# What is your artistic weakness?



## faerr (Sep 2, 2019)

Hey guys! I thought this might be a fun exercise that will help us improve. Please feel free to post art that showcases your weakness. There's honestly no shame in strengthening yourself. So my question is: 

*What is your artistic weakness and how are you strengthening it?*

I'll start as an example.

My weakness is perspective. I have trouble imagining foreshortening. Perspective lines don't seem to help in pieces where they're necessary. They probably do a little bit, but gosh! I hate them. I find a lot of my pieces which experiment with perspective fall short of my actual ability. I've been working on strengthening this by picking pieces that are dynamic in perspective to force my "artist eye" to learn what makes good perspective, and hopefully strengthen my hand.

Here is a recent piece that shows how I have been struggling:


Spoiler












Here is an not really but kinda sorta *NSFW* piece that shows how I'm trying to tackle my weakness:



Spoiler











Now you guys!


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## Borophagus Metropolis (Sep 2, 2019)

Drawing with ... anything.
I can only music.

btw your art ooks great and I don't see the problem


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## foussiremix (Sep 2, 2019)

Hmm perspective is also my weakness, its pretty hard, still practing on it.

Also hands, shading and male bodies still haven't been mastered by me, especially hands.

For shading, I just imagine where the light comes from.

For hands, OOF, I look at  my own hands.

For male bodies, I look at reference images in pinterrest or I use clip studios 3D model function.


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## faerr (Sep 2, 2019)

Borophagus Monoclinous said:


> Drawing with ... anything.
> I can only music.
> 
> btw your art ooks great and I don't see the problem



Hehe, well, music is still art! Though I admit I only understand visual arts so if you posted your work to show your weakness, I wouldn't understand


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## faerr (Sep 2, 2019)

foussiremix said:


> Hmm perspective is also my weakness, its pretty hard, still practing on it.
> 
> Also hands, shading and male bodies still haven't been mastered by me, especially hands.
> 
> ...



Ooh, that function sounds super helpful! And I look at my own hands, too, hehe


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## HazelCat (Sep 2, 2019)

Traditional rendering. I'm trying to conquer this by looking at little guide to things like scumbling, hatching, etc... So I can learn about it. Also male bodies, but I haven't started working on that :T


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## faerr (Sep 2, 2019)

HazelCat said:


> Traditional rendering. I'm trying to conquer this by looking at little guide to things like scumbling, hatching, etc... So I can learn about it. Also male bodies, but I haven't started working on that :T



Traditional rendering in digital art? Oh-ho-ho! I love Proko's tutorials, I hope they help you, too~!


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## Cyanomega (Sep 2, 2019)

I draw very lopsided which I guess is because I'm trying to draw with a cement mixer for a hand.
I also give up all the time and tear myself down.


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## Deathless (Sep 2, 2019)

I have a few weaknesses when it comes to art. It's mostly perspective wise, like I find it super difficult to draw characters from a back perspective/turned around, or different points of views when it comes to humans. I also really want to practice realism but all I can draw is hands, eyes, and noses, while still practicing with lips/mouths.
I've been wanting to practice NSFW and I have gotten better but still pretty fuzzy. 
I find it difficult for me to draw specific poses and facial expressions... but after all of this,_ I can't draw feet for shit_.


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## HazelCat (Sep 2, 2019)

faerr said:


> Traditional rendering in digital art? Oh-ho-ho! I love Proko's tutorials, I hope they help you, too~!


No like, trying to shade an entirely traditional drawing


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## faerr (Sep 2, 2019)

Deathless said:


> I have a few weaknesses when it comes to art. It's mostly perspective wise, like I find it super difficult to draw characters from a back perspective/turned around, or different points of views when it comes to humans. I also really want to practice realism but all I can draw is hands, eyes, and noses, while still practicing with lips/mouths.
> I've been wanting to practice NSFW and I have gotten better but still pretty fuzzy.
> I find it difficult for me to draw specific poses and facial expressions... but after all of this,_ I can't draw feet for shit_.


Have you been doing a lot of gesture drawing? In gesture drawing, the speed at which you have to turn out an impressionistic sketch hones your "artist eye" I find



Cyanomega said:


> I draw very lopsided which I guess is because I'm trying to draw with a cement mixer for a hand.
> I also give up all the time and tear myself down.


