The Problem with Realism

[@Val-fr6lp]

As long as I was running away from mastering realism, my art was unsatisfactory to me. When I started tackling it, my skills improved rapidly. The best three advices I got in art school were: 1. Mastering realism is only the beginning, 2. Stop painting like a camera, paint the way you see, 3. The more you paint, the better you’ll be. I’d also add, that it’s important not to care what others think/will say because that fear will keep you from making mistakes and creating anything.

[@MaxxRemKing1]

It’s funny realism is my goal, I don’t care about creating cartoon characters but I think your rule number 1 and the message of this video are true: Realism is only the beginning 🤯 Your rule #2 of stop painting like the camera and paint what you see sounds so difficult to me but I think that is the difference between someone like me who is just a beginner and someone who can really be called an artist.

[@lunawolfheart336]

I love that. paint the way you see it!

[@realdragon]

I won' paint like I see, who wants to look at blurry art?

[@Val-fr6lp]

@ I think having good vision applies🤣…what they mean is to have a focus in your composition. Eg. if a person is the focus of your painting, you paint them with most details and do background more softly, without harsh defined lines…so basically using sfumato technique.

[@beverlykandraceffinger3764]

Hadn't you ever thought of working from life (dal vero) rather than from a reference image? There's a reason that realism which is drawn from a three dimensional view is more interesting and engaging. Copy work is fine for study, for honing technique and learning about representation, but it is rarely a satisfying goal in itself. Broaden your vistas a bit and you might be surprised. "Your originality will take care of itself..."--Robert Henri.

[@Herr_Vorragender]

When Picasso said "It took me a life time to paint like a child" he did not mean it in a literal sense. He meant it takes a life time to get rid of fear. Being able to paint without fear enables creativity. Because fear pushes back ideas that may lead to undesired outcome. He did not mean it takes a life time to paint in abstract forms like cubism. He meant it takes a life time to develop 1. unconscious incompetence 2. conscious incompetence 3. conscious competence 4. unconscious competence And starting from 4 you'll make "happy little accidents" and yet still turn them into breathtaking pieces of art.

[@mahejabeenfatima2128]

Best comment.

[@misssapphire2714]

At if he actually just meant it as it is??

[@tsdobbi]

This right here. Realism is the platform everything else is built on. I get frustrated by beginner artists that want to avoid realism. "I want to draw anime so there's no point in learning realism". They've turned it into this bogey man mountain that is impossible to climb and "cartoons seem easier". Doing realism is easier than doing stylization WELL.

[@ArtNinjaTx]

There are many levels of realism.... high level hyperrealism is extremely high technical skill, but when is just copies/ studies, what is the point when we have cameras to do it faster? It's more a brag at that point, but I wouldn't say it's easier to do well. It is a skill that is way easier to measure though, even for nonartists. Everyone's individual preferences are the catalyst to stylization, but that skill is more a effected subjectivity and therefore harder to measure. Higher levels of realism require higher levels of accuracy and understanding and will ultimately lead to greater ability to stylize your work because if your increased awareness and ability to implement your will. If you can do realism you have a Higher chance of being able to do stylized work than the other way around. IMO YOU NEED BOTH. We all have our preference for the balance of the two......

[@rottensquid]

This reminds me of how film students all want to pick up where David Lynch or Ingmar Bergman left off, and get frustrated when the teachers tell them they have to master the basic rules of film making before they break them. I think for a lot of artists, "realism" feels like a mountain, as you say, and they're not clear how climbing it will help them in their goal. They're not interested in that kind of art in the first place. A lot of young people get into cartooning, or manga style art, or whatever, because it seems achievable. So it's hard for them to hear that they can't even be truly good at that till they get good at basic life drawing. "Realism" is subjective as well. Photorealism offers little beyond the mechanical skill of copying exactly what you see. And as impressive a skill as it is, it's not really what people want on their wall. It's in stylizing realism that you learn how drawing really works. I remember being overwhelmed by all the subtle gradations of human faces as a kid. Now, I can break down every muscle, plain, and underlying structure of the face, if I need bother. But as Moebius said, don't draw all the wrinkles. Draw the right ones. The secret to stylization is finding a unique way to simplify reality. But unless you understand the reality and how you're simplifying it, you're really just trying to copy other people's stylistic innovations, instead of inventing your own. And that's not how you become your own artist. You pick the parts of reality that you find most compelling, and you emphasize that. That's how you find your style. Kids will simplify as a way to skip to the end, and that's helpful to get them climbing that mountain. But sooner or later, you hit a wall, and you have to start drawing from life, or you'll never get past it.

[@CelesteLunaRael]

Thank you. Realism as an art movement is broad and quite more leaning to social commentary, especially during its original inception in the 19th century. And the thing is Realism gets conflated with realistic art/imagery Realism during its original inception was more so depicting mundane life and broadly about regular folk life Artists moved away from just depicting the wealthy, the religion or anything comissioned for them. And soon through Realism, the artists began to depict the poor, pedestrian life in the 19th century etc. Realism was only among the movements that were beginning to challenge the rigid norms of art at that time. Pretty soon Realism gave way to Impressionism, Abstract, Pre-raphaelite, so on and so forth I guess my point is, this movement has become far removed from its original inception and got conflated with realistic imagery. And I guess from it other new forms came out of it, regardless whether or not people recognize the original intent of it.

[@Cheddar-420]

​@@ArtNinjaTx What's the point of keeping all our original art pieces? We can just take a picture right? This comment is extremely dismissive of photography as an art form while not understanding what realism and photo realism are not the same. Caravaggio should have just used his camera, what a lame.

[@mrfake5251]

Doing realism is wayy harder than doing stylization well

[@oleksiyraiu7190]

I have started with drawing anime, and realized, that anime and manga are stylization, and without knowing what I am stylizing, I cant stylize well.

[@dgrhm08]

Study Jack Kirby. :)

[@cupsfilledwithcups72]

a trick I learned is to treat it like a more detailed stick figure face. let yourself break perspective and anatomy to push emotions.

[@gayshit6230]

Anime looks the way it does for a reason. Anime is just realism but with less detail for the sake of, guess what, animation. There is a reason everything is cel shaded. There is a reason they use black outlines. It’s to save time because you are drawing many frames, and they can’t just use a bunch of different colors. Anime is only good looking because of good fundamentals and concepts

[@kropekdwukropek703]

I did the same! Somehow I found need to study real human basic anatomy and proportions. And I stayed at more realistic side not gonna lie. But anime is great for relaxing drawing or doodling. Simpler things without thousand details

[@carbonatedcosmo7665]

dude same!! i started drawing because of anime years ago and i HATED doing realism work of any kind because it wasn't the stylized stuff i actually enjoyed drawing, but i didn't understand WHAT i was stylizing, haha 😅 it's only in recent years that i've begun trying to study some fundamentals -- i've specifically started trying out a little bit of figure drawing since my primary focus right now is drawing characters, and i've already noticed improvement in my work!!

[@matthewwilliams3827]

It’s hyperrealism and using grids, etc, that will hold you back. Realism is knowing the law of light and shadow, form…

[@audreyluan5325]

Definitely. Realism helped me with shading techniques.

