When did you become serious about your art?

[FlameDragon]

When I look back through my old sketchbooks and memories, I see that with my art from around late 2001-2002 I really tried improving my work. In 2002 I printed out various anatomy tutorials and I got the How to draw manga book on anatomy (not good, but then again none of those how to draw books are), so I did realize that my art would improve alot if I solidify my grasp of anatomy. However, for some reason I stopped and went back to using reference pictures instead. Then around 2005 I actually started drawing the human anatomy, but from photos. 2007 is when I first started going to life drawing and also found this website, so since then I have a good idea of what to study/do to improve my abilities.

I do believe that before 2001, I was ALOT more creative with my artworks. Especially in 2000 when I was obsessed with technology, I'd draw all these different inventions like garbage being converted into fuel for automobiles. I lost all my creativity though.

[Duq]

I think april 2007. I started drawing 2 years prior to that, but that was like 1 sketch in months at time. Yay for WoW I guess. Last April I just got fed up, and started drawing every day, every moment I can find. I found an amazing mentor in july, and I have been living on clouds since then :D

I have never been really creative, so I had to find a way that worked for me. For me its setting up boundaries. If you just intend to draw something cool, your options are to much, and you will make some standard stuff. But if you say like "I'm gonna make a female futuristic beserker" you have set up an boundary. And then you can draw and storytell to try and get as much out of the idea as you can. For me exploring boundaries is creativity I think.

[Sepulverture]

I started getting serious about 2 years ago. About a month after I actually joined this site. Before that it had been about another 2 years since I had drawn anything at all. I go through a lot of ruts, and don't draw anything for a week, or two weeks, or a month at a time so in the last two years I'd say I've been actually drawing about a year and a half of that time. I'm just now coming out of one of my most recent ruts.

In all actuality I'm glad for the ruts, because I feel that they give me time to digest what I had learned during the previous drawing spurt and I feel like my drawings improve after each rut since all the information has had time to digest. During these little ruts I don't simply go inactive. I spend a lot of time observing things, and taking mental notes about the way something does something, I just can't force my pencil to the paper.

I think the next big step for me is going to be life drawing classes. I've drawn a lot of stuff from life although it usually turns out crappy and I get embarrassed at the thought of displaying them in a public forum and then move onto something else.

I like the idea that Duq talked about up above, about limiting yourself.

Just a few days ago I came to that conclusion also, because during the past couple years that creative fire just hasn't been burning, so I've been trying to narrow my topic down to something specific such as "female arctic heavy caliber sniper" or "bronze age pike-man".

[Blaz]

Still not... :\

[tomwaits4noman]

11 yrs ago when I first went to college, though its only now I feel I am becoming a serious artist...

[Barts]

u can be serious yet still have fun with your work

[Coinpurse]

Still not... :\


lol, I love the honesty.
Verrryyyy neeiiiceee! Hiiigh fiiivee!

I've never been serious about anything really. I don't think I ever will.

[applecheeks]

It's been a roller coaster with a gradual build up. I started out super motivated about learning how to draw manga and within a year or two I could draw reasonable well-rendered characters. Since I just wanted to know how to create those nice-looking manga illustrations and I had kind of reached my goal I totally lost track of where I wanted to go. My motivation and improvement dwindled. 2 years ago I discovered comic drawing so that got me fired up again and it's made me have to gear up my skills, become faster and more confident. It's really refreshing to feel that you're learning and improving again.
A few weeks ago I decided that I would aim to become a freelance illustrator/comic artist. This has been my biggest motivation boost so far. Once I decided to put all my doubts aside I feel like I can do just about anything with hard work and dedication. I'm going to go back to basics and learn things thoroughly. After having been somewhat of a hobbyist for ages I'm still trying to get used to taking art seriously. ^^
I feel really inspired by people's motivation here at CA, you sure don't get this on DA. ^^

[Digital_Blacksmith]

I started being serious about 10 years ago, when I started doing my own video game. Never went anywhere with the game, but im still doing my art and loving every second of it.

[Stark]

When I picked up a pencil. Then I stopped being serious and just wanted to have fun.

[Crane]

I thought i got serious awhile ago, but now i've realised that i'm no where near as serious as i need to be, or to be more accurate, dedicated, and that i need to pull my finger out fast, i wish i knew back then what i know now.

[FlameDragon]

I feel really inspired by people's motivation here at CA, you sure don't get this on DA. ^^

I think conceptart and deviantart can go hand in hand, as they both have things the other lacks. Conceptart is excellent for critique and discussion and acquiring the resources/inspiration to improve, but there isn't as much diversity in the artworks (compared to DA) and browsing for artworks of particular subjects is a more time-consumming process.

