Autistic artist helpthread

[Anonymous No.1920260]

Is there a way even someone with autism can learn art? I don't have any retard strengths like savant skills or sperg memory recall. Actually it's worse, since I can barely tell my left from my right, cannot remember faces, gestures, expressions and seemingly have the visual memory and spatial skills of a gnat. When I took an art class in high school I was the worse by far in my class. As a young child I had to take extra writing lessons because my handwriting was terrible and illegible, and its still pretty shifty even after overcoming my weird Handgrip.

Is there any hope for an Autist to overcome their disability and teach themselves art? Art that can sell or be made a career out of at least?

[Anonymous No.1920266]

Hiw many hours a day you spend for drawing and studying?

[OP No.1920274]

>>1920266
A few hours here there, a bit infrequently. Or rather I should say inconsistently. I've 8-10 notebooks full from the past several years, but I've seemed to improve very little.
Most of them are just filled with doodles, with a few dozen seperate pages of anatomy and live studies, forming maybe 10-15% of it.

[Anonymous No.1920275]

>>1920274

Your problem is patience, concentration/ficus

[Anonymous No.1920279]

>>1920274
>8-10 notebooks full from the past several years
you should fill at least one a month

[Anonymous No.1920280]

>>1920279
That's not even possible unless you do like 1 drawing a page

[Anonymous No.1920282]

>>1920280

Scan few pages of your sb

[Anonymous No.1920283]

>>1920260
it's all in your head, you've formulated thousands of excuses when a fucking elephant can outpaint you,

seriously crack open a sketchbook and do work bitch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He7Ge7Sogrk

[Anonymous No.1920287]

>>1920279
That 1 sketchbook a month is such bullshit. I mean, if I really wanted that and I was lazy I would just buy sketchbooks with 20 pages of something. Instead I have s sketchbook with 250+ pages.

[Anonymous No.1920289]

>>1920287
im kinda half with you.

I buy 80/120 sheet sketchbooks, which means double when you consider back to front. Also the time divide between other sketchbooks and computer work. I don't finish sketchbooks in a month. However between all the things I do. I imagine I could fill a sketchbook in a month.

Seriously easy mode filling a sketchbook is just location drawing people and environments. I just dunno I want to do it as a challenge, but I have like 5 sketchbooks I keep in various locations.

[Anonymous No.1920290]

>>1920287
Scan few pages

[OP No.1920291]

>>1920282
I don't have a working xcomputer now, but here are scans from 2012 http://s1066.photobucket.com/user/brandygang/library/?view=recent&page=1

I've barely improved a slight since than 2 years and 3 notebookslater it feels . Like I'm slamming my head against a wall to get ahead. Progress isn't coming anymore.

>>1920280
It's possible if you're bullshitting it and rushing through each page, but I doubt you'll learn much that way. It's quality over quantity I hear.

>>1920283
That's what I've been doing, and I've reached a rut. No matter what I study I cannot get much past where I'm at now, which is about the gallery album I posted.

I started thinking of possible reasons this might be, including brain functioning. I don't even have a bona fide diagnosis, but I'm clearly pretty abnormal . Not saying it's autism affecting my art for sure, or OCD, but it'd be rash to dismiss other factors.

[Anonymous No.1920292]

>>1920291
b-but 30 sec gesture drawings? is that cheating?

[Anonymous No.1920295]

>>1920291
Language and writing is so much more advanced and abstract a concept then drawing, anon. What you are doing right now is an impossible miracle, you're typing out a post and expressing your thoughts. If you're so far gone as you say, you really wouldn't be able to write your post. I seriously doubt you have someone working for you writing out all of your posts.

When you're drawing you have tools to assist you to learn. Books, rulers, ellipse guides, still lives, the internet. You're not alone, just make your pencil move with a goal in mind. How about you draw some boxes in perspective. With perspective you only need to know where the vanishing point is. You can't go wrong drawing lines toward that VP. So just do that.

Use gesture drawing websites to warm up. Or just draw ellipses over and over. You're making excuses. You may be a retard, but you can still draw.

[Anonymous No.1920296]

>>1920291

The only reason i wanted to see few scans is because i can judge now if you enjoy it or not and if you focus on drawing or not.
It doesnt matter if you suck. Your problem is concentration/focus.
you rush. You don't anylize. You don't study.
and these are the reasons why you don't progress.

You are using autism just for excuse for being lazy

[OP No.1920297]

>>1920292
It kinda seems like it if they're the size of a page each.

