h2g2guy In reply to WeAreTheVeryBest [2021-10-27 19:16:52 +0000 UTC]

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h2g2guy In reply to TwilightIsMagic [2019-02-27 04:00:40 +0000 UTC]

Thank you for doing this year after year. You're too kind

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h2g2guy In reply to Lahirien [2017-02-27 07:14:16 +0000 UTC]

Thanks, man

Hope all is well over there, too!

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Lahirien In reply to h2g2guy [2017-03-13 00:34:50 +0000 UTC]

Eeyup! All is well.

I finally got off the helpdesk and into a proper job as a sysadmin. Feels like I have less free time now though, since I actually get challenging projects instead of just sitting around and waiting for phone calls. XD

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h2g2guy In reply to TwilightIsMagic [2017-02-27 07:16:51 +0000 UTC]

Thanks for the well wishes

It's really sweet that you do this every year, and you're really good at capturing the personalities of the ponies! Thanks again!

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h2g2guy In reply to ChrisRainicorn [2015-08-26 17:44:08 +0000 UTC]

No problem! Your style is really adorable, and I can't wait to see what else you'll be creating in the ATG

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ChrisRainicorn In reply to h2g2guy [2015-08-26 21:34:19 +0000 UTC]

Aww :3 thanks again ^^

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h2g2guy In reply to TwilightIsMagic [2015-02-26 04:36:38 +0000 UTC]

This was really, really sweet :')  

Spike, Dash, and Twilight really hit home for me.  Thank you so much for the clever birthday wishes!

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TwilightIsMagic In reply to h2g2guy [2015-02-27 00:38:51 +0000 UTC]

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h2g2guy In reply to mister-games [2015-02-26 04:37:01 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much!

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mister-games In reply to h2g2guy [2015-02-26 17:54:44 +0000 UTC]

You're welcome c:
God bless you ^^

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h2g2guy In reply to DaringDashie [2015-02-26 04:52:06 +0000 UTC]

Hey man, it's been a long time!  

Things are going alright over here.  Calling my recent life up until about a month ago "uneventful" is a bit of an understatement, so there really isn't much news xD.  Obviously fell off the art-making bandwagon for a while, despite my last journal, so that's a bit disappointing... but now that I'm back on a relatively regular schedule, I'm hoping I'll find some time again

How've you been?  My phone decided to stop sending me notifications when you tweet, and since I haven't been too active around here lately, I thought you fell off the face of the earth for a while xD.  Glad to see that you didn't!

Anyway, thanks for the birthday wishes!  It means a lot that you were willing to take a minute out of your (presumably) busy day to say hi to me, even though I've been so inactive lately.  I really appreciate it

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DaringDashie In reply to h2g2guy [2015-03-01 13:52:51 +0000 UTC]

Well, I was internetless over Christmas (for a month or thereabouts) so I did vanish for a while and then took some time to become active online once again. But my online activity, or lack thereof, is tied to my drawing, which isn't happening much lately (though I have just sketched a comic for the first time in ages).

Life's a bit meh, work, work, work... I've booked myself a summer holiday though and will be doing a light speed trip through New Zealand and the US on my way back home to England, so that's something to look forward to

And I'll always try too keep up with birthdays at the very least! Even if I spend most of the rest of the time just skulking around silently

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h2g2guy In reply to Lahirien [2015-02-26 05:09:59 +0000 UTC]

Lol!  Thanks for thinking of me!

Yeah, I've been kinda dead lately on dA xD.  I hate to say it, but you're unfortunately incorrect about my art habits . I haven't drawn seriously since... I don't even remember when.  It's a problem, and I'm the only one holding myself back at the moment.  Hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things soon

How've you been?  I see you're still going strong with those cutie mark requests!  

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Lahirien In reply to h2g2guy [2015-03-05 01:41:36 +0000 UTC]

I've been doing good! I just graduated in Physical Science in the fall, and now I'm job-hunting.

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h2g2guy In reply to DataPony [2014-12-16 04:47:46 +0000 UTC]

Glad I was able to help!

It's sort of paradoxical.  You'd think that jumping in and starting with the hardest test of ability -- drawing directly from imagination -- would be the best and fastest way to improve, right?  That way, you make more mistakes quickly, get those mistakes out of the way, and clear the path for better, more accurate drawings!

But it turns out that it just doesn't work that way.  

