Forum posts by Ayla Vue

Hello there! I hope you're doing well. :)

First off, I have to commend you on practising hands and birds. Both subjects are quite finnicky and difficult to capture in their own right.
I think your portrayal in these images is actually technically quite good.

You've got a great eye for the third dimension and the poses you've studied have great follow through. They are convincing visually.

The awesome thing about drawing birds is their feet have really similar anatomy to human hands. Maybe try to think of their little feet as you would when drawing hand gestures.

As far as feeling something is off about them, I don't quite see it. The only recommendations I can think to offer are (if you're not already doing them)
- Maybe try flipping your image upside down and seeing if anything stands out to you as incorrect.
- Try to give yourself a little credit and apply a little more confidence to your birds. They really are an arrangement of soft circles with fluff.

All in all, I think if you feel like you've struggled communicating 3 dimensionally that struggle doesn't show in the final results. I have to recommend you keep going and for around 2 mins each these are some compelling images. Great work!

I completely agree with Sanne - I only wanted to add:

When comparing a drawing session to work you've done recently and especially if your inner critic has a bunch to say;
try to view your work as pieces of improvement.

Maybe it doesn't look how you wanted but try to notice your differences in line, composition, even subject matter.
What you produced has some meaning for your learning process. Even if it appears miles behind what you've done recently
you may have woven in something you found difficult before and in practice - nothing looks like a finished priceless piece.

Next time your inner critic is spouting off remind yourself who is actually trying here. It is perfectly fine to forgive yourself
for only managing to draw one line one day. Part of getting out of your own way and pushing through roadblocks is going to
involve a good bit of forgiving yourself.

Good Luck! and Stay Safe!