How Embarassing!

Stratadrake · Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2004 7:59 pm Post subject:

How often does it happen in art, when you experiment with a new technique, medium, or subject matter . . . and the result comes out looking like crap? Something that you look at, ask yourself "why did I even try?" and either (1) forget it and make something else, or (2) immediately get a new sheet of paper and try again, hoping for better?

Consider this a test of how brave you are. What is a picture that you tried once, twice, or possibly more because you were utterly disgusted with the initial result(s) of it?

Pick a picture and describe how many iterations it's been through. And if you have the courage to do so, give a glance at what the original version(s) of it looked like.

Take this picture in my gallery as an example:
- Lion King Sora

I've actually made three versions of the picture, and that is version #2. With regards to the inspiration, I seemed to have a case of the Odd/Even rule. Version #1 sucked, version #2 was okay, but version #3 was only marginally better than #1.

Version #1, I originally started it by sketching out the body shape for a large cat. The concept sketch turned out pretty well, so I uploaded it to my gallery as a reference.

Afterwards, I went through and worked in details to personify the character, and that too looked fair enough. But something happened between the detail sketch and the finished product that just . . . went totally wrong. Check out the attachment yourself for proof.
_________________
Strata here: [url=http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/242293]Nanowrimo[/url] - [url=www.fanart-central.net/user-Stratadrake.php]FAC[/url] - [url=http://stratadrake.deviantart.com]dA[/url] - [url=www.furaffinity.net/user/Stratadrake/]FA[/url]
[size=9]Disclaimer: Posts may contain URLs. Click [url=http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TVTropesWillRuinYourLife]at your own risk.[/url][/size]

Meredianna · Has No Life Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 526

When i always experiment a new medium/technique its never goes well.., i tried once with oil colors, and i was disgusted with the results . . . .

, ... it was my first time with it, maybe thats why .. Laughing

, maybe i will scan that horrible oil colors painting later.. Uneasy

KeheiZero · Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2004 1:05 pm Post subject:

I always get that. I doodle anime characters in class and someone looking over my shoulder will say "Wow that's good." Then I go back to it later and I think "Man I suck". Happens every time.
_________________
"You know what? My squirrel instinct tells me he's even more of a bastard than I first thought." - Gene Hunt

cptShort · Member Joined: 26 May 2004 Posts: 100

I know the feeling too.
My piccy Jonin Naruto (Don't know how to do a link.. stupid me) is my fourth attempt with it; originally it was done in pastels, but of course I don't know how to use them and the picture was slaughtered. the next couple of times did't feel the right way, like the overall impression wasn't even close to what I was looking for...? But the version on the site turned out well, and I'm proud of it dispite the numerous flaws that I should have seen while inking.

That's the problem I usually get; when I'm actually trying to draw what [i]should[/i] be the finished image, it all looks good until it's either finished or nearly so, then I'll find some fatal flaws and stop drawing.
Ocasionally when this happens I'm only halfway through, and the picture looks so incomplete it's disgusting, and then I often throw it out.
Like once with a bowl of 'ramen' in the pic, the pencil lines where still in it and it was grayish... they wouldn't erase and I threw it out, but even now the image haunts me.. lol. Razz

TLeon · Newb Joined: 20 Nov 2004 Posts: 14

Oh my god, I hate that! I find I hardly ever go out of my comfort zone of drawing materials and such because I usually stuff up. When I try something new it goes great from the beginning, then I think 'try something else while we're at it' and then it goes terribly wrong!
Oh well, what can you do but try? In the end we'll do [u]something [/u]right!

KFelidae · Still very bored Joined: 19 May 2004 Posts: 295

In art class, I had sketched out a nice gryphon that I wanted to colour up for our assignment (neutralizing colour, in case you're wondering). I thought the sketch looked great, so I cleaned it up, made it presentable, and sat down to colour it. Problem 1) this here little kittybirg needs glasses that she doesn't have; problem 2) neutralizing blue involves using orange... Yeah. About halfway in, I'd already had to strip paper off the beak to correct a colouring mistake, I was tired, and I didn't want to mess with the frikkin' thing anymore. It had looked so good as a sketch, but once it had any sort of colour added to it... I can only compare it to the colour of a fresh calico cat hairball.

Aw well. Good thing I trashed it -- I might of had to post it up! ^_^

-KF

Stratadrake · Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2004 11:47 am Post subject:

Too bad, I was half looking forward to it ;)

I mean, it's nice to TALK about times you've goofed up and things didn't turn out right, but who around here has the courage to actually SHOW one of those times?

I hope I'm not the only one....
_________________
Strata here: [url=http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/242293]Nanowrimo[/url] - [url=www.fanart-central.net/user-Stratadrake.php]FAC[/url] - [url=http://stratadrake.deviantart.com]dA[/url] - [url=www.furaffinity.net/user/Stratadrake/]FA[/url]
[size=9]Disclaimer: Posts may contain URLs. Click [url=http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TVTropesWillRuinYourLife]at your own risk.[/url][/size]

DaBear · Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2004 5:01 pm Post subject:

hmmm, it may not be a good thing to try a medium once, not like the results and never go back again. when I first started out doing my inking in MSPaint, it was okay...no actually it stunk. amazingly 12 years later other artists ask me how to use the program. I find that funny. so just to show Strat that some of us will grow b*lls and share the uglyness of past failures, heres two pictures. top is of Iri (known then as The Body in 1994?) and all four of the Angels now. both pictures inked with MSP.

_________________
'It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.' - Ronald Reagan

Rebus · Very bored Joined: 23 Jul 2004 Posts: 224

[quote]I mean, it's nice to TALK about times you've goofed up and things didn't turn out right, but who around here has the courage to actually SHOW one of those times?[/quote]

Hell, I will.

