# Feeling Discouraged, Any Advice for a New Artist?



## Skull Beast (Jul 16, 2016)

I only started drawing a few months ago, and I still can't seem to have a handle on improving my work. Lately I've been very unsatisfied with my art and have grown desperate to make some sort of progress or even learn something new. I feel trapped. I feel like I want to give up. I keep looking to talented artists and can't help but compare my work to theirs, which makes me feel even more helpless.

I've never taken an art class before so I know little of technique and I haven't found too many great resources to help. I know that there are a lot of amazing artists in this community, so I'm reaching out for help. I'd love to hear some advice regarding how you fellow artists improved your work and kept a good attitude about it. If you have some helpful resources about improving, then feel free to share them with me.

And if you want to offer specific critique for me, you can check out some of my work : Userpage of skullbeast -- Fur Affinity [dot] net

Thanks for your time


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## Sergei Nóhomo (Jul 16, 2016)

Learn hands. It's a pain in the motherfucking ass but damn if it ain't important. Plus when you do you'll be like "HOLY FUCK".
Make sure to brush up on anatomy
Learn different perspectives and how to add depth to your creations

Will probably add more later but I'm on break


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## TuchimuchiYoshi (Jul 16, 2016)

Well, firstly: Don't be so harsh on yourself. You only started a few months back, and hey, everyone has been there. Becoming a better artist comes with time and research. 
Start by figuring out what direction you want to go in. The furry art community is so expansive, finding a style that interests you and learning from artists who work in a style that you enjoy can help you figure out where your personal style lies.

Being discouraged and terrified is natural, I feel it all the time, but think about the motivation that got you into drawing. Is there a goal? Maybe it's money, maybe it's just sharing your passion with others, or maybe you just needed a new method of expression. Use that energy and drive that got you started to drive you further. 

And the best advice I can give is cliche, but Practice. Practice. PRACTICE! Once you have that personal style and inspiration, keep striving to improve. Always look at your own art both subjectively and objectively. What aspects of your art do you enjoy? What aspects do you not like and want to improve? Who has accomplished what you want to? How can you use the successes of inspirations work to improve your own? 

In terms of technique, start with Youtube, there are SO MANY tutorials that show you how use techniques of all different kinds, from cel-shading, to digital illustion, to 3D, background and character design. For some examples, Sycra and CubeBrush have tons of tutorials and speedpaintings that give hints in tips and tricks on many different formats. Look at professional works and what aspects of those made them successful. Learn from them, and practice multiple different things. Art is 100% about experimenting and growing from failures and successes.

My best advice for a positive attitude is simply take mistakes and failures as learning opportunities and see them as merely stepping stones to the next big successful piece. And don't be afraid to ask for help, as you are doing right now. Some awesome people are out there to help you and share their experiences! 

I wish you good luck, mate! Keep fighting and keep working hard. This road is a tough one, but it is worth it, if your willing to brave the forks and blocks in the road. :3


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## Skull Beast (Jul 16, 2016)

Sergei Nóhomo said:


> Learn hands. It's a pain in the motherfucking ass but damn if it ain't important. Plus when you do you'll be like "HOLY FUCK".
> Make sure to brush up on anatomy
> Learn different perspectives and how to add depth to your creations
> 
> Will probably add more later but I'm on break


Will definitely give it a try! As it stands, drawing hands sort of makes me want to chew my own hands off. I hope to master drawing them at one point.

@TuchimuchiYoshi Thank you so much for the excellent advice and encouragement. I think I really needed someone to wake me up by reminding me that art takes lots of work and time and that everyone has to start somewhere. I will be sure to search YouTube for tutorials and will evaluate my art more thoroughly to see what I can do to fix it and to develop a style of my own. Thanks so much again!


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## Botticella89 (Jul 16, 2016)

Practice. You may not see the difference now, but when I compare works that I did a couple years ago the difference was dramatic. Skill takes time to develop (hell, it's taken me 20 years to do that!) and knowing the ins and outs of your art program helps. Learn anatomy! This helps either making cartoon characters or making them more realistic. If you're willing to make the investment, perhaps studio classes by a professional may help as well. Even Michelangelo and DiVinci had to be apprentices before they became masters.


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## GoldenDruid (Jul 17, 2016)

I just responded to several people here who are experiencing similar struggles.  I'll share some of the same advice with you too.  It's gotten me where I am today, but I started out in the same spot as you are in right now. 

We all get stuck in a rut sometimes. I call it working through "the crap phase". It feels as if nothing we make is satisfying anymore; nothing quite lives up to our expectations. I want to assure you that it's a *good* thing that you are feeling this way. It means something important:

You have developed an artistic aesthetic that is more advanced than your current technical skill. This is helpful to you because you have a realistic view of where you stand currently as an artist and where you would like to be as an artist. You see there is improvement to be made and you are working towards the best version of your art possible.

