-=TL;DR version at the end of this text. =-
since i've started doing 3D art, people keep asking me, even to this day,
if i quit drawing; if i'll ever draw again or if i completely transitioned
over to 3D stuff.
let me explain this to everyone.
when it comes to drawing, i kinda feel like i'm standing before a wall right now, it's
not really an art blockade, which usually are a type of burnout syndrome.
it's more like i can't improve my style. now i do know i still have so much
to learn when it comes to drawing. when i compare my drawings to
the ones of other, more talented artists, i can clearly see all my
difficulties with keeping correct sizes, lighting, choice of color and
even... HANDS!...
looking back, i was steadily improving my drawing skills over 6 years.
but then, i wasn't able to improve for a whole year... like "at all"
especially colors seem to be a huge problem to me, since everything
i draw looks super colorful and in some cases, even cartoony. the only
saving grace is my shading technique. even my linework
seems a bit cartoonish at times.
(now i never tried to do fully realistic animal faces, as i don't feel like i'd be
able have a good range of fun expressions for my characters, and i
really enjoy drawing expressions. )
then i started doing 3D art and suddenly, i experienced this awesome feeling
of improving my skills again!
and even better: with 3D if you invest hours and days into a project, you can
use it again and again, as much as you want.
now when i start to draw, i see how i always have to start over with a blank, white screen.
it's even worse with already designed characters.
with a random character, you can just draw what comes into your mind. with already
existing characters, you have to keep the fur pattern and color. you can't just
take a slightly different color every time.
and good luck creating characters with more complex details.
just recently, i created a character in 3D who has tattoos. she looks suuuuper sexy
and i can't wait to finally introduce her to the crowd :D
but i would never be able to draw a full picture set using her, because i'd have
to redraw her tattoos every... single... time...
for every picture she's in, i'd have to invest not only the 2 hours for the
body, face and base colors, but it'd also probably take 2 hours to replicate those
very complex polynesian tattoos... and she has three of them!! (technically 4, but two
of them are merged into one). she's a bullterrier, a pretty young mother and friends with Malasi ;)
a shame those too-long-didn't-read-people will miss on that info ;D
you see the problem here.
drawing single pictures is still fun, but the longer it takes, the less motivation i have.
and there comes the third problem.
let's say i suddenly feel a craving for a certain topic. depending on the topic, it
can take several days to draw only one picture tackling that topic. but before
i even finish the picture, after a few days i'm suddenly not into this idea anymore.
in a best case scenario, i'll just continue drawing because it's still fun to draw
and i'm done in two days anyways.
in a worst case scenario, i'll cancel the project, never touching it again; which makes
all the hours previously invested gone to waste.
some of you might remember the wet-shirt-contest with the girls in the cauldrons?
it happend with that project. had a fun idea, took too long to finish, lost motivation. the end.
with 3D, that doesn't happen because working with 3D doesn't require to be super concentrated
all the time. you just lean back, place the items with your mouse, set up any unfinished materials
for those items and do some other stuff, which ultimately is more relaxing than frustrating.
i don't say 3D gets never frustrating. it does, but it's way less frequent compared to drawing.
and then there is the quality-aspect.
with 3D everything looks really nice. the characters, the backgrounds. it's easier for me to
model a character in 3D, give her skin the right materials (effects) and make her look pretty.
i'm still working on models with better facial expressions. the new character i did has better
expressions ;)
but whenever i compare my drawings with my 3D stuff, i just see all the flaws in my drawings, while
the 3D pictures look awesome. maybe it's just me. after all, it's possible i'm fed up with my own
drawing style and i need to see something new, something fresh.
in conclusion:
TL;DR
i will draw in the future, don't worry. just right now, 3D is simply more fun and relaxing to me than
drawing. i feel like i can improve on 3D easily, while i can't improve my drawings much, simply because
it's really hard for my brain to grasp the stuff i have to learn.
like in a game, where you simply can't figure out how to beat the boss monster or something.
and to all the people who still like my drawings better: thank you. it means that i didn't waste two decades
of my life in improving my drawing skills :)
