One year of frustration

[Thoam]

Hello Conceptart Community,

I just registered on conceptart.org so I want to say who I am fast (this is not an introduction).
I am 16 years old, my name is Thorben and I want to get serious about art.
Since I'm young I was somehow always the best pupil in school art classes (now I know this isn't hard ). I thought I'm very good at art and last year I decided to become serious about art and eventually work as an artist someday (which would be my dream).
So I started watching videos on youtube... I was simply amazed and even more motivated to do things like that.
Of course I was more than confident that I can do that too. But after I tried it I had to admit that I'm not as good as I thought I am. I noticed that I don't know much about art. I looked for tutorials.. but I couldn't find any that were for my level.
I tried drawing something.. noticed that I'm just too bad, got frustrated and stopped.
Now I finally realized, even if it makes me sad, that I have to learn basics. I looked for them but I just couldn't find them. I found a course about drawing the human figure and I'm still doing it, but that's all. I don't know what else I can practice. I feel pretty frustrated by that.
So here is my question:
Can anyone tell me what to practice?
What helped you to become as good as you are now?
Maybe my problem seems so idiotic for some of you but it stops me from practicing. Sure some of you might say now..: Draw anything and you'll get better.. but just practice.
Please do post exactly what I should do. It would make me so happy. I think it's just this first step that I need to go but I don't know how.

Best regards,

Thorben

(If you say: Use google, I already did)

[bcarman]

First and foremost you need to take a breath. You are 16. I have underwear older than you. Give yourself some room and time to experience life while you learn. Plenty of people will start chiming in and telling you where to access specific info. But don't forget to live as you learn and a sixteen year old cannot be hard on himself because you haven't had time to do anything yet.

[Elwell]

I tried drawing something..

Do that.

.. noticed that I'm just too bad, got frustrated and stopped.

Don't do that. Of course you're bad. How do you think you're supposed to get good?

(If you say: Use google, I already did)

Read a book.

[JeffX99]

While you're taking a breath...try to open yourself up to the idea that there is no "exactly what you should do"...or rather it is so braod it doesn't matter. There is a vast world out there in visual art...it's huge, and everyone finds their palce in it their own way.

Books and magazines will be your best guides for a few years, until you can get into some advanced, college level or professional level courses. Jim Gurney's "Imaginitive Realism" is an excellent one shot book to own to give you some insight into professional illustration. He also talks a bit about many other things and has three pages of recommended reading.

If I had one general recommendation it would be to start becoming aware of the fundamentals that go into all artwork: composition, accurate drawing of forms and perspective, value, edges, texture and color. It takes many years to get a handle on how all that comes together so don't think it will happen this summer. Just learn and study what interests you and follow the artists who inspire you.

If you're interested enough in art you'll find your way.

[Thoam]

Maybe I'm just frustrated because my skill didn't increase over the past year. Of course I do not expect to be a professionel yet lol. I know that it takes many years. I just want to see that my work pays off and that I see results.
What I mean by that is that I don't know how to improve. Maybe this is my problem?
I need things to practice where I can see reults.
For example.. when I started the course about drawing humans I couldn't draw any human realistically.. but now I can, because I followed a course and this helped me tons.
When I do other stuff I don't follow any rules and I think because of that I can't improve.
I think this is a better description of my problem or at least it makes more sense to me lol.
So do you know any guides on the internet or in magazines that will increase my skill?

I really have a hard time to express my problem because I'm only learning english in school, sorry.

Books and magazines will be your best guides for a few years

Any other Books/magazines you recommend?

[Arshes Nei]

Any other Books/magazines you recommend?

You got a lot of years and a lot of time to research. There are sticky threads in this forum that link to books and resources. Please don't just stick around on "Art Discussion" forum and expect to find all the information or have it handed to you. Please try looking at the other forums this site has to offer.

Thanks!

[Thoam]

You got a lot of years and a lot of time to research. There are sticky threads in this forum that link to books and resources. Please don't just stick around on "Art Discussion" forum and expect to find all the information or have it handed to you. Please try looking at the other forums this site has to offer.

Thanks!

Thanks, I will do that. I just hoped that some people can tell me some of them which fits to my situation

[Arshes Nei]

Thanks, I will do that. I just hoped that some people can tell me some of them which fits to my situation

Your situation is that you're young and you have a lot to learn

[Dusty]

One year of frustration

Just one?
I'd say you are doing great!

[JeffX99]

They ALL fit your situation right now.

[Thoam]

They ALL fit your situation right now.

Well I'm sure there are guide which are way to hard for me and I wouldn't get any results so that in the end it would be just a waste of money.

[JeffX99]

Well I'm sure there are guide which are way to hard for me and I wouldn't get any results so that in the end it would be just a waste of money.

