Trouble Finishing Your Drawings?

Drawings that stall half way through is all too common for artists. But there are ways of moving through this very frustrating occurrence. Discover the joy that lies within the second half of the drawing!

[@windmill9998]

thanks a lot! i guess my biggest problem is being too focused on details too early on, and getting more ideas for other things before i'm done with the first..

[@stephentraversart]

I think if you’re losing interest and getting excited about a new subject it probably means what you start is too ambitious. Drawing things (subject and size) that you can sustain interest for is important for finishing drawings. 😀

[@windmill9998]

@@stephentraversart yea, good point! it's not really about losing interest though, my brain is just way too full of things i wanna do but i have very limited energy

[@eddienew2044]

I am finding the insights you offer in this and other videos extremely helpful as I try to re-motivate myself and return to painting and drawing after giving up. Thank you.

[@stephentraversart]

That’s encouraging for me to hear Eddie. All the best with your restart. 😀

[@Alex-vq9vj]

Sage advice, Stephen! This time you didn't mention my reason for abandoning the occasional drawing or painting: fear of ruining them with the next step! I stop and stall usually at a point where I'm *happy* with what I see in front of me. And it feels like the only way now would be down. Maybe all the linework is done and I'm now stalling bc I fear ruining it by adding the background. Or I've shaded the face of a portrait and now freeze before starting the hair. Or I think I won't be able to capture a part of the fur of a realistic wildlife animal after the face is looking good. Or I did an urban sketch that should have some ppl in it but I fear that I either misplace the figures and they float or otherwise mess up the perspective. It's most likely to happen with techniques that are unforgiving to mistakes like alcohol markers or watercolor. And it's likelier with a newish medium, especially expensive paper or a bigger than I'm used to size, as well as new subjects. I *do* finish the majority of those "next step I'll ruin it, for sure" artworks! But fear - or sometimes a reasonable expectation - of messing up the next step of a good drawing/painting is my personal #1 stalled art reason.

[@stephentraversart]

Reading your comment I can’t believe I didn’t mention this because it’s such a huge reason - the fear of messing up what we’ve done. I feel it every time I go to apply tone to a line drawing I’m really pleased with. Or go to add foreground figures to a streetscape. But I’ve also learnt to push through. It certainly underpinned what I have said however. Thanks for explaining it so well here. 😀

[@christinehowell]

That resonates!

[@WeAreBlank18]

This guy's GOOD! Edit: man, the angle of lines being wrong is so relatable.

[@stephentraversart]

Certainly I can relate. 😆

[@artatjules]

Great video! I dont look at anything i draw as a masterpiece (ive been drawing painting for decades on and off) each piece I create goes through what I call the ugh I dont know what I'm doing stage . It always turns out in the end and above all I learn something new whether its a way to 'fix" something or a technique. Trust me I've created some appalling works over the years but I've always learnt something. I loved working with oils because you can just paint over it till it looks good. Pen and ink is something I find challenging to this day but shaky hands dont help. Ive learnt to embrace the shake and make it part of the art. I always do inktober for this reason it keeps my handbin ink drawing and each day is something new

[@stephentraversart]

Thanks. Yes, oil painting is a great area to develop perseverance in because we can just keep going. But I have discovered pen on paper to be more robust than I expected in being able to mitigate less than perfect lines. 😀

[@sharonblac]

what is shake and makE?

[@sharonblac]

this happens to me all the time, but on paintings,, at onetime I had 5 paintings that I was working on that I never finished.

[@stephentraversart]

Only 5? I wish I had only 5 half finished paintings!😀

[@zhonglisimp1775]

thank you so much for the advice!

[@stephentraversart]

Glad it was helpful 😀

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

I learned a LONG time ago, when I first got a summer job in a furniture shop (too small to be a factory)... The master craftsman is NOT the one who makes even the fewest errors. It's the one who knows or can think up the tricks to cover the little blemishes so NOBODY notices except him. The Novice is the one who thinks "That's cheating."... Just a word on critiquing... Lots and LOTS of people don't do it in a healthy way... They start circling mistakes and differences in the work from the reference, jotting out notes about how far off something is, and where something else should've been or parts that had no business even being included... AND before you know it, they're sinking into depression and haven't even paused to see any places where they've improved from the last dozen attempts to draw anything... I approach a critique (for myself OR anyone else if I'm asked) with a simple system. It's going to sound a bit crude, BUT that's just how I remember it... "The Sh*t Sandwich Method" is a 3-part approach. It's simple, puts the best effort to improvement and DOES NOT FORGET TO PRAISE IMPROVEMENT! 1. Find what works... What turned out well? Always start with an eye to what you do well, because that's a dependable set of details, for things like perspective, if you KNOW you do (say) skulls well, then you also know that you might be best off to get the skull done for metering and space or proportional reference EARLY to help improve other parts of a similar drawing... In Stephen's place, he draws a LOT of trees, so he does trees and foliage well... It would stand to reason getting at least A TREE on the paper early would help him for references to the rest of the drawing... (exemplar, not a full-on critique, Stephen)... 2. Find the MOST OBVIOUS bit that didn't work out as well as you'd like. This is usually something "oof" for beginners, but ONLY pick ONE element of the picture for this bit... Later on, as you advance, it's more about finding "the most improvement for the least added effort or investment"... and you can keep using this system the rest of your life. This is where you make A NOTE, and maybe go find some better information a tip, trick of the trade, or even a new tutorial from someone else (new perspective or philosophy of art) and see what might help you... 3. Find something improving (at least) if not something new that went really WELL... Might still stand improvement, but it's important to spot more about where you ARE doing well than to spot more "sh*t" about your process... Remember, we're starting this journey because it's FUN... AND it's no fun tearing your guts out about stuff you're not great at... It IS fun to see how you've come a long way since the first scribbles you put on a page and attached to Mom's fridge... Such is the "Sh*t Sandwich" method... two nice warm, toasty slices of bread, between which we put the sh*t (we don't like to hear about)... in about that order. It works pretty well with helping others find improvement, because you both Start and End on a pleasant note, and still gets to some nuts and bolts of improvement, in that middle part, so we don't leave things unsaid or unattended. Hope this helps someone somewhere... or at least, it might be mildly entertaining. ;o)

