the lithium and wellbutrin, I can still feel the swings but they're not nearly as pronounced. As I've told other people before, meds very rarely, if ever, completely mask all the symptoms of bipolar to make the patient as "normal" as the rest of society. Rather, meds are simply a tool in helping you reach an equilibrium where yes, there are still swings, but they don't control you and interfere with daily function. So, in that sense, they're pretty effective and have zero physical side effects for me.

It's very possible that the seasons have something to do with it. I'm not sure how common it is to have seasonal affective disorder and bipolar, but I can reasonably see why 9 months of dreary weather could mess with just about anyone.

Good to hear that you're taking a proactive approach to your meds. Too many people don't participate in the decision making when it comes to their medications, which, in my opinion, is counterproductive.

It's pretty common for artists and creative writers to be bipolar. (I also write! yay!) I have a comical blog that I write and illustrate, just to have something to do that requires a bit of a schedule, and to try to keep humor in my life as humor tends to stave away depression. I won't do a shameless self promotion, but if you're interested and want a link, I'll post it. I could always use another reader to keep me motivated. :)

Also! There's this book I recently purchased called Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament. It's an insightful read that discusses the scientific link between creativity and bipolar disorder, and lists examples of famous artists and authors throughout history. I'd recommend it for any of us artsy bipolar types. :)

I don't exactly have a juicy story but I started making music shortly after the onset and diagnosis of my bipolar disorder about a year ago. I have to be careful here not to romanticize mental illness but my manic episodes (which have since been alleviated by medication) have been a major source of inspiration and creative energy for me. I'm not the only one; studies on bipolar disorder have shown that there is a strong correlation between it and creativity. If you're interested in learning more about this I'd recommend the work of Kay Redfield Jamison.

Interesting comment & definitely worth exploring more. Do I think there are links between creative genius & hypomanic/manic episodes? Yes. Do I think one justifies the other? Here's where I think it becomes a gray area. Mania has positive aspects; heightened creativity, productivity; & the ability to think quickly & abstractly, grasping complex ideas with ease. However, it can also plough through your life like a fucking wrecking ball, destroying careers, relationships, finances & reputations. Finding the balance is like walking a tightrope 24-7, believe me I know. Here's the best book I ever read on this very topic, written by one of the leading researchers of mood disorders in the world:

https://www.amazon.com/Touched-Fire-Manic-Depressive-Artistic-Temperament/dp/068483183X

I read a book on the connection of mental illness, suicide, and artisticness. The rates of suicide are far higher for artists.

I read a book called Touched by Fire a few years ago which tried to make that point, although it was specifically about bi-polar. It was a good enough read but I don't remember it putting forward any kind of theory for it, then again it was a few years ago.

To build off of that, there's also Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon. I've never found it wildly useful, but he brings up a lot of excellent topics that new(er) designers need to address.

https://www.amazon.com/Steal-Like-Artist-Things-Creative/dp/0761169253

I recommend you read Steal Like an Artist, because you're off base here with your understanding of interesting = new = reading lots of academic literature. There is nothing "new" in the artistic world. And this post you've made, in my opinion, is evidence that you need to read more scripts.

I would recommend this. Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative https://www.amazon.com/dp/0761169253/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i1tFxbEJ9BN6G

I always like your stuff. I would not have noticed the Tennyson line, but I that it was there and that you mentioned it. I've got "Steal like an artist" on my nightstand and really need to read it.

http://www.amazon.com/Steal-Like-Artist-Things-Creative/dp/0761169253

https://www.amazon.com/Steal-Like-Artist-Things-Creative/dp/0761169253

Hey, novelty is overrated. Steal like an artist. Don't worry if what you're trying to make is new, just make sure it's yours. Especially if you're not in it for the money.

Uncategorized:

Thoughts On Design: Paul Rand


Saul Bass: A Life in Film and Design

How to Be a Graphic Designer without Losing Your Soul

100 Ideas that Changed Graphic Design

Paul Rand

Paul Rand: Conversations with Students

Seventy-nine Short Essays on Design

Bauhaus

The Vignelli Canon

Vignelli From A to Z

Dieter Rams: As Little Design as Possible

It's Not How Good You Are, Its How Good You Want to Be: The World's Best Selling Book

Damn Good Advice (For People with Talent!)