[@matthewwilliams3827]

@ and remember, the darkest lights (light side) are lighter than the lightest darks (shadow side). 👍

[@kevinrice6245]

It’s not even so much the level of detail that’s the problem. The problem is not really understanding what you are drawing. Copying a photo line for line and tone for tone is much easier than drawing a subject from life with a definite time limit. Especially if it’s a subject that doesn’t particularly hold still like animals. If all you can do is copy you’ll fall flat on your ass if you try to draw a moving subject. Speaking from personal experience of course 😁 as for creativity, one can be just as creative with realism as any other style. You just have to learn the principles of good design and stop doing boring snap shot type compositions as if the fact that it looks realistic is the pinnacle of everything.

[@TheGreatSugarBowl]

I feel a bit called out by this video. In my case, I focused on drawing realisitic animals. I would usually end up giving away the drawing as a gift. Eventually, it occured to me I wasn't so much giving them the the drawing because they would like it (that was still a factor though) but to show off my skill. So this Chrismas I pushed myself to draw something meaningful. I ended up with a mixed medium unrealistic drawing that touched the person I gave it too. Now I'm excited to continue develping this new creative direction.

[@pb02beginners80]

"Art can do amazing things if we stop putting unnecessary limits on ourselves" Beautiful video! inspired to make art now hehe

[@Polareyesx]

Great video! As a working artist I deal with this struggle quite a bit. As you said a lot of non artists see realism as the pinnacle of art, and I am often pressured into making realism over more stylized works that bring me joy. That being said, mastering realism will give fundamentals but I see a pitfall in realism. Just because you can copy a photo exactly doesn't mean you are good at realism. I see a lot of artists held back by the quality of their reference images and try to copy it exactly instead of making it as legible as possible, and since they don't understand the shapes they are drawing it falls flat.

[@GanFloorscope]

studying realism is studying construction and it is the most important discipline to draw anything well (the other discipline is gesture), the problem is people that copy photo exactly were not analyzing the subject properly, hence they didnt absorb the essence of that subject and how to manipulate them in 3D in our canvas that IS 2D.. Learning to construct that same subject will also help artist to retain said subject into our visual library that we can pump out anytime we want to from our brain, which makes us capable of drawing from imagination, the ultimate freedom that every artist sought of

[@Sep_tmbr]

THISS!!! I was so ready to type out a paragraph defending realism as a great tool, good thing I waited till the end. I loved it when u talked about how realism isn't just celebrity potraits and theres a bunch of extremely skilled artists with unique but realistic styles. I see alot of artists take a very hard stance when it comes to realism either they worship it or they dont respect it for what it can provide and avoid it. I completely agree with your message. The soul is the reald deal no matter the style. Great content!!!

[@claudiodesac]

"realism doesn't mean it has more details,realism means it feels alive"

[@mrfake5251]

Exactly

[@anapple6912]

or can capture the essence of the thing you are drawing with a few lines. line gesture drawing

[@beyondthisplane]

does a realistic drawing of a dead wood feels alive?

[@artemg9753]

"The dead man you drew looks so alive!" Realism means realistic looking. No need to try to substitute or expand the term when there are plenty of other words to express what you like best.)

[@musicxnr8876]

Realistic drawings dont exaggerate certain aspects like anatomy pose or even coloring so it actually feels less alive.

[@ArtAngelMouse]

Holding me back? I think its been helping a lot. I find it very fun and relaxing to study. Helps me with stylizing too. I don't think its boring. I get what the video is saying tho, but I think realism is still fun to look at. Plenty of people can be studying the same picture or setting and some of their strokes or techniques can make it look different. Stylization/cartoony and realism are both cool and I don't think one is better than the other. Honestly, part of the reason I like art is that I think anything and everything could be beautiful and I feel like my realism art can reflect that too. Its me appreciating the beauty of this thing in front of me and its details.

[@cryalot378]

I think realism works both ways at the same time: it helps you (to understand art more) yet it holds you back (due to learnt habits) and some people might be afraid to try out new things, new styles, use new medium to express themselves and will stick only to realism. Which is sad and in this case it really is holding them back, because they could be able to do more, exploring their potential... And people love to see new things, things that weren't invented yet.

[@ArtAngelMouse]

@@cryalot378 That just sounds like the problem of just not exploring new things which doesn't have to be exclusively practicing only realism (like I guess anime since a lot of people just start there, and I don't think its a problem unless they want to do other stuff). And even then, maybe some people just genuinely like drawing realistic. There's nothing wrong with that, people should approach art however they want. Draw what you like and not what people want to see (which the video did touch on that the right people will find your art if they like your style). I have a few different styles of drawing and that could include realism and I love it as much as my other styles.

[@sallytheuselessbird]

​@@ArtAngelMouse This is his personal experience, no one is telling you how to draw.

[@ArtAngelMouse]

@@sallytheuselessbird This video is called The Problem with Realism and there was something about How Realism is holding you back. Either the title or thumbnail changed. So there was an intention of telling people about something about not sticking with realism and people can disagree with it. People can have a different personal experience with their art journey so if someone wants to draw realism and someone is saying its holding you back or its a problem, then they could use a comment saying its okay FOR THEM if thats what they want to do and disregard this video.

[@austinlyons9493]

I’m glad you said this. I was feeling the same way. I love realism and I love capturing the beauty of what’s in front of me. At the same time though I also love drawing from imagination and just going with the flow. If you got stuck on realism then it’s not so much of the fault of realism as it is just not deciding to explore other styles. And like you said, you see the same thing with people who start with anime all the time. I hope we come around on realism being soul less or emotionless. I think there’s immense meaning in trying to capture the beauty of the world in front of you, especially when drawing from physical subjects.

[@davidhackett6317]

I've come to the same conclusion. Nobody cares about my beautiful portrait work or still-lifes, but my expressive cartoons are another story. I think the invention of the camera and now AI, is pushing us to refine our understanding of this and create much better art.

[@jktech2117]

hah AI will destroy all art without meaning and im all for it, art isnt art if there is no expression and full on realism for the sake of it isnt art.

[@RukileinchenChan]

I was stuck in study hell for so long because whenever I asked for feedback I was just told "get better at your fundamentals!", without even explaining to me WHERE exactly I sucked most. This led me to never do personal projects. It was around the middle of last year that I understood that I had to do projects and studies FOR those to get better results, especially with working MUCH more with references. I wished I had started to "do what I want" earlier this way. I want to be able to do illustrations with the quality of Magic the gatehring works but also semi-realistic manga (artworks + Manga series). I hate that I listened to so many people who threw me right back into study hell, especially as a self-taught artist I didn't even know who to trust anymore at one point.For this year, I really want to use the fundamental realism skills I have to do work I want to do. Btw, because it was one of your examples.. I read Berserk for the first time this year and it literally destoryed almost every other manga artwise I had ever read until this point. xD Kentaro Miura knew his shit, I can't tell how often I looked at his shading of poses getting better and better over the course of Berserk. This guy really knew how to combine realism & manga art. Really, if you read Berserk and go back to about 80% of other manga you CAN TELL if a mangaka knows his fundamentals or not, it's like night & day.