Technical skill is developed through repetition and experimentation. This is working through "the crap phase" at it's finest. We must create 100 terrible drawings before we make 1 decent drawing. Then create 100 decent drawings before making 1 outstanding drawing.  You get the idea.

I find that if I view my artistic journey in this positive light it helps me understand my frustrations and struggles. It's not a road block, it's just me creating my 67th terrible drawing, or my 24th decent painting. Work through the rough patches. I see that you've identified a lot of your struggles which is great.

*Drawing from life is important. * There is _always_ something around you worth drawing and learning from.
You can also find plenty of inspirational artists online to reference as well. I learned a lot early on by "redrawing" my favorite artists' work. I never posted this art online or in any way claimed it as my own. It was purely for learning purposes. Kind of like doing a master study. Feel free to reference any of my paintings if you feel like they would be helpful.

Lots of tutorials out there on technique, tools, and tips. I recommend browsing through the tutorial section on DA for more learning opportunities. You can pick a new tutorial to practice from each day. 

I'm curious, at this point where do you plan on taking your art? Are you looking into doing this professionally, or just as a hobby?


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## AsheSkyler (Jul 18, 2016)

Patience is a virtue. Most artists with brilliant works have poured years into their skills. Just keep practicing and don't stress it. Stress is terrible for your body and creativity.


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## nitrohusky (Jul 18, 2016)

Trust me when I say it takes time You guys might laugh But I Draw Electrical Diagrams Which I'm very good at But When I tried to draw A dog in a plain background It looked like a 3 year old did it My point is Don't be so hard on yourself You will get better over time


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## dakleigh (Jul 18, 2016)

Practice is extremely important! It can be hard to keep going all the time, but learning a new skill (no matter what it is) takes dedication. When I am feeling stuck I like to do masters studies of work that inspires me, and draw out the specific parts I like. You should NEVER claim these things as your own original work, but it can be extremely helpful in growing as an artist. Looking closely at another person's work helps you to identify what you like about it. Things like this artist draws noses in a way I hadn't thought of before, I like their use of thick/thin lines, these colors work really well together. Then you can incorporate your versions of those into your work later on. 

Also this graph:


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## Casey Fluffbat (Jul 18, 2016)

Keep drawing how you currently draw, but do something different. Observe things and find what you left out, details that are perceivably different than yours. For example, someone might have a similar drawing with details you don't have like the veins of a leaf, or the shadows beneath an arm, try to include that yourself. Gradually build that up. I drew a handful of things a day for the past two years and  it has become second-hand.


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## Skull Beast (Jul 18, 2016)

Thanks to everyone who offered advice and encouragment! It has really helped changed my point of view and has restored my will to pursue art. I will continue to practice and expand my skills. I'm committing all of this advice to memory and I'll keep it in mind when I feel a bit discouraged again.


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## SafKeesh (Jul 21, 2016)

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do what you love, i've gone through phases of not liking things i wanted to practice, but in the end i just went ahead and had fun with what i love, it really helps to just SPAM things you love into your sketchbook.


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## Majinekos (Jul 21, 2016)

In the end you'll need to be dedicated enough to put years into your art to make it into something amazing, just study, and do it as frequently as possible, we all improve at a different pace.


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## Caraid (Jul 22, 2016)

Don't forget that all of those artists you look up to were once exactly where you are now. Nobody is born a spectacular artist and there really is no secret to learning - every artist that is great today has sunk thousands upon thousands of hours into their craft to get there. Believe me when I tell you that no matter how good you are, those feelings of doubt and self-criticism are never going to go away. But it's not a weakness - it's your strength! Your ability to see the flaws in your own artwork is exactly what is going to make you better.


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## Rheumatism (Jul 22, 2016)

I struggle with being discouraged all the time.  It's very annoying and discouraging.


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## SodaBubbles (Jul 30, 2016)

Practice! I know everyone says it, but it's true.

Here, one of the earlier drawings I did (2002) 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



and my most recent human drawing:





And this is all without extra outside practice, just pushing myself to draw regularly. I've finally decided that if I want to push my skills further, I need to practice harder. So all those sketchbooks I used to collect are going to go to good use.


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## Capriney (Jul 30, 2016)

I suggest reading this book, and also looking at this Google Doc for more information.

http://www.alexhays.com/loomis/Andrew Loomis - Fun WIth a Pencil.pdf

docs.google.com: Editable st/ic/ky



Yes, it's not furry, yes you're going to be doing simple stuff at the beginning and you're going to go "this is pointless, it's not what I want to do", but that's the point. You need to crawl before you can walk, and Andrew Loomis teaches you the basic of building form and slowly makes it more interesting.

Another book that's good and if you can get your hands on (it may be in your local library) is Drawing on the Right Side Of The Brain, by Betty Edwards. She will especially get you out of symbol drawing and into seeing your subject in perspective.

