10 Tips For Becoming A Better Artist

 

Top 10 Tips for Becoming a Better Artist Instructor Rob Chang talks about his tips for growing as an artist. July 6th, 2016 by Rob Chang I’ve been helping aspiring artists in their journey of artistic development for a long time now. now. Initially,, it was only in the cgtalk forums where I answered questions, gave in-depth critiques, and Initially wrote posts on various art and creativity-related subjects. During my years working as an art director in video games and animation, I also mentored other artists. hese e!periences eventua eventually lly culminated in a workshop that I’ve been teaching for "#$orksh "#$orkshops ops here at "#%ociety since &'(', titled )ecoming a )etter *rtist. *rtist. heories  subforum at cgtalk called op op %everal years ago, I wrote a post in the *rt echniques + heories (' ips or )ecoming a )etter *rtist. *rtist. hat post circulated around the web in the art communities, and soon Imagine/ maga0ine asked asked if they could publish it. 1f course I said yes, since I was one of the very first artists they did a feature interview with in the inaugural issue  issue of Imagine/. *t the time I was also putting together the content for the workshop 2which took about a year and a half altogether to brainstorm, write the lecture notes, record the videos, and design the assignments3, and those ten tips became the philosophical foundation of the workshop’ workshop’ss creative vision.

 

 Art by Rob Chang

1ver the years, a lot of people have read r ead those original ten tips in the *rt echniques echniques + heories subforum, in Imagine/ maga0ine, and repostings repostings on the web, but there are still a lot of people who don’t know about these tips and could benefit immensely from them. %o it is with that in mind these tips are now published in this article. It is my hope these tips will help aspiring artists who are feeling lost and frustrated and could really use some guidance from someone who understands the psychological4emotional struggles that they

 

are going through and can lead them out of the dark and help them fulfill their aspirations. If that description fits you, then read on. $hen you’re done, make sure you visit the *rt echniques echniques + heories subforum at cgtalk for more helpful tips on effective artistic development. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask, and if you want in-depth critiques on your work, just post in the $I5 subforums at cgtalk 2I’m active in the &D $I5  $I5 subforum, but if you have 6D works you want critiqued, you can send me a private message about it3.

Now, on to those ten tips.

1) )uckle 1) )uckle down and really learn the foundations 2composition, perspective, anatomy4figure, color theory,, values4lighting, etc.3. 7ou theory 7ou cannot really call yourself a competent artist until you have done so. Ideally you should not only learn them, but master them, and when you do, you8re not merely competent, but confident and authoritative as well. his doesn’t just apply to beginners, but also advanced and professional artists as well. 9any e!perienced artists have glaring weaknesses:for weaknesses:for e!ample, an artist may be great at inanimate objects and landscapes, but his anatomy and figure is lagging far behind. $e $e could all gain from strengthening our foundation knowledge and skills, and I definitely have my own weaknesses I need to work on. 2) )reak out of tunnel vision. If you are obsessed with anime4manga, superhero comics, photorealism, or any kind of specific style and have not been e!posed to or have e!plored fully other art movements, styles, cultures, and time periods, then you need to become more wellrounded. unnel-vision unnel-vision is creatively crippling and it breeds imitation and homogeni0ed artists who can8t think outside the established bo!. "ross pollinating and hybridi0ing various art styles and influences is the healthiest and most creatively interesting. 3) Don8t 3) Don8t be a mindless artist. hink about why you are creating. Is your only interest to make ;cool shit; and ;hot babes;< Do you even have something to say as a human being living in a comple!

 

society< Is everything about your creative works completely disposable and meaningless< If you are only serving the basest level of gratification, never involving the higher motivations like intellect or emotions, then maybe it8s time to dig a little deeper. 7ou have a soul--use it. his isn’t just about being deep:it’s about quality. or e!ample, the difference between crass and shallow scifi4fantasy4horror films and cinematic masterpieces is usually in how much heart and soul the creators poured into the writing.

