How to get better at drawing?

Ever since I was old enough to hold a pencil I was drawing. I loved it so much, my mom even called me "the Sharpie Queen" because if I got a hold of a Sharpie marker then there would be no clean spots in the house. (oops!)

So throughout elementary school I continued drawing, I loved drawing animals. I was used to being the best artist in the class. I had gotten so used to having everyone stare in awe at my work while they tried to copy my skill.
I was so used to it in fact that I got a little cocky and stopped paying attention to the other artwork around me.

That was 3 years ago.

Now, I still haven't stopped drawing, but I can't go on the internet without feeling bad about my skills. I have yet to find a specific unique art style, (though I mostly draw anime type things, everyone seems to have their own unique style no matter what they draw), and most of my friends have now surpassed me in terms of drawings skills. Yes, I've taken lessons, yes I've looked up tutorials on YouTube, yes I've purchased books all about these things.

Everyone says "practice makes perfect" but I look back at the art I did in 2008 and realize it's almost better than the rushed things I do now (well, some of it...I have improved a bit) I try to put effort into it, but it seems the more effort I put in, the worse it looks. I have tried all different mediums as well, sketching, using photoshop, and nothing justifies my work.

It's hard to go on Deviantart because everything is absolutely amazing artworks that people spend 7 hours on. It just makes me feel worse about my own skills.

So, my question is, how do I continue drawing and getting better without constantly comparing my work with others?

Anyways, here are a few drawings I did before 2010 (I was 10 in 2010 in case you're wondering)

Spoiler: old art

And here are a few drawings I did more recently.

Spoiler: newer art

Now I'm not saying I'm bad at art, but I want to know how to improve and stop comparing mine to others.

 

Nice job Uni.

 

Ayyyyyyy I like the art. Nice job!

I do drawings too, but only patterned geometric designs; they come naturally to me. But people? Why, that's a hell of a skill I can't give advice on. Keep up the good work.

 

Thanks =)

Thank you! It took a while to get consistent on proportionate drawings of people. That's why when I was younger I mostly drew animals.

 

Drawing goals.

 

nah nah nah nah
I don't teach you you teach me senpai ;-;

But in all seriousness, if you want me to be honest I will.
Disclaimer I'm not good artist no one go on saying "Omg peeta u cant tell him what he should improve on its not like ur any better god 10 yr old deez days i fckin no scope better than u in cod and this that...." Yeah I don't want to hear that.
Back to the point.
Some of your drawing look kind of dis proportioned. I suggest you start using guidelines. At first, I hated guidelines because I was too lazy to erase them, but trust me they help. Also, think in perspective. the tip of the ear should be about the same height of the top of the eye with some exceptions.
The more lines you put in the hair, the more realistic it looks. Now, don't go all line ham or something. It's quite hard to do correctly.
When outlining your drawings on a computer, try to make sure the whole thing is coloured before you outline it. Like no white spots. Nada. None. Zero. Zilch. Zip. Nil. Nothing.
It's true though, practice does make perfect. Try drawing in different styles, drawing something from your mind. And it's okay to fuck something up. You can use it to your advantage. I once fucked up the hair on one of my drawings and made it too messy so I was like fuck this I'm making it a zombie character.
Keep drawing, you will get better.

 

I'm no artist, but this is really good. I love to draw and paint, I can get impatient at times but still, it's calming and fun. This is some true skill and talent. If only, if only I could be at that level. But, practice makes perfect. You start at a young age, and progress on! Congrats to you for getting this far :D Give yourself a pat on the back, lol....

 

Haha @kawaiitoast you remind me of myself! I know exactly how you feel.

But, I must say you are very talented, but to conform with the subject, try maybe a new kind of way to drawing.
I started out doing sketches in my drawing books and charcoal here and there, then came digital art work.
Digital Art has allowed me to make mistakes with the ability to fix them, programs like Photoshop are good but, aren't (No offense) For people that have yet to try the Digital art medium, hence why I don't have it.
I suggest you get something more like Autodesk Sketchbook.
That program worked wonders for me and would do great for you as well.

With the deviant art, don't focus on comparing because, their are people that would love to look at your work.
I joined Deviant not to long ago and I thought people wouldn't like anything I had made but, I felt extremely welcomed and it helped my open up my insecurity on how I felt about my work.
Go at your own pace. Never rush to over look it and think "Oh it looks bad" Because you never know until you finish it.

