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Tips: Improving Your Art
7 years ago
1. View art as a progression over time. You don't have to have everything together right now. You're always improving your art with every drawing you make, whether you notice it or not, whether you think so or not. You learn something each time you draw, and each time you fail.
2. Accept that there will be failures, and not everything may come out as you'd like. Not everything comes out perfect, or the way we imagine it to be in our head. But that's just part of the process. Don't let your failures get you down! Use them as an opportunity to learn, and don't be afraid to start over when needed.
3. Believe in yourself. This is very important! If you don't believe in yourself, it's quite hard to go on, don't you think? Some people have a habit on having very high expectations for their work, or are often comparing their work to others. Try and catch yourself when you do this, and try to break those habits!
4. Find what makes you unique. Leading from the last point, try not to compare your work to others! Everyone is talented in a different way, everyone works and thinks differently. Only you can do what you do! Embrace what makes you unique. Once you've found this, work on creating a style which is distinct, clear, appealing, and consistent!
5. Get inspired. It's most certainly okay to be inspired by others' work! Copying is okay, but only initially. You may copy to see how one created a piece, or to try and get a feel for drawing in the beginning, but take what you learn from them and apply it in a new way! Otherwise, what's the point in having work looking the same as someone else? As stated, find and embrace what makes you unique, and apply it to your own personal style and voice!
6. Sketch. Sketch loosely, sketch often, and sketch traditionally. Sketches are not meant to be perfect. Work on sketching quickly, efficiently and loosely, focusing on the gesture and overall feel of your subject matter. Try sketching with loose, long strokes, rather than small marks which are close to each other. Sketch often, even if you're not planning on finishing the piece; sketches are a super great way to loosen up and warm up before drawing! And, sketching traditionally can be super refreshing if you're working digitally all the time, especially without having the expectation of needing to finish it.
7. Reference and studies. Looking up reference photos is completely okay, and in my opinion, should be encouraged! It will be hard to improve if you're always just drawing from your imagination 100% of the time. Once you get a feel for your style and anatomy, you may reference less, but it's still super helpful! It can be especially helpful for poses, studying anatomy, and seeing what props or environments look like. In addition, studies can be super helpful also!
8. Focus on the big picture. Try not to get wrapped up in tiny details of a drawing. Focus on the gesture of your subject. If you're constantly just focusing on small detail, your drawing will end up looking stiff. And, don't be afraid to zoom out on your drawing every now and then!
9. PRACTICE! This is probably the most important thing of all! Practice makes perfect, you've heard it a thousand times but it doesn't make it any less true! You cannot improve if you're not practicing. And if you're frustrated with your art, it may be because you don't practice enough, or draw often enough.
10. Take breaks when needed. Sometimes you need to know when to stop and take a break. Taking hiatus is completely okay! Sometimes we just need to step back from our work a little. If you feel you need to, take as much time as you need. If you're feeling burnt out, try and do something other than drawing; however, it can be really useful to keep sketching while on break to still stay in the practice and try and loosen up! Plus, taking breaks a good opportunity to try and get inspired!
11. Be open to critique. If you're serious about improving your art, try and be open minded, and feel free to reach out and ask for critique on your work, and be open to receiving criticism and negative feedback! It all is meant well, and we don't mean to personally attack you or your art. Critique is simply meant to help you! There are certainly right and wrong ways to go about giving critique, and sometimes people can be nasty about criticism, which is not constructive. And this may be why some may fear receiving critique on their work. But understand that it's also a really important way for you to grow, especially because we usually don't notice a lot of our own mistakes. If you'd like me to critique a work or animation of yours, I'd be more than happy to! I love giving critiques! I put things in a very nice way, too, so don't worry!
12. Try new things. It can be refreshing to try drawing new subjects, or in different styles! Experiment! Try a type of art you haven't tried before, such as animation, pixel art, sculptures, paper cut outs, needle felt, painting, crochet, etc. Challenge yourself by drawing things you've never drawn, such as different types of animals, people, cars, environments, food, anything really. It can help sometimes help with art block, as sometimes people might get burned out by drawing mostly the same things! Also, don't be frustrated if things don't turn out well, after all, they're new to you. Just keep practicing them, like everything else!
13. Don't avoid hard things. It can be really frustrating drawing hands, or human anatomy, or backgrounds. It's because we don't practice them enough! But you'll never get better at them if you avoid them. Just practice and do studies, and once you've practiced enough, it'll be as easy as drawing anything else!
14. If you still can't get things looking right... don't be scared to start over! Also looking at reference can help a lot if you're stuck on a drawing or can't get something looking right. Also doing quick studies or simply practicing more can help!