Deviantart is good in that it has over a million users and so there's tons and tons of people you can interact with, although there is alot of anime fanart, you could still find artwork on almost any conceivable subject and it's easier to browse for it, I like the idea of having galleries (not that the Sketchbooks on here are a bad idea), and there's alot of reference pictures. But because the site is so big, it takes forever for people to find your page (unless you upload anime fanart or a nude picture, then you'll get 100s of views within the first few hours), people dont really give critique on your works (they only comment to say "nice job!"), you can't really have a good discussion on art subjects, there aren't that many good artists on there who can actually be original, and I dont like the policies of the site like how they can randomly take down your drawing, move your artworks to scraps for no reason, and can use your artworks for profit without your permission.

So I think deviantart is good when you are younger and mainly doing fanart, then you go to conceptart when you want to hone your skills, and then once you've become a better artist you go to both sites, with the works you post on DA actually being well drawn and creative.

[applecheeks]

I agree that DA is a place where young artists can start out and feel encouraged by the fact that they're posting in a community where there are pros. It makes the pros seem a little less god-like. X) CA and DA are fundamentally different though, CA is a forum where there are proper threads with specific topics and discussions. People make their own sketchbook threads to show progress and share tips, tricks, and life advice in general. DA is more of a gallery site to showcase (or spam) your art. DA is is rubbish if you want critique, I use it mostly to follow some of my fav artists. The connectedness of DA makes the site a very inspiring place to find amazing art... although looking at art all day won't help your own skill much.
CA is a great place to learn, which is why I joined, but I think it takes a while to learn the ins and outs of the subforums... as is the case with any larger forum.

[Jacob Kobryn]

I actually started thinking with the rules of art (color theory, lighting, etc.) when I was about 11. I also started studying anatomy (but I stopped about a year after :( ... I really wish I hadn't). I guess that was when I got "serious" with my art.

[Costau D]

When my goal became to kill as many trees possible by the time I die...

Wacom is destroying that dream though.

[TheComicFilmBoy]

Although I didn't start learning figure drawing/anatomy from books until a couple years ago, I'd say I got serious about drawing in the 10th grade as I was all cartooned out. I literally drove myself crazy so one day, out of the most random things I could ever think of, I said to myself, "I'm gonna draw some demons." So I did lol

that's also how I got into horror flicks and drawing skeletons and stuff (though they were crude attempts as I didn't know of any books on the subject). I also made many attempts to do realistic drawings, though they always looked like bad caricatures

[woodbert]

Always loved to draw and paint since I was a kid. I've really gotten into metal work as I've gotten older.

[Jason Rainville]

First realised that art could be developed and improved upon (or rather, that I could improve my art) two years ago when I joined.

First started to DO something about my art (started skecthbook) a year and a half ago.

First started to get better and thus kick it into second gear a year ago.

Unfortunately I'm stuck in second gear.

[aylap]

I've known that I wanted to do something in art since I was around five years old, but I didn't think it was possible for me to make a living with it (yes, at five years old, I was worrying about stuff like that. A sad fact but true :C) Then, when I was eleven (about 6 years ago), I decided I was going to do what I loved, whether I could make a career out of it or not. That's when I really got serious with learning more and practicing more. The best part is, now I know I can make a living with art, so hopefully all of my hard work will pay off :D

[Blue]

I think i've always been serious about it. If i go longer then 2 weeks without drawing i feel miserable and depressed about it. I've tried some other ventures to make more money, but in the end this is my life blood. Honestly, if not for this, i'd flip burgers till i was dead.

[jadefoodog]

yanno in complete honesty its only been a little over a year i have been truely serious and even to this day i dont do as much as i want in order to achieve the results i want. but im working on it every day and maybe in a few years ill be somewhat closer to the level of some of the bigdogs on here. but unlike most of you im not looking for a way into the video games or movie industry to be a concept artist right now im a established working tattoo artist , although the tattoo industry does seem to be a safe haven for mediocre artist .

all i can do is work my ass off to get as good as i possibly can before i die cant worry about how good anyone else is.

[Ryuartyi]

Only a month ago. I want to go to the ConceptArt Atelier, but I noticed that I wasn't drawing near enough for admission. I've noticed a lot of improvement since then.

[CGMonkey]

When I met my best friend and mentor in life / art. It marked a definite beginning to a career in arts.