2025: Turn Your Art Dreams Into Reality

[@MrHazz111]

When I worked on my first book, what I kept telling myself was that I'd never complete anything my life if I didn't get this particular one done first. Jake Parker's mantra 'Finished not perfect' also helps.

[@thehackingdom2868]

ur legend

[@Radientzone345]

Indeed, I keep that mantra in me too. Best to be finish and accomplish more

[@Badartist888]

Good work. As a chronic never finish projects guy I've been trying the last 6 months to be a 'finisher'. It's been getting traction in many aspects of my life and I'm much happier for it. Still have 4 books (reading) currently on the go though. But to be fair to myself, they all are very different subjects and genres.

[@Badartist888]

On the simple toolset. When I was a kid there was a cooking show called Yan Can Cook and the tag line was "If Yan can cook, you can too." I always remember that he only ever used one knife and it was a clever. But damn the ways he could use it and with such skill and speed. Very impressive. Made me realise at that time that an amateur has a hundred tools, a professional likely only has a few.

[@trueomen5017]

Good day sir! I am 27, and I wasted my early 20s for university that was ultimately a toxic wasteland for my artistic journey. Right now I have a decent portfolio centered around creature character and prop, but prospect of being hired doesnt look good, so I'll probably will have to pivot into different career just to stay afloat and progress my art in my off hours. It is daunting, but what else can I do. I thank you for your input and videos I listen constantly.

[@ukiXD]

can u link ur artstation or nick?

[@stormycatmink]

My biggest struggle is that I've no need to try to make a living off art. I have a steady job. But I want to be able to express emotions and stories, convey deeper meanings than just photos ever could. And my technical background always seems to get in the way, causing me to over-analyze every little stroke of the pencil. It wasn't until I figured out if I just ignore my hand, or draw when my brain is in a bad state and just let the art flow, it.. flows. It's so relaxing. Now I'm trying to get better at doing that on demand. But it makes it hard to figure out what my goal is, really. What I want to do. I've spent decades wanting to 'draw comics'. Being inspired by art of all sorts. I've tried to focus on learning how to learn. Understanding how the brain picks up skills and improves, and it's let me make fairly big leaps each time I sit down to draw. But I do it so infrequently that it's almost infuriating. So many competing things going on, both in life and in my head. So it's hard to find ways to keep motivated.. most videos are helping people who're looking for careers or who want to make it a huge portion of their life. For me.. I don't know. It almost feels more like I want it as a language.. a way to communicate and share things difficult to explain with just pictures or words. But maybe I'm just overthinking all this.

[@Nathan-P]

'Overthinking' . . . yeah, we tend to do a lot of that :) I've heard it said that most people don't need motivation, they need momentum (I recall it was Dr. Mindy Pelz). Perhaps try lowering the barrier to entry, something so simple it seems "too easy." "Marsh Makes Comics" has a good video on 1-page comics: "How to Make Your First Comic Book (An Easy Way to Start)." Maybe set a goal of doing 1 1-page comic every week or 2. You could keep it really simple. If drawing is your main focus, don't even ink it if you don't want to. If your analytical mind is making it impossible to finish anything, maybe you need to lean into that fear of failure and just finish stuff regardless the quality. Redefine success. The path to improvement is consistent effort in the right direction. Drawing is a physical skill as well as a mental one. A great video on the topic is Jake Parker's "Finished, Not Perfect."

[@simplychansey]

You may not see the comment, but you have given me the questions that I've needed to ask myself for a long time. I spent years creating and dropping personal projects, thinking something must be wrong with me. I didn't have a story in my heart like many artists do. I didn't have characters I was attached to. I don't have any favorite media, whether it be games, movies, animations, shows, books, etc. I have been on and off drawing for the past 10 years and it wasn't until the past few years that I started to draw more often. I realized, after listening to your questions, that I am the type of person that prefers speed over patience. I spent a long time learning styles and refining my own style that was simple and fast for animations or comics. Having to be clean and detailed stressed me out, so I much prefer loose sketches. I like stories, but I have written so many that I'm not sure what to do anymore. None of them really stick with me. I like talking with people, but I don't have many creative friends and I am a bit of an introvert and don't go out of my way to make friends. I like having creative freedom, but too much freedom is overwhelming and stressful. I'm told that I have to enjoy what I'm making or I'm not going to be happy with it. I apologize for the rant. Your talk has made me do a lot of self-reflection and I really appreciate it. Thank goodness that your channel showed up in my feed. This is the second video I've watched from you and I'm usually not patient enough to listen to anything for more than 10 minutes. I am rather surprised with myself, but at the same time, I love and enjoy your content. You speak to me on a mental level that no other artist has. Thank you for all of your insight. It helps so much.

