Taking criticism is hard 🙃

[@VirtualSG]

I imagine that doing so much art and being critiqued on all of it is creating the Mithrildanator!

[@Selrisitai]

"I'm not here to make good paintings." You're there to practice. Exactly it. I feel like that is the greatest technique, the greatest understanding that you could possibly have as someone learning art.

[@doug_mocniak]

Not gonna lie, I actually teared up a bit in watching this. You explaining your experiences with struggling with self-doubt and holding yourself back from producing art as an artist and acceptance of your actual abilities absolutely floored me as I feel this way and could never explain it to myself. The part you mentioned about only creating 3 pieces of art in a year and the fear that creating new art would some how spoil your relationship with those pieces also speaks volumes to me. I've been putting aside working on a personal project and pursuing a dream because I always convinced myself that I'm not ready yet, (i need a new display tablet, I need to finish Draw a Box, I need to watch another tutorial, etc...) but your videos are helping me realize that failures are inevitable and it's only on the backs of those do we gain experience and evolve for the better. Thank you so much!

[@aprilynnebarrett3239]

I find I get super anxious with the critiques of my Evolve assignments as well. I love that you are able to share and express your experiences so well. Thank you for sharing!

[@KevinContreras2013]

My first acrylic paintings SUUUUUUCKED. I mean they sucked. I didn't knew how to color mix well. I didn't understand the medium. I didn't know how to manage my time for it. But, you have to go through a lot of bad paintings before you find some decent work. Even then, your tastes will change and you'll have to go through the same process again! Just keep practicing and don't be afraid to look for resources to help you.

[@plantopaintwithjimsponsell6977]

I hope you get that apartment situation worked out. That has to be frustrating with everything else you are trying to get done in the mean time. Also, your work is definitely improving! Glad to see you are starting to mix more paint at a time and let some of it go. It will keep you from trying to stretch a small bit of paint too far and help you to keep mixing until you get just the correct hue rather than stopping short due to lacking the base paints out. I am enjoying this video series to see how the experience parts of doing the paintings is mixing with the knowledge provided through the course and how that has influenced your progress :) Keep up the good work!

[@Nobeanz2020]

Its a shame this woman isnt doing videos anymore. She was so good at it. Hope she's well!

[@frazoni.]

keep up, you're definitely getting better! :)

[@chippichawa4843]

Nothing worth doing is easy. Don't worry and trust in the process Mithrilda. 1% a day is better than no progress at all

[@Kaitheminion]

One of the best things about your series is watching your confidence grow. Taking criticism as a tool for learning and improvement is definitely the best thing. I remember never wanting to hear it because it just upset me and I felt they were telling me I was just a bad writer. However, it also made me block out the positive things people had to say. As soon as I started to confront my fear and really listen to those who wanted to help me improve and who supported me, my writing improved massively. (There were a lot of tears to make it to that point though!)

[@jonathan5914]

I recently read this post from Simon Sinek and I thought it would be appropriate: "There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing." - Aristotle Keep at it! Remember that an expert in anything started as a student. “Talent is a myth...” :)

[@ErieMaxwell]

That's so interesting! I definitely understand how difficult getting critique can be in theory, but I'm the opposite. If I know someone is going to be grading or even just evaluating my work and all the feedback I get back is strictly positive, I feel as if they either are holding back to spare my feelings for some reason or think my work is so awful that it isn't worth putting in the energy it would take to discuss what could make it better. A "you're doing very well, but here are all the things you could work on to be better" is the dream for me, particularly in list form.

[@Mithrilda]

I feel like it definitely has to do with my background and history with self worth and confidence and all sorts of twisty stuff mentally. I'm definitely feeling more excited about critique though and taking the points of improvement to heart. After all, I have just one me and one skill meter. I can listen to it or I can reject it, but I'll be the only one harmed or helped.

[@ErieMaxwell]

@@Mithrilda I 100% feel that. I think creative work brings up a ton of internal things even if it's a commission or an assignment you know isn't going to matter to you in the long run; it's still showing something you dedicated a bit of yourself to, so it feels personal no matter what you do. I think yours is the best outlook though. Critique can be wonderful to have, but ultimately, yours is the most important opinion when it comes to how you want to grow. And really, it isn't as if the advice you decide doesn't work for one piece can't be used for another one that suits it better.

[@diathorn7434]

Just remind yourself that instructors dont give you critique to bring you down (oh you made mistake here and there etc.) but to upliftt your work!

[@dashad1099]

Taking criticism is very hard indeed. I like seeing you've been improving a lot and i'm enjoying seeing you growing. Btw i hate being ignored. Lilke, i want to change, but most people are on my level and don't know how to help. Also, even people who are cleary great at art just gave me the most cliche advice like "work on anatomy" or "just practice, your art is kinda off". Okay, practice what? What are the parts that are wrong with my anatomy tho? I really want a little help on what should i focus and shit, but right now i'm going blindly trying to draw some boxes while getting control over my shoulder. Since i broke my wrist during my online classes. Also, i gave up on drawabox. I wasn't barely learning since i like seeing rather than reading. Having a partial aphantasia and adhd makes harder understanding every explanation by writing. And i can't work with people. Only with "teachers" or by my own.

