How to Make Art

I've been making art for around 8 years now.

Hard to believe with the cover art, I know, but I don't have many good images on hand right now. It's also to go and show that even "low quality" art like in the beginning does not define an artist, as they also have the opportunity to hone in their skills to really shine.

... Say, you wanna make art too, right? This very loose guide is for you, and I am by all means not a professional. This is just how I do things around here.

• Any Drawing Medium (traditional - like drawing or painting, or digital - like making art on a drawing program)
• This mainly falls down to personal preferences. I've been drawing digitally for around 8 years now using Ibis Paint, but there are plenty of artists I know that prefer using watercolors or acrylics. Please do not be afraid to branch out!
• Anything You Can Draw With (be it a pencil, pen, digital pen, or your finger)
• Also relates to the medium you chose and personal preference. Do not be afraid to mix things up if you're feeling stuck!
• A Sketchbook (or any private place you can draw onto)
• Privacy and only drawing things for your own eyes to see will help not only in feeling like you don't have to share your work, but also help draw a line between what's for you to get messy and draw whatever in and what you actually present.
• The Will To Draw
• If there is a will, there is a way.

Drawing is not for everyone. There are plenty of other forms of art that people are proficient in and that's awesome too! But there is nothing wrong with trying. Everyone can benefit from art and there is no "wrong" way of doing it... unless you use generative Artificial Intelligence to make "art" for you.

That is not art---a computer compiled thousands of stolen art from actual artists and took similar themes and patterns and layered them on top of each other. You did not make that. A computer program was coded to do that.

Regardless, there is no easy way of finding out if art works for you unless you are driven to consistently work on it. If you do not think you are up for pouring in the time for that---that's fine. There are other passions you can enjoy.

You can make art with just about anything. You can make art with pencil and paper and so long as you hone your craft and share with the world what you're able to do, that is enough. However, the investment in quality materials does make a difference in the outcome of your work.

Look for reviews from specific brands you are intrigued in, and see what other people are saying about the products. Search out specific drawing programs and see how much they cost. Watch videos testing and giving their honest review of products you might be interesting in investing.

There are some free drawing programs like Krita, Medibang, or FireAlpaca. From personal experience, I found Medibang to be transferable on both desktop and mobile if you create an account, FireAlpaca has the best line work diversity, and Krita has a stellar animating software built within. All are options to check out yourself, and see which ones work the best for you.

Put pen to paper and actively draw as much as you can. Draw whatever comes to mind---be it simple gemstones, or stick figures, or characters, striving for consistency is important when committing to art.

Make time for yourself in the day to draw something for around 10 minutes. Lengthen that time when you feel like you are ready for a newer challenge. Go to a prompt generator and follow the prompts given if you run out of ideas.

Working bit by bit to consistently draw each day will get you more and more into the groove of drawing.

Now that you have gotten used to the idea of drawing something, let's try and up the anti here a little bit by drawing specific Challenge Prompts.

A Challenge Prompt within the art community refers to a specific list of things you work on each day over the course of the month.

It's very common for artists to get busy and only have time to work on a few prompts within the challenge, and that's completely fine! The most important thing is going at your own pace.

Finding an art challenge prompt is fairly easy---Go to a new tab, then search "art challenge prompts" on Google (or with your favorite search engine) and find one that appeals to you. Pick and choose prompts as you like.

As artists, there are things we specifically hone in and focus on to practice the basics of basics. There are troubling things that will obstruct us with our visions on the daily, and that's fine. We just need to put in the practice to work on things that may trouble us.

Look into different subject matters regarding art---be it color theory, perspective, shading / lighting, anatomy, or whatever you plan to focus on---and do research. Do reference studies, figure drawings, or simply try recreating a scene.

Whatever you work your mind to will vary in different ways of going about your practice---but I suggest always keeping these practice drawings in a private space (like a sketchbook) so that you can freely practice with no worries of anyone else watching you.

