hermenoodle: Tzadkiel looking at the viewer with the star of Bethlehem shining beside them against the night sky. (Default)
[personal profile] hermenoodle
I find myself overthinking so much on whether I post enough or if something is perfect enough to show. I know I need to get over that. Also the way I overthink about how to practice my creative pursuits is a bother in itself: I ignore starting off small, but drawing this little piece today on a small sheet of toned paper...

A profile of a young Black woman with curly hair looking pensive, drawn in charcoal on toned paper.
Shiloh looking pensive here.


It had me thinking that there is a point in starting off small for the sake of my brain to focus well. In some sense, projects I've done in school were the same way. The way I managed those well was because I broke them down into smaller sections that were a part of the bigger picture. Even so, that can even apply to writing, or even iterative drawing, which I indeed miss doing in order to improve my work. I even think practicing certain steps to get used to it naturally may also help before I jump to the exciting little details I want to doctor on so bad. So, there's definitely a need to change that area of my thinking.

That actually gets me to how in my Bible study recently about the call of changing one's mind, otherwise known as repentance. The need to change one's mind when it comes to settled ways that are comfortable for us when they're detrimental to our relationship with God, other people, and ourselves. For me, my repentance should aim for more intentional practice and transparency of that, unafraid to build more of my work publicly (despite the annoying AI stuff running amuck online). If I call myself an artist, I should let that art be seen, even if there's inaccuracies (even above, I see that I could have done more shading, but alas I did not).

Maybe I should also take notes. Lay out how I see my colors. Test out different textures and media I use. I do want to use my materials a bit more broadly and put my brain to work in experimenting more freely.

So, I pray for inner change and outer change in this respect.
Depth: 1

Thoughts

Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025 22:56 (UTC)
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
by [personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
>> I find myself overthinking so much on whether I post enough or if something is perfect enough to show. <<

That's why I tend to post pictures of mistakes when I'm doing a craft project, so people can see that it's okay and how to handle it. Here's one example.

>>drawing this little piece today on a small sheet of toned paper...<<

I love the hair texture and the facial features. It really looks nice.

>> I even think practicing certain steps to get used to it naturally may also help<<

Definitely. For an example of this, check out Draw A Box. It's the best introduction to art fundamentals that I've found, for people who like a level-grinding approach.

>>Lay out how I see my colors. Test out different textures and media I use. I do want to use my materials a bit more broadly and put my brain to work in experimenting more freely.<<

Excellent idea. Experimentation can be fun. Try color exercises, especially thumbnails. Explore how your media behave on different colors and textures of paper -- art stores often have drawing paper by the page or a booklet of many different papers.

https://www.creativebloq.com/art/create-colour-thumbnails-paintings-5-steps-51620214

https://mitchalbala.com/getting-the-light-right-the-power-of-the-color-study/

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