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Greetings, kapeefers! I have need of your assistance for which I will be eternally grateful.
I’m thinking about writing an article on drawing/painting etc. for a magazine (not KP). The problem is, I’ve never actually learned to draw/paint in the normal sense. All I know is from trial, error, and a lot of practice. Sometimes the best advice is to buy yourself some pencils and paper and just draw like crazy, but that would make my article lame and dwarf size. I thought about writing an article on self-teaching, but that almost seems like a paradox.
Anyway, I have a few questions to ask you to help me trigger some ideas:
What would you like to learn about art?
What is something you wished you knew a few years ago about drawing?
What is something you’d consider helpful in your art journey?
What is something you’ve always wanted to learn how to draw/paint?
What techniques would you want to learn?
What do you consider to be the most difficult art concept to grasp?
What kind of information would you want to read in an article on art?Tagging some artists to get the ball rolling, but feel free to join in even if you weren’t tagged. @graciegirl @ethryndal @anne-of-lothlorien @dragon-snapper @kate-flournoy
@mariposa.aristeo Gonna answer a few questions, cause can’t think of all the answers now…
I wish I’d known that not every bad drawing should be thrown away. We learn from our mistakes, and keeping old messed up faces can show you how to do better. I didn’t keep any drawing I didn’t think was really good, and I regret that now.
I’ve always wanted to be able to draw men and boy’s faces. I can’t really. (Well, ha ha funny story about that – I insisted to a friend that I couldn’t draw a boy, and he convinced me to try, and I did a decent one and now he won’t believe me) But in reality, boys do not come easy to me, and I’d really like to improve on them for story illustrations.I would love to learn dab painting, the kind where it’s a ton of little tiny dots making up one picture.
Depth perception. Definitely depth perception.
Actually, good sources for learning tools and books about different techniques and styles of art. I try to find great teaching books, but it’s super hard, so a list of recommended materials would be awesome.
ENFP - "One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite insane."
Oops. @mariposa
ENFP - "One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite insane."
@mariposa – I think one of the things I’d love to learn how to do, is shading.
And like @anne-of-lothlorien said, Dab painting is something I’ve always wanted to do!
I hope your article goes well, @mariposa!! Your art is beautiful! 😀
@mariposa I can’t draw, but I do anyway, so here I go. 😛 I wish I had know earlier that YOU DON’T COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHER PEOPLE. I draw for fun, and when I get better, I’m happy. But when I look at all the folks I know who can draw museum-grade stuff, I want to burn my pencils and hide in a hole. *nods emphatically* *laughs* *shakes head* Maybe it isn’t that bad, but still, it sucks the fun out of doing your best when all you can think about is your friends who seem to skip effortlessly through fields of flowers in the company of fluffy bunnies as they draw and end up with the Mona Lisa, while you hunch over a drawing all day and end up with a sad little stick figure. XD Pardon my rambling, but you get my meaning? Good luck with your article!
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@mariposa, I am not a big artist, but I have always wanted to learn how to paint people. I can paint everything else, although it doesn’t look very good, but people are just impossible for me. They always end up looking like a monkey or the proportion is just way off. In an article, a step by step tutorial of how to do certain things would be very helpful. Like “How to Draw People in So and So Amount of Steps”. Maybe this will be helpful a little bit.
Erm, kinda hard for me to really say because I, too, am a hardcore trial and error learner. XD I usually only look to outside sources when I have a question regarding materials (i. g. paper and brush quality, cost, availability, etc.). But, that said, if I were to look for some tips, I would probably be apt to study depth perception, drawing things from all different angles, and echoing @Anne-of-Lothlorien: male subjects. For whatever reason, I just can’t draw boys all that well, which is SUPER annoying for when I sit down to attempt concept art from my stories. XD
Something that’s helped me a lot on my art journey is learning to loosen up. I often (*cough* every single time I pick up a pencil or paintbrush *cough*) have to remind myself that my piece doesn’t have to and won’t turn out exactly how I want it to. And that’s FINE. I have my own style and any parameters I set for what is considered a “good painting” are entirely self-imposed since art can basically be defined as the absence of rules or limitations. I can be as vague and impressionistic or as detailed as I want in a piece and it is none the better or worse inherently for whichever style I choose.
On the more technical side, I wish I’d learned sooner that the lighter the color the brighter the lighting to an extent. That I’d known the basics of lighting, to put it simply. For instance, that the sky actually should be painted an almost white shade of blue. XD Slapping a layer of blue for the sky will make the painting feel dark, closed in.
The hardest concept for me to grasp is probably drawing people or portraits. I CANNOT even ATTEMPT them without a reference photo for the life of me. And I also could never get into the “draw a bunch of shapes first then work from there” thing. XD
As for what I’d like to see in an article…..I’m not sure. 😛 I so rarely try that avenue that I really have no idea. XD
Hope this helps! 🙂
*is probably geeking out about something*
First of all, thanks everyone! You’re the bestiest. 🙂
@anne-of-Lothlorien That’s a very good point. Sometimes when a drawing/painting doesn’t turn out well, I browse through my old artwork and it makes me feel better. I’ve kept most of my drawings from infancy to now. Some of my canvas paintings I’ve thrown away but that’s because they take up too much space.I’m afraid I couldn’t list any teaching books because I’ve only ever read one art book in my entire life (and it was mostly about artists and not techniques). It’s kind of funny, in a sense, I know nothing about art except how to make it. XD Maybe I should title my article “Advice from an Uneducated Artist.” 😉
@lifeofkatie Thank you so much! Your words always make me smile.