Damn...I wish I had never wasted any money on books or materials that didn't work out. I wish someone could have tailored the perfect book list for me so I didn't really need to try things out or consider one thing over another.

"Imaginitive Realism" by James Gurney is a good start. So is "Drawing Essentials" by Deborah Rockman. So is anything by Loomis. When you're getting started damn near anything works...as you develop you move past some things and toward others. But it is you who has to do it, not someone else.

[Elwell]

When you're getting started damn near anything works...as you develop you move past some things and toward others. But it is you who has to do it, not someone else.

This. The answer to "how do I start" is that it doesn't matter, as long as you do. Right now you don't know anything, so any book is going to have stuff in it that you need (and no one book is going to have everything that you need). Pick one. Try it out. If, after really trying it out, things don't make sense or seem not to be working, try another. If things do make sense and seem to be working, don't fool yourself into thinking you've got it all figured out, try another. Repeat times infinity.

[Thoam]

Damn...I wish I had never wasted any money on books or materials that didn't work out. I wish someone could have tailored the perfect book list for me so I didn't really need to try things out or consider one thing over another.

"Imaginitive Realism" by James Gurney is a good start. So is "Drawing Essentials" by Deborah Rockman. So is anything by Loomis. When you're getting started damn near anything works...as you develop you move past some things and toward others. But it is you who has to do it, not someone else.

The point is that I'm still going to school. Meaning that I don't have much money so that I just can't try out many books. This is the only reason why I wanted to know if there are books which fit to my situation!
Anyway, thanks QueenGwenevere and JeffX99 for books. I might buy one of them soon.

This. The answer to "how do I start" is that it doesn't matter, as long as you do. Right now you don't know anything, so any book is going to have stuff in it that you need (and no one book is going to have everything that you need). Pick one. Try it out. If, after really trying it out, things don't make sense or seem not to be working, try another. If things do make sense and seem to be working, don't fool yourself into thinking you've got it all figured out, try another. Repeat times infinity.

The main reason why I wanted to know how to start was, that I was worried to do anything wrong and not get any results. If things are new to me (like art is right now) I prefer knowing exactly what I do.. maybe I'm too worried about making mistakes.. I don't know. It's my weakness and I can't change it.

[Dusty]

The main reason why I wanted to know how to start was, that I was worried to do anything wrong and not get any results.

I see young artists say this all the time and all I can do is relate my own experiences.

When I was 16, I did not think for once about "getting better". I just drew pictures because that is what I loved to do. If you just sat down one day and said "I want to get good at art" as if you were picking up a guitar, I'd have to say you are in for a tough road. I'm not saying that CAN'T be done, I'm just saying it seems to me like all the most successful artists in the world just love art.

They are good because that's all they do because that's all they WANT to do.

There is time for studies and time for repetition and all the stuff that will hone your skills. But honestly, at the moment is sounds like you are so early in your artistic lifestyle that you just need to get in the mode if ENJOYING it first. Like really enjoying it. To the point where you aren't thinking about it at all, you just do it. Get there, then someday you'll realize that you are "pretty damn good!" and at that point, study your ass off.

[vineris]

The point is that I'm still going to school. Meaning that I don't have much money so that I just can't try out many books. This is the only reason why I wanted to know if there are books which fit to my situation!

#1: Go to the library. Find whatever drawing books are there. Read them. Even if you think they're totally unrelated to what you're doing.

#2: Look up information on art on the Internet.

I didn't see Loomis, Hogarth, Bridgman or any of those books until I had already been drawing for more than 10 years. And I didn't even have the Internet to help me.

Any information you can find in a book, you can also find somewhere else, for free, if you work hard enough at digging it out.

[Damien Levs]

The point is that I'm still going to school. Meaning that I don't have much money so that I just can't try out many books.

Surely you have a library in school. It has an art section? You must have a library in your town/city. You don't have to buy them. Borrow them, draw the hell out of it.

[QueenGwenevere]

Well, if it helps any, some of the books on the reading list sticky that would be especially good for basics might be:
All the Loomis books
Bert Dodson "Keys to Drawing"
The Deborah Rockman "Drawing Essentials" book (actually, I'm not sure this one is on the list... but it gets recommended a lot...)

...though of course it wouldn't hurt to check out any that you think look interesting.

One thing, don't expect to see instant "results" from anything. Learning to draw takes time, and most of the time your progress will be very gradual. A lot of the time you might think you're getting nowhere, and you'll only notice "progress" when you look back at your old work. Sometimes you'll have breakthroughs, but most of the time it's slow and gradual...

It can be frustrating, you just have to keep going.

[Shorinji_Knight]

Start hanging around here. Open up a sketchbook and post your work. You'll meet artists of all skill levels that can be very helpful here. You could also put your work up for critique and get specific input on individual pieces (be prepared to hear stuff you don't want to hear... it's good for you.).