[@Blurr-vf4cb]

Creating art without direct reference, and using sheer mental image and imagination as reference to fill a blank canvas feels very good, we let loose and make something creative, unique and it makes it..yours, your artistic expression, and that's something that ai can't replicate, and that's what makes it so.. Human.

[@benplod6030]

Beautiful Video. I agree... I think when it comes to beginner and Intermediate Artists there is very often these two sides: 1. The Realism fetischist. Who has strong fundamentals but lacks any emotion and meaning in his works. 2. The "ItS mY sTyLe" delusionist. Who has emotions in his work but lacks the fundamentals to really get his message across. And the biggest Problems with these camps, which I as an Art student see all the time. Is that both sides are very often unwilling to admit their shortcomings to the other side. So instead of learning from each other and becoming a well rounded artist. They just hate each others works, stay stuck in mediocracy forever.

[@just_a_hampa]

I’m someone who never really studied. If I ever wanted to archive a certain way of drawing, I’d look into it and learn it. It was more important for me to draw out my ocs. Worked perfectly. I found my niche and now I actually enjoy drawing.

[@jennimills7862]

Oh my gosh. This video is exactly what I needed to see. It hit me right in the feels. As an artist who was criticized by my parents for things not looking 'very realistic ' and someone who has struggled for views since social media began, I've seesawed between trying to upskill realism and going for something purely decorative and never landed on anything! I'm 53! That being said, art has always been a creative release from my day job, never a full time gig. But I kind of felt like this video gave me PERMISSION to explore both. I shouldn't have needed permission, but there you go. So thanks so much Tommy for making this video and giving an old girl a bit of clart.

[@samanthathompson9812]

The highest praise in my family when it comes to art is "it looks like a photograph." 😭

[@OnAJourney-vl4db]

A few years ago I hopped on the realism trend that was frequent on social media and I improved really fast but at some point, I found it to be quite boring. Lime lips everywhere . I wanted to draw something only I could and go on a journey to explore art in multiple ways. I mean, if you wanted, you could draw ANYTHING. And still you choose lime lips. Even if so, in the end of the day all that matters is you having fun

[@rottensquid]

What is lime lips? Is that a reference I missed?

[@OnAJourney-vl4db]

@@rottensquid yep it’s been made a meme. You can check it out on KnowYourMeme - Lime lips

[@honey8ter]

@@rottensquidit's kind of people drawing the same sort of half open lips with a lime, cherry etc like... clutched between the teeth or whatever (idk if that was explanatory enough)

[@Narko_Marko]

10:30 I believe this is the biggest reason I enjoy animation so much more than live action. For example, Grave of the fireflies and Boy in stripped pajamas are grouped together as some of the saddest movies ever and yet the animated one was a lot more devastating than the live action one. I believe this is because I don't care that much about those real kids since I know they are actors and nothing bad actually happened to them but those animated kids did actually suffer in their animated world, its easier to get immersed in an animated show for me and I get to project my own emotions onto the characters.

[@mashiyatamina_13]

As someone whos not necessarily in the beginning of their art journey but still has beginner skills, this video has inspired me so much! I’ve kinda been on an art slump for the past 2 years, but lately I’ve been really trying to get back into it. This video has inspired me to study the fundamentals again while still trying to keep the emotions that make me love art. So from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU ❤

[@wolf7379]

I was very glad to see this video and I appreciate you having made it. You brought up some interesting and important points that I have felt for a long time but found it difficult to express in words. Before I took up art, I had the view that the general public had also, which was a really good artist was one who knew how to draw or paint accurately and realistically a human face or figure with correct proportions. Hence, from the beginning my task was to learn the skill of drawing or painting as realistically as possible. As time passed by, I slowly realized that there was something missing. There are many paintings online showing works from artists who draw or paint realism with some high degree of accuracy - including drawings or paintings that look like photographs. They have shown they have the technical skill and ability to draw or paint accurately - but it then stops there. Their drawings or paintings merely render and the images just look flat and boring. There is no personal expression and creativity - no message or meaning behind them. It is like when you walk into a pub and they have an accurate drawing or painting of a horse in a field but you pass it by without so much of a thought or glance - it doesn't pull you in. The drawing or painting is saying "I am a horse" and that's it. I do believe we have to learn the first steps of mastering the technical skill and ability in drawing and painting accurately portraits and figures. Learning the basic technical skills and techniques will then give you the freedom to paint whatever you want. Without acquiring basic skills in drawing portraits and figures, you will find yourself very limited to what you can paint. If you cannot paint a figure, you will avoid anything that involves figures. Once you have obtained that skill, you can then use some of that skill and break some of the rules in order to move into creation. The artist Jeremy Mann said: "There were things I didn’t paint because I couldn’t paint them. And that bugged me. If I wanted to tell you an entire story, I want to be able to tell you the whole thing and leave out things that I don’t want to tell you. Not because I couldn’t... So it was after that I went to get my formal education where I was taught how to paint things". What Jeremy Mann is saying is if he did not get the formal education of learning how to paint figures accurately, he would not be able to paint figures and would avoid them. But having learned how to paint figures accurately, he is no longer afraid to paint figures and he can break the rules in order to be more expressive and creative knowing he has the skill behind him to paint figures. Jeremy Mann further explained: "I like to paint that in a way that people who view my paintings are still aware that its paint. It’s a brushstroke on a face. But when you step back, it’s a face. When you get up close, you see the paint. Or there may be some weird sh*t that I did in the corner or over here where the brush marks are very apparent. And I think that’s what keeps the interest. Like, it’s a painting. Because that’s what I do. I’m not trying to hide the fact that it’s a painting, whereas some people will get really detailed and it’s like, let the photocopier do that. Paint is a medium. Don’t try and force it to be like a photo." In essence, Jeremy Mann is saying get the formal and traditional training in basic skills needed so that you can draw and paint portrait and figures. You are no longer avoiding painting portraits and figures because you now know you have the confidence and skill to paint them. Once you have that skill under your belt, you can then move on to express yourself. Once having achieved basic skills in drawing and painting, we apply the techniques we have learned to produce a work of art that does not merely render but expresses poetry and creativity through the intuitive painterly use of heavy brush strokes, choice of colours and patterns splashed freely upon the canvas that we bring out from our own creative imagination and personal expression. When you get an incredibly detailed traditional painting up-bringing, it is very hard to break those rules. This is where the problem arises. The trap that many fall into when they have had formal training in traditional painting techniques, is that they remain stuck in details and accuracy. Unless, of course, they prefer that style of painting, then that's fine - if that is what they want. Personally, I find that excessive details and accuracy in paintings that try to look like photographs and simply render are flat and boring - devoid of expression and artistic creativity. As Dean Cornwell expressed, "Do what the camera can't do - the camera can't add the spiritual; it can't go beyond the mentality of its models. Test your work ask yourself can the camera do what I have done? If you can make a real picture you won't have to worry about the camera." And as the artist Robin Cheers wrote: "Art is expression. My challenge is to say enough to be understood but to do so poetically and not merely render." In summary, get the formal training needed, but then move beyond it by breaking the rules enough so as to express yourself through your own imagination and creativity.

