Since the invention of the Internet, social media has been used for interaction, knowledge diffusion, and spreading news. Among all the art information provided online, there are some good and some bad. For beginners who mostly rely on information online, you are in good hands right now. Today, we are going to bust some myths and rumors that are circulating around the Internet nowadays.

Don’t blindly follow online tutorials

Think more and act less

Aimlessly scrolling through online tutorials won’t do you a favor. Don’t mistake me for telling you to stop watching art tutorials. I get it, we all would like to learn from skilled artists and their ways. It’s understandable. But before following along and doing exactly what they do, process and think for a second. What is the purpose behind it? Is it just a random filter that turns everything textured or is it a personal touch?

Just think for a second to try and understand the rationale behind using that color, or why there’s a shadow there. Don’t just randomly follow others, cause you won’t end up learning anything.

For instance, have you ever thought about why artists usually use a circle for the skull? Or why is there a line in the center? No matter if it’s for guiding purposes or structural lines, there’s always a reason for its existence, it doesn’t just randomly pop out of nowhere. If the artist in the video didn’t even use the lines he put down, what is the point of following them?

Please watch through the video and comprehend everything before following them. Think more before acting.

Use references

Learning is from mocking

Some say that using references is cheating and is copying, that is literal bullsh*t.

Art is a study. It’s learning from real-life masters and modern experts, acting like a textbook. This process may require artists to trace over the references, or even use a projector to display the image on a canvas for an accurate representation, to create guidelines to follow along.

Indeed drawing and painting from the imaginary is undoubtedly a skill. What you don’t see from masters is them learning from real-life photographs or other fellow artists’ work. Often, professional artists use references as inspirations to give them an idea of what they are picturing in their minds. It would be best if you had a mental library of what you would like to create before drawing it from your imagination.

So use a photo, an image, or anything that references anything. We are not copying for the sake of profiting but as an external learning method from other sources. A friendly reminder is to not claim the practice drawing as your own. Or if you’re referencing from a photograph, ask for consent and approval.

create everyday

Inspiration doesn’t always strike

Stay consistent and create every day, even when you’re not in the mood to pick up a pencil. It’s consistency that lets us improve our skill and take it to another level. No one said learning art is easy!

Artists will not always have inspiration and motivation. It may come around once in a while after watching Netflix. You may see the possibility of a creation out of things that you are interested in. It can catch your attention and get you hyped up. But that sudden spike in motivation won’t last very long. Most of the time, we browse around Google and Pinterest for the image we would like to recreate the most. But would you look at that, after you find the right image, people lose all their interests and head out. Hours and hours are mainly used for browsing, instead of working on the piece itself.

People often claim that you have to relax a little if you have you have an art block. Well, you have a pencil and paper right in front of you, what is stopping you from creating art? If you are not lacking any necessities, just draw.

To those who say they lack inspiration, just go back to square one and embrace the most simplistic form of art, sketching. You don’t need to think about life or anything, you observe and depict it on a blank sheet of paper in front of you. Try going outside, do some sketches. It truly helps break down the rigid environment in your room and return to the basics.

Do it your way

Art is all about creativity

If you don’t like to practice the basics, then draw, paint, or sketch how YOU want to. You can’t let anyone dictate your way of living. However, I’m still going to say that once again, fundamentals are the key to success. Maybe try and balance it out a little bit~

There is no limit to creativity. In the modern day, abstract art is still found to be confusing, and meaningless, and is looked down on compared to high-end works of art. In the past century, impressionists and cubic artists faced similar criticisms in their time. They all faced adversities, but did any of them quit? At least the renowned maintained their own styles and flourished despite all the negativity surrounding their art. You name it, Picasso, Monet, Van Gogh…

Do what you like. Don’t let all the voices overwhelm the voice inside of you. If you like graffiti, go for it. Research it, study it, try it out. Improve your craft by referencing it to people that have done it before. Consider convenience and comfortability as your priority. Use whatever tools you like to make your piece complete. A ruler or a compass, alright, make it a part of your schedule. Do what you need to make the piece unique to yourself, distinct, and recognizable.

Be bold with your decisions. If creating is not about creativity, what is?

Instead of refined and delicate lines, I used bold and definite lines to create the image of fierce

Don’t let the world fool you

The art world is fake and cruel

Process the personal critiques and accept the ones that actually have your best interests in mind. When the rich consider something good, it rises in value, and vice versa. It has somewhat turned into a cult at this point. Do know that not all the comments are from the bottom of their heart. They may want people who are on the right track to go off direction. You cannot believe everything you perceive when everything they consider is only wealth and fame. Do you think these “rich” people have rich art knowledge?

Perfect sketchbooks posted on Instagram are a complete scam. Don’t believe everything you see. Yes, professionals indeed have an incredible amount of skill, but they don’t show everything they have inside. They may have skipped a page or two, or torn it up and covered it.

Rarely do content creators admit their past due to their reputation. They have to constantly publish so they can maintain their image. We are all humans, there will always be that one piece that drives us nuts and makes us go crazy. Put it aside and leave it be. Professionals won’t love every single piece of art they draw on their sketchbook, it’s just practice to them. But as time passes by, you’ll realize too that every one of your sketches will be considered a work of art by everyone.

Portraits I Screwed-up on

Portraits I did well on

Content creators will only let you see the right ones

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Don't blindly follow online tutorials

Use references

Create everyday

do it your way

Don't the let the world fool you