Ok, I might as well go first: I wish I could draw. Not at the level where I could make photorealistic portraits, but I’ve always been envious of those who are able to scetch something together in a few minutes that perfectly captures what they want to convey. Sometimes words aren’t enough to express what I want to say, and for those situations I would love to have a simple drawing do the talking for me.
Self study. I don’t understand how people can just self study to be senior software devs at FAANG, that’s just crazy to me. For me, it needs to be more guided.
Remembering names and faces. I’ve got a huuuuuuge variety of valuable knowledge and skills and I’m ALWAYS getting tripped up on people’s names. I’ve jumped between a physical aggressor and their victim before (I work in that kind of field) for coworkers whose names I cannot remember. What the fuck is wrong with me? My brain isn’t even any bigger than anyone else’s it’s just stuffed with knowing how to spell and pronounce N-acetylcysteine instead of anything actually useful.
Tuning a musical instrument by ear. I have tried to “train” my ear and all that but no dice. I can play well enough but if stuff goes out of tune I have no idea until I check it or someone tells me
would be nice if I had more graphical imagination, but I just can’t create detailed images in my head. I can either “see” the big picture but with no details, or can focus on some detail, but then loose the big picture.
this way I really can’t draw stuff purely from my brain, I need references. and again, I can’t really vary from those references.
there’s room for practicing, obviously, but I have less and less time (and need, tbh) to develop my drawing skills, so I kinda gave up on it.
I wish I could just decide to sleep. I wish I could go “I have to be awake in 10 hours, I will sleep now.” Nope. I can go forward but not backward. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve wrapped around the clock, staying up for 20 hours and sleeping for 10. The abiltiy to go “man I don’t need to be up at 1AM, I have shit to do in the morning” and go to bed at 11 and actually sleep. That would be useful.
It’s weird. I go to work, I’ll get the job done. Something comes in my inbox that shit is covered.
I’ve been home for 3 hours now, and this is the most I’ve done tonight since I got home. Not even video games. Fuck haven’t gotten chores done. What the hell is that skill that I have at work that I don’t have at home?
Ok. Mini-rant because I can't contain myself atm. Do you wanna know a badly-kept secret? I've been making art on and off for 29 years. My ass wishes I could draw too. A ton of artists wish they could draw.
Talent will only give you a leg up, and mainly just at the beginning. The rest, all of us have to struggle for and I'm quite sure very few of us appreciate having to do so. And no matter how good they get, there is always something they have no idea how to do yet or they have some idol whose style they envy more than their own. Or they're the type that only hates what they make because they're the one who made it.
Van Gogh had a painter friend named Gauguin, and they were both jealous of each other. There is no magical point that one hits where you feel like you're Good Enough. The best you can aim for is the kind of steady improvement you don't even notice happening except on a scale of years, and the confidence to acknowledge those improvements instead of hyper-focusing on every way it isn't what you saw in your head (it never is).
Go get a pencil or your ipad or whatever. Youtube is by far your biggest friend. Go look up videos about how to actually see what's in front of you instead of what your brain insists must logically be there. USE REFERENCE. Trace a photo over and over, then immediately try the same thing freehand -- this one is super useful, because a lot of drawing is also muscle memory. Break things down into simple shapes and then build on those. Use the open space between objects if you need to, to trick yourself into drawing something complex without getting lost in intimidating structural details.
When you've got those down, move onto perspective and composition. Cry a little if you have to, then get back to it. Because now you're able to do whole backgrounds. People? Do tons of deliberately imprecise gesture drawings. Give your OC a terrifying robot head, a pillow for a torso, and springs for limbs. But go get. Your pencil. And be ok with drawing at first like everyone thinks they draw.
I spent an hour a day for a month trying to draw just the same character following a tutorial.
I wasn’t a master, but the difference between “I look like a child scribbling” and “person who looks like they need more practice” really was just a month it felt like.
All kinds of things really although mostly they’re on my list to learn so I’ll have them one day. Tatting might be my main one for 2024.
(Edit: Forgot the “why”. Mostly because it’s come up twice lately here on Lemmy and I feel left out while other people are making pretty lace)
I do wish I could learn to draw a bit better, to play the piano, and to speak multiple languages. But realistically I don’t have that kind of time so have to go with things that are quicker to pick up!
Juggling. I want to be able to juggle. Have tried so many times and failed so many times. No good reason, I just really want to be able to do it.
I’m quite willing to draw badly and sing badly, find those enjoyable even without talent. They seem like human things everyone does, and if I practice they get better. But for whatever reason, I am so jealous of those with reflexes that let them snatch balls out of the air, and haven’t been able to learn this. When I practice I don’t get better and it’s frustrating.
Being able to do stuff without having to mentally prepare for days/weeks/months and then abandon it because it’s just too much. I want to travel more, go on multi-day bike tours, start a business, whatever. It’s almost impossible for me because I worry too much about every single detail that could happen.
Focus on reading a book.
I can do it but I have to be in the mood. I wish it were all the time but it’s more like once a month. I’m trying to wean myself away from screens and be more mindful about spending more than a few minutes on a task. It’s a lifestyle change and a struggle.
Also; spelling, typing, and writing in print and cursive. I always type and write letters out of order.
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