[@stephaniet1389]

Realism is great for learning technical skills. Even when I stylized my art, I felt like something was missing. Then, I started telling stories with my art and it finally felt whole. Composition, expression, landscape, object placement, golden ratios, color theory, negative space, and lighting were all areas I previously neglected. I started practicing them. The art I made telling a story, even mundane everyday moments like silhouetted people on a hill stargazing through a telescope, became magical moments where other people would linger on the art and connect to the simplified anthropomorphic characters. The storied art felt more "real" than my realistic art. Anyone can draw a realistic portrait in a void, but telling stories is where art shines. It's what created the first art when our ancestors still lived in caves. Loved the video. 😊

[@westfieldartworks8188]

A realistic painter BORROWS from the natural world, then composes with what he takes in order to express something deeply within his heart. Cold copying a subject matter or a photograph is dead on arrival and not the point or aim of Realism in painting. Picasso's training as a realistic painter helped his abstract painting compositions immensely. In fact, most of his best paintings are born from the fundamentals of pictorial composition. Dominant shapes, dominant direction of line, color, value, etc. That's why most, but not all, of Picasso's paintings work.

[@timbagan4426]

Thanks for the great video. I'm 66 yrs old now & always loved to cartoon. But, i thought that it wasn't "ART". So, tried my hand at realistic portrait drawing, & was happy with my results. BUT then returning to cartooning, (pencil, paper, ink etc.) i realized how much more creative & fun it was.

[@Snomo]

_"Keep on making art. Whatever kind of art you make, realism or not. Just keep making it."_ Beautiful 💙👏🏼 Despite having no experience in the world of art, I wholeheartedly relate with that immense feeling of inspiration you get from your favourite movies/games though. 1000%. I recently finished a historical drama about the Medici family in Italy during the Renaissance, and they used famous painters like Leo da Vinci, Michelangelo, etc. So naturally that meant soooo many discussions about art/beauty, countless scenes involving sketches + sculptures, and how the Medici made art & culture a priority in a world of tense politics. That, plus my favourite games being things like Hades, Mass Effect and No Man's Sky... let's just say I've entered 2025 with a revitalised appreciation for art, and not a day goes by where I'm not thinking about beginning this journey for myself hahah So while I can't really hold an opinion about the subject of realism (obviously), I want to at least say that these videos have been SO thought-provoking, even as someone who has yet to begin this art journey at all. I think it's super easy to fall down the rabbit hole of "you need to do it this way or it's wrong", so I can truly appreciate you putting in the extra effort to explore your perspective on the topic while overall keeping it neutral. It's a very noble goal, and very refreshing to listen to! Plus, wrapping it up with the gentle truth of just aiming to find your own voice within your art, and not losing the soul behind what you create... it was a perfect final note 🫂 Really comforting to hear. I recently discovered your content but I hope you continue making these! 💙 Maybe one day I'll finally put Procreate and my Apple Pencil to use lol _and so what if I did sob at Mufasa? HMM? how dare you_ 😭

[@tommy_worthington]

I appreciate that! Yea the Italian Renaissance is a gold mine for inspiring art, I'm a big fan too. Hope you start your art journey and have fun with it! 😄

[@lozantoninocreations]

This is such a great video. I was surprised you're only ad 2.29k. It was so well scripted and put together.

[@ActionHankBeard]

Since I was a kid my interests in art have always been fantastical. Stuff from games, cartoons and comics etc. But by the time I got to middle school I was exposed to realism for the first time and I became obsessed with learning how to do realism myself. To me, at the time it represented the holy grail of artistic skill. And to be fair it is something that requires a fair bit of skill. But it is limiting and boring. From a fundamentals perspective it definitely helps to know how to draw something from observation, but it can be so hard to turn off that part of your brain that says something is off because it's not realistic. Makes it hard to do the stylized work that I actually want to do. It's something I still struggle with today.

[@tommy_worthington]

Yea we both seem to have had similar experiences. I still struggle with it as well. Also, I've seen your work floating around IG and it's great stuff man!

[@rottensquid]

I know the struggle. I did a comic book series years ago where I was determined to make everything ultra simple and stylized. Gave my characters four fingers instead of five. The main character was so stylized, she didn't have a nose. But as the series went on, I added more and more detail and realism till the four fingers and noseless face were kinda out of place. The series was still a hit, and people seem to love the incongruity. But it was funny how I couldn't get myself to let go of details. I've lost jobs because I can't simplify enough to make characters as cartoony as current trends demand.

[@ClassyAnimations-v9g]

I was starting to loose my passion for art in all its forms, because it started to feel like what I was tryna escape. But this brought it back. Thank you.

[@RebCosm]

I'm a simple guy. I hear ocarina of time mentioned (My top all-time favorite) and you've got my attention. Jokes aside, pretty insightful watch. "Art with purpose behind it will always go further than art without." Absolutely. Good stuff

[@ArcadyArts]

I can fully resonate with you .... copying an image is super easy for me. I always wanted to draw stuff from my imaginations. Now I can and still learning and I love it.

[@ragin142]

Man this is what iam struggling with realism vs stylized, my realism drawing seems boring so iam trying to style my art. Stylized is harder to do its like problem solving. Thanks for the video.

[@joaosdrawings523]

never have I resonated so much with such a video before until now. As someone who used to make exclusively realistic portraits, I decided a few years back to create my own fanart of anime characters I liked. I have enjoyed art a whole LOT more since I made the switch, and now create things I am truly passionate about.

[@skeovkp48598]

I'm 64 and been making art since my days at art school in the 70s and 80s and this has been the struggle of my life. It's so easy to get caught up in producing stuff that impresses people, especially if that's where the money is, but it just leads to burnout and disillusionment.

[@sandrafedorova7763]

I relate to this so much. I started drawing photos of celebrities, characters in movies, cartoons. But got most praise for my ability to copy photos. But once I don´t have a photo to copy, I´m as bad as someone who has been drawing for just a few years, even after 7 years of having this hobby. This video helped me see it in a way i should have been told years ago. I´ve been trying to use my imagination and heart to my art for a little while and I have a long way until i´ll be good at it, but I´m very thankful for this video. Made me cry.

[@MaximMelamed]

Thank you . This video might have just saved or changed my art pursuit. I just got back into art at age 45 after not drawing for 30 years. I forgot how good it feels. I realized quickly that I have no skill or knowledge about art. The stuff I drew for fun wasn't great. But it was weird in a good way and expressed my creativity. I decided to get myself better and started learning from KZbin. My skill improved, but I think until I just watched this video, I forgot the why of what I was doing. I never wanted to be a hyper realist. I wanted to be better so when I draw a giant, chained up elephant with a snake like trunk squeezing a person, that the elephant looked more proportionate. That the shading looks realistic etc. For months now I've been drawing hands, arms, torsos, dancers, blah blah blah. I enjoy when it comes out looking ok or when someone says that it looks good. But it's all so boring. It's not me and Im really limiting my creativity. That act of making something from nothing or The birth of an idea or a feeling. I saw what others post in the FB groups and get depressed because it looked so realistic. The patience and skill seemed so far out of reach. I honestly needed to hear this. Who cares about those guys? Thanks again.

