Advice all new artists need to hear to stay positive and improve!

My first tip, if you’re brand new to painting or drawing…go paint or draw something ugly! One of the biggest mistakes people make when they’re new is thinking that everything has to be perfect! It doesn’t…and it WONT! You’re going to experiment and paint some pretty terrible things on your way to becoming awesome! Don’t let those ugly stages scare you. They’re apart of the process!

Next, there is a myth that art is something you’re born with. You either have it or you don’t. That’s absolute crap and not true at all! There is nothing genetic about art. Those who are good are good because they put the time and effort into improving their work. We all start out terrible. Some of us just appear to have had a head start because we drew more than the average kid growing up. That doesn’t mean you won’t be just as good given the same amount of practice!

 

Once you get started with painting and drawing, don’t stick with stuff for beginners. If you want to really improve you need to jump into the deep end and try art lessons that seem too hard. Artists who limit themselves to lessons for beginners stay beginners. 

My next tip is don’t fall into the “this is just my style” trap. This limits you. When you’re first staring off you won’t be great. That doesn’t mean the bad stages are your chosen “style”, it’s just the stage you’re at. Keep pushing forward to whatever your goals for your work are. If you like realism…don’t limit yourself to cartoons for example.