February, 2016
Brand new to digital art, I didn't know what a stabilizer was (clearly)
October, 2020
4 years of insecurity, failure, letting go of old hopes and dreams (which I'm okay with, it wasn't meant for me), long LONG periods of art block, experimenting, and good ol' fashioned perseverance have brought me to this point.
Practice doesn't always mean drawing the same thing over and over, I haven't just been drawing pandas for 4 years straight lmao. I haven't drawn consistently the past 4 years, either. In fact, I think I only drew 3 things in 2019. I've drawn 2 things in 2020 so far. A lot of artists will tell you to just practice; which is correct, that's good advice. But I would like to expand on that. My advice to you is learn from other artists, spend time absorbing media of the style most like your own or the one you want to have (Good writers read. Good artists consume art.) or even talk to other artists if you know any! And experiment. Every single time I sit down and draw, I try something new. I don't even go in with the intention of trying something most of the time, in the middle of drawing I'll just go, "I wonder how this will look..." and I try it. I try several different things, I try new techniques I've never used before. Experimenting is a great way to hone your craft and to help you find your style. Finding your style can be tough, and your style won't always look the same every time in all honesty, because you're always improving and your tastes change! Also sometimes you don't improve, and that's okay too! Creativity isn't a straight line to success. It's a rollercoaster. Sometimes you'll have long periods where you don't draw at all, like me the majority of 2019 and 2020. Sometimes it's just Off and it's not the quality you'd like it to be. But no matter where you are on your creative rollercoaster, there is always room for improvement, new things to learn, stuff to experiment with! Keep trying! You can only get better!!