Early work and progression

I recently found a folder on my computer with some of my earliest digital works. I really want to share these with you and talk about how I felt about them at the time.

(UNTITLED) I distinctly remember drawing this one because I felt so inadequate about it. I was just getting started with color, and I had no idea about what colors to choose or how they balance togeather. I also had no experience of drawing anatomy and so I kinda gave up on it. But it's okay, maybe I'll revisit it sometime in the future :)

(UNTITLED) At this time, I discovered the Procreate brush engine for the first time. I downloaded some brushes online and started playing around with them. It was fun, but the magic behind the black boxy brushes was a total mystery to me.

I tried my hand with some landscape art. Probably inspired by James Julier Art. But the process of drawing natural landscapes on a computer with digital brushes never resonated with me.

I started playing around with more abstract representations of natural landscapes. Mimicing the feel of landscape, but in an other wordly way... Here you can start seeing some comprehension of colors, light, shadows and effects. I remember being very proud of this.

It was somewhere around 2016-2017 when I really started embracing digital art and started making my own rules. This artwork is the start of that where I started modifying brushes and making my own. I still had no idea what I was doing, but it was fun!

Here are few more from 2016-2018.

My style has shifted a lot since these early days. But I'll leave that for another post.

Anyhow, I just wanted to share this because I think it's important to share your story. I have hundreds of horribly failed drawings and it's a learning experience to go through them and be honest. I don't like everything that I make, but that's totally fine. Save it, learn from it, keep it for later and move on :)

What are some of your earliest works? Feel free to share in the comments.

Thank you for reading!

Thorgeir