#i like to redraw things and see the improvement so maybe 1 day the stuff with concepts i like will be good enough to share

[lesbiangiratina]

New laptop downloading my beloved firealpaca i will try to draw some testaments this month. I drew them almost every day last august i can do this probably. Ive barely drawn since then so i should probably do something basic but well i want to draw them like this with 1 of their straw dolls

[annawayne]

Heeeello Anna! :3 I'm back to pester you in the inbox!

You may not have seen this, but this artist ask game... I've got questions for you!

1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 14, 15, 21, 34, 35

(ahahaha... That's a lot.... Ahaha.... Welp ....?)

But! No hurries, and I'm sorry if this eats at your precious time but I'd be happy to hear you talk more about your art! (Can never get enough tbh :3)

Hope you're doing a bit better now, Anna, please take care and you're loved!

Oh, Moon T^T

Hello, and you're right, I didn't even see this artist ask game (maybe, some time ago, so I don't even remember...), and thank you so much for thinking about me and for asking all this stuff T_T I have a lot of fun answering it, and it really distracted me from everything else going on in life since last weeks are quite difficult. But I'll be fine, and thank you for all of these questions, I appreciate you and your attention so much!

1 what medium do you use most (if applicable, what software)?

As I'm drawing now digitally, so I draw in Adobe Photoshop. I'm familiar with this software since my early teens, so it's very comfortable for me :D

When I was drawing traditionally, I primarily worked with pencils. I tried watercolour a few times, too. I have a very soft spot for oil - and I hope to develop this one day, too.

3 your favorite piece(s)?

Oh, what a question... I guess, for now, these ones:

4 piece you wish got more love?

All of them :D

I guess, these ones:

5 how would you describe your art style?

(I really want to joke and just refer to 21 question but well, let's take it seriously :D)

I guess, I can call it "cinematic poetry" - there's a very long way to go to really match the title, but this is what I aim for.

6 favorite thing to draw?

Oh, good question, Moon! As for the sketch stage, I really love to draw clothes, and when it comes to the stage of rendering - faces (primarily, eyes and hair, but I love the whole process and always try to improve my face renders skills...) and backgrounds!

8 thing you struggle to draw?

I think, when it comes to the rendering - HANDS. I think, my sketches of hands are not bad, but when I render them, oh boi, here comes the struggle. As a result, it seems fine, I suppose, but it's always a product of a lot of swearing and redrawing :D

14 whats your favorite thing about drawing?

Telling stories though different dimension. I like to combine in drawing both cinematography and literature, and it sounds a bit funny, because it's two different art directions, but still, I want to tell stories though a lot of things which combine these arts: details, emotions, lighting, and as if when you look at the art - you can hear all the vivid noises around the characters of life going one around and of characters themselves speaking, but then, as if they were caught in a moment, and then, I try to show this moment in my drawings. Or, when it's more of conceptual art, it also can tell a story, but differently - not like a frozen mundane life moment, but rather like a whole story behind it, and instead of these frozen ordinary life moments where the story is also told, here, the story told through not so evident details, starting from the pose to the colour palette itself.

I know I have a long way to go with it, but this is what I'm trying to improve and this is what I always aimed for.

15 least favorite thing about drawing?

Hm, very good question, to be honest. I thought about it for a while, since I can't really grasp if I can name such thing, but I think that it's both good and bad thing - that it's a lifetime commitment, that you should accept that you will study the whole life. From one side, it's wonderful and it's the whole fascinating journey, on the other hand - it can be really frustrating and draining not to be able to transfer your ideas from your head into the actual image, and while a lot of artists realize it, it doesn't make it easier to get disappointed sometimes. So, I would say, it's both good and bad thing, and how we look at it - depends on us :D

21 what do you think your artstyle would taste like?

I won't lie, this question sent me into a great reflection, and then I ended up questioning my art style in general, ha-ha-ha... But alright, hm, I think, croissant with orange jam? Don't ask. Just... Croissant. That's it.

