10,000 Hours

Been drawing a lot recently (partially because I needed to catch up in my one sketch a day plan) and it feels SO GOOD. Still really struggling to get facial-likeness, but I'm getting a little more comfortable with it. To be honest, I was feeling a little down a few days ago about what I'm doing, and wondering whether all the hours I spend each day drawing will be worth it in the end. AKA Are all the hours I am not spending on my thesis going to waste? But the day before I left home to come back up to Boston, my dad told me that in order to really get good at something, one needs to dedicate 10,000 hours to it. Some people start off with raw talent, but even if you are lacking that, you can achieve what you want by putting your time into it. Who am I to complain and worry after only putting in maybe 20 - 30 hours so far? The only thing I can do is to draw more. If I draw everyday for a year and I see absolutely no improvement, then maybe it will be time to re-assess my values...but otherwise, I will draw! This morning I was browsing the illustration community on Instagram, and I came across this artist's post. People often get the wrong impression at times (myself included) that these extremely talented artists we see on social media are just straight up talented. They draw beautiful characters and amazing environments, but we often forget to consider just how much work, practice, and time went into getting to where they are now. That post was a nice wake up call for me. 

I recently fell behind by about 5 days in my daily sketches, but someone I almost never talk to sent me a message saying, "You got this Sonya! Keep up the sketches <3" I was surprised by the sudden message, but was also deeply touched by their kindness and support. Later that day I was cleaning my desk, and came across an old letter that my artist friend in Japan had sent me, encouraging me on my "path to the artist." I am so so lucky to be surrounded by such supportive people in my life @__@.

Select 9 pages from my sketchbook so far during my One Sketch a Day project!