4 answers
Cheeky
Student
22
Questions
Asked
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What should I do is I want to start with an arts career?
I don't know where to start and I can't do most of my arts on devices yet, but I want to build up skills I can on paper with pencil and pen like anatomy and.... Yeah, no clue how or where to start! SOS!
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3 answers
Dr H
Dr. H's Research
1334
Answers
Australia
Updated
Dr’s Answer
Alright Cheeky, first things first—don’t freak out, you’ve got this💪! If you want to build skills on paper and get those artsy muscles flexing, start with the basics. Grab a sketchbook and just draw everything—people, places, animals, objects. It doesn’t need to be perfect; think of it as getting your creative juices flowing.✨🙌
Since you’re into anatomy, that’s a solid start! Study the basic structure of the human body—don’t get too caught up in details right away, just focus on the proportions and general shapes. You can find tons of anatomy books or online resources to guide you. Websites like Proko or even YouTube have some killer tutorials. If you want to really level up, practice gesture drawing—this helps you capture movement and form quickly (don’t worry, it doesn’t need to be pretty at first).
And while you’re at it, try a few still life drawings (objects around you). It’ll teach you shading, depth, and how to see things differently. Oh, and keep experimenting! Try things with pencil, ink, and even adding some color with watercolors or markers to see what feels right.
In the meantime, don’t stress about the digital side of things. Building skills with pencil and pen will give you a solid foundation, and when you’re ready for digital art, the transition will be smoother.
Most importantly? Keep having fun with it. It’s all about growth, so just dive in, make mistakes, and watch yourself improve! ✏️
All the best lemme know if I missed anything hope this clears a little something!
Since you’re into anatomy, that’s a solid start! Study the basic structure of the human body—don’t get too caught up in details right away, just focus on the proportions and general shapes. You can find tons of anatomy books or online resources to guide you. Websites like Proko or even YouTube have some killer tutorials. If you want to really level up, practice gesture drawing—this helps you capture movement and form quickly (don’t worry, it doesn’t need to be pretty at first).
And while you’re at it, try a few still life drawings (objects around you). It’ll teach you shading, depth, and how to see things differently. Oh, and keep experimenting! Try things with pencil, ink, and even adding some color with watercolors or markers to see what feels right.