Hi all!

Sas

Hi all.

Thought I'd introduce myself as I am hoping we will be sharing ideas and talking a bunch in the near future. I am Saskia, Sas for short. I Live in the Netherlands and am a microbiologist, living together with my three children and husband. I have always followed art classes and have been drawing for as long as I live.

I got into contact with SVSlearn by listening to their podcast. I am, what Jake, Will and Lee talk about in their podcast; "Am I too old to get started" a woman in my late 30's, almost ready to make my switch in life. Although it scares me to bits, this podcast gave me the push in my back which I needed cause now I am taking their awesome courses and have picked up my drawing daily trying to improve as I go.

I am very shy and find it hard to share my pieces but would still love to get your feedback as it will be the major way to improve. I am far too critical of my own work and much too much of a perfectionist.

I love the illustration and animation style and would love to get better at this part. Right now I am focusing on getting my ink lines right and hereafter I want to dive deeper into perspective to learn how to make environmentals to follow on with the human anatomy. Do you think that this is a good way to tackle it?

I hope to speak to you all more on the forum and to share ideas back and forth, getting a ton of inspiration to fill my creative bank account with. What I have seen so far is just mind blowing and I realize I got a long way to learn

Lots of love,

Sas

NessIllustration

Welcome, Sas! I am new here too and it seems awesome! It's great to be able to talk with like-minded people and the kind of feedback you get here is incredibly high-level with people who really know what they're talking about, it's inspiring!

juliepeelart

Welcome!!

LauraA

Welcome, Sas! I agree that it's very hard to share pieces, but it's also very useful because it makes you get out there and see your work objectively. It also makes you finish things! It's easy to get discouraged, especially for perfectionists, because it takes a lot of time and work to get to a professional level, but put in a good six months to a year of hard work and you'll be surprised at how far you're come already! (I can't take credit for this wisdom as someone said this to me yesterday when I was discouraged.)

As for what to do specifically, it depends on where you are and what you want to do. There was an interesting thread a few days back on rethinking the fundamentals, which @smceccarelli started. She has also worked in the sciences (and is a fellow European), so you might like her POV.

Anyway, look forward to seeing your work! Where do you live in the Netherlands?

Chip Valecek

@sas Welcome to the forums! Its a great place to share your work and get to know other like minded artists. I think its tough to put your art out there and have people talk about it. But once you do it you will get some great feedback and it will become easier and easier to do.

TessaW

Welcome Sas! Another scientist artist joins our ranks! I think there are a couple of other scientists around here. I hope to see you around. This is the perfect place to post if you are shy about your work.

Sas

@nessillustration Hi and thank you so much for your welcome! The artwork I've seen coming by is indeed high-level! It's intriguing but also scary cause my work is nowhere near this level. On the other hand, I see it as watching and learning. Can't wait to see where this journey will take me.

Sas

@juliepeelart Thank you!

Sas

@lauraa Thank you! I will take your wisdom to heart. And thank you for tipping me about the thread! I will look into it. I think the biggest fear for me to overcome would be to accept my art for what it is and stop measuring it with others. I do that too much I live in the northern part of the Netherlands. Where are you from?

Sas

@tessaw Hi and thank you! What field of science are you working with? Amazing to hear how many of us working that field are also finding a creative path through drawing.

Sas

@chip-valecek Thanks! I shall take your wisdom to heart although my work doesn't even deserve to stand in the shadows of what some people here produce. It's so wonderful to be able to communicate with so many others like-minded people all over the world like this. I find it hard to find other people here in the Netherlands who are interested in the same field. I'm sure there are tons but we are a bit of introverts, I think.

smceccarelli

Hallo Sas! Welcome to the forum to another scientist/artist. I was in medicinal chemistry for 11 years (and doing academic research before that - so nearly 18 years in science) and then...decided to skip it I was 39 when I started with art seriously and 44 when I started working full time in an art-related job. Now I work as art director on a 20 hours/week contract and the rest of the time I freelance in children’s illustration.
So, the journey can start anytime and you can come from any path - don´t worry about your age, your legacy or your level of confidence! And learning and growing your skills, especially in art, is a recipe for eternal youth anyhow

Sas

@smceccarelli Ohh wow! You just put a huge lightbulb in my hope-reservoir right now! I would love to draw and hopefully one day, be an illustrator and work with this til I'm too old to be holding an pencil. Thank you so much You don't know how much this meant to me!

TessaW

Oh, I'm not a scientist. I was just referring to others around here. . . Simona being one of them, and she has said hello already!

burvantill

You’re never too old to start living your dreams. I just turned 49 and i am only just this year seriously working on becoming what I’ve wanted since I was a teen. Welcome!!

Sas

@burvantill I feel so much respect for people who take their hobby and turning it into their job. Was it hard to quit your daytime job?