# How should you go about asking an artist for advice?



## Kailombax (Sep 13, 2012)

It's just something that I've been thinking about. Now I do realize that I shouldn't expect an artist to give me advice and I am fine with that but even if I wanted to ask for advice/tips, I wouldn't even know how to ask... That's why I thought it might be better to hear some thoughts. But also, is it alright to ask an artist you admire/like for advice/tips in the first place...? I'm sorry if this sounds like a ridiculous question but I really am serious. I admit that I don't have the best socializing skills... Any thoughts would be appreciated...


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## Mserene (Sep 13, 2012)

Just ask?  The worst thing that can happen is that they ignore you.

Artists are normal people too, just approach it like you would asking a friend for advice


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## Thaily (Sep 14, 2012)

Pretty much what Mserene said.

Use thank you and please and ask specific questions; if your questions are too general the answer would be too huge for most people to want to take the time to write up a response.
So identify your weaknesses and what you're struggling with and where you want to go artistically and then ask someone who you think already does X well.


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## Kailombax (Sep 14, 2012)

Thaily said:


> Pretty much what Mserene said.
> 
> Use thank you and please and ask specific questions; if your questions are too general the answer would be too huge for most people to want to take the time to write up a response.
> So identify your weaknesses and what you're struggling with and where you want to go artistically and then ask someone who you think already does X well.



Yeah, as I have been practicing and drawing, I have took note of my weak spots and a few artists that I really like who I think do some areas I struggle at do a decent and well enough job so I have that worked out. But okay, I'll try what and Mserene said. Thank you for taking the time to share some advice. I appreciate it. 


Mserene said:


> Just ask?  The worst thing that can happen is that they ignore you.
> 
> Artists are normal people too, just approach it like you would asking a friend for advice



Okay.


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## FireFeathers (Sep 14, 2012)

Just as long as you don't make it super awkward in some aspect *like saying "So i had this dream you and I were naked together. BTW, advice?"  or anything like that, then yeah, just ask.  Also avoid those "I've tried nothing, and I'm all out of ideas how to get better!" Make it specific enough, say what you can't grasp, so on and so forth.  Artists are just people


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## Kailombax (Sep 14, 2012)

FireFeathers said:


> Just as long as you don't make it super awkward in some aspect *like saying "So i had this dream you and I were naked together. BTW, advice?"  or anything like that, then yeah, just ask.  Also avoid those "I've tried nothing, and I'm all out of ideas how to get better!" Make it specific enough, say what you can't grasp, so on and so forth.  Artists are just people



Haha oh heaven no, I would never say something like that. lol And yeah, I don't plan on saying the general, "How do I get better at art?" type of thing. I was thinking more along the lines of like for example, I have difficulty with hands and practice does help but it still is rather difficult for me so I was thinking of something: "I really admire the way you draw hands and I struggle in that area. May I ask what your method is for drawing them?" or something like that. Just concise and to the point lol

In any case, thank you for the advice FireFeathers.


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## RailRide (Sep 15, 2012)

You might want to edit your FA page address in your forum profile. You only need the username. If you put the whole URL in there...well, just mouseover the pawprint under your avatar to see what happens.

---PCJ


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## Kailombax (Sep 16, 2012)

RailRide said:


> You might want to edit your FA page address in your forum profile. You only need the username. If you put the whole URL in there...well, just mouseover the pawprint under your avatar to see what happens.
> 
> ---PCJ



Oops, I'm sorry about that! I fixed it and it should be viewable now lol Thank you for the heads up haha.


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## Istala (Sep 23, 2012)

_I would just polity ask for their opinions on your work: The worst they can do is ignore you, or be rude. Both of which are highly unlikely. More often than not, the artisit is extremely nice. _


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## Harbinger (Sep 24, 2012)

They are a helpful lot, i would pick what you think your worst at or you need help with the most, and ask how to improve if you dont know what else to ask.

Just take what they say into account and actually try it, no matter what the hobby its alway irritating if you help someone and they dont try your advise.


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## pudgeyredfox (Sep 26, 2012)

the more specific the question, the better. Not everyone is good at teaching people. Remember to ask nicely and don't be shy, the worst they are gunna do is just say no.


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## Greycoat (Sep 27, 2012)

I find that everyone is a critic. All you really need to do is let people know you're looking for ways to improve it, otherwise they will either think its good and keep quiet or they will hate it but keep it to themselves. Also take into consideration that maybe its the medium. I've met people who are rubbish at drawing, but amazing at 3D models and coloration. Some people are better using a tablet than actual pen and paper. Understand your strengths and go in that direction. If you specialize in certain things, you will probably be noticed for that certain thing. But still it helps to also try to round off and get better at what you're not grand at in your free time.


