For me, I always get annoyed when people put art classes on a pedestal versus other classes. You'll learn basic skills, just like taking a basic English or math course. The craft part of art isn't any different than any other skill set - you learn skills, some people are better at it than others, etc. Now, if you're going to start talking about inspiration/message/"true" art, then yeah, you're talking above most people, but that's also like talking about writing a novel or a complex mathematical theory - most people have basic skills, but aren't going to write a best-seller. But that's also well out of the purview of a beginner's art class (or, at least, it should be ... you'll always have the students who have taken a bajillion art courses before this one, and ones that are better than you [and worse], just like in any other type of class).
I feel it would benefit to have more art classes throughout schools, to give everyone access to the skills and to demystify them, but that's just me.
Meh, it's just a big pet peeve of mine. There is a certain level of attainable artistic skill that most people could have, if it weren't considered so special/useless/mystical.
Just enjoy it. It's an art class. Nobody takes them seriously. ;)
I know that I also tend to mystify some skills, to a small degree. However, I generally believe that any skill can be learned once you master the underlying principals (for basic art, I imagine this is mostly concentration and an eye for detail). Maybe it's true, or maybe I just spent too much time watching the Pretender when I was younger. ;)
As for your advice: I think trying to relax, and trying not to take it too seriously is a sound place to start from.
I think part of it is also personal expectation - the person is worried that they're going to try something and not be good at it... Which, for a lot of people, reflects negatively on their self esteem. Although why the inability to paint like < insert famous dead guy here > is a negative thing, when more than 80% of the rest of the population can't do it either, is a bit perplexing to me. Not everybody is going to be good at everything. Hell, I love to sing, but I can't sing worth a damn and I know it. I'll never be a professional singer. It doesn't stop me from still doing it when nobody's around, though. I've even gotten up and sung in from of small crowds once or twice.
I've generally found that there are four types of people in most beginner art classes: people who actually can draw/sculpt/paint/etc fairly well, but are either just now discovering their talent or seeking formal training for their talent; people who think they can draw, but aren't half as talented as they like to think; people who've never taken an art class before but would either like to learn, or did it as a kid and want to get back into it, or have some minor talent and want to improve their current skill level; and people who, whether they have any talent or not, have no interest in learning to draw and are just taking the class to fill a requirement.
Look to the first group for inspiration or advice, but don't compare yourself to them. You don't check to see if you're the best quarterback in your pee-wee football league by comparing your stats against Joe Namath's. Laugh at the ignorant idiots who get all pretentious about their art or talk big when they don't have the talent to back it up. Take the last group on a case-by-case basis - decide whether or not they have anything insightful or relevant to say on the subject before paying attention to them. But the ones like you who are there to learn, the ones who'll have to work on their skills to improve them, those are the people you should get to know, to ask about what they've learned, their insights into what you're learning in class... But most of all, make sure that you measure your progress against yourself, and not anyone else.
Also, learn to turn a critical eye on your work, but not a negative one. Keep the right mindset - say, "This isn't drawn right, it needs to be different." rather than, "I screwed this up." One of these can be fixed with an eraser, the other requires a psychologist. Learn your weaknesses and strengths, and work on constantly improving them both. Practice, practice, practice. And never throw away a piece because it's "not good enough" or it's something you did a long time ago and you're much better now - you have to look back at where you started to see how far you've come.
Here's one thing to consider - You used to draw as a kid, right? If you could draw a cat that looked like a cat and wasn't just a stick figure back then, then you're not really a "beginner" as an artist, are you? You're not in that class to learn something from scratch, to acquire a new skill, you're just improving on skills you already have. You're already ahead of the game. It's like I tell people who say they could never learn to act on stage, "Have you ever lied to someone and had them believe you? Then you've acted before."
On the subject of de-mystifying skills...
I'm a trained actor with several college productions and a number of performances at national Rocky Horror Picture Show conventions under my belt - 31 college credits worth of theatre classes and I learned most of the important stuff in the back yard when I was four, beating my brother with a yellow whiffle-ball bat and pretending to be Robin Hood. I learned to play D&D when I was about eight.
I'm a published poet, with work in two college literary journals - and I wrote my first poem as a toddler, running around the house shouting "Cat-Bat-Fat-Rat!" at the top of my lungs.
I may well be the most prolific poster in the "What Do You Think My Character Looks Like?" thread in the CharDev forum, photoshopping character portraits for people - and yet, after ten years of using Corel Photopaint 8, I just now, hours before this post, figured out how to outline an area and use the "fill" thingee to color it in... When I was a kid, I used to draw funny moustaches and glasses on pictures of people in the newspaper with a crayon, and then when my brother (who's a much better artist than me) got this program for the family computer I started out drawing elf ears on porn shots I grabbed off the internet.