[@Selrisitai]

You broke your wrist DURING your online class? Don't draw while angry! Lol! As a novelist, I can tell you that we have the same problem over here. "Show; don't tell. I can see you're telling too much here. This section is telly. You need to show and not tell." THIS IS WRITING. ALL IT IS IS TELLING. What are you talkin' about?!?! Of course, I understand now, but most of the people giving that advice don't themselves know. They never use the word _subtext_ or the phrase "on the nose." There is depth to writing that laymen and novices just won't have the knowledge to access. The people who are telling you that your writing "needs work" probably themselves don't understand what you're doing wrong, they just know it "looks off." My advice: Critique others' art. Critique it _harshly._ Go through Deviant Art, or the art site of your choice, look at each piece and roast the ever-living out of it. What this does is make you aware of mistakes everyone makes. It's easier to see the mistakes in others' works than your own. Then, when you go back to trying to draw, you'll find yourself more aware when you're making those same mistakes. "Oh, shoot, I was just now criticizing this other piece for doing exactly what I'm doing now."

[@PedroMiguel-zv3fj]

I feel like draw a box gives you a good sort of practice to do, like good warm ups and stuff like that. I would recommend doing lines, practicing boxes, elipses and planes, etc every time you can, while watching some series, or KZbin videos, etc, this way you gain line confidence and more precision, but doing just draw a box has not helped me at all

[@Selrisitai]

@@PedroMiguel-zv3fj You're the second one to say that. The first was Mithrilda. What is it that you feel you're not getting from it?

[@PedroMiguel-zv3fj]

@@Selrisitai fun Edit: ok, a bit of a more elaborate answer. These days I know line confidence, perspective and all that is really important to learn how to draw, but it is only part of it, and I feel Draw a Box focus too much on one section of the drawing process. Will it improve your work? Yes, but it is important to try other things and fail at that, so you can learn from your mistakes. Focusing in that specific section of art for an indeterminate amount of time can be really boring, frustrating and unfun. Recently I have watched a lot of Peter Han stuff on youtube and he talks about a lot of the same things that Drawabox does, makes sense, but I feel that a lot of what he is teaching is a way of sketching and making your body better at exectution and intuition. And so, I decided that these types of exercises are good at training my body, but aren't teaching me what I want, rather they will improve my ability to execute on what I learn, so I prefer to use them as 30 min to an hour warm ups every day rather than making them the focus of my learning.

[@dashad1099]

@@Selrisitai i mean, they gave me A TON of homework and i started my high school very late. My routine was i started 0:01pm had a little (around 3 or 4 hours) break for my wrist, then i tried to finish all my works till midnight. At least i graduated and i think i can do college by notebook from now own. Also, i found out i was holding my pencils/pens with my 4 fingers while my pinky was feeling a lot of pressure. My teachers always said to put a lot of pressure while writing so that became a pattern for a long time. At least i could be more loose while drawing and avoid drawing holding near the tip. Also, you said i should critique other people's art. But me as a very mediocre intermediary artist, i can't give a good critique the way i would like people giving me. And people think my words are harsh as fuck and they'll cancel me. Also, you really self-projected by my comment there... I can't relate writing with drawing that much though since i'm kinda almost figuring out the way i wanna show emotions and lore to people.

[@princeoculoplastico]

Hi, thank you for the videos and guide, I have a question, why you feel frustrated when you still are in block 3? do you feel that if you reach the block 7 the quality of the paintings will not reach a professional level? I am following you, and watched your videos, I have seen your progress even though I am not a painter. I am planning to start the course in September, but I cannot go to the school in NJ. I wonder if you can redo some of the more difficult work, if the results are graded by the instructors. I wont go on if my painting is a failure. Thank you again

[@Magicme79]

Without naming any names, I feel like I can guess which instructor this is XD

[@aeli999]

Gradients are the worst. I feel like mine are so awful and I expect every assignment to be returned with a "why are you wasting our time, go do something else." lol Tonight I got a nice feedback from Liam that my gradients are looking good. Surprised me for sure. lol That was only assignment 9 in Block 1 so I have a long way to go. Anyway, every video of yours that I watch I see amazing improvement. You are doing so good. Keep it up!

[@j.s.elliot7121]

Glad that you're out of the funk and feeling better about your progress. ❤

[@Schematist]

I'm not a painter, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't completely immersed in your creative process!

[@johndalmore3076]

new video yay!

[@SoloSinking]

😊🤗

[@balferono4568]

Hi Mithrilda, I know this is an older video but it just showed up in my recommendations. I’m struggling with gradients and am curious whether or not you ever got past them and if you did, whether or not you had a revelation or gradual improvement.

[@lesteracree1010]

Read the most excellent & , in your case, applicable book titled " Grit". That would be a wonderful fit for your situation with your parent(s).

[@lesteracree1010]

By the way you have a great personality for t v

[@jasonmarino5509]

Great video Mithril. Critics are exciting because they are opportunities for growth. If there is no more growth what is there to look forward to? :)

[@eyeonart6865]

You are scraping paint instead of picking it up and turning it over to mix. you can only do that if you put out more paint. you need to put out more paint. I cannot believer they have not told you that. at the end of the day put leftover paint in the Ice box then you can still use it the next day. find a container with a cover to put your palette in and no more waste. get a telephone book and clean the knife between the pages no more paper towels. and book can stay on table. no more pain.

[@LeoneDeloris4730]

it should not be hard if you want to get better

[@kr6302]

This is why loose painting is much better than this Evolve OCD neurotic-artist way of learning how to paint. You don't have to pay 2k to understand fundamentals, it's just ridiculous and overrated. Painting should give artists enjoyment not injuries cause of "home work".