What Is "Art"? - - Helpful Tips on Improving Your Artwork
Aug 13, 2016 14:37:04 GMT -5
Sootfeather, .drifting feather., and 8 more like this
Post by Mᴏᴏɴ - - on Aug 13, 2016 14:37:04 GMT -5
Do you know what the definition of “art” is?
“Art” is that intricately detailed, HD piece that has enough potential to be in a museum.
“Art” is that MS Paint drawing that you find too mediocre to even be called a drawing.
“Art” is that black-and-white pencil sketch in your sketchbook, which has almost been torn out of existence because you've been tearing out all the drawings you dislike so much.
When you see someone with so-called ‘better’ art than you, what do you do? Do you praise them for having good artwork? Do you complain about how you'll never be as good as them? Do you get jealous and - literally - try to be like them? All of that is natural for you to do. But...how can you be that "professional artist" you really want to be?
________________________________________
________________________________________
1. How do you improve your art? You PRACTICE. And by “practice”, I don't mean doodling in your sketchbook every few days just to see if you've improved by then, because guess what? You haven't. (Rome wasn't built in a day!)
By “practice”, I mean get out there and TRY SOMETHING NEW. Don't draw the same boring pose all the time. Try art challenges in DevArt. Experiment with that anime or Disney style. Research about drawing anatomy and proportions. Look at speedpaints on YT. There's a ton of things you can use for practice and inspiration.
By “practice”, I mean get out there and TRY SOMETHING NEW. Don't draw the same boring pose all the time. Try art challenges in DevArt. Experiment with that anime or Disney style. Research about drawing anatomy and proportions. Look at speedpaints on YT. There's a ton of things you can use for practice and inspiration.
2. “Good artists copy; great artists steal.” Pablo Picasso here is saying that every artist is influenced by what has been done before their time. To “copy” art means to draw exactly how it looks, which is NEVER good. But when you “steal” (not literally), which means to borrow the artist's elements and mix in your own style in with it, you haven't duplicated it. You've added your own personal twist to it.
3. Don't give up, and don't draw to be perfect. I hear things like this all the time:
“I've been drawing for months, but I haven't gotten anywhere...”
“I've been drawing for months, but I haven't gotten anywhere...”
That's because you're not even trying, let alone you have low confidence. When you give up so fast, you don't even try to see your future improvements!
When you do get inspired to draw something finished and awesome and perfect, you might end up quitting halfway through just because you hate the way it looks. Do not do this. Don't focus on achieving that one perfect piece of work; instead, know where your weaknesses lie and build on those parts where you're not good at. You won't get better if you're a quitter, trust me.
4. For Pete's sake, USE THOSE REFERENCES. There’s nothing bad about using reference photos/drawings; I use them all the time!
References of poses, anatomy, facial expressions, cats, hair, coloring, light sources, everything.
References of poses, anatomy, facial expressions, cats, hair, coloring, light sources, everything.
When you start drawing, referencing is often done by copying exactly what you see. And that's a learning instinct.
But, but, you new artists out there need to be careful when referencing a picture.
It's really sad when you can't even draw something super basic without having something to copy off of, even when you have drawn said thing many times before. This is where most new artists fall.
When you reference from something, learn to separate what elements of what you see in the drawing you’re trying to produce in your current style. The sooner you learn the difference between referencing artwork and being a copy cat, the sooner you’ll start enjoying your uniqueness and individuality. Which brings me to my second-to last point.
5. Don't draw to be like another artist. Find your own style.
“I'm working a style that fits me, but it's hard!”
I’ve heard this numerous times from people that are practically trying to 'copy' an artist whom they admire. They are forcing their uniqueness in the style of said artists just to be popular.
Don't draw to “be like other artists”. It's okay to idolize your favorite artist because you love their work. It's fine if you try to draw like them just to learn, but you should try to find your own style later on. Just know that this cannot be done by just by tracing or copying off of the artists all the time.
A so-called style develops when you've been draw for a prolonged amount of time. You can't just a copy a style in 30 minutes, change around some things, and say “Look what I drew!”. That's awful, and I admittedly regret doing that. A style is like...a copyright, and ripping off the artist's style completely is just as bad. It took me 15 years of non-stop practice to get where I am now, and I'm still working on changing it right now.
Balancing “copy” and "steal” will help you to develop your own, unique style. Don’t force it, the best things take time. Let your style be one of them.
6. You want your art critiqued. How should you take the criticism?
When you ask for critique on your art, never take comments like: “I like it!” “It's fine the way it is!” “It's awesome!”
To me, that's garbage. Praise-showering people never see anything that you could improve on. Don't get me wrong, everyone loves compliments, even me! But receiving those when you really want advice may be a disappointment. Just say that you want advice, that's all.
When you ask for critique on your art, never take comments like: “I like it!” “It's fine the way it is!” “It's awesome!”
To me, that's garbage. Praise-showering people never see anything that you could improve on. Don't get me wrong, everyone loves compliments, even me! But receiving those when you really want advice may be a disappointment. Just say that you want advice, that's all.
It works vice versa, too. To me, critique is neither positive or negative, although the spectrum can vary greatly depending on the person. If you draw something thinking about the compliments and someone gives you a "harsh" or critical mark, don't take it to heart, and don't get too upset over it. Use it to improve and fix your mistakes!
- - -
- - -
My final point is this. You draw what you want. Draw what makes you happy or passionate. Don't try to be like those other amazing artists, don't copy, don't beat yourself up over your ‘mediocre’ art.
And lastly…
Don't you ever, ever, in a million years, think about giving up.
Love to all you artists,
- Moon ❤