New here! Looking for artist friends to learn some basics together!
Warning: Longish intro here (Sorry lol).
Hey guys! I'm a struggling, roughly newbish artist looking for someone to talk to about both regular art and digital art.
My background: Always wanted to be a cartoonist, never thought I could. Decided one day I wanted to change that. I started drawing seriously in my late 20s. I attended a drawing class, nothing fancy, a figure drawing class to learn anatomy and I have access to a Ugee tablet for digital drawing. I switch between regular pencil and paper drawing and digital to try and learn the basics of both because I'm interested in both kinds of media.
That's been my status for the past few years and despite drawing a lot... I don't feel like I made much progress.
To put it simply, I produced some pictures but nothing I'm confident even posting here yet. I'm also terribly slow at drawing anything, to the point where I feel very insecure about it and it takes me forever to produce the simplest drawing. Don't get me wrong, I have fun drawing and I'm not terribly concerned about making the best artwork every time but some more constructive advice to help me improve would also help me enjoy myself more, I feel like.
Right now I just wish I had someone to talk about this stuff with. Not only to get help but also to have someone to share the experiences with, share projects we're working on, and maybe keep each other on task. Just an art buddy or two would be great. I would be open to talking to people on here but something like Discord (we can message each other first) would be great too. If you know a club or community that's perfect for a person like me to go to then that would also be great!
If anyone is interested in chatting sometime that be great! I don't have my own art style yet, I'm still developing one, but right now I'm trying to go for something in between American comic book and Japanese manga since I want to develop my own comic one day (if I ever get good enough). Right now I'm just focused on anatomy and figure drawing so if you wanna practice that with me and learn some basics maybe we can support each other. Or if you're experienced but just want someone to talk to that's great too!
If you want to talk nerdy stuff in general I love all manner of comics, anime/manga (mostly DBZ, My Hero, Jojo, One Punch), movies, and video games (Anything Nintendo, Square, some Capcom, and a bunch others). I also love drawing characters I'm a fan of, so expect me to turn a lot of my anatomy figures into anime or game characters. Also keep in mind I'm about 30, I don't mind talking to anyone years younger than me but if you're way younger that the age difference would cause any discomfort than maybe it's best to move on.
Sorry for being long-winded! I understand if this is TL;DR material but to those who did read all that I hope we can become friends.
Hey guys! I'm a struggling, roughly newbish artist looking for someone to talk to about both regular art and digital art.
My background: Always wanted to be a cartoonist, never thought I could. Decided one day I wanted to change that. I started drawing seriously in my late 20s. I attended a drawing class, nothing fancy, a figure drawing class to learn anatomy and I have access to a Ugee tablet for digital drawing. I switch between regular pencil and paper drawing and digital to try and learn the basics of both because I'm interested in both kinds of media.
That's been my status for the past few years and despite drawing a lot... I don't feel like I made much progress.
To put it simply, I produced some pictures but nothing I'm confident even posting here yet. I'm also terribly slow at drawing anything, to the point where I feel very insecure about it and it takes me forever to produce the simplest drawing. Don't get me wrong, I have fun drawing and I'm not terribly concerned about making the best artwork every time but some more constructive advice to help me improve would also help me enjoy myself more, I feel like.Right now I just wish I had someone to talk about this stuff with. Not only to get help but also to have someone to share the experiences with, share projects we're working on, and maybe keep each other on task. Just an art buddy or two would be great. I would be open to talking to people on here but something like Discord (we can message each other first) would be great too. If you know a club or community that's perfect for a person like me to go to then that would also be great!
If anyone is interested in chatting sometime that be great! I don't have my own art style yet, I'm still developing one, but right now I'm trying to go for something in between American comic book and Japanese manga since I want to develop my own comic one day (if I ever get good enough). Right now I'm just focused on anatomy and figure drawing so if you wanna practice that with me and learn some basics maybe we can support each other. Or if you're experienced but just want someone to talk to that's great too!
If you want to talk nerdy stuff in general I love all manner of comics, anime/manga (mostly DBZ, My Hero, Jojo, One Punch), movies, and video games (Anything Nintendo, Square, some Capcom, and a bunch others). I also love drawing characters I'm a fan of, so expect me to turn a lot of my anatomy figures into anime or game characters. Also keep in mind I'm about 30, I don't mind talking to anyone years younger than me but if you're way younger that the age difference would cause any discomfort than maybe it's best to move on.
Sorry for being long-winded! I understand if this is TL;DR material but to those who did read all that I hope we can become friends.
Comments103
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Hi I'm new here (kinda) and I wanna meet people annddd I'm having trouble learning anatomy and maybe we can sometime
I'd love to talk sometime if you want to. We can share our WIPs and give each other advice if that's what you're looking for. Let me know if you're interested and what way would be convinent to communicate.
Hey! I'm pretty new to digital and I'm also currently learning anatomy and colouring techniques so I'd love to chat with you!
feel free to add me on my discord if you need an art buddy or anything ^^ (Steph ???#9945) excuse the weird name LOL
Good luck in your journey <3
feel free to add me on my discord if you need an art buddy or anything ^^ (Steph ???#9945) excuse the weird name LOL
Good luck in your journey <3
Sorry for the double post lol. Forgot to mention my Discord ID is #5792.
