Mouse needs artistic advice.

[Mouse]

Well I began drawing back in the month of November and I noticed that I have a talent, but I just need a small amount of advice from the local artists here. The advice I am wanting is: Should I trash anything I "mess up" on, you know, like doodles or whatever. You see, I have been drawing gargoyles from the cartoon series "GARGOYLES", and well I am getting better...it's just at times I think I am not "good" enough for drawing it. So far all my drawings are more decent.

Anything you local artists can do to help me?

[Kali]

I keep many, many of my doodles. Even those on business cards and napkins. They help in measuring your progress. Sometimes I'll pull out old sketches from years ago and just be blown away by how much I've improved. The "bad" stuff generally makes the "good" stuff look better, too.

[BigThew]

NEVER throw anything away

i have a bunch of peices of paper, with one line on it, and got another peice becasue i thought i messed up

[GreenWillow]

~I agree- *never* throw anything away. This goes for writing as well as drawings. Some of my best lil sketches have been done on binder paper in classes while fighting the terrible urge to doze off...heh..
And those little sketches have become the basis for some nicer finished pieces.

~GW

[HorseTechie]

heheh... oops! :oops:

That does sound like a good idea, as long as space allows. I did throw away the meaningless, formless, shapeless doodles I did on scratch paper (if I did not erase em), an only saving those I really liked or were finished. But that's cause I moved many many times, and just to make more space in the box for other stuff, did I throw what looked to be more like scrap paper.

But here's a better idea (since I still have all the doodles done in note and sketchbooks). Get a sketchbook, or an unlined notebook. That'll keep all your preliminary sketches all in one place, and makes it harder to throw out something. Then you can flip through it later and see how you have progressed. :wink:

[kyabetsu]

s'all a judgement call.

i'm pretty bad about throwing out that which DISPLEASES ME.

(collusium scene-- Cesaer Kya gives her sketch a 'thumbs down' and watches her cat/lion devour it)

i'm more of the mind of keeping the things i LIKE... and measuring my progress against those: whether they're doodles or full-page spreads.


as for the whole "LEVEL O SKILL" thiing... PIFFLE!!
You're drawing cause YOU want to and it PLEASES you. BE HAPPY!! DO WHAT YOU WANT!! BE FREEEEEEEEEEEE!... you're not hurting anybody. The only opinion that matters is your own. :P

(of course i'm one of those people who sings in public for the same reasons, so it's your call. :D )

[Mouse]

i guess the only thing that scares me the most is my own fear of other artists. it is hard to draw when you've so many art works floating around on the net. makes a person feel three inches tall...anything i can do to remedy this fear?

[Nturtle]

belive in yourself!! develop your style and take bits from others!! the best teacher for art is yourself because no one can completely tll you how to draw.

There is great art on the net and everywhere. but don't let it intimidate you. That is the kind of stuff you should learn from!!

[Deepflame]

I always get kind of angry when I see artwork which I view as 'better' than my own.
I get into some rage and hate myself by various reasons that shoud not be listed.
When it cools down, I tell m'self: ARH! You can do better than that! (Still somwhat enraged)
After that I enter the rage state again for some 30 minutes. When I'm completely cooled down I start drawing, usually better than before (Dont try it, but it works).

[Machias Banshee]

*thumbs up to Nturtle's and everyone's awesome dvice*

Not much for me to say... :P Heh, what you could do, as a suggestion, is send off a copy of your pic to some of your artist buddies, and let them give you pointers. *can think of a few --coughKalicoughKyacough-- artists*

;) Just have a lil confidence in yourself, you'll be surprised how far you'll go. :)

[Nturtle]

YAY!! :D
yeah Kya and kali are really incredible!! :o

[Machias Banshee]

*agrees heartily* :D kyeah, theyre some of the more gifted artists you'll meet, so heh, go bug them and have fun whatever you do! ;) :D

[kyabetsu]

:goofygri: :oops: :x :goofygri: :oops: :x


....I"M RED ALL OVER!! I"M TURNING INTO AZURE!!! AAAAAAAAh.....
(kya runs off in search of a cure.)

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

:evilgrin: :evilgrin:
OH wise and mango-ful azure!!
tell me!

HOW DURST YOU UNRED YOURSELF?!?! OH ONE WISE IN THE WAYS OF COLORING?!


thanks y'all... but have you SEEN the stuff that Tom Kyzivat or Aignatius have put out?! maaaaaaaan.... foof! blows me away everytime.

