Some Potentially Useful(?) Advice for Artists from an Underqualified Schmuck
Howdy! This is just some insight that I want to regurgitate from my brain and share to other artists or aspiring mangakas.
Anyway, I am practicing almost religiously to improve my art skills since this opportunity will most likely taper off once fall semester starts. Before I give my thoughts, look at these.
Okie doke. This was approximately not too long ago, maybe a month, where I was extremely down for thinking how my progress was plateuing. I was also going through an art style crisis in which I was conflicted on how the characters would be designed. Long story short, I was freaking stressed out, man. Ok, now fast forward a month. Look at these.
It's a freaking jump right? Proportions are right, facial expressions have improved drastically, eyes, ears, hair, and everything improved drastically in a relatively short period of time (though there is still much to learn). Wanna know how I did it? I stopped drawing. A relative of mine came over to hang out for about a week, in which I didn't draw a thing. One week of chilling out and studying references. After that week, once I got back to business, even though things started up rocky (I'll explain later), I started gaining traction and found improvements in my artworks.
** It was a rocky start because I was trying too hard to emulate Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Kondō. Since I'm neither Jinsei Kataoka nor Kazuma Kondō, I said "f**k it" and stopped emulating them and began drawing my own style from things I've learned from them.
Alright, I'm probably making you want to pull out your own hair by now, so I'll cut to the chase. As an artist, if you ever feel like you're plateuing or struggling, just take a break. It means that you've run out of inspiration. Kick back a bit, because stressing out won't help you improve. Do what I did, study other people's works and learn from them, but don't emulate. Do your own thing, and eventually some inspiration will come back to you. It's the same with athletes who plateau, but after taking a short break from training, come back a lot better.
I'm not sure whether this will help everyone, but it definitely helped me. Hell, if it doesn't work, it's probably your fault. LOL, you'd think I'd accountability for my own actions? Not a chance!!
Anyway, I am practicing almost religiously to improve my art skills since this opportunity will most likely taper off once fall semester starts. Before I give my thoughts, look at these.
 |
| http://chopsuey9444.deviantart.com/art/Jing-Masako-7-Updated-Design-Back-story-450313831 |
 |
| http://chopsuey9444.deviantart.com/art/Mitsuru-Hara-Average-Girl-Turned-Rookie-Model-454742599 |
Okie doke. This was approximately not too long ago, maybe a month, where I was extremely down for thinking how my progress was plateuing. I was also going through an art style crisis in which I was conflicted on how the characters would be designed. Long story short, I was freaking stressed out, man. Ok, now fast forward a month. Look at these.
 |
| http://chopsuey9444.deviantart.com/art/Masako-8-465709190 |
 |
| http://chopsuey9444.deviantart.com/art/Mitsuru-2-466450318 |
It's a freaking jump right? Proportions are right, facial expressions have improved drastically, eyes, ears, hair, and everything improved drastically in a relatively short period of time (though there is still much to learn). Wanna know how I did it? I stopped drawing. A relative of mine came over to hang out for about a week, in which I didn't draw a thing. One week of chilling out and studying references. After that week, once I got back to business, even though things started up rocky (I'll explain later), I started gaining traction and found improvements in my artworks.
** It was a rocky start because I was trying too hard to emulate Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Kondō. Since I'm neither Jinsei Kataoka nor Kazuma Kondō, I said "f**k it" and stopped emulating them and began drawing my own style from things I've learned from them.
Alright, I'm probably making you want to pull out your own hair by now, so I'll cut to the chase. As an artist, if you ever feel like you're plateuing or struggling, just take a break. It means that you've run out of inspiration. Kick back a bit, because stressing out won't help you improve. Do what I did, study other people's works and learn from them, but don't emulate. Do your own thing, and eventually some inspiration will come back to you. It's the same with athletes who plateau, but after taking a short break from training, come back a lot better.
I'm not sure whether this will help everyone, but it definitely helped me. Hell, if it doesn't work, it's probably your fault. LOL, you'd think I'd accountability for my own actions? Not a chance!!
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