That would be great! I'll add you tonight, if that's fine. I'm looking forward to chatting sometime!
I can definitely relate with you on the art taking too long thing. I've tried to reinterpret what i've been doing under the context that most professional artists can bag out much better stuff in a fraction of the time, though over the last few years i'm starting to understand why. I feel like because of how many actions it takes to make a good piece of art, the certainty with which you can perform each action lends itself to your speed, and that certainty seems to be unavoidably linked to how much time you've spent doing it. If i think about how long it takes me to get the shading right on a particular area in one of my paintings, it really adds up when i realize that every part of the piece is like that, and when i watch the pros, they do the same stuff, but with a tenth of the brushstrokes, and half the rework, cause their hands just know what to do. At this point, i see where i'm standing on this parabolic curve, and i have a few more years still to go on this practically horizontal trajectory, but every experience gives me a fraction of a multiple in the positive direction, and i think before i know it, that slope will start to look more like a vertical line. It seems despite our best efforts, time will always be the deciding factor. There's just no substitute for putting in the work! ^_^
Yeah lol. I’m still going slow but each day seems like a fractional of improvement. I remember when I had difficulty just trying to draw a circle. I had to draw out guidelines... for a circle, and it would still take many attempts lol. Now I just seem to draw one with a few careful strokes no problem. The funny thing is nothing feels really different it’s just like riding a bike for me. You just know what to do. I guess that’s why everyone says keep doing it and keep practicing because it’ll just come in time.
Time is the ultimate tool and the ultimate weapon. It's the only thing that will bring us what we want, but ultimately it ruins us all. It's funny and a bit sad when you realize that nothing we have would be worth anything if it lasted forever. It seems it's the fragility of life that grants it its beauty. bleh, i keep getting existential this week. I think i need a drink...
I advise you fill a page of a sketchbook with doodles and upload it as an art dump every once in a while, even if the drawings are not too good you'll be able to see your progress as you compare the more reccent art dumps with the older ones, and you will be able to show your art with others and ask for criticism and advice.
As for learning both digital and traditional, I advise you sometimes take a drawing made on paper, upload it to your computer, and then re-do it in digital tracing over it, I give you this advice because I have found out that in spite of going for the same style in both mediums, the result looks very different, even the simplest elements such as the lineart; by trying to replicate your traditional drawings in digital you'll be able to see what changes in your artstyle and make an informed choice on wether you try to change the way you draw in either medium to more closely resemble the other, or if you'll let yourself be carried away by your instinct and your way of drawing in each medium and have your style in each medium develop separately and part ways from one another. Both of these options are good and valid, go for the one that you are most confortable with. : )
As for learning both digital and traditional, I advise you sometimes take a drawing made on paper, upload it to your computer, and then re-do it in digital tracing over it, I give you this advice because I have found out that in spite of going for the same style in both mediums, the result looks very different, even the simplest elements such as the lineart; by trying to replicate your traditional drawings in digital you'll be able to see what changes in your artstyle and make an informed choice on wether you try to change the way you draw in either medium to more closely resemble the other, or if you'll let yourself be carried away by your instinct and your way of drawing in each medium and have your style in each medium develop separately and part ways from one another. Both of these options are good and valid, go for the one that you are most confortable with. : )
I can give that a try. My problem is sometimes I don't let doodles just be doodles and I get obsessed trying to make them better drawings. Oddly enough since I got more into drawing it's harder for me to doodle (it doesn't help my serious drawings tend to look like other people's doodles ). I'm planning to try and use this account to track my progress, though. Let me upload some not-to-good art but show my improvement over time. So it's definitely an idea that I might try sometime. Maybe I can upload some gesture doodles sometimes. I practiced doing that once (on other people's recommendation) and plan to make that a weekly exercise so that might be a good place to start.
Yup, that's exactly what I do now. I draw my drawings first with pencil then scan them and trace over them digitally. I also noticed the results look way different and usually my digital inks come out looking a hundred times cleaner. The way I approach the different mediums is a bit different, like you say. Sometimes I tend to do things a little bit different with digital than I do pencil. A lot of things can get changed during the process, too. I'm honestly really looking forward to getting to the digital part with my current drawing because I'm curious to how it's going to turn out.
). I'm planning to try and use this account to track my progress, though. Let me upload some not-to-good art but show my improvement over time. So it's definitely an idea that I might try sometime. Maybe I can upload some gesture doodles sometimes. I practiced doing that once (on other people's recommendation) and plan to make that a weekly exercise so that might be a good place to start. Yup, that's exactly what I do now. I draw my drawings first with pencil then scan them and trace over them digitally. I also noticed the results look way different and usually my digital inks come out looking a hundred times cleaner. The way I approach the different mediums is a bit different, like you say. Sometimes I tend to do things a little bit different with digital than I do pencil. A lot of things can get changed during the process, too. I'm honestly really looking forward to getting to the digital part with my current drawing because I'm curious to how it's going to turn out.
