5 Tips to Become a Better Artist
Anthony Hendriks
Becoming a great artist takes time and discipline. While you may never become a Rembrandt, you can learn to be the best you can be and enjoy your journey in art while you are at it. Here are 5 tips I hope you find useful to your quest.
Tip 1: Build a Your Creative Sources
Many good artists use their camera to capture subjects they later transfer to canvas. This is a great method – and no it’s not cheating – of building a resource of inspiration for your paintings. In addition, you will want to begin collecting books of great art. You will learn a lot from reading and viewing how other artists approached their art. Don’t forget to use the internet as a source for ideas also. You can save pictures you like in a folder for use and inspiration later. Go beyond your natural area of interest to stretch yourself. This will help you from getting caught in an artistic rut.
Tip 2: Sketch it Out
Sketching is one of those things that is a must learn and a skill that can both aid your creative side and help with the technical. The beauty is that they don’t have to be perfect since you don’t have to show them to anyone. Your main purpose is to get your idea on paper as quickly as possible so that you can work on developing it later. And the more you do, the better you will get at capturing the essence of your subject. Objects are all around you in your home. Pick something and get sketching!
Tip 3: Try Different Mediums
Give thought to the different mediums you could create your work in. For example, oil, water colour, acrylic, pencil, charcoal. There is also airbrushing if you can get hold of the equipment. Experimenting with different methods of producing your finished work can be exciting and can push you to produce some potentially amazing results. You might even discover a hidden talent for a particular approach to art.
Tip 4: Perspective is Important
It is important to learn how to crate objects in three dimensions. For example, you will want to get comfortable with vanishing points, and point perspectives among other elements. Here’s a simple exercise you can try:
Grab hold of a brick or small box. Start drawing or painting it. Things such as value, shadows, perspective, reflected light, volume and texture are what you are aiming to develop. When you are done, move your object and start over again. This exercise is simple, but you can learn a lot and what you learn will be transferrable to more complex subjects you tackle later.
Tip 5: Seek out Constructive Criticism
You will grow more quickly in your art if you can find other artists who can help you with honest feedback (family and friends are not normally the best critics). Ideally, you will want to join a group in your town. There is nothing like having an experienced artist stand beside you and offer an informed opinion. Online forums can also be very helpful especially with the technical side of art. The explosion of video also means that you can find much useful free video content online to help you grow.
Try not to be afraid of exposing yourself to critique. Occasionally you may get some unfair or hurtful comments, but more often than not, those commenting will do it caringly. Constructive, objective criticism is one of the quickest ways you will find to grow. And critiquing others is also an excellent way to sharpen your observation skills.