A wild nerd has appeared!
Ok, so I'm not exactly the best art drawing either, but I've been drawing for a long time, so I certainly know a bit when it comes to trying to improve.
First things first. The thing about improving art is it's pretty much about forming new habits, and that's hard to do. You have to draw a LOT in order to get these habits down. And I mean a LOT of a lot. If you're feeling stressed, make sure to take a break. I think the worst thing to do when you're drawing is let it stress you out. It's supposed to be fun, after all. It kinda sucks, but learning to accept that you're never going to feel perfect is very important when it comes to improving art. There's always going to be something you wish you knew how to do better, so you've got to learn to stomach it and try to find ways of teaching yourself those things.
Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about some methods of improving!
I think the best ways to improve your art is through being observant. It's hard sometimes, but if you see a piece that's doing something you want to know how to do, like maybe draw holding hands, try to figure out what you do differently from them and try their methods. You probably wont get it the first time, but it helps you correct mistakes.
Also, tracing and doing art studies are really important. Like, trace bodies and stuff all the time. it's not bad to need to trace or get references (just be careful about claiming things as your own). Tracing can really help you figure out how bodies and things like that work. Also, do some art studies (pretty much just directly recreating someone else's work). It can help you figure out what they did and teach you their techniques. (Just make sure you don't claim the work as your own.)
Another tip, there's an idea that's kinda odd but also helpful with this whole observe and draw thing; draw the shapes, not the thing. Like, it's kinda weird, but say you're drawing from a picture of an extended arm, so the hand is reaching out to you. (I really suck at this) but instead of trying to draw the arm the way you think you should, just pay attention to the lines. Like, even if a certain line looks like it's long because you know how long it would be with out the foreshortening, force yourself to know that the line itself is really short, and draw it that way. (That might not have made sense...)
I could probably pull up some more ideas to help or maybe some references or tutorials that I like to use, but I feel like this is good for now. Feel free to tell me if you need any help or advice!!
Topic: Trying to improve drawing skills, need help on where to begin (Read 2473 times)