34 whats something you still like from your old art?

Oh... Hm, I think from the beginning, they had great composition. I try to improve it now, of course, but I guess it was from the beginning a very great composition and "camera" shot. So this, this for sure!

35 if you had one piece of advice to give your younger artist self, what would it be?

Come, and do it, you're much stronger and braver than you think you are. It counts for many things, to be honest, and not only art, but yes, I would just hug my past self and tell myself that you're much more than you think you are.

Thank you so much, Moon, for all of it - for these questions, for your thoughts to ask me this in the first place and for your interest and support T_T It's priceless, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

P.s. I learned with this post that the post has a limited amount of images you can add... I didn't know we could add only 10 images... Woah...

[ryemackerel]

HALLO i was wondering how you get out of art block?? your art is very expressive and i absolutely adore all your colour choices and designs. ive been having trouble with art block for a very long time now so i’m just trying to ask other artists how they get outta it <3 i hope u have a niceday yesyes

OUGHH HELLO!!! holy crap, art block is the WORST. everytime i encounter it, its always hard to beat it D: theres days where i feel like i WANT to draw something so badly but my brain just. cant function

i dont have a definitive solution for art block, but whenever i do, i have a few ways to cope with it. sometimes they work, sometimes they dont? but whenever the time comes and im just sitting at a brick wall, i got some survival tips

1. come up with random silly ideas,, it could be anything: random words, phrases, scenarios. they can be as nonsensical as you want them to be. during art blocks, my mind is completely dry with ideas, so i always try to compile a list of ideas from the past so i can come back to them later on. i try to come up with random duos or something as simple as “mcdonalds date”. i might not work on these now, but maybe some random lil word can spark that creativity in me

heres my art ideas list… i have some ideas that are like 8 months old in there BGAHSGA, but i save em there till i feel like working on them

2. STRUGGLE DOODLES!! i like to make a bunch of doodles of random scenes that i think about in my head. doodle practically anything. your favorite person, favorite animal, something you see outside your window, frogs?

heres a few of mine. most of the time, i NEVER get to finishing them. however, during art blocks sometimes i like to go back to really old, incomplete guidelines and add some new, random addition to it. sometimes i forget what my sketches were exactly meant to be? and i guess thats the fun about interpreting stuff and giving things a new spin to them. during art blocks, i HATE trying to come up with new drawings from a blank canvas (since i dont even have any ideas to begin with). but working on old wips, or completely revising them? sometimes these can be super fun :]

[and bonus tip!! and this is like, a golden tip that everyone loves: going back to super old drawings and redrawing them!! its my favorite. i absolutely love seeing the improvement ive made over the years. its also pretty easy to work with since you dont have to stress about coming up with completely new ideas from a blank slate! GAHH i should do that more often.]

3. search up your favorite fanart, go on pinterest, anything. i love this one.

search up some really cool photos of outfits, aesthetic backgrounds?? i find myself searching up a lot of fanart of fandoms im in, any word with “aesthetic” at the end, casino aesthetic, anything! pinterest has always been my go-to platform to find ideas. i go on the app and not even a second in, im blown with all of this cool art n character designs. i have a problem saving almost everything i find into my boards, but at least i saved a chock-full of ideas i can work with. :)

a thing about me: ive never been the type to try and force my art block out. whenever im facing a block, its extremely difficult for me to come up with things on my own. sometimes i let it wait for a while, but that tends to take a REALLY long time. D: if i dont feel like drawing, or doodling, or really doing anything? i always like scrolling through really pretty photos. that tends to spark a small idea in me i can work with, and sometimes i manage to get out of art block from there. it starts out small, then over time it gets even better.

these photos especially gave me WAY more motivation than i ever had to draw wilbur during an art block moment. i started off making small random doodles of him in a neon city and over time it kinda turned into a fixation for neon cities. i LOVE imagining characters in random photos i find on pinterest.

wishing you the bestest in your art journey!! this crap’s tough but i know you can break it yo. thank you so much for the ask!

feel free to reblog and add your own ideas below :] i was only able to come up with a few, but if youd like to add on, go right ahead! /noforce

[sevinss]

I LIVE THEREFOR UPDATE TIME

Yes it is quite late but I will be reblogging this on the morning and the next few days so most of my active followers sees it!