Are you working digitally or traditionally? With digital, I flip my canvas so that it's mirrored. I almost always draw lopsided at first, but I keep flipping - redrawing and deform tools help me even it back out.



HazelCat said:


> No like, trying to shade an entirely traditional drawing


Oh dang! I am too poor to traditionally paint, but I know I'm very weak at it. Alas ;o;


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## Cyanomega (Sep 2, 2019)

faerr said:


> Have you been doing a lot of gesture drawing? In gesture drawing, the speed at which you have to turn out an impressionistic sketch hones your "artist eye" I find
> 
> 
> Are you working digitally or traditionally? With digital, I flip my canvas so that it's mirrored. I almost always draw lopsided at first, but I keep flipping - redrawing and deform tools help me even it back out.
> ...


traditionally. It's the only way I know how.


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## faerr (Sep 2, 2019)

Cyanomega said:


> traditionally. It's the only way I know how.


Ah, well, I know another artist who told me once she holds upside down paper against a well-lit window to see the mirrored image. When I was young, I'd spin the paper around to see it from different angles but I like my friend's way better, hahaha


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## WXYZ (Sep 2, 2019)

So far, hands.


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## cerulean_blues (Sep 2, 2019)

I'm really more of a traditional artist (though my gallery doesn't reflect that yet). I struggle with the whole digital thing in general. For example, I recently learned that you can set Photoshop to select based on multiple layers. According to my brother, that's pretty basic knowledge.^.^'


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## Glossolalia (Sep 3, 2019)

Drawing clothing and drapery without a reference. This summer I've been focusing on anatomy and structure, so all my creature people are running around naked. I really should be practising clothing more, I feel like I'm at a good stage to move on! This thread was a good reminder.


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## Ravofox (Sep 3, 2019)

I definitely have an issue with drawing characters consistently. This is especially a problem if I'm attempting a comic strip, and the figures typically look VERY different in each panel. 

I'm also terrible at shoes, especially from front on. It's surprising how hard they are XD


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## Godzilla (Sep 3, 2019)

Coloring, ugh. I’m not the worst at it but I just hate it and I’m so lazy doing it and it shows. I often skimp out and take shortcuts that makes my work look like trash. 
My non-furry art is all different shades of black and white or monochromatic (both my sonas are monochromatic too) I’m just so damn lazy. 
Too bad furry art requires color to “make” the character


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## LameFox (Sep 4, 2019)

Gesture and expression, probably. And clothing.

I should really do more studies but mostly I just resketch a few times until it looks okay-er.


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## PercyD (Sep 4, 2019)

*Consistency*


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## Doodle Bunny (Sep 4, 2019)

Pretty sure it’s connecting the legs to the rest of the torso. It takes me a lot of refs and attempts to get it right.

I’m currently staring at human anatomy and doing lots of figure sketches.


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## Slytherin Umbreon (Sep 4, 2019)

Motivation.
It's a little hard to learn anything when it takes me months to even try or learn in the first place -3-


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## faerr (Sep 5, 2019)

I'm just gonna drop this here for everyone to see:






My artist friend and I cracked "Da Vinci's Code" as we affectionately called it. Probably better stated as "the artist's code". It came to me as I watched an artist render a cheesecake ... seemingly at random, they added flecks of light and shadow, and before my eyes it transformed into the crust and looked so lifelike. I realised then, _it is random._ The artist was never certain of where each dot goes, they blob paint down and suddenly it was a cheesecake crust - and yes, as your skill grows, your eye is more discerning and you intuitively understand where each fleck belongs, but in the moment that your pen or paint brush touches your canvas, you don't know.

In a colloquial way, I call this "throwing spaghetti at the wall until something sticks". Aaron Blaise, an artist for the original Lion King, says, "If it looks right, it probably is". You guys are unsure of each mark you make, that's normal, _no one knows what they're doing._ Charge forward. Keep on pushing your skill. Try new techniques, approach things in new ways, *especially when you think "this is too hard for me"*. That's basically code for _give it a shot._ I've always liked the pieces I thought would be beyond my skill better than when I was playing it safe.

