10 Things I Wish I'd Known as a Beginner Artist - Don't Make These Mistakes!
Whether you’re just starting out or trying to see where you can improve, I wrote this list to provide an insight into what I wish I would’ve done when starting out with art and how you can learn from my mistakes to help you in your own artistic journey. These are the 10 things I wish I would have known as a beginner artist.
1. PATIENCE
One of the most important things to learn not just in art, but in life, is patience. As an artist, your entire skillset revolves around being patient. Whether it’s with your process, learning and studying, or working with clients as a commission artist, you need the ability to calm down and know that making great art doesn’t usually happen overnight. Think about what patience looks like for you. Take time in your process to appreciate what you’re doing. Be mindful of what you learn and what techniques you use. Don’t try to rush yourself into a certain style or way of drawing. Take your time in what you do and it will pay off.
2. MINDFULLY COMPARE
Comparison is always a double-edged sword. That’s why when you find yourself comparing who you are, your abilities, or your work with someone else, take a step back to be mindful. Make sure you’re comparing for better and not for the worst. Use other people’s work to motivate, teach, or inspire you to do better in your own work, not in a way that puts down your own abilities or makes you feel bad. Remember that everyone’s journey is at different points and realize that most of the time the people or work that you see on social media is just the filtered version of themselves they’re okay with people seeing. You’re probably not going to see the hundreds of works in progress photos or failed attempts that got them to the level you see them present publicly unless that’s something they’re intentional in sharing.
3. FIND COMMUNITY
This is definitely something I still struggled with until recently and a reason I decided to start sharing my work on YouTube. It can be so beneficial to your productivity, creativity, and sanity as an artist if you surround yourself with other people who are actively creating. Reach out to and surround yourself with other artists and creative people, no matter their skill level. I believe everyone can provide a learning opportunity regardless of their skill. I know for me personally, before COVID, I'd link up with some local artist friends I have and we'd host a Drink and Draw where we hangout and all work on drawing something on our own or collaboratively. This is a super fun way to not only network and relax, but also share ideas and get critique from other artists. Whether this means making friends who are artists, networking, joining a class, or a mastermind group, just find other people who motivate you to improve and help to keep you accountable.
4. EMBRACE CRITIQUE
Another way to improve your work is to embrace critique. Embracing critique doesn’t mean that you listen and conform to every critique you get. It’s important as an artist to be mindful of the difference between constructive criticism and just criticism. Think about who you are, what your art is, and what you want it to be. If a critique someone gives you doesn’t help you in your journey to get there, leave it on the cutting room floor. Maybe you can come back to it later.
Just be conscious of picking and choosing which critique you accept. Stay open to new perspectives and viewpoints, as I said before, learn from anyone regardless of their skill level. Everyone has their own valuable perspective influenced by their own visual experiences, so you’re sure to find something you never considered before.
5. LEARN TO LOVE THE PROCESS
If you’re in being an artist for the long haul, you’re going to eventually need to learn how to love the process. This goes tenfold for if you’re looking to make a career in creating. If you don’t love what you do, why are you doing it? If it’s not something you love, you’re doing it for the wrong reason and you’re going to eventually burn out. 90% of your work is going to be the process. That could be the creative process or the process you take to improve to get to a level where you’re happy with your work, but it’s going to account for the majority of what you do, so learn to love it. Don’t work for just the end goal because there’s no guarantee it’ll turn out how you envisioned or how you wanted it to, so be patient and appreciate the journey to get there.
6. EXPAND YOUR WORLDVIEW / VISUAL LIBRARY
One of the most critical skills of a good creator is drawing influence. What are the things you love? What inspires you? What experiences and memories have influenced your work? You can be the best artist, but if you don’t have the lived experience and visual library that adds life to your art, it’s not going to be as good as it could be. Sure, you can think of what a tree looks like and imagine the symbol you associate with it in your head. But if you’ve never seen a tree in person, you can’t comprehend the same level of shape, form, detail, and life that comes from a tree or it’s movements.
A lot of artists have the impression that all of their time should be dedicated to sitting in their room or office drawing away, but a good chunk of the creative process should be going out in the world and expanding not only your experiences but your visual library. This is what will allow you to recreate reality in a way that’s not only convincing but already has emotion behind it, drawn from your own memories. This is where creativity and storytelling come from, so make sure you’re making time to go out in the world and study.
