“because I’m Literally A Communist.” —a Mood For Literally Everyday, But Especially This Morning

oyuzi

well …

Mulan: mhmmm... called it

art tips post

for all the artist following me

Have two sketchbooks: One for finished and high-quality art (stuff made with Prismacolor or Copic if you use that or art for your portfolio) and the other sketchbook for more messy doodles. This way you have a place to try new things and mess up as much as you need. When I only had one sketchbook I was scared to draw in it because I didn't want to mess it up

Do studies. I cant tell you how much I've improved just by doing studies of shoes, hands, noses, and all that. This works for when you have art block too since you’re not really making stuff up and just learning how real things work.

Learn from others. I’ve never taken a real art class because 1. I can’t afford it and 2. there’s no good art classes/programs at my school. I’ve been following several artists and learning from them over the years and they’ve helped me tremendously. Just please do not steal art because that is never okay.

Break down concepts. If you notice there’s something wrong with your piece then figure out why. You can’t get better if you leave mistakes and don't try to understand whats going on. If the color is weird figure out if the values look right or maybe its the saturation of the color.

Watch youtube tutorials. Here are some youtubers I think are pretty good art teaching all things art: Draw with Jazza |  DrawingWiffWaffles |  Proko |  Baylee Jae

Have an inspiration folder/blog. Sometimes you just need a collection of starry nights or a misty forest or even a French bakery. All of those things can help you get inspired to draw. It could even be completely unrelated to what you plan to draw.

There are no dumb ideas in the creative process. If you want to draw a lizard in a dress go for it! If you want to draw various pastries with faces do it! Don’t let the thought of it being too dumb stop you because if I’ve learned anything in my several years of drawing it’s that an idea can lead to another and another and another and you may get a really good idea just from doodling dumb things.

Here’s a few things that can get you started on drawing better:

Dynamic poses | Dynamic clothes | Dynamic figure drawing

COMPOSITION | PERSPECTIVE | CONSTRUCTION

Anatomy:

Legs

Arms

Hands

Heads

Body (Female) (Male

Color Theory

Improving your sketchbook

Most importantly, don’t give up! You may not immediately get notes or followers but it’s more important you get better than to have popularity. How do you think those popular artists got to where they are now? To be good you’ve got to work at it.

Okay, here’s the problem with the idea that oppressed groups can “alienate allies” by not being nice enough:

You shouldn’t be an ally because oppressed groups are nice to you. You should be an ally because you believe they deserve basic human rights. Hearing “I hate men” shouldn’t make men stop being feminist. Hearing “fuck white people” shouldn’t make white people stop opposing racism.

Your opposition to oppression should be moral, and immovable. Your belief that all humans should be treated with equal respect shouldn’t be conditional based on whether or not individual people are nice to you.

Essay-writing PSA

Dear Students: as Spinster Aunt of Tumblr and sometime College Writing Instructor, I have unsolicited advice for you. Do sit down and have a cup of tea.

Writing is a learned skill.

Writing is hard.

Writing gets easier with practice.

The quality of your writing does not automatically reflect the quality of your ideas.

By the same token, a critique of your writing is not the same thing as a critique of your ideas. 

(I’m putting that in bold because I think it’s very important; I have seen lots of creative, insightful ideas hidden in bland or unclear prose.)

Essay prompts are designed to help you.

Office hours are designed to help you. (If your teachers don’t have office hours, it’s probably because they cannot afford to. It’s a long, sad story.)

Time spent with your own ideas is always worthwhile.

Time spent revising your own writing is always worthwhile.

Go forth and conquer! Send your ideas out into the world! And remember: writing is a learned skill. Writing is hard. Writing gets easier with practice. Oh, and tea helps.

Farewell online privacy

Janelle’s encounter with an onion that scarred her for life. 

ideas of exercises to help with your practical art skills, as well as things to keep in mind while making art and new ways to find inspiration:

draw every day

recreate a drawing you did before, but better

draw something using only simple geometric shapes

do studies of famous artworks

listen to artists explain their work, it’s super interesting

take life drawing classes (or use online photo resources)

find an artwork you love, and work out why

draw caricatures of friends

set a 1 minute timer and draw an object as quickly as possible

draw something you can’t see, eg. music, emotion

research artists you admire and find out how they work

think about composition: what stands out, what recedes etc.

find a famous artwork you hate and work out why

sit outside and draw the landscape

copy a photo exactly

draw a scene from a film

draw the contours of an object not the outline

visit an art exhibition near you

draw your bedroom

look up tutorials online - there’s so many useful ones!

practise creating contrast between light and dark in pictures

research colour theory

do a self portrait

learn about art history! Research different movements etc.

try a new medium

consider the feeling you want to portray with the artwork

draw without looking at the page

draw a character from a book you’ve read

draw something you don’t usually draw

look at your pictures in the mirror to help you see problems better

follow artists and galleries on instagram for inspo

draw an ugly object in a beautiful way

try using only bold, bright colours

plan your colour palette before starting an artwork, and stick to it!

if you usually work in 2D, make something in 3D

always remember to add shadows

draw an object which is important to you

use 5 lines to depict an object, make every line count

draw using negative space

always draw from life when possible!

think carefully about which direction the light is coming from

study proportions and anatomy!! 

draw your pet

research items symbolic meanings in art

make an art blog to compile images that inspire you

draw using only straight lines

try accentuating any subtle colours in an image

draw models from fashion websites

sketch with friends! They always have great ideas

keep drawing even if you find it hard, you improve with every mistake!

{my art masterpost might also be useful to you} 

Good luck! xx