What's going wrong? Help please!

[Tom94]

Ok, so I'm kinda new to conceptart.org, and this is my first thread, so bare with me please...

I'm basically 18 and want to get into the concept art/digital art business, but I live in the UK...and it's really not that big in this country...But anyway, I have been practicing a little with digital art, but please note that I am using:

-GIMP (not photoshop, because I can't afford it at the moment)
-A Trust slimline tablet

I will post a few pieces of my work shortly, I'l try to knock some speed paintings and so basic fundamental stuff on here as best I can.
...
So I would REALLY appreciate some guidance etc for my work. I don't care, treat me like an idiot, I need to criticism and am desperate to improve, so thanks a lot and I hope to here from you guys.

(Oh and by the way, I'm currently taking fine art as one of my subjects at college, which isn't really helping me to improve my fundamentals...)

Cheers

[TinyBird]

Okay, so how's this related to your question? What is going wrong?
There's stickies in all the forums and you're free to post your art to the Critique section.

[Stoat]

Fine art *should* be helping you improve your fundamentals, unless you mean it's a crap program.

I recommend you post one example at a time in the Critique forum. Best way to get a response.

[Tom94]

Ah ok, thanks guys, I think I will post in the critique section. (you can tell im a newbie alright)

[QueenGwenevere]

Ok, so I'm kinda new to conceptart.org, and this is my first thread, so bare with me please...

I'm basically 18 and want to get into the concept art/digital art business, but I live in the UK...and it's really not that big in this country...But anyway, I have been practicing a little with digital art, but please note that I am using:

-GIMP (not photoshop, because I can't afford it at the moment)
-A Trust slimline tablet

I will post a few pieces of my work shortly, I'l try to knock some speed paintings and so basic fundamental stuff on here as best I can.

Working digitally and having nice digital equipment is NOT essential to learning the skills you would need as a concept artist. The main thing is to get as good as you can with drawing and painting fundamentals, and for that you can (and probably should) use any regular traditional media.

Also "knocking out speed paintings" is probably not the best way to hone your fundamentals. I'm not sure what stage you're at or what you've been doing so far, but the most helpful thing you can do is draw and paint a lot of stuff from life, and do so carefully, paying attention to proportion, form, value, relationships, color, etc. This isn't a speed contest, at the beginning it's usually better to go slow and pay attention and try to get things right. Speed comes with practice.

Also study the usual basics, anatomy, perspective, and so forth. (The stickies in this forum, the Fine Art forum, and the Tutorials forum have a lot of useful resources and info to get you started on fundamentals.)

Aaaaand, yeah, start a sketchbook thread and start posting WIPs in the critique section to get some specific feedback and critique.

[Tom94]

Ok, and another...How the hell do i delete my threads???

[Black Spot]

You've only made 2 threads. We all make stupid ones at times, so don't worry about this one. Just waiting for an old one of mine to bite me in the butt any time now.

[SmallPoly]

Hi Tom94,

Post some of your work and I'll give you some critiques.

[Drew Walker]

I'm also 18, at college in the UK, with one of my subjects as Fine Art.
It may be true that they don't teach you anything to improve your fundamentals, but all that means is that you should be teaching yourself.
I've been in the same situation for the past two years, with the crappy A Level teachers, but I've been actively using that time as an opportunity to learn what I want.

You can bitch about the quality of your education all day, but in the end it comes down to you. Go here, read the threads, go to some life drawing sessions, keep pushing.

You're going to suck for a long time, I know that I still suck big-time. You just have to accept that, put the excuses away and work towards your goals.
And don't worry, there are more jobs in the entertainment industry than you'd first think, and many more paths to take than just 'concept artist'.

Also what the other guys said.

Good luck

[Tom94]

Ok, I'm going to go with what the other guys said and post in the critique areas

[Tom94]

I'm also 18, at college in the UK, with one of my subjects as Fine Art.
It may be true that they don't teach you anything to improve your fundamentals, but all that means is that you should be teaching yourself.
I've been in the same situation for the past two years, with the crappy A Level teachers, but I've been actively using that time as an opportunity to learn what I want.

You can bitch about the quality of your education all day, but in the end it comes down to you. Go here, read the threads, go to some life drawing sessions, keep pushing.

You're going to suck for a long time, I know that I still suck big-time. You just have to accept that, put the excuses away and work towards your goals.
And don't worry, there are more jobs in the entertainment industry than you'd first think, and many more paths to take than just 'concept artist'.

Also what the other guys said.

Good luck

Thanks alot, greatly appreciate this man

[hitnrun]

I'm also 18, at college in the UK, with one of my subjects as Fine Art.
It may be true that they don't teach you anything to improve your fundamentals, but all that means is that you should be teaching yourself.

One does not pay tuition and expect to hear "you teach yourself here".

Seriously, I don't mind looking over stuff and making sure I have a better understanding, but if I'm paying to be at a class, I expect to learn something. Now, if I sign up for a class for completely beginners obviously it won't be the learning endeavor that an advanced color theory class would be, but you get my point. (sign up for stuff that is at, your slightly above your skill level.)

[Drew Walker]

One does not pay tuition and expect to hear "you teach yourself here".

Seriously, I don't mind looking over stuff and making sure I have a better understanding, but if I'm paying to be at a class, I expect to learn something. Now, if I sign up for a class for completely beginners obviously it won't be the learning endeavor that an advanced color theory class would be, but you get my point. (sign up for stuff that is at, your slightly above your skill level.)

Public college (you call it high school) in the UK is free (They also generally follow the same curriculum as any paid private school). It's also widely acknowledged that the level of art education in the UK is very poor, especially below university level.

I don't advocate not being taught if you're paying to be taught, I was just giving him advice for the situation we're both in. Here we don't have electives, we can't go into a more advanced class, it's all just 'Fine Art A Level'.

When I go to university this September, I damn well expect them to teach me well for the money we have to pay (Although I have heard a few opinions to the contrary).

No-one said to us 'you teach yourself here', we just literally receive no actual education apart from the occasional vague critique. I've done a taster course at LARA, so I can tell the difference between good critique and uninformed biased drivel.

I would also argue that no matter how good your education is, what you get out of it is proportional to what you put in. Thus, it is entirely dependant upon you.

[LordLouis]

Why is fine art not improving your fundamentals?
I don't understand.

I thought fine art meant drawing/painting traditionally from observation et. al
?

[Drew Walker]

Why is fine art not improving your fundamentals?
I don't understand.

I thought fine art meant drawing/painting traditionally from observation et. al
?

That stuff is great, it helps you improve.

But you don't do much of that at all in a British Fine Art A-level.

Which is why I said he should do those things of his own initiative, like I've been doing.

[cro-magnon]

That stuff is great, it helps you improve.

But you don't do much of that at all in a British Fine Art A-level.

Which is why I said he should do those things of his own initiative, like I've been doing.

what do you do then? i did my a-levels at a local college and had free rein on designing my own projects, so observational drawing and painting was pretty much all I did. sure there are hoops to jump through (do x in the style of x) but you're the one supplying the source material, so draw what you want.

[Drew Walker]

what do you do then? i did my a-levels at a local college and had free rein on designing my own projects, so observational drawing and painting was pretty much all I did. sure there are hoops to jump through (do x in the style of x) but you're the one supplying the source material, so draw what you want.

This is what I was telling him to do, to take his own initiative with his own education.