Genuinely, I am a colorblind idiot who struggles to not only nail down a consistent style, but also I only feel proud of the silly/stupid artwork. I like my art okay but I should be better at this kind of stuff after being at it for over a decade. Most of it feels kind of flat, and the art that doesnt takes me a super long time for some reason.
(Also I figured this would hopefully get a laugh or 2)
Just sucks seeing people make great art and think that it's bad. I struggle with self esteem issues and it's the worst.
Or it's attention seeking/compliment fishing, that too 🤣
My biggest issue with my art is less that its trash and more that I struggle to keep a consistent vibe. Especially when I have been at this sort or Genndy Tartakovsky/Bruce Timm inspired kick for years
How are you studying art? If you are only practicing, from my experience, that will not take you far. I suggest reading Scott Robertson's How to Draw and How to Render, judging by your style, you can just jump straight to How to Render and then read How to Draw afterward. The book mostly focuses on realistic rendering but you can apply the concepts and workflows to pretty much any art style.
I also suggest Color and Light by James Gurney if you need color theory. Scott Robertson focuses more on the properties of reflections since a primary target of the book is Industrial/automotive designers.
As someone who doodles total bs at times (especially in between projects) - do what makes you happy, feel inspired. Just let the creativity out to express that talent. Maybe you will learn something about yourself!
I like to study (either photos of myself or online models) people with dramatic shadows - I feel like dark shadows are good for comedic or serious tones! Especially when contrasting with light colors (sort of like shadow blocking in comics) - look into dramatic lighting
Edit: I also use different brushes, patterns/textures (like I made the little cone mascot pixilated because it is eye catching).
Maybe also try simple shadows? Here is an OLD doodle I did for memes sake lol - focus on weighted colors (darker the closer an object is to the body, lighter the further away) - when you feel good about that, THEN you can work on cool tricks like fading the edges, adding contracting colors (and/or highlights)
A cursed example of mine but it made me laugh pulling this up - but modeling also helps! It is a good proportion and depth exercise i do on and off as I also work with modeling
Ive been drawing for a LONG time and eventually I realized I had two options; invest significant time and effort into sitting down and REALLY learning new skills, or just lean into what i can do and have fun. After my 9-5 sometimes I just want to draw but dont have a huge amount of brainpower left. Sometimes I scrap it halfway through, sometimes I finish it and hate it, sometimes I love it. But I basically decided the effort I was going to put in to overcome the plateu I hit was not going to be proportionate to the joy I got from the results. Maybe consider which you would want from that lense. And it doesnt have to be forever either you can say "I just want to have fun and draw" now and decide you want to seriously study something later.
Have you tried black and white palettes? It could help you practice shading and values while forgoing the problem of wacky colour palettes. I really do like your art though if you are worried about the colouring I think going black and white for a temporary amount of time could help?
I dunno just something I thought about.
Your art doesn't have to be "good" in an uptight college professor of the fine arts kinda way. If you get enjoyment out of creating art than it is already good enough.
I had enjoyment flipping through your works, and by the looks of it, so did the rest of the people in these comments.
2 pieces of advice that will instantly improve your stuff (from another artist). Find color palletes online or use a website like coolors.co. I'd say you should work on color theory but you're colorblind, it's like asking a paralyzed person to go on walks. Your colors are accurate to what you're trying to draw, but not harmonius. #2 is study lighting. Find some pictures with really dramatic, focused lighting, and copy it. You're sort of "pillow shading." Anatomy and composition are great, colors and shading might need a little help. You're doing great. Here are some sketches I did today to prove I'm not pulling shit out my butt. Peace
34
u/TheMagmaGuy 3h ago
Artists are always like 'my art looks like trash' and then they draw absolute peak every time :/