Improve Your Art Skills

Do you wish to one day become a great artist, and have people look at your artwork in amazement and wonder how you drew it? Or maybe you're looking for a career in art and need to improve your skills. Whatever the case may be, here are some ideas to help you improve your art skills.

Steps

1. One of the most important things in art is practicing. You've probably heard it many times already--practice makes perfect. Although you can't reach "perfect" in art, practicing drawing everyday will help you improve tons.
2. Take a few moments each day to study your surroundings. Look at the face of the person you're talking to. Notice how the light affects where all the shadow goes, and the shape of their features. Observe colors and shadows around you, and take a look at textures or how clothing wrinkles. These things will help you gain a better understanding in how real objects work and are shaped and will come in handy when you're drawing.
3. Don't get caught up in the color name game. It's easy to forget the oblivious fact that every single blade of grass is not just one specific shade of "grass green".Cadmium Red can vary greatly among different medias brands and screen settings.This can also cause different results when mixing colors. Avoid referencing color terms in the dictionary and look at items' colors in person or in photographs/videos.
4. Learn how to obtain the correct colors and their properties accurately. The color concepts are very different than in grade school basic art. The basic white and black to get shade and tone has a tendency to alter the color hue and make it dull and false. Blue and yellow depending on many factors will be brown and not always green.
5. Consider investing in better quality art supplies. At least experiment with various brands of the same media at different price ranges. Many art supply shops sell the open stock which is less expensive than entire sets if you're just sampling them. Don't bash the cheaper ones which can perform as well or better than more costly versions.
   • Get out of the children's art supply section! Those do not in general have the same properties as the more professional or artist versions.
6. Look at other artists' works. There are many great artists on deviantART, so feel free to check out that site or create an account. Pay attention to their style of drawing. Take a look at multiple artists too, so you can expand your viewpoint. And if you want, try copying their style for a day to get a good idea on it (just don't claim it as your own unless it actually becomes your style). Also take trips to museums and art exhibits to gain inspiration.
7. Another good idea is to look up tutorials. There are a lot of great tutorials on deviantART on all sorts of things and you're sure to find one that helps. Also consider art books and taking art courses.
   • Beware of the "paint or draw by number" format. It's beneficial when learning new techniques but this copycat system can hinder an artist's individual talent and perspective from being seen in the works that person creates. The great artists of the past and present became famous via uniqueness.
8. Try out different mediums of art. For example, if you're doing traditional art and mainly use pencil or colored pencil, try out pastels or painting for a new experience. Or try it digitally, as in with a pen tablet (like Wacom tablets) and a paint program for your computer.
9. Try using a model when you draw. Whether it be a picture in a magazine or a bowl of fruit you set up on your counter. It's good practice and it'll help you improve a lot.
10. If you're into anime or a similar style, it always helps to try out some realism. Anime is a more cartoon-ish style than realism, yes, but realism will give you a better grip on proportions and anatomy, and helps a ton when you're drawing anime. Also, body anatomy is important in not just anime, but every style.
11. Don't be afraid to be a rebel. Artists are very opinionated and even on creating one exact effect, will have opposite ways of achieving it. Think about how Monet painted in more abstract rather than follow the art institutions' realistic approach. Some artists feel the color wheel is useless. Learn the rules and as you master them feel free to break them. Draw and paint only subjects you really are inspired by.

Tips

• If you really want to be an artist or you really like drawing, then don't give up. Always try your best. It's alright to take a break every now and then and then go back to it though.
• Practice, practice, practice!!! Even if you think you're the worst artist in history, with a lot of hard work and determination you'll get better and better.
• Never put yourself down. That's the worst you can do, is say "I can't draw a single thing!" or "Maybe I should just give up, I'm the most terrible artist to ever walk the face of the Earth." Saying those will lower your esteem greatly and you'll probably not improve as much as you could since you'll believe you can't.
• Instead of putting yourself down, look at the good things in your drawings, or what you could work on. Say to yourself, "Oh, I'm good at so-and-so, maybe I should perfect it since it's one of my strengths," or "I guess I could work on this or that, since it's one of my weak points and I should focus on improving it." That kind of thinking will make it easier for you to improve.
• Don't force yourself to draw faster. Just concentrate on what you are drawing.
• Ignore insults and discouragement about your art. It's your art, you do what you want!
• Don't be afraid of drawing something you aren't entirely happy with. When starting out, some of your art is bound to fall short of your expectations. It's important not to give up or get discouraged, follow through as best you can and take every new piece as a learning experience. When you're done, review your work constructively and think about where you would like to improve, then make a conscious effort to practice that area on your next drawing.
• Be aware of how your art flows. Jagged lines or exaggerated features can be jarring to the eyes and diminish the quality of your work.
• Make sure your strokes and colors are appropriately suited to your subject. A city picture generally will look like nonsense with soft flowy edges which are more suited to a rural scene. Watch out how background colors influence the colors of the foreground.
• Try to make every detail a small piece of the greater whole instead of spending too much time on any one thing.
• If there is a piece or aspect of your art that often shows up, or catches your eye, keep it! Improve around it and try to draw with that aspect included. But still be creative when you make your art!
• Go to an art supply specialty stop. They have huge selections of brands other stores lack. It overwhelming, but you get more options.
• Open stock, which is individual colors or grades separately sold instead of complete sets, can allow you to experiment and compare results.
• Try online retailers as well.

Warnings

• Don't put other people down, either. A true artist will help other artists.
• Don't listen to other people if they insult you. Just shake it off and forget about it, they could be jealous or just not really like you and are trying to put you down. Keep your head up and keep doing what you're doing!
• However, take constructive criticism whenever you can. Taking other's advice or ideas on how you can improve will help you tons.

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