[OP No.1920306]

>>1920296
I think this sounds accurate. But with studying, it's mostly because I feel I don't really know how. All I mostly have trained myself to do is analyze lines and redraw what I see, through brute force if necessary. I at least know it's not genuine learning, but it's all I know. I own that thick anatomy book with hundreds of detailed pages of bones an muscles, but I don't really understand HOW to understand and know them, other than drawing them by rote and memorizing their names, which hasn't helped because I cannot draw or use them in any context outside the sight copying.

[Anonymous No.1920307]

>>1920260
I went a year to art school and a good third of the class had some confirmed form of ADHD or Aspergers - you're just making up excuses for yourself. Maybe you do have some weak points, but likely you have stronger ones as well, like analytical ability. So sit down and work on your drawing skills, weak areas first. Right now your biggest obstacle is your self-confidence.

[Anonymous No.1920309]

>>1920283
Those elephants are beaten and abused in order to get them to learn how to draw... not the best example, dude.

[Anonymous No.1920310]

>>1920306

Nigga, if you wouldn't be lazy, if you would really want to improve, you would read few books on drawing and get all the answers.
There is over 20 very solid .pdfs on internet, i bet you haven't read single one.
i bet you havent read more than 50 pages on drawing since you draw.
because you are lazy. And you know that.

[OP No.1920312]

>>1920310
I've read from Hippy, Loomis, McCloud, that Drawing on the Right Side of the brain book countless times, and done my hefty share of exercises.

>>1920309
That's what I find myself doing, even with books and exercises.

[OP No.1920314]

>>1920312
Vappu
Damn you autospell

[Anonymous No.1920315]

>>1920312
great now draw them again without the books

[Anonymous No.1920320]

>>1920309
any animal performing is 'abused'

yet here is an elephant drawing circles around us. So what if it's simple and not frazetta. The elephant is drawing a fucking elephant... do you not see it?

[Anonymous No.1920326]

Honestly, you're not as terrible at art as you think you are.

You just need to practice technique and quit it with the anime shit. Anime is the cheapest cop out you can make when you're attempting to be an "artist." Focus on more creative methods. You obviously have difficulty keeping focus when making art, and pencil drawings are probably not your thing.

Go buy some canvases, heavy multimedia paper, watercolor paper, acrylics, watercolors, watercolor pencils and oil pastels. Think of a feeling and portray it.

I'm an advanced art student currently and I have several autistic colleagues. I've noticed that they make much better work when they practice in color.

[OP No.1920327]

>>1920315
How do I do that?
When I don't have a book or reference in front of me my art is just stick figures. It feels like trying to draw without a car.

[OP No.1920328]

>>1920327
>Drive

[Anonymous No.1920329]

>>1920327
>notebook paper
I should slap you.

You utilize your visual library. Everything that you see is recorded [at least for me it is]. In your dreams, your subconscious pulls out those memories and uses them, try to manipulate your subconscious as well.

>how do
Abstaining usually works for me. My dreams are more vivid and remarkable when I don't fap. Or try drawing that one girl you saw who looked cute at the mall.

[Anonymous No.1920330]

>>1920327
That's your problem. You refuse to omit creativity. If you refuse to omit creativity and make art when you're not looking at a book and being told how to, you're not gonna be successful. Sorry.

[Anonymous No.1920334]

>>1920327
keep doing it, it'll click

i was you 3-4 years ago, bitching and moaning, tho i didnt post on /ic/ i lurked and experienced the agony of not drawing vicariously through others posting.

the answer is to just make stuff. have some goals, write them down, and work toward them. One thing I had in common with you is that I had "holes" in my knowledge. AKA I didn't know what to draw.

think of it this way, you CAN draw, you just don't know how to fill the sketchbook up because your bank is empty. You have the same motor skills as marko djurdjevic. There's no reason you can't achieve that. But the reason he draws so well is thousands and thousands of hours of mileage. He knows how to draw stuff better than you. The best starting point is learning to construct, drawing in perspective, seeing in 3d. The building blocks of life are basic shapes, cubes, spheres, cylinders, etc. With that, you can make anything.

So read books, experience the world. Draw it, over and over, fix your mistakes. If you're lost post your art in a draw thread. Get thrashed. Find out how you can correct your own mistakes.

[OP No.1920336]

>>1920329
I don't really dream tho, certainty don't sleep.