Well first of all. The past 3-4 month was one hell-hole. Loads os assigments to finish, being informed in April that we have to finish our thesis work (i worked in a team) until may 4th not june, completly rewamp and finish the thesis work until may 11th (the principal was nice enough to give us 1 more week). I had a lot of sleepless nights, lot of sketch that i couldn’t finish, lot of anger, sadness i had to hold (since some personal life things also came up). So yeah, mostly why i didn’t post too much is because i was too busy with these.

But it’s over. It’s past may 11th and i submited my team thesis work and we are finished. I learned a lot during this time, both my artstyle and way of doing my work has improved. But i also learned a very painfull yet true thing about myself as an artist

I don’t want to animate nor draw for a living...

Now before any panics (probably not a lot of people XD), let me explain. I do not want to learn graphics, nor character designing nor illustration nor animation as a main job. Working in a team made me realise that im an easly angerable person if things don’t go the way i hoped it would, i forget things easly and i have a roller coaster of a mood waves for drawing. Yet...

Drawing is my passion. It is what kept me alive for this long, it is what helped me find people who dare a lot to me, and those who i lost, and those who i still have and maybe people who also count me dare to themselfs. It is what truly gives me joy, to draw friends characters, or just a random person’s character because i liked the design or my own characters...

So some changes are coming to my life. Drawing will be a hobby for now, not a main direction to build a future myself, it is my joy, but not my future to live a life money and carrier wise but rather to be here, with you guys. Im not a big person, i dont make world changing art, but it warms my heart every time i see a regular person liking my post, heck i dont care if they even like it, if somehow i know they saw it and liked it im happy.

Thats the most important thing i learned. Appriciate what i already have and not what i could. I have you all, small group of friends and regular comebyers who keep my posts somewhat active TwT.

So thank you

As for the future. I dont know. I planned to redraw the Bridge Keeper complitly, since i started it a while ago and i doesnt like how past Sev did the work so i will fix some stuffs. Will i be more active? I dont know... Im planning to learn IT managment since i have a thing for PCs and IT so i could get a job but for now, lets just hope ^w^ Again thank you everyone who patiently waited here for me and was here when i sometimes popped out of the shadow. Hopefully i can repay you all!

Big hugs!

[kodoku-roxi]

I must ask how you draw so much great detail in your art, because whenever I try to draw with a lot of detail it ends up very muddled. Do you have any tips? (you don't have to answer, I'm just always looking for tips to improve :P)

A lot of practice! And references. Lots of references.

For robots/androids, sometimes I draw for 1-2 hours to see which elements fit together.. and certainly, the elements that don't match what I want will match something else. (But, in some cases, too many details or elements are not really good, in some cases.) [[ It's quite difficult for me because I think that the elements/pieces I draw need to make sense, how its neck or hands or fingers move, and it turns into a disaster XD ]]

In general, if I want to draw something idk ex: a jacket, I google it, see what it looks like and customize it, add things and stuff. The resolution is important if you want to draw many details.. I take into account that the jacket has seams, a certain texture, buttons and zippers, maybe I'll add some badges, emblems, etc.. (Obviously, you can avoid drawing some things, it's not necessary to draw absolutely all the details.) Oh and if the jacket doesn't look the way I want, I'll redraw it. [[ The idea is that for me a drawing is never definitively finished, there will always be places for changes and improvement. ]]

These things are very much about practice and obviously your experience, and in general, no matter what style of drawing you have adopted, it never hurts to have one or two references to draw on... You can also look for references for colors, and even save them somewhere to use them later, in other drawings..

