Art Foundation

 The Artists Guide: Art Foundation

Hi! My name is Cameron. Today I wanna talk to you guys about finding your art foundation. I'm an artist, and I've been drawing for years, so I kinda know a thing or two about a thing or two. I've decided that I'm going to use my artistic talent to help critic your artistic talent. I'm gonna to do this step-by-step because I'm lazy.

HOW TO FIND YOUR ART FOUNDATION

By: A random person on the internet :)

1. Draw Unique Characters. This step is pretty easy. Just draw a character. It'll come out different from the rest of your drawings on it's own. Trying to recreate a character is nearly impossible (For me anyway), so just go with the flow of the pencil (Or stylus, if you're like me and prefer digital art) and your character will be perfectly fine.

2. Don't Look At Other Artists (Unless you've already developed your own drawing style). When I started drawing in the 5th grade, I liked to draw people. I was also at an influential stage at this age though, so when I saw my friend drawing characters with big heads and basic hair, that's what I started drawing too. I can't even remember what my art looked like before then. Anyway, after I started drawing like her, I stopped drawing like myself. When I got older, I realized, "These characters suck." So I was stuck drawing something that sucked because I stopped my progress as an artist to draw like someone else.

3. Don't Watch Art Tutorials. This was a major turning point in my art life honestly. When I started watching art tutorials to try and get myself out of that stuck phase, the cycle only continued. The first YouTube tutorial I watched was by DrawSoCute. She was drawing a picture of Jojo Siwa, and since I was a fan of Jojo at the time, I thought "Yep, I wanna draw that." So after tons and tons of practice, you guessed it, I started drawing like DrawSoCute. It went on for years, and once again, I was stuck.

4. Be Careful With Cartoons. My Little Pony played a huge role in my art life growing up. It was my favorite show when I was younger. All the pretty colors would always inspire me to draw, and if this happens to you, that's okay. I'm not saying don't get inspired by other people, just make sure that you already have a stable foundation. When I say foundation, I don't mean makeup. What I mean is make sure you already know what kind of art you draw. (Animals, anime, creepypasta, etc.) If you don't have this, watching cute cartoons like My Little Pony could help, but only let it help to a certain extent. Don't let it take over your art for 2 years like I did. You'll move on from it sooner or later, but at a slower pace.

5. Don't Compare Yourself to Other Artists. I used to do this a lot. I still do. Comparing yourself won't make you a better artist. If anything, it'll make you feel like your art isn't good enough, and that's the last thing you want. It's good to get help from others or incorporate some of their art into yours, but NEVER compare your art to theirs.

6. Draw What's On Your Mind. I've done this a few times and it helps when I get stuck on drawing like someone else. For example, whenever I feel sad, I draw an emo character. Then, when I look back at this picture, I think, "Hey, I kinda like that eye shape." Now you know what kind of eyes you want your characters to have. Drawing what's on your mind isn't just another form of expressing your emotions, it helps you better yourself as an aspiring artist.

7. Practice. No one likes to hear this, but it's important. If you want to get better at something, you need to practice every. single. day. Or at least whenever you can. Do you think I just magically picked up a pencil and drew a masterpiece? Of course not. Practice and continue to try hard. You'll get there someday.

8. Go to Art School. I'm no teacher. I'm just speaking from my experience and progression as an artist. If you find that this wasn't helpful, enroll yourself into art school or have an actual conversation with your art teachers at school. There are plenty of ways to get better at drawing.

Thank you all so much for making it to the end of this blog post. If you have any other questions or suggestions that I didn't cover, make sure you comment them. I'll keep writing more tips on how to get better at drawing, so make sure you stay tuned! Be safe, and make sure you wear your seat belt. Bye bye! -Cameron