Help me improve
Replies
Alright, I used to draw A LOT when I was younger. It was only recently that I stopped, which is both a same and a blessing. I get so stressed when drawing but at the same time, I love to draw. Weird yeah? Anyway, I got the urge to draw again so I used my avatar on here as the subject since I think she is adorable. I've since put her in all of my posts so I don't see a reason to post another picture and make two of the same on one post. Any advice or critiques is greatly appreciated! ❤
Hi I used to draw when I as younger as well and picked up drawing almost a year ago (: (Now I can't go one day without drawing as it works relaxing for me).
You should never stress when drawing. Try to relax when you draw and don't push yourself too much. Drink a cup of tea or eat a nice snack to reward yourself. I was stressing quite a lot as well but I made the switch of who cares this drawing came out not as I wanted? Its progress! Next time better and you will also know what you did wrong which will help you do avoid the next time (It's also a good sign when you can see your mistakes).
If you don't feel your art isn't what you want, then try to look up tutorials and video's to try out or to see how other people do it. Or try to draw things you can draw and try slowly to ease yourself into drawing before picking up complicated things. Drawing with pencil and paper will help you to improve as well. That's how I got back into drawing and I recently took the step to draw digitally after wasting a lot of paper and hair pulling haha.
(I'm no expert but I just wanted to share you my experience. Also welcome to Subeta!)
If you're picking up drawing again after years of not having drawn I think it's a lot easier to just start simple and work up to more advanced than trying to go full-on into the deep end if there's techniques that you're not quite as adept in anymore. I also agree that focusing on drawing in pencil and paper first is better than diving head-long into digital. The techniques are very different and the way that I draw when I'm on digital is different than how I draw when I'm strictly using physical materials such as pen and ink. It's also interesting and fun to explore different material for drawing so that your interest is piqued and you don't get bored from drawing.
Secondarily, focus on drawing and getting back into the enjoyment of drawing. I've always drawn for fun, and for calming purposes, as drawing is a source of de-stressing for me, but I think that if you end up focusing on the technique and being perfect from the get-go you lose focus on the enjoyable aspect of drawing as well. Technique will need to be learned so you improve, without a doubt, but if you haven't drawn in a long time, there's a lot to be said about actually wanting to draw instead of feeling like you have to to improve.
That seems like a great attitude to have! I guess years of being on DeviantArt have made me feel like I need to be really competitive with my art (To get commissions and such) and I started to not like it as much. I think the aspect that I had to be the best right then right there really got to me. Thanks for your advice.
I've actually recently bought some India Ink to try and play with, along with some regular acrylics. Do you happen to know what the best paper for ink is? I guess I was afraid of going back to the basics because I thought that would be kinda like regression, but I realize now that it's not like that at all. I don't think I ever really found a "style" so now might be a good time to play with finding that.
Thank you both for your kind words and advice!
With ink, it honestly depends on how much you're putting down. I've been drawing in ink with either brush pens or fountain pens with ink in them and those are just fine in a regular sketchbook. However, if you're doing ink washes, you'll need heavier paper just so the water doesn't warp the paper/ink doesn't bleed through. If you are thinking of doing ink washes then I'd recommend watercolor paper since the water won't bleed through and warp the paper. The other option is just try experimenting with different papers at local art shops and go with the ones you like. Different papers will react to ink in different ways.
As for acrylics and I assume you mean straight up acrylic paints like Liquitex, you can find cheap canvas boards at most art shops. I used to use them in college and they weren't more than 75 cents to a dollar a board usually, but they're great for smaller pieces, experimenting with acrylic paints for pictures, stuff like since they're fairly cheap and inexpensive. You're also not lugging around a larger canvas painting.
Looks like I'll be taking a trip to my craft stores...Like that's a bad thing though, lol! I was worried ink would need special paper (Other than watercolor paper) Thanks for being so helpful!
Art papers are so fun to experiment with. :D
But nah, you may want to test the ink, but I haven't had issues with my ink pens bleeding through regular copy paper when I'm being cheap and don't have art papers with me. If you're painting with ink though , say using a brush and ink then you'll want heavier papers though.
I've recently decide to improve my tecnique a bit so I'm doing one sketch a day using the Loomis tecnique to draw the head a, if you're unfamiliar with it I suggest googling as it's very interesting and HERE there's an introductive video to give you an idea of what it is =D