I was thinking about this for a long time. Art, for me, has been something of an anchor when I've been stressed or worried or sad or...whatever. And I want other people to experience it, too. I don't pretend to be an expert on art - heck, I'm not even in college yet! - but there are things that I know. Again, I'm not an expert - but here is what I have learned:
One of the problems I had (and still have) with my art is that I am too much of a perfectionist. I am told that a lot of artists are this way, but while it's handy when you're adding the finishing touches to a piece, it's a real problem when you're just starting out. I would have this image of what I wanted to draw in my head, but when it came to putting in on paper, more often than not I would starting by carefully outlining my image, and then erase, and then start again, and then erase. An hour later, my paper would be covered in faint graphite smears with a vague outline of my drawing in the middle. I rarely finished anything, which drove me nuts.
It wasn't until I was in high school that I learned how to fix this. In my art class, we are required to do a good chunk of our work in our sketchbooks - something I was not accustomed to. I was in the habit of just drawing - not planning, not sketching, not doodling. Just DRAWING. For a long time, I was lazy and didn't pay too much attention to sketching. Whatever drawings I had in my sketchbook were NOT sketches.
It wasn't until my junior year that I started to see the value of my sketchbook. I had a different art teacher that year, and at the start of class he explained the value of a sketchbook - "It's a place to play, practice, experiment, do whatever you want. It's not meant to be a display of your best work. It's your playground for art."
This explanation made sense to me. Over the next two years, while I was in his classroom, I did more and more sketching, experimenting and playing around. As I did this, I noticed a significant improvement - not just in my drawing skills, but also in my creative skills. It's gotten so EASY to put down my ideas quickly and legibly.
So, what this all comes down to is: don't be meticulous. At least at the start. Be loose and relaxed. Trust the connection between your brain and your hand - your brain knows what you want to draw. So when you're sketching, don't even think about it - just scribble the form down! It shouldn't be good-looking. It's just an outline of what you're going for. Trust your brain - it knows what it's doing. Even if you don't think you're a good enough artist to draw what you're picturing in your head - go for it anyway! Don't let your inhibitions get in the way. Just do it, and don't agonize over it. Relax! Just let it come out naturally. And if it doesn't look the way you want it - well, that doesn't matter, keep going! Keep scribbling. It's good practice. When you see something - a pose you like, a face you find interesting - scribble it!
Don't Chicken Out
I have a lot of people say they wish they could draw well. I want to tell those people that THEY CAN. It's not a matter of talent. It's a matter of practice - which anybody can do!
Allow me to explain:
When I was a little kid, I wasn't that much of a better artist than anyone else. In fact, once when I was in kindergarten, we were drawing a picture of what we wanted to be when we grew up. My drawing (of me at an easel, being an artist) looked so bad that my teacher thought I had just scribbled all over the page - and asked me to start over again. I was crushed. The memory still haunts me to this day. (Why, Teacher? Whyyyyy?)
When I was in first grade, we were supposed to draw in these special journals every morning. If you look at my journal, you will notice that my drawings comprised mostly of flowers, hills, and rainbows - with a house and maybe my mom and dad and me showing up occasionally. The reason for this was that I was too scared to draw anything else. I didn't think anything else I drew besides hills and flowers and whatnot looked like they were supposed to. So I chickened out, and stuck to what I knew.
It wasn't until I was a little older that I started getting 'good' at drawing. I was a shy kid, and spent a lot of time by myself. I daydreamed a lot, and my daydreams found their way through my pencil onto my paper. I started drawing more and more, and everyone else began to notice. I soon gained the reputation of being the 'good draw-er' of the class. Later on, I would be humbled by the amazing artists I met in my fellow students in high school - but instead of making me feel like I couldn't ever draw or paint nearly as well as they could, I became determined to get better, and (most importantly) to develop me OWN style.
It's a work in progress.
Here's a secret: there is no such thing as a 'talented' artist. Skilled, yes, but not talented. The ability to draw and paint well comes not from inner intuition, but from practice and observation.
Even prodigies aren't 'talented' - they simply have a very heightened sense of observation, excellent memory, and perhaps a greater sense of creativity (that is, the ability to think 'outside the box'). When I look at the child prodigy Akiane's paintings (artakiane.com), I see that she has an astounding ability - not in simply painting, but in watching. She has paid very close attention to the human form, and what it looks like. She has watched her surroundings carefully, and stored them in her memory. She has interpreted it, and brought it to form. This is an amazing gift, to be sure - but we shouldn't let ourselves think that only she, a prodigy, can do it.
I was blessed with two gifts - my own sense of observation, and a vivid imagination. I am not a prodigy. I still have a lot to learn about art. But I can tell you that it isn't as difficult as you might think.
When you see an amazing painting, admire it. Let it inspire you. Don't wish that you could paint like that. Remember that drawing and painting and sculpting is a skill, one that you can learn if you practice. Don't ever doubt your capabilities. Give yourself time, and keep practicing. Don't give up. Don't be down on yourself. You're a human being, just like anyone else, and all human beings have the ability to learn. You might not learn as quickly as some other people seem to, but don't let that discourage you. Just keep drawing, and you'll improve. Trust me.
