How to Get Better at Concept Art. Really.

what's up guys this is Hardy from digital painting Studio developing art skills is hard it can take years it can be frustrating and it can feel more like a chore than the fun self-expressive relaxation experience that it's supposed to be so today let's chat about navigating that how to get better at Art how not to quit so mindsets and philosophies that I've collected over the years but also some actionable real steps that you can take and these are some things that continue to have huge impacts in my own development and a lot of these come from observations that I've made as an art Mentor there just seems to be certain things that really successful art students all seem to be doing in common so let's try to lift the lessons out of that and I'm going to try to keep this as fluff-free as possible I'll try very hard to avoid platitudes like don't give up on your dreams but don't give up on your dreams okay when evaluating how best to learn art and improve quickly the first question that we usually ask ourselves is should I go to art school is it possible to get really good without it well let's look at this from a self-teaching angle because I think the line of art school or no art school is a little blurrier than we might think when it comes to actual real learning when when those real moments of gaining skills and knowledge when you're really getting command over something I think it's always self-teaching and here's what I mean you can sit through four years of University lectures and you can take amazing notes you can really participate or on the other side you can watch 10 hours of art YouTube a day but the real moment when all of that information actually becomes your knowledge your skill those moments are going to occur when it's just you at your desk probably way late at night messing around with a project and suddenly it will just click oh now I get it you know value edge control it really works it's like you can be told something and you can even believe it you can write it down and think you know it but until you actually figure it out for yourself it will be purely academic so the first takeaway today is we learn to do by doing real steps forward mostly seem to happen when you have these late night epiphanies that make you realize that that thing you heard years ago was true you just had to discover it again for yourself and now that lesson that skill is really yours forever foreign so we have to find a way to set ourselves up to make those epiphanies happen so let's talk about consistency now seeing meaningful Improvement in your art takes time there's there's really no way around that we can't Matrix the information into our brain it has to be your hand holding the tool going through the motions over and over again or you simply won't see progress and to use that gym metaphor you know you can you can join a gym you can buy a whole room of workout equipment but you're never going to get in better shape if you don't use them but life is busy everybody has jobs bills family and relationships to maintain so how do we magically create these extra practice hours while keeping the wheels of life turning for that we have a a time-honored little life hack you simply carve some space out of your weekly schedule for some sacrosanct hard time distraction free time that belongs to you and your art and no one else and maybe just an hour a day where you can just be totally dialed in but you have to really commit to this it can't feel optional and you have to make sure that the times that you choose are something that can be respected by the people in your life so you know your friends have to know that you're not available to come hang out during these hours or you know sorry you can't bother mom or dad now they're working and look I know this is a hard ask you're likely already tired after work or if you're a parent after getting your kids to sleep and you probably just want to you know relax watch Netflix play video games but even the busiest people can usually find a one-hour Gap in their schedule so try and think through your day see where that might be for you and really try and nail that down for your art now you've probably heard that one before committing hours really committing to learning something that's you know that's not a new idea but I have a flip side to this that I think is just as important so artists who feel strongly motivated to improve quickly like really intense eager artists who who want to do it they actually have a tendency to way overdo it so make sure to have time blocks in your week where art is specifically not allowed for me that is the weekend and unplugging just kind of getting your brain out of Art and just taking a break is critical and not just to avoid burnout you actually learn more effectively when you mix consistency in your practice time with consistency of your break time it's like those pauses between active learning sessions it lets the new information the new muscle memory in your hand really like file itself away neatly in your brain you end up learning more quickly and more meaningfully than if you just go all out all the time so consistency of practice time and consistency of rest foreign next let's talk about the idea of perfection now artists and I am talking about myself too here we are neurotic we live in our heads I think way more than most people and when we think about the long-term Arc of our development as artists it can be really easy to think of the ultimate goal the top of the mountain as a state of perfection like one day I will be so skillful and so knowledgeable that I'll be able to paint anything perfectly the internet will just explode every time I post something and I'll be turning away job offers from AAA companies well here's something that you definitely already know but that we all still need to hear there is no perfection in art no day will come when you are just done getting better at Art it's this never-ending journey and actually can you imagine how horrifying it would be if you ever reached the end of art like sorry you have reached maximum level try something else now it'll be terrible so instead let's do something that leads to a much healthier learning headspace Embrace imperfection there's a Japanese philosophy called wabi-sabi which centers around finding the beauty in imperfect and impermanent things I really like that it helps me keep my work loose to think that way it keeps things expressive and in fact I've noticed that most of my art Idols their work is just a mess of brush Strokes it's the farthest thing from Perfection but it's awesome so the takeaway the thing you can actually use in your own development from this is when you are practicing art make sure that you are just practicing for you practice work has permission to be ugly the most meaningful valuable piece of art that you ever create might be one that you never want to show anyone it's just this ugly exercise where you had a breakthrough so don't paint for the internet don't paint for likes paint with a specific goal of taking one step forward for yourself get one percent better today thank you [Music] and that idea of challenging yourself brings us to the Comfort Zone here's the main thing behind this if your art isn't changing it probably isn't growing and this is hard especially when you reach a certain skill level and things start feeling like they're finally working for you it's like you decide I've arrived I'm done and that makes you immediately take your foot off the gas it makes you stop stretching and experimenting and that's why so many artists Plateau they kind of end up in this middle Zone and they feel like they've reached some ceiling that they can't break through this is maybe the most common concern I get when mentoring another artist something like my work is good but I don't feel like I'm getting better and I don't think I'm ever going to reach Pro level skills so when you feel stuck it's time to blow it all up try another approach try another tool a new technique a new teacher something to just get you out of the rut that you have worn down by sticking with the same formula for too long in this piece of advice is really hard for me this is the hardest one for me to practice what I preach because I like my work and honestly I've been doing this for a while now and sometimes I just want to stay in this nice comfy box that I have built for myself I don't feel like taking it all apart and learning a new way forward but every time I just get over myself long enough to try something new like a new brush setting a new tool or like working from light to dark instead of dark to light I almost always love the results and I learned something new that has lasting value I always wonder why didn't I do this years ago foreign [Music] I'll leave you with is huge support and accountability learning entirely on your own just isn't as fast or as effective and many artists are real introverts we prefer our private inner worlds which can lead into these Lone Wolf learning mentalities and that's totally fine you're going to spend lots of hours with just yourself when you choose the art path but it shouldn't be entirely on your own try to find a small and trusted group to give you constructive but honest feedback on your work as the awesome art YouTuber Kelsey Rodriguez put it find some art friends who will lovingly rip your Works to shreds rather than just seeking out empty compliments this group also keeps you accountable right it motivates you to get the work done makes you stick to your plan because you don't want to let anyone down most of us are all too willing to let ourselves down but if a friend is counting on us we deliver so use that [Music] I hope you find a few of these helpful these things really made a big difference for me I'll be back again soon with a new video but in the meantime good luck with your artwork paint something cool today 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Channel: Hardy Fowler - Digital Painting Studio

Views: 232,399

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Id: QsExS5d9dSI

Length: 13min 55sec (835 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 28 2022