[@Minyassa]

It's because of my pursuit of realism that I've always called myself an illustrator rather than an artist. My goal was always to portray a specific character or animal in fine detail and perfect proportion, so that the viewer would know *exactly* what they looked like. When 3d rendering programs became affordable, it was a godsend to me and I immediately began pursuing photographic perfection in lighting and shaders. When I finally achieved that level of realism, I was able to relax and start playing with colors and stylizing things, and now I feel like I may go back to drawing and trying some actual art, going for impact rather than perfect illustration. It's been a bit of a stressful journey at times over the decades but I'm glad I didn't skip any of it.

[@Mayncok]

Rendering a wrinkly hand with no limits is easy, rendering a hand that looks wrinkly with decisive strokes is incredibly hard

[@SQGLZ]

I really loved this piece. You touched all of the bases. And more importantly, you addressed all the views without disowning your opinions. I started out classically trained, went to harsh and strict schools, and then jumped into the foreign land of graphic design. I’m trying to find my way back into art now, and I really feel the weight of this concern you’re pointing to. Thank you.

[@MaxxRemKing1]

As someone just beginning to practice art I thought realism was kind of the pinnacle but your video brought up some great points I did not consider. I find myself asking “why do I want to draw?” and the basic but most true answer is “I want to express myself”. There are things I want to communicate with the world that can’t be said through words. I like landscapes and urban scenes and I like drawing objects not people or characters so the goal in my head was to be able to draw what I see with realism. And that is still my goal but your video reminded me that while I am in the early stages of art where I need to master the fundamentals, what will keep art fun and meaningful is stepping out of my comfort zone and using those fundamentals to say something unique. Thanks for this video sometimes I lose sight of why I am doing the hard work of learning perspective, color theory and composition.

[@milesdevine1161]

Thanks for making such a good video , what I see happen is that some artists see the attention that hyper realistic copies get from normal people and are jealous instead of inspired.

[@tommy_worthington]

Yes, exactly!

[@Polareyesx]

YES this is something i see a lot. It's sad to see it because it influences people to change their style for likes/follows 😢

[@danofthedead1979]

Great video, I had a conversation with my Dad not so long ago about a Cityscape painting I was doing. I had abandoned it, trying a very loose impressionistic style, it wasnt working. He said why don't you go back to how you do portraits? 'I said it's boring though'. This video articulated what I meant. I do agree, though, that you have to learn the rules before you can break them. I'm learning the rules right now.

[@marcvillena3707]

3:22 very relatable... I was writing a musical (hopefully can stage it someday)... I was conceptualizing characters and there's an art style in my mind but I keep coming back to making what I'm used to... drawing it the way I do it when I draw realism since I've been drawing it since I was 10 (I'm 22 btw)

[@JC-ov8ko]

I must be honest. Realism has held me back tremendously

[@Swiete_Jamnicze_Perypetie]

What realism?

[@johnathanwebb]

Then you’re not learning from a good teacher

[@NME10E]

Realism didn’t hold you back, you chose to get hung up by it. There is a difference.

[@wonderbugone]

This is exactly the conclusion I came to recently for my own art. KZbin can read my mind. Luckily I was never stuck in a hyper-realism rut though because I've always used a variety of media, experimented with style, and drawn from life, photo, memory, and imagination. I can do very realistic art, but I aesthetically prefer art leaning into impressionism or illustrative qualities and therefore enjoy creating impressionist paintings and mixed-media illustrations. I want my art to tell a story, feel like a place, feel alive. I've thought for a long time that I wasn't interested in hyper-realism because at what point is it just a photo? But a year ago I consciously realized my preference and made it my artistic goal specifically to produce more work that creates a space and feeling and not to let myself make it too realistic, focusing some of that energy on the atmospheric and place-making elements of a composition. Also, just a musing about art education. When you go to art school, typically you're taught to draw and paint realistically (i.e. not flat, outlined cartoons), but that includes skills applicable to stylized art as well. You're taught about how to apply colour theory, shadow and highlight, create form, balance a composition and create flow and emphasis, use different mediums to create different styles and textures, observe and interpret living, three-dimensional models and objects onto a piece of paper. So no good art education has ever said "do photo realism". Because photo realism is essentially being a human printer. You aren't using colour theory, creating a composition (besides cropping a photo), experimenting with mediums and textures, or truly interpreting the subject (because you're only copying it). No shade to artists who do it because it is certainly skilled work and takes a lot of effort. But it's an art form with a single destination and I want to go places with mine. And PSA, being good at realism improves your stylized art and being good at stylized art improves your realism. Unless you're doing photo realism of course, because unfortunately the only things that may help or be helped by it are 1) being skilled at X medium and 2) deconstructing objects in your mind to draw them as they are instead of how your brain thinks they should look. Important skills, but only two and ones which can be improved in many other ways

[@crowbabies]

I’ve been working on my art and am just now starting to feel comfortable drawing my own characters the way I did in high school. I got stuck in the realism - copying phase. For myself, I had delve into the art that spoke to me - Blade Runner 2049, Spirited Away, Arcane, Bill Sienkiewicz, Loish, Into the Spiderverse, Beatrix Potter, Alan Lee, SamDoesArts, etc. to remember that realism is just the jumping off point. Good video!

[@laurencedrek5500]

The video reminds me of a conversation I had with a few friends of mine years ago about making manga. One was a former professional ero manga artist and he told me something I will never forget. He told me "Manga is not about technique. It's about power!". My other friend, an animator in the anime industry, said, "Storytelling is more important than technique but knowing good technique makes telling your story easier." Learning realism should not be ignored entirely but it should not be studied blindly too. Find out what elements of realism will be helpful in learning what you want to express more effectively.

[@RayneArt]

I've been making art for over 17 years, almost all of it realism. I've been feeling stuck for the past couple of years. I feel highly unsatisfied with my work. My art feels boring to me. I want to do surrealism but ideas just don't come to me, partly because I'm too dependent on references & painting what I see. This video describes my struggles as an artist so well. I'll be watching it multiple times. Thank you.

[@MoolsDog2005]

When it comes to anime drawing, I wasn’t able to understand drawing anime heads until I went out and drew some real ones. That is what made it click. I know doing some realism studies might sound boring for anime artists, but it’s actually kinda fun!

[@v61kz]

If to look at modern anime, it's possible to see that the basic anatomy in used here😮 Sadly to see new artists who think that anime arts are "simple" start. And after they make a 💩..............

[@davearvelo]

Thank you for this video. I'm just getting started in my art journey but this is amazing advice to keep in mind.

[@malourico3637]

I think that if you trying to get into drawing, painting, or anything like that. Start realistic and drawing from reference is the way to go. But of course you should do it as study, not just copying. I don't think you can improve, specially as a beginner, by drawing stylize. A lot of the basics of art is understanding concepts that come from looking at the real world. But I agree that after you learned those concepts drawing only realistic, specially on trying to replicate an image gets very limiting.