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## Kuro-Arashi-Ame (Oct 10, 2012)

Just asking is best.  I get asked for help on other peoples art every so often.  Most artists are nice.  Some aren't though, cause I remember getting shoo'ed off many times before when I asked for good artist's help when I was a beginner.  Never know till you ask, just be specific.


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## davimink (Oct 23, 2012)

Just be polite


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## Kailombax (Nov 18, 2012)

I'm so sorry for the belated response guys, I got caught up with school and stuff offline but thanks in advance for all the answers. I did ask one of my favorite artist for advice on body drawing and he was very kind in giving me some tips and pointers. So yeah, I'm not all that afraid to ask for help anymore, even if I do get shooed away because well, you can't force somebody to do what you ask. 

So yeah, I would suggest all the advise given to other aspiring artists who have been in this position.


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## TastesLikeCup (Nov 23, 2012)

I'm always straight forward about it, something along the lines of "Hey, so I really admire your art, and I was wondering could you give me some advice on :insert here:"


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## RailRide (Nov 24, 2012)

I don't find myself asking for artistic advice very often, but one measurement I tend to use when considering asking someone a question about their work on FA is to look at their profile at the number or comments made vs comments received. If it's more or less even or biased in favor of "comments made", then there's a decent chance your question will be answered. Some really good artists get lots of comments but rarely say anything back (reflected by their stats), and those I don't even bother to ask.

---PCJ


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## Taralack (Nov 24, 2012)

RailRide said:


> I don't find myself asking for artistic advice very often, but one measurement I tend to use when considering asking someone a question about their work on FA is to look at their profile at the number or comments made vs comments received. If it's more or less even or biased in favor of "comments made", then there's a decent chance your question will be answered. Some really good artists get lots of comments but rarely say anything back (reflected by their stats), and those I don't even bother to ask.
> 
> ---PCJ



You have to take into account that not everyone has the time to respond to junk comments that are just "oh wow this is great" etc. I have a 5:3 ratio of comments given vs comments received, and only about 1/5 of comments I usually get are people asking legit questions.


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## Arshes Nei (Nov 24, 2012)

Questioner: "How did you get so good?, I wanna draw like you"

Response: "practice and observation"

Questioner goes on to make a rant about how artists are just talented, keeping "super art secrets" and other bullshit instead of knuckling down and drawing.


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## Lhune (Nov 24, 2012)

I was just going to say, you don't. I mean seriously what's with people asking artists to help them get better? There are plenty of sites out there that are gathering places for artists who are looking to improve with special critique sections where you'll get all the help you need. Get your work out there and *let people come to you*. This both proves that you're motivated because you actually went and registered somewhere specifically to get help AND you don't have to bother anyone in particular.

I get quite a few notes asking for advice on certain things. If it's very specific and I have the time then I'll help out (partially also because I feel obliged, I'm terrible at saying no), but if people ask me "how do you draw like that" "teach me how to do art please" "how do you do light/color/anatomy" I just tell them to go to conceptART or give them a few links to books that'll help them get started, because I'm really not going to type half a book trying to explain them something when I don't even know if they're really serious about what they're doing. Which, unfortunately, half the time they aren't. More often than not they are people who like the IDEA of being a good artist but don't actually have the drive to do all the work required, so they ask a better artist in the hopes that they'll discover magical shortcuts. THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS. 

I've never had to ask a specific artist for help, I never even dared to because I assumed that they would be too busy for me and I didn't want to bother them and just scoured the internet for information. To me that's common decency. But perhaps I'm just weird.


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## RailRide (Nov 25, 2012)

Toraneko said:


> You have to take into account that not everyone has the time to respond to junk comments that are just "oh wow this is great" etc. I have a 5:3 ratio of comments given vs comments received, and only about 1/5 of comments I usually get are people asking legit questions.



It's not a hard and fast rule based on _just_ the numbers (sometimes I verify the suspicion by examining a sampling of an artists' postings and the sort of comments they get). My ratio is a little more even, somewhat biased toward comments made, but I see the same issue you've cited--the majority of comments I get are also the kind that cannot be answered. Then again, I do post with extensive descriptions that detail the ins and outs of stuff I may have learned in the course of doing the pic (although whether anyone reads them or not is a topic for an actual thread), so maybe that heads off some technique questions before they get started. (I do state on my profile that I will answer questions and comments that can be answered).

After allowing for non-English-speakers, the time-challenged, and the comment-flooded, I do still see some very good artists who _appear to_ seldom reply to (answerable) comments or originate comments to others' postings, when compared to the number of images and/or journals they've posted: Sometimes they're antisocial, 
sometimes they only reply to friends, 
sometimes they only use FA as an art dump and actually carry on conversations elsewhere (DA, tumblr, etc)

At times I've even seen statements confirming the above conditions on some artist's profile pages. Whatever the reason, some folks just aren't worth attempting to ask anything, whether they intended it that way or not.

---PCJ


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