Learning how to draw from scratch, year 2

Quite a while ago I wrote a blog post about my first few months learning how to draw. It's been about a year and a half now, and I haven't written any updates!

My discipline with drawing has been erratic. I'll go a month or two drawing every day, with focused sessions on specific fundamentals. Then I'll burn out, draw nothing for a month, and slowly work my way back up doodling things I think are fun, but not really improving.

Obviously it's hard to stay motivated. Nothing is scarier than a blank sheet of paper. The fear of failure holds me back often. Distractions are everywhere. John Steinbeck wrote beautifully about these things in Sweet Thursday, describing Doc doing anything besides writing his research paper:

It's always hard to start to concentrate. The mind darts like a chicken, trying to escape thinking even though thinking is the most rewarding function of man.

"All because I don't want to go to work. I'll work my head off to avoid work. Come, mind. This time you don't get away with it -- back to the desk."

Since the last blog post I've mostly abandoned digital art and stuck with traditional. I plan on returning to it, but I really do prefer traditional. Most of my hobbies already involve looking at a screen, so having at least one where I'm not burning my eyes out feels nice.

I finished one full sketchbook. I realize that comparison is the thief of joy, but it's hard not to compare to others. I see other beginners learning who fill out sketchbooks almost monthly, so I know my volume is not where it needs to be if I want to reach my artistic goals. That said, I've improved a lot in certain aspects -- especially line quality and readability.

A few "wins" have surfaced out of the sketchbook, and the beginning of my new one. Every once in a while, I'm very proud of something I've drawn (and I don't believe it came from me!). Those I hang up on my whiteboard to tell myself "yes, I can do cool things, so get back to the desk".

Lately I've really been enjoying drawing animals. I hope that I'll one day live somewhere more in tune with nature, or even closer to a zoo, so I can draw ones from live references rather than photos.

I have a goal this year to experiment with new mediums. Almost all of my art practice has been with plain old pencil. I've grown some level of skills in sketching, but my color theory and detail work are obviously lacking. Hopefully by this time next year I'll be able to write a blog post about the mediums I liked and didn't. I'm most excited to try watercolor.