[@shoesalad5180]

As a designer who renders projects and (in the most extreme/important cases) renders unique entourage, I did not start to understand it until I dove in to understanding traditional art techniques. While my job is to create a setting, people are at the center of that setting. Nothing compares to rendering that image and pulling emotion and life into every person I draw. A great “realistic” drawing pulls you in through setting, people, expressions, etc… of course hyper realistic drawings of celebrity portraits do not evoke any feeling. The feeling is “I like marvel” or “wow that’s so realistic and I know who you drew”. I appreciate the end of your video explaining that understanding fundamentals is important, I just fear that people settle when they figure out cartoon styles and they become easy, and never stretch themselves to learn more

[@frankkennedy6388]

What I worry about with "drawing from the heart" is my artwork becoming too personal. Then no one might buy it because it only appeals to me. Right now I'm just studying Realism before I break it. It's difficult figuring out how to progress as an artist when you know everyone became a Pro as a teenager, meanwhile you're wondering wtf to do being "late to the party". It also looks like everything has been done, or done better, so how to navigate that is really puzzling.

[@sallytheuselessbird]

I can assure you that nobody is a pro when they are a teenager. I don't think you can ever be a "pro" at art. We are always learning something new. Infact, "pro" is a term short for professional, meaning making money from it, so really you are only a "pro" if you are taking commissions or something. The word has definitely lost its meaning over time. Don't compare yourself to others, no matter how young. Focus on your own improvement in your own time, there will be masterful artists out there who only got good at a much greater age. Art is often considered a expression of ones feelings and soul, so don't worry about putting too much into it, you will find an audience who appreciates your soul.

[@frankkennedy6388]

@sallytheuselessbird Thank you for responding. What I mean by my statement is that you see a ton of people like this KZbinr who are mid to late 20s (early 30s at the latest), showing their old work and it's far better than what you're doing now as a young adult.(And to me atleast I bet those drawings are a decade old; not 1 or 5 years.) I understand not to compare, but easier said than done you know.

[@neurogenesis9179]

Great stuff. I've been doing portraits, character designs for comic books i'm working on, and mostly I create from imagination. But this was inspiring, because I firmly believe the mind of the artist is an artist's greatest technique

[@flutterin4595]

I am still exploring what I can do with the art, and I feel like the lack of understanding of how to draw realistically really holds me back from doing the creative work. The kind I want to create. Maybe I think like that because of the aphantasia I have

[@drongobrat6471]

This video is awesome! It's really nice to hear your perspective, cuz I live in the opposite struggle, where I am fully immersed in the whole "drawing on feeling" side of art, but I can't get myself to learn fundamentals. So I 100% agree with your conclusion that somewhere in the middle is a good space to be, since being 100% on the stylization side is cooking me lowkey

[@iTsEfFiNsTePhh]

I think whatever makes you happy is what you should do- if that's realism go for it, if that's abstract go for it, and so on 🤷🏻‍♀️ Personally i'm not a fan of Picasso's abstract works (or abstract in general) but then again I love realism, fantasy, portraits (not modern but old because it's almost like you're looking through a window into the past can see people who have long since passed away that lived and died before to long before photography became a thing- I could spend hours looking at a single piece by Holbein it's so surreal almost as if me and the sitter are staring at each other through a window despite being centuries apart), scenes/landscapes, religious, historic, medieval, renaissance, proto renaissance, etc but at the same time I don't think less than of people who don't like what I like, like other things, and it definitely doesn't make an artist and their work "bad" if they adopt a different style. Art just like every other thing is subjective and we should embrace that 🙂

[@eszterceciliaszecsi5114]

By my experiences being in an art school for 12 years, I feel like the way art is being taught (at least where I've been) really only focuses on the skills, even from a young age. We did have some teachers who sometimes tried give us more creative tasks, though the overwhelming majority of our works were still lifes and anatomy studies. Looking back most of the peolpe from my school did learn the techiques quite well, but very very few actually had that little something that made their works real pieces of art, not only studies. A lot of my classmates became so uninspired over the years, but I think what also could have contributed to this is that in high school I was an architecture major. It was sad to see my classmates only focusing on the technical aspects, especially since we were only in high school, and it could have been so fun to let their imagination run and create something really conceptual, because most of us didn't even want to do anything with architecture in the future, so there was no need to know the width of load bearing and other types of walls. Nevertheless, I'm applying to an architecture university in a few months, so wish me luck :)

[@-o-1695]

I'm practicing BOTH realism and stylization. I want to be criticized for an overly commercialized abomination and have someone complain that my art used to be good (even though I can still draw like that)

[@gundarsmiks4889]

Doing "realism" creates a nice library, in my head, about how stuff is and works. And then i can base anything i want on that. Its a very, very good foundation definetly! The best place to learn from is just life, draw what you see around you, you will learn something. Books are good aswell. But sometimes realy puts everything in a box! Its good. And can be bad at the same time. If you draw faces with a method for example, they will all look the same ish. While if you would draw someone from life, everyone is so unique and different. With any of the persons proportions of body or face! I think its good to build a good library of things you have drawn from life. With all its uniqueness. And then its like good food for something more abstract and stylized!!

[@sprecherinnanali2288]

Thank you!!! I'm so so so grateful, to come across this video❤ I didn't feel that inspired since months😢❤

[@Tudthebell]

I can’t believe you aren’t more popular. This was so meaningful and just a flat out AMAZING video

[@davidsethp]

100x this comment. Such an impactful video and well presented.

[@cksamurai89]

13:42 WHY AM I CRYING-?!??

[@PeterHollinghurst]

You make some great points here and I wish I had see your video before replying to someone who was doing copies of celebrity photos a while back, saying pretty much what you were - it might have been better just to share this video with them. Perhaps it would help them move from one phase to another rather than just get stuck. When I was in my teens learning to draw and paint I found that the more I strove for realism the less emotional impact my paintings and drawings had. I often ended up doing multiple versions trying to pull it one way or the other, trying to find some sort of balance. Essentially it was a battle for me between forms of realism and expressionism. Many years down the line (I'm hitting 60 this year) I think maybe its more about focus. Take a good long look at a Holbein or a Vermeer. If you can, in the flesh... look at the original. I used to stop off at the National Gallery in London sometimes just to sit and look at 'the Ambassadors'. It is just to one side of the gallery entrance and there is a nice comfy bench you can sit on. I would sometimes spend a good hour there just looking at that one painting, time and again, wondering - what is it that makes this so compelling? The easy answer was that it was so skilfully realistic - but it wasn't, for me anyway, the right answer. I think now that it is because it both honest in recording a moment and the people faithfully, but it also invites us into their world. The artist was not concerned with achieving realism, they used realism to tell us something about reality - theirs and their subjects. The magic of artists like Holbein and Vermeer is that they cared deeply about their subjects (not as in 'liking' but i being moved by them). So perhaps its not really all about realism vs expressionism, but what and how you invest in what you do and why. Back to the person copying celebrity portraits, my advice to them was to find someone they know and care about and draw them. Though it doesn't need to be a real person - if you are drawing imaginary people you can ask yourself who this person is, how their life journey is important and why that might move you... and then you will know what it is that you need to be doing when you draw them - you might chase capturing their secret joys or inner sadness, the moment when a thought catches them to start to change a smile to a scowl or a tear to a laugh. You can do the same with nature, with landscapes... look for the feeling. The problem with copying is that you can end up concentrating on copying - seeing the surface of the subject not the soul of the subject. Whatever style you have its not about the style either - its about what you pay attention to. A few years back, concerned about the impacts of AI and curious to see if it really was a threat to me as an artist but also intrigued to see if I could actually do anything worthwhile with it or learn anything from it, I started experimenting with it. I feel it might have its uses for some artists as part of a wider process but by and large it can be incredibly seductive toward surfaces, to not looking, thinking or feeling about the subject. I mention it here not get into arguments about AI, but to illustrate a point. Most AI is bland partly because it trains on lots of bland images (most of it isn't great art, its cheesy stock and especially product photography which is why the first things it did really realistically was food and rooms and then eventually rather bland people, and why the more realistic it gets the blander the images seem to be). Another reason is, I think, the focus (or lack of it) of people using it. I've looked at thousands of AI images trying to work out why most are so awful but a few seem to actually have something - and the main difference is that users will mostly prompt something like - 'a portrait of a man' while the better ones prompted something more like ' a portrait of a man with a slight smile and a deep sadness', or the mention a mood like anxiety, depression, joy, comfort etc. Unfortunately when I look at an awful lot of trad or digital art, its actually just as bland as a lot of AI - yes the craft may be there, but like AI, the soul is absent. Really I think it may be as simply as just stopping and actually changing what you focus on from how to why, from likeness to context or to heart, asking whats the story here? What are people thinking or feeling? What moment is this that I am capturing in time and why is it worth capturing? If you already do that, it can also still be a problem though because maybe we just learned a trick - and am I using the same visual trick to do it every time? Cartooning strikes me as all too often learning and repeating those visual tricks, and yes they are useful... but... that does an injustice to your subject nd thats why a cartoon can communicate something quickly, but you probably wont find people sitting looking at it for hours in wonder. What happens if when drawing/painting their sadness you ask what makes their sadness theirs, not just generic? Am I really capturing their moment of sadness with this trick or just a moment of sadness? What have they realised or lost? Is there a touch of fear, or even wonder in their sadness? Is their lip trembling or is there a hint of a resigned smile? Why is their story important to me? Anyway, thanks for your thoughtful and insightful video. I enjoyed watching it and reflecting on it.