[azure turtle]

Oh my! You're as red as a tomato, Kya! Here, this should help.
*dumps a bucket of water on Kya*
See? You're turning back to your regular skin tone! Works every time. :anime:

Don't be afraid, Mouse! I feel the same way. There are several "art giants" on this forum, and their work is just plain incredible. But don't let that stop you from drawing! Use their work as an inspiration! I do... Even though my best stuff is in the form of stick turtles. ;)

[Kali]

Or Javvi's CG stuff. Geez...

I am nowhere near expert level. I still go through How To Draw such and such books and ask advice and read online tutorials. And I definitely get jealous and upset when I see art work I think is better than mine, it's part of being human. Mostly because I know I never try as hard as I know I could. And I definitely fall into the overly sensative artist stereotype when it comes to critisizing my own work.

[Machias Banshee]

*walks off grinning*

*singsong* I made Kya blush... :P :D


Heh, i must be weird....*shut up you-know-who-you-are :P * I look at stuff and think, "Dang, I gotta try that...", and experiment....

[kyabetsu]

~*SPLOOSH*~
:o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o

:D
thanks Azure.
you're a smartie every day!



seriously...
it's like anything else you try. There's always someone better. That's who you go learn from. Pay attention to EVERYTHING. Billboards, cartoons, magazines.... try and figure out how YOU'd do that if you tried it. Not just how you'd IMITATE it, but how you'd CHANGE it. Make it your own.

okay.
my favorite "art break through" story.

in middle and high school, i went on a MASSIVE dragon kick...
but no matter HOW much i tried, the wings just ALWAYS looked WRONG. So i'm sitting in a restaurant one night, watching my friends play with their food, and my bud leans over with a buffallo chicken wing and pokes me on the nose with it.

Do you know THAT"S THE FIRST TIME it every occurred to me that WINGS. HAVE. 3. JOINTS: shoulder. elbow. wrist.

i'd been drawing wings that looked like upside down "V"s ... i was so startled... MASSIVE BUFFALLO CHICKEN WING EPIPHANY....

so
the moral:
get some anatomy books. WATCH people. Don't assume you know how to draw ANYTHING. QUESTION IT ALL. STARE AT EVERYTHING. the world is your model.

and eat your vegetables.
and listen to Azure.
He rocks.

:anime:

[Nturtle]

Poor Mouse, being bombarded with all this advice!!! :lol:
Yeah just experment, get into your groove!! i need to hok up this damn scanner sometime and submit my "art" somewhere, al lot of it is weirder then Kransu!!! :evilgrin:

[Anonymous]

But here's a better idea (since I still have all the doodles done in note and sketchbooks). Get a sketchbook, or an unlined notebook. That'll keep all your preliminary sketches all in one place, and makes it harder to throw out something. Then you can flip through it later and see how you have progressed. :wink:

My drawings were *all* over the place until my sister in law gave me a spare consentina (sp?) file that ppl usually use for legal documents and bills to put my drawings in. I have them listed alphabetically in their theme. And the folder doesn't take up much space either, which is cool 'cos my stuff is settled very temporarily, I've lived outta suitcases before.

Amanda

[Mouse]

thanks everyone for the advice, and i'm not completely foreign to drawing but it has been a long time since i had a good sit down and draw session. i did fine artwork back in high school, but it doesn't help when your teacher is being a you-know-what towards you. i'll admit i get jealous of others art but i am not going to let it hinder my own.

what i am going to do is just look around get an idea, borrow some styles, and hope it makes for some sense in the end. i love to draw just like you other lucky ladies on the board, but it will be awhile before i can match your talent. then again in life you're always learning.

wish me luck :)

[HorseTechie]

*lol* Hay, I keep my drawings in a file cabinet too, Amanda. Well, I don't have them filed in sepearate folders in alphabetical order though. I just have the drawings in one folder and the fanfic notes in the other. I also just take a stack of printer paper, stick it on a clip board, and draw that way most of the time.

But yeah... when I see people with real true talent... it goes both ways. It inspires me to try and be as good, but then sometimes I get peeved that I can't be as good. But I've accepted who I am. Just keep that in mind Mouse! Be who you want to be, not want you can't.

I'm the type does better when looking at the subject I'm drawing. I can draw still life, models, or photos to look very relistic. But when it comes to drawing from memory, or other such fantasy creatures and chibi, I'm not so good. Seems I've gotten too impatient now... web sites are more demanding of my attention. I used to draw quite a bit before. *sai*

I really admire Aignatious (Wendy Peabody) too, as well as Tom Kyzivat and BigThew! (No worries, I think everyone here is good too) Then I wandered over to some Transformer forums, and I drop my jaw in wonder. They have some damn good artists and coloring pros kicking about there too.