I taught myself how to draw. If I wasn't sure how to light a character's face or how to shape their mouth or something, I'd usually find an art piece with a similarly angled character and study it. Eventually I stopped doing that (mainly because I didn't quite understand what I was looking at most of the time lol), and figured I'd learn better by actually watching process videos/tutorials. And that worked for me... up until a point.
Anyway, once AI took off, I quit entirely. I had no motivation. I didn't like my art and felt it was too plain. That was in like 2024?
Fast-forward 2026. I drew something for the first time in years for a contest. But, obviously, there isn't really a magical difference in my art even after taking such a long break (I'm not sure why I was hoping there would be).
My motivation is quickly tanking again. The basics of sketching and rendering came back quickly, but I'm still struggling with the same issue as before. It feels flat. The lighting might be off? I don't know how to add the... texture, for lack of a better word, that more experienced artists have.