A post for all those who want to get into art but are to imtimidated/discouraged by the impressive everything

I've never really considered myself an "artist" or even dared to say: "I am good at drawing." I don't really know why, especially not since things have changed and I am appreciating my ability to bring my vivid imagination to life. The freedom it offers is incredible.

I've always love creating things - from a very young age I would place my doodles on whatever material my fingers could find, craft things out of wood (my parents used to have old woodden pieces in the basement, ready for me to work with). You could say I was experimenting with art like others experiment with clothing or makeup.

Between the ages 5 and 15, 90% of my drawing were horses. It was the one thing I could draw "really good" at that point and because I was happy with my success and slightly intimidated by the thought of trying something entirely new, I stuck with them.
Still I knew that there was more. The vivid images in my head kept whispering and persuading but having focused on horses, it was hard to get into humanoid anatomy and being a very active child, I did not bring the much needed patience for that yet.

2004: This is one of the first slightly manga-styled pictures I drew and before you say it looks not that bad; I traced an original image from a website that does not exist anymore now because I really wanted to draw this and didn't know where to start.

And then there were these moments of enlightments, where I would randomly create artworks, that I still am impressed by – especially considering the age I made them at. When I had some sort of model that I could observe and recreate, it would turn out the best.
I quickly found out that one of my strenghts were to copy. Not necessarily faking already existing artworks (although I did made a very impressive and authentic forgery of my mother's signature once when I was 12 because I was so afraid of my teacher's reaction to having forgotten to let my parents sign my latest exam. It was so good, that even my mother did not realize it was not her's when she later browsed through my folder of school-news. It only came out because that one particular exam was graded exceptionally bad so it stood out. If it eases you, this was probably the most illegal thing I have ever done in my life!). What I am meaning is observing something and then recreating it - be it a model, textures or a reference-image. Most of the time though, my attempts of sketching some of the creatures and characters I had in mind, were displeasing to my eye (and especially compared to the glorious horses ^w^) and I kept postponing these kinds of ideas. So horses it was.


2006: Can you see the next horse-drawing already shining through on the oher side of the page?

I've had two points in my life where I discovered an artist-block out of frustration. I didn't feel like sketching at all (to he fair, it did not last for long because art comes naturally and is ... a part of my personality I would say) and I think the reasons that made me shun pencils for a certain time were pretty similar to what keeps so many people from actually starting to get into it.

1. Being told your art does not look good / Thinking your art does not look good

2. Getting intimidated by other people's, in your opinion much better work.

Whilst some people can handle bad feedback, I used to be very sensitive on it  (if you are too, work on it!). When I was wee, my art used to be something highly personal and only very few people were granted permission to look upon it.
Naturally, criticism from these people hurt the more. My mother, who is an artist herself, would always find at least one thing that looked a little off and while I was very sensitive about it as an ElflingElfling, I can now appreciate her feedback to realize, what I still have to work on.


2008:An attempt of using colours in my artworks - I still prefer pencil and ink...

I cannot say it often enough but getting basic things like proportions right is important for everybody. Even if you want to draw creatures or cartoons (especially then!). It may sound odd to you but in order to draw a figure, whose proportions are off (like a troll), you still need to know how to "do it right". Trust me, this will make your creations a lot easier (and if you look at famous modern artists like Picasso or Schiele, you will quickly find out that they were indeed very much capable of drawing perfectly structured and realistic figures as well.) Whenever you look at one of your drawings and don't like it, you've learned something new. Being critical about your own work is a good thing actually, because this is how you improve. If you dislike your creation, try to observe it closely. What exactly do you not like about it? This is exactly what you have to practise. Hating it fiercely without knowing why will not make you better... Don't be harsh with yourself though - and be patient for that is most important in my opinion.

About 7 years ago, my imagination decided to take over and I finally gave in to the mighty need of starting to draw fantasy. My mind was so filled with sceneries, settings, characters, armour, creatures and monsters from all the years back, that not being able to bring them to life made me feel unease. I wanted to give my head some space. The first artworks did not proove very exciting because I lacked in practise and routine of very basic things.

