Hi,
Ever since joining this site I saw something being tossed around a lot. A simple phrase that can be summed up as …
“You need a good drawing program to be a good artist”
The tl;dr version of this PSA is that the above phrase is a lie. tu need practice and time in order to be a good artist. Also this articulo will be image heavy.
Let’s start por defining what exactly an art program is.
An art program is a digital artist’s tool. Each program has its up’s and downs. If tu learn how to use your tools correctly tu can excel. It doesn’t matter if the program is a piece of crap, o one of the best in the business. Someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing with their tools will fail, even if they know how to use the tools. While someone who knows what they’re doing with their tools will succeed, especially if they know how to use their tools. It simply does not matter the quality of the tools. Okay, well that’s a lie. Your end result will obviously be effected por your tool choice, but not in the way you’re thinking. For example, if tu do something in MS paint it will have that pixely feel to it. However, tu can still make good art in MS paint, for a variety of reasons.
1.Use the pixely feel to your advantage. (pixel art anyone?)
2. Any art program can mostrar good use of anatomy, color and perspective.
That last one is key. An art program does not do the art for you. tu still need to know the basics.
If you don’t know color theory, it will show- even if tu use photoshop
If you don’t know anatomy it will show- even if tu use paint tool sai
If you do know color theory, it will show- even if tu use MS Paint
If you do know anatomy, it will show- even if tu use GIMP
Okay, so now that tu know that the art program tu use is almost irrelevant; how do tu improve?
1.Listen to critique. This is one of the hardest things to do in my opinion. Not only do tu have to deal with people telling tu what is wrong with your art, tu also need to figure out what to listen to and what to not listen to. People are going to be assholes and just shit talk your art without anything constructive to say, and others just have no clue what they’re talking about. (give bad advice) A good way to tell if they’re doing it out of malice is to see if they add tu an alternative to what they point out tu did wrong, o at least explain why it’s wrong. It’s going to suck, and tu probably won’t like the art work as much as tu originally did, but if tu listen to the good stuff and filter out the bad you’ll be good to go! Also, a person’s art skill does not determine if they know what they’re talking about o not! ( If anyone wants to get a critique on a picture send me a message wherever and I’ll be happy to help! )
2. Read and listen to Tutorials. There are many tutorials on deviantart (and other sites), they range from how to color, anatomy tutorials, how to animate, make video games…but I’m just going to focus on anatomy and coloring! I recommend lectura them and listening to them. (some not all tutorials! I wish I could give tu guys a link to the tutorials I use but I can’t at this second) tu can find tutorials that mostrar tu how to use the tools correctly in any program, how to use colores correctly (I strongly recommend purplekecleon’s color tutorial!) tu don’t have to follow these tutorials to a tee, put your own spin on them!
3. Experiment I’m not going to drop any names but there is a sonic artist on deviantart that I loathe. I loathe her because she is one of rudest, stuck up people I have ever met. Oh, she has an ego too. She thinks her art is good but the reality says otherwise. Why do I bring this up? Well. Her art has not improved in 3 years. In fact it looks exactly the same! Same shading, same (horrid) anatomy. She doesn’t experiment. Experimentation is important because it allows tu to try new things. (duh?) tu will do stupid shit with the experiments, it will look bad and that’s okay. It is okay to roll out art that tu don’t like as an experiment, because if tu experiment, it’s a más “hands on” way to improve. To put it layman's terms, you can’t improve if tu keep doing the same thing! So go out of your comfort zone! If you’re always doing art with line art try going lineless! Maybe lineless with 1 layering the entire picture? Maybe try a new way to cel shade! o maybe doing the entire picture in gray scale then using layer modes to give it color! There are many things that tu can do!
4. Patience tu won’t see improvements immediately , it’s a slow process. Just keep doing steps 1-3 and tu will slowly notice improvements in your art. tu will only see drastic improvements when tu look at your really old stuff! Trust me, it’s a treat! (by treat I mean really embarrassing!) Just keep at it, I know tu can do it.
Okay, well where’s the proof?
Proof, okay. Got it. I’ll mostrar tu some of my old art and some of my newer art. All of these pictures where made in Paint Tool SAI with maybe a little bit of photoshop. In otherwords, the quality of the art is very different dispite being made in the same program! This also shows that nobody is born a good artist, tu have to work for it! The picture closest to the parte superior, arriba is the oldest, while the picture of Espona at the bottom is the newest. The last two pictures are NOT mine, they are there because the artists who made them used MS.Paint and Gimp. In the image captain there is credit.
