Advice for Artists

Not too often, but at least once a month, I spend some time in the forums. I noticed that a popular topic was 'how to become popular on dA' (no pun intended). Here are some suggestions from my end of the spectrum. More on how to become a better artist in general and promote your art more efficiently (but I guess those are the key steps in becoming popular on dA, heh).


1. Post your art in as many places as you can


After posting a deviation, dA makes it easy to post it to other sites. Make an account on pinterest, tumblr, etc. Don't worry if you can't tend to it much, the point is you want your art in as many places as possible. This heightens the chance of people seeing your art, some of these users might even be on dA, as well.

Other suggestions are instagram, artician.

2. Focus on what you're good at

While it's fun to dabble in different mediums, the more mediums you work with, the less time you are spending "mastering" any one of them. I'd say 2 mediums at most. And if you really want to try other mediums, do so just once or twice a month. If you're a master of time management or just have tons of free time, then you may be lucky enough to pull off working with multiple mediums. Of course, if you're working with 'mixed media', this probably doesn't apply to you.

3. Use References



sketch I did today of standup comic Raj Sharma

In my opinion, there's nothing to be proud about if you're not using references. You're just depriving yourself of an extremely useful resource that will make your art better. Yes, there are a lot of people that may judge you for doing it. But if you keep using references, your art skill will increase over time, much more than artist who doesn't use them. It will be evident in your drawings, improved anatomy, perspective, depth etc.

4. Keep a Small Notebook



that's my notebook with stickers from Toys r' us on it lol

The best ideas will come at times when you are not able to draw them. Keep a small notebook with you at all times to write them down and even make small thumbnails to help remind you. Writing things down also begins the creation process. For me, I am more likely to see things to completion when I begin them by sketching a thumbnail or simply writing a description. My notebook is full of these, and that just means I'm going to have thousands of artworks in the future.

5. Be Inspired by Others

I'm always looking at the art of people I admire. Lokman Lam lokmanlam, Niccolo Balce robotnicc, Derrick Chew dcwj, Jace Wallace Jace-Wallace, to name a few. Never be discouraged by how much better others are than you. Think that whatever everyone else is capable of, you are, too. We're all human, we can achieve the same things.



I'll update this if I can think of more.

Gift Art