[@RikkaP]

Interesting you would go for the part in "understanding comics" that I most struggle with. I also had this discussion that really stuck in my mind, too. About reading books and picturing what was going on. Everybody was like: "Well, if I read that I feel like this or that character...". And I was: "Am I doing reading wrong?" I am always more in a spectator mode, while reading, more like if I was watching a movie, even though I do enjoy being in the head of a character, I do not feel like I am the character, just a spectator. This might mean that I am somewhat of a emotional voyeur, maybe? But I feel like I get a broader picture if I have both perspectives, my own and the characters. That is my struggle with Mr. McClouds theory (no matter how much I love "understanding comics" and "making comics"). Art seems like mysticism to me, at times, and I am just only dipping my toe in. (I was held back by having been trained to use the "pretty hand" and that made me crash into some kind of glass ceiling again and again. I reschooled myself to write (and draw) with my left for a couple of years now and tbh my perception of reality has changed, but I am still not... whole. Things don't make sense yet. I am working on it.) Thank you for your insight.

[@UjjwalPrakash-c3w]

I see! I never knew what Piccaso meant by saying that it took lifetime to draw like a child. Here, children's drawing is referred as imaginative stuffs. However, they lack fundamental knowledge like anatomy, perspective and proportions with joints. Currently, I'm studying Superani Artists like Kim Jung Gi, Peter Han and yeah ... I'm an inker too and that's why I know to draw from imagination (not only humans but own creatures too with fundamental force to them) and progressing too. :) Thx I loved ❤❤your vid.

[@Aaron-z2o7s]

Bro you're realism is masterful all on its own. Whatever you wanna do it's gonna be great 👍

[@tet-life]

I'm glad there are so many people online to overthink art so I don't have to. Realism is the starting point for learning how to draw anything - even things that aren't real and don't exist in the real world. You only stay with realism if you absolutely love making realistic art. Everyone else stylizes either accidentally or on purpose. Make your art not someone else's - tell your stories.

[@seancakin1469]

While you were talking, I started to realize why I don't like realism and it's the same exact reason why I don't like AI drawings. When I appreciate art... what matters most to me is that it was made by a human who had something to say. When I look at realism... while still being made by a human, it very often doesn't have much to say at all. And the same is true for AI "art". Some AI images look technically good and the tech will only improve from here on out... but it still feels hollow because it is just trying to copy visuals rather than say something using those visuals. Both AI and realism treat the end resulting image as the ultimate goal rather than the process of creating being the goal. And honestly... what's the point of doing that beyond just learning?

[@darkursrike3161]

I read the title as "Racism will hold you back" and for half a second I was like "Yeah? we kinda got over that a few centuries ago"

[@user-oh1uk9ls8b]

We really didn’t yet

[@SteadyRiot]

The US only ended segregation in the 50s and racism and xenophobia are unfortunately alive and well all around the world. I wish you were right

[@JohnnyAdroit]

I'm an amateur photographer, so I found the discussion of the perils of photorealism funny since all of my art is photorealistic (pretty much by definition). It got me thinking about how it is that a photograph can be art while avoiding the criticisms of this video. The discussion start at 6:42 makes me think of the problem like this: the creation of art is about making choices. A person doing hyper-realistic drawing is not making any choices because every line and shade is dictated by the subject; there is only correct and incorrect. This is why a gallery of such illustrations would look very homogeneous (as mentioned at 7:34). Art is about making choices to achieve a desired effect: facial expression, pose, lighting, implied motion, and how much detail to include So, what artistic choices do photographers make? Perspective by changing the position of the camera, what subjects to include or exclude, how the subjects are arranged in the frame, what's in-focus versus out-of-focus, the amount of lighting, the color of the lighting, what direction the lighting is coming from, stopping motion versus motion blur, and on and on. Plus, there's all the choices that happen after the shutter closes (this goes for film and digital): cropping, white balance, contrast, color choices, etc. All of these considerations are why photographs in an art gallery look so different from ordinary snapshots.

[@incinerativemario]

As a self-taught artist, I was never good with portraits. I struggled with getting likeness right, even if i understood the shape and shadow. Something about distancing irked me. One time i decided to just sit down and give it all into making a portrai tof a scene from a movie i liked, digitally. I had all kinds of easy ways to correct it compared to traditional, and i was very satisfied with the result. Then i thought... "its almost identical, from likeness to colors... was it supposed to be this easy? I don't feel like i accomplished something great, or that i had to put my brain to work creatively. It was just a bit tedious." It was a turning point in my pursuit of self-improvement, telling me there's something else my art should focus on.

[@charlesreidy2765]

This is a great video. One day when I was painting a realistic still life, it occurred to me that I could achieve better realism with a good camera and really good lighting, That doesn't eliminate the validity or beauty of a painted still life, but it does help me focus on what a I want to emphasize with color and light, rather than specific detail. For me that's the bridge between realism and abstraction.

[@devanvancise6722]

I am happy to have found a video on this. I learned about this and been thinking about it for years. I learned it from reading Kurt Vonnegut's BlueBread novel, about and abstract artist trying to infuse meaning and emotion into his art. He draws realistic portraits of his kids and exclaims to his wife 'this is easy'. From there on I knew I was not going to be a realistic artist, acting being my form of expression.