[[ I personally work on a drawing for 3 days-ish. But not constant, I usually have another 2 or 3 (or even 4) drawings that I work on, (but I don't recommend you to do this..) and if I reach a result that satisfies me, I start colouring it, but even then it is possible to change some elements or add more details, I may erase some of them. ]]

[stellar-imagines]

SCENARIO REQUEST: ❝buried in art.❞

[ Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia ] [ Characters: Class 1-A ]

「You developed a habit of drawing in your sketchbook and often drew in the middle of the class. Aizawa catches you drawing in class and make you go up and share it with everyone.」

You didn't know when it started but before you realized it, you've completely turned into someone who's obsessed with drawing. At the very start, it was supposed to be a method to relieve stress but it soon changed into a hobby. When you're free, you would sit on your desk, drawing something. On the day your friends decided to go for a picnic, you were dragged to a spacious field with a huge carpet of grass and a few trees providing shade. The sky was blue and the weather was just right, the girls had decided to play some game while you sat under the shade, watching your friends run around while drawing the landscape.

You loved your classmates. They were all amazing people you came to appreciate, and they each had a special place in your heart. Maybe not Mineta that much, but it’s not like you wished the guy was dead, he just seriously needed to respect women and keep his fantasies to himself. You've been drawing a bit too much of landscape that you wanted a change of pace. It started with doodles of the girls since you have a lot of pictures taken together with them but you would just change up the style a bit. They had great style and dressed up in cute clothes. Slowly, you decided to draw some of the boys. 

By now, you had at least drawn half of your classmates, your sketchbook was packed with various landscape drawings in the first half of your sketchbook and in the other half, there were doodles of your classmates. It wasn't that you're too shy to share it with your friends but they never seem to be bothered by the fact that you're always carrying around that book with you. Some managed to get a peek of what you're drawing from time to time but have never seen the end product.

As Aizawa went on and on about something during homeroom, you found yourself daydreaming a bit. The day before you were training your quirk and exercising in the gym, with everyone improving so vastly, you wanted to change to and decided to train all on your own. You looked down to see your sketchbook opened, a half-empty page greeting you. The occasional on taps from Todoroki who sat behind you kept you awake and you seriously have to thank him once class is over.

"[Last Name]."

The moment your teacher called your name, you were wide awake and alert, wondering why he suddenly called out to you. Maybe it was because you almost fell asleep 10 times? It has to be. Despite the anxiety swelling in your chest, you swallowed the saliva that pooled beneath your tongue and nervously gazed at your teacher.

"Yes, sir?" For a moment, you felt his gaze on you and you instinctively blinked, hoping that you were just imagining things. Aizawa's eyes were focused entirely on you and you couldn't help but think that you're in trouble now. You hoped that he would just tell you to go and wash your face to stay awake or remind you not to fall asleep and stay awake or something. By now, everyone had their attention on you.

"Is there something you want to share with us? Your face was practically buried in that sketchbook of yours."

"N-No! It's not like that, sensei!" you tried to wave it off with a smile, hoping that he would let you off.

"Get up here and share it with the class, maybe that way you won't be sleepy for the rest of my class." Aizawa said. With an exasperated groan and the realization that you can never win against your teacher, your grabbed your book and sauntered to the front of the class.

"Now that I think about it, what kind of stuff does [Last Name] draw anyway? She's always drawing something in her sketchbook." Kirishima muttered out loud.

"I've seen her draw some landscape, kero. But I've never seen the end product." Asui answered.

"Isn't it a bit exciting!?" Ashido quipped with a bright smile.

"It feels like we're back in elementary school doing show and tell." Sero said.