>>1920330
I often try, but it defaults to that generic animu shit and all my sense of structure goes out the window. It's kind of like if I'm given a map to run complex laps I can follow them, but if I'm not given one I can only default to running in circles.

>>1920326
I find this to often be true, even more so when I work with a digital medium.
Silhouettes, negative spaces and shapes help me understand a lot of art concepts, but I having quite got the handle on how to apply it yet. Are there any recommended exexercises for breaking the monotony? The bad anime shit is kind of my brains default.

[Anonymous No.1920339]

>>1920334
Most of these seem to be from 2-3 years ago. Do you have any recent shit to show?

[Anonymous No.1920345]

>>1920260
You're making up excuses OP. If an autist like Algen can get to his level then there's no reason you can't. First of all ditch the lined paper. It kills your ability to think in 3D because it flattens out the page. Ideally you want the page to collapse into itself so you can imagine the forms in it better.

[Anonymous No.1920350]

>>1920345
>tfw im not autistic but still a social outcast ; ;

even algen has a GF now...

[Anonymous No.1920354]

>>1920350
how did THAT happen?

[Anonymous No.1920355]

>>1920350
Only because he got gud...

[Anonymous No.1920361]

>>1920345
I haven't been using lined paper for a while now. Current notebook is a cheap leatherback, 200 pages.

And give me a minute I'll see if I can pull up anything recent.

[Anonymous No.1920362]

>>1920354
>How did THAT happen?

I hope he'll make a tutorial about it.

[OP No.1920376]

It's a terrible snapshot but, here's a page I did just last week. I drew from a head once than redraw it in variations throughout the page.

[Anonymous No.1920391]

>>1920376
believe me dude, you're fine. just keep drawing

[Anonymous No.1920396]

>>1920376

Honestly, dude, you're pretty good. Heck, even better than me, I'd say, though I'm more into /3DCG/ than 2D.

I think the best way of getting better/ going pro would be to do what everyone keeps saying non-stop - keep drawing. Draw every single day, if possible. Challenge yourself every once in a while to finish an image with color, perspective etc. Always try to be better this week than you were last week.

If it's as hard as you say it is, than at the very least copy someone elses art and make it your own. Basically, imitate them, but add your own flavor to it. I may get flamed for typing that, but if you say it's REALLY hard, then I think that's up your ally.

Another piece of advice I can give you is to join a creative community. You know, maybe some group on Deviantart.com/ or elsewhere. Or maybe /mlp/, which is my little pony. Some hate them, but they literally create the best art/ animation I have ever seen in a fandom. They have draw threads and tutorials every day. Although it's all MLP related, I have learned tons about art in general from those people.

Pic Related is a great example of what they can do :)

And joining a community in which you can post your art for critique is extremely helpful. Just like the anon before said: getting thrashed by others is a key to getting better.

Stay drawing, my friend.

[Anonymous No.1920397]

>>1920396
I'm the same anon as the message I'm replying to.

>OP draws on lined paper

Please, for the love of CTHULHU, OP, never draw on lined paper. Get a sketchbook, or a large pack of printer paper.

Anything but lined paper.

[Anonymous No.1920399]

>>1920376
Try drawing all the heads within the same perspective grid. I mean you're going to draw a bunch of them in many rotations anyways right? Imagine your whole page is one window with everything unified in perspective. You can draw different stuff in it but they're all next to each other in 3D instead of 2D if that makes sense.

[Anonymous No.1920400]

>>1920396
i can see why you'd think that's good, and it has some technical merits. But part of what makes are successful is "when" to leave stuff out. This picture is sensory overloaded with textures, colors and too many light sources, graphical vanity and details. It's also strange and offputting, uncanny? that the flowers are drawn well, but the more simple apple looks less than stellar.

I wasn't there when the picture was made, but I can tell you that the artist relies on too many crutches. If the artist had a pad of newsprint and a charcoal pencil, what they make would be indiscernible from what you see here.

[Anonymous No.1920403]

Is it wrong that I don't believe in autism?
OP just sounds a bit thick

[Anonymous No.1920408]

>>1920400
I didn't posting that piece as a representative of the entire community (not implying you thought I did), but I posted it simply because it takes tons of skill and effort to do something like it lol.

Not only that, but it's just an example piece of what that community has to offer. I can post a ton of others, like pic related, that have very different styles in mind, but that's all aside from the point.

