I know 2 ppl that have been drawing for 8 years

Well, the title sort of says it all, but it was just something that I have had in mind for the past couple of days.

Anyways, I keep in touch with two galleries on DeviantArt. Both users have incredible styles of art (one being cute and colorful, the other being direct but sketchy). What I have learned about these two artists is that it took them roughly 7 or 8 years to draw the way they draw today.

Of course, they have already graduated high school and either in their final years of college or working, but I find it amazing that those few years ago they were only able to draw the simple things! They even have their own tutorials on several things like shading, sketching the body, etc. I find these tutorials really helpful and something to help me improve my drawings on.

I mean, I counted how many years I have been drawing myself (5), and it sort of makes sense how they took that much time to get to where they wanted to be. I am wondering now how I will change my style for the next 3 years. I wonder if I even will have the same style I have right now? But no matter what happens, I always am willing to change and improve on what I have now with my drawings.

Hopefully, the next 3 years will bring more opportunities to improve! It sounds awesome~

April 10, 2012

9 Comments • Newest first

Starfy3453

@Aooi:

I am in the same position as you are with proportions, haha! It just bothers me to see some part of the overall figure drawing to look slightly "off". I took note to start marking where I may need to fix for future drawings. And that's exactly what I want to focus on next summer. I'm looking forward to join a summer program to get to learn some new modes of drawing proportions, coloring, and such.

For watercoloring, I don't usually use the digital watercolor tool on Sai, but if I do I usually just use it for blending shades. However, I also heard that the marker tool is great for making a "copic marker" feel, but it is somewhat difficult to use and may require a tutorial (that's what Oceanchan actually uses to shade and blend)

I actually began trying out watercoloring on traditional painting paper. I interpret it with lush, bright colors and flowers with various flowing strokes, being careful not to use too much or the painting would look saggy. For something more complex and full of detail with watercolors, I think of animals and scenery, which are often sketched lightly first before painted over. Overall, I believe watercoloring is more of that "cheery" art that one gets when he or she is inspired. It takes time and patience to produce a watercolor piece, but in the end the work pays off I see a lot of nature in watercolors, and that is also what I wish to apply to my art later on as I gain experience.

@ksc16424:

Wow, really? I loved Sailor Moon! I practically grew up with Sailor Moon thanks to my sister, haha! Yeah, I know how you feel about becoming personal with it. Sheesh, I remember back in 7th grade I got scared whenever some of my classmates snuck a peek at my very "personal" drawings. O-O"

The one thing I really feel that all artists should have a chance to is an art teacher. Being able to be taught by a professional, or at least someone who went through our experiences, could really help benefit us to find our styles later on. I personally would feel more comfortable knowing that I have learned not only by online tutorials, but also from hands-on experience from a program.

Sadly, most artists seem to not have that opportunity while growing up, and that is what makes us desire to learn more about our interest. The more we want to learn, the better artists we become

@Seitoro:

(Psst! I'm a girl xD Sorry for the avatar!) Ikr? I just sometimes wonder how some people can paint some awesome watercolors! Sometimes they are so close to being a photograph o-o