Back to the Basics: An FAQ regarding the foundations of creating art

[Jason Manley]

This thread will be an open topic thread for the moderators and those with professional tags to contribute their insights on how to get started in art as well as how to improve your basic skills.

Please read it throughoughly and follow it as it grows. We are going to focus on helping the beginners to a much larger degree. Some of you will be the next Mullins, the next Justin Sweet's, or the next Andrew Jones...some of you will surpass all that any of us has done. We are here to help you do this.

Thanks,


Jason

PS..mods..feel free to brainstorm ideas in this thread. after we get the ideas out, we can clean it up in a fresh FAQ and GUIDE which will be ideal for this section.

[Jason Manley]

1. Look at other artists works. Start building a library of images in a "Favorite Art" folder. Save all the images you like from here on out. Include old masters works. All secrets to making art can be found in the masters works. Be sure you name your images so you know who the artists are later. You will end up with a wonderful library of inspiration and it will also help you to understand your tastes to a higher degree which in turn will help you to define your style which will come out all on its own later.

[Imp Head]

2. Always always always ask youself "WHY?". I feel, quite strongly, that this is a fundemental element of understanding and creating art that is sorely overlooked in today's art education venues. Too much focus is placed on HOW to draw/paint but not nearly enough placed on WHY, the how works.

For example, anatomy. There are fundemental rules to how the body is put together. Bones act as anchors for muscles which move the limbs which deform the skin which makes the body look like it does in whatever position it's in. Yet, in most anatomy classes emphisis is placed on different ways to draw the body as an object sitting in front of you rather than the intricate machine it is. Without that underlying knowledge of that machine that fills that structure you're simply copying a visual reference. Take away the reference and you've got nothing. Learn the WHY e.g. why does the body look this way when I put my arm up... And you can make educated and informed decisions when looking at a reference, advance more quickly in your understanding and ultimately be able to understand what you're viewing to the point where you can intrinsically be able to reproduce it without the reference.

And that's just one example. Everything about the images you create, composition, psychology, anatomy, costume, architecture, perspective, camera angle, color choice, lighting, EVERYTHING has an underlying and oft times dynamic set of "rules" that determine it's success in your drawing which in turn determines the success of a particular piece of art. Understand those rules, or more simply put, WHY something works or doesn't work and you can create art with forethought and intent.

Think of it as the difference between walking into a room with a gun taking careful aim and shooting at a target rather than, walking into a room, closing your eyes and shooting in the general direction of the same target. Chances are you'll hit a lot more often doing the former.

[Jason Manley]

3 draw from life...

dont just draw from your head...you need to put stuff in your head. draw the figure...draw people on the train or at the mall or airport....get a model or do self portraits.

you need a balance of short term capturing gesture ability and long term undertsanding of light and forms and anatomy.

do long poses....three to twelve hours...over days if you can. if you cant get a model you can get a plaster cast (see mindcandymans thread for a nice cast drawing example). You can also do self portraits. You need time to just draw...to see...and to learn to quickly understand what you see.

do short term stuff....two minute..three minute...one minute....you need to be able to quick sketch....note taking of your environment...what you put out is only as good as what you put in.

truth is found in nature. look...remember...understand.


spend just as much time working from imagination. if you are out of balance it will be obvious in your works. Those who do work from life a lot will see right through your mistakes unless you understand what you are making. learn to understand what you see...and how to put that down on the paper.


work just on drawing at first...save painting for when you have mastered value.


this is just some brainstorming...we will clean this up nice later.


J

[Signature]

In the Academy we have some related threads.

For example we have an attitude lecture.
Lecture #1 - Attitude (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=28061)

And we are working on a list of common mistakes that you should try to avoid.
Announcement - Frequent Mistakes (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=28064)

[Imp Head]

4. Talent does not equal skill...

Just because you've got an innate artistic talent doesn't give you a free ticket to great art. You've got to use that talent to hone your skills. This means simply, practice practice practice.

Think of it this way. A professional athlete doesn't become a pro just by waking up one day, walking down to the ball-park, field or track and start performing great feats of prowess. A rock-star doesn't just wake up one day pick up an instrument and blow us all away. They spent years and years turning their innate abilities, talent, into amazing skills. You are the equivelant of an athlete or a rock-star in the making. You may have the talent but it's going to take a lot of practice to achieve the skill level and noteriety you desire. This equates to sketching.

If a nice drawing or painting or sculpture is the artist equivelant of playing a championship game or an arena venue, sketching is the artist's practice. Sure it's a great way to draft out a painting or drawing as it lets you hammer out and refine your ideas without a lot of work, but just sketching for the sake of sketching is also a great way to get the creative juices flowing, it hones the skills you're trying to develop as an artist, it quickly refines your artistic eye and it's a great way to pass the time if you're ever stuck waiting for a bus, between classes, on your lunch break, etc.

The more art you do the better you're going to get, so fill that down time between masterpieces with practice practice practice.

[Jason Manley]

5. KNOW your art history. ALL OF IT.

Don't just study comic books or illustrators or the like...learn all your art history. study from the masters. know all about who did what in art history. If you know the history of art you will know what has been done and can use that as a springboard to your own images. You can also learn about composition, color, drawing, design and more through knowing the masters works.

what makes art nouveau special? if you know your art history you know what makes things fit within the art nouveau period. What is the difference between a classical and a baroque composition? if you know your history you can use this knowledge to further your own art.


j

[Imp Head]

6. Take little bites...

Art is a complex, multilayered, and dynamic beast. It's impossible to jump right in as a beginner and be good at everything. Instead try to become proficient at one aspect before you move on to the next.

For instance, learn how to represent form with tone (black and white, sepia, etc.) before you do the same thing with color. By trying to learn everything at once you're just setting yourself up to fail, or at the very least many, many, nights of frustration.

The other thing to keep in mind is that the knowlege that you gain studying one aspect of art is most often applicable towards other aspects of art. The more knowledge you gain, the quicker you'll be able to gain new knowlege, making the learning process a compounding event.

Becoming a pro might seem like a long and insurmountable journey when you first start out, but by breaking the process down and taking it one step at a time, it turns that insurmountable task into a long string of tiny, readily attainable goals.

[Jason Manley]

never be satisfied. if there is something in your piece that you dont like...FIX IT. ..even if it is two months later.

be your own critic. if you know that peeps online will say to fix the hands or to increase the value range then beat them to the punch and fix the stuff before they can even give you a crit. however, if it is on purpose...what you have done...then do what you need to do to get done what you intend.

if you know they will complain about anatomy because you need to study more anatomy then find out the problems in the books or in photos or in front of a mirror and fix the stuff. if you know your anatomy and you distort on purpose..then that is your choice.

in other words...fix the stuff to your own intent. do not be satisfied with almost good. that satisfaction is your worst enemy. if it doesnt look right then you need to DO WHATEVER IT TAKES to make it right to you. if that means repainting for three days...do so. if that means getting reference...do so. if that means drawing studies...do so. do what it takes....


j

[Imp Head]

8. Knowledge is power...

Being good at art goes way beyond just knowing how to render a box, paint a face, or draft a building. Just about everything subject you learn in real life can be reformulated to improve your artistic abilities.