[@Nathan-P]

Hi Chancey, I relate with your angst in creating clean, polished work. I too prefer to work quick and loose. I decided to start illustrating a personal story in a sketchy pencil style. I've really been enjoying it. I also resonate with Tim's teaching and life-experience. I also felt like I didn't have stories to tell or interesting characters. Sure, I came up with interesting ideas and characters, but nothing felt deeply personal, just fun and random. I eventually got fed up with drawing so much unrelated stuff that didn't seem to matter. I wanted the things I drew to have context, to fit into a greater whole somehow. Well, world-building and writing a story have really helped me to focus my energy into something coherent. I now have characters and a story that I care about. If you'd like to connect as artists, let me know. You don't have to go out of your way for this one :)

[@simplychansey]

@@Nathan-P Hi Nathan, Thank you for reaching out to me. It truly means a lot when I am able to connect with other artists. I love the sketchy pencil style! It sounds interesting and most of all, fun. Perhaps it's because I tend to stop too soon, but none of the worlds or stories I've written are personal to me. I'd love to hear more from you about your thoughts as an artist.

[@dplj4428]

2:05 - what and why is it my dream goal? - like single lane focus or explorer? - patient for detail or taste and go. 7:33 Still listening: I like detail alternating with free-range exploration.

[@middleagedmandrawsdog]

I love the framework you provide here for thinking through big picture goals. So helpful, thank you!

[@ishrivera7214]

One of the Best teachers on KZbin.. 5 stars Thank you Mr Mcburnie!

[@Buddhabellie]

Hey, Tim. I am an artist who has been working on a project for close to a year. I keep improving the drawings to get it where I would like it. That said, I have the luxury of being able to learn new mediums and styles by others, yourself included. It teaches me how to improve what I am working on, and I end up with a great gift for my family.....other than that, I am so grateful to be able to learn something new and awesome every video you put out. I learn something that helps my progress. Happy and healthy New Year to you and your family.

[@serious.moonlight]

As someone who is committing to taking their art more seriously this year, this was so incredibly helpful. I find it's hard to find practical advice for artists like me who aren't beginners but also aren't professionals yet. Really appreciate your wisdom!

[@mm_calligraphys]

My friend sent me this video and eventhough I am a calligraphy artist, it still resonated with me. I never really thought about the things you mentioned in the video so this was a much needed self relfection. Thank you!

[@octaviososa5108]

Thank you for your wise words sir! I hope everything is going well for you.

[@olefireval]

Thank you! I try to draw different things, but it's hard to formulate who I am as an artist - your classification makes so much sense and really helpfull to understand

[@seemeoutthere]

I just…really really can’t express how grateful i am for you and the time you put into this channel.

[@AdHockArt]

Happy New year, Mate. have a good one

[@Kahunacatto]

Hey Tim nice content as always. I just want to say that the world is starving for original ideas and stories. Keep on creating art, the world will well receive your work.

[@dwinmitel]

Hello Sir Tim! I just want to say that discovering The Visual Scholar podcast on KZbin over the last two months was awesomeness.(all 42 episodes really resonated with me ) I've started the Line and Drawing academy and let's just say, right time, right place 😁...thank you for your time, research and experience. And if I may quote you from episode 4 " it's good to take a break from drawing by watching a movie, drawing, listening to music" haha have a great one sir! ( from a 38 year old Montrealer with an architectural and cooking background, that's working on his second book at the moment) cheers!

[@ryanisanart]

this is one of your best vids! validated a LOT of my thinking recently on my own journey. I love validation. thanks!

[@Mjumiman]

I appreciated your thought impulses in this a lot. It shows how much you're speaking from experience. I will be doing a lot of narrative illustration work for a personal 2D game project in 2025, so I think putting some focus on shot composition, environments and lighting (values) will help me! What you said regarding detail level and patience also got me thinking - I really enjoy drawing detailed nature scenes and clothing and such, but I have a much harder time doing this digitally, because the sketching and inking process is much more exhausting to me there, and that tempts me to rush through it. Shifting parts of my process to traditional media could help me, because sitting in quiet solitude and chipping away at the details of an illustration on paper is very much my thing. Thanks!