I'm not a masterful artist by any means, but I hope this helps <3 <3


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## Pixel Sprout (Sep 5, 2019)

I'd say *perspective*, *backgrounds* & *lighting* are my weaknesses  when I shade, it's usually just generic since I don't necessarily have a background or a "light source".


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## Lunneus (Sep 5, 2019)

I think some of my biggest weaknesses are foreshortening and human facial features. 
with foreshortening the limb ends up just looking weird but not foreshortened, i especially have trouble when im foreshortening the upper arm for some reason. I'm trying to fix it by using lots and lots and LOTS of references so i can get myself used to drawing it the way it's supposed to look.. even if i don't 100% understand it (teacher tried explaining it once, but used percentages which wasn't useful at all??? gg professor).

As far as human faces go.. im gonna be honest, i kinda just avoid them lol I always remove features and make them a monster/creature/ect. I can usually get some of the features right, but then one of them is reaaaaallly off. liek the mouth and nose are fine, the ears are decent, but then the eyes are just wonky.


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## TR273 (Sep 5, 2019)

Let's see...
The perspective of the 'Far' eye in the 3/4 head pose.
Hands
Feet
Perspective on shortening limbs 
The tendency to have the whole drawing 'lean' to the right (courtesy of my right hand bias)


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## AceQuorthon (Sep 5, 2019)

I can’t draw lol


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## Fallowfox (Sep 8, 2019)

Landscapes.


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## RailRide (Sep 8, 2019)

Color. 

Lots of fairly saturated primary-ish looking examples in my work. I'd like to figure out how to tone things down to a realistic level as I'm laying down the basics  
(then assuming I eventually get there,  having to be concerned about how it may make my character design look out-of-place against it)

---PCJ


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## Guifrog (Sep 9, 2019)

Cell-shading. I've worked with observational drawings for a while, but when I'm _creating_ something it's still hard to figure where the shading lines go, despite imagining where light comes from


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## Zilant raijin (Sep 12, 2019)

I suffer with hands/paws and when it comes to shading, i definitely need some work on it.


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## Nimah (Sep 12, 2019)

Perspective ( it includes foreshortening ), proportions ( mmh too much digital make it worse ), hands, volume, color, readability, complex realistic props, drapery, indoors, mmmh lot of things. Using my brain in general.


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## faerr (Sep 15, 2019)

Nimah said:


> Perspective ( it includes foreshortening ), proportions ( mmh too much digital make it worse ), hands, volume, color, readability, complex realistic props, drapery, indoors, mmmh lot of things. Using my brain in general.



In art, speaking, every aspect in life - I find myself asking my brain why it's so whacked. Ah, well, life.


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## Tyrrovada (Sep 15, 2019)

Weakness: Frigging hands! 
How to help: ??????


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## Gangsta Fox (Sep 15, 2019)

I can't draw anatomy or good colors well. All my poses are stiff.  Also adding perspective in that mix.


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## Tendo64 (Sep 16, 2019)

Perspective is a bitch, especially with drawing heads
HOW DO YOU DRAW SOMEONE TILTING THEIR HEAD TO THE SIDE FROM A SIDE VIEW


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## faerr (Sep 16, 2019)

Fallowfox said:


> Landscapes.



I love your work, though, Fallow. I'd collab a landscape for you if you ever wanted, I think I'm .. _decentish?_


tyrronious said:


> Weakness: Frigging hands!
> How to help: ??????



Study study study! It can be boring and grueling to draw, but once you've spent a lot of time looking at something (images of hands, your hands, etc), you understand how they fundamentally work and thus can draw them better


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## Keefur (Sep 16, 2019)

I draw with a mouse.  Yeah.. I know... but I actually do more graphics than pure drawing.  Most of my Photoshop is used fixing/repairing old photos in Photoshop for funeral booklets.


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## larigot (Sep 16, 2019)

Colour, especially contrast. Also knowing when to use which brush. And taking more time for the finishing touches; I have a feeling i never actually properly completed a piece.


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## Infrarednexus (Sep 16, 2019)

Hands and limbs


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## Beefchunk (Sep 22, 2019)

Poor character interaction & story-telling with simple imaging

AKA; Characters spending too much time solo instead of banging eachother


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