For instance, learning Psychology has helped me immensely in learning and understanding composition, color theory, and the ability to use emotional triggers in my art to better effect the connection between myself and my viewers through my art.

Think of it this way. If you learn the finer points of non-verbal communication, understand how people move their arms, hold their body, use their eyes, when they're angry, sad, lying, etc., then you'll have a much better sense of how to portray that emotion when creating an image. Thus, you'll more effectively communicate said emotions to the viewer, be able to create a stronger connection and therefore have a more powerful and moving, piece of art.

This point goes hand in hand with number 2. above, understanding the "why" and is another vastly overlooked, yet intrinsically important learning tool.

[Jason Manley]

9. Style is something which comes on it's own. It is not something you can force. As you become proficient it will become like your own personal handwriting. Learn your art history, learn your foundation, as an artist masters this stuff he or she will find their style coming out just based on their own tastes which are finally settling in.


Here is something which can aid you in your own development of style though. choose your favorite four artists from ART HISTORY....ask your self what you like about those artists.....and make some images for yourself using those qualities. For example...maybe it is muchas' flowing design, Bouguereau's ability to render life like flesh, rembrandts value range, chagalle's rich color, etc.... or maybe its sargents brush strokes and rockwells use of interesting character etc....the list is endless. the handwriting of art is not as important as your perspective. When doing this, use your OWN subject matter.

as an artist works on their foundation and masters the craft and emotional qualities of their work, their style just comes out all on it's own.


j

[Imp Head]

10. Nothing beats real...

Though digital is a wonderful medium, is a great learning device because of it's virtually consequence free enviroment, and is great for production work due to it's speed and image editing power, it shouldn't act as a replacement for real mediums.

I myself, a self-proclaimed "digital artist" who will readily defend the digital medium will oft times go back to doing art in "traditional" mediums to sharpen my mind. Any medium where you've got to work at fixing your mistakes rather than simply clicking a couple of buttons will sharpen your mind so you won't make as many of those mistakes in the first place. Simply put it will strengthen your powers of forethought, perception, and intent.

[Jason Manley]

11. thumbnails and color studies...


when starting a piece do some thumbnails and color studies....work out some of your issues and choose from the best image. play with camera angles, poses, color composition....sometimes it is NOT your first idea which is most appropriate for what you want to do. put some time into planning your piece.

since i work digitally i just take my thumb and blow it up and finish it. i also did my thumbnails and studies when i worked traditionally.

norman rockwell would draw out the characters in his paintings dozens of times sometimes. you need to be a perfectionist with your work. doing studies will bring you closer to that perfection in your work. reaching perfection may be impossible but it is a worthy journey. dont settle for good enough...do your studies to try to get your image to be great.

j

[emily g]

12. Attitude is important.

Some things that show you have the right attitude:

-When someone crits your work, you don’t feel hurt or angry. Instead, you think, “I’m so glad they told me. That’s exactly what I needed to hear.”

-When someone crits your piece, you take their suggestions and rework the art. Then you bring the reworked piece back to get more feedback.

-You stop with the excuses: “But, I . . . ,” “But the . . . .” No one wants to hear excuses, especially not a client.

-You’re willing to stop being lazy and start putting in the hours.

People love helping someone who has a good attitude. It took me a while to learn to suck it up and show my teachers that I was serious about learning. But once I did, they went out of their way to help me and I started progressing so much faster.

emily

[Imp Head]

13. Simplify...

If you're having difficulty representing form in your subjects try simplifying them into basic shapes, (cubes, cylinders, etc.)

For instance, The human face may be a complex jumble of compound curves but when you simplify it down to it's basest shapes, seeing the form and more importantly how the light affects that form will be much easier to grasp.

[Jason Manley]

14. Networking and Burning bridges.

Keep your contacts. Build your contacts. If you meet talented people, stay in touch with them. Make friends with each other. We all need help with stuff and if you have the right group of friends, anything is possible.

as you journey through school and your career you will find people who are absolutely impossible to deal with or even be around. one thing we have learned is that those are the people who end up in places to help you later. for some reason the biggest idiot always is the one to rise to the very top...at least that is the old joke. If you burn bridges with people...anyone...then you have one less person to help you later. Tact is always necessary. Do your best to keep from burning bridges.

Make friends...lots of them. Be genuine. Be yourself. Stick together.



j

[Jason Manley]

16. KEEP AN OPEN MIND WHEN LISTENING TO CRITS

a crit is there to help you. listen to the harsh words and the good ones too. look into what people say. do NOT take it as a personal attack. Look at everything said as a possible way to improve.

the key is to be able to see others viewpoints. if you can see it how others would you can make your own decisions. do not post it if you know what people are going to say...fix those parts and then post it. try to stump the critics.

keep an open mind. put your ego away. listen for answers like a thirsty person in the desert looks for a nice cold one.

Learning takes putting the ego away. Not arguing.

J

[Jason Manley]

17. get together with local artists. there is no better way to learn than in groups who are all working on their art. if there is not a local group..organize one. there are local artist groups in the lounge. take initiative.

things to do:

1 get a figure model...do as much life drawing as possible
2 organize a sketch group or attend one at a coffee shop or library or other such place.
3 go to the museums
etc....


J

[Jason Manley]

18. Letting projects or events outside of your craft seep too deeply into your life will slow your progress with that very art which got you here..or will get you there. An eye must be kept on that balance where your skills improve but your business life, social life, volunteer work, travels, and the like thrive as well. For every great artist there is one thing which they all share together. Art is a top priority in their life.


Jason

[emily g]

19. Don't make someone else do your research for you.

It's ok to ask questions, but don't make someone else dig up resources, books, or links for you. Go to the library and check out a few books on your own. Learn how to search the internet to find answers to your questions. Do a little of your own legwork.

There's a wealth of information out there. You can find just about anything if you put in a little bit of work.

emily

[Signature]

20. Read the advice and the critiques that others get.
Doing that will help you with judging your own pieces.

Do you see what people are talking about?
Did you see it before you read the critiques?
Do you make the same mistakes?

[Jason Manley]

21. The Right Workspace.

Your workspace should have everything you need to create art. Resource materials, art materials, drawing supplies, painting supplies, drinks, snacks, red bull, music if you enjoy it, and anything else which makes your workspace an enjoyable and accessable spot to make stuff.

If you have all you need, you can attack your stuff when the inspiration hits you. If you have to go digging, dont have what you need, or just feel cramped with the location then your space is counter-productive to creating.