But the desire to expand my ability and the wish to sketch down at least some of the the neverending ideas imagination provided on a daily basis were very persistant.

They watned to be drawn.

2009: Drawing without a reference was very difficult at the beginning: Because I could not draw hands, feet or correct proportions, I geot very creative hiding them...

I am not very quick to give advice, but this is what was most effective for me: If you ever feel intimidated by a goal you set for yourself because it looks absolutely unachieveable, I recommend splintering it into many tiny pieces and start out small: if drawing portraits is your desire and you are overwhelmed with the whole package, you can figure out how to draw eyes first. Little by little you will get to where you want to go. nd obviously this does not only apply to drawing...)

Something else that prooved very helpful at the very beginning was looking at how artists I liked would solve the problem of drawing things I was struggling with. I did so much research and practise and after some more tracing-adventures, I finally understood how to draw noses. You will however not find any of my traced images on the internet because I don't see them as artworks - they were practise.

Please keep in mind: If you want to try this method, never forget, that the final creation is not entirely your's and that you should always credit the original artist if you decide to put it on the internet (yes, even if you just trace the porportions and even if it is just a random picture you've found on a search engine). Of course there is nothing wrong with getting inspired by somebody else (most would probably be very flattered and excited to see what you came up with!), but please never declare it as your very own original idea if it is not.

I can remember how browsing trough deviantART prooved frustrating sometimes for it kept reminding me how much more work lay ahead still. Certain artworks even triggered the thought that I never ever would be able to draw like this. Not even near that good.

Today I look at them and don't even understand why I was so intimidated by them in the first place. It is very important not to compare yourself to other artists if that makes you feel bad. Try seeing their work as a motivation, as something you want to achieve one day.
Don't let anyone get inbetween you and your love for art.
At younger ages I would not believe, that this would be my art-style one day

My mother tends to say that I have become the better artist of the two of us but I beg to differ. I don't think different styles can compare. Art is not a competition, it is a form of self-expression with all the possibilities imaginable. Yes, everyone is at a different stage of mastering the basic techniques, but that but this does not make some art less valuable and original than other, don't you think?

When I now have a look at the many pages of my art-folders, I am actually chuckling over how finished drawings from a couple of years ago that took me ages to create, look a lot less good than a messy sketch of these days. Infact, most of my doodles are even better than what I once deemed to be the ultimate goal of art and I am sure that ina few years you will say the same about your very own drawings. When I first achieved my old art-goals, I didn't even notice it, for I had already chosen new idols and new things I wanted to master. It is a neverending story of learning, completing and looking for more and I love it.

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Try to find your way of learning. Mabye it is helpful to you, to watch another artist create their artwork - youtube is filled with art related tutorials and it may proove helpful for you - or if you are somebody, for whom it is easiest to look at a finnished result, you can have a look at "How-to" art-books to find one that features an acceptable style for you (most of these books don't include detailed tutorials, they only sum up the process of a creation, so if it is a step by step description you are looking for, mabye a video or an actual art-class is more fitting for you.).

Most important (in my opinion):

1. Work on the basics (proportions, shading,...) once they are done, everything will be a lot easier!
2. Fragment your studies into tiny bits and observe how other artists solved things that seem extremely siffcult for you.
3. It is not important to have fancy art-supplies to get into art. They don't make you a better artist, they only please the preferences you develop over time. Do try to find the right paper though - aquarells are a lot more difficult on copy-paper, but I do know some who would prefer it that way!
4. Practise, practise, practise!
5. Never burn sketches you are not pleases with for you might regret this in a few years and it is dangerous.

I'm not saying all this because I am convinced, that I am oh-so talented (and I am sincerely hoping it will not come across like this!), only to let you know that learning how to draw is a lot more acieveable than you might think - it is hard at the beginning when you don't know what to do, but as time passes you improve and without knowing how it happened, oh-so-difficult things are now a routine for you.

Remember: there is always more to learn, more to improve and the day will come, where you master what you thought impossible (<< I am still waiting for the day I can draw hands as easily as the rest, but I am sure it will happen at some point)

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I wish all of you a very inspiring week filled with the creativity and motivation that is needed for you to start your artistic journey!

Elverynel~