Please help me
Hi, Im 14 and I've wanted to make works of art, to be a concept artist, and make video games. But I have a big obstacle to overcome... I am turning away from my dream a bit, because I realize I am horrible at art. I have a wacom bamboo, and I have tried to make many things on it. All of which end up like something a 3 year old would draw. I draw every day of my life, and I never seem to get better. It is extremely frustrating, I have taken art classes, and I practice a lot, but no change. I am about to return my tablet, and give up drawing.
I apologize if I sound like im whining, but I am so angry that I never get better... Someone please help me get better, I have taken classes, practice every day, watched videos... I dont know what else to try.
I know most of you will say practice, but I do a ton... I see no change...
I apologize if I sound like im whining, but I am so angry that I never get better... Someone please help me get better, I have taken classes, practice every day, watched videos... I dont know what else to try.
I know most of you will say practice, but I do a ton... I see no change...
Replies
- You are still young, you should spend a lot of time absorbing as much art as you can, watch movies, read books, go to museums and local art galleries.
- Keep drawing every day, do loose 1 minute gesture drawings for 10 minutes to warm up, and don't get caught up putting all of your time in one project, do 30-50 minute studies.
- A big part of art is learning, if you cannot learn from your mistakes and learn how light, materials, anatomy, perspective, etc work in in the real world, you are not going to get better.
I know you said you've watched tutorials, I'd personally suggest these, http://androidarts.com/art_tut.htm http://www.youtube.com/user/FZDSCHOOL/videos?view=0 and the free videos on http://ctrlpaint.com/library/
Quit your moaning and do stuff, damnit
The only failure is quitting.
- ZacD nailed it: Do studies. Do lots of them. So many of them you are doing them in your head when you are not actually drawing.
- Seek out feedback and critiques and take it graciously and wholeheartedly. There are amazing artists here at PC and numerous other forums who will gladly share their insights. But realize that everyone takes their own path and that you may have to go down many wrong paths before it "clicks."
- Also realize that you are young and the fact that you know what you want to do puts you ahead of the bell curve. I didn't realize I wanted to get into the industry until I spent 2 years at a college doing something I hated (different paths!).
- Look into joining a local sketchgroup or life drawing group. Many folks there would happy to help you out and give you some insights. Additionally, watching someone, in person, make their marks and how they approach the subject matter is an intense learning experience.
It's a lot of work but, man, if you are 14 years old and seeking ways to improve, you've got a great headstart.
Dude. You're 14. If you keep at it you will have such a massive head start over other people by the time you go to college, it's not even funny. You NEED to stay enthusiastic about it and like Zac said, learn from your mistakes. Do not expect to be good anytime soon. Not next week, not next year. It is a lifelong journey.
I mean shit, I didn't do any art (at all) until I was 19-20 but with hard work and perseverance I was lucky enough to land a job after college.
Keep at it, stick around, and learn all you can. Internet is here to help, as long as you stay positive and aren't a dick to anyone. Good Luck.
Like I said, the only way to fail is to quit. Don't quit!
Try thinking about what you're doing. When you spend a few hours every day drawing, also set aside time for self reflection. Don't be so concerned with the number of hours you set aside a day for practice. Be concerned about what you're filling those hours with. If you love to do something, number of hours will never be an issue.
The fact that you're already asking these questions means you're already starting to think. That's great! Keep going. Ask yourself more specific questions. Once you started asking the right questions, you'll be able to look for the right answers. Keep thinking.
Don't be afraid to post work. People on Polycount LOVE to comment on shitty work. So take advantage of that.
You're 14 though, so take it easy. Don't even focus just on drawing. Go out and learn everything! Science! Maths! You might find something you enjoy doing more. And I think very very few people can say they haven't changed much from their 14 year old self. Even when I was 22, I had no idea I'd be doing what I'm doing now. Try to realize, a lot of you right now is hormones. I think it's kind of hard to grasp these kinds of things at your age. But give it 10 years and you'll know.
And even if you do end up sticking to drawing, you'd be surprised at how much learning other things might end up helping. And life experiences too. So DO NOT hesitate to go out and learn AND experience new things.
You're so young and already asking these kinds of questions. If you can keep at it and listen to what's being said here and really apply it. I can't imagine you having a bad life. When I was 14 (shit when I was in my early 20s even) saying these things to me would have been useless. I had my head stuck so far up my ass I couldn't hear anything but my own shit.
Seriously though, you've got a lot of time to get good, draw/paint every day! If you're not seeing much improvement it could be your technique or what you're actually practicing, have you taken a look at any online courses or maybe art schools in your area?
These links are pretty good:
http://www.cgma2dacademy.com/
http://ctrlpaint.com/
Upload some work to the sketchbook section so everyone can see your improvement. Good luck!
You think you draw alot, you probably don't (30-40 hours a week). either that or you dont draw from reference so you keep making the same mistakes. Your 14 though, that's a good age to get serious, everyone has to start somewhere.
Ok jokes aside.
You should learn the foundations before you jump in to the entire art scene. You have entire life to achieve your goal. There are those who are like 34+ and just starting out in this scene yet they've had even crappy art skills then a 14 year old, but they have succeeded in learning arts by investing hours and hours of learning and practicing.
Look for the art fundamental DVDs that are on Gnomon workshop, also look for the anatomy books to learn and understand the aspects of drawing.
Or environment art books to see how that is done.
I think it's fantastic that you already have a critical eye towards your work and have a good sense of what's "good" and "bad". Keep focusing that critical eye on your work, but add a little pride too. You'll learn! You'll be on here showing us all up before you know it.
everytime you draw something you are getting better at it, this should be enough motivation
also
a wise man once told, you need 10000 hours practice to master something
I'm going to draw.
But first lets check one or two sites.
LOLZ oh those cats and their cheeseburgers...
That game looks so good, I need to "research it".
Ok time to draw, wait hold on.
fap fap fap
Ok now for real, umm wait, I hungry.
Nom nom nom.
I'll just check some art boards while I eat, nom nom nom
Soo good. Saved to inspiration. What's Haz up to, Oooo...
fap fap fap
Ok drawing. There, one line. That wasn't hard was it? Aawwee it sucks. I hate life, I quit.
interesting...I do that when I am studying for Networking.
I find this amusing because ive done this, besides the quit part.
reminds me of something a coworker would say:
"The difference between a good artist and a bad one is about ten feet. Though, that's a ten foot tall stack of very thin paper."