Mainly I was just giving some advertisement for OP of a great community out there that he can learn from.
I think this is the part where I defend the pic? Yeah, lets doo dis.

If you've ever watched MLP, you would already know that the scenery and characters are brightly colored and can be somewhat related to the pic I posted earlier. That's kind of why I like it - it has the color style that the show has. Oh, and you're right about the apple thing.

[Anonymous No.1920409]

>>1920376
>no pupils
no soul confirmed

[Anonymous No.1920410]

>>1920396
>drawing each strain of Sunbutts hair
I'd slap you.

People like the 'style' of the show cause its simple. Even Doxy and Artyl capitalize on this aspect of it.
Keep it Simple

[Anonymous No.1920411]

>>1920403
If people being born with disabilities all the time isn't an indication that it's real, than what is, right?

I have mild ADHD, and it's hard as f**k to stay focused on things in my classes. And for some reason I almost always have some song (or piece of a song) on eternal-replay in my head.

I'm telling you dude, this shit is for real.

At this very moment I have Party Rock Anthem playing in my head. It's been here since around 6 pm, eastern time, US.

Pic related just for teh wallpapers.

[Anonymous No.1920412]

>>1920411
That shit happens to me and most people so no I won't believe in autism.

[Anonymous No.1920413]

>>1920408
>Mainly I was just giving some advertisement for OP of a great community out there that he can learn from.
Depends on who he follows.
I followed Kloudmutt for a long time, until I got to his skill and found out he was shit.

I quit being a hoof in early 2013. Didnt like the vibe the EqG brought in. Too much pedo.

[Anonymous No.1920416]

>>1920410
Hey, I personally think that part looks great! Even better than if the hair was ethereal like normal.

I was refering to the color scheme, not the detail lol. If the show was animated with the art style of my pic, japan would have happened.

> Japanese animation>>>> American animation

[Anonymous No.1920417]

>>1920412
Dude.
On here is entry level autism, but out there in the schools and shit, its real.
The kids cant be on their own without getting hurt or doing things they shouldnt do.

The parents can beat the kid all they want, they still have the brain of a 4 year old.

[Anonymous No.1920419]

>>1920416
>color scheme
oooooooh
okay.

Yea that makes sense. If it was animated, it would be a comedy or, slice of life instead of 'artifical autism enabler'

[Anonymous No.1920420]

>>1920412
You do know that it's a long-confirmed mental illness, correct?

It exists whether you want to 'believe' in it or not.

Oh, and about that song thing... I was talking about ME. My mild ADHD makes it difficult to focus, and tie that with the song interrupting my thoughts... You get the picture.

[Anonymous No.1920421]

>>1920419
>animated in japan
damnit

[Anonymous No.1920426]

>>1920417
that's mentally retarded

[Anonymous No.1920427]

>>1920419
Isn't it already a comedy/slice of life?

I mean, minus the obvious magic and pony stuff, I'm pretty sure that's all it literally is.

[Anonymous No.1920428]

>>1920420
Why arent you taking adderall?

[Anonymous No.1920432]

>>1920426
Exactly. Of course, not everyone with autism is like that, but it's definitely there.

>implying/assuming you're the guy who doesn't believe in it

[Anonymous No.1920436]

>>1920427
yea, true.

>>1920426
Yes, but thats the extreme of Autism.
You can look at it as "grow the fuck up", but people who have it wont stop admitting that they have it, because of Autism Bux in america

[Anonymous No.1920437]

>>1920408
I stopped reading after you mentioned something about being a brony or some crap.

Just look up edgar payne. You don't need every color to achieve a "colorful" statement in your painting. It's actually through the mastery of midtones and midtints that you achieve colorfulness.

[Anonymous No.1920438]

>>1920428
Well, it gets annoying at times, but I get by pretty well without the use of any drugs. Also, I here adderall has some pretty bad side effects.

[Anonymous No.1920442]

>>1920396
>>1920408
dude just yuck. It's so dangerous to follow art like that. Look if you really do like this garbage, I can't fault you for it, just don't go around telling people this is a great community with that yeeyee ass shit...

Instead look at working professionals. These guys are sought at and work for Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks. Their schoolism classes are sold out every semester. Your dudes do smut commissions for lunch money.

[Anonymous No.1920448]

>>1920437
Wow! That guy is amazing! I wouldn't be surprised if he did matte painting for a studio or something like that.