Design your space around art. Make it easy for yourself. Be willing to make art no matter what your space.

[twitch]

Hey Thanks Y'all...

I suspect this is maybe not the sort of post that goes in this thread so feel free to remove it when you 'cclean up'; but I just wanted to say Thanks.

This is all excellent stuff in this thread. Most of it I knew already but its profoundly enriching to get it all sequentially in a single thread of communication.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you a million times over. Off to post some paintings in the noob thread, I look forward to hearing from some or all of you there.

Thanks Again, for this thread, this forum, this site.

Y'all Seriously Rock.

Be Well,
Twitch

[Form]

22.

Just from my own experience and discussions with artists:

Read books, and to a lesser extent movies. Read the newspaper. In the time when you just have to take a break from your art, reading fiction and keeping up with curren affairs and film trends will aid you in your understanding of popular design and what is in visual 'fashion'.
Reading books can give you a big boost to your creativity and if you ever find yourself struggling with idea development, having a healthy taste in literature can often help you greatly. Dont be concerned about losing your individual creativity as all the ideas you read will eventually be amalgamated into your unique style (same as the master studies as mentioned earlier).

Hope i wasnt out of line posting that here, its just something I have been neglecting of late - literature and (good) film - some of the classics - that remind us why we do what we do.

Adam

[otis]

Stay Loose. Don't get cought up in details right away. Somtimes you have to let the piece create itself. You are only there to bring it out.

Mistakes are somtimes genius! Don't get in the habit of erasing.

Most of all, no matter how boring the subject, put emotion into it. " A work which did not begin in emotion is not art." --Paul Cezanne

[le capitan]

24. Have Fun -
Having fun drawing is very important. Being bogged down by how bad you are is going to get you no where. Dont waste your time fealing sorry for yourself, you dont need to practice that; practice drawing. Enjoyment in your artwork will encourage you to continue doing it and often. You draw because you enjoy to, not to pick up chicks( that comes later on). So remember to have fun.

[Form]

25. Humility

I was at lifedrawing tonight with a new teacher who has won many Australian prizes in national annual competitions - a very skilled realist painter.

My point being - he was the teacher, and his authority on the subject at hand was very apparent.

It was my first night at this place, as it was for one other guy.... so we got first lesson special attention sort of thing - a lot of 1 on 1 which was great.

At several points the teach had the two of us sitting down with him as he explained what to look at in the figure. The guy next to me could not stop looking around, fidgeting, sighing and making it very obvious that he thought he already knew everything the teacher was telling him.

Later as we were drawing, he repeatedly called the teacher over to try and explain things - things which were clearly explained when he had us sitting down. NOT ONLY THAT but the guy then tried to challenge the teacher by listing how all the other lifedrawing people (vilppu, loomis, bridgeman etc) did it and why this was BETTER THAN THE TEACHERS METHOD.

Needless to say myself, the teacher and the rest of the students wished we could muzzle the guy. Eventually the teacher just gave up the will to help him and the student gave up the will to ask questions. When he left i got the feeling he had learned little if anything.

As you progress as an artist it is essential that you remember your humility. Dont bite the hand that feeds you - realise the experience of opeople who have been at it far longer than you have - as well as respecting the opinions of those around you. The more humble you are the more other people will be likely to help you again and again, if you act superior or elitist then they will leave you to your own devices and you are cutting yourself off at the knees.

[rothgar]

25. Practice
Don't expect your first efforts to be front page material. We all start as beginners and need to practice and make mistakes before we start getting things right. Exhibit patience, as it can be very frustrating when you don't see your work living up to the level of those whom you admire.

[Martin de Madrid]

Great thread, great advice. I would put my two centimos in with, go to museums and see the original old masters' works. Reproductions just do not cut it! Often the format (the physical size of the painting) will make a profound difference in how you see it. When you are in front of the original, you see the impasto, the brushmarks, the true values and colors (assuming it is well preserved).

But remember, especially with really old works, often they have been cut down (Rembrandts' "Night Watch" is a good example) and the composition is very different from the original. Also the colors may have changed, faded, become more transparent, or may be overpainted by lesser talents (Titian's works were often abused in this manner). Find out the history behind the painting so you know what has been changed. This will open up whole new worlds for you!

One of my favorite tricks is to bring a pair of small binoculars with me when I visit a museum. I can see detail across the room, see it on large paintings high up, and if there is a crowd I can stand back and still see it better than they do! I've only encountered one other person who had the same idea. It really works, try it!

If you are fortunate enough to have a museum which permits copying in the galleries, then by all means do so! It is like having a personal class with the master.

Find out everything you can about their palette, the kind of paints they used (lindseed, walnut, hemp, poppy oil?), pigments (is it real ultramarine made from lapis lazuli, or something else?), orginial support (canvas or panel or gesso?), and any hidden (to us) symbolism (was that worm in the apple just there, or does it represent the impermanence of life?), local history (was there a plague going on when it was painted -- see Brughel's "The Triumph of Death."), in short everything you can about the art, the artist and the enviornment. Now THAT is what I mean by art history! Now go forth and copy thou. . .

Best in paint,

[RedSox]

26. Talent does not equal skill - part II
Talent does exist imo, but it's not a gift, it's a curse. Talented people who work as hard as others, learn things more quickly. Yes.
But talented people never learn to work hard for anything, and so they give up easier than others, they fail more often than others and have more fear or failure too than others. Talented people aren't easily satified or proud of their own achievements, enjoy their work less than others.

When you study art history, you'll see that most famous artists have travelled a long way to get to their best works. The only one I know of that has always been incredibly good is probably Leonardo Da Vinci, but I still can't believe that he has always been that good. No one ever has.
Da Vinci just had more time to concentrate on developing his skills, without any distractions like annoying clients or friends or phone, tv, internet, games.

The word 'talent' also includes a sort of expectation, something we can expect of this person in the future. Skills is something you have now, something you can use now. Talent does exists, but it's as useless as a high IQ or a weather forecast for next week.

[Form]

"Talent is like the next weeks weather forecast"

nice metaphore, redsox!

[serf]

One jewel of wisdom I was given in one of my drawing classes at college was so simple, yet so profound:

Don't ask yourself "What can I put in this piece?" Instead ask yourself "What does this piece need?"

[Danilo]

I saw that some artist here dont respect abstract art. Also lot of "accademic" artist and teachers dont respect illustration art.
Please, both of you, open your eyes!

Ok, new one from my proffesor: Dont learn just technique, strech your ideas from the first drawing.

[look]

Try different styles and mediums.

It's being said that not to jump into a style right away, but it's also useful to try different styles. Certain style, such as vector illustrations, can simplify the shape, and make complicated things easier to understand. Other style (such as the fine art that uses strong colors) might be able to help you to understand texture and skintone better.

