i said last time that i wanted to be able to show off my completed Blender tutorial donut this month, but i'll be honest - after leaving it alone for more than a month, it was really hard to pick up where i left off. couldn't make it through more than a couple minutes before getting confused.
i was getting kinda worried about what i was gonna talk about in this report, because truthfully, i haven't been doing much work on my creative projects. i've had a few new ideas, but there's not that much to show for them yet, and i'm not fully sure if they'll evolve into full-fledged projects anyhow. i probably shouldn't try to juggle any more, but i can't help having ideas.
i haven't been doing absolutely nothing in March, though. the other week, i wanted to get away from the screens for a bit (it took a tremendous amount of willpower! - frankly, it's a bit embarassing), so i took out a sketchbook and doodled a character i designed a while back called Wyvern.
it's not a particularly impressive showing, but the point was that it didn't have to be. a style i'd like to develop is one that's a little less cartoony, with more realistic body proportions and more detailed clothing. Wyvern happens to be a pretty good muse for it, and also i just really like drawing her weird squirmle face.
it's gonna take a lot more practice and/or studying to get the results i want, though. i'll have to commit to it long-term too, which has always been a problem for me. i suppose i'll keep you all posted.
since i was thinking about art, i figured it might be a good idea to start working my way through a book i got from the book sale back in September, which is Reality Through The Arts, Fifth Edition, by Dennis J. Sporre. it's a pretty intimidating slab of a textbook, but reading about art is something i've been wanting to do for a while now.
for most of my artistic career, i've been the type to reject the idea of being taught about art. it always came across as being told what to do, or that there was a right and wrong way to do art, and i didn't like that. i wanted to go my own way. i suppose that's all that my "rebellious teenager" phase amounted to, now that i think about it. ironically enough, i've found myself more eager to learn after graduating. it's been hard with a wrecked attention span and internet dependence, but i've been wanting to prove to myself that i can do hard things and become a smarter, more capable person.
what i found interesting was that there's questions at the end of every chapter. not that out of the ordinary, it is a textbook after all, but i don't own many of those. i figured that since i'm doing this to help myself learn, it might behoove me to give the questions a try, so i did that. it was like doing schoolwork again, except i was actually having a good time. it was also interesting answering questions that were written before i was even alive, but that kinda thing has always been cool to me.
(side note, i looked it up, and they're up to eight editions now. from what i can tell, a physical copy of the eighth edition costs about 200 dollars. i got my copy of the fifth edition for about 25 cents. support your local libraries, kids.)
that about brings us up to date. i'm still not doing the stuff that's good for my brain consistently, but every so often is better than not at all, i suppose. i have been working my way through a new fantasy novel i picked up from the book sale last month though, and goodness does it feel good to read a new novel again. after i finish it, i'll get back to Reality Through The Arts, and i think putting it down for a little bit was the right choice. hunger to learn aside, textbooks are still textbooks and a bit of a chore to get through.