Hope you found these tips helpful! Check out my other guides here, about growing your following and about taking commissions!
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/8891617/
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/8891620/
~Yellow K9
2. Accept that there will be failures, and not everything may come out as you'd like. Not everything comes out perfect, or the way we imagine it to be in our head. But that's just part of the process. Don't let your failures get you down! Use them as an opportunity to learn, and don't be afraid to start over when needed.
3. Believe in yourself. This is very important! If you don't believe in yourself, it's quite hard to go on, don't you think? Some people have a habit on having very high expectations for their work, or are often comparing their work to others. Try and catch yourself when you do this, and try to break those habits!
4. Find what makes you unique. Leading from the last point, try not to compare your work to others! Everyone is talented in a different way, everyone works and thinks differently. Only you can do what you do! Embrace what makes you unique. Once you've found this, work on creating a style which is distinct, clear, appealing, and consistent!
5. Get inspired. It's most certainly okay to be inspired by others' work! Copying is okay, but only initially. You may copy to see how one created a piece, or to try and get a feel for drawing in the beginning, but take what you learn from them and apply it in a new way! Otherwise, what's the point in having work looking the same as someone else? As stated, find and embrace what makes you unique, and apply it to your own personal style and voice!
6. Sketch. Sketch loosely, sketch often, and sketch traditionally. Sketches are not meant to be perfect. Work on sketching quickly, efficiently and loosely, focusing on the gesture and overall feel of your subject matter. Try sketching with loose, long strokes, rather than small marks which are close to each other. Sketch often, even if you're not planning on finishing the piece; sketches are a super great way to loosen up and warm up before drawing! And, sketching traditionally can be super refreshing if you're working digitally all the time, especially without having the expectation of needing to finish it.
7. Reference and studies. Looking up reference photos is completely okay, and in my opinion, should be encouraged! It will be hard to improve if you're always just drawing from your imagination 100% of the time. Once you get a feel for your style and anatomy, you may reference less, but it's still super helpful! It can be especially helpful for poses, studying anatomy, and seeing what props or environments look like. In addition, studies can be super helpful also!
8. Focus on the big picture. Try not to get wrapped up in tiny details of a drawing. Focus on the gesture of your subject. If you're constantly just focusing on small detail, your drawing will end up looking stiff. And, don't be afraid to zoom out on your drawing every now and then!
9. PRACTICE! This is probably the most important thing of all! Practice makes perfect, you've heard it a thousand times but it doesn't make it any less true! You cannot improve if you're not practicing. And if you're frustrated with your art, it may be because you don't practice enough, or draw often enough.
10. Take breaks when needed. Sometimes you need to know when to stop and take a break. Taking hiatus is completely okay! Sometimes we just need to step back from our work a little. If you feel you need to, take as much time as you need. If you're feeling burnt out, try and do something other than drawing; however, it can be really useful to keep sketching while on break to still stay in the practice and try and loosen up! Plus, taking breaks a good opportunity to try and get inspired!
11. Be open to critique. If you're serious about improving your art, try and be open minded, and feel free to reach out and ask for critique on your work, and be open to receiving criticism and negative feedback! It all is meant well, and we don't mean to personally attack you or your art. Critique is simply meant to help you! There are certainly right and wrong ways to go about giving critique, and sometimes people can be nasty about criticism, which is not constructive. And this may be why some may fear receiving critique on their work. But understand that it's also a really important way for you to grow, especially because we usually don't notice a lot of our own mistakes. If you'd like me to critique a work or animation of yours, I'd be more than happy to! I love giving critiques! I put things in a very nice way, too, so don't worry!
12. Try new things. It can be refreshing to try drawing new subjects, or in different styles! Experiment! Try a type of art you haven't tried before, such as animation, pixel art, sculptures, paper cut outs, needle felt, painting, crochet, etc. Challenge yourself by drawing things you've never drawn, such as different types of animals, people, cars, environments, food, anything really. It can help sometimes help with art block, as sometimes people might get burned out by drawing mostly the same things! Also, don't be frustrated if things don't turn out well, after all, they're new to you. Just keep practicing them, like everything else!
13. Don't avoid hard things. It can be really frustrating drawing hands, or human anatomy, or backgrounds. It's because we don't practice them enough! But you'll never get better at them if you avoid them. Just practice and do studies, and once you've practiced enough, it'll be as easy as drawing anything else!
14. If you still can't get things looking right... don't be scared to start over! Also looking at reference can help a lot if you're stuck on a drawing or can't get something looking right. Also doing quick studies or simply practicing more can help!
Hope you found these tips helpful! Check out my other guides here, about growing your following and about taking commissions!
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/8891617/
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/8891620/
~Yellow K9
