I've been trying to continue this artwork for weeks and even with medicine for my ADHD, I still needed a lot of time to catch up on things. I have been able to slowly develop habits as well as fixing my sleep... and it helps a lot just to be able to be productive on anything regardless of what it is on exactly.
Anyway, I was able to get back on this art days ago and it was nice. Like every aspect of my life nowadays, the medication helped me decrease my anxiety GREATLY. Drawing with it just makes me go forward with my progress instead of going back and forth because I was too worried to make another brushstroke for the fear of not liking it and having to do it all over again.
One of the things that discourages me or makes me procrastinate in doing this is because my hands are always sweaty. Maybe 70% of my waking time it just constantly wets itself. I think I can blame myself on this: since I was a kid, I've always worn socks. Going out to play with kids, being at home, sleeping, etc. You will always see me with socks. I like the way it hugs my feet and at the same time naked floor is just disgusting for me. I know, this is another thing I have to discuss with my doctor soon too since this can be autism as well although sensitivities are also just ADHD on its own.
Anyway, as I grew up, it progressed into me making my soles sweat intentionally. Like... I didn't like the way my soles feet feels when it's dry. I would always feel like something's missing and so I would put baby oil on my soles just to make it wet. Ha. The wetness provided warmth and it somehow makes my joints move haha. But yeah... I am still into that even 20+ years later but of course it comes with a cost.
I think that's how my body got trained into sweating on its own. I would sweat mainly on my hands and feet. Nope, AC doesn't work because it will just make my sweaty hands and feet cold! :P
Back to the problem in drawing...
I draw directly on the monitor and it makes it so hard for me to draw just because my hands get sweaty the moment I start working. I think the gloves make it worse as well, since the type of fabric of this gloves I have is the type of fabric I would want to make me sweat. If that makes sense.
When hands are sweaty, it goes through the fabric, then onto the screen. The wetness on the screen has to dry at some point... and when it does, it leaves a texture on the screen which makes the drawing uncomfortable and also wears out my nibs so fast as well. It feels like there is a constant sand on the screen and I would have to clean it again but then I sweat again so have to do it again until I get too annoyed to continue. It also doesn't help that the monitor screen itself is pretty warm and can get hot at times because well, I'm working on Photoshop on 4k screen. :P
The solution?
Just buy a desk fan!
It constantly blows to my hand so there is almost no time for my hands to sweat. XD
This fan is a rechargeable fan which can be pretty useful as well when there's a power outage. There are two led lights too! To provide us light when power is out... ANDDD I can also plug in my phone to charge, although it only has 5w but still better than nothing.
This type wasn't my first option. I really just wanted ANY simple fan that I could plug into that could blow the shit out of my hands haha. We bought this fan at the mall so the options were limited. Most of them were rechargeable desk fans. I mean, it is the Philippines, so it makes sense why they are popular here! :P The other desk fans can't be used while charging so I went with this.
Anyway. I also found another solution to sweatproof the monitor... I started wearing plastic gloves and then wear the cloth gloves on top of it so I can glide smoothly on the screen. Works so good and never a drop of sweat on the screen!
Is there any sweatproof artist gloves on the market? I don't know. I haven't looked into it yet. But I'm curious how other artists do it since I am sure I'm not the only one. :P
Anyway, this is the progress at the moment. I took pictures of myself to use as a reference since I can't really draw using 100% of my imagination. I decided to draw the basic figures without shadows and stuff yet just so I can estimate how much figures there are and what their sizes are going to be. Since I want it to look natural, perspective is so important to be mindful of... so the sizes of the figures are a big deal so there will be an illusion of distance.
I like the way it looks like currently, and surprisingly I'm still not bored of it!!! I really want to finish this but I don't feel the urge to rush it unlike before. My motivation is limited still, but a lot more than before... So there is no point in rushing.
So yeah, being on medication while doing art helps A LOT. Not just with focus but also with impulses, not rushing things, I can think clearly, plan more efficiently, and most importantly enjoy the whole process.
I am excited to see what it will look like once finished. :D