I’ve always been the “artsy sort” for as long a I can remember. When I was little I realized creating art made me feel like no other… but it wasn’t until much later that I decided I wanted to make a career out of my art– but ultimately, I wanted to exceed my own expectations and teach myself in areas I lacked. Here are the three things I did consistently to enhance my skills.
Everything Takes Time
“Every great artist has a closet full of bad paintings.” –David Young
Nothing worth having comes without a price. Sometimes that price is waiting… Perfection is not ever achieved over night, and sometimes it’s not even achieved in years. However, if you give it your best and set goals for how you will measure you improvement, you will see success.
Learn From Others
You don’t have to always have a bonified teacher teach you or even a tutorial. I have found that sometimes the greatest instruction you can get is watching others do their thing. For instances, sometimes I sketch portraits in color pencil. The greatest challenge when doing replicating people for me is their eyes. For hours at a time I would watch other, more advanced artists draw portraits from start to finish. And though I do not consider myself to have arrived at my overall goal (which is hyper realism) I have seen major improvement and it did not even take me a whole year to color realistically.
Practice, Practice, Practice!
“What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?” –Vincent Van Gogh
Always keep trying! Never give up. When you mess up try again. It’s honestly so much easier said than done but you’ll be better for it. And while practicing, know when to quit for the day. Somedays it seems that no matter what you do you can’t draw that angle or paint that shadow. On those days it’s best to revamp, as in, put what you’re working on down and use that time to watch some other’s do what you’re attempting. Watching tutorials is never wrong, but watching other in action is sometimes the best way to learn!
Except Critics
An additional great way to improve is to get constructive criticism from others. I recommend asking people who have mastered the skill you’re learning for a) how the overall composition looks to then and b) how they would fix any issues they find. Never fear to ask for help when you don’t know. You’ll be better for it!