Attention: This post has been written by @pixielolz

It's a common misconception to believe that artists are good at what they do simply because they have talent. That they were somehow born with their skills, and that they are lucky they are that good. 

While that may be true in a few cases, it is not true for most artists. Talent only describes one persons potential, practice and hard work is what eventually matters. So behind every talent, and every artists, lies hours and hours of hard work.

This is a good thing - it means that everyone can learn how to draw. That drawing is a learnable skill, just like playing guitar or dancing.  

I started drawing a year ago, and have already made great progress. The reason for this is solely because I have invested a lot of time and effort into my drawing. Whenever I get a new interest, I always go all in. I get hyper focused on it and spend as much time on it as I can. I drew a lot, but I also spent a lot of time getting inspiration from other artist and studying the world around me. I started noticing the proportions and shapes of different objects around me. Exploring how different lighting affected their colors and shadows. Observing real life objects like this helped me get a better understanding of how to sketch, color and shade my drawings.

My tips for anyone wanting to learn how to draw:

• Find out what inspiseres you. Seek out artists that you like and study their artwork. Think about what it is exactly that you like about the art and why it inspiseres you.
• Join an art community, either online or a local club. Being part of a community gives great motivation to keep on drawing. It's very motivating seeing what other people manage to make, and getting feedback when you share your artwork is encouraging as well.
• Draw the things you like. Don't spend time on drawing fruit bowls if that doesn't interest you. It is much more satisfying spending time drawing something you are interested in. 
• Sketch whenever you can. The more you draw, the better you will become. 
• Take your time. Don't expect to be able to draw a new object in no time. It takes time understanding the shape and proportions of the object and getting it down on paper. 
• Experience with different techniques. This can be especially helpful if you feel stuck and unmotivated. 
• Use references and observe the world around you. Break down the objects you are drawing into different shapes and parts, and take notice of how the light and shadow are behaving.
• Your mistakes are part of your learning. Allow yourself to make mistakes and learn from them. They will teach you a lot.
• Document your progress. This can be really encouraging at times where you feel you're stuck and not getting any better. Look back at where you were a couple of months ago, an I bet you'll see some progress.
• Most importantly – Have fun! ^_^  

Same animal - 10 months apart

October 2015

This drawing was made with Prismacolor pencils on Strathmore Toned Gray paper. It was the first semi-realistic drawing I made, and I worked on it for several days. I still love it today, but it's very encouraging seeing the progress I've made with my last Sphynx.

August 2016

For this drawing I used Copic Markers, white gel pen, and a tiny bit of Prismacolor Pencils on Arches Hot Press Watercolor paper. I'm very happy about how the Sphynx turned out, and how much detail I was able to put into it, compared to what I managed to do 10 months ago.

 

Postface

If you want to know more about me, check out my:

• Introduction post
• Steemit blog
• Instagram: @pixielolz
• Etsy: www.PixielolzArt.etsy.com

 

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Attention: This post has been written by @pixielolz

@knozaki2015 features authors and artist to promote them and a diversity of content. https://steemit.chat/channel/academy (if you want to get in touch) 

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