You can ask him how long some of his work takes. It all depends on the person and their experience in years. To me, that wouldn't matter, unless one is being paid on a strict time deadline.

Just having fun, learning technique, etc, all the time one needs to feel relatively good about what they've done is fine.

Presently, I have been earning my keep in running with horses , the big dogs of the industry , on human portraits . Learning and refining my own style in techniques on the amazing details of the human form.

Your friend's images are very well done. Every artist is their own worst critic, or should be, in that elusive balance to be motivated to do better, without becoming so disheartened that they quit.

Humans are among the most challenging subjects to do, much less for a relative beginner. On the other hand, the sooner they dive into the remarkable world of the human form, the faster they will master it in time.

Graphite pencil is perfect to start out with. The enjoyment of blending, accenting, shading, all done in B&W, is a good way to focus on values , and not have the added stress of also blending colours.

Tell him all of us go through these difficult times, then a breakthrough, soaring motivation, then leveling off to more refinement in their own style , over time.

Also, if he takes breaks away from an image, that helps rest the mind and eyes , to see it fresh later , then things can jump out at him that needs attending to or changing.

Decent materials and tools make life in anything better. If your tools are low quality, that makes the job more difficult.

Decent lighting is a must. I use a mix of more fluorescent AND regular yellow bulb trac lighting. Along with working in daylight near a window helps a lot.

I work both on a flat desk surface, and a slight incline adjustable surface.

One more strange thing I find really does it for the final finishing touches...or even mid way. Ill scan my image at any point , put it on my Mac screentop, and just casually gaze at it. Leave it there for a time as you work. Its amazing how things jump out to me that I need to tweak or change on a scanned image, that I dont so easily see in the original. Happens every time. Sometimes with small images, being able to see that scan in a zoom mode can really help to see where I need to make changes.

But to be reasonable in all that, and dont stress too much over a subject. Theres a time to call it DONE, despite the nagging irritant that it could...should be better.

Just enjoy the process , and dont pick yourself to death...or try not to.

Believe me....that kind of whip cracking, disciplined stress will have to be dealt with as he gets to the chapter in his life where others hire him for art.

Other images done for fun, he can happily sell when others like it and want to purchase them.

In a nutshell. Just have FUN.

I’m sure someone somewhere could find faults in those, but that Chic pic looks like a B/W photo! I hope that kid is in a higher learning school of art somewhere. I believe his talents could take him places if they haven’t already.

Impressive looking bobcat!

He has a gift! I sure hope he is using that talent so the world can all enjoy. He should not let his work be hidden.

He not to introverted if he’s getting all these women to model for him. Wonder how good he could make me look, lol!!!

Thank you for sharing, hobbie trapper! I believe you may have shown some artwork several years ago not sure if it was done by the same person. But I appreciated it anyway.

I posted some art from one of the young ladies in the youth group. If memory serves one was a tiger she won 1st place in some contest. She has graduated college and is operating a Graphic Design business.

I do know him, he is one of my son’s best friends.

“He struggles”, he is viewed as an under achiever in his family circle and has at times expressed “things would be better if he checked out.” We have kind of unofficially adopted him and he knows the door is always open.

Impressive looking bobcat!

No wonder he has issues to endure. It’s best he is away from that kind of dysfunctional input, relatives or not.

Thank you for offering him the side of life that is healthy and happy.

It is a hurdle to deal mentally with negative thoughts put on a young person’s talent . What he can do is forge ahead , with more determination in life , to succeed.

As a teen, I was told by a teacher , that I would never be successful in art . Her intent was good, but she approached it in the most wrong way.

A few years after I graduated, little did she know, that I was working for the best custom body shop in Miami, airbrushing muscle cahs, bike tanks and show vans . Riding the wave of when murals were popular, that spanned the whole sides of a vechile…. and making $ 400 a square foot . In the 70’s and 80's .

There’s a country western song that says in the chorus “ How do you like me now ?”

Same with this young man.

He’s an artist not a miracle worker. lol