"It's nothing special, guys....." you mumbled with a small smile. Aizawa picked up the book you placed on the desk and flipped through the pages, his tired eyes quickly scanning over your sketches

"She says nothing special but I can't tell if she's being humble or not." he raised your book and showed everyone one of your most recent drawings. There was a moment of silence when your friends eyed your drawing closely.

"Amazing, [First Name]-chan! You drew all that!?" Ashido broke the silence, rising from her seat and skipping over to the front, leaning closer to the book being presented. Aizawa handed it over to the eccentric girl who shifted her gaze to you. One by one, your classmates began crowding you, flipping through the pages to find a drawing of themselves in different parts of your book. Aizawa stepped aside, muttering something about waking him up once this whole ordeal was over. In the midst of the chaos, you stood in the middle next to Ashido, overwhelmed by the attention. Even the ever so stoic Todoroki was next to you, eyes showing surprise when he stumbled over a drawing of himself.

"Ah, I'm there."

"You have the face of an ikemen! This is truly one of my favorite drawings of you! I hope I'm not creeping you out but you have such finessed features, and it felt like I'm redrawing a masterpiece by Van Gogh......" you muttered.

"I'm not that good looking." he replied casually.

"Please apologize to all the guys in UA." you pouted.

"Oh! I'm there too! You're a great artist, [Last Name]!" Kirishima pointed excitedly, slinging an arm around your shoulders.

"A-Ah, thank you!" 

"I'm a bit embarrassed, you drew me in such pretty clothes that I can never afford.....!" Uraraka said, turning to you with a teary expression. Just how broke is she?

"You're a natural artist [Last Name], I find myself drawn to you." Kaminari wiggled his eyebrows while you laughed nervously, unsure of how to respond to that.

"Stop embarrassing yourself." Jirou huffed.

"How do I look? Did you get my charm point?" Aoyama peeked over Kirishima and Kaminari's shoulder to examine the drawings. They all had different reactions but none of them said anything negative which made you relieved. Midoriya was in tears, saying things about how he doesn't deserve that much respect from you but when you told him that he was an amazing person and that you admire his hardworking nature, his face turned red and he cried even harder. 

"The detail in all the drawings are amazing! Not to mention, 

"Yo, Bakugou, you should have a look!" Kirishima called over to the ash blonde who remained seated the entire time.

"Why should I?" Bakugou barked back, narrowing his eyes at the red-haired teen who just beamed back at him. Kaminari nudged Sero and whispered something into his ear. The black-haired male nodded and turned to Kirishima who was given instruction on whatever plan they were hatching. The red-haired male had nodded enthusiastically, a sign that he's in.

"Well then, suit yourself! I guess you don't want to see how [Last Name] draws you." Kirishima replied.

"Hah, just look at that. I can't believe you drew him like this, [Last Name]." Kaminari turned to you. Still unsure why they were talking like this, all you could do was tilt your head in confusion.

"Is this how you perceive Bakugou, [Last Name]? I guess it's a very accurate image." Sero turned towards you with a smirk on his face.

"Eh? Um, thanks?" you mumbled.

Bakugou rose from his seat, the sound startling you. He began making his way towards you and everyone immediately made way for the angry boy who was marching over with an irritated look on his face. They all dispersed, including the ones who deliberately provoked Bakugou into coming. You stood there dumbfound, stepping back when the ash-blonde moved closer to you. When your back hit the board, you gasped. The loud slam of his hand hitting the board beside your head made you squeak. Without saying a word, he snatched the book from your hands to see a drawing of himself. The guys had made it sound like you drew a monster but it was the complete opposite.

He looked so fucking cool.

"It's just okay." he told you before returning to his seat. He tried to play it off by acting like he doesn't care but he's actually pretty happy to see your drawing.

"Bakugou, are you perhaps blushing?" Sero teased.

"Shut your mouth, you extras!"

Total: 1458 words Published: 17.09.2019

We’re now open to requests for Kimetsu no Yaiba! Please have a look before requesting!

