That idea has stuck with me and it's proven more true over the last year and a half as I've begun a more serious pursuit of drawing and painting at the Hein Academy of Art. I'm more dedicated and consistent with my art than I have been in the past, and I'm receiving great instruction from Jeff Hein who is helping me train my eyes to see and understand how to accurately depict a 3D object or person onto a 2D surface. Jeff is very talented, but he's also put an incredible amount of time into perfecting his craft.
I've learned about the 10,000 hour rule, which basically states that it takes a person approximately 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to master a skill. A few weeks into my studies at the Hein Academy I started keeping track of the hours I was spending on each assignment. I've decided it would be interesting (for me...not sure if anyone else will find it interesting) to start a blog of my progress and the amount of time I've spent on some of my drawings. I've enjoyed reviewing the progress I've made in the last year and a half and will begin posting some of my previous assignments over the next while.
The drawing below, on the left, is the drawing I did on my first day at the academy (June 2010). To be fair, I probably only spent a few hours on it and my more recent drawings have taken months to complete, but that has been part of the process. Understanding the amount of discipline I need to have to really draw something right. On my second day I learned from Jeff that our goal on each drawing is perfection...that's not asking too much, is it? Well, I'm learning to make my drawings as perfect as I can, which is a higher standard than I've ever held myself to.
The drawing on the right is my first model drawing at the academy.
In May 2011, after 60.75 hours of pure drawing time, I completed the skull drawing below.
I don't keep track of the time I spend on the model drawings, but I would guess this was about 6-9 hours. I wasn't able to finish it because we changed the model's pose.