All art with the intention of creating something that you care meaningfully about will always be worthwhile. Creating something is special within it of itself---and is no laughing matter. Beginning artists are growing into an art community that is savage and hostile to anyone who isn't good immediately---to people who don't know the basics or are trying to figure out what kinds of art they want to make.

You will not be the greatest that has ever lived---and that's okay.

You are making something incredible by putting in the time and effort to do something truly spectacular. You aren't cutting corners or anything by trying to make drawing easier (unless you rely on AI. not cool) for someone like you.

If my intentions are correct, you want to do art because it inspires and interests you. And striving to be better is good! Improvement in any sort of field is always good!

But you can't be great if you don't know how to be great.

After drawing for an unknown (but I would hope a long) amount of time, you might've noticed that you prefer some things over others. This is normal. People will have their preferences until the end of time. Some people make fanart of characters, some people draw their original characters constantly, and others will paint whatever background they please. This is typical behavior.

Biases will happen all of the time. Especially for hobbyists who aren't interested in improving their art as they've connected to their art style and think about stopping there. If you aren't in the field, this is pretty typical for artists to do---settle down.

What I'm trying to say here is that I don't want to rain on your parade and truly do the things that make you happy. Improving makes me happy, for instance! On with the Instructable!

What is a style? A style is a particular way of drawing that an artist is fond of or is more naturally skilled in drawing. For example, western animators will often simplify their characters down to shapes and patterns to easily replicate similar frames with little to no issues with clean up afterwards, or a painter may have a particular way of drawing the human figure. Perhaps it is something in the line's weight, in the way the anatomy functions, or how colors are composed. All of these factors---and more---can consist of a user's style

Finding what makes your style yours is tricky. Using user feedback is a great way to find out what your style is like. Find other artists you like and from observation, replicate what they're trying to do. The latter is a fun way to try and experiment what works for you.

Although, it should be mentioned: you can have multiple styles. People will see this as versatility or inconsistency, which has its representative pro's and con's.

Opening commissions is no easy task---and completely optional---if you want to make a living off of it. It's possible! But even I struggle with getting by making money on it.

This also relies on management of social medias and making your presence known. This also takes time to build up. Be authentic and bring out your best onto the table for others to evaluate what they want.

Little things like people sharing your commissions around or making forum threads dedicated to your commission prices is essential to building up that presence. Figure out a time that works best not only for you, but your target audience. Format your commission posts in a way where they're easily accessible for mobile users. Use free website resources like Carrd.co to patchwork a website that works on desktop and mobile. All of these tips and tricks aren't guarantees, but they can help you get more recognition.

I cannot underestimate how important this step is.

You are going to get so tired from drawing so much, so fast. This is okay. If your someone like me and you get so into something that it's basically all you can do for months on end and then you just stumble and fall, you may experience something called burnout.

Burnout is a specific term referring to people who get so invested into something that feeling tired, unmotivated, and hollow is the aftermath.

Resting up and taking as much time as you can for yourself is so utterly important. Your health comes first, not your art.

Do self-care. Watch videos that make you feel better. Schedule a talk with some friends and hang out. Properly cook yourself something, if you can. Take a shower, if you haven't. If medication is also something you keep watch of, make sure to take it if you haven't already. Follow the instructions as guided.

For some, it is unsure if brighter days are just out of the corner, but that's why we go at our own pace and wait until that time comes. Hopefully, a support system will be with you through thick and thin.

... And that is all I can teach you.

It was an honor making this instruction sheet for you! You made it all the way through, and I hope this continues the fighting spirit you as and artist will have when it comes to investing into a craft such as this.

This is all a process, one that has taken me many years to properly be content and satisfied with my current output as it now looks. I hope one day you will be happy with the art you manage to put out into the world, as well.

I do apologize if this is very vague or not entirely easy to understand. Most of this knowledge comes from years and years of drawing really badly to drawing not so badly to the point where even I am happy with my own output. This is not something that can be done overnight (like some cheaters think they can do), this is a skill. A skill that still needs honing, even with all of the knowledge I have now.

Please take care, and have a good day, fellow artist.