How do I prioritize what to practice?

[CoatiNasu]

I want to get better with my art, but every time that I decide to practice I get overwhelmed by how many things I could study. Choosing to study one thing means giving up on studying something else in that time.

My thought process ends up being like this: "I like drawing people, and I want to be a character animator, so, maybe a figure drawing? Or maybe should I just focus on the face and facial expressions? Well, I always find it hard to draw clothes so maybe it should be smarter to focus on clothing this time. Should I try a black and white photo just to train values and shading or should I practice with color? But I haven't studied backgrounds and environments for a long while, I'm definitely lacking some skills there. But then should I study composition? Values? Textures? A city or nature? Somewhere vast or a little corner? What if I draw a scenery with people in it so that I train both things at the same time? What about perspective??"

Then I get overwhelmed, spend 2 hours looking for a reference pic, draw a shitty copy of a face and get sad.

I feel like I need a structure, something to follow, something to tell me what to study that day. Or else I'll just not improve never

[BillyRedSnake]

Step 1: Draw a picture, any picture really, the first scene that pops into your mind.

Step 2: Take a quick look at it and make a note of the first thing you think of that you could've done better.

Step 3: Practice that thing until you're competent at it and then start the process again from step one.

[fl00k]

Just to add if you are not a self starter YET, join an art group for direction

[kmau]

At 10/23/20 12:37 AM, CoatiNasu wrote: I feel like I need a structure, something to follow, something to tell me what to study that day. Or else I'll just not improve never

There is no single correct structure to follow, but if you aspire to be a character animator I'd just draw characters and do studies of certain bodyparts and clothing on the side - faces, hands and feet in particular, but just do anything.

Get a physical sketchbook so you can do quick studies on the go, like random people in the subway and I highly recommend attending live drawing sessions to study poses (may not be available due to Corona?).

While you draw full characters you will naturally run into obstacles you can apply those studies to.

The sketchbook is not strictly for dedicated studies, but also for scribbling down whatever pops into your mind so you think less and draw more.

[Tapersteve]

Draw every thing and everything will make you more rounded than just one subject matter leaving you the whole world and things you blend together... practicing art is a life long class your always growing

[Oddlem]

Tbh I feel like you're overthinking it, I dont think anyone can handle studying a ton and then memorizing it all without getting information overload. Just find enjoyment in doodling and go from there.

I wanna say first that I'm not that great myself and have a lot to learn about art, but I spent years and years of drawing stuff figures with bad anatomy (even tho I'd study a ton!!) and for the longest time, there was no huge improvement. In the last couple of months or so I said ef it and took what I studied over years and years and just drew every day. That wassss 2 months ago I think??

In the span of 2 months and drawing almost every day and finding enjoyment in drawing, I improved more than I did over the span of years. Plspls find a balance between having fun drawing and learning, eventually itll bleed into each other and you'll learn while you have fun drawing

[DARKRYAN]

While studying does help, what generally helps people improve the most is just jumping straight into drawing/practicing. Don't think too much about where you should start. Instead, simply start. Even without any goal in mind, just start. Otherwise, you'll stay stuck in a mindset where you block yourself from doing anything. As for looking for references and copying them, you're most-likely comparing your work to the references as oppose to using them as a sort of starting guideline. Do not compare your work to that of others'. The references are from people who've had plenty of practice in that field, most-likely being several years of experience. Even then, though, they're only references. They aren't "perfection," in the sense that they're what you "should" strive for. So if your work doesn't look like a good copy, don't worry about it. That's completely normal. After all, you aren't those artists, nor should you strive to be an imitation of them.

If you want a good idea on how to start, do so with quick sketches. 2, 5, and/or 10 minute sketches are very useful in getting a good flow started. Also, make the quick sketches small enough that you can do several sketches on the same page/project file. If you make a sketch that you like and feel like refining it some more afterwards, it'll be there for you to come back to. Also, keep in mind that warm-ups are recommended before jumping straight into a project that you intend on spending a lot of time on/finishing. The flow from the warm-ups will help in keeping you from burning yourself out faster.

It sounds odd, but I'd suggest watching an anime called "Shirobako." It's an anime about anime production, but covers several of the hardships that artists face. It can give you some ideas on what habits/mindsets to adapt to or avoid, as well as how to go about getting things started. I hope you find this response useful, and wish you the best of luck in your art. :3.

[NiteOwlX]

I'm not sure I'm the best help but what I done to start practicing my art is make a Pinterest and look up stuff to practice and to put them in a board so I can save them for later

[JordanKinsley]

for me what helps is drawing something and see what im lacking in skill and then just practice that.

for example, I been wanting to draw cute anime pin ups, then I realized I don't know why the arms look off, so I did a study on drawing arms 2 minutes each until the page was full.

now im realizing that ill keep getting in the flow of, draw a piece im proud of, study it til I see where I could do better, practice that skill, then watch some tutorial... repeat

it also helps if you have a community of artists that will give honest critiques to help you see your flaws