Josef Muller-Brockmann: Pioneer of Swiss Graphic Design

Popular Lies About Graphic Design

100 Ideas that Changed Art

100 Diagrams That Changed the World

Basics Design 08: Design Thinking

Swiss Graphic Design: The Origins and Growth of an International Style, 1920-1965

Lella and Massimo Vignelli (Design is One)

The Accidental Creative: How to Be Brilliant at a Moment's Notice

History of the Poster

How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer

The Design of Dissent: Socially and Politically Driven Graphics

George Lois: On His Creation of the Big Idea

Milton Glaser: Graphic Design

Sagmeister: Made You Look

Victore or, Who Died and Made You Boss?

Things I have learned in my life so far

Covering the '60s: George Lois, the Esquire Era

Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite

Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative

[Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration]
(http://www.amazon.com/dp/0812993012/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=VEJ64Y4T0U6J&coliid=I1WMMNNLTRBQ9G)

Graphic Design Thinking (Design Briefs)

I Used to Be a Design Student: 50 Graphic Designers Then and Now

The Form of the Book: Essays on the Morality of Good Design

Creative Workshop: 80 Challenges to Sharpen Your Design Skills

Information Graphics: A Comprehensive Illustrated Reference

Semiology of Graphics: Diagrams, Networks, Maps

The Visual Display of Quantitative Information

Envisioning Information

The elements of dynamic symmetry

The elements of content strategy

Corporate Diversity: Swiss graphic design and advertising

Book Design: a comprehensive guide

Meggs' History of Graphic Design

You have to read a book to understand what people are saying about copying someone else's visual style. Thing is while it does look cool with the timelapses and Maxzwell's music, it reminds everybody of Casey, who is by the way an "established" if you will, vlogger, it makes your audience immediately think and compare you to him. The odds aren't in your favour in that department, and not because your editing is not cool enough or the music doesn't fit or anything like that, (not even the visual style) but you don't tell a story!

The editing was pretty good, my two cents:

-At the intro the first sentence was off the right I think. (use the grid and the rulers in the programm you use)

-There was flickering at the draw my thoughts kind of thing you did! (which was cool)!.

So my advice to you is to think before you film , even before you edit, plan out, imagine your video before making it!

Also a cool book to read http://www.amazon.com/Steal-Like-Artist-Things-Creative/dp/0761169253 by an amazing author, it helped me alot to understand where i've crossed line between stealing and copying with the mindset of making it my own!

But please don't stop creating!

Sorry I was being overdramatic haha. I still love music, it just takes a really phenomenal band or artist for me to sit and take it all in without analyzing every aspect of it. I have to use the "Sorry, I've pretty much ruined..." punchline anytime I go see a show with non-musician folks and I start tearing the show apart as soon as it's over. They always think it's funny and it's a reminder to myself that what I'm passionate about may be ruining the experience for them.

I actually really enjoy figuring out what I'm going to steal for my own show, I see it as important research! But I do wonder what it would be like to go see some of my favorite bands without knowing anything about music.

I've also "ruined" beer (I homebrew) and movies (I've scored some films and learned too much about movie making) as well hahaha.

100 percent. If you still feel paranoid I can't recommend reading Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon enough. He also has a Ted talk that goes over most of the ideas in the book.

I am of the mind that it isn't something you can look for at all - it's just 'there' and it is more important not letting it go than actively looking for 'it.'

What turns you on?
What makes your heart race?
What makes your mouth go dry?
What gives you goosebumps?
What makes your balls/vagina tingle that isn't sexual at all?

This book is a fast food/quick read but it's got some fun ideas:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0761169253

The one thing I pulled from that book is - don't throw any of yourself away, stuff you were in to 5-10yrs ago that you 'let go' can probably still turn you on.

Nah, I struggle with it all the time...

Usually it's survival.

I've screwed up enough things to know that if I don't do the hard thing and get it done up front, it'll bite me in the ass in the long run.

Mundanely: putting off car maintenance will wreck your week later in life when you're either paying for and waiting for a long repair time. Which sucks.

At work... I work for the government. There's so much laziness and inadequacy running amok there and I can't stand it. So I'm driven to get done what I can.

It's not easy, it's frustrating, but if not me, then who? I spend a lot of time depressed and angry about shit I can't control and shit I don't get done.

It doesn't get easy but it does get easier.

What has helped me...is that even on my laziest, grass eating, star gazing, hog in the mud kind of day...I still get more shit done than 3/4s of the folks I could compare myself to. I could always make the jump to close the gap between me and that last quarter, but I've got no delusions of being the next Steve Jobs, Zukerberg, or any other number of un-likables who are uber productive.

