Tips on improving your art skills

By Benjamin Parker

Art has been a staple in most cultures across the world, firmly having rooted itself as a means of communicating one's understanding of themselves and the world around them. A great number of people in the world develop a natural passion for the act of creation, irrespective of talent. However, most of those who pursue the arts start off self-taught, and when they get to the point where they can take classes, there is a mix of bad habits and misunderstood techniques that they have to unlearn in order to improve. 

This book hopes to provide a way to understand and assimilate the various techniques that are employed in the creative process. By providing a combination of theoretical and practical information about the process, the reader will be better equipped to make purposeful decisions when planning and creating their artwork.

Written in an informative yet informal tone, it makes for an easy read with comfortably understood instructions. It is designed for the amateur—the one who partakes in an activity for the love of the craft—and reinforces the basics while simultaneously giving the reader methods and tips to develop their style. Many of the more seemingly complicated and inaccessible facets of art are broken down into smaller components to make them more accessible. 

Along with covering a plethora of artistic styles and mediums, the book offers further information on how to share one's art and how to potentially make a career or side-job out of the hobby for those who are so inclined. 

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: justin wokocha
• Release date: Apr 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201318857

Book preview

A Quick Lesson In Art History

Studying the old masters can undoubtedly improve one’s skill set, but there is a much simpler reason to look over the history. Most of the people who have picked up a pen or paintbrush or chisel have asked themselves the question: What is my art? And to get a fair answer to this, it would be pertinent to first explore what art itself is.

One could look at drawings of wildebeests in caves, dating back to 12,000 BC, and consider those to be a comment on how mankind was connected to the ecosystem or a more direct appreciation of nature. One could also take those drawings to be little more than simple sketches and finger paintings.

We can move forward a few thousand years and look at the art of the ancient Egyptians, such as the gold mask of Pharaoh Tutankhamun. In this, one can see the belief system of the culture of the time. The gold itself was too malleable to be used for tools, but the society provided extrinsic value to it; it underscored the connection of the pharaohs to their gods and the anthropomorphizing of those leaders into animal-like beings was reflected in the use of gold to depict the divinely ordained rulers.

Then comes the Hellenistic era, which was considered an evolutionary step in the course of civilization around 200 BC. A period where the pursuit of knowledge was considered virtuous and the human was made the center of thought. This period explored through its sculptures an attempt to grasp the image of the divine; it was obsessed with the pantheon of the gods (which, to be fair, can be viewed as a rather good soap opera and has indeed been adapted into a lot of mainstream media).

As you keep skipping through time, you’ll see the realistic paintings of the Roman Empire, and their predisposition with the body; then later, the middle ages, where the paintings were dominated by clergymen and attempted to convey the stories of the Bible to the predominantly uneducated masses. After this came the Renaissance period, which used its advanced techniques to revive the projection of desire and self-exploration of Roman art with greater use of perspective as well as real-life models.

Over time, the elite sought out art, and commissions for works became more common, allowing the artist the luxury of expression. Color, tone, light, and other factors came into play, and humanity witnessed transformations of style through periods like the Baroque era, neoclassicism, the romantic era, and more.

That might be considered rather curt for an art history lesson, but going over the changes seen in art forms across time was not meant to pull out some manner of inspiration from you. How you learn from the paintings of yore is a lonesome activity, and therein comes the real answer to the question. As you might have been able to pick up, art is subjective and tied to the zeitgeist of its time. It is a smorgasbord of varying philosophies, personal experiences and historical contexts.

So, if one is to understand what art is, it both pains me and delights me to say that there is no clear-cut answer. As a consequence, when it comes to the question What is my art? the answer is much simpler: your art is how you choose to define your experiences and ideologies. Studying the craft, mastering existing styles, combining knowledge, rebellion against tradition — these factors help you to find your own style.

If that seems a bit philosophical, there will be more detailed explanations on exploring one’s uniqueness in the next chapter, but before that...

Setting Up A Work Space

It’s quite difficult to find our niche until we have room for growth, isn’t it? While setting up an entire art studio might seem to be a major commitment, you don’t need to look at the arrangements of established and famous artists to get started. The important thing is that you have a space of your own meant for creation.

This could be as simple as a desk, some tools, and a lamp. Within that, standing desks have become more popular, and there are some affordable options out there. It may also be useful to have a desk that is inclined or adjustable to allow yourself to work at an angle that is most comfortable for you. As for the tools, whichever brushes, pencils, or peripherals you elect to go with is your choice. Later chapters will go over the details of different utensils and why you may prefer one over the other.

For now, the only factor you need to keep in mind is that while you’re not obliged to keep your space clean, it would help to keep it organized. When you know where everything is, you can jump right into creating as soon as inspiration strikes. To some, muscle memory is not simply how they draw a line, but also the ability to reach for the right pen without taking their eyes off the page. Pen holders, hooks on the walls and drawer dividers are all excellent aids in this case.

As for the lamp, this actually becomes a subjective choice. Some people are rather reductionist in their approach and will find a lightbulb with a temperature of 5600K to make sure they get a neutral white and it doesn’t affect their perception of color. Others opt for something warmer, so the space feels more friendly when they plan to spend hours working in it. If you don’t have a preference, you can get one of those adjustable bulbs, allowing you to change the brightness and temperature, and see what works best for your eyes.

And while you may prefer natural light, a lamp is recommended because there is no real reason that you should have to stop when the sun goes down. If you’re attending school or working, you’re already losing quite a bit of sunlight. Moreover, sunlight is unpredictable. Warmer and softer towards the start and of the day, harsher in the middle, and often interrupted by puffy white clouds, it isn’t reliable enough to use as a foundation for the task at