@daughteroftheking Yes! I knew if I was always comparing my artwork to someone else’s, I would have given up long ago and then I wouldn’t be where I am now. It doesn’t matter if I draw as good as another artist as long as I do my best. 🙂@emily Thanks for your input!
@graciegirl I didn’t know you were self-taught too! *fistpump* I personally think self-teaching is the best method, but I’m probably biased. *cough* 😉 I’m leaning towards making my article a sort of inspirational “you don’t have to have fancy pencils or a bunch of lessons to be an artist” kind of article. Basically “Anyone can draw” to rephrase Ratatouille. I also might include some tips and techniques I’ve learned over the years. What do you think?Thanks again everyone! I’ve already got some ideas rolling (but if anyone else has anything to say, they’re perfectly welcome. I can always use more inspiration).
Though I don’t enjoy or do drawing, I was wondering if you were interested in addressing (or have done) abstract art? The kind where it is more shapes instead of trying to be a specific thing?
Just curious. 😀
@mariposa Kapeefers. Ah, well, I basically learned to draw the same way you did, trial and error and lots and lots of practice, but the one thing I always have the hardest time with is drawing hair. For some reason, I can never manage to draw girl hair that is curly.
☀ ☀ ☀ ENFP ☀ ☀ ☀
@mariposa – you’re welcome! you are so sweet 🙂
@Mariposa I honestly don’t even know what to say, because everyone’s already said it. I, like practically everyone here, taught myself most of what I know, and the thing is… *cringes at the cheesiness of this* It was kind of easy for me. Looking back, I can’t really think of any breakthrough “I wish I had known this so much sooner” sort of thing, or anything that I really want to learn that I don’t already have a beginning idea of. But, scraping my brain here…
Something that’s helped me is, basically, what @GracieGirl said about loosening up. Just like writers give their characters space to develop on their own, artists need to let their painting do what it wants. Even if it doesn’t come out EXACTLY the way you imagined it, it will probably be better. Particularly in water-color. Too watery or not many details or an accidental splotch of paint will just contribute to the water-color aura of the thing. People will think you meant to do it.
Something I wish I had known was… probably the benefit of multiple shades of pencils. (Like, H2, HB, B4, etc.) They always daunted me a little, because there were so many and I couldn’t tell the difference, so I didn’t use them. BUT, once I finally found the courage to try them, I realized how much more depth they gave my portraits, as opposed to using one pencil with the same tone for EVERYTHING. Believe me, people, if you’re questioning their importance, don’t. THEY MAKE A DIFFERENCE. They really do.
Something I wish to learn. Ah. Like @DelightInLife said: Abstracts. I can do ’em, but I don’t get it. The logical part of my brain was not designed to understand them. I don’t like that.
Aaaand the most difficult art concept to grasp. Hmmm. For me… textures, I guess. Like fur or lace of the rough weave of cloth. I’m really bad at textures. Depth, check. Shading, check. Lighting… erm, sort of check. But textures just boggle my mind.
Or… Well, I don’t know if this is an art concept, but I kinda want to say human proportions. Human proportions are complicated.
So there’s my long spiel. Hope it’s helpful. 🙂
INTJ ➸Your friendly neighborhood mastermind. ➸https://thesarcasticelf.wordpress.com/
@delightinlife No, abstract art has never really been my thing. 🙂 I tend to lean towards more realistic for my pencils drawings and for paintings an almost yet not quite impressionistic style.
@dragon-snapper I’m proud to shake hands with another self-taught artist. Yes, hair is horribly hard. And hands. For a while, I could hardly handle hands. 😉 Thanks for your input!
@ethryndal Wow, so many self-taught artists! Makes me proud to be a part of this forum. Haha, you sound like me! That’s why I was having trouble coming up with ideas because I’m like well-I-taught-myself-why-can’t-everybody-else. 😛 But I know everyone learns differently and some people do better if they’re shown.I’ve never dabbled much in H2, HB, etc. I’ve mostly stuck with color, so I’m not sure how much help I’d be in that department. And abstracts, well, distract my mind. 😉 If I attempted it, it’d look like a minion attacked the canvas with a paint gun.
Thank you for your comments!
@Mariposa Sorry it’s taken me so long to get back to you on this!
I’m probably biased as well, but I think self-teaching is the way to go too. XD
Yes, I think an inspirational article like you mentioned is a great idea. 😀 And I love to read it when it’s finished! (Totally up to you though, of course. 😉 )AGH, I LOVE RATATOUILLE!! That’s like one of my absolute favorite Pixar movies!! Although, predictably, it always makes me super hungry. XD
*is probably geeking out about something*
@graciegirl No worries, I know how notifications can get buried sometimes. 🙂
Thanks for your support! It might be a while before I finish it, I’ll let you know when I do. 🙂 I might work in it today (I’ve been meaning to work on it the last few days but somehow always ended up drawing instead). I’m a little nervous because the magazine is bigger than KP and I’m afraid they’ll reject it. But I’ll never know until I try. I figure my effort won’t be completely wasted because I can always post it on my blog if the magazine doesn’t like it.
Yes!!! I love almost every Pixar film, but I think my two top favorites are Inside Out and Up. However, I didn’t like The Good Dinosaur though, which is ironic considering how much I like dinosaurs.
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