CAM Posted July 1, 2015 Posted July 1, 2015 What's the best way to learn? I'm trying to pick up art as a side hobby hoping to stream digitally one day but my skills have gone backwards since high school.
Gibson335 Posted July 1, 2015 Posted July 1, 2015 Art classes at local college? Better in that environment than from on-line, book or DVD tuition. 1
CAM Posted July 1, 2015 Author Posted July 1, 2015 Hmm, first thing I looked at. Been having trouble finding any as the classes tend to be during work hours.
Gibson335 Posted July 1, 2015 Posted July 1, 2015 Hmm, first thing I looked at. Been having trouble finding any as the classes tend to be during work hours. Assumed you would have, but to be honest it's really the only proper way to go. If you really can't find anything, have an Amazon browse for self-help books/DVDs as at least you may find a starting point. 1
Garacesh Posted July 1, 2015 Posted July 1, 2015 Assumed you would have, but to be honest it's really the only proper way to go. If you really can't find anything, have an Amazon browse for self-help books/DVDs as at least you may find a starting point. Can it really be considered 'self-help' if you're taking direction off someone else? Surely it's the writer that's helping you
Duranis Posted July 1, 2015 Posted July 1, 2015 (edited) Just do it. You can take all the lessons, read all the books and watch all the videos in the world but if you are only spending 20 minutes a week on it then you will take a long time to notice any improvements. Keep a sketch book to hand and use it often, even if you are looking to get into digital media or painting, sketching with a pencil will help train you to think about proportions, shapes, shading, highlights, etc, etc. See a nice photo, try and replicated it with whatever media it is you are wanting to work in. Read up on colour theory, composition and contrast, even an average artist can make some nice stuff if they use these basic* things in the right way. *basic as in everything builds on top of this knowledge, not basic as in simple.... A lot of people seem to think that "art" is just something that comes naturally and you are either artistic or your not. This is entirely not true and it is a learned skill, the same as anything else. The more time you put into doing it the better you will get. There are some amazing videos on youtube as well. I found watching people painting/sculpting (especially if they are talking about how and why they are doing things in a certain way) really helped me link what I had read about to something real. Look at videos/information outside of the media you are wanting to work in as well. For example I found some great sculpting information and videos that talked a lot about human body proportions which really helps for any kind of drawing/painting of human figures. Edit: Also find a forum or two that you can post your stuff on to get critique from (and look at other peoples work). Decent feedback from people with knowledge is invaluable and with the amount of forums around there is a wealth of knowledgeable people that are willing to give you pointers on what is and isn't working. Edited July 1, 2015 by Duranis 2
Garacesh Posted July 1, 2015 Posted July 1, 2015 (edited) Just do it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuHfVn_cfHU&safe=active (I don't recall any NSFW language, but there may be some. Proceed with caution. Also, shouties.) See a nice photo, try and replicated it with whatever media it is you are wanting to work in. Read up on colour theory, composition and contrast, even an average artist can make some nice stuff if they use these basic* things in the right way. *basic as in everything builds on top of this knowledge, not basic as in simple.... -snip- There are some amazing videos on youtube as well. I found watching people painting/sculpting (especially if they are talking about how and why they are doing things in a certain way) really helped me link what I had read about to something real. Bob Ross and his happy little trees are, I here hear, excellent for learning basic* technique. And his voice is like a relaxing lullaby. * I use basic in the same sense that Duranis did. Also a friend of mine set herself a challenge that she would draw at least one thing per day. She bought a blank notebook and posts up her doodle each day, and there's been definite improvement. Worth a shot. Edited July 1, 2015 by Garacesh I no speel gud
LosOjos Posted July 1, 2015 Posted July 1, 2015 (edited) If all else fails, refer to the local hipster community for fashion advice and learn to describe mundane things like unmade beds in terms that sound really deep and meaningful, then wait for the Turner prize to roll in What kind of "art" do you want to produce? Illustrations, comics, drawings, photographs, paintings, sculptures, fabrics - there's a whole lot of "art" out there, so your first job is to narrow it down to what interests you. Once you've done that, research the artists who are considered "the greats" in that field. Studying their work, you may find you really like some and hate others, try to work out why that is. Are their works a certain style? Does that style have a name (they usually do, unless they're very unique)? Start branching out to look at the works or other artists who produce work in that style. Eventually, you'll start to see how that style works, then you can start mimicking it in your own work - don't be afraid to copy! Everyone does it, it's just that accomplished artists do so in such a way as to show influence rather than straight up copies, but you can be sure they started out that way. My 2p - I'm a photographer EDIT: not a very good one! But I've done lots of research Edited July 1, 2015 by LosOjos
pcstru Posted July 1, 2015 Posted July 1, 2015 Hmm, first thing I looked at. Been having trouble finding any as the classes tend to be during work hours. How about an online course (others are available).
CAM Posted July 1, 2015 Author Posted July 1, 2015 If all else fails, refer to the local hipster community for fashion advice and learn to describe mundane things like unmade beds in terms that sound really deep and meaningful, then wait for the Turner prize to roll in What kind of "art" do you want to produce? Illustrations, comics, drawings, photographs, paintings, sculptures, fabrics - there's a whole lot of "art" out there, so your first job is to narrow it down to what interests you. Once you've done that, research the artists who are considered "the greats" in that field. Studying their work, you may find you really like some and hate others, try to work out why that is. Are their works a certain style? Does that style have a name (they usually do, unless they're very unique)? Start branching out to look at the works or other artists who produce work in that style. Eventually, you'll start to see how that style works, then you can start mimicking it in your own work - don't be afraid to copy! Everyone does it, it's just that accomplished artists do so in such a way as to show influence rather than straight up copies, but you can be sure they started out that way. My 2p - I'm a photographer EDIT: not a very good one! But I've done lots of research Probably comics, digital preferably. I've been watching streams on Picarto lately but now got the itch to try it!
Garacesh Posted July 1, 2015 Posted July 1, 2015 If all else fails, refer to the local hipster community for fashion advice and learn to describe mundane things like unmade beds in terms that sound really deep and meaningful, then wait for the Turner prize to roll in "Art"
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