Drawing's a heck of a lot more about knowing how to see rather than knowing how to move a pen or pencil across the paper.  Technique is important, but even with the best technique you still need to understand what you're trying to draw!  It took me a long time to figure that out, and I only was able to do that because other, much better artists persisted in trying to convince me.  So I try to take the time to convince other people of this 'inconvenient truth', so they don't have to struggle in the same way I did

Anyway, you're really doing amazingly well through this ATG, so have a watch!  And if you want to talk further about this issue, I'm actually quite a fan of walls of text, so feel free to lay it on me

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DataPony In reply to h2g2guy [2014-12-16 12:47:43 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, somehow it seems to be really paradoxical. But ironically I just explained to someone, who thinks, that she isn't able to sing properly/well, that singing is a talent that you have to pursue the same way as you would drawing. And I told her, that you won't really get better, if you just sing under the shower, because that would be comparable to drawing random doodles during school or whatever. You always need to have a clear goal set and afterwards analyze, what you could have done different, what you could have done better. And that of course works best - at least if you are not a pro with a unique style - if you have a reference, that you can turn to. So what are you doing in singing? You don't start by composing your own melodies and trying to sing them. You won't even be able to notice, what exactly you did good or bad. You maybe hear it, but can't pinpoint the problems or strengths. That's why you cover existing songs. That way, you can compare it with the original singer, what he does differently or the same way. And for that you of course need to record your voice, in order to be able to hear it over and over again.

And it's probably the same with drawing. If you start with your own things right at the beginning, there's nothing really, that you can compare to. Except maybe, that's it is bad and good, but it somehow really stops there. But if you draw with a reference, you are more prone to understand, what exactly is wrong or right with your picture. You can compare line work, used colors, shapes and overall composition (and many more things I don't easily come up with as a beginner at the moment). And you may be able to figure out, where exactly your weaknesses are. What your strong point is and so on. So it actually makes a lot of more sense to start drawing with a reference, if you think about this way. But sometimes (or quite often, really) someone has to put this way of thinking in front of you first, before you can see and/or understand it. And I think that, if you look at this that way, it does not seem like a such "inconvenient truth" anymore.


Thank you for your praise and for the watch. I hope, that you know, that I did not in fact come here to get this, just to thank you for your dedication to help others. But I am of course really glad, that you care for what I'm doing. And I of course wish you all the best with your drawings. 

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h2g2guy In reply to DataPony [2014-12-18 23:33:44 +0000 UTC]

That's a perfect connection to singing.  It's also interesting to note that, in singing, we have warm-up techniques and training techniques that help everyone from beginner to expert vocalists improve their singing.  This is also true for drawing, though they seem to be much less well known.  

And don't worry; I know you're not fishing for watches xD.  I just really enjoy watching people who really care about their work improve, and you seemed like a prime candidate for that!  I hope you keep improving and keep drawing -- you're already doing rather well, and I'm excited to see where you go from here!

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DataPony In reply to h2g2guy [2014-12-19 01:02:45 +0000 UTC]

Oh, yeah, that's indeed true. When I think about it, you have nearly for everything some kind of warm up techniques und simple training methods, that you can use, in order to be able to do certain things better. For example, if you learn the piano, they are different warm up sequences, that you can follow. Faster movements, slower ones. Ones with big tonal differences and ones with hard rhythms and so on. For beginners, these sequences shall train special characteristics of playing the piano. And for pros it is used to get a certain relaxation of the fingers, because they may be stiff or tend to cramp up during hard parts, if they are not "warmed up". But most people usually just start with playing a piece or something like that and feel, that this is enough as warm up (or some even don't do anything, but that's probably irrelevant at the moment). But it would indeed probably help, to have a real routine there. At least, if you want to do something like that professionally.

It's the same of course with singing. And I guess, that it's the same for drawing, too. Especially since you use your fingers and hands. Just as you do, when you paly the piano. Of course, they cramp up, they are stiff. Why not warm them up first? But it's true, moste people don't know much about that. Me neither. That may be because, that most people are self-taught artists or at least don't have a proper education on that topic. Totally in contrast to singing (which you probably learn in school) or playing an instrument (which most people tend to learn from a teacher). I once read, that the best warm up would be drawing a few quick sketches of things, that surround you, that you see. Sketches, that can be far from perfect, that shall just get you to the right feeling. And at the same time also train your observational skills. I have also heard of more "unnatural" warm up exercises like drawing 100 spirals, circles and things like that. (And probably some other easier things) You have heard of anything besides those two things? If so, I would be interested to hear your opinion on that matter.

And thank you again. I'm still very uncertain, where I should go with my drawings, but I can honestly say, that it's the first time, that I actually really enjoy, what I'm doing and that I have the feeling, that I can do much more. (Maybe a bit optimistical, but that's okay, I believe)

And since I am really interested, where YOU are going with your stuff, I will now click that "Watch" button up there. You seem really like a very thorough andf thoughtful person and I believe, that I will be up for an interesting ride.

