Creative Corner

I have fun with a bit of drawing here and there.. but as I'm unpracticed and especially new to digital art, I get frustrated and/or abandon projects as soon as I think they're going poorly, or I lose interest in them thinking "well you don't know how to make it look as good as (random artist on internet) so you might as well give up now." This is also usually before I've even finished the sketch/linework, so I have like 0 skills with coloring, shading, and fancy digital effects that're commonplace to most artists. (':

I know I might not be the only one, but I've had years of bad esteem about anything other than doodles I do for fun and I'd really like to improve and devote a tad more time to it! (Once school lets up a bit, anyways.)

So, what would your advice be when it comes to getting discouraged due to lack of skill or lack of progress? I know not everyone has the talent, but I figure almost anyone could be at least decent if they practice, and I just wanna get good enough that I can draw for fun again instead of henpecking at my mistakes!

@Cassofish i will sound like ancient lichpriest but..

1. reference study. good illusions require stable reality understanding. That applies to analyzing liked artists' works. Admire, deconstruct, apply..see if it works for you.
2. involving challenges (inktober, draw this again, etc...they exist). They also help with developing daily practice habit.
3. personal work (at least once in a while). Draw what you want to draw, you know like when you were 5. Completely unrestrained and unafraid.
4. timed sessions 20mins-2hrs max. How much close to the desired result can you get within the preferred time limit? It is also good at preventing getting lost in hours of detailing.
5. quantity. Especially in beginning, drawings lost of [thing] will benefit you more than 1 masterpiece of a [thing] that will consume a week or more and will kill your desire to finish bcs its just not looking as you imagine.

@CoffeeCaat

Thank you for the input! Those are all really good pieces of advice, and other than maybe the first one I wouldn't have thought of them at all. I always thought things like Inktober were for artists who were already confident and familiar with their mediums/decent at it at minimum, I was always so intimidated by folks cranking out perfect pieces sometimes in less than a day.

Though 5 gives me some reassurance that my billion WIP's that I like more than any finished project aren't for naught. xD

@Cassofish see the thing with perfection... i dont believe any artist can see their work as perfect. XD (I have like a bunch of wips myself that I just glance over sometimes after 2-3 yrs and then see if can finish)

Rather focus on impact, emotion. Does it convey what you meant? Have you done your best that you currently can?

Also because of this, it's also a good idea to save old works, stash them somewhere and redo after 2-6 months. Like a fav OC for example.
So you can compare and see that you are progressing.

@CoffeeCaat

I could definitely see that, I can count the times I've been satisfied with writing/drawing pieces on one hand. I feel like the two ways it goes are I hate the sketch so I quit right then, or I love the sketch but when I can't get perfectly even/smooth line work on it I'm like nope time to give up

I don't do much drawing of OC's since most of my OC's are humanoids and I get really stressed out/frustrated trying to manage that anatomy/proportions (I'm sure I'll get there, but dragons/animals are way more fun), but revisiting old stuff is a good idea since frankly my old stuff was even more yikes so it might make me feel better

@Cassofish hey.. you can [s]cheat with[/s] use good emotions shortcuts since your brain is working against you [emoji=mirror winking size=1] edit: also, since you are your own critic, you shouldn't be afraid to share imperfect art online. I mean, seriously, can anyone shred it worse than you could? Nope, no fear.

@CoffeeCaat

Good shortcuts.. I'll have to think of some of those. x'D

That's a good point. Honestly the main thing holding me back from sharing online are the two extremes - where nobody even notices it, or where someone steals it/takes credit. I've had the first one happen enough that I get nervous thinking about it!

@Cassofish

Practice— but not just for the sake of practice like people might try to tell you. The best kind of practice is effective practice (like "effective altruism" instead of just being altruistic for the sake of it), studying what you want to improve upon and honing your understanding of it, be it an anatomical weakness or a new subject like a different kind of animal. Even if you are already familiar with a subject, it's good to get some exercise in for your comprehension. Just make sure to give yourself some breaks too, and don't force yourself when you sometimes just need to sit back and let your mentality rest.

Instead of focusing on the anatomy and complex curves of the muscles themselves, try starting with basic shapes to help get proportions and stuff more to your liking— I start with circular shapes for the head, a box for the chest, circles for the shoulder and thorax, and so on. I recommend circles/ovals, squares/rectangles, and triangles until you get the hang of it, but if it doesn't click for you that's okay! It's just what's helped me a lot so you never know if it may help others.

Challenges are also a good way to experiment and improve yourself, like CoffeeCaat mentioned; drawing challenges, contests, and even fanart can really do wonders to the imagination, and it's a fun way to open your eyes to different perspectives. Just make sure you're in some way still interested in the drawing, otherwise it can be hard to keep learning if you don't have the inspiration to finish the piece.

Accept imperfectionism, but don't fail yourself by slacking off completely (otherwise how you gonna enjoy art?). Nobody is perfect... And that is okay. While there are basic fundamentals in art to generally make works of the sort more appealing or successful, that doesn't mean you gotta go with the current— and most importantly, you do not have to hold yourself to ridiculous standards. Having goals and being critical of yourself is great, but it needs to be constructive. If you don't like something, sit back, take a breath or even a little break, then ask yourself that "why?" "Why does the hand look broken to me?" "Why does the face not look quite right?" It is true that artists are their worst critics, and it's so much so that the art community overall undersells their own talent, which is heartbreaking to see. But also, while perfectionism and detail-fixating (whoops) can be a bit too extreme sometimes, there's nothing wrong with taking your time on a piece if you're really feeling the creative juices. But having sketches and stuff that are wonky is okay, great even! They exist to help teach you and figure out what does and doesn't work, so that you can do better on those quote on quote "masterpieces" when you really want to get the lineart or shape right.

