Question about your art journey from someone who's still learning and aspire to reach your level!
I'm shocked you're only 16!?!? How did you get so good?? Did you follow any courses any inspos that got you to this level? what did youuu first learn and what things are you learning now? I'm so shocked I can't believe you can make finished compositions artwork so easily! I know everybody's art experience is different, but I'd like advice or to hear from you specifically and how you got here, like how you do your compositions how you learnt anatomy clothing folds the patience, how long it takes to finish an artwork fully colored rendered posed etc.
( Compared to you, I can barely finish an artwork or keep things consistent, so indecisive that I always switch brushes, but can you blame me theres so many options! And I'm unsure on what path I should follow, right now I'm trying to fix my flaws like if I can't draw something right the legs the ears I'll be focusing on them to get them right. but from my perspective you look like you're on a clear path and that you're a fast learner.
WOW thank you so much!! 🥹 There is no straightforward way to answer this and it doesn’t help that I’m very bad at explaining LOL but I’ll do my best!!
I’ll preface by saying that I’ve been drawing my whole life, but I’ve only been drawing digitally for about 5-6 years. Of course, like with any other hobby, practice makes perfect, but I’ve actually had a very rocky relationship with art and I find that I’ve only gotten comfortable once I find a style that is versatile and also easy to replicate over and over again.
The most important thing for me is being able to observe. My style uses mostly geometric shapes in order to stylize faces and bodies and fabric, so the thing I rely on most is references. I’ve learned that you can’t rely on a “structure” when drawing things such as faces. Their shape and silhouette varies a lot depending on the expression and angle, so you have to get used to drawing what you see. This goes for many other things as well such as hair and clothes. The silhouette is the most important part, and once you have that, it becomes a lot easier to add in the details. Also, I find that sketching with a soft brush is ideal because I like to set the details down later on with the lineart. Getting the foggy idea down is the best way to go! Here’s an example of my sketch compared to the final piece.
Another thing that I find really helped me improve is developing line confidence. Especially when I’m doing lineart, having a brush with varied thickness depending on pressure can help add dimension to my piece. Quick, confident strokes is how I manage to keep my stuff looking “neat” without having to go through the effort of cleaning it up. This brings me to my next point, which is finding a style that suits YOU. My style is not original to me; I try to copy pieces that I like and find visually appealing. The way I color and draw lines is based on what I’ve seen, but even then I’m not able to replicate it perfectly 1 to 1, although this is useful because from that point on I’m able to develop my own style by referencing myself (if that makes any sense 😭)
As to how I’m able to finish my drawings, I’ll give a few tips:
1. This one is super important: visualize what you want the final piece to look like in your head, and think of all the components (as in characters, background (even if it’s simple)). Consider how much space your character or subject takes up in your canvas, because this can determine whether your piece looks finished or not.
2. Coloring with more saturated colors gives your piece more life. Even if you don’t draw a background, consider the setting and pick your colors based on that. I find that having nice colors to start with motivates me to finish the piece. Trying to figure it out in between makes it a lot more stressful.
3. I don’t really do any rendering in my art. I’m able to finish pieces because my process is quick. Lineart is fast and simple. Coloring is done quickly, I usually just cell shade with two darker shades than the base. That is pretty much my whole process; it’s easy to remember and also easy to replicate. Finding a style that will suit you and one that you can stick with will make finishing your work a lot easier. I used to take veeeeerrryyyy long when I hadn’t found a style yet, and I would almost never finish anything I started. This was the case up until about a year ago, when I developed a simple style that motivated me to finish the piece.
As to how long I take it really depends. I’d say I average about 4-5 hours per piece but that is also considering that I procrastinate a lot and get distracted 😭. If I were to start and finish a piece without a complex background in one sitting I’d say it would probably take me about 2-3 hours. Some of my more complex pieces like the one below do take me longer, but it’s not all that much. On procreate this one tracks 10 hours, but again, I procrastinate a lot and go back and forth and I work on pieces throughout the span of many days because I’m busy doing other things in between.
Some final notes is that it’s very easy to get frustrated and drop a piece altogether. This still happens a lot to me which is why I don’t post all that often haha. But once I’ve developed my style I find that I get better at getting things right on the first try. Again, gather references because these will be the main things that guide you. Learn to observe in order to also learn anatomy. Simple things such as how arms bend and how necks attach to the head can go a long way in making your anatomy look better! Of course this all depends on whether your style is more cartoony or realistic. Mine leans into both in the sense that I simplify and stylize realistic shapes. The most important thing is to develop confidence! It will show in your work and also help you follow through on your process.
Sorry if this was very vague I don’t know how to phrase it well but I hope I’m able to get some ideas across!
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