As an artist myself, I would be more than happy with sharing my pro membership of autodesk sketch book with you, if that's something you want to look into, just inbox me and we can talk about it there. :)

But, I say go at your own pace, post your work on deviant, and you will love the results as much as I did. :D

 

Well, I excel at art. Don't just draw the body as you go unless you know the proportions off the top of your head. Make a stick figure with circles at the joints, a guideline. Then add the muscle and go back and add detail afterwards. Don't just draw anime. You need to practice Still Life Art, or drawing from real life. That's what people will look at in higher up Art Classes. Anime is a good starting point, particularly because it consists of easy lines, but to actually make Manga is another story. You need to learn human proportions so because they help with the placement of many things. Don't trace anything. You don't learn from it. Always draw it. Just practice, observe other artists work, attempt to recreate things, and have fun!

 

WOOOOOW you're amazing, can you make me a picture lol

 

I was gonna say that.

But yeah, proportions are important, and when it comes to anime, it depends on what you want. Most of the time, the bodiesaare humanly proportional , while the heads are usually bigger a bit, there's a lot of guides out there. Use guidelines to help you too,

 

I draw manga, and I am pretty good (I am VERY good) PM me I can teach you some stuff.

 

Looks awesome! Good job Uni.

 

Sure, I'll see what you can do sometime =)

Thanks Tyler =D

 

Omg nice drawings talented O:

 

DON´T QUIT DRAWING!
A few years ago I had the exact thinking as you:

• Everyone has surpassed me. I don´t have my own style (did anime, like you). Going on deviantart intimidates me. All this years for nothing.

Most of this may sound like it makes no sense, but it actually helps a lot:

1. Look up for a lot of tutorials:
   1. Drawing with Jazza: This guy explains how to draw everything
   2. Medli10: explains really good and has an amazing style
2. Discover new styles:
   1. Marvel comics style: The style is really interesting and it expanded my horizons from anime
   2. Rem and Stimpy: A lot of youtube animators use this style and is really funny (search: Hellbenders on youtube)
   3. Random deviantart people
3. Make a goal to draw at least 60min a day.
4. How do you get better at drawing? Not ¨just drawing lol", know what you draw, and why it happens. For example: Study human anatomy from the insides like if you where a medic. Like the muscles and bones. This one saved my life, it made my drawings 250% better.
5. Study contrasts, as they are what makes a picture look good. Know the chromatic color wheel.
   1. Ej: A blue dot looks good in an orange background because they are "opposites" in the wheel.
6. And finally, the comment that made me return to drawing when I was ready to quit: https://www.reddit.com/r/tf2/comments/2iwmmv/hi_im_medli_and_i_draw_tf2_fanart_sometimes_ama/cl74mpq. Please read it.

Please don't give up.

 

Thank you so much! I have no plans to quit anytime soon, but I did need some motivation.
I have looked at tutorials before but I'll look into the ones you recommended. As I've mentioned before I haven't really expanded my styles all that much. It was basically realistic-ish animals, cartoons (which I didn't include because they're all derpy.. I did this in 2012-2013), and then anime.
Also with the different styles, I've never tried using a marvel comics type style, but that's something that I might look into. As far as cartoon styles go that weren't my own, I mainly did Adventure time type things but with less curvy lines.
I'll definitely put more work into studying anatomy and working on my proportions as other people pointed out.
I know quite a bit about contrasts and the colour wheel, but again it's a good idea to think of it while I'm colouring my drawings.
Also that reddit comment was also really helpful.
Basically my drawing goals for now are to create and hold a consistent style, and improve my skills in different areas of drawing and try a bunch of new things.

I can't thank you enough for all the advice here. I know I can trust that this will make me better because I've seen your work, and even when it's simple, it's really good. I'd love to see more artwork from you someday! Feel free to PM me about it and we can share art =)

 

@kawaiitoast No problem! I do draw a bit more complex stuff sometimes but I really like cartoony style. Remember that some people don't find their style after a looong time. I haven't found mine yet, I always alternate between chibi, comics and Hellbenders so be patient with that. I like your goals, as I said, expanding your horizons is a must.
Also do what the Medli20 comment says about drawing blindly, that is the best way to learn how to observe and notice details. In my opinion observing is incredibly important, like, a good observer is already a good drawer.
Thanks! I'm very happy that you like my stuff, I spend a lot of time in it (I'm slow :s). I love your last drawing of the red hatted guy, the face outline is beautiful and there is contrast between red and blue.

 

Thanks! The last drawing is actually a character from a game called Cave Story (it's available on almost any platform, and free on PC's...)
Also, feel free to PM me about anything art, or anything in general! I'd love to talk about it more =)

 

Yeah I will! when i find that PM button