[@iloveyoufromthedepthofmyheart]

Picasso's work is cubistic not abstract...The thing is that every style is equally unique and valuable. There is no hierarchy that we try to force onto it.

[@bluefox7092]

i've personally noticed a lot of creative mediums go through a realism phase and once that is achieved slowly move towards a more stylistic phase. it's particularly noticable with video games and movies currently also shooting for realism is a good base to eventually break away from and find your niche

[@smashedpasta]

This video is absolute gold all of it

[@MikeRenouf]

Amazing video. Your channel will definitely blow up. I'm launching into developing some comic book art and I've only ever sketched from life and worked to get realistic results, so this project is so challenging. Thanks for an inspiring video!

[@jyemichael]

you are great bro! and i like listening to you talk. way underrated .... subbed.

[@Iwillreply]

Not that I've done realism at this level, I've done some portraits recently while trying to add fantasy features, but struggled to do anything with no reference, so I'm planning to begin working with some level of basics. It seems like shapes are important, but I'm taking my time, because I love drawing, and I want to make what's in my mind, and beyond.

[@carolinecheney]

Four years ago I started doing digital art, which was when I started taking art seriously. I wasn't that good back then. Nowadays I'm a lot better and I'm currently writing the script for a crossover web comic while making reference sheets for the characters in there. (Its a crossover between Hazbin Hotel and FNAF and I redesigned the characters). Also when it cut to your speedpaint for your Arkane artwork, the art made me feel emotional because Jinx is not only surrounded by the ghosts of her burdoning guilt, but also shes holding Isa's hat over her ghost. A drawing or painting never made me emotional till I've seen that. Awesome job!

[@ccgabyking7648]

giving advice on how to draw hands is great, but this is just different and so good

[@lynnboartsdye1943]

9:07 this takes me back. When I was still early in my art learning I didn’t take any interest in doing realism, there was this sort of elitist attitude that only good artists did realism and that realism was the fundamentals to any kind of stylization. So for awhile I just didn’t want to learn it or if I was assigned it I’d just assume I’d be bad at it and get it over with as quickly as possible. With the advent of AI and a lot more learning since then my perspective has definitely shifted. I still draw very stylized but I took observing things a bit more seriously and worked on some more consistent anatomy for my characters. I think the biggest thing that AI taught me was that you can’t get as accurate a study from a photo as you can from real life. The way the AIs brain works is it can’t see in 3 dimensions so it struggles with creating the illusion of volume, and cameras tend to flatten 3D objects. So if let’s say a beginner art student asks an AI for photos of hands to study from they aren’t going to get an accurate depiction of a hand and thus how they draw hands will be informed by those photos. I think the most valuable lesson however is this definition my prof gave me. “The Goal of Realism, or Naturalism is to capture life as accurately as possible. The Goal of Stylization is to say something about the world, a topic or how you feel” which speaks very much to Scott Mclouds understanding comics, I’m still obsessed with the book and I think it should be on every artists shelf.

[@ArtaSlack]

I wish I learnt this earlier but I did manage to self learn it, great Video!

[@topabo]

100% relate to everything here. I'd maybe expand realism to learning to draw only one style and only from specific references which i see a lot of people focused on learning only from anime get stuck into. Doodling as a little kid was what got me into art and 'talented'. Learning realism was what taught me a lot but also made me bored abd ultimately give art up. Learning ny own stylised work later without crutches was the ultimate challenge and most fun of all

[@kevinho8123]

The realism that people should learn from are those from the era before photographs (renaissance, baroque, romanticism, etc.), as their realism consists of design and composition in mind. It's okay to learn realism but learn it from the right source!

[@matthewwilliams3827]

Absolutely agreed. 👍

[@aru8545]

I'll take note of this

[@rnxzem2795]

So bless that this video pop up again. This really are relatable to my current state for months. Although i finally found my voice on what kind of art i want, this enhanced that voice

[@86fifty]

14:50 - ohhh, I get it now! This photo collage makes it super clear to me now, why 'the search for realism in graphics in games' is gonna have to end eventually. Because the point of telling stories is to convey an emotion - or rather, to tell a GOOD story, an effective story, to make an EXPERIENCE, the artist HAS to convey emotion. And at some point, clinging to realism will distract from that goal.

[@Alfred_the_doodler]

It took me so many years to learn this. Excellent video man. I hope many young artists find this video 🙏🏽

[@TheRabit11]

Very good video. It's exactly what's been running through my mind this last couple month. Well done 👍

[@backupforthevideos3861]

What I do is, I take a real photo for study, and as I draw, I'll morph it into my style, so I can learn from the reference but apply what I learned to my style. I think this is very important.

[@creativesolutionsart-h3o]

This is actually an excellent topic. I still strive for realism and feel it is important if we’re depicting our friends and loved ones. Ironically, for the people who are not Artists, it is as you said. They considered that the upper level of art talent. I myself have always been inspired by comics in the 80s. Pop art and simplified stylized portraits. As an artist, I find realism and portrait studies to access a completely different part of the brain. Then when I am doing freehand portraits from imagination. The former seems to be accessing the problem-solving area While the ladder seems to be accessing the expressive and the heart. Thank you for this video. It was very relatable.❤️🙏✨😉🕊️

[@CrakShak]

This is beyond beautiful. I've become much wiser now

[@meikahidenori]

I recommend that book to absolutely everyone I talk to who wants to start drawing. sure, it's about comics but it is soooo good at explaining why you draw things how you do, and different ways of showing information through art and the choices you make. it's absolutely incredible😊 I wish I didn't send my copy overseas! (i sent to to another artist, and I'm super glad they love using it as much as I did. I need a new copy😅)

[@JK21art]

Wow that was so deep. The best video i watched in my live. It changed my view completly. I thank you verry much ❤

[@wastenotwantnotArt]

This was interesting to watch and consider. I liked the bit from the book ‘Understanding cartoons’ stating simplifying is focusing and can be impactful. I’m striving to avoid painting from my photos and using various paint processes to loosen up

[@votrevoisinbrillant.2555]

Just to say i came back on the video just to put this comment : Thank you! I am currently starting my art learning journey and your message resonate in me and inspire me to follow my way. Cant wait to see the next video🎉😮

[@nettorak]

Ghibli: a nice mix between realism and a stylised mix of what we feel about what we see.

[@poppyjones1892]

Greetings, im a new artist struggling to “make” my art look Real! Very helpful to my innerstanding of whats real and whats surreal . Same as I find in music . I played with a band quickly thrown together for a gig to open the show for a big name reggae band. We arrived late , the Big name band was already performing, crowd was modestly enjoying . When we got up to do our set . The crowd went Wild ❗️ four of us never played together before barley knew our songs n music hitting bad notes but keeping the timing and rhythm strong, people wer dancing,shouting and jumping. The professional band members came from back stage and looked at us in amazement .😊 the spirit moves stronger then the flesh !

[@epenington]

Nice vid. I think you're right on. Just because technical drawings seem to get the most praise, doesn't mean they are the best art... sometimes the opposite. The only thing I'd add is that, if you have amazing or unique subject matter, realism or photorealism can be pretty great... if that's the style you're super passionate about and feel that effectively gets your message across.