Here are things I wish that someone told me when I started posting/doing art:
1: I know it sucks but you won’t get your art noticed right away. So be patient and enjoy sharing your art even if it seems no one is looking.
2: Do not take request that you know will take you more than 30 minutes. If it takes longer, that’s what commissions are for. Often people will abuse that you are an artist taking request and will give very elaborate requests.
3: Speaking of commissions, do not price ANYTHING under $5. Please value your art. I promise you the people that will complain the “it’s over priced” are cheap. If they actually want your art, they would pay for it as is.
4: SAVE SAVE SAVE. If you do digital art, save it at least every 15 minutes. Save every piece of art, don’t throw it away or delete it.
5: DATE YOUR ART. At the end of last year is when I actually started dating my art within the file name. Example: “6-13-Girl” and have a folder for each year. This would save time when you’re trying to remember when you did an old piece of art or are creating a portfolio.
6: For the love of god, you don’t have to finish everything. Do practice sketches without them turning into elaborate hours of work.
7: Continuing from 6, YOUR SKETCHBOOK IS A SKETCHBOOK FOR A REASON. That’s where you practice. Don’t worry about a drawing not being perfect, the book is for practicing.
8: You don’t have to show someone your sketchbook if you don’t want to. Just say, “I’d rather you not, it’s very personal” and leave it at that.
9: Post your practices and ask for feedback. P.S. take “you need to work on ______ but good color choice!” as feedback and “your art sucks” as someone being an ass.
10: Don’t trace references or others artwork. It will literally not help you in the long run. A good example of how to use a ref is sketch the basic shape and add details as you go.
11: Don’t tighten you hand when you draw or aka don’t carve into the paper. Keep your strokes light when doing the basic shapes then add to darken the lines when you like them. This will save frustration of it not being able to erase.
12: WATCH SPEEDPAINTS. Slow them down if needed and learn from other artists and take the techniques you like from it. This especially works for visual learners.
13: Try tutorials even if you don’t like the style. You won’t know you like doing something unless you try it, that’s how people improve their art as well.
14: If you look through my blog, you can see that I do A LOT of redraws. I find them important to do sometimes to see your progress and show you what you need to work on.
15: Most importantly: Remember that your favorite artists, no matter their age, have been working on their drawing skills for years. It’s taken me 6 years to get my art where I like it and I’m still improving like everyone else.
Any other artists that would like to add or correct, feel free!
snowghoul
2087
ellievsbear
gamechangershow
prguitarman
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
origamiaround
