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Posted: July 31, 2012

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part of the reason why I don't draw so often is because I'm not very good.

*Shia-Neko-Chan Jul 31, 2012

It's frustrating, because I usually want to draw, but when I finally set down and try it, I can't translate my idea onto paper as well as I'd like, which results in me just giving up, deleting the picture, and trying again some other time.

I'd really like to upload more often, but I'm just not good enough. x_x

Does anybody know of a way for me to practice art so I can translate mental images into picture more easily? Any sorts of drills or anything?

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~bunnie-love Aug 15, 2012

Not that I know anything, as I'm just another artist that just... well draws whatever, but coming from what I've seen a lot of other people touch up on, I would of course, recommend to keep drawing, and don't try to stop yourself during a piece because you can't put something on paper or whatever, but keep trying. Play around with different type of mediums, and even maybe try new styles and stuff! I know that going into different styles can really help with trying to get new ideas and drawing techniques. I don't really care to talk much about it, because I'm pretty bad. XD But I will say I like your stuff, it's cute and silly. Maybe go into a bit... something different? Not that you'd want to do so, drawing comics helped me get into different poses and angles to draw from, and sometimes that's all it takes to really get the best outta you.

hope I was at least somewhat helpful.

*Spudfuzz Aug 4, 2012 Hobbyist Digital Artist

Yup. Because all professional artists just woke up one day and found out they could draw amazingly. They didn't have to suck before they got good at it.

*Shia-Neko-Chan Aug 4, 2012

wow...

=DamaiMikaz Aug 4, 2012 Hobbyist Digital Artist

This may sound kinda harsh: but get out of your comfort zone.
90% of your drawings consist of manga-styles girls, with little clothes on, in mostly the same poses, and with a pretty saturated color palette. I might not hurt to stray away from your typical manga-like style and try something completely different. Why not trying to draw a male character? Why not try using some other colors? Why not try drawing some realism of semi-realism?

Most of the talented people that you look up to (I mean, the professional ones) have gone to this progress. Most of them are able to portray something quite realistic, even although it's not their field of expertise. Why? Because it helped them reflect on their own style in the end.

=Slave2Karma Aug 3, 2012

Take life drawing. When I went through a half year long art block, nothing I wanted to draw translated to paper. Nothing at all. And then I took a life drawing class and within it, I found the ability to draw again. It gave me new confidence/insight in posing, anatomy, proportion and perspective. It was crazy how much my skill leveled up after I took the first session. And without fail, every time I take life drawing, my skill levels up again. ^_^

*opiumtraum Aug 2, 2012

"Want a job? Get some experience. Need some experience? Get a job.

In a magical world, your art will improve without you having to do any work at all, without failures & without frustration. It's called artwork for a reason. Even the folks that have innate talent only get better by drawing & drawing & drawing....

I've been working on a piece this work...had it looking OK, experimented (oops, shouldn't have done that), got it looking OK again, experimented again (oh...OK...)...not saying the work is great- just saying there's gonna be "oh shit" moments...work through them, or start again.

Pretty much anyone you talk to will be able to tell you, sitting there at your drawing table, not drawing because you aren't good enough- guess what- you never will be.

Last anecdote- I used to feel really inferior because when my bike broke, I couldn't fix it. I just assumed that being a guy would mean I'd know how. It took a while to figure out what was effed up about that logic.

~shininginthedarkness Aug 3, 2012

I'm convinced they make bikes hard to fix on purpose- and each brand and model is different. It's enough to drive one up the wall.

*Shia-Neko-Chan Aug 2, 2012

I feel like everyone is misunderstanding my thread for some reason.

I'm not saying I'm not willing to work on my pictures. I'm not sure how people are getting that out of it.

I'm saying I'm becoming frustrated at my lack of skill (meaning I'm willing to do exercises and drills) and want some sort of useful exercise or drill I can do (can be hard work, easy work, time consuming, etc) to improve so the sketching phase will be as fun as the coloring stage. As of right now, I can't do the more complicated ideas because I lack the skill.

*opiumtraum Aug 3, 2012

I think it was the part about giving up...

I work in traditional media so there's not much I can suggest in terms of improving digital art- except to say don't be afraid to emulate your art heroes...or, improve your drawing skills by drawing stuff around you or from photos...I know that when I'm stuck & uninspired I usually will get to the point where I'll make myself draw anything. I've also gotten to the point where I don't treat my sketchbooks as precious...the whole point of sketching is practice & gathering information...

I am at the opposite end of the spectrum from you...I really like the sketching/figuring stuff out part of making art...it's the finished work that I struggle with. When I get stuck with the drawing end of things...I collage.

And to maybe put things in perspective- I just finished a collage- the figure is something I've explored off & on for years (never really feeling like I've gotten it). I finally! got an image I'm satisfied with...but I'm realising an idea that I first had years ago.

I think that aside from finding drills to improve skills, I'd suggest easing up on yourself- sometimes it's difficult to see that we are actually improving- we just don't see the baby steps we're taking.

~kafine Aug 1, 2012 General Artist

I feel like that all the time.

But anyway, having a look at your stuff, I notice that even within what you do, you are often drawing the same thing. I am not referring to your subject matter, we've all done a few pinups in our time. What I mean is that the pinup girls themselves and their portrayals are not highly varied.

For example; these ladies all have the same torso, and the same colour pallet;

In addition, there are several girls bending over and looking over their shoulder, or just standing around with their legs off the bottom of the page.

You need to shake things up more.

I perscribe the following course of medication;

1. Take some time out to study artworks and other media that is outside of your usual comfort zone. Look at some other creative erotica, watch movies you weren't attracted to, go to a gallery you've never bothered to go to. Draw on a variety of sources for your work. If you only look at other anime pinups you won't have anything new to add to the feild, you'll just recycle what's already there. This could be contributing to your feelings of stagnation.

2. Join a life drawing session and go regularly. Being able to study the body first hand will improve your drawing skills as well as inform you about anatomy and thus enable you to produce more creative and realistic poses.

3. Force yourself to vary your media and colour pallets. Say "today I will paint something in only solid black and white!" or "today I will only paint using variations on the colour purple!" or "today I will only draw using charcoal!" and other such excersises.

I notice above you've mentioned that you don't like the planning stage; too bad!! There is something to be said for spontenaity and quick-timed studies but most of the time an illustration is going to require several drafts, a bunch of references, and some colour tests... The reason we do this is that we want the final image to be the best version of that image it can be. It's not a waste of time because you simply can't expect the best product after not having put in any work.

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