Force Your Will Upon The Paper!
I can’t. I can. Can I? Maybe I can!
Have you ever been paralyzed by a blank page because your hand can’t seem to draw what you want? I am sometimes caught by that snare of no-hand-eye-coordination. I have a clear picture in my head (or maybe I see it right before my eyes), but I can’t get my hand to work the way it should. The proportions are wrong. The lines are wrong. The strokes…meh. It’s frustrating, especially for complex images like people. And there are times that I would repeatedly hover my hand on the paper without actually making a mark, afraid to make a mistake.
I recently found some good tips from other artists. ✨
Heikala, one of my favorite watercolor artists, mentioned about drawing using a pen. Inks are permanent and mistakes are unerasable (unless you use those friction pens that can erase its ink). It helps develop confidence in line work.
“One thing you should do is really force your will upon the paper. Even if it’s gonna fail, I’m just gonna do it with confidence and then if the overall image sort of reads, the mistakes are not going to read as clearly because there’s just so much noise.” - Rembert Montald
Basically, if you struggle drawing what’s on your mind or what you see…just force it! Put that first stroke on paper and let it flow even if it looks bad. It can be difficult for perfectionists because we want everything to look good from the onset. So, suck it up! That paper is meant to be filled. Stop staring at the blank page and draw. Make a mess. No one will see it anyway unless you share it. Things I would tell myself. 😆
Come to think of it, we do have to force our will sometimes. It’s like forcing ourselves to get out of bed early in the morning so we can buy freshly baked bread from the bakery (hello, hot pan de sal 😋). I can’t think of a better analogy. But isn’t that just how learning goes in every skill available to man? It’s forced at some point, just…like…this…very…sentence…I…am…writing. They say it gets better with practice… and rightly so.
Bonus tip: Breaking down an image in simple shapes really helps. :)
What have you been exploring lately? 🎨
Padayon,
What I'm exploring lately (or how I'm forcing my will on paper) is by journaling with stickers and pens. I've always shied away from the bujo world because I always thought I ydidn't have enough creativity and talent to keep a bujo, draw in it, sketch, and all that. But journaling on paper (together with choosing stickers and the different kinds of pens to use) at the end of the day is so relaxing. And I thought to myself—I can do it my way anyway. There are no rules. I can just do whatever I enjoy and whatever speaks to me.