Thank you for requesting! *｡٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و*｡ This happened to me uwu It was suuuuper embarrassing and back then I was super awkward with people can’t barely had any friends. It was just public humiliation. ― author Hibiki/Lou

Thank you for requesting! Lou loves drawing and owns like three sketchbooks. True art nerd. We hope you’re okay with this scenario, anon. ― author Natsuki

Please do not mind the grammar mistakes and typos.

[shock777archive]

I got this question on deviantart, and I felt like reposting my answer here, in case anyone is interested :P 

THIS IS GONNA BE A LONG REPLY BUT BEAR WITH ME LOL When I first started drawing/am I self taught : I've been drawing since kindergarten. Anime specifically, since I was about 8 years old. so that's been uh...18 years since I've started drawing in the anime-esque style? I am self taught on these areas. I picked up a digital artist tablet at the age of 13 or so, (it was a wacom Graphire 4 4x5 in) so it's been 13 years of digital art practice i've gotten in. I have picked up several how to draw books over the years until i surpassed some of them. But even now i'm constantly referencing tutorials and poses, looking for ideas and color palettes, etc. I have taken some schooling in college for art. I took beginner's drawing and color theory and maybe a little of art history but that's about it before i quit lmao What inspired me to draw in the first place/what I first drew: The thing that inspired me to draw in the first place was my favorite cartoons. from a very young age i knew that cartoons weren't real, but it fascinated me that actual people could create almost living people. I related to cartoons, and even though they were fake characters, I just loved the idea of creating a whole world of my own. So I took up drawing in kindergarten. First things I drew were flowers, rainbows, trees, etc. But My first biggest undertaking was powerpuffgirls. lol This was the series that started it all. Began drawing tons of powerpuffgirls stories and oc's. For the next few years I would watch different things like all the standard cartoon network shows. But I watched yugioh and dbz and other anime things too. What also got me into anime art style was the online game neopets lol Their faeries designs ( http://images.neopets.com/games/pages/icons/screenshots/586/4.jpg ) kind of had an anime resemblance, so I started drawing those for a while. When I was 8 or 9 years old my father bought me my first how to draw manga book (this one in particular: https://www.amazon.com/Art-Drawing-Manga-Ben-Krefta/dp/1841931713  ) looking back on it, this book is terrible and the anime in it is so ugly looking lol. However, i used that thing religiously and began making my own characters like a blue elf girl and a human friend of hers. ( in fact, here's the post. i tried redrawing them recently lol: https://shock777.tumblr.com/post/145898896143/finding-old-art-is-the-best-cause-you-can-redraw ) ...Then the real transformation began once I started watching Teen Titans when it aired in 2003. I was 10 at the time. That show started my love for japan. The language interested me and I began researching Japanese songs and trying to sing along to them. I didn't know what the words meant, but the artistic style and meshing of western cartoons and anime of the show really piqued my interest. My earliest drawings of them suckedddd XD; As Teen Titans drew to a close near 2006-2007 ish, I picked up Naruto and then it was all over since then lol my anime style and weeb days really came into full force lol I thank naruto though. I learned how to draw more realistic anatomy as opposed to cartoony anatomy. It was a very wild ride, but it's all documented here on my deviantart page as I got this exact account around the same time! I started posting my work in 2008, so you can go back far enough into my gallery and see the progress XD; I keep the old cringe up because it just motivates me and hopefully others, to keep drawing and keep going farther! :) PHEW lol long history there XD I do have some of my old art!!! If you wanna see some, I've posted a little here: https://shock777.tumblr.com/tagged/old-art plus I already said there's a few still on my dA gallery haha Tips I can give to you: 1. And I think this is most important, JUST KEEP GOING. It's soooo tempting to quit drawing when things aren't going right and when you're not happy with how your art looks. Trust me, every artist I've ever known including myself have gone through this. It's so easy to compare your work to someone else's. The thing is, we're all in this together. No one expects a newborn to be able to file taxes or drive a car lol. We all have to evolve and change, and that change comes from consistent work. Art isn't an inherent talent, it is hard work that is honed over several years of blood, sweat and tears lmao JUST KEEP GOING. as I've mentioned, my old cringe art is still on my dA page. Back then when