If you're an artist, you most definitely have a stash of pieces you created years ago that you were really proud of at the time, but that you're deathly embarrassed to look at now. I have a huuuuuuuge collection of these on my Blogspot (remember that?), the DeviantArt I no longer use, and in the dozens of old sketchbooks shoved into the back of the deepest darkest closet of my parents' house.
Back in August, I decided I would create a fun challenge for myself where I would take some of these terrible old pieces and then redraw them with my current skills and knowledge of art. I called it the Redrawgust Challenge (... redraw... August ...) because I'm incredibly unoriginal. It turned out to be a really useful and inspirational exercise!
For this challenge, I focused specifically on digital art. These pieces were all from 2010-2011, so I was around 16 or 17 (back when I didn't have to pay my own rent or taxes ... growing up SUCKS). In the future, I want to redraw even older pieces that I did traditionally, but for now, drumroll please, back by unpopular demand, here are some of the results of my first Redrawgust/Redraw Challenge:
REGRET (original from June 2011)
It seems like my love of fun color palettes started early, but I definitely learned a thing or two about anatomy and lineart in the 6 years in between. Also, definitely started swearing more, lol.
CITY TILT (original from June 2010)
WOW. THE COLORS. MY EYES. I started working professionally as a graphic designer in 2012, and you can see how being in that field really taught me a thing or two about clean, visually cohesive backgrounds and tasteful use of color, instead of ... whatever that mess was.
SHOTGUN SHINE (original from December 2010)
All the film, tv, comic books, and video games I've consumed since 2010 has definitely influenced my personal aesthetic a lot. This character (re)design in particular was inspired by Mad Max, Borderlands, and The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys album/comic.
DEERMAN (original from November 2010)
Again, you can see how I've developed many different aesthetic influences and a cleaner style (thanks, graphic design) and got more daring with poses and anatomy.
LI ERLANG (original from May 2011)
Well, my Chinese handwriting definitely didn't improve ... I remember having a lot of trouble with this redraw actually, and looking at it now, I almost like the original better. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't.
THE GREAT GODS WAITING (original from January 2011)
The one thing I think I was better at when I was younger was having thinking of cool concepts., That's something I'm working on getting back, but I'm doing a lot better with my artistic technique. So there's been good changes and bad changes too in the past 7 years.
If you do any kind of art at all, I encourage you to try this challenge (and you don't have to wait until August!!!). It not only shows you how you've improved (or not!) as an artist, but all the ways you've changed your tastes, your style, and your way of thinking as a person. I'm not usually one to get philosophical, but I think that's pretty neato.
And if you do a redraw, I'd definitely love to see it. Maybe tag me 
Anyway, I hope you all liked this, and until next time, friends!
