How come everyone here can draw

[timecapsule]

you improve with every. single. piece. you make. no matter what you think- you ARE.
even if you make something that didn't turn out how you wanted it to, you still learn from that mistake.
you're not going to get gud at art overnight, that's just unrealistic.

stop putting pressure on yourself to be "good" and instead just let your artwork happen- stop comparing your artwork to others' artwork.
instead, just look at your piece and figure out what it is you don't like about that particular piece of art. Are the character's eyes too far up? Did I forget to add in their eyebrows? Should I have made a more vivid background?

learn from those mistakes, and KEEP. EVERY. SINGLE. DAMN. PIECE. even if you hate it- keep that art. put it in a folder titled "old gross art" if you have to- just KEEP IT. because two years from now- hell, even ten years from now- you'll look back and be so damn proud of how far you've come as an artist. if you delete that piece you hate, or delete one of your earliest attempts.. that's some extreme satisfaction later on in your life you're missing out on.

You don't need an art teacher because most of the things they teach you- you can find on the internet. tutorials, tips etc etc
Just use google. go on deviantart- tumblr pretty much ANY website where you can post art- and look for tips from well-off artists, from smaller yet wise artists- from ANYONE whose art you look up to.

of course, i'm not a professional artist- just look at my art, it really isn't anything too special. I still know these things just from being around, though some of this might not be great advice- but you'll learn more from being around the art community more than anything

less serious note- some motivational shibe puppers

Spoiler: open

 

[Mega_Cabbage]

I want to be good at art but I gave up because I can't improve I don't wanna spend 10 years just to draw decent, and I don't have an art teacher or anything...

Honestly, practice isn't just about improving. There will be tons of times where your art will fluctuate in quality like a roller coaster. However, if you keep going at it, you will find yourself gradually getting the hang of it as you make corrections and try new things.

Also, you don't need an art teacher to improve. I took four years of art in high school and the teacher didn't really teach me anything I didn't already know or tell me if I should fix anything in my work. All she did was give me prompts, commenting afterwards a "good job" or "nice work" with a smiley face.

 

[zeoli]

3. Don't be afraid to trace. Try and trace freehand though. This way it'll take you many attempts to get it right. Like in the first point, if it doesn't look right, why not? It will teach you importance of details and how tiny differences can greatly affect artwork.

I think of tracing like when you copy answers for homework. You're taking someone else's answer, putting it on your work, and then moving on without thinking "How do I get to this answer? How can I figure out how to do this on my own?" I admit that almost everyone at some point early on probably traced for their art, but it won't get you anywhere. After middle school, I started working more on learning how to draw instead of how to trace and my art greatly improved. Now, I'm still in college and still working on making my art better, but I feel it was important to stop tracing.

I don't have any issue with referencing to get a better understanding, but I ultimately don't believe tracing will do anyone good.
This is not meant to be an attack or anything and I hope I didn't come off hostile!! I just wanted to share my opinion.

----

As to ~Unicorn~, you don't get better without practicing. That's the reality of it. You can't expect yourself to suddenly get to what you believe is "decent" unless you put the work into it. In my experience as well, Art Teachers don't do any good. I've never had anyone outside of school (middle, high, and college) try to teach me how to art. Lemme tell you something. My middle school, high school, and even college art teachers all told me to pretty much quit because I didn't make art that was to their "standards." Hell, even one of my college art teachers told me straight up if I didn't change an artwork to his liking (it met the qualifications of the assignment, he just wanted me to change it to fit his preferences on art) that he would purposely drop my assignment grade and that was final. Mind you, the rules of my college's Art Department says that this isn't allowed and anytime a teacher gets outed for this behavior, nothing is done.

Ultimately, you must keep in mind that it is in the eye of the beholder what makes "good" and "bad" art. You shouldn't let anyone but yourself tell you if your art is good or not. If you believe you should work on something, then do it and if you don't, then don't do it. At the end of the day, if it's not a commission, your happiness is all that's important with your art.

 

[Silversea]

I think of tracing like when you copy answers for homework. You're taking someone else's answer, putting it on your work, and then moving on without thinking "How do I get to this answer? How can I figure out how to do this on my own?" I admit that almost everyone at some point early on probably traced for their art, but it won't get you anywhere. After middle school, I started working more on learning how to draw instead of how to trace and my art greatly improved. Now, I'm still in college and still working on making my art better, but I feel it was important to stop tracing.

Not quite, because you aren't submitting the art piece as your own. For your homework example, imagine you were learning to write with a pen and wanted to write papers. Copying the homework isn't intended to be submitted, but it gives you practice on how to use the pen itself.

Similarly, tracing helps you understand the hand motions needed for drawing. It gives you a jump start for more complicated pieces later on.

 

[Jeonggwa]

^ I disagree. Tracing can become bad habit being dependent on it if you start and learn drawing with it.
However if you insist that reproducing an already existing drawing and not being creative on your own improves your art, feel free to do so with permission or without showing it to others/claiming it as your own.

 

[allainah]

i majority improved on my traditional drawings in just a month , but i was doing it for fun not to get better i guess ? so if you actually enjoy it it might not take as long , or how long it takes won't matter since you'll be doing it for fun

everyone is different , some take a long time to learn others improve fast. i would just recommend doing a doodle a day of what interest you.

 

[KaydeeKrunk]

I think I am trash but people pay me tbt to draw them things so others must have a different opinion. I've always drawn since i was a kid, so maybe that's why I'm not complete garbage?

 

[himeki]

Not quite, because you aren't submitting the art piece as your own. For your homework example, imagine you were learning to write with a pen and wanted to write papers. Copying the homework isn't intended to be submitted, but it gives you practice on how to use the pen itself.

Similarly, tracing helps you understand the hand motions needed for drawing. It gives you a jump start for more complicated pieces later on.

i disagree w/ the tracing statement tbh. you may learn hand motions, but you don't learn how to do anatomy or your own art style which often leads to you using someone else's art style in your original drawings since you don't know how to make your own, or even "frankendolling" where instead of doing your own anatomy you make a base using bits you've traced from other drawings ://

 

[GreggoryLee]

. . .

 

[~Unicorn~]

Why did this so much replies :L wow lol
I don't think I'll ever be good in art thou cause I have very very little patience /self esteem to even improve so ya I give up

 

[Silversea]

i disagree w/ the tracing statement tbh. you may learn hand motions, but you don't learn how to do anatomy or your own art style which often leads to you using someone else's art style in your original drawings since you don't know how to make your own, or even "frankendolling" where instead of doing your own anatomy you make a base using bits you've traced from other drawings ://

So I guess I've caused a stir with the particular comment advising tracing if it helps. And the stigma of tracing (leading to conversations of copying art without permission) is going to make this a contentious point for a lot of people.

My point is that if you find a way to learn, pursue it. Tracing helped me because, it can help jump start your learning if you are stuck. If you actually appreciate what you are tracing (and why the artist did this), then it can be very helpful. Creativity isn't the point of this exercise since, yeah, there is nothing creative about tracing.

There is no cheating when it comes to real learning, only shortcuts. Find your way to learn and stick with it.

(just as clarification, I only used tracing during the first year of picking up the pencil. I found it extremely helpful and it jump-started my handle of artwork, maybe others won't find that benefit).