#because I didn't want to hold myself back with anatomy and proportions when all I wanted to do for this was studying colour

[pixels-art-stuff]

Finished :D

[margindoodles2407]

How did you start drawing? What were your first favorite things to draw?

Oooh boy. So. First of all. Sorry this is so late. Second of all. Here we go

I've been drawing... pretty much my whole life. My mom's an art major, and so I've been surrounded by that for as long as I can remember. She also passed onto me a deep love of art history, and my favorite period to study is the Northern Renaissance (in fact if you pop over to my art blog my profile pic is FROM the northern renaissance :D )

But I didn't seriously get into drawing- like, drawing obsessively, the way I do now- until COVID. Don't get me wrong, I've always enjoyed it and I've been margin-doodling (haha see what i did there) pretty much ever since I could hold a pencil properly. (fun fact i actually used to get in trouble for this way back in primary school but i mean. nothing ever really came of it am i right because here i am years later and still doing it.)

You see, when COVID hit, myself and my (then) five siblings had the joy of discovering an animated series called Gravity Falls. Though I'd enjoyed stories before, and had even obsessed over stories before (The Lord of the Rings and, yes, Star Wars quickly spring to mind), I consider it the first real fandom I'd ever been in, and it's near and dear to my heart for many reasons. One of those is that it helped me to grow and mature and stop being a bratty pre-teen. The other is that it was the first thing I'd ever seriously wanted to draw for.

It was the show that first caused me to seek out quality supplies and sketchbooks. It was the show that started me down the path of learning anatomy. It was the show that taught me how to stylize, how to color and shade and learn proportions. I'd always liked to draw, but it's the show that truly taught me to draw.

From there things only spiraled, like a snowball rolling down a hill with me haplessly trapped inside. From Gravity Falls, I went on to Amphibia, and from there to The Legend of Zelda. Each one taught me new skills, each one gave me new joys, each one even taught me new forms of art (Amphibia was the first story I ever wrote actual fic for, and Zelda was what got me into cosplay and replicating in-universe artifacts).

And then, about a year ago, I came home to Star Wars (the first world I'd ever fallen in love with), and that, I guess, brings you up to speed :)

[freeindarkness]

When I was a beginner with digital, the biggest obstacle I faced was not getting discouraged. When I started, I hated how my style translated to digital; my blending wasn't smooth, my colors didn't look good anymore, my proportions were out of whack. I tried to look for anything that could to help me. Tutorial after tutorial, Youtube video after video, reference after reference. In the end, nothing helped. I went through a period of time my style kept changing over and over again, because I was trying to adhere to the digital tutorials I was feeding myself. In the end, that only made me more discouraged. I gave up digital art for a good year~.

I came back to it with a vengeance. I was eager to create digital art. I purchased the best tablet I could and, guess what, my digital work still looked like garbage. The only reason I looked on it as garbage was because it didn't compare to the other digital art I saw all over social media~.

What I would have wanted to hear as a digital art beginner was 'give yourself time'. I was rushing myself, looking to improve by the day. In actuality, I only began really improving two years into it. But don't let that discourage you. To any beginner digital artists out there, no tutorial or art tips can really help you. My recommendation is to reflect on your own art and simply experiment. Reach out of your comfort zones. Practice technique, design, anatomy, color, and perspective like you would with traditional art. Continue at the same rate you would with traditional. Do not get discouraged if you don't see improvement or that your digital art doesn't look as good compared to your traditional work. Give yourself time. Work on your own style, spot your strengths, hold on to them, and practice your weaknesses. When you think you can't draw, go back to the basics: draw a figure drawing or a still life. Trust me, you will improve with time. You will gain confidence with time. You will see dramatic improvement if you treat yourself and your work with respect, and allow yourself time~ 💕

@theshyreader