It's also good to try different mediums. You may learn new techniques with new medium and apply it to other mediums.

[OptimusDinkus]

I guess Ill go ahead with my 2 cents
First, Study most if not all forms of art; cause there is treasures in each of them. With animation, your figures will have more balance and weight and believability and it’s easier to visualize the image. Abstract art has wonderful compositions, depending where you look of course. Even minimalism can teach someone simplicity to help visualize with stylization.
Second, you need to know the rules before you make your own. This is very important and takes time to learn. Allot of us will rush through a piece and become very stubborn and mad, well in my case this did happen once till I just kept at it, sometimes 8 hours a day, it will come to you eventually.
Third, as far as critiques go, not everyone sees the same, so when you’re getting critiques, your actually enhancing your vision by someone else’s sight. Also taking breaks away from a piece is a must since it makes you see mistakes that were disregarded.
Finally, its your work, you can do whatever you want with it, heck try just putting the pencil down, don’t lift it, and draw whatever you see in front of you, or even tear it to pieces if you wish. You need to see that its your art, to others it may be a work of art, but to you its yours.
Also as Pablo Picasso said, and its true to this day, Good artists borrow, great artists steal.

[madster]

#27. Forethought prevents "for naught..."

Take the few minute's time to think about what you are wanting to create, and draw 3-5 small thumbnail sketches to try different Compositional combinations. This will help you make the most of the time you invest in a work...

~M

[Magic Man]

Awesome thread, seriously, everyday something on CA makes me sit up and think "I hope CA never goes away..."

I read everyone's tips and I agree with everyone, awesome points.

I know they were touched on by some others, but I feel strongly enough about it to re-iterate them:

28. Form follows function, this basic pervasive industrial design thought process is decievingly simple, yet amazingly precise, espcially in the field of concept design this definitely applies. Everything from cars, to ships, to buildings to the human bodies - first and foremost, the thing in question MUST satisfy its obligatory function, what it is intended for, without which that thing is just a useless ornament not worthy of much more than a moment's glance. This translates to understanding what is "udner the hood", I've heard many people ask what is the nessesity of learning the bones and internal organs to create realistic figures? The answer is that without this internal understanding, your designs are merely stabs in the dark - no matter how well placed.

29. Compacency and apathy are the killers of ability, being lazy should never be part of any person's vocabulary, nothing is ever gained without great sacrifice, and anything gained without great sacrifice is probably not worth sacrificing for. Learn how to push yourself to the edge of madness, to the boundaries of perfection, learn to bleed for your art or anything else you feel strongly about. We only have one life to live, learn to live it passionately.

30. Technical knowledge is not a strong basis for art, it is a nessesity, it gives you the visual vocabulary to command a viewer's emotions, without this sound basis in visual communication your communication of emotoion - which is ultimately the goal of all good art - is a hit and miss affair. Technical knowledge should always be a precursor to imagination, for imagination without the skill to pull it off leads only to frustration.

31. It is the divine role function of the artist to manipulate a viewer's emotions, to let them escape into your world and visions for a limited time, you OWE it to them to be able to do this as completely as possible, only achievable through the dogged union of numerous factors such as technical skill, imagination, cultural understanding, composition, lighting, contrast and color - no more, no less. To fail to fulfil this prophecy is nothing less than a grievous sin borne of the aforementioned societal cancers of laziness, apathy and complacency, you fulfil a higher role function in society, make sure you honour your birthright.

[Ismail]

Much has been said in the above posts, if you're reading this far you've read the above posts aswell. :) So you'll understand why this one is brief. :)

Study and do sculpture. :) Be it with super sculpty or 3D (Maya, z-Brush) acquaint your eye with interpreting form. As mentioned before lifedrawing.
www.fineart.sk <---Loomis Books rock! :) DVD's too. :) Also the library. People and places. Various organisms. Feed your mind. :)

Have a state of mind of progression, visualize, visualize. and LIVE LIFE. ;) :) :) :) The more experiences you can draw from in life the more flexibility you'll have in what you want to express in your art. :)

[MindCandyMan]

Turn off your TV...uninstall your video games if you have too (for a short while...you need to play them to know how to design for them). DON'T TALK ABOUT BEING AN ARTIST...BECOME AN ARTIST. Do what you have to do to get to where you want. Don't waste weeks talking about going to a particular school or reaching a goal. Define the goal and just do it. The most direct way of becoming good as an artist comes from just doing it. Don't talk about wanting to draw/paint...draw or paint instead.

[Nexus]

Don't ever do the bare minimum. Take pride in your work because it is a reflection on both you as an artist and a person. If you ever find yourself working on something you're less than enthusiastic about then it has become time to readjust your thinking. Every chance you get to produce art is just one step closer to you furthering your skill and moving on to a level of skill you had never concieved of. As painful as some projects may be they are still training and a great artist never stops training, ever.

[grantrl78]

Don't listen to what other people say.
Including me.
You will only get better by doing it.

[Stupidity'sUglyHead]

Also as Pablo Picasso said, and its true to this day, Good artists borrow, great artists steal.

This quote is a point of contention. I think Picasso enjoyed propagating confusion. The greatest artist has nurtured their own unique style.

[Vulgar`]

34. Have fun with your art. Being one of 7 billion human beings it's important that you enjoy yourself. Art has no limits.

[blanquish]

HEY, i was gonna bump back this thread, looks like someone beat me to it!
Anyway, take my words with a grain of salt, im definately not a pro but i do have something to say!
35:
1st tip- enter lots of art competitions either online, or in your neighbourhood, its good having it on a resume etc, and the prizes may help financial issues
2:Repetition is the key to anatomy. Dont expect to draw a figure once and be able to do it again perfectly. It takes a few tries to understand, and more to remember.
3: DO selfportraits. Its a valuable exercise and it beats ref stuff by a mile. Use a mirror and not a photo. Mix up some long ones with some quick ones.
4:Before you draw, learn to draw! Lots of apriring artists start from their head and miss out on the fundamentals doing so. WHat I mean is start by doing simple exercises like from ref, life etc. Learn how to get proportions spot on everytime, make rendering your strong point. Back this up with anatomy studies!
5:ALWAYS carry a sketchbook with you( You can buy miniature sbs that are big enough to squeeze into your pocket, but are big enough to draw in.
You never know when inspiration will hit you, most often or not your not prepared, and cant get the idea down quick enough, so you lose it. It is also a good idea to carry a camera, even if its just attached to your phone.
6:Experiment in different mediums: You can learn a lot from a lot of traditional methods that will help you in the long run. And you might find that one area isnt your strong point, but another is.
7: When you think your done, or are nearly finished, leave it for a while, perhas overnight and look at it again in the morning. Most often or not, youll notice a plethora of mistakes. Its also valuable to get someone elses opinion, because after staring at it for an extended period, you dont notice the subtle mistakes.
8: Suck up as many tutorials as you can. Whether it be from magazines, the internet, books, dvds. You can learn a lot of new techniques and styles in doing so, and youll learn about new tools/features of programs that you havent used before.
Last but not least- enjoy yourself, If you land a good job, you never have to work a day in your life!