If you want to get better, you're going to have to apply yourself, and you're going to have to apply yourself often and frequently. I know my advice is not the whole "don't get discourage", but I am telling you just now--don't dwell on your best picture, be brave enough to move on from it.


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## Sqd (Aug 1, 2016)

yoo I've been here - I started doing art a little over a year ago and had to work my way up from nothing. pretty much all you can do is just keep putting the work in. 

exp grind it like it's a video game. do anatomy studies, use tons of references, set aside an hour or so to practice each day, accept that sometimes it's going to be joyless work. put on music or a podcast or something to keep you entertained. at this point your job is just to train your brain and muscle memory for art, not produce anything good. 

the payoff comes later and it's very worth it if you keep at it.


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## Shadowblackwolf (Sep 7, 2016)

SodaBubbles said:


> Practice! I know everyone says it, but it's true.
> 
> Here, one of the earlier drawings I did (2002)
> 
> ...


Deus Ex?


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## Shadowblackwolf (Sep 7, 2016)

Self taught. It was hard getting to the point I am now. Link is on the bottom if you wanna see progress.
As far as your current artwork goes, it's not bad. I was worse when I started.
Work on your proportions, a lot of your characters have heads that are slightly off from the body. They're bigger as if you spent more time on them, and the rest of the body was kind of an afterthought.
Learn anatomy, how the body moves. Once you start getting that down, your tech will improve.
Practice.....a lot. 30 minutes a day if that's what it takes. just draw something, doodle work on perspective, anything that you can with the time constraints that you have.
Lastly learn the wire frame if it helps. When I first started, this is what I wound up using, then moved away from it as my skills improved. You'll know when. when the time comes.


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## redhusky (Sep 8, 2016)

If it's only a few months then you will need to give it more time. Seriously good improvement from "stick figures" usually doesn't start for most until after 6 months to a year of CONSISTENT practice.


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## Katriel (Sep 8, 2016)

Good news! Being dissatisfied with your art means you have some great opportunity to improve. We feel this way at a threshold, when we are poised to move forward. 

This site has some good stuff for training: Draw a Box: An exercise based approach to learning the fundamentals of drawing

Though patience is a virtue, and as Uncomfortable puts it, art is not a sprint ...
... You do want to focus on learning new techniques and practicing new things, rather than just drawing the same thing you don't like repeatedly. But you will need a great deal of practice at your technical skills; time not drawing or without warmup drawings can rust them a bit. "Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect." - Vince Lombardi (apparently)

Build up your visual library by drawing what you see, discovering how things work and how you can translate them onto the page effectively. Avoid drawing from memory while you're doing this as much as you can - your brain wants to take shortcuts, which are more 'symbols' of things than what they actually look like. You'll figure out different, more interesting ways to simplify as you go.

Use them for inspiration, but don't get too caught up in comparisons with other artists. Audiences are drawn to a lot of different styles and skills of artists for different reasons. (And there are some very well-done styles I just react poorly to, heh...) Develop your own art and don't worry about being able to equal _everything _someone else does. The way art works is that no one will be able to draw quite what you draw, either.


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## narutogod123 (Sep 8, 2016)

The advice I will give is to find something you enjoy drawing and painting, I realized I love to make background art so I continue to learn perspective, composition, values etc. You need to research what is the fundamentals of making pictures. Don't get discouraged when you see someone that is better than you in art, That person is not you if you have cool ideas go and draw them. Make a lot of finished work you may not like it later but at least you learned something. 

Read the book called "Art & Fear" it explains how most artist think about making art and the struggles of completing creative artwork.

Art & Fear Amazon Link


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## SodaBubbles (Sep 10, 2016)

The second yeah, the first nah, just a random dude. I love me some Deus Ex tho.


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## DoeDog (Sep 15, 2016)

Practice, but don't do it mindlessly, think about what you want to achieve, set a goal, small goals, get out of your comfort zone, this one I can't stress enough, do things you don't normally do, cars, buildings, vegetation, think about the shapes instead of just labels you have in your head.

And after all that do it regularly, have fun and keep in mind that production beats perfection, because perfection looks all nice in it's polished shoes and all but at the end of the day he is an asshole and nobody invites him to pool parties.

Now go draw.


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## GingerKitty (Sep 16, 2016)

Honestly I've been in an art funk lately...apparently I'm only a 1.5 on the Scribble Kibble scale. Even though I've been drawing since I was a kid, I still think I suck sometimes. So I know the feeling. I'm kinda discouraged too.


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## Shadowblackwolf (Sep 26, 2016)

GingerKitty said:


> Honestly I've been in an art funk lately...apparently I'm only a 1.5 on the Scribble Kibble scale. Even though I've been drawing since I was a kid, I still think I suck sometimes. So I know the feeling. I'm kinda discouraged too.


I just haven't been doing it lol. been watching The Walking Dead.


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