Here's the thing, they have different art styles and inspiration for the art. My Pic related was based on the show, which already has plenty of colors and stuff. It isn't necessarily meant to be realistic, definitely not like what Edgar Payne has. I'm not sure what inspires Edgar, but I'm pretty confident that it's bare nature.

One is inspired by a colorful show, one is inspired by the real world. They both do a fantastic job at representing that in their artwork.


And the statement that colorfulness is achieved through midtones and midtints is kind of a bold one, since every artist has their own unique way of portraying that visual information to whomever sees it.

And one last thing, the pic I have on the comment you replied to (the dark one).... doesn't that use the midtones/ midtints that you were talking about? It looks that way to me.

[Anonymous No.1920455]

>>1920442
LOL, we have a keyboard warrior over here.

There are a few problems with your comment, so allow me to explain...


Do you honestly think that they only do MLP art? lol, plenty of the guys I've seen doing this also do concept art for companies, individuals, and just for their portfolio, so for you to say something like it's "yeeyee" is quite funny. As a functioning individual, you should be able to know that the skill of making art like this isn't restricted to mlp.

And following art like this isn't even remotely dangerous. I have no idea where you got that from, but I'm guessing that you pulled it straight from you ass.

You seem quite buttblasted.

[Anonymous No.1920460]

>>1920396
Yeah, I'd stay away from my /mlp/ OP.

[Anonymous No.1920467]

>>1920403
Yes, there is nothing to 'believe', it's been scientifically proven to exist.

[Anonymous No.1920478]

>>1920436
You're assuming that the level of jew and ethics in the Medical Industry in America applies to all countries. Autism also isn't just all about social ineptness, it's about impulse processing amongst other things, which leads to a variety of verifiable problems. One thing that biologically lacks with people on the spectrum is the amount of working mirror neurons, which leads to a handicap in recognizing body language. In result people with autism have less of an ability to recognize someone else's feelings and social cues as well as more difficulty with learning/mimicking physical movement. There are also differences in neurotransmitters and brain activity. And this is just speaking about assburgers, when you go to the more severe end of autism you really have to be blind not to be able to tell the differences.

They tested me for Aspergers in the past and the entire thing took up 9 full hours. The conclusion was that I didn't have it. And believe me, I'm a social and stubborn moron.
(They later found that chronic fatigue and nerve degradation caused by structural malabsorption issues led me to have a lot of problems that overlapped with autism and add in the mental field.)

[Anonymous No.1920485]

>>1920455 i agree.
although the brony community is mostly neckbearded losers, the art side of the fandom still quite growing and supporting newcomers. I kinda got into the pony art at first, then i found out it was fun to draw this shit, then i lost interest in the show but still continued to draw ponies. the simple bean shape design that the show uses can be also used the same way as the vilpus bean gestures.
But i do see people who get constant praises from drawing the same old poses and never evolve their skills. So yeah be carefull if you kit at a level when you wont progress forward, cuz dem bronies arent gonna tell its shit if their avtistic lives depended on it. Ic is got to get called upon ur shit.

[Anonymous No.1920486]

fucking bronies on /ic/ jesus christ...

[Anonymous No.1920488]

>>1920460
I'm perfectly fine with that, if OP wants to do that. The main theme of what I was trying to show was for OP to join an artist community. I only mentioned MLP because it's one I frequent and know about, and I felt that it would be great to mention it, just in case if OP wanted to know about it or something.

I won't hold it against him, or anyone, if they didn't like it lol.

Pic related is for teh keks

[Anonymous No.1920499]

>>1920486
i feel like someone is trolling successfully right now...

[Anonymous No.1920513]

>>1920478
Pardon my ignorance but, the fuck does that have to do with artistic ability? Picasso was renown ed for his antisocial habits and look at him.

[Anonymous No.1920518]

>>1920488
Yes, because what better art community to join than one that often uses a single template a large copy pasta for teaching artistic merit. I don't mind the show, the first season was pretty good even, but leave t out of art training.

[Anonymous No.1920564]

>>1920513
Anti-social habits? Like what?

[Anonymous No.1920576]

>>1920486
>autistic artist thread
>mlp

what did you expect?

[Anonymous No.1920756]

>>1920513
It was in response to the guy who 'doesn't believe', not OP.

[Anonymous No.1921975]

r the bronies gone yet?

[Anonymous No.1922177]

>>1921975
no ;3

[Anonymous No.1922188]

I want nothing more than to believe I'm being trolled really fucking hard right now