This journal keeps getting longer as I type it. Anyways, I've been doing some hard thinking lately about my art. I want to get better, and maybe someone reading this wants to as well. Maybe I can help a bit- I can say some things that might help you, and by forcing myself to write them down, I can get them into a clearer view in my own mind.

I'm mainly going to focus on my personal experiences, because I know them the best, and I also think it's less threatening than me saying "HEY, YOU NEED TO DO THIS BECAUSE BLAH BLAH BLAH".

1. Only a few people have talent. For the rest of us, there's effort.

I was reading an interesting article in Scientific American the other day and... no, don't run away! It's not boring, honest!

Anyways, the point was that children who were praised by being told "hey, you're so smart" had more trouble with school later in life, versus children who were told "hey, you must have worked really hard".

In other words, when we ascribe our success to hard work, versus ascribing it to natural talent, we are better able to overcome problems. A person who is convinced they have natural talent, when they encounter a problem will oftentimes get discouraged and quit.

A person who is convinced that hard work is the key to success, when they encounter a problem will frequently look for a way to overcome it by some more hard work- like practice, or review, or asking for help.

I've been thinking about that a lot since I read it. I know deep down inside that the only way I got to where I am was through hard work and practice, so I need to remind myself of that when-ever I find a problem.

I also have to do the second part- I need to look for a way to correct it, to get better. I can't be content with doing what I am- I need to identify the problem, and deal with it.

2. Really look at your artwork. Ask yourself what you like about it and what you don't.

It's funny, for a while when I was drawing I couldn't stand looking at my art after I finished it. I would draw it, ink it, color it, put it out there and then try my best to not look at it. I dunno why- maybe I thought that if I didn't look at it, I wouldn't see all the problems, and if I didn't see all the problems, then they wouldn't be there. Or maybe it was so crap that it wasn't something I wanted to look at.

Neither of those justifications make good sense, however. If I hate a picture, then why would anyone else want to look at it? Why am I getting annoyed that people won't comment on my art if I don't even like it?

I, and a lot of other artists, need to look at our finished works, and ask ourselves:

1. What do I like about this pic?
2. What don't I like?
3. Does this look professional? Is it okay if it doesn't? What level of "unprofessional" is okay?

I know that after a while I get tired of correcting stupid mistakes, and just want to get the darned thing out there. I also know that there are a bunch of pics that I've deleted two months later after uploading because they were crap.

The majority of people reading this are amateurs like me, but that doesn't mean we have to make amateurish art. If what I'm drawing looks bad, rough or cheesy, then maybe I need to figure out why, and fix it. Maybe it's the same for you.

I can't go and say, "well, that guy is a pro, so it's okay that my art looks like junk in comparison". We shouldn't compete as artists, but we should also acknowledge when we aren't doing as well.

If I want people to look at my art, then I need to EARN it. That doesn't mean they will look, but I cannot content myself with mediocrity, something that I do all too often, because that's not a healthy attitude.

So, how to go about fixing it? Well, if there's something I don't understand, it's time to go look for help- look at a photograph, or a pose, or a drawing. One good example is hair. I am working on a picture of a character with long hair and a part not in the middle. After trying to draw it from imagination, I would look at it, and say "hmm, that doesn't quite look right".

My solution was to look at photographs and drawings of similar hairstyles, until I could say "hey, I think I know how it works". I then drew it, and after a few more checks, it looked about right, or at least good enough.

3. A strong foundation makes for a strong building

Things I need to remember:
Practice basic form, over and over again. Understand how everything is made up of basic shapes like boxes, spheres, tubes, etc. Try to visualize the 3d nature of an object. Perspective is hard, but there are lots of books and websites to help.

Look at real things and try to understand how they work and go together.

Look at art that impressed you, art that you liked. When I look at it, I need to ask myself why I liked it, and what I liked about it. I should sketch it, and look at the parts I really liked. I should compare the sketch to the real piece, and see how they are similar and how they differ, and ask why.

Sometimes when I do that, I end up with stuff that really doesn't look much like the art it was based on. Sometimes when I draw from life or photos I see something that doesn't look like the picture. That means I wasn't paying attention, I wasn't seeing the item, and I definitely wasn't picturing it right in my mind.

Some mistakes are style, and some mistakes are just mistakes. I figure that mistakes that look better to my eyes are style, and all the rest are just mistakes. This means I've got lots of mistakes to fix.

I do better when I draw a quick sketch of a pose or scene first. If I dive right in, I often end up with a mess, unless I've really got the image in my mind. Even then sometimes it doesn't work. Layout sketches are lifesavers, I figure.

I hope that at least some of this has been helpful for you. I think it's been helpful for me to get it written down. I am not the only artist out here who has produced sub-par art, and I am not the only one who can improve. If you are like me, then take a good look at your art, and see if you can tighten it up.

That's going to be my Christmas gift to myself.