not a clever title

I wanted to ask you something because you’re one of the artists I really look up to.

Lately I’ve been struggling a lot with drawing. I have so many ideas I want to bring to life, but every time I try to draw a pose or a full body, I get frustrated when the proportions don’t look right — even though I didn’t used to have this problem before. I usually end up erasing everything, giving up, and then feeling guilty for spending time on TikTok instead of drawing.

It feels like I’m stuck in the same cycle over and over again: I draw something, it doesn’t look right, I erase it, I try again, erase it again, get frustrated, and end up procrastinating instead. Then, a little later, I feel the urge to draw again… and the whole cycle repeats.

I was wondering if you’ve ever gone through a phase like this — when nothing seems to turn out the way you want, or drawing just feels frustrating for a while. If you have, how did you get through it?

There’s no pressure to reply — I was just curious about your experience, knowing I’m probably not the only one who feels this way. There are so many artists out there, both small and big, who probably go through similar things.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope you have a wonderful day! ❤️

thank you! :> I think that's something we all go through to some degree or another; I have...a whole bunch of half-finished drawings and comics and paintings just kinda languishing because I got so mad at them not looking Right and I needed to put them aside for a while. one of the curses of the creative gamut! personally I try to keep in mind:

-> it's a phase. this too shall pass. it's something most artists go through in some fashion and, from my own experience anyway, it's one of those things that just kinda...goes in and out. it sucks to be in it, but it's not permanent, there is another side and you will get past it and back into the drawing groove eventually. 👍👍

-> it's often a sign of improvement! one of the reasons why we get into these 'I swear I used to be able to draw, why does everything suddenly look bad' modes is because we've actually gotten better at art -- it sounds backwards, but chances are that what's actually happening is that your understanding and eye for proportions has improved, and so you're better able to recognize when it isn't right. your technical ability just needs some time to catch up with your mental understanding! (with proportions in particular, if they're feeling off to me but I can't really figure out why, then I try to really hunker down and figure out exactly what the issue is. if I can identify the specific mistakes I'm making, I know what to keep an eye out for going forward.)

-> it is absolutely okay to take breaks. despite what our brains want to tell us, there's no crime in not constantly Being Productive. if something just isn't working, it's totally fine to put it down and not think about it for a while. whether that means going on to something else, or taking a break and not drawing at all for a couple days, or whatever! (the caveat being unless it's paid work that has a deadline, but the solution there tends to be more dependent on the situation...though in my experience most people tend to be pretty understanding and will try to work with you as long as you communicate! "I need a bit more time, can I get back to you by (estimated date)?" goes a long way. ⭐️)

less literal than it maybe should be, but there was a bunch of stuff I wanted to try to get in there, and eventually I just had to call it done. :U (...for now) (we'll see how it goes)

anyway I'm continuing to enjoy this RSA time! they really are on a totally different plane of emotional existence than we're used to from these guys, aren't they.

what a fool I was for saying we weren't going to get any new characters in chapter 3, because those were some A+ excellent supporting mobs. they deserved sprites. >:( ...although that does mean that there's nothing stopping me from adopting Clair and Taris (Talis?) as the IgniPom duo from the 2024 New Year Beyblade Tournament. that's them to me now. congrats on getting screentime and voices, guys!

it's hard to pick out all the individual Influences; I think overall it's kind of...an unholy mishmash of late 90s/early 2000s anime and western animation? for specifics though I usually cite Sailor Moon, Batman Beyond, and Ciné si/Princes et Princesses (which itself is a visual homage to the The Adventures of Prince Achmed). plus everything else that just gets picked up and unconsciously absorbed into my brain. :B

my love of whackadoodle style shifting in particular I think I can trace (at least mostly) back to Sailor Moon...I aspire to someday be as fucking funny as the animation in that show was. 😔

you gotta wonder what exactly he thought was going to happen...

honestly, I feel like any attempts at a Swing origin story should answer nothing and raise more questions. the only concrete part is that it involves a lot of bugs...somewhere...in there. the rest? maybe it's better we don't find out.

re-emerging from the underworld like a Cerberus 🐾

no shade to Mr. Burton, I just needed a name and his was right there for the taking! 🤷 and isn't taking things thematically appropriate for them anyway?

...so to heck with it. they fell through a time portal or something. it's not important, don't worry about it ⏳

the squeakquel

out of all of them? I am of course extremely biased towards Malleus' card story, in which he very proudly shows off to his tsum that he knows how to use this arcane tool the humans call a (each syllable carefully pronounced) "mi-cro-wave", almost drops it in the washing machine, and then throws it a big special party where everyone fights over who gets to dance with Malletsum. I still don't know how exactly they were dancing with a six-inch blob. it's magical.

however, it's hard to top "Jadetsum helps Jade hide a body except the twist is that it was actually setting him up to take the fall". watch out, you little bean, Jade'll get you back someday...

happy pride!! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈 the Twst Yuri niche may be small, but we are determined (and also kind of lowkey thinking about Georgina and Dylla 24/7 anyway) (...or that might just be me) (regardless!)

Alexandria's gotta be in full Tournament Mode by now, so I like to imagine her juuuuust offscreen in every scene, shouting furiously at the RSA boys to Chin Up and Gird Those Loins and Stiffen Those Upper Lips! if you don't know her then she probably sounds like a weirdly Enid Blyton-esque drill instructor, but they all know that actually she's being very supportive and encouraging (and of course Dorothy is there to encourage her :)