If you have trouble leaving doodles and sketches as that, I suggest you try to impose a challenge on yourself every day where you try to make a drawing in a very small amount of time. 1 minute, five minutes, 10 minutes... whichever you see it's a bit less than it usually takes you to make a serious drawing, that way you can't blame yourself for it looking bad, as you did it with a tight time constraint, and this will incentivize you to make quicker doodles and sketches, as you do this make the time constraint even tighter, eventually you should be able to make a recognizable pose on a sketchy mannequin in 1 minute, and give it detail to make it look like a cartoony person in a few more minutes. This is just what I think could work, though, so don't stress out if you see this method doesn't work for you or if you do not feel comfortable using it. : D
Right, so many people gave me exercises to do that kind of cover what you're talking about. I got some websites now that give you poses to draw in a set time. I already tried them once for a bit but it's something I plan on doing more of. It also kind of hits the nail on the head with what you're talking about. My other problem is staying focus. I'm surrounded by distractions sometimes and it hinders my ability to keep doing what I'm supposed to be doing. Like, I need my computer for references and guides but sometimes I find myself instinctively surfing the internet or doing something that's wasting my time. I need to somehow control that. I'm thinking of downloading one of those Chrome extensions for studying that blocks time-wasting websites so you stay focused on your work.
I find myself much more productive when I am timing myself, I suggest you work with a time-keeping program on your computer telling you how long you've been working, and only let it run while you are drawing, the sheer hassle of having to stop it every time I want to check deviantart or my twitter makes me work on the drawing for longer periods of time. + it will help you know how fast you are able to draw. : D
That's not too bad of an idea. It also would be nice to keep track of my general time. I'll consider it as an option in the future. Thank you!
You are welcome! ^^
Yoho!! I feel like I can symphatize with you with your story. I myself is also sorta a rookie artist despite loving drawing as a kid etc... I think I just never really practiced that much compared to other better artists, so I'm trying to change that.
I'm also quite slow in producing art.
As for studies, I'm currently doing some portrait sketches in hopes of improving my face drawing ability, might transition into color studies as I feel it is one of my weaker areas. Studies even thou I'm drawing anime fanart, I like to reference real life images to better inform myself for other kinds of style in the future as artsyle imo evolves from real life to suit your needs for expression.
I'm also not that young but not your age yet so somehow I feel it griping me tighter a little, in that if I don't work hard now, I might not be able to make it as an artist.
As for artstyle wise, I waddle in between semi-realistic and anime, maybe more towards anime side as manga and anime was one of my first inspiration to start drawing.
Anyways, I really hope you succeed in you comic or even become a better artist in general
It sounds like we're pretty much doing the same thing right now. Studying real life pictures (maybe practicing drawing some realistic pictures, I had to do that in my art class), drawing fan art of cartoons/animes/games, and studying other people's art, right? And yeah, trust me, the age thing does get to me but if you ever feel like you're too old to get into art I listened to a lot of artists who told me you could never be too old. You can get into art at any age. Yeah, it sucks thinking, "If I got into this more seriously when I was 15 I would be amazing right now!" but the thing is when you hit 40 you're just going to be thinking the same thing about you're 20s and 30s. Like, "Man, if only I started drawing when I was 28 I might be good at it now!" My art teacher told me there is no age limit to getting into drawing and even had elderly people in his class (who were good but according to him they started out later in life).
Thanks! I hope you succeed too! Literally everyone ever I talked to about it just tells me we need to keep practicing. As long as we keep doing it, no matter how much we struggle, we'll eventually get better. So I'm just going to keep going.
Thanks! I hope you succeed too! Literally everyone ever I talked to about it just tells me we need to keep practicing. As long as we keep doing it, no matter how much we struggle, we'll eventually get better. So I'm just going to keep going.
Greetings!
I'm also new here and have a same conflict like you. I do love variety of arts (maybe all of em idk). I don't really know my style and yeah...
Plus i do wanted to have a learning buddy and hey, you seems nice! we get better from day to day waddya say?
Nice meeting you btw~
DA frenz
I'm also new here and have a same conflict like you. I do love variety of arts (maybe all of em idk). I don't really know my style and yeah...
Plus i do wanted to have a learning buddy and hey, you seems nice! we get better from day to day waddya say?
Nice meeting you btw~
DA frenz
Sure! That would be fun! I’m not sure how you want to communicate but let me know what you’re comfortable with. I’m primarily use discord to talk to people online but if you prefer another platform or just want to use da that’s cool, also.
Let me know and we can chat sometime!
Let me know and we can chat sometime!
Idk actually, been busy lately but sure same to you
feel free to contact me and ill sure to cantact you if i will.
feel free to contact me and ill sure to cantact you if i will.
Sure. I'm still new here so I guess I send you a note sometime lol?
lel maybe, i guess idk and how tho xD
I'll give it a try sometime and we can see if it works, might as well experiment and learn.
Welcome to Deviant Art. It's nice to meet you. How's your day?