[TheDirtSyndicate]

uhm... this may be kind of stupid... but i say pass on what you know.
teach when you can... especially to kids. i see so many kids giving up when they try to draw a house and it just "doesn't look right"
you've got to encourage them, push them, and convince them to never give up.

i hate it when i hear people my age say "i wish i could draw"
i always tell them: "YOU CAN. you just have to want to learn, and just do it."

but yeah... encourage the kids and teach them as much as you can.

[Form]

definately!! teaching someone always leads to more knowledge.. its a way to force yourself to think about your theories cos you gotta make sure they are right befor you teach them!!

and you never know what your 'students' can teach you, in turn.

[blanquish]

dont be beaten by a slump!
draw no matter what the circumstances, dont get into habits and excuses like "Im tired, or maybe tomorrow",

[Snuggles]

34. Have fun with your art. Being one of 7 billion human beings it's important that you enjoy yourself. Art has no limits.

I was thinking about saying this. It's vital that we don't get so caught up in what our teachers, our employers, even our fellow artists want that we forget WHY we do art. If you just concentrate on being better without also doing things just to enjoy them, then your progress will be much slower than if you balance what you want to do with what you must do to progress.

All in all, yeah, if you want to be good you've got to do all the things the professionals on here tell you. Study the masters, draw from life. Practice-Practice-Practice. But if you don't enjoy yourself, if you don't stay balanced and healthy, it'll show through in your work no matter how skilled you are.

[Devere]

I must say I completely agree with you thanks allot for all the essential points. I find allot of students in my Industrial design program at Humber don't do most of this stuff enough, myself sometimes to but thanks for reminding me I almost gave myself a crutch for the on going dsign competition when the guys sponcering it basically turned down all my concepts for the project. but now I'm gonna jump right back on track and take their suggestion and make it work.

[Seedling]

Oh, what a wonderful thread!

If I may share a story. . .

There was once a student of the violin who sought out a master to play for him and ask his advice. “O wise teacher,” he said “do I have what it takes to be a great violinist?” “No,” responded the master. “Perhaps you would be more suited to a regular career.”

Crestfallen, the student put away his violin, and turned with a sigh to a career in banking. And ultimately he became a successful and happy banker.

Many years later he met the master violinist again. The student-turned banker said to him “Because you opened my eyes to my inadequacy as a violinist, I am now wealthy and have a stable career and a good family. It frightens me to think of the life I would have led as a second-rate violinist. Thank you for warning me away from playing the violin.”

The master violinist smiled sadly at the banker, and replied: “I tell all of the students they are inadequate. It is the ones who choose not to listen to me that have the stubbornness to succeed.”



I don’t remember where I first heard this story, I’m afraid.


FYI, if anyone here is looking for sketchbook assignment ideas, or info on the games industry, check out the links in my sig. . .

[EricT]

Know that you are good yet awful:

You need to feel good about what you do and enjoy doing it, but also be aware that you are not flawless yet so you can improve. I know people that capped after 1 year of drawing. They tought they were awesome and didn't look at ways to improve. I saw their work 4 years later, and it's still exactly the same

[TheDirtSyndicate]

Know that you are good yet awful:

You need to feel good about what you do and enjoy doing it, but also be aware that you are not flawless yet so you can improve. I know people that capped after 1 year of drawing. They tought they were awesome and didn't look at ways to improve. I saw their work 4 years later, and it's still exactly the same

heh, yeah. like that guy on the forums the other day saying "im 54 now, and i've been doing illustration for 40 years, i dont think i need to improve" i swear to god thats what he said. and his art was on par with that of a deviantart furry artist. yikes..

[RaistlinTheDark]

Ok I feel great about MY work, but when i loaded like 11 pics into the gallery on my profile, all i got was page #'s. How do i get to see the pics? plz help, i'm lost...

[Blade-14]

Know that you are good yet awful:

You need to feel good about what you do and enjoy doing it, but also be aware that you are not flawless yet so you can improve. I know people that capped after 1 year of drawing. They tought they were awesome and didn't look at ways to improve. I saw their work 4 years later, and it's still exactly the same

That's something that artists often lose wen they are afraid of making a mistake wen working on a piece, i know i've been there. But i think that may be a good thing in 1 respect. It shows that the artist is keeping those mistakes in mind so progressively they make better artwork.

Self confidence is something that humble artists don't seem to have a lot of, thing is i don't think thats a bad thing at all because they eventually gain it through their work improving and pros verfiying this. It also shows the artist doesn't think they're 'the shit' and only has enough confidence as it's required. (or however u say it)

That leads me onto the 2ND point u mentioned about people who think they're all that. It annoys me that people like that who are good artists but aren't willing to listen to honest critique which actually helps your work forward, are still stupidly popular and worshipped by people. I'm glad i've found an art community that put's talent recognition and improvement 1st, rather than,' all my other 100,000 friends say it's wicked and perfect looking' type attitude and following that up.

[i.am]

Please keep this up. I'm soaking in all this knowledge and advice.

[daveneale]

awsome advice-lots of common sense in there but always good to be reminded-I find inspiration from amazing artists helps me to improve and develop-and after joining CA I have a whole load of inspiration thats given me another big push to practice and try to get a whole lot better-its all too easy to be told by freinds/family, even clients that you rock and start to get complacent-I'm always looking for ways to improve, and theres a whole lot in here im gonna adhere to, cheers guys

[Remember my name]

Really great thread! thanks alot everyone who posted, really good stuff and has certainly made me think about a whole bunch of stuff.

So, i know im prolly not supposed to Post this, since im not or proffesional or even that good, but after reading all the posts i think a very important point have been overlooked, PUSH THE LIMITS! i, myself where at a point in my life where i drew alot of action-figure types and became really good at it, and my friends where very impressed, but suddenly i felt i became weaker in other aspects of drawing, and so i re-thought my way of creating, by a certain rule : NEVER DO THE SAME THING TWICE, if you just did one pose, do a new one, if you just drew a monster, draw a beautyfull woman, be as well-rounded you can be, because by doing that you will eventually become better at just that thing you wanna draw the most. ofcourse working for a client will hamper your ability to do anything except what you are told to, but even then try out different things with each thing you do. Never limit yourself to one thing just because "im good at it" - you can only become better at it, by doing alot of other stuff too. Its a bit like traveling around (a good recomadation aswell if you got the cash) even tho home is nice, it will only broaden you attitude towards life if you see and experience as many different places as possible.

