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