So, you want to become an artist. That’s great! I’m studying Illustration right now at RIT, so I’ve got a pretty good sense of how this works. Whether you want to study art professionally or just as a hobby, these tips and tricks will help you become a better artist in the long run.
TIP 1: Get The Right Tools
The tools that you’d want to get in order to start drawing are all down to what you’re comfortable with. If you want to start with graphite in order to understand value, highlights, and shadows, get a good set of graphite pencils and a few erasers. If you want to paint, find out which type of paint is right for you and get a nice set of paints and brushes.
The beginning stage is all about trial and error, so finding out what materials you are comfortable with is quite important. Buy a sketchbook or two that you can test these materials in! That way, you’ll always have a guide to look back on and see how the materials work and which ones you enjoy the most.
TIP 2: Practice As Often As You Can
The only way to become a “good artist” is to practice. Sure, you may only be able to draw stick figures now, but once you put that pencil onto that paper and study value, study anatomy, you’ll start seeing real human faces and bodies! Even drawing something small every day, but doing it consistently) can get you farther than you would have ever expected. Taking that first step can really propel you to becoming the artist you want to be.
TIP 3: Only Compare Yourself to Yourself
An issue I run into a lot when it comes to drawing is feeling like I’m not good enough compared to other artists. Having this mentality can really hurt your motivation because it feels like you’ll never reach their skill level. However, you can combat this by seeing how far you’ve come since last week, last month, last year!
If you keep drawing or painting consistently, you’ll have a plethora of work to look back on and see just how good you’ve gotten. The work you’ve produced in the past will be able to motivate you to create even better work in the future!
These tips are tried and true by myself and many others in the art community, so trust me when I say that you can’t go wrong with these. In the end, your art is defined by what you make of it. All you have to do is get started!