Are you looking to improve your art or your career? There are 5 things that you NEED to do in order to make this happen!
Step #1 – make the decision
You aren’t going to get anywhere if you don’t first decide to make it happen. Wanting something to change in your life or in your art and actually taking the steps to make it happen are two very different things. You have to do more than want to draw better, to paint better or to make a living with your art (if that’s your goal). You have to decide that you ARE going to do those things.
Step #2 – Define success
Success is going to vary from person to person. Is it to achieve a certain skill level or style in your work? Is it to reach the point where people recognize you and your art as being something special? Is it a certain figure in your bank? You have to decide what success is to you.
Step #3 – Set your goals for your art
Wait isn’t this the same as step #2? Nope, not at all. Your goals need to be more specific. They could look something like this:
- Improve accuracy of drawing
- Improve shading and creating dimension in my artwork
- Improve my wet into wet blending with acrylics
- Learn how to draw realistic dog noses
- Learn how to make eyes look more glossy
- Draw 1 hour every day
- Enter one art show per season
- Sell a painting on ebay
Once you have those goals you can brainstorm how to make these things happen. You want to improve the accuracy of your drawing? What do you need to do? Try tracing a few times then freehanding? Try spending more time on the initial drawing? Maybe that one hour of drawing every day will be the key to this goal.
You want to learn how to improve your wet into wet blending? What steps do you need to take for that? Practice more? Watch a few videos on the subject? Practice even more? Try a different brush? All of the above?
When you have a goal set, it gives you direction on how to make it happen. You can now make a plan for reaching those goals. Once a goal is reached, readjust your goal list. It should al
Step #4 – Stop making excuses
“but I don’t have time”
“but I don’t know how”
“but I’m not great at drawing”
“but I don’t have the money to go to art school” (Which is rediculous, most professional artists I know are self taught)
Excuses are the main reason people don’t achieve the things they think they want. If you want something bad enough, you will make it happen. “But it’s not an excuse, it’s a reason!” Again, if you want something bad enough, you will figure out how to make it work! Sitting around and being depressed about the things you think you can’t achieve won’t do you any good.
Step #5 – Write it down
Write it down and follow through! It’s easy to make plans for your future and goals. I’ve known so many people who could have been so successful in music and art, but they didn’t follow through with any of their planning. Ideas are worthless if you don’t do them.
it down and putting it in a place where you can see it regularly will help you to stick to it.