>start a new illustration
>seems fun and exciting
>go through thumbnailing, figuring out colour scheme, composition, gesture, anatomy, storytelling etc, etc
>run into some problems
>take a break to study
>fix problems, paint more
>run into more problems that require me to study as well
>fun illustration that I was supposed to finished in 3-4 days slowly turns into a project that takes weeks
>I'm procrastinating from this illustration more and more
>I'm getting sick of it and it doesn't even look appealing any more
>drawing isn't fun anymore
>put this project aside and start a new one, no point in polishing shit
>the cycle of disappointment and suffering repeats itself again, and again, and again
why am I like this
my hard drive is full of unfinished projects, while my art gallery and portfolio is empty
Anyone else struggling like this? Can you offer me some advice?
Are you me? Can’t offer advice since I’m exactly the same.
>(What do?)
More or less everyone goes through this process. It's important to have an understanding of the process, and to just push through and finish no matter what
>>put this project aside and start a new one, no point in polishing shit
You have to finish it. I am going through similar but it helps to finish the art. It's still less disappointing to finish something istead of just dropping it and giving up.
Since this problem seems fairly common I'll be reporting how I'm planning to fix this issue and how it goes. Maybe it will help someone else.
As others pointed out I think the problem is in the scope of the project, so for the next illustration I'll try drawing something much less ambitious, something that can be finished in a single sitting (~2 hours) rather than in few days (most of my illustrations would take over 12 hours to finish). I'll have to drastically change my style to make it happen. I used to aim for realistic rendering, but this time I'll try making something with very simplified colors (like you'd see in a webcomic) and an abstract bg.
>just finish it
but I want to have fun while drawing
It's fun to finish art.
I agree that it feels good to finish art (the single moment when it's finally done), but finishing art (spending time on polishing and fixing it) does not.
It gets easier
For me, it's a direct consequence of drawing anime girls in a white void. Didn't consider composition, story, gesture, etc. "Backgrounds" were half-baked or sloppily painted nature scenes or skies so as to call my image "finished." What I've been doing is going back, retracing my steps so to speak. I'm doing mechanical drawing, animal drawing, drawing environments and buildings. Slowly I'm getting to the point when I'm comfortable putting it all together, but I don't have any finished pieces to show.
Set a more reasonable scope to your projects so that you can finish them in time and without adding too much and go out of scope.
Be SMART!
Specific: Targeting a particular area for improvement.
Measurable: Quantifying, or at least suggesting, an indicator of progress.
Assignable: Defining responsibility clearly.
Realistic: Outlining attainable results with available resources.
Time-related: Including a timeline for expected results
That and/or maybe you see too little value in the finished product to actually finish it.
not gonna read that, you are a homosexual
>no I can't focus on reading for more than few seconds
go back to tick tock, brain rot zoomer
>start a new illustration
>can't find an appealing pose
>can't decide how thick the brush should be
>can't find a good subject
>don't even really want to draw
>just want to have something to be proud of
Lower your bar, this is clear frustration over expectations. Accept that what you do won't be perfect.
>Consider what you do finished even if it's not the perfection you wanted it to be
>move onto the next thing
>revisit old project when you feel like you learn something and see if you can do better.
Instead of taking a break to study, use the project to study. Instead of thinking of the new illustration as something you must show or put into a portfolio, think of each illustration as something you do to learn something.
As for an empty portfolio, think of it like this: you will have to draw a significant amount of pictures to have enough to pick the best from, so just focus on learning while producing.
It's just best to just finish whatever you are working and then worry about learning how to do it next time. What you are doing is definitely going to set yourself up to fail, because you are drifting further and further away from your original goal which will just cause you more frustration.
In fact, just make that thing you need to work on the goal of your next project.
If you find that you are struggling to even do that then that probably means you should maybe focus on doing studies for a bit and then dedicate some days out of the week or some time out of your day to actually working on fun things.