Pretty much all my major accomplishments that seem to make people think I'm somehow special or talented are really just stuff that everybody did when they were kids, and the only difference between then and now is that I've got 30 years of practice doing them, lol.
I've been told I'm really good at teaching and explaining things to people, and I tell them that it's because I've figured out the secret to doing anything - No matter what it is, you can find some way to relate it to something else in your life that you've done before. There's a damn good chance that you already have all the basic skills and knowledge you need to succeed at whatever you're about to do. You just have to give it a shot, and be willing to keep trying. The only thing I find mystifying about new things I've never done before is how it seems that so few people are willing to make the effort to try them.
Wow. That was insightful, inspiring, and relatable. Sprinkle in some "Yes We Can" and I'd swear I just got a motivational speech from the president his damn self.
First of all, art teachers sometimes have a thing called an ego you can't go around. You need to know when to disagree and when to suck it up, so to speak. Freedom of self-expression is important, but good marks and the need to get your degree in the end override this. I'm sure you'll find ways to 'sneak things in' though, so don't despair if you have this teacher who doesn't share your point of view.
Second, draw often, and lots. Keeping up a good pace is going to sky-rocket your skills if you keep at it. I've seen people with very moderate skills become the most applauded because they made the most progress, simply by working hard and steadily.
On a related note, don't expect every thing to be a masterpiece, or even decent after the first try. This doesn't mean failure. It's part of the process, and if you have made ten drawings before the eleventh one suited you, then those ten previous drawings were necessairy. Don't throw them away either. Looking at old stuff learns you al lot about your personal progress, and can still inspire you.
Then there's wanting to force out a style of their own. Don't. It will come by itself.
Lastly, remember to enjoy yourself. Once it becomes a punishment to pick up your pencil and draw, there is no point to it really.
That's all I have. I hope you'll have a great time!
Like most people, I used to draw quite a bit when I was a kid. However, I haven't done much drawing since then, and I now find myself faced with an upcoming beginners' art class this next semester. While I haven't drawn much in the last 15-20 years I have maintained the interest. I must confess a degree of nervousness about the upcoming class (I've never taken an art class outside of the obligatory, 1 semester, high school art class). As I've noticed the OTT has it's share of artists, I would appreciate any advice you consider worth imparting to a beginner.
For the most part i fall into the same category as you. I drew much as a kid and have had basically no formal training beyond basic required courses but even then i was able to get out of some of it by choosing other electives. However, i probably differ from others in a few regards. I seem to be really good at mimicking and well my mom is an artist and teaches art for a living. So yeah i self taught myself things like using perspective and shading to make things look 3d. I also learned a few different tricks from observation.
My basic advice would be to keep a keen eye for subtle things in both RL stuff and in art and especially with the transition from RL to the art medium. And a good imagination. It helps if i can doodle things in my head first to make sure a certain line will give me the desired result.
Other than that I'm sure whatever sort of advice all the artsy people here gave you is good so listen to them.
Also, after picking up my supplies, I've been doing a bit of sketching and was surprised to find that I'm not as god-awful as I had expected (maybe all that kanji practice kept me from getting too rusty). At any rate, so long as I can manage my time well enough to do the 9-12 hour projects, I think I'm going to rather enjoy this experience.
Thanks for the advice everyone, as well as for allowing me to vent a bit. I had my first art class on Thursday, and it turns out I had little to be worried about. The teacher is quite a nice lady who is teaching from the assumption that everyone in her class has never drawn anything before. I must confess that hearing this took quite a load off my mind. Although I'm still getting used to her Australian accent, it seems I was rather fortunate with the teacher I ended up with.
Also, after picking up my supplies, I've been doing a bit of sketching and was surprised to find that I'm not as god-awful as I had expected (maybe all that kanji practice kept me from getting too rusty). At any rate, so long as I can manage my time well enough to do the 9-12 hour projects, I think I'm going to rather enjoy this experience.
Great to hear!
Show
It's my pocketknife, an inkwell, and a pair of manga-style eyes (all of them done with only pencils and a blending tool)
It's my pocketknife, an inkwell, and a pair of manga-style eyes (all of them done with only pencils and a blending tool)
It'sa good you didn't draw any black hair over one of the eyes. The hair and the knife might have worried me.
Really? Even given that the pocketknife is closed? That being said, the three images are not all part of the same composed piece. Each one is merely a doodle to work on my skills. As I plan on doing quite a lot of them, and was raised to be rather cheap, they are in close proximity solely for the purpose of saving paper space.
- Don't fear hard work or wasted effort; you only learn by doing.
- Experiment and try new things, or even try what you know from a different prospective.
- When you find that you are content with your own style, try to push your style to avoid stagnation.
