– don’t erase the stuff you’ve already drawn, just make the layer invisible. if you’re anything like me then deleting in process sketches has a very light subconscious negative effect on how the drawing is turning out.
– don’t draw your sketches on white, especially if your brush is black. white is hard to draw on. change it to grey. trust me on this.
– if a sketch is almost there but not quite try mirroring it horizontally. the issues will be way easier to spot.
-if inking isnt your thing but you want outlines just paint your color over the sketch lines, then do the ink lines last.
– if you have lots of ideas but no patience with details like myself take to tiny tiny thumbnails. like im talking barely bigger than your thumb. it forces you to look at the whole picture and not just the details.
– if tiny doesnt work/you like detailing go opposite. draw REALLY huge and work your way through.
Can you make a version of this for traditional artists?
Sure! (also if anyone has tips of their own feel free to add)
– switch up your medium! If you usually draw with pencil draw with pen, and vice versa. Forcing yourself to use pens(non-erasable) helps you get a better idea of how you draw since you can’t erase construction shapes. If you’re going from pen to pencil you’ll find pencil more forgiving and therefore more freeing, so win win!
– if you can’t afford color copics but want the texture and have access to a program that lets you use color layers, get grey markers (I went with Faber Castell but I’m not sure if they’re still as widely used) and color your sketch as you would with copics but with the greyscale. Then add the color later in Photoshop/whichever art program you use!
– Try drawing by coloring in solid shapes instead of linework, and vice versa to get a different perspective of your drawing.
– if you have a sketch that you feel isn’t working try the mirror trick. Trace the drawing with tracing paper and then flip it and make the corrections on the backside.
A lot of it is just flipping stuff around and trying to approach things from a different angle (instead of going lineart>color, go color>linear).
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Also bonus tip that applies to all types of art: art blocks usually form when you get stuck inside your own head. Remember that if you have access to the internet you have access to an amazing amount of resources there to help you get inspired. I normally use Pinterest if I’m really stuck and just explore/pin things that I really like until I feel like drawing again.
But you know exactly how much work you put into your art, how many hours and how much care and love went into your pictures and no matter the amount of likes or retweets you get, you KNOW the worth of your work.
I’ve had this feeling bothering me a lot lately and I know I’m not alone out there, so here’s some positivity for all of you from my main artblog!
Always support “unpopular” artists who are just beginning to draw OR have been drawing a long time and don’t get the recognition.
Compliment them, send them messages on and off anon, be nice and cheer them on and you’ll see how much more confident in their abilities they’ll become, and improve as a result. Bc seriously if I didn’t have the friends I have to cheer me on my art would still be in the state it was 2 years ago. Be an art cheerleader
AngelMihe 