What I get done is fine. Hell, I don't (and you don't) even have to compare yourself to that other 3/4s. Just do your thing, because despite how you feel, I'm sure your probably more productive than you think.

Someone once told me that the only person you need to impress at make happy work is your boss. (and maybe their boss).

You thought about journaling? I keep two. One for home and one for work. At home I have a 5 year journal at work I have a simple bound book. I kind of recap my day before bed and before quitting time. At the end of the month, I can look back and see what I've done. It kind of help, the list of crap to do is always huge, but we see that more than what we've done. This look back helps me to see that.

Careful though, finding and selecting a journal can be a rabbit hole.

At home I have a levenger 5 year journa because I thought this was too pretty: https://www.amazon.com/One-Line-Day-Five-Year-Memory/dp/0811870197/ref=pd_sim_14_13?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=J5M7J5KZPSJFDV7XCZNG at work I use a simple hard cover notebook I keep in my desk. Something like this: https://smile.amazon.com/DIY-Indispensables-Military-Hardcover-Notebook/dp/B01BCUT2GE/ref=pd_sbs_229_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=7DJTC9SPAKVCQHMYPR0F (these are nifty because you can get military covers and stuff for them if you want).

The work one is not a place for your deepest darkest secrets, it's just a record of what you've done for the day and anything memorable.It also comes in handy in case you're sued, or investigated. But that's another matter.

For me, they let me see what I've been doing and let me adjust or tune up and remotivate periodically.

I've just started keeping both again. After a year without I really missed their benefits. It's also handy at eval time as I have a record of the stuff I've been doing. If I've forgotten, I know my boss has too.

My work life is wired pretty tight, my home productivity is a wreck, but I've gotten better over the years.

I feel like I'm rambling, I hope I'm helping.

Set both short term and long term goals (write them down) and have something to look forward to. Exercise. Sometimes I will write on a post-it a day what I would like to accomplish and put it on my bathroom mirror. Even when I am severely depressed, I put a time frame on everything and dream about the future to keep myself going.

I try to write down one positive thing in one line a day.
http://www.amazon.com/One-Line-Day-Five-Year-Memory/dp/0811870197

Hope this helps

I've been recently experiencing the same thing. It seems as though life is speeding up and leaving my memories behind in the dust. I've been using a "one line a day" journal for about a year now. Though it doesn't come anywhere close to solving the problem, it has definitely helped me to remember lots of things that I otherwise would have forgotten. I very much enjoyed the article, I'll be following your blog from now on, thank you!

I have a 5 year journal ... I'm actually on year 3 already!

It's great because it only gives you enough space (like 5 lines) a day to only write a couple of sentences. I focus on just what I did that day - what I ate, where I went. Whenever I Look at past entries I can always read between the lines and know what was going on in my head... after all, I'm just writing for myself, and not for anyone else.

Congrats on 29 days! :)

I've been doing this for a while now (couple years) by virtue of a very nice, inexpensive journal, called One Line A Day (that's just a link to Amazon, could be purchased many places). It seems like such a simple thing, making the barrier to writing go away by keeping it short has really helped. And those short entries are still long enough to jog the memory of an important moment.

I have a Line A Day kind of journal that I'm using now. It has ~365 or more pages and each page represents one day. On each page there is an entry for 5 separate years. On each day, you're supposed to write 2-3 sentences for this year's entry.

Some days I write really small to cram a bunch of stuff, other days, I'll only write a sentence.

I write in it every few days, but fill in each day mostly because I'm too busy or tired.

I'm not really a writer but a lot of life changing stuff happened in the last two years and I'm sad now that I didn't document that progression. It would have been nice to read back on those days.

Although back in the day I had a xanga and reading back on those entries were so cringe worthy.

I've also gifted these types of journals to other people. I don't really ask them about it but I do hope they're using them.

This is the one I have: http://amzn.com/0811870197

There's also a mom version which I gave to my bf's sister who just had a baby. I was thinking that if she kept up with it she could see the progression on the growth of her child through her words over the 5 years.

The best thing to do is to do all of the concept work first. You do not want to get three months into development and then realize that there's something you overlooked. The game should be fun before you even start programming it.

I know how you feel by the way ... with sort of moody teammembers. Managing a project is not easy - that is clear.

One thing that has helped my team a lot is using asana (free for up to 15 people). I have learned that absolute clarity about (1) where the project is and (2) how the project is going to finish across the entire team is ideal.