And also (funny no-one noted this) : Build up a BIG libary of refference, take photos, lots of em, the more refference of the real world you have the better, it will really help you alot when you sit inside your room at night and you cant really remember what a particulair thing looks like.

thats it for my 2cents, feel free to delete the post if needed.
and remember :
"Some people hear and inner voice, and follow that voice, such people become crazy.... or they become legend"

RMN

[Earendil]

Great thread! I'd like to add:

Be honest with your critiques. For yourself, and for others.

Don't be mute.

[kev ferrara]

If you do not believe what you are doing, nobody will.

Art is a signature of a soul, it will radiate what you radiate.

Art will tell the truth about you. Art never lies.

Commit to it. Let your art change you.

Good strong images cannot be constructed. They must be pre-visualized starting at the emotional core of the dramatic moment you plan to depict. Train your brain to hold onto the images your mind produces, then trace off your imagination onto paper.

All the technical parts of creating art must become easy to you, because the spiritual parts will kick your ass every time out of the gate!

Think of your eraser as being made of white lead. Draw with it, just as you draw with the black lead. There is no wrong end of the pencil to draw with.

Everything is a brush.

Dare to be professional about your work. Dare to research. Dare to do a preliminary. Dare to do a color comp. Dare right now to be as good as Vermeer. Dare.

Best,
kev

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=101106

[sweet_sorrow]

Also as Pablo Picasso said, and its true to this day, Good artists borrow, great artists steal.

I interpreted this quote as a great artist stealing an onlooker's attention, a good artist only borrows it for a few moments.

Great thread btw.

[HunterKiller_]

Fantastic thread.
Excellent and inspirational advice all around.

[Inkjexion]

wow this thread motivates me. Great thread guys thanks!

Drawing fills the void =)

[Form]

this may not apply to everyone depending on your personality and how you best work, but i recently moved into a new house with another concept artist/painter, and productivity has skyrocketed. It has been one of those 1+1=3 sort of changes. Both of us also have a very introvert side that likes to be isolated, so living and working together in the same building 24-7 means you have to stay lucid and have a sort of u nspoken agreement to work towards a common goal.

But we have a big whiteboard that we use to track common goals, a big studio setup downstairs, a shared ref library etc.

If you can move out in your city with other artists, maybe even other people from CA, its an awesome way to push each other on. And as we know, great artistic friendships like the MB guys or the Sparth/Viag/Baron crew lead to awesome collaborative achievements.

[MLO]

This is an excellent, if daunting thread. I'm going to bookmark it for reference.

Regarding the title, I'll use myself as an example. I work a full time non-art related job, am married, husband is out of work, and am managing a significant illness.

I've eliminated time as a limiting factor; I wake at 3:30 am...sometimes earlier...so I have a large chunk of time that I can devote to art before I have to get ready for work. However, money...for classes, models, materials...is a limiting factor, and probably will be until the husband finds work again.

Someone else might have time as a limiting factor, or something else; I'm wondering if contributors have any advice on working around or with those factors.

[Meloncov]

I interpreted this quote as a great artist stealing an onlooker's attention, a good artist only borrows it for a few moments.


Heh. I always interpreted it as "Good artists use others ideas. Great artists take other peoples ideas and transform them into there own unique vision."

[Cavematty]

Hey guys.
Great thread, looking to add to its sentiment a little. Don't know if any of the pro's still remember this thread or not but here goes.

As a spare time illustrator, rather than a pro, I find there is often a little bit of a mental battle to illustrating. That is to say I sometimes sit down to draw, and find that a vague fear keeps me browsing forums for hours and putting off the act. This despite the fact that whenever I do actually manage to draw I usually enjoy it and almost always feel good about it afterwards. I also find myself, out of comfort, tending towards habitual work, rather than pushing to learn. I guess because it is safer and easier to just mindlessly work in your comfort zone. Another thing I struggle with is getting down when things aren't going right. I mean really letting it affect my mood!

Recently I had a major mental shift when hitting a problem in an illustration. Instead of letting the problem get me down, and launching into some negative self talk, I realised - "Shit I don't know how to go from here. That means I've found a hole in my knowledge/skillset. That means if I push through it, I might actually learn something fundamental and level up!". I started to get really excited about a problem that might've, at other times, gotten me so frustrated I would've been far less able to creatively solve the problem.

This was a bit of a revolution in thinking, and really helped me relax and enjoy the process. I am curently striving to continue this belief. It made me wonder though, if any of the pro's out there have had any (or many) similar moments?
Are there any beliefs you have developed that help you day to day as a creative. Any mantras / ideas you repeat to yourself WHILE you are painting. Any routine processes you do, such as setting a time constraint on zooming out from your work that you don't do intuitively, but have trained yourself to do because, from an objective standpoint, you know it will make your work stronger, even though you will never do it intuitively?

These insights are probably one of the advantages of personal on one tutoring or even dvd tutorials as opposed to learning from books. Discourse about the actual mental processes involved in being a creative, rather than technical skills. I will, from this point on, pay more attention to this aspect in my learning. However I thought it would be nice to ask others to see if anyone had anything to share :)

[ps. if this should be moved to its own thread, please let me know]

Matty

[Form]

mantra #1 = 'dont get up...dont get up... dont get up...'

mantra #2 (i think I picked this up from manley) 'beat the critics - if you see something wrong with your piece, dont show it for critique. leave nothing within your knowledge wrong with it'.

mantra #3 'focal point... simplicity... communication (repeat)'

[MLO]

As a spare time illustrator, rather than a pro, I find there is often a little bit of a mental battle to illustrating. That is to say I sometimes sit down to draw, and find that a vague fear keeps me browsing forums for hours and putting off the act. This despite the fact that whenever I do actually manage to draw I usually enjoy it and almost always feel good about it afterwards. I also find myself, out of comfort, tending towards habitual work, rather than pushing to learn. I guess because it is safer and easier to just mindlessly work in your comfort zone. Another thing I struggle with is getting down when things aren't going right. I mean really letting it affect my mood!

*raises hand, waves it around*

Thought I was the only one. Happens especially now I'm working on drawing the human figure...something I'm a complete beginner at.

Helps me to pop in a DVD that has an abundance of dialog, multiple commentary tracks or both...The Office (any season), Bones (any season), Raines (there's only the one season unfortunately) are all good examples.

For reasons unknown to me, the back-and-forth is soothing.

[resonanteye]

I've been a profesional artist for eleven years. something that I was told early on in my learning that helped me begin to work at art for a living was this;

if you want to be a professional artist, act like one. use archival supplies. work at your art las if it was your job. put in as many hours as you would at any other job; when you start making your living from your work you won't have the luxury of a day off because you aren't in the mood. learn early to work even when yu don't feel like it. discipline is key to improvement.


if you enjoy making art even when you aren't in the right mood, then you will later be able to perform under a variety of circumstances, and become a professional.
also, don't assume that years as a professional will mean it gets easier. it never gets easier-each challenge is more difficult than the last. learn to enjoy the challenges in your work. they are the reason it exists, and that someone will pay you to do it.

this thread is very helpful, thanks everyone it's given me some things to think about.