[@stephentraversart]

Thanks Gnarth. The drawing process is more robust, practical, and spur of the moment than many people realise. 😀

[@alteriormotiveswithcarrie8546]

Really great reminder!! I forget that it does get better later in the drawing session. And that using pen is better, because I won't be spending all my time erasing instead of just continuing on and trusting that it will all come together.

[@stephentraversart]

Thanks Carrie. Basically, we all just need to relax, go with the flow, and have fun. 😀

[@derse1292]

I come to your channel a lot and one of the key things that sticks with me between all of your videos is your overwhelming positivity. It really makes me engage more with what you're saying and I feel very refreshed instead of bogged down trying to sort through all the info I just got. It's genuinely infectious and I've found that the enjoyment I personally get from drawing has increased since watching your content :)

[@stephentraversart]

Well, thank you. This is very encouraging to hear. My drawing journey and experience has brought me a lot of joy. I’m glad it shows at times and I hope it continues to grow for you. 😀

[@NameLikeNobodyElse]

I'm not done with the video yet, but am already thankful that you seem to be an art therapist, too!!.

[@stephentraversart]

Haha. No, just a fellow art traveller. 😀

[@Sketchy_Adventure]

Great video! I remember when I got back into drawing, the scariest part for me, was staring at that blank page in front of me knowing I had to make marks to start😂But after you start, it all starts to fall into place and my brain takes over and starts making things happen. You are right, the second half is all the fun!

[@stephentraversart]

And nothing is worse than blank paper. Glad it made sense to you. 😀

[@Sput-pq7io]

I swear that im procrastinating to finish this video a whole month, sorry gramps. its my fault

[@stephentraversart]

😆😆😆

[@cleols5433]

Thanks Stephen!! And such wonderful greenery you were situated at !! 😍

[@stephentraversart]

It was almost dark which seems to work better for colour in the backyard. 😀

[@sharoncoleman7168]

Thank you for this video. I have been having trouble working on my drawings and obtaining the correct proportions . I am going to keep going working on the same subject.

[@stephentraversart]

Glad it was helpful! I have a few videos since this one about keeping proportions as we draw freehand which you might find helpful 😀

[@eugenetswong]

You are so motivating! Thank you!

[@stephentraversart]

I’m very glad to have been so helpful with your drawing. 😀

[@onimanga5197]

I cant even get passed the first quarter

[@stephentraversart]

You can do it! Try less complex scenes on a smaller size. Plan drawings that you will have time to complete as well as you can in one sitting. I think that’s important first improving 😀

[@onimanga5197]

@@stephentraversart im just lazy

[@breadpirateoverhere]

Feeling like I failed because something doesn't look like the reference is the big one for me. I always try to finish since I know it's still important to sharpen the skills even if they aren't accurate. Every little drop contributes to the river.

[@stephentraversart]

Try seeing the reference as the starting point and your drawing, standing alone, as the end point, with no one comparing the two of them. You are free to adapt, enhance, rearrange your reference and improve on it in your drawing. Why not give it a go?😀

[@breadpirateoverhere]

@@stephentraversart What would you say would be a complimentary thing to study to get used to freestyling like that? Would something like more life observation be helpful? Or maybe just more anatomy practice?

[@supahfreekfun7285]

my toxic point is.. starting with idea and pic in mind but then it comes out horrible and i dont finish it. plus everyday i do it the skill and way of painting is different.... like a painting everyday different way of doing it.... all paintings not finished..😂

[@donnabuttons1]

I have a funny sort of variation of this. I get to a point, sometimes after a successful outline for example, and I like it so far, am happy with it so far... then I'm scared to go on because I'm afraid to spoil it. So although they might look quite nice and people might even be quite impressed, I know that they're unfinished and I didn't do what I set out to do.

[@stephentraversart]

Yep. I really know this feeling - like in almost every drawing. But we can learn to trust our ability to keep improving it. All the best in pushing past this all so common drawing stage. 😀