Every person should make art. You don’t need to be the best at it or make money from your efforts. The important part is that you enjoy the process and engage your “creative muscle”.
That can be hard to do if you feel as if your creativity is lacking. When that’s the case, making art can feel more burdensome and less joyful. That’s when you need to dig deep and begin fostering your creative skills. Here are some tips to help you do that.
Practice Practice Practice
Sometimes when you want to improve your artistic skills, you’ll become discouraged by the multiple talented people who post their work daily on their social media. However, even though it is easy to become discouraged you need to remember that behind every amazing drawing, there are probably at least 100 bad drawings that are never going to see the light of day.
Practice makes perfect, and whether a talented artist is a child or an incredibly old man. They have taken a significant amount of time to nurture and hone those skills to the best of their ability. If you want to improve, you need to ensure that you are setting aside enough time every day to help you improve your skills.
Be Gentle in Your Self Criticisms.
Art is completely subjective for each person, and we all tend to be our own worst critics. A piece of work you see as perfect could have hundreds of tiny details that the person who drew it does not like. As humans, we are not perfect and any piece of work we make is going to have flaws, the issue however is the fact that most of us aren’t going to notice the flaws of others. Don’t put your art down just because of the issues you notice that nobody else notices. Instead, listen to the constructive criticisms that others give you, as that is where the focus of your artworks should be.
Try Out Different Mediums
A great way to improve your artwork is to work on and try out different forms of mediums. Art isn’t limited to just painting, or drawing, there are hundreds if not thousands of mediums that you can use to improve your art skills. Take a shot at oil painting, try something with fibers such as sewing, or even try to make stuff out of completely unconventional things. Such as a self-portrait out of old electronic parts, or a statue made out of board game pieces.
By trying out some different mediums, you will be able to better understand your definition of what art is and find your creative niche.
Watch Speed Painting Videos as well as other tutorials
Sometimes the best way to learn how to improve your creative skills is to watch and learn from others. Tutorials are a great way to learn the basics of art. After all, the point of a tutorial is to quickly teach people how to do things in a sort of mini-lesson.
Then there are speed painting videos, which are essentially a video that showcases the creative process an artist goes through while creating things. There is normally very little, if any, dialogue. However, what it does show is exactly how a person goes through the process of creation. It shows you exactly how they start off a piece of art, all the steps in between, and even the more unconventional steps that a tutorial or book is not going to show you. By watching a speed painting video, you can learn about ways to improve your creative process, as well as other tips and tricks that most people aren’t able to describe in words.
Find Inspiration
Sometimes what you need to help you improve your creative skills is some good inspiration or a muse of some sort. Almost anything can be inspiring to you, all you need to do is go out and look for it. Do you have a favorite cartoon or television show? Draw art of all of your favorite characters. Do you find the way that food looks to be inspiring? Create sculptures of it.
Sewing, weaving, sculpting, drawing, painting, and so much more. Art is a process, and if you aren’t able to stay engaged and interested in that process, you may end up not being able to improve on your art. Find things that inspire you and use them to your advantage.
Check Out Creative Events
Go to your local events page on social media and see what is happening in your area. Creative events such as craft fairs, art galleries, and art classes can be a great way to find ideas for your future creative outlets. As well as find ways for you to better improve your creative skills.
By taking the time to check this out, you will likely find a lot of different creative events happening around you no matter where you are.
Tracing is Good Practice
Most artists tend to get started by tracing works at a very young age. This is because the ability to draw is partly based on muscle memory, and it’s how we learn how to do many things. It’s how we learn to write when we are little, as well as how we learn how to draw simple shapes. Tracing helps to prepare us for those actual projects that we are going to put out. Don’t worry about things like being accused of art theft. So long as you do it as a way to practice, and don’t make claims that it is your art, it is not theft.
Keep a Sketchbook Just for Yourself
Behind every amazing drawing is at least 100 bad ones. Therefore, it is always a good idea for you to keep a sketchbook just for yourself on hand at all times. This sketchbook is for you and only you, nobody should be allowed to see what is inside of it. This is where you practice, this is where you vent out your frustrations in art, and this is where you warm up your art skills to ensure that you are getting the practice that you need. By having a sketchbook for your eyes only, you won’t feel pressured to create art for others, which means you will be able to focus on your creative process.
Always Focus on Your Weakest Skills
Focusing on your weakest skills can be hard at times, after all, it’s hard to do things that you have difficulty doing. But this just means that you need to practice it more. If you find that you struggle with drawing hands, you should focus a lot on hands. If it’s certain types of stitches in embroidery, focus on that. By focusing on your weakest skills whenever you practice, you not only improve your abilities on those skills, but you’ll also improve your artwork in the long run.
You Are Worth The Investment
Guilt can be the enemy of creativity. Each time you try to work on this important skill, you may feel as if you should do something more “productive”. Don’t listen to this voice in your head. The pursuit of creativity is something that is just as worthy as any other effort. More importantly, you are worth the investment.