[@massa_art]

good job on the outro that gets you to want to watch the next video 👌 (and great discussion in general, but you don’t need validation for that one 😊)

[@Veistkid]

Thanks for the video. I really want to work on creating my creative studio and storytelling the stories that matter to me. Your videos have helped me so much learning about comics and independent work.

[@Slotzzzz]

Codex..just wanted to say thank you for your help and time. If anything you help people understand more than the next guy? Ha,or confuse them but your doing something that matters to a lot of people. Life doesn't always have the results we may want and it answers are questions with just another dream. Hope your dreams become more than just another question, What?

[@shoshaka]

thanks for this genuine and very resourceful video!

[@MathReds]

Very insightful stuff as always Tim! I often find myself in this weird spot where deep in my core I create like a concept artist (lots of unfinished ideation) but can't possibly get any attention without working like an illustrator (rendering and detailing), ugly pictures just don't get likes lol. It's tricky to navigate when it feels like the only way to "make it" as an artist today is to get a bunch of followers online.

[@Badartist888]

The creative control is an interesting thing for me. My first thought is that I want total creative control. But when I spend a moment thinking about the creative works I'm most happy with, its mainly stuff I've not had full creative control over. Often those limiting factors are invented by me but a lot of it is collaboration. Something I need to think on a bit more.

[@cybdraws]

Thank you Tim for this incredible knowledge, this video really helped me out!

[@LG-xq8zc]

When I was younger, I could work on a drawing for hours. Now, I have goldfish brain.

[@Buddhabellie]

23:04 omg! You so know me at certain stages!😅😅😅😅😅

[@lifesfluff]

Ya I guess I have to figure where I want end . I guess I want to be able to make art . But I like working with collaboration , brain storming , project managing , organization

[@柯禮安G]

Very interesting ideas.

[@vai_samy]

a dublagem automática ajuda demais, principalmente pra conteúdos mais teóricos

[@lifesfluff]

I would like to learn more about the collaboration one

[@Jimmydraws-n5t]

Sir,I've seen many storyboards of hayao miyazaki and with just only one pencil he makes his background very detailed ,every stroke has its meaning can you plz make a video on how we can make backgrounds like hayao miyazaki....

[@TomsonSDK]

I really wanna be able to do everything I can’t stick with just ONE

[@sethpargin5138]

I signed up for the mailing list, and confirmed, but I can’t find the link. What am I missing?

[@TheDrawingCodex]

The link to the workshop itself? Yeah let me sort out that with the link to the pdf. I haven't had a chance to finish it apologies. You should have been sent through to the workshop page to watch it though?

[@sethpargin5138]

@ sorry, user error. I was looking for it on the confirmation page. False alarm.

[@TheDrawingCodex]

No worries, sorry for the confusion. I am actually just working on the PDF for the notes now. So should send that out today! A lot of people have been asking me for it. Let me know if you have any questions about the workshop!

[@Omarcomics911]

I'm 33 I started drawing in 2009 and stopped for about 4 years speartly I want to be a comic artist now i had a tumour in my brain that effects my right side from using it its been about 9 years I started to train my left hand nd in 2019 now I can draw with it but sometimes I feel I'm too old to be comic artist and give up my dream is fading away

[@stormycatmink]

One thing to keep in mind is that older people tend to be able to pick up art quicker; just life experiences and the sort allow them to move ahead faster if they're dedicated to it. It's been a long road for me, and often I only spend much time every few months on it, but each time I make huge progress. I've been struggling with some fairly debilitating medical issues myself, but I keep trying to learn. Last year I found what was causing a huge artist block in my brain and I suddenly got way better within just a few weeks. So you're never too old to start. You just might need to be more strategic in learning how to draw. But if you leverage your experience and all you've learned, you can leap ahead.

[@Omarcomics911]

@stormycatmink can I show u my art work

[@stormycatmink]

@@Omarcomics911 Sure! I can share some of mine, dating back almost 30 years now.

[@pitchblack69]

Thumbnail: drawing Video: middle age guy yapping