I myself still struggle with colouring especially; my drawing originates from using only a mechanical pencil and paper, so I can certainly understand the struggles of learning digital art. There's always YouTube videos you can look up though! Just make sure to consider whether they're constructive tips or not, especially for you and your journey to learn. (Speedpaints and watching how other people started their drawings has been a huge help to me in the past, even if they're from 2014) But if someone has a similar style to you, then it's okay to use them as a reference (even tracing is a good way to learn— just do not claim that work as your own, it's purely for self-teaching purposes and broadening fundamental comprehension (aka get an idea of the shapes used instead of focusing on the minutia). Use references for public/published works, it is okay to use references!)

Speaking of which— never stop learning. You will always learn something new, and if someone is nice enough to offer feedback that is constructive but honest? That's gold right there (aka. make sure to understand the difference between constructive and toxic criticism— ignore trolls and don't let their spite get to you, but appreciate people who take the time to give honest feedback, even if it makes your poor little artist heart go doki-doki in the "omygoddidIscrewup???" way. The answer is no you didn't screw up— you are learning and getting better just about every day, even if it doesn't seem or feel like it. And that's okay :) )

Also sharing your art and getting to interact with people is a great way to boost self-confidence— that's what I'm working on with my skin shop

@cassofish

Hello! I would love to help :D

Something that I think that has helped me get this far is having someone who is better at drawing than me around my entire life. My biggest insiration is my older sister because one, she's better at drawing than me, and two, she's always been there and has tried to help me before. I know this might not apply to you, but it leads into my point.

I personally have many... many...... many inspirations, and one thing I think helped me get better at drawing is just by observing. I have seen several, several animation and drawing tip videos, tutorials, you name it. I also watch a lot of my inspirations on YT or stare really hard at drawings on deviantart. I have always been okay (I think..) at drawing based on what I see, so doing this has helped me a lot.

One thing I have done is drawn is (insert random inspirational artist's) style, of course, without directly tracing, but I use a reference image with their style. After I finish that drawing, I make notes of what I see that they do that I think looks good or nice that I dont already do. Then, I try and draw it without any art of the artist as reference. I only ever try to use one drawing, because this can be seen as 'style theft' or 'art theft' when I'd say it is nothing of the sort. Since after a while of drawing with this way to see things, that person's style has merged with other artists of your inspirations, making this new style of art, yours. One artist I've done this for is SAD-ist, she's one of my biggest inspirations, and the real Kickstarter as to why I started to try and draw humans. I'd say, if you looked at my humans now, you'd see nothing od SAD-ist's style, as I have put forth more of my own understanding in my drawings while using realistic references. I only ever looked at SAD-ist's are for reference for a few days, and then quit. I do not like to use reference for too long, because it may affect how I draw and makes me rely on said person, and it adds a bit of challenge for me. I put to use what I learned from their art without using their art and try and make something out of it.

To list some of my inspirations: XenoDemonorph, NoodleStuff, UnknownSpy, Neytirix, Clockbirds, Typh, and more stylized artists. I feel if you looked at my art, you wouldn't see any representation of their art in it, but they've all helped me learn and grow as an artist. Of course, you can go to art school and learn how to draw professionally, but I've never done that so I can't really say how effective it is.

Basically what I'm saying is, use inspirations. Draw in their styles for a bit, anaylze it, and learn from it. It's how I've gotten better, and I feel it could help others too!

---

To get better at digital is hard for me to say. I've just watched so many speedpaints and tutorials on how to use certain programs and it's all led to the art I make now. It's pretty easy to get a sketch down, but as soon as you want to color, it gets harder. I can't say how I do it. I have switched styles of coloring so many times, to simple shading and coloring, to realistic paint-y styles. I love to experiment with digital art, so I do. One thing I would probably recommend if you are better with traditional art then digital art is to probably get a touchscreen with a stylus, or a screen drawing tablet. I use a touchscreen, but I want a screen tablet. I think it's easier that way, because it's more like drawing traditionally, so it's easier and makes the outcomes look better from personal experience.

Again, one thing i highly recommend is watching speedpaints or tutorials on how to do specific things. They have enlightened me so many times and have helped me improve my style. I recommend Neytirix or Clockbirds for speedpaints, but they have more realistic, paint-esk styles, so if you don't want that then I'd recommend NoodleStuff or Doeprince (Though, their art consists of lots of deer drawings, but you can find other drawing amongst the deer) They are all great artists and I love them!

@Cassofish I'm not going to repeat what Pluto said very well, but something else that's helped me as a primarily self-taught artist is going to YouTube and actually drawing along with different tutorials. That way you can learn while watching great artists and at the same time get better yourself.

Another thing that might be helpful is doing warmup sketches before attempting to draw something specific, this will let you explore different ideas in sketch form before deciding on a pose or idea that you want for your final piece. Always look at references while you do this so you're somewhat accurate on the anatomy or perspective.

As for art theft, there's nothing you can really do sadly. if you're that worried about it I believe you can make most social media profiles private, but if you want people to see your work theft comes as an innate risk. Ways to avoid this include watermarking, adding a signature close enough that you can't crop the image, or I guess having a unique enough style that if theft does happen you can easily report it without the person having much of an argument.