Before you start making any assets, you should make a schedule for the entire project. The first thing I recommend to do is to get concept art for the entire game. Every part of it. If you do not know what every part is going to look like, it is too early to start programming. If you do not know all the mechanics that are going to be in it, it's too early to start programming. Because once you start programming, it's going to be (very) hard to get back into "concept" mode. Right now is the most fruitful and creative part of game development - don't waste it by doing the routine aspect.

Do NOT leave the artist in the dark on your side of development. That fosters a poor working environment.

Read this

https://www.amazon.com/Creativity-Inc-Overcoming-Unseen-Inspiration/dp/0812993012/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483297048&sr=8-1&keywords=creative+inc

It details how pixar makes movies. Apply it to your smaller team.

I repeat though, do not leave anybody in the dark just with an art asset list to make. That is definitely not how you make a great game.

Clarity and openness are key to fostering a good work environment. Everybody should know the schedule, and everybody should be able to know what everybody is doing at any time. Asana helps a lot with that.

Project management is hard and is something I've only just recently started studying, but I've had great success so far with what I've said here.

Oh yeah, somebody needs to be the leader. The tie breaker. And you MUST establish what the game should be. Because once you've established that, there is no question as to if one asset or the other is what should go in. The only question is if it fits with what the direction for the game is. The director makes those decisions.

Read a book on movie producing, too ... I like this one

https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Production-Handbook-American-Presents/dp/024081150X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1483297223&sr=8-3&keywords=movie+producing

Producing a project on a team is a fucking hard thing to do. It's an art all in itself. Don't leave people in the dark, be open, and make a fucking schedule. It can change, and it will, but you need something to go towards. Good luck

And don't forget that Disney didn't acquire Pixar until 2006. They had a partnership for distribution but Pixar was well-established before being owned by them.

BTW, the origins and methodology of Pixar are fascinating, everyone should read Creativity Inc if they get a chance.

Check out Bob Gurr's Google Talk, particularly at the 12 minute mark when he hears his interviewer use the word "Process." It's pretty funny. Watch the whole video. It's great. I'd also recommend any of the D23 panels that include the Imagineering Legends (Sklar, Gurr, Tony Baxter, Alice Davis, Rolly Crump, Joe Rohde, and others).

I was fortunate enough to hear Bob speak and meet him. Very, very nice gentleman.

In terms of books, in addition to those already mentioned:

The Imagineering Way is a fun book about the way they go about things.

The Imagineering Workout is a fun companion book.

John Hench's Designing Disney is a fun, visual look at his time with Disney.

Building a Better Mouse is a very specific story about the engineers who built The American Adventure show. This might be something you'd find interesting as an engineering student.

Project Future discusses the land acquisition in Florida. Very interesting book.

Three Years in Wonderland covers the construction and development of Disneyland in detail, more regarding the business side of things (leases, sponsors and partnerships).

*Walt and the Promise of Progress City is another fun book on the acquisition and the original EPCOT concept.

The main Walt Disney Imagineering Book is a great start, and Marty's two books are good as well.

I've also found Creativity, Inc to be inspirational. It goes back to the storytelling roots, but you'll find that most of the Imagineering books, articles, and posts are all about storytelling.

I found this book to be a good read: "Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration". It was written by Ed Catmull, president of PIXAR and Disney. It basically goes over some of his companies' hurdles and what they did to resolve the problems. It expands on the idea that in any creative industry, the mistakes are a necessary part of the overall process.

To encourage creativity, allow your team to make mistakes early in the process and it will expand on their overall creativity. They'll be more inclined to think outside of the box in future projects if they know that they won't be chastised for doing so. I'm mostly referring to brainstorming/sketching/prototyping and other early parts of the process.

Most people probably already know about this, but I think Creativity Inc by Ed Catmull, one of the founders of Pixar, is an amazing read for every business owner/manager.

As opposed to a lot of business books, this one is pretty entertaining and cannot be easily summarised. The key takeaway I got from the book is that success hides flaws in your company.

He said it in the comment - it's called "The War of Art" and I'm assuming this is it: https://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Winning-Creative-Battle/dp/1501260626

Pretty sure he's talking about The War of Art.

​

https://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Winning-Creative-Battle/dp/1501260626

Big ones for me...

The Upward Spiral

Loving What Is: Four Questions that Can Change Your Life

The Untethered Soul

The War of Art

Check out the book Effortless Mastery by Kenny Werner. It's great for what you're describing.