- Avoid buying a bunch of junk you assume you must have, but work with what you have on hand, and then buy what you actually need (a common newbie mistake, and art supplies can get pricey).
- Learn, research, study, and learn some more - not just from classes, but from the way other people work.
- Creativity can come like a storm, but a writer's block (so to speak) can fall on you like a mountain; don't give up!
- Never scoff at drawing naked women - anyone could draw fruits in a bawl, but once you master the shapely female form, everything else is child's play!
Some practice sketches
Sorry about the blur, I don't have a stand for my camera.
Sorry about the blur, I don't have a stand for my camera.
Sorry about the blur, I don't have a stand for my camera.
Simplest thing to do is to place the sketchbook upright on a chair with a bright light source shining on it at an angle that doesn't cause glare (especially with pencil lead), and then place the camera either on the table or on another identical chair and prop it up to the approriate height using your D&D books, then carefully press the button while holding the camera still - or use the timer if it has one. It's how I photograph my miniatures after I paint them.
Sprinkle in some "Yes We Can" and I'd swear I just got a motivational speech from the president his damn self.
Sorry about the blur, I don't have a stand for my camera.
Simplest thing to do is to place the sketchbook upright on a chair with a bright light source shining on it at an angle that doesn't cause glare (especially with pencil lead), and then place the camera either on the table or on another identical chair and prop it up to the approriate height using your D&D books, then carefully press the button while holding the camera still - or use the timer if it has one. It's how I photograph my miniatures after I paint them.
I'll give that a try next time.
Good thing you're practicing your geometrical shapes too. Plenty of folk around who don't know how to shade properly. A pointer here would be sticking with the crosshatching and not bothering about the smudging to make a gradient. You'll get more done and things will look more crisp.
And don't bother about things being wobbly - you'll get more confident shapes and strokes as you go along. It's better to be aware what you're drawing andlearn from it than try to make every single sketch a masterpiece.
It's nice that you're posting your stuff here. Keep on it!
I'm not sure where the ligth source is supposed to be on your shading thing. The shadows seem to suggest it is in one place, but the color on the shapes themselves seem to suggest another. Might just be me though.
On the drawing with the three shapes (cone, cube, & sphere) the light source is to the right of the cube, which (by vitue of where the sphere is placed) means the light is to the right and to the rear of the sphere.
I'm not sure where the ligth source is supposed to be on your shading thing. The shadows seem to suggest it is in one place, but the color on the shapes themselves seem to suggest another. Might just be me though.
On the drawing with the three shapes (cone, cube, & sphere) the light source is to the right of the cube, which (by vitue of where the sphere is placed) means the light is to the right and to the rear of the sphere.
Ah, the shading on the left hand corner of the cube caused me to think the light source was to the right and back of the cube, whereas the cubes shadow placed the light source as directly right of the cube.
I messed up on a few things.
For starters, the white dashed line running along the road. Had I thought ahead, I would have defined them with white charcoal of my white pastel and applied a fixative before layering the shadows over them.
Secondly, the canopy of leaves over the road had a curving strip-like section that was very brightly lit (so much that it came out white when printed in B&W). I couldn't figure out how to apply a white over the shaded canopy.
Aside from that however, I think this is my best piece to date.
This one is my most recent project, it's actually due when class starts today. Lucky you, you guys get to see it before anyone else. The project's focus is perspective.
I messed up on a few things.
For starters, the white dashed line running along the road. Had I thought ahead, I would have defined them with white charcoal of my white pastel and applied a fixative before layering the shadows over them.
Secondly, the canopy of leaves over the road had a curving strip-like section that was very brightly lit (so much that it came out white when printed in B&W). I couldn't figure out how to apply a white over the shaded canopy.
Aside from that however, I think this is my best piece to date.
White charcoal? I usually use a soft rubber to lighten things up. More natural and easier to fix.
This one is my most recent project, it's actually due when class starts today. Lucky you, you guys get to see it before anyone else. The project's focus is perspective.
I messed up on a few things.
For starters, the white dashed line running along the road. Had I thought ahead, I would have defined them with white charcoal of my white pastel and applied a fixative before layering the shadows over them.
Secondly, the canopy of leaves over the road had a curving strip-like section that was very brightly lit (so much that it came out white when printed in B&W). I couldn't figure out how to apply a white over the shaded canopy.
Aside from that however, I think this is my best piece to date.
White charcoal? I usually use a soft rubber to lighten things up. More natural and easier to fix.
If you mean those kneaded erasers, I agree they are handy. It is very difficult to create spots of very bright white with them however. If I had white ink, I would have used that. I feel it really would have added to the depth of the piece to show that kind of contrast.
If you mean those kneaded erasers, I agree they are handy. It is very difficult to create spots of very bright white with them however. (...)
That's what I use a hard eraser for.
I have no experience with white ink though.
