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. Du need practice and time in order to be a good artist. Also this Artikel will be image heavy.
Let’s start Von 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 Du learn how to use your tools correctly Du can excel. It doesn’t matter if the program is a piece of crap, oder 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 Von your tool choice, but not in the way you’re thinking. For example, if Du do something in MS paint it will have that pixely feel to it. However, Du 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 Zeigen good use of anatomy, color and perspective.
That last one is key. An art program does not do the art for you. Du still need to know the basics.
If you don’t know color theory, it will show- even if Du use photoshop
If you don’t know anatomy it will show- even if Du use paint tool sai
If you do know color theory, it will show- even if Du use MS Paint
If you do know anatomy, it will show- even if Du use GIMP
Okay, so now that Du know that the art program Du use is almost irrelevant; how do Du improve?
1.Listen to critique. This is one of the hardest things to do in my opinion. Not only do Du have to deal with people telling Du what is wrong with your art, Du 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 Du an alternative to what they point out Du did wrong, oder at least explain why it’s wrong. It’s going to suck, and Du probably won’t like the art work as much as Du originally did, but if Du 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 oder 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 Lesen them and listening to them. (some not all tutorials! I wish I could give Du guys a link to the tutorials I use but I can’t at this second) Du can find tutorials that Zeigen Du how to use the tools correctly in any program, how to use Farben correctly (I strongly recommend purplekecleon’s color tutorial!) Du 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 Du to try new things. (duh?) Du will do stupid shit with the experiments, it will look bad and that’s okay. It is okay to roll out art that Du don’t like as an experiment, because if Du experiment, it’s a Mehr “hands on” way to improve. To put it layman's terms, you can’t improve if Du 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! oder maybe doing the entire picture in gray scale then using layer modes to give it color! There are many things that Du can do!
4. Patience Du won’t see improvements immediately , it’s a slow process. Just keep doing steps 1-3 and Du will slowly notice improvements in your art. Du will only see drastic improvements when Du look at your really old stuff! Trust me, it’s a treat! (by treat I mean really embarrassing!) Just keep at it, I know Du can do it.
Okay, well where’s the proof?
Proof, okay. Got it. I’ll Zeigen Du 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, Du have to work for it! The picture closest to the oben, nach oben 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 Von nancher.deviantart.com and the last image is Von 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. Du need practice and time in order to be a good artist. Also this Artikel will be image heavy.
Let’s start Von 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 Du learn how to use your tools correctly Du can excel. It doesn’t matter if the program is a piece of crap, oder 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 Von your tool choice, but not in the way you’re thinking. For example, if Du do something in MS paint it will have that pixely feel to it. However, Du 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 Zeigen good use of anatomy, color and perspective.
That last one is key. An art program does not do the art for you. Du still need to know the basics.
If you don’t know color theory, it will show- even if Du use photoshop
If you don’t know anatomy it will show- even if Du use paint tool sai
If you do know color theory, it will show- even if Du use MS Paint
If you do know anatomy, it will show- even if Du use GIMP
Okay, so now that Du know that the art program Du use is almost irrelevant; how do Du improve?
1.Listen to critique. This is one of the hardest things to do in my opinion. Not only do Du have to deal with people telling Du what is wrong with your art, Du 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 Du an alternative to what they point out Du did wrong, oder at least explain why it’s wrong. It’s going to suck, and Du probably won’t like the art work as much as Du originally did, but if Du 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 oder 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 Lesen them and listening to them. (some not all tutorials! I wish I could give Du guys a link to the tutorials I use but I can’t at this second) Du can find tutorials that Zeigen Du how to use the tools correctly in any program, how to use Farben correctly (I strongly recommend purplekecleon’s color tutorial!) Du 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 Du to try new things. (duh?) Du will do stupid shit with the experiments, it will look bad and that’s okay. It is okay to roll out art that Du don’t like as an experiment, because if Du experiment, it’s a Mehr “hands on” way to improve. To put it layman's terms, you can’t improve if Du 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! oder maybe doing the entire picture in gray scale then using layer modes to give it color! There are many things that Du can do!
4. Patience Du won’t see improvements immediately , it’s a slow process. Just keep doing steps 1-3 and Du will slowly notice improvements in your art. Du will only see drastic improvements when Du look at your really old stuff! Trust me, it’s a treat! (by treat I mean really embarrassing!) Just keep at it, I know Du can do it.
Okay, well where’s the proof?
Proof, okay. Got it. I’ll Zeigen Du 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, Du have to work for it! The picture closest to the oben, nach oben 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 Von nancher.deviantart.com and the last image is Von Light-Waves-Warriors.deviantart.com