Your Art Journey Starts Here: Tips for Success at New Masters Academy

Thank you to New Masters Academy for supporting my content: I am receiving educational credit for this video.

✥ Notes ✥

[00:00] My online art school
[01:31] Choosing your subscription
[03:13] When to subscribe
[04:53] Download the guide
[06:46] And follow it
[08:45] Start right away
[09:49] Don’t binge watch
[11:02] Let go of perfectionism
[13:51] Get feedback
[17:06] Enjoy the process
[20:09] Expect distractions
[23:29] Take breaks
[25:23] Celebrate your wins
[26:06] Share your journey
[28:14] Get organised from the start

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[AnneloesF]

Thank you for this advice! I needed to hear your advice about perfectionism.

I’m in week 4 of Drawing Foundations. I take about two weeks per “week”. I try to intentionally also work on (or play with) my own art one evening a “week”, and also spend an evening (or a few hours) looking at art by one artist (or visiting a museum). It makes me go more slowly, but I enjoy it more than only working on the assignments. I don’t know if that will change later on, but for now this seems to be a right mix.

I second your advice about the tokens. I’m getting excellent feedback and I feel that the teaching assistants are taking my submissions very seriously, even though my first attempts must be like children’s scribblings to them. The tokens make me truly take every assignment seriously and the feedback has helped me grow at double speed already.
I celebrate graduating from a “week” by telling everyone (coworkers, family, neighbours)! I’m very amazed at what I’m learning. I can now draw cilinders in two point perspective. I did not even know that was a Thing! It’s magical. I have looked at the course schedule and by Christmas I should be able to draw a still life. That seems crazy to me right now!

Best of luck to my fellow students, and extra good luck for everyone that is just starting out! Listen to this excellent advice, and have a great time learning art!

[surrected]

2:16 (Basic) Library Plan: $25 for first month, then automatically renews at $49 a month until cancelled.
It is important to note that one has to purchase tokens to submit assignments.
1 x NMA Token: $12
10 x NMA Tokens: $90

[fatimakhalid]

i get so excited every time you upload!! i currently dont have the time to subscribe to NMA because I'm in college full time and working but i can't wait to start :) your vids are always so detailed and soothing regardless. great job, love from texas! <3

[SimonBoulter]

Are you ever going to start oil painting when you get further down the track? As most of the tracks end up in oil painting. That's what I ended up doing.
As I took a year break from art, I'm rewatching Steve Hustons Constructive Head and figure drawing, I'm half way through both. They're such huge courses. It's hard for me to take in so much information at once, so I purchased Steve's figure drawing book to help take it all in. Really good book. Enjoying your videos, keep up the hard work.

[jessicavivien]

Thanks so much for your useful videos which I enjoy watching and learn heaps from. I am a brand new NMA art student, and am finding your advice really helpful. As you recommend, I have started at the very beginning, with a monthly subscription ($25 for the first month) As you suggested, I enrolled on a day when I had a chance to look through the course guide and actually make sense of it, and of what I want to do further on down the track. I'm now set up with sketchbook, notebook, online files etc for my Drawing Foundations 1 and have been watching the first lesson. But I am aware that there are at least two different approaches to drawing, both very solid and both used by excellent artists: the Russian approach, and the Sight-size approach. How do you decide which of these to take, or do you try both and see which fits best?

[SistahRev]

I paused the video to suggest an alternative word/idea for “burnout, ” as I understand & share your discomfort with possibly overusing that clinical term; I suggest “saturated.” When I get “saturated” I may not be worn down or injured or depleted by an effort or process or demand; rather, I just can not effectively take in anymore, like a sponge that is full of water. Every sponge has its limits, and it is not a sign of damage or illness when a sponge is “saturated” and can take in no more water! The digital version of this might be to say “I have run out of bandwidth.” In either case, one needs time to let some “water” (or “data”) sink in, get used up, or be relocated or assimilated more deeply into my psyche/mental landscape.
I hope someone finds this useful!

[Kimberly_Viktoria]

How much time do you usually put on one assignment or lesson? ☺️

[shazia]

I tried NMA several times over the past 5 years as an absolute beginner. There is no doubt that NMA strive to offer in-depth courses and sure they may suit certain people. Sadly, it didn't work for me. I have two main issues with NMA: 1. I felt that the instructors talked for a long time, rather than offering a more synthesised message. I have a strong research and academic background, and I found many courses frustrating. Long courses don't necessarily mean they are better and more academic. 2. There is hardly any focus on "non-representational" art. Interestingly, the study of non-representational art helped me improve my skills when depicting and exploring subjects/concepts in a more "representational" manner. My experience with NMA spurred me into studying fine art books and the Fine Art universities where I live fortunately offer external members to borrow books and read research publications on site. My intention is to offer constructive criticism and suggesting that if things don't work out don't lose heart and read a wide range of books. There are some excellent suggestions on youtube itself. I learnt so much by visiting the art museums/galleries in Vienna (where I live) and sketching/drawing on location. I try to spend a few hours a week in the art galleries and learning about the artists. I study books on medieval/ renaissance to contemporary artists when I see their works in the museums/art galleries. I don*t copy their work but analyse and study their approaches they have used. It is time-consuming but very valuable. I also do plein-air paintings and sketches on A2 size and have been getting more confident in my work. These studies are pivotal in my development as an artist. Best of luck to anyone who wants to sign up with NMA, and I am sure for most people NMA may work out.