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h2g2guy In reply to DataPony [2014-12-19 17:42:41 +0000 UTC]

(Ack.  I wrote a whole long reply to your comment, and then accidentally deleted it D:.  Sorry for the brevity of this comment; I'm just going to try to sum up what I wrote before.)

I tried to play piano as a child, and one of the big things that stood in my way was the seemingly arbitrary practice -- scales, arpeggios, boring songs just to practice the difference between different lengths of notes, all that stuff.  What keeps me attracted to drawing is that practicing is only marginally different from drawing, so it can't lose my attention so easily

I should really sketch from life more.  I was forced to do that for a drawing class, and it really helps you pay attention to the fine details of what you're drawing (not to mention that it can be incredibly cathartic!).  I should probably try that when I'm having difficulty with drawing ponies; it'll probably help me get more of a sense of perspective for when I go back to ponies.  

There's one form of rather unorthodox practice that I've heard of:  Breathe slowly and deeply.  Once you're in a rhythm, put the pencil to paper and draw up while inhaling, then turn around and draw a parallel line back down while exhaling.  Repeat.  It only really makes sense for artists who draw while in a 'zen' sort of state, but it's an interesting concept nonetheless.

The fact that I was able to make the progress that I made -- even though I'm a total nerd who until recently had no interest in art or creativity -- should be a sign that anyone can draw if they want to!  All it takes is practice, and based on the rate that you're improving, I think you're well on your way to being an incredible artist!  And it's great to hear that you're enjoying what you're doing, too; that's by far the most important thing in art!

And hey, thanks so much for the watch!  It's greatly appreciated!  I should mention that I can be a bit flaky on dA -- I disappeared for like 9 months before reappearing for the ATG :/ .  Hopefully that won't happen again xD

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DataPony In reply to h2g2guy [2014-12-19 22:29:55 +0000 UTC]

(That's really too bad. Sometimes happens to me, too. I really hate, when that happens.)

I know what you mean. I never really understood the purpose of most things I did during my lessons. Or I didn't want to understand it. It was boring. I just wanted to play some nice songs. I think it's really hard for kids in general to understand the importance of said things. For me it was the same with drawing, too. I did not want to sketch the vase with flowers. I did not want to draw the school outside, while it was already cold in autumn. That easily killed the joy of drawing for me. And since I have never been any good at drawing either, I did not have anything to keep me going. I tried to start drawing manga in my free time for several times, but I never really got into it.

But you are probably right. I thought of doing sketches several times, but I somehow never take the time for doing that. Especially since I don't really enjoy much else. Maybe I should visit some horses and sketch those. Even though I don't know, where I could find horses around here. Oh okay, but at my parents' house are several horse paddocks, so I maybe can at least do some sketches over the holidays.  ^^ (Oh, and by the way, I had to look up that word "cathartic". Never heard of that before )

This Zen approach really sounds more like relaxing than actually helping. Relaxing with drawing, sounds like a funny thing to do. And after you have drawn a picture in zen state, you write down as a description: "So, I drew this while meditating, May the power be with you.". I don't believe much in those kind of things, but I do believe that meditation can help you level your concentration and creativity. So it's probably a cool thing to do, if you seem to have some kind of artistic block or something. 

Oh, you super nerd Those segfaults and overflow errors only twist your brain. And after all that debugging code and finally finding that one line, that destroys the complete program, you can start to wonder, what you are doing with you life. Oh, damn, now I spoke for myself. Sorry about that. But you are right and I think so, too, that everyone can achieve a certain level of skill, if they really want to achieve it. I somehow seem to be stagnated in programming and designing code and algorithms, but I guess that's also because I do not really have ambitions to be any better than that. I see no reason to.

Okay, anyways, I tend to write too much sometimes. Sorry. I'm not seeing, that I improve that fast as you say. I really would like to draw beautiful pony art, but I guess I still have a very hard and long road ahead of me. At least in my opinion. Maybe you are seeing something, I don't see. But you are really a big help and I really enjoy discussing those things with you, that's why I really hope, that you also continue to pursue your art. I saw your Vinyl Scratch and thought to myself: No, you are nowhere near that level yet. So I have to imrpove. And we both want to improve, right? Let's to it then.

