Learning new skills requires a great deal of dedication and passion. Consistent practice and a little bit of patience go a long way in helping you create thoughtful art and become a professional at what you do. Even if your goal is not to become a professional artist, but rather to only strengthen your art skills, patience, dedication, and practice are the core elements that can get you there. This is in addition to practicing techniques such as drawing from real life and training your eyes to make art out of everything around you. We’ll be explaining how this works in a bit. The key is to develop an open mind and wake up every day with the intention to learn new skills. The more you keep experimenting, even with old hobbies and skills, the more developed your artistic sense becomes. How about a daily routine of practice to keep you focused on your goal? That’s one of the first steps and the main culprit to success if you want to develop your skillset. We’re here to help you expand your art skills, so check out this article on how to improve your art and develop new skills.
Keep a Sketchbook Close
Keep a sketchbook with you all the time. This works as a reminder that gets you to grab your pencil and free your mind in the form of art instead of words. While this step might sound simple, it’s one of the hardest techniques to apply to your daily life. It’s a commitment. However, the general rule is that if you want to improve at anything, you need to commit to it, you may even have to schedule daily sessions dedicated just to drawing, painting, designing, or doing whatever expresses art for you. In order to improve your art, you need to make it a habit. It helps to stay reminded of why you pursue art in the first place. For some people, art is foundational and is part of who they are. When you stay reminded of your goals, you move closer to them each day.
Practice Drawing From Life
Drawing real objects is one of the most effective strategies you can apply to speed up your progress. Start with simple objects that don’t contain many details and work your way up to deeper ones that look rather complex and reflect many angles. As a beginning, draw or paint your furniture pieces, then try drawing your pets or people around you. Now, things are getting started, the more you progress at drawing people, the more you realize how complex it is to draw hands and feet. Hand and feet are considered the most complicated to draw in the anatomy, which is why you’ll have a lot of fun and spend some time learning to draw these two. Still, while you’re at it, keep drawing the objects around you until you master the trickiest ones. Once you get into this habit, you’ll pretty much learn and be able to draw anything.
Use Photographs As Drawing References
Many people find it easier to create an art piece reproduced from an image rather than an actual object. This is because images or photographs are already two-dimensional which makes them easier to copy. If it works better for you, go for it and focus on shapes, edges, and angles to learn the basics. However, you should not trace them, but rather draw them. Most of the time, images can contain distorted scales, shapes, and proportions. You should look at them for reference, but still, try to maintain accurate proportions. You can also draw from real drawings like paintings from Michaelangelo and Da Vinci. It may sound strange, but you can learn a lot by copying drawings from real artists and masters. It helps to look at how other artists create their scales and proportions.
Learn From Instruction Books
If you’re a beginner artist or learning a new specific art skill, instruction books will be very helpful to you. If you’re looking to learn a very specific new skill like cartooning or figure drawing, or if you’re a beginner, workbooks are a great start. Learning from instruction books gives you the flexibility to manage a busy schedule and take on each lesson at a personal pace. They can be purchased online or you can find them in large bookstores. You can also rent instruction books from your local library, but if you do so, don’t draw in them. Instead, make photocopies of all the practice pages and draw on them instead. Before drawing on a sketchpad or canvas, as a beginner, opt for instruction books that come with traceable practice sheets so that you can give it a try before drawing on a larger scale.
Practice Every Day
To improve your skills, you need to work on them daily. Make a daily habit of drawing something or creating any form of art you like. You’re not going to improve unless you stay engaged in your practice every day. Plus, the more you practice, the more confidence you gain in what you do. Include any practice strategies that you feel would work for you on a daily basis. Look at paintings and drawings of others every day. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a simple line drawing or a highly detailed piece of art, looking at the art created by others will teach you a lot. You can apply many other strategies to improve your art, but the most important thing is to schedule time to practice and dedicate yourself to your goal every day.
Online Tutorials
Many unique skills can be taught and learned online, such as shading and blending techniques. Online tutors at Life Drawing London say millions of techniques are shared and taught online these days, from mixing and making colors to creating realistic-looking shadows and shading. Grab your sketchbook, sketchpad, or canvas, prepare your supplies and find an interesting online tutorial that won’t take more than 20 to 30 minutes.
Many useful tips and suggestions are found in the comment section of tutorial videos, it’s more likely that other talented artists would share their tips and recommendations in the comments. You’ll find many interesting takes on videos about cubism, composition, working with light, creating 3D effects, and surrealism. Pretty much anything you can think of will be on the internet, so give it a try.
Connect With Other Online Artists
You can get great advice and tips on materials and styles from other artists online. It becomes even better when you find a good online artist community that you can join to learn about specific styles or particular techniques like drawing landscapes, animals, or people. Some communities will teach you about using certain materials such as watercolors, oil paints, and charcoal. You should remember that you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for tips or advice. The greatest tips are given to you when you engage with others and ask for their recommendations. Visit other artists’ threads and posts, and comment whenever you have a question, you’ll be surprised by how helpful some members are.
Consider Private Lessons and Art Classes for Particular Skills
Another great piece of advice is to consider art classes and private lessons that teach particular skills. If you’re just getting started, libraries and community centers can offer great beginning art courses. However, if you have developed advanced or intermediate skills, it may be better to seek classes offered by art institutes or at local colleges. These classes will give you a wonderful opportunity to meet other artists like you and benefit from their constructive criticism. You’ll be learning new skills, practicing your existing ones, and adding a lot to your experience by engaging with other artists. Private lessons will also add to your skills and deepen your experience.
Use a Wooden Human Mannequin for Anatomy Drawing
Wooden mannequins are used to help in drawing human figures. A little wooden mannequin will be very helpful once you start learning anatomy drawing. The thing about these mannequins is you can bend them or set them up in any position to mimic the human appearance when being in the same position. This will help you master the human body and its proper proportions. They come in many different sizes and shapes depending on the artist’s preferences, and you can find them online, on Facebook and other retail platforms, or buy them from an art supply store.
Every artist has their unique way of expressing art, but this doesn’t mean other artists can’t be helpful and share valuable tips with you. It’s very important for you as an artist to communicate with other talented individuals so that you can develop your skills and work on learning new ones. Improvement requires consistency and passion, so be open and dedicated to experimenting every day. Consider joining different communities, classes, or watching online tutorials to focus on specific skills that can only be taught by professionals. It takes time to develop your style and become an artist, so be patient with your progress.
