Tips and tricks I have learned along the way to becoming a better artist. The first one is that making mistakes helps you learn how to improve. The second one is doing art studies. The third one is to just draw. Don’t care about whether or not the thing you are working on will inspire someone else. Don’t worry about whether or not you can sell it at a later date. If you’re doing it right, you will find fault in your work, that’s how you improve.
The first tip, that I mentioned was allow yourself to make mistakes. Unless you are a prodigy and super powered, you will always make mistakes when you create. Some of these quirks will add to your work, some will annoy you. The key is to allow yourself to do it. Don’t give up drawing if you cannot get the gesture on the hands right. Keep practicing that piece over and over again until it makes sense to you. The goal is to gain a form of muscle memory that will help you do it instinctively next time. While you are working on that muscle memory, you will find lots of flaws. After you have gained it, there will still be flaws. Go with it.
Tip number two. Art studies are your friend. No seriously, look through a bunch of images or get a photobook on a specific subject. Then practice drawing things within that book. When you’ve got art block the best way to get out of it is to look through images and start drawing those. Pick something that you feel you’re not great at or that you feel you could improve drawing, then draw it. Focus on one specific piece within that image. If you love doing portraits, try drawing a landscape. If you draw landscapes try drawing a bird or a hand. Do not focus on the “bigger picture” focus on a single point and make that piece better. The art study is for you, not for anyone else so it doesn’t matter how good the rest of the image is. Just focus on the part you are studying, until you are satisfied.
Tip number 3. A lot of art involves muscle memory. Just like learning to make letters took time, or learning to ride a bike etc. Each thing takes a different set of muscles and a different set of skills. The more you do something the easier that task will become because your muscles will remember how to do it. Try to practice a little bit per day, just a tiny sketch here and there. If you sketch something that you want to turn into something more, do it. For those with busy schedules. Sketch a little at a time, then when you have time feel free to make that piece into something bigger or more intense. Don’t focus on perfection, focus on understanding the form. Try to train your muscles to create the thing that you’re working on. Think of it as training your hands and your eyes to bring what you see in your mind to life. It won’t always go the way you planned but the more you practice the closer you will get. Sometimes you will create something that you hadn’t intended but it surpasses what you were initially thinking of.
Final piece of advice? Don’t be afraid to stop. Sometimes you just hate the thing you’re working on. It’s ok not to like every piece you make. You can stop and decide to try something else for a while. You may come back to it and you may not. That is ok.
Until next time Art fans!