There is so much advice for artists that is terrible and can make the art making process stressful and frustrating!
- 2 min. version (drawing everyday)
- 3 min. version (drawing realistically)
- 40 min. version
Discussion with Art Prof Clara Lieu and Teaching Artists Mia Rozear and Cat Huang.
Video Walkthrough
- Some art advice is unhelpful because it is so vague that you don’t even know what to do with it.
- Example: “Push it.” What does that even mean?
- Artists are told all the time that to improve, they have to draw everyday.
- For many artists the pressure to draw everyday isn’t sustainable and creates a feeling of guilt if you aren’t able to do it.
- Most artists do not draw everyday, we have lives to live!
- Daily art challenges like Inktober put a lot of pressure on artists.
- Artists often think that they have to suffer for their artwork.
- Not only is this an unhealthy attitude, but it can really get in the way of their creative process.
- Creating your artwork shouldn’t be a miserable experience, you have to figure out a way to make it manageable.
- Not all art classes and tutorials will be helpful.
- Many tutorials online aim to show a quick trip, but neglect the fundamentals which take time and focus to really understand.
- Every artist has a different way of learning.
- “You have to learn realism before you can do abstraction.”
- If you have no interest in creating realistic art, focusing on realism is actually not very helpful.
- “You have to have realistic drawing skills before creating ideas.”
- There is no reason you can’t practice your technical skills while also developing and recording your ideas.
- You can’t learn brainstorming skills overnight, you need time and experience so start now!
- Ideas take time to develop and giving them that marination period is very important.
- If you are too focused on only your technical skills, it can actually hurt you in the long run when you start engaging with your artistic ideas.
- “You have to be able to draw from imagination to be a good artist.”
- Using image references for your artwork is not cheating!
- The process of creating reference photos is an art form in itself and can stimulate lots of terrific ideas.
- “You have to make masterpieces all the time”
- Creating an artwork that really feels like a slam dunk rarely happens for most artists!
- 95% of the creative process is troubleshooting, falling on your face, and meandering through many options.
- If you work on your pieces and you don’t get a masterpiece, that is not a waste of time, it’s part of the process.
- What works for 1 artist may not work for another.
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