[KLEVR]

Try to approach everything the way you want to/ know you should approach your art. There are millions of other factors in your environment that will affect your work both positively and negatively. In my experience, if i don't keep my house clean and organized, i start to slack in my work. If i'm not exercising frequently enough i become restless when i sit down to work, but conversely, if i do something as simple as call someone that i haven't seen in a while and talk with them even if only for five minutes, or get someone to laugh hard the feeling i'm left with afterward makes it far easier for me to produce. Passing up the opportunity to go talk to the pretty girl across the room when the urge strikes you is the same as not jotting down or sketching an idea out when you have your pencil and sketchbook handy. What comes out of the experience might not be what you hoped or expected, but it's certainly closer than anything that isn't produced. This is quite in the vein of MindCandyMan's 'just do it' principle, but further stresses balance necessary in the application of that idea. "Art imitates Life" and "Life imitates Art" are both true and in fact there is no distinction between the two. By remembering this and working toward that in everything you do, you'll also become better trained to work your art, (both the stuff you do and don't want to do.) and rarely find the time to be bored. I hate cleaning my house, but after doing that necessary chore, the time I get to spend drawing is that much sweeter. Don't run with scissors, eat your vegetables, cross on the green--not in between and always wear clean underwear. Much like the idea of inertia if you don't completely slow down, it's easier to keep yourself driven. So keep aware of other aspects of your life outside your art, or better yet, realize there's no such thing.

[Valadilene]

H
As a spare time illustrator, rather than a pro, I find there is often a little bit of a mental battle to illustrating. That is to say I sometimes sit down to draw, and find that a vague fear keeps me browsing forums for hours and putting off the act. This despite the fact that whenever I do actually manage to draw I usually enjoy it and almost always feel good about it afterwards. I also find myself, out of comfort, tending towards habitual work, rather than pushing to learn. I guess because it is safer and easier to just mindlessly work in your comfort zone.

I constantly have this problem. I am a photographer, and I love to take pictures, set up shoots, and practice lighting, but there are so many times i just sit at home and read webcomics instead of work.

My advice: start small to break the habit. My boyfriend recently challenged me to take at least one picture a day. I try not to do snapshots, and I usually take many more than 1, but once I pick up that camera and start looking around, I start to open up that side of myself.

So take one picture, do one sketch, do something simple everyday with the type of art you love. If you really love it, it will usually grab hold of you, and you'll end up doing more than just that one image.

[BuckWeisel]

Dont waste your time or time will waste you.

[Helioth]

Seems an open thread so I'll post what I think to be words of wisdom of which I am not sure whence they came... Which is probably to say I came up with them, although, everything you come up with you could not have done purely on your own, as aforementioned (in other posts), style is an amalgamation of your interpretation.

Don't let your art be - getting to where your art should get to on its own if it were good enough to get there...

Don't invent concepts to match AFTER creation...
Set out with clear goals and ideas and then bend your art to match.
To illustrate, amplify, grab attention, STEAL attention (i liked that twist) Be honest, see if you've achieved something, but don't be rigid about getting there though.

Matrix quote: Don't try to bend the spoon, realize that, that is impossible and that only you yourself can bend / warp / twist. Whilst you could flip the paper or get the computer to generate perfect symmetry for you, how about you do it yourself ? write backwards, upside down ? Mind-bending... So much more fun than body-bending ; )

Do these exercises manually, i have a pet theory that Da Vinci wrote backwards not at first, to protect his ideas, but just so that he might have ideas worth protecting; training his mind, writing backwards naturally, thinking in reverse.

Simply start thinking and drawing what you think to be "advanced" now, you can do it. Let the dead giants who've gone before you be your aid.
We're all walking carcasses on an exploding planet in the long run, being successful / amazing isn't such a big deal, but be humble about it as if you aren't you will have plenty more to be humble about.

Translate things from one SENSE into another, as in, sound into sight into smell into taste into... ...On surface (canvas/paper/pixel).
Read lots, watch lots, watch bad things, "good" things, taste, smell. Be a connoisseur of all senses.

Try to think about things from as many perspectives as imaginable; a skeleton, 360* in your minds eye. Construct things, make them real, as the clearer / crisper an image you have of them the better they will be when you bring them to "realization", although, I believe thoughts also have a physical presence and actually this silly thing called "physicality" is a complete and utter miss-nomer, everything is physical, else, what is it ?
Sound waves in the air, thoughts, music, dreams, color, concepts. It's just a question of opacity.

The list goes on... write your thoughts down.
However worthless you feel they might be, I think these (mine) previous ones are wasted mental-breath also, but less so than the ones I thought were wasted paper space originally ! It's the vision of how things could be that drive us, and when you arrive there, you gain a new insight; a new vision of how things could be; nuance upon nuance add infinitum.

Most importantly, as Andrew Jones said, SHARE, don't be a mental-miser, don't cling to your thoughts, as the ones you have now are hardly enlightened, realize that when you share secrets you give yourself more capacity for discovering new ones. Realize we're in this together.

Art for the sake of art and sharing for benevolence and pleasure that it brings. PLEASURE is good, does anything more need to be said, indubitably, but not about pleasure... it's one of the few things which can define itself by its own word.

Realize each "discipline" is just another gold/thought-mine for art and every science and "art" has something to offer, it just needs a skillful translator.

Edit: One last thing, don't try to make what you think to be "good" now, just create, as what you think is 'good' you'll no doubt detest in a short while.

[Mock]

I'm not a pro (yet), but one valuable thing I've learned goes back to what Emily was saying earlier.

Stop making excuses.

Don't tell yourself, "I'm only X years old," or, "Well, I don't have any formal training, so it's okay for them to be better than me." This is something I did back in high school, and trust me, it's going to hinder you. Go out and do what you need to do to get where you want to be. Do the work. Do figure drawings until you have the form memorized. Do cast drawings until you puke. If you aren't good enough now to be where you want to be, do whatever it takes to get there.

If you don't have formal training, these forums are an excellent place to start.

If you feel like you have plenty of time to catch up to the modern masters, keep this in mind; there are likely plenty of people your age who want to be concept artists, and I can guarantee that a lot of them are working their butts off to get where they need to be.

And one thing that I think sums up a few points that have been made here is a mantra that I (and others that I know of) repeat to myself whenever I start talking about my plans for art school, the CA Atelier, whatever:

"Shutup and DRAW."

You can supplement this to fit your own life.

"Shutup and PAINT."

"Shutup and SCULPT."