The 2nd to last image is por nancher.deviantart.com and the last image is por Light-Waves-Warriors.deviantart.com
Ever since joining this site I saw something being tossed around a lot. A simple phrase that can be summed up as …
“You need a good drawing program to be a good artist”
The tl;dr version of this PSA is that the above phrase is a lie. tu need practice and time in order to be a good artist. Also this articulo will be image heavy.
Let’s start por defining what exactly an art program is.
An art program is a digital artist’s tool. Each program has its up’s and downs. If tu learn how to use your tools correctly tu can excel. It doesn’t matter if the program is a piece of crap, o one of the best in the business. Someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing with their tools will fail, even if they know how to use the tools. While someone who knows what they’re doing with their tools will succeed, especially if they know how to use their tools. It simply does not matter the quality of the tools. Okay, well that’s a lie. Your end result will obviously be effected por your tool choice, but not in the way you’re thinking. For example, if tu do something in MS paint it will have that pixely feel to it. However, tu can still make good art in MS paint, for a variety of reasons.
1.Use the pixely feel to your advantage. (pixel art anyone?)
2. Any art program can mostrar good use of anatomy, color and perspective.
That last one is key. An art program does not do the art for you. tu still need to know the basics.
If you don’t know color theory, it will show- even if tu use photoshop
If you don’t know anatomy it will show- even if tu use paint tool sai
If you do know color theory, it will show- even if tu use MS Paint
If you do know anatomy, it will show- even if tu use GIMP
Okay, so now that tu know that the art program tu use is almost irrelevant; how do tu improve?
1.Listen to critique. This is one of the hardest things to do in my opinion. Not only do tu have to deal with people telling tu what is wrong with your art, tu also need to figure out what to listen to and what to not listen to. People are going to be assholes and just shit talk your art without anything constructive to say, and others just have no clue what they’re talking about. (give bad advice) A good way to tell if they’re doing it out of malice is to see if they add tu an alternative to what they point out tu did wrong, o at least explain why it’s wrong. It’s going to suck, and tu probably won’t like the art work as much as tu originally did, but if tu listen to the good stuff and filter out the bad you’ll be good to go! Also, a person’s art skill does not determine if they know what they’re talking about o not! ( If anyone wants to get a critique on a picture send me a message wherever and I’ll be happy to help! )
2. Read and listen to Tutorials. There are many tutorials on deviantart (and other sites), they range from how to color, anatomy tutorials, how to animate, make video games…but I’m just going to focus on anatomy and coloring! I recommend lectura them and listening to them. (some not all tutorials! I wish I could give tu guys a link to the tutorials I use but I can’t at this second) tu can find tutorials that mostrar tu how to use the tools correctly in any program, how to use colores correctly (I strongly recommend purplekecleon’s color tutorial!) tu don’t have to follow these tutorials to a tee, put your own spin on them!
3. Experiment I’m not going to drop any names but there is a sonic artist on deviantart that I loathe. I loathe her because she is one of rudest, stuck up people I have ever met. Oh, she has an ego too. She thinks her art is good but the reality says otherwise. Why do I bring this up? Well. Her art has not improved in 3 years. In fact it looks exactly the same! Same shading, same (horrid) anatomy. She doesn’t experiment. Experimentation is important because it allows tu to try new things. (duh?) tu will do stupid shit with the experiments, it will look bad and that’s okay. It is okay to roll out art that tu don’t like as an experiment, because if tu experiment, it’s a más “hands on” way to improve. To put it layman's terms, you can’t improve if tu keep doing the same thing! So go out of your comfort zone! If you’re always doing art with line art try going lineless! Maybe lineless with 1 layering the entire picture? Maybe try a new way to cel shade! o maybe doing the entire picture in gray scale then using layer modes to give it color! There are many things that tu can do!
4. Patience tu won’t see improvements immediately , it’s a slow process. Just keep doing steps 1-3 and tu will slowly notice improvements in your art. tu will only see drastic improvements when tu look at your really old stuff! Trust me, it’s a treat! (by treat I mean really embarrassing!) Just keep at it, I know tu can do it.
Okay, well where’s the proof?
Proof, okay. Got it. I’ll mostrar tu some of my old art and some of my newer art. All of these pictures where made in Paint Tool SAI with maybe a little bit of photoshop. In otherwords, the quality of the art is very different dispite being made in the same program! This also shows that nobody is born a good artist, tu have to work for it! The picture closest to the parte superior, arriba is the oldest, while the picture of Espona at the bottom is the newest. The last two pictures are NOT mine, they are there because the artists who made them used MS.Paint and Gimp. In the image captain there is credit.
The 2nd to last image is por nancher.deviantart.com and the last image is por Light-Waves-Warriors.deviantart.com