Maybe I shouldn't waste so much of your time with these comments in order for you to have more time for drawing. And I will end this comment with:
Thanks for sharing your time with me /)

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h2g2guy In reply to DataPony [2014-12-23 07:55:14 +0000 UTC]

Sorry about the delay.  I've actually been really enjoying this conversation, but this debate with CMC-Scootaloo has been taking up all the time I have to write comments on the Internet until now xD

Looking back on when I was learning the piano, I think what would have done me some good is just a little bit of music theory, surprisingly.  I was very analytical as a kid, so I just didn't see the point of the scales and stuff.  They were arbitrary and meaningless, as far as I was concerned.  Had I known how they were constructed and why they worked that way, I think I would have stuck with it a bit longer.  Nowadays, I play guitar, mainly because it's very easy to pick back up after even a 12 month hiatus and still be halfway decent xD.  

It's amazing what a drawing class does for you -- but only when you want to be there!  In my drawing class, there were two or three sessions where we had to draw a nude model.  Now, I have no problem with nudity -- what I have a problem with is the complexity of a freaking human body!  It is so hard.  I knew it would be hard from the start, and so each one of those classes I went in with a negative mindset.  And each one of those classes, I came out with a spread of horrible drawings xD.  

In case you want to try some life drawing, I recommend trying one or two detailed drawings of simple subject matter -- it's easier to start with than rapid sketching.  Start with something natural that has a simple shape but a decent amount of detail in it -- my recommendation would be an unpeeled, sort of old carrot.  Draw the outline very, VERY slowly -- like, just take like 10 minutes to make one long, detailed, continuous line that makes the shape of the carrot.  Then carefully draw in the lines on the carrot.  No shading.  It's incredible when you really concentrate how much detail you can include, and can be a real motivator as well as a good exercise in training your eye to see detail!

(By the way, 'cathartic' is one of my favorite words to use )

I never actually use that 'zen'-like warmup, but I do try to stay sort of calm while drawing.  Otherwise, my hand gets all unsteady and uncertain and I end up with shaky or unintended pen work.  It's incredible how much art is really just a matter of confidence.  Once you have the techniques and vision down, you just need to be confident in your strokes and you end up with much better work xD.  

Wait... you program too?  I feel like I'm talking to a copy of myself here xD.  It's interesting, though:  I think my art has actually improved my programming!  When I look at some game or project I have to create, thinking about the class structure as sort of an interconnected work of art helps me see easier and more elegant ways to structure the code.  It helps also that I actually enjoy debugging -- yeah, I really am a "super nerd"

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But let's get on to the bit of your comment that I actually want to take some time to look at here.  I'm gonna go bit by bit:

I'm not seeing, that I improve that fast as you say.

Sometimes it's hard to see improvement in yourself. It's especially hard to see improvement with vector art, which seems to be the direction you went towards near the end of the ATG? But I'm going to focus on your hand drawn pictures.

Compare [ATG Day 1] Derpy is scared stiff  with [ATG Day 3] Twilight got lost in the snow .  Holy cow.  48 hours, and you went from stiff and inaccurate to genuine, believable, and fluid.  

How about [ATG Day 6] Princess Luna, the Almighty  and [ATG Day 7] Applejack sleeping soundly ?  The first is shaky, blurry, and poorly defined (but still pretty cool).  The next day, you made something with distinct style and way more confidence.  And the day after that, in [ATG Day 8] Scootaloo caroling under a lamp , while your execution isn't quite as good as the previous day IMO, you have an extremely emotive pose and more creative, stylistic awesomeness.  

It looks like, from day 9 onwards, you created vector art.  If you didn't, your line art got much smoother, and you should be proud of that.  But if you did switch to vector art, you should know that you were increasingly negative about your drawings when you switched to vectors, and perhaps going back to paper and pen or your tablet might be a good idea?

I really would like to draw beautiful pony art, but I guess I still have a very hard and long road ahead of me.

It will sometimes be long, and it will sometimes be hard. But you can do it.

You'll reach a point eventually where you're not getting any better.  In fact, you'll probably be getting worse, in your eyes.  It'll be extremely demotivating and you might consider giving up.  But you should know that you'll get past it, and you do have it in you to do better.  This happens to all of us; for me, multiple times.  And it's not because we're bad at drawing or anything like that; it's just that we don't understand where to go from here.

That's when you just need to take a break and just observe for a while.  Look at other people's art closely; look at the world closely.  Talk to people (including myself); tell them you're having a hard time.  Pick yourself up, and dust yourself off -- then draw like you've never drawn before.  And you'll make something beautiful.  Maybe not on the first try, or the second... but it'll come.

That's kind of how my Vinyl Scratch picture came about.  

