[Kimon]

Hi everyone, I've just recently been introduced to these forums, and I am in awe at all of the talent here. You guys are amazing.

Anyway, I'm still in high school and I am really aspiring to become an artist. I draw all the time, and whenever I look at my work I'm really physced... until I look at some other kids at my school. Then I look back at my sketches and they look horrible. I'm wondering if you have any tips on what I can to improve my skills. I figure just practice until I improve, but if you have any tidbits of help, please throw me a bone.

Thanks, and keep up the great work!
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I can only hope to one day become an artist.

[Naeem]

hey,
well u nailed the foremost important thing; practice. thats wat u need to do. other then that, i would suggest catching up on some reading material. go to a library, check out some books and read some concepts of other artists. that's always a help. it usually helps unlock many things u are not aware of. so, practicing and reading material related to wat u want to do is wat i can offer u . im not that great myself, but that's wat im doing at least. hehe, maybe the better/senior members here can offer better advice .

[Mikko K]

Hi,

check the sumaleth's link archive,

http://www.sumaleth.com/links/

that's a good start. I would say that practise is the most important thing in the beginning, but once you start to understand some basic stuff, the quality of your practise time becomes more important.

So when you do something, think about what you're trying to learn with each image you do, for example "today I want to try some weird perspective", and next day "some cool lighting test" and so on. Thinking and watching other artists' work and trying to pick up some things from there is also useful. Why does this artist X use a technique like this etc.. It's a good idea to start posting in speedpainting for example, even though you might think you suck. Just putting your stuff there, you will get some pointers how to improve, you may ask for overpaints and so on. It's always good to have some kind of input, that helps you to figure out things better than just sitting there drawing alone and never showing anybody.

Well, just keep doing your stuff, you'll improve. You simply can't avoid improving if you just practise a lot.
See ya on the forum!

[Kimon]

Alright thanks. What I'm thinking about doing (as per your suggestion) is practicing a lot, one aspect at a time. For example, I'll just draw a figure with minumum detail, and then draw a 'focus point' for a light source, and I'll work on shading.

As for posting my actual work, I really couldn't. My art is not at all up to caliber with the worst artist I've seen on this site, so maybe after a year or so I'll start posting. Plus, I don't have a scanner.

So thanks for the advice (and the tutorials)!
_________________
I can only hope to one day become an artist.

[Reakshun]

http://www.fineart.sk/index.php?cat=1

1) DOWNLOAD ALL OF LOOMIS'S BOOKS.

2) Take them around with you like they're the bible.

3) Practice like it means something and understand the "why" rather than the "how"?

4) Don't rush, but be diligent, and you'll be fine.

[Kimon]