"Shutup and KICK A PUPPY."

Whatever suits your fancy.

You can talk about art school and ateliers all you want, but that talk isn't going to get you the skills you need to succeed as an artist. If you want something, go get it.

[Cookiedough]

I'm gonna kick in an open door: Look into the other forums ca has too!

For instance: Here (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=131117) is a thread that lists a whole bunch of free e-books that are very usable to learn more from.

Of course, you can also just check the whole forum there (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=30) and see what wisdom resides there.

Then there's also that forum that's just about tutorials and how to's that can help out, found here (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=42).

And whether it is something personal related to your art or just art history, if you wanna brush up some of the knowledge, get inspiration and discover new old artists, you should check the art discussionforums (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=132).

Do you have a favourite artist that's associated with the site? Why not check their exclusive contents (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=88) or/and exclusive sketchbooks (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=89)? Observation can get you very far.

Also, stay away from the lounge, it's fun but timeconsuming and reduces productivity.

[Ahnem Mee]

The loveliest and most inspîring things have been said here, I will only stress a couple of them, and maybe add something of my own.

- Babysteps. Focussing on how long the road to the top is can leave you paralyzed; instead, define what you want to acchieve just for the moment. don't say, 'I need to become a better artist', say: 'I need to go and study the basic volumes and different planes of the human head & face some more' (Boy do I need to do that).

- Don't throw away old stuff! It's good to look at the garbage you left in your wake while learning and see yo're doing so much better now, but more importantly: in that garbage there's still great ideas you can recycle!

- Teach! You'll need to phrase your earlier, personal findings, forcing yourself to understand what you first only felt and provide proof and examples. Moreover, once you've given some good advice you'll feel more inclined to stay true to it yourself, ahem. (Like using reference... oh my, so confronting.)

- Hold onto your feelings of inspiration. Moreover:

- Making art is a two-way business. When drawing a battlescene, feel energised and bloodthirsty. When drawing lovers in a quiet corner in the garden, feel enamoured. If you draw an angry face - scowl. You might find yourself scowling already, if you let the two-way business do its thing.
It's a joy and a thrill to immerse in your work like that.


Keep the good stuff comming guys, this thread is grand.

[Form]

as a freelancer, learn to say no when you need to. If you are like me and find it hard to turn down job offers, its easy to take on way too much work and get burnt out. It applies equally to paid, voluntary or personal work. Try to hit the right balance of having enough work to maintain variety and momentum, but listen to your instinct and know when enough is enough. Especially on CA where you are presented with a whole slew of mentoring programs, weekly activities, competitions and subforums to show off in, sometimes its important to slow down and maintain your focus on one or two things at a time. Slowing down also allows your mind to breathe and let some new things in, instead of constantly being in output mode.

Not just for your own benefit - but to make sure you dont end up leaving your clients or those who have taken the time to help you, high and dry. I'm chalking this one up to experience (sorry Mike!).

[feonixqueen]

i really appreciate all this advice. i've been mad about art since i was 9, and have been working on it for quite a while. i've slowed down lately since i'm doing a wildlife major, but i wouldn't want to lose my passion for art and at least getting getting a minor in it. seeing all the great works on CA is very intimidating for someone trying to get back on track with art, but this forum has really boosted my confidence to push forward. Thank you so much! *weeps with gratitude*

[Saturns Gate]

DEPTH

Right, the one thing to remember when taking crits is that it is impossible for that one individual to tell you ALL the ways in which you can add depth or composition to your piece. It actually might be possible, but the poor guy would be writing for a good day or so.

So, take this in mind. Imagine you have to push a portion of the background away from the foreground to create depth. One way you could do this is use saturation. Lower saturated cooler areas in the back, warmer in the front, BUT that's not the be all end all. You can do the complete opposite. Some great artists from the past used the reverse method to these paintings. Such as a saturated glowing in the background, while the foreground is much less saturated and the image still evokes a sense of distance. Its mostly down to opposites.

Contrast works in much the same way, contrast meaning darker more vivid areas against less contrast, which would be more foggy looking. You can get some quite interesting effects be doing the reverse of this also. Its actually quite surreal looking, so try it out and experiment.

Theres tons of other methods to create the illusion of depth also, which include mark making and using specific color variations. Like always get your hands dirty and see what happens. If something does not look right, it probably isnt right. The fun part is finding out WHY it isnt looking right, and fix the damn thing. So, the next time you receive a bunch of crits that feel like there condescending each other, take each with a pinch of salt and figure out which method you like the sound of more, and go with it. Nothing is set in stone, there are far too many methods for it to be.

LIGHT

Light surrounds us all, if light did not exist we would see nothing. Its light which shows our mass, and that which we can paint from.

When beginning a painting, always keep in mind the light source, just stick to the one for now. NEVER over complicate shit too early on, I have seen artists dive into the full spectrum of colors, lighting etc right off the bat and things got messy real quick! I think once you get down the fundamentals of light and color you can be better attuned to starting a painting using more complicated series of colors. For now, start off slow and easy, build up the light gradually, one light source first as you figure out the masses of each object. Keep the colors to a bare minimum, and quite unsaturated so your main focus is the light only. I find it easier to build up light from dark to light in digital form, but obviously experiment a bit and see which you prefer.

So, you have your basic lighting established, and if you chose a pretty unsaturated background colour the whole image will appear quite light. Thats good, now would be a good idea to work on more values. Remember, in digital form, you should really try and hit most of the spectrum of color and light, dark. Just click the color chooser and sample parts of your painting, you might be quite surprised at where abouts your highlights are in the full spectrum of things. Try and hit the full spectrum in your paintings, I am not saying it has to be a total smooth transition of one contrast to the next, but having that painting showing most of the light/dark transitions will help with people who obviously wont have there monitors calibrated exactly like yours. Again, as I said at the beginning, do not take my way of thinking to be the be all end all. It is just one way of working that I chose to use.

You could think of your painting as some kind of Cake. Start off with the basics, the cake mix, and get that down first before you begin adding layers of fancy icing onto the top. Saturated colors should be used carefully and respectfully, trying not to overdo things and use them as if they were special in some way. That way you give those areas much more power to them and ultimately give the viewer the impression that they are in fact special. (I know I keep repeating it but none of what I am saying is set in stone, its ONE way of working). Anyway, I will update this later when I get some time. Hope you learned something.



S

[Cella]

I just feel as though I've gone to 3 art theory classes in one.. thank you so much for sharing the insightful advice, very motivating, but also overwhelming xD
Much appreciated, thanks :)

[BubbaGump]

Conceptart.org is a blessing and a curse. There's a wealth of info on this site that you want to read through them all, but you know that you should be drawing.

GET OFF THE FORUMS AND DRAW.

[darkaxis]

hi guys, how can I upload my art work to the gallery section? have I need any permission? Thanks.