I was younger I was less concerned with things being perfect and I spam posted almost every doodle. And I began a "fanbase" i guess because of those days and my consistent posting. I've had this freaking deviantart page for 11 freakin years. If I had stopped drawing whenever I felt my art was imperfect or not good enough, I would have stopped posting around 2009. so...just keep going. And I'd even dare you to post your "shitty doodles" that you think aren't that great. Because you never know what someone else will see in it that you don't. Be confident, and never give up! 2. Soak up any tutorial and really focus on studying your favorite artist's styles. If there's something you want to replicate in your art that someone else is drawing, try to see how they do it. sometimes artists have tutorials posted and sometimes they don't. I have a few posted on my youtube channel ( https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRB9xQBsGpfetNJbmXWZ1fL9d5IlqQs1w ) and some in my gallery. Don't exactly copy some things stroke for stroke, but try to add your little spin to something. Like sometimes I will see art senpai drawing a specific eye style I wanna replicate, but I don't like one part of the process. So sometimes I'll just add my own little addition, or just omit that process completely. Usually though, if the art style isn't necessarily super unique, you can copy a lot of mainstream styles without anyone really griping saying "oh you're just copying so and so's art style". It's important to look up to art senpais i think. They make me want to try harder lol 3. Take an art class if you're able. Color theory really helped me grasp things that I never had before. LIKE REFLECTIVE LIGHT FOR INSTANCE. I never drew that shit but now I do because DUH it's so freaking obvious lol It also helps to learn what colors neutralize others, complementary colors, analogous ones, etc. It's nice to have an eye for what matches together and to know the principles of art. I still have a lot of work to do when it comes to perspective, which we did cover a little in class lol but work on your own pace. If your college near you offers a class for beginners, take it if you're able. it will help you view things differently. 4. Copy realistically. Like, I'm talking look at a freaking object in your room and try to draw it. Once you can draw it semi realistically, you can then add your own little stylistic choices to it. Like so many artists who draw chibis or cartoony things, they more than likely know the proper proportions of people and anatomy. But they draw the proportions all whacky and it creates their own style. However it does help to know how they work in reality lol 5. TRACE OVER POSES. Sometimes I do this. I'm not saying to trace someone's art, but if you see some kind of pose on say a google image, or a stock photo, try sketching over it to get a feel for where the joints connect if you're working on anatomy. It reaaaallly helps you memorize where the arm would end, or where the torso connects to the hips. 6. Take advice and criticism well. If someone sees something you don't about your art, they may be on to something. It's not wrong if someone gives you a heads up that a proportion seems lacking or something seems too big or out of place. It will actually help you to see what others see. Sometimes we get in the habit of drawing something a certain way and it's hard to break that habit especially if you've drawn the same thing several hundred times. It will help you in the long run to just accept that you're always going to be improving. You'll never be perfect at drawing, so what do you have to lose? Just keep walking forward and learn what you can. 7. Flip the canvas. This is more or less a digital art tip, but please flip the canvas to make sure the proportions are not off. lol A lot of professionals have to flip the canvas until they get a feel for where things are placed. Another good tip is to use a stabilizer of some kind to draw straight lines. Paint tool sai has one at the very top of the window. It helps tremendously. 8. Draw what you like and don't feel bad for not drawing everything everyone else likes. Don't sacrifice your morals or your personal desires for something everyone else likes. If you're paid to draw something you don't like, thats another thing. but don't let people pressure you to draw stuff that you don't want to. You'll be much happier, and build an audience that is much like-minded to you. Be considerate of what your audience likes, sure, but remember at the end of the day, art is something to express one's self. Art is not and should not be a job. Even if you get paid money to draw or design things, it's important to take a break and draw something for yourself every once in a while. Be self indulgent, and treat yo self from time to time :) And uhhh...that's all I can think of for the time being. :') let me know if you have any further questions or if I need to clarify anything :) Thanks again!

