After a break that lasted longer than I expected, I’m back to working though the Improvement Hell drawing practice prompts – you can see the first post here, where I explain what it is in more detail.

I took a break because I was feeling frustrated with the prompt, struggling to fill out my sheet with figures as the current prompt required. I’m not really sure why I struggled so much, since I just had to sketch 20 figures, but I ended up with this big mental block stopping me from continuing to fill up my sheet with more figures. It also didn’t help that I didn’t make a grid, so I had figures haphazardly squished in together to make room. Below is where I left off with that original sheet of figures.

I got very caught up on the idea of finding interesting or dynamic poses, and it turned into much more of a chore than I could handle, so I just set it aside.

But then tonight, I realized that Clip Studio provided me with an opportunity for a fresh start! I made a grid this time, so I had guidelines to follow, and I churned out 20 poses in one sitting! I don’t know if it was the break, or the change in software, but it went much smoother this time.

I think another reason it was easier this time around was because I wasn’t being precious with the references at all: I decided to use every single photo that I found on my search of the word “poses” – excluding other people’s drawings, I drew everything that came up for my search. So that definitely expedited the process a great deal!

I feel a resurgence of motivation to continue this art challenge. I’ll try not to take such long breaks going forward, but I make no promises, as a disabled person who needs to take care of their mental health. That being said, I’m definitely not giving up! I’m just going to go easy on myself, so that I can keep going and I’ll learn and grow from the experience.

Anyway. I’ll be back with more art studies and whatever else the challenge throws at me!