This is a callout post to everyone who claims that they can’t draw because “they can’t draw a stick figure” or “can’t even draw a straight line”. Yes, technical skills are important, but the heART of art is allowing your imagination to run wild and expressing yourself. You don’t need to be Pablo Picasso to create art you enjoy. Often a little determination is enough to launch an art career (or hobby).

HOW TO BE AN ARTIST

1. Draw.

Congratulations! You’re an artist.

Ok just kidding. Here are some actually useful tips to enhance your artwork that I’ve collected throughout the twelve years of my artistic career.

COLOR

Color is a crucial aspect of an artwork; it’s one of the first things you notice. I could go on and on about color theory, but that would take forever, so here’s an infographic.

Instead, I’ll just share some tips on choosing color schemes.

Monochromatic (one color) color schemes emphasize the one color you have selected. A monochromatic red painting would convey a much different emotion (anger) than a monochromatic blue painting (sadness). A greyscale could create an old-fashioned atmosphere like black-and-white film or a bleak emptiness devoid of color—it’s up to you.

Warm color schemes can create a sense of comfort or fury. Use a lot of reds/oranges/yellows and few blues/greens. When including cool colored elements in a warm color scheme, consider making them grey or only slightly tinted; it will appear blue/green/etc by comparison without clashing with the color scheme. On the other hand, cool color schemes can convey sadness or calmness. Use mainly blues/greens/indigos and use warm colors sparingly. Similarly, you can use grey with a slight tint for warm colored elements to avoid clashing. 

Colors are an important tool at your disposal to emphasize the meaning of your artworks. Even when painting a still life, the slight tint of a color scheme tying it all together can enhance its cohesiveness and sense of unity.

COMPOSITION

Composition is how you arrange the elements in your artwork. It’s how you transform a boring still-life into a dramatic scene. Sure, you can place everything in the center with a white background, but that’s boring. An interesting composition can bring your piece to life.

First, identify a focal point. This is the most important element in the artwork, what you want the viewer to focus on. This can be anything, like a pretty flower, a cute dog, or even a person’s eyes.

Next, you can use the “rule of thirds” to enhance your composition. Split your paper/canvas/whatever into thirds, both horizontally and vertically. Take your focal point and place it on one of the thirds. Ta-da! Your composition is a lot more interesting to look at! 

 

MEDIUM

The medium you use is just as important a choice as your subject matter; the proper medium that suits both your ideas and your skillset can often be the key to taking an artwork from “meh” to “dang”.

Dry media are a good place for beginners to start.

Graphite is your typical pencil and eraser, but you can get fancy with the graphite hardness; harder graphite (H, 2H, etc) makes lighter marks while softer graphite (B, 2B, etc) makes darker marks. There’s also HB,

right in the middle of H and B, for the kind of person who never answers “strongly agree/disagree” on surveys.

Pens come in a wide variety of forms, from ballpoint to gel to fountain pens with ink. I would recommend Sakura Pigma Micron pens for linework (they’re like the skinny Sharpies but better). Ballpoint pens work best for shading because you can get a wide range of values. You can also use them to release your frustrations in a scribble portrait—literally scribble all over the paper until you create an image!

Colored pencil is easy to learn and not too hard to master. You can take your drawings to the next level with techniques such as burnishing and blending with a colorless blender. The general consensus is that Prismacolor is the best brand for colored pencils, so it’s time to throw out your Crayolas cuz we’re getting serious. 

Charcoal is not for the faint of heart or the neat of freaks. It gets everywhere, all over your fingers, under your nails, into your lungs. However, it is erasable unlike paint, so don’t worry if you mess up. It’s also amazing for contrast and speedily whipping up a drawing. You can either leave the marks rough or smooth out the shading using your finger or a blending stump. Soft pastel is very similar to charcoal, but in ~color~!

Wet media, namely paints, are my personal favorite to use.

Watercolor is where most beginners begin; it’s easy and intuitive to use. Dip your brush in water, grab some paint, and go crazy! Typically, you want your brush to be mostly water with just a bit of paint. With watercolor, a little goes a long way. Watercolor is good for quickly laying down soft washes of color, though you can also layer shading to your heart’s content. It’s also great if you’re a month behind on your studio assignments and need to churn out a painting at 3 AM. 

Gouache is another water-based paint that is very similar to watercolor, just much more pigmented and opaque (which is great because that means you can cover up any mistakes!). It is easy to blend as the paint can be reactivated with some water and you can achieve sophisticated realism. It’s like acrylic but water-based.

Acrylic is a relatively cheap paint that dries fast and makes solid, opaque layers. You can use traditional brushes or experiment with a palette knife to create texture. It’s great for expressive mark-making because you don’t need to be as tight with the details like watercolor.

I could go on and on about an endless list of media (you can even use drops of coffee or scraps of trash!), but these are just some basics to get you started. 

 

Again, art is ultimately about expressing your creative voice and doing an activity that makes you happy. That being said, I do recognize that technical skill is a great asset to have, so hopefully these tips are of help to all you aspiring artists out there!