[ashmcgivern]

I was gonna leave this in comments but I realized this might just be worth putting out there.

Art styles change. That’s just plain and simple, your work will evolve as time goes on and there’s honestly not any shame in that. My style changes every year and a half or so, give or take, it usually is dependent on what show I’m working on, but this happened to me before I started working too. Outside factors have a lot more influence than I think people consider.

My advice can really be broken down into a few points.

1. Take a good honest break. Assess whether or not outside forces are keeping you from wanting to make things. I suffer a lot from feeling guilty that I don’t have the energy to make things, and so when I do everything feels boring because I just don’t have the capacity to do anything but simple stuff. My creative energy goes to work, there’s none left for me at the end of the day. Life events can have this sort of effect too, so it’s something to consider. Sometimes a REAL break is the solution.

To that end, don’t force a break. Take one if you need it, and let yourself doodle as you desire. The point is to take the pressure off yourself.

2. Striving to always improve and be creative is unsustainable. Strive to enjoy the process. Art is more than just getting better and better. You will have years where you see no outside improvement at all, and years where you improve a lot. Try not to sweat it. We have been trained to believe that we always have to produce better and better content or we’ll be left behind - and this isn’t always true. Try to enjoy the process more than the final outcome, otherwise you’re gonna drive yourself insane.

This obviously doesn’t always work for someone like me most the time because art is also work, it has to be a certain quality, but for my personal stuff I’ve allowed myself to just let go. The art can be “bad,” what’s important is the idea is out there now.

3. Try something new - instead of trying to reach back and figure out what you used to do, look forward to what you could potentially do. There were several years where I hated my personal art style because it was influenced by school and and work in a way that didn’t vibe with me. There was something about my old work I liked better. It took years to change, and a lot of that change came from me looking to communities and fandoms that lent themselves to art that I personally enjoyed.

4. Get some friends who don’t draw at all. Seriously, I think one of the best things I ever did was pick up pals who don’t know how to art in the slightest. There’s something so nice about the fact that these people aren’t going to see what I believe to be obvious flaws in my work. A lot of the times they simply enjoy the fact that the art exists.

5. If you want to be more proactive, try redrawing some of your old work. It’s a pretty effective way to find where your style has changed and improved and can highlight things you want to actively work on. From there its a matter of studying.

I will say, studies are always good, but they’ll only get you so far sometimes. No amount of studying is going to change how you feel about your work. Studies won’t help if you’re too burnt out to retain the information. Be honest with yourself if you’re just using studies as a band aid for a totally different problem.

Maybe this is more rambly than I originally anticipated but I do know where you’re coming from. I def had a period of time where I felt like I regressed. Give yourself time and give yourself space, and remember that we’ve been living in a pandemic for the past several years. Things have changed and it’s going to affect you. Let it.

I'm looking for some advice. For the past year, I feel my art has been going down hill. I've gotten different opinions from friends, they've all agreed that my artwork isn't the same as it use to be, and my color choices have changed. People prefer my old artwork, but I don't know how to go back to how my old artwork use to be. I've tried studying and improving myself. I've tried going backwards to fix my color choices and try to understand my old mindset but I can't. I feel like I'm getting worse, and I'm very lost not knowing what to do anymore. I feel like I should be improving when really I'm going backwards and becoming more lost in not knowing how to create art. I can't remember my thought process for my old artworks, and I feel like my new artworks aren't as good. My linework isn't the same, my colors have gotten worse, and my ideas are flat. I don't know where I've gone wrong and how I can go back or fix myself. Any advice would be really appreciated...