I tried drawing a scaley for your contest... I may never pick up a brush again Laughing

You don't need to tell me that the tail is wrong in [i]every[/i] important respect, that there's something seriously wrong with the arms/forelimbs or that an eight year old could do better.

Trust me, I know.

Now, point, laugh and then lets see someone else's c**p.

R

EDIT Removed the attachment, since you've seen it now and I don't need it coming back to haunt me Smile

Stratadrake · Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2004 2:13 am Post subject:

Indeed. But you're a better painter than I am; if I picked up a brush, I'd probably wind up with similar results without even trying :lol:

It's worth mentioning the differing [i]degrees[/i] of failure. I'd guess it's quite rare to have a truly [i]catastrophic[/i] failure, one in which everything just seems to go wrong in the worst possible way...

Most other failures can be attributed to rushing, overblown expectations, lacking experience in the particular medium, or even little things that one shouldn't get upset over.

My next example is a recent one, and describes what is really just a minor goof. It did have a happy ending, as well -- but until that point, I almost wanted to rip it up, throw it in the fireplace (it wouldn't have been the first to meet a fiery end), and start drawing it all over again.

I had begun by sketching it out as per my usual style, and working on the details. I was pretty impressed. So I colored it in with my chosen color scheme, and that's when things started going downhill.

I couldn't seem to get the shade of brown that I wanted to work with the kind of texture I wanted, so I had to improvise, tossing in some ebony and a different texture.

I was sorta bummed by that, but I scanned it in, resized & touched it up, and uploaded it nonetheless.

Responses to the drawing were pretty underwhelming. And perhaps worse, I agreed with them! It WAS underwhelming. Something majorly felt wrong with it.

I was in a sort of creative depression for a day or two. I kept thinking about it -- the sketch and details worked out okay, but something happened when I started coloring it... and that's when the solution hit me. I had somehow left out this one crucial hue from the drawing. Actually, the reason why was no mystery, it was the magenta color, I left it out because the drawing was of a male and magenta is sort of a "girl" color.... yeah, I should've known better.

I took out the image and gave it a spin through computer editing, tweaking the hues to experiment until I hit a result that I looked at and had to simply say "wow!" . A hue rotation of about 30 degrees plus some contrast adjustment and I had hit the perfect shade I needed. I went back to the original drawing and threw in some magenta on top of the dark, coldish purple. It didn't mix that well but it warmed the creature up well enough for me.

So, after all that ado, this is what I'm talking about -- an earth-type dragon decorated with earth crystals:

- Original Design

- Reprised Design
_________________
Strata here: [url=http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/242293]Nanowrimo[/url] - [url=www.fanart-central.net/user-Stratadrake.php]FAC[/url] - [url=http://stratadrake.deviantart.com]dA[/url] - [url=www.furaffinity.net/user/Stratadrake/]FA[/url]
[size=9]Disclaimer: Posts may contain URLs. Click [url=http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TVTropesWillRuinYourLife]at your own risk.[/url][/size]

Rebus · Very bored Joined: 23 Jul 2004 Posts: 224

That is an amazing difference

For one with a sad ending, I screwed up massively yesterday painting the Phantom of the Opera. I thought I'd sketch it out first, which is something I never do for starters.

When I'd sketched the layout, I thought I'd got it so spot on that I'd better ink it exactly where it was rather than trying to reproduce it on watercolour paper. It worked fine for the fine detail work, but when it came to the washes... well, I'm sure you can guess.

The paper started disintergrating Sad

So what was going to be an ornate and detailed background turned into a grainy and odd one.

Then, of course, being wet the paper started to wrinkle.

And the background ink started drying fairly unpredictably (ink does that anyway, of course, but in the normal course of things I can steer the watermarks. I couldn't on this paper).

So if it wasn't for my haste and lack of brains I'd have a fairly cool and long-lasting picture of the Phantom, instead of a wrinkled disintegrating one Sad

The Picture

MagicWings · Member Joined: 15 Dec 2004 Posts: 67

Oil Pastels. They were the worst. I didnt like how they would bleed everywhere....I still have problems with them. I like clean crisp colors, like in anime. hehe

Dogss · Would like fries with that Joined: 05 Jul 2004 Posts: 807

When I was younger all I would ever draw was animals. I had no incentive to draw anything else, much less people. I actively avoided drawing them...my first attempts were hideous and I never drew them again...that is, until Harry Potter came along. I liked the books so much I had to create interpretations of the characters. So with a lot a frustration I practiced and I eventually Mastered them! Now on with the next threashold....archatechture! ^_^
_________________
Mohawks are beautiful sculptures

eterna2 · Newb Joined: 31 Dec 1969 Posts: 2

nv be afraid to trash and pic and redo everything all over again.
nv be afraid to alter a pic cuz u fear that u might spoil it.

u must get over this mindset, restarting all over again is nothing. It is only thru countless tries do one improve Smile

LightningAurora · Still very bored Joined: 06 Jun 2004 Posts: 370

I can't do anything well with a paintbrush, and believe me, I tried. In my art class, of all places, where my art teacher insisted I try too - it was disastrous. I'm sticking to the computer and my pencils from now on...

CyberkittyKG · Member Joined: 13 Sep 2004 Posts: 46

[quote="Stratadrake (Strata)"]I mean, it's nice to TALK about times you've goofed up and things didn't turn out right, but who around here has the courage to actually SHOW one of those times?

[/quote]
Aw heck, I'm not going to point out my mistakes...most of the time people don't notice them unless I point them out or someone stares at the pic for ten minutes straight up close. I guess I'm a friggin coward or something...

But what gets me really mad is I sometimes don't notice mistakes until I look at my pic after not glancing at it for several months...only then I might see it and it's too late 'cause it's posted up somewhere...makes me want to rip my hair out.