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It's an absolute pleasure talking with you about this stuff.  If it wasn't, I wouldn't be up until 3 in the morning writing this reply xD.  If you ever want a critique or a redline, or just to chat, I'm always here .  Keep drawing -- I look forward to seeing what you come up with next! 

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DataPony In reply to h2g2guy [2015-01-01 01:33:33 +0000 UTC]

Oh, since we had the change of years just two and a half hours ago, I also wanted to wish you a happy new year. It's probably still some more hours for you, but I wish you the very best for everything. For a good 2015

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DataPony In reply to h2g2guy [2014-12-31 17:00:26 +0000 UTC]

Hey there,

I'm sorry for the delay. I was busy with christmas and did not have any internet at my laptop until now, so I try to reply you now, even though my time is a bit limited, so I'll probably keep it short. I hope you don't mind.

When I learned the keyboard, my teacher always insisted, that we learn the musical theory behind the things, that we were learning, which is why I still remember that stuff, even though I stopped taking lessons over 8 years ago now. I still enjoy looking up the theory behind musical composition though, because music is one of the few hobbies, that really make my world. I still need to produce a piece of music, that I really want to show to the world, but I guess, I still need to learn a few things about arrangements first. But I did not have much time for that recently, because I was busy with either drawing, gaming or my master's thesis. But hey, I got a brand new microphone for christmas, whic is really awesome. Now singing makes even more fun.

Thank you for another advice on the drawing subject. I don't really seem to like the idea very much of just sketching the things I see. I'm somehow to lazy to carry a sketch book or something similar around, which is why I mostly never did it, I must admit. I had my sketch book with me during a zoo visit this Sunday, but I was not too eager to draw in the coldness. Anyway, I will keep the thing about drawing simple things at first in my mind.

And yeah, even though I probably program way different things than you do. My main job is to analyze data or give the user the opportunity to explore it or
something similar. I also do search engine stuff and the likes. Data bases, big data. Boring stuff, mostly. Once in a while I encounter some more interesting things, but that's actually on rare ocassions only. I don't really like programming that much anymore. I started, when I was 11 years old, which is why writing code is kind of natural for me. I learned to write better code by watching other people, especially the programming of my superiors. But in the end, I guess it also depends heavily on the person. And if you leanred to write better code because of drawing, that is very commendable. I am probably somehow stagnated in that sense, because I don't really much anymore and I think that I'm good at this as it is. I'm missing any aspiration to get better.

-------

Now to your "critique". I actually never thought much about this statement, when I uttered it, I mus admit. What you noticed isn't really the improvement I meant. Actually what you noticed is mostly me getting to the point, where I left off. When you're not drawing for a long time, you get stiff very easily. As I mentioned before (I believe), I also drew manga art. Which is in my opinion harder to draw, because there are way more details than a simple pony body. Even though you can make the latter quite complex, too, no doubt about that. What I wanted to say, is, that I actually started to warm up, getting rid of the stiffness in my fingers and those things. And for my digital art: I never really used my tablet before, so I actually started to learn to draw with that thing. So I improved with using the tablet, but I don't think, that I improved with my art in general that much.

And yeah, you are right, I used some kind of vector art. The sketch of course was done by hand, but I thought it was quicker and easier to just trace the outlines with a path tool. The rest was done by hand again. I did not have the endurance an that point, to also learn to draw smooth outlines with that tablet, that's why I threw this part away for that time. I will try to get better with hand drawing outlines, too, though. It's just that I hadn't that much time on my hands and drawing outlines with a tablet is quite hard for me and quite annoying, too, if you are already stressed out anyway.

Anyway, thanks again for your suggestions, I will keep them in mind. I need to stop here for now, but I'm more willing to writer longer texts again, when I'm back at my own place.

------

It's a real pleasure talking to you, too. Maybe we should switch those talks to a different medium sometime, otherwise your profile gets flooded with this long comment stack. And thank you, I will look forward to your art work, too. Write to you soon.

/)

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h2g2guy In reply to Chrispy248 [2014-12-13 03:02:09 +0000 UTC]

Hey, I know it's been a long time since you wrote this comment; heck, it's been a long time since I've been active on this site, so it's been sitting in my inbox this whole time xD.

But when I went into your gallery to remind myself of why I followed you, I noticed some MASSIVE improvement.  Loving your drawings, especially your most recent Vinyl and Dashie!  Looking forward to the future!

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h2g2guy In reply to labba94 [2014-04-09 17:12:02 +0000 UTC]

Don't thank me, thank your art!  

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h2g2guy In reply to MrNobody47 [2014-02-10 18:33:34 +0000 UTC]

Came for the Scootalove, stayed for your AMAZING style!  I really love your stuff!

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