It's about using meditation and relaxation techniques to play freely and without tension. It comes with a guided meditation CD as well.

https://www.amazon.com/Effortless-Mastery-Liberating-Master-Musician/dp/156224003X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1484436144&sr=1-1&keywords=effortless+mastery

Link if anyone is interested

(Me: not a trumpet player, but had same thoughts). Going pro means a lot of things besides having beautiful technique and repertoire. You might invited to a band for live sound, logistics and recording studio skills, or you might end up like most pros i know that teach privates or at a college/high schools and do other work (repairs, manufacturer's rep, run retail shops etc). So you have to think about what it takes to make a living.

Here's some books for you to read and think about as far as your playing tho

Kenny Werner, http://www.amazon.com/Effortless-Mastery-Liberating-Master-Musician/dp/156224003X

Sterner: http://www.amazon.com/The-Practicing-Mind-Developing-Discipline/dp/1608680908

Bruser: http://artofpracticing.com/book/ (Gerald Klicksteins' book is also good, i remember)

Kenny's famous book is "Effortless Mastery"

There are a number of books on the subject of practicing piano, check out the three in "Frequently Bought Together": http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/156224003X/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Here are some tips:

1. Enjoy yourself. It's a hobby, so enjoyment will help you stay committed.
   
2. Consistency is key. It's better to practice 20 minutes a day than 2 hours the day before the lesson.
   
3. Focus hard. Try not to "zone out," try to set a goal for yourself, something to improve upon, and stick to it. That could be a particular mesaure, a section, etc.
   
4. Break it down. Don't just play pieces over and over. Play the hardest parts, play them slowly, play them hands separately. Sing them out loud. tap the rhythms. Use a metronome. Always, break things down and think about things more simply. When you start layering the "simple" things together, you get a beautiful tapestry which could never have been made by not focusing in/breaking things down.
   
5. Be healthy. Don't hate yourself, don't pick pieces you hate, don't hate the piano. If you are hating what you doing, take a break and find an approach that you don't hate.
   
6. Ergonomics - make sure your set up is optimal. I am still making adjustments after 15 years, so every once in a while think about seat height, seat distance from keys, curl of fingers, etc.
   
   I could go on forever with tips, but get started and bring questions to an experienced teacher. They will guide you through all of this. And, in the end, if you love the music, many of these things will come together due to your desire to do the music justice.

Different strokes for different folks. Depending on their learning style, some love Loomis but hate Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain or say Keys to Drawing didn’t help them a bit. Truth is, most artists eventually read them all and use portions from each of them.


My personal reading focused more on the philosophy of art. I wanted to learn the traits and mentality of a successful artist and why they do what they do.


Books by Steven Pressfield:
The War of Art,
Do the Work,
Turning Pro.


I also re-read The Art Spirit by Robert Henri.

Sorry, that probably did come across as more rude than helpful. I don't mean to discourage, more that you're just inexperienced. Google is your friend and just searching art fundamentals and picking a topic that's interesting or appealing to you probably will get you far at this point. At this point I'd experiment and try a bunch of different stuff rather than obsess over something specific. Here are a few topics that would be worth searching out:

Perspective (thinking about creating the illusion of a 3D object in a 2D space)

Value (understanding how to use light and dark to form objects and not just draw symbols)

Color theory (What are pleasing color palettes? More advanced: how does light affect color?)

Ask if you have more specific questions and you are 100% welcome to send me PMs if you want more detailed feedback and help, but this isn't really the place to ask for an art curriculum when you can find great resources on Amazon

EDIT: I'm a little worried that you're conceptualizing "ART" in the wrong way, from reading your reply. It's not like fundamentals are something you either have or you don't have, it's about growth and learning. But there's a foundation level that needs to be built first.

Youre not wrong, art is like anything else in life. You get out what you put in, and it helps to have a roadmap.

If youre stuck- Try this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive/dp/1585429201/

It'll teach you techniques to see what youre looking at. Once youve understood that, art will seem less mystical.

Unfortunately, it wont turn you into a good artist. Next, start building up your foundation skills. Figure drawing from life by combining simple geometric shapes. Perspective. Color theory. Analyze and imitate good artists. Develop your eye with deliberate practice.

Make_lots_and_lots of game art, then look back every couple months and analyze what you need to improve.

Takes years but theres no end point so dont get hung up on being proficient. Just focus on getting better than you were yesterday. Every great artist ive known have had one similarity. They all made tons of art, ALL THE TIME for at least one period of their lives.

This is a good book:

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

It kind of teaches you to stop thinking you can't draw and just see what you see and get it on paper.