John Singer Sargent 

4) Don8t 4) Don8t slavishly copy reality--we invented the camera for that. *s artists, we have the power to styli0e, e!aggerate, simplify, simplify, selectively detail, ideali0e, use abstract and surreal approaches--it would be a shame to not utili0e those powers. I8d rather see works that have obvious artistic footprints left by the artist, than works that could be mistaken for photographs. *rtists like =ohn %inger %argent, =oaquin %orolla, >ichard %chmid, #ustav ?limt, @icolai echin...etc are far more interesting to me than artists whose works are so uptight and rendered to death that all the e!pressiveness, e!pressivene ss, spontaneity, spontaneity, and life has been snuffed out. 2If your job requires photo-realism, then a job is a job, but what about your personal worksome was not built in a day. working smart to get good. illing up a sketchbook or two means nothing in the grand scheme of things:it takes so much more. *rtists don8t just draw a few do0en heads and then get it right--they draw hundreds and thousands over the years, decades, and they don8t do it mindlessly--they are studying the underlying bone structure and muscle shapes, the effects of various facial e!pressions, lighting conditions, age, the idiosyncrasies of ethnicities, etc. *nd that8s just the human head. he  journey to becoming becoming a good artist is in reality more like a lifelong journey of creative fulfillment. fulfillment. ) Aearn ) Aearn to take criticism. *n artist living among other people will get comments, and if you cannot take criticism you will be miserable. reat criticism as valuable arsenal for your growth. $hen you get both negative and positive comments, you should be grateful and behave graciously. * bruised ego is an ego that8s being conditioned to be stronger and more open-minded. If you cannot see

 

beyond your bruised ego, you will become crippled by it. *s a beginner, you may not get very ver y helpful critique other than keep learning your foundations, and this is because at your level, everything you do is wrong. ?eep learning the foundations and you’ll automatically improve.

in--history,, politics, religion, !) )e !) )e a well-rounded person. Aearn about the world we live in--history economics, science, literature, music, photography, photography, film...etc. 7 7ou8d ou8d be surprised how the world is interconnected and so many things have direct or indirect relationships with each other beyond your initial understanding. he more insight you have about the world we live in, the better artist you will be. 9aintain healthy relationships, since family family,, friends, and lovers often form the core of our emotional e!pression as human beings and as artists. *n intellectually and emotionally sterile or vacant person will have very little to offer as an artist. )eing close-minded, ignorant, ignorant, and disconnected is nowhere near as fulfilling as being open-minded, knowledgea knowledgeable, ble, and connected. our personality may not be suited to become a good artist. If you are impatient, i mpatient, cannot sit still, 10) 7our 10) 7 lose focus quickly, quickly, easily frustrated, lack motivation, cannot take criticism, wants only instant gratification and unwilling to pay your dues, then you won8t become a good artist. $hether you’re talented is not the deciding factor--it8s whether you can work hard4smart, and your ability to persevere through hardship, frustration, self-loathing, and discouragement that will determine your chances of success. 7ou must also embrace the entire journey. If you’re always miserable instead of enjoying the process, then maybe you love the idea of being an artist but your personality isn’t suited for it. If that describes you, don’t feel bad. 7ou 7ou might discover something else out there that you’re passionate about and actually enjoy the process as well. *s you can see, these tips cover not only the practical concerns of becoming a better artist, but also the emotional, psychological, and philosophical aspects. I mentioned previously that these ten tips were the basis in which my workshop grew out of, and essentially, essentially, )ecoming a )etter *rtist is a lot like taking all ten tips and breaking them down into lessons that could be taught in a logical manner, and then on top of that, add other important i mportant content such as the critical foundations of visual art, professional techniques and workflows, approaches to developing a compelling creative vision, and optimal strategies for artistic growth and career development. he goal was to create a holistic art education e!perience that’s that’s unlike any other out there. I have taught close to a thousand students since &'(', any many of them have told me that the most precious lessons they learned from my workshop were things they were never taught in art schools or other online courses.

 

 

 Art by Rob Chang

 

I have been helping fellow artists in my free-time long before I started teaching the workshop, so even if you never take my workshop, I’ll still help you however I can, so just ask whatever questions you have or post your work for in-depth critiques in the cgtalk subforums I mentioned. *nd if you decide to take my workshop, then I’m looking forward to seeing you in the classroom and developing a long-term relationship that will continue into the future, as I have done with my alumni students over the years. I still mentor them regularly in the private alumni forum created especially for my workshop, and it’s a wonderful tight-knit community where people love to help each other, no questions go unanswered, and no one is mistreated or ignored. >emember, whether you end up living a fulfilling life of creativity depends on the attitude you >emember, choose to do the traveling with. %o travel with an open-mind, a kind and sincere heart, and keep that passion burning.