[Thoam]

Ok ok I get it I have to practice practice practice.. Maybe I just got crazy after nothing worked today so I posted this. I will open a sketchbook soon to get some critic. I'm sure it will be great to get more into art when I'm in this forum

[Elwell]

I really don't understand this obsession people have with not wanting to "do things wrong":
1. You're not going to break yourself.
2. You are going to make mistakes. You can't avoid making mistakes. Making mistakes is a good thing.

[Leonor]

I really don't understand this obsession people have with not wanting to "do things wrong":
1. You're not going to break yourself.
2. You are going to make mistakes. You can't avoid making mistakes. Making mistakes is a good thing.

True.

Yet, TAD courses have an order to them so students learn as effectively as possible, right? I guess what the OP wanted was something like that, a study plan with an order to it.

[Arshes Nei]

I wonder if people playing video games worry about playing it the right way...

..or do they think "what if I loose?" "what if I can't finish this level" "what if I get frustrated"

[Medelo]

I wonder if people playing video games worry about playing it the right way...

..or do they think "what if I loose?" "what if I can't finish this level" "what if I get frustrated"

Actually I think some people do. That's why there's tons of wiki sites and on popular games there are people posting recommended 'builds' for different types of classes and stuff.

<_<

[LukasA]

Hey Thorban, go to a library!
So many awesome things to look at there, like books on muscles, drawing techniques, etc...
Don't know if you ever heard about them before, but... Now you have no excuse!

AND ITS FREE

[[email protected]]

Hey Thorban, go to a library!
So many awesome things to look at there, like books on muscles, drawing techniques, etc...
Don't know if you ever heard about them before, but... Now you have no excuse!

AND ITS FREE

Don't just look at books: work them...

[Ryan Provenzano]

>Into the mind of another 16 year old, which is something you might need

Well, I registered just now because I thought that I could finally contribute in some way. I just turned 16 a few weeks ago. I've been studying drawing and drawing a lot since late February. I've aspired to be a manga/comic artist ever since then. Before I decided to take this leap forward in February, my drawing skill from all of middle school to sophomore year of high school never improved. I reproduced manga drawings(this was a lot of fun ) from famous manga for a month or two and this improved my ability to copy. Though in the imagination sector I didn't really improve at all. I'm just gonna say this once, the internet for me is scary as hell. What I tried to do for so many weeks was just search up "what's the best way, most effective way, or fastest way to learn to draw manga." Never really got me anywhere, as there were too many conflicting opinions on learning to draw. And it really made me insecure(more insecure than you can ever believe). Then, I started to just read books about drawing manga and traditional style drawing. Read a bit of Loomis, really helped me to get my head straight with some of the morals he taught. I do practices from all the books I read and I make sure to pick up the techniques discussed.

Alright, about improvement...it's weird. You gotta be able to admit your mistakes and push your abilities to your limit. I'm in a drawing skype group(super-active everyday) with some people I met on a forum and we discuss drawing, random junk, books, and we do drawing battles to test our skills every week or so. We've all been improving slowly, but surely. I've done a lot of lurking on this forum to learn that life-drawing, learning to draw form, is a huge thing to learn to draw good characters. I still have to get good at that...

How do my friends and I improve? A few things: have fun drawing, love drawing even when studying, and believe in your instincts. Follow the path that's engraved in your heart because you will be great as long as you trust yourself.

At some point of time, you'll reach a consensus with your mind about how to go about improving your art while having fun at the same time. Don't really worry about that though, it'll come. I ended up with the conclusion that I need to learn to draw real people and from real life for a foundation to creating a manga style that I will be comfortable enough with to draw a complete, consistent manga.

I haven't made that mental leap of starting a sketchbook on this forum, but I will soon.

[madsamuri2240]

Not sure if someone covered this or not but im to lazy to read everything...
if your frustrated looking at others work you have to realise that they have most likely been doing it years longer than you have the main point here is to look at work for motivation or ideas as to how to go about your own, dont compare it to your own because 1) its not you and 2) the difference is in the experience you have.
just keep track of your work by holding onto your old drawings, trust me on this one when you look at you old stuff it wil make you want to laugh (or slightly throw up) and it will knock some sense into you when you get that little bug in your ear that will tell you everything that is wrong with your work when in actuallity your progressing.
and with the studies try to vary it up a bit, dont just study through observation alone every now and then take a step back and attempt to recall those objects, forms and shapes that you spent so much time on and draw and manipulate them. its good to work your brain a bit if your just copying everything down it will eventually become frustrating unless your some type of half cyborg freak. any way hope that was helpful i have a tendecy of rambling on to much.

[madsamuri2240]

one more thing-a-ma-jig dont ever fear f'ing up if you dont stumble here and there your clearly not challenging yourself enough and the more you walk away from a challenge the more you put yourself in a corner and you eventually crack and give up like a postal worker with an automatic.