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? Image …show more content…
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 you haven't. (Rome wasn't built in a day.) By “practice”, I mean you need to 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 to 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 NOT good. But when you “steal”, which means to borrow the artist's elements and mix in your own style with it, you haven't just duplicated it. You've added your own personal twist to it. 3. Don't give up, and don't draw to be …show more content…
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. 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 with references. 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 newbies fall. When you reference from something, learn to discriminate what elements of what you see fit the drawing, image you’re trying to produce in your current style and/or amount of details. The sooner you learn the difference between referencing and trying to be a human carbon paper, the sooner you’ll start enjoying your uniqueness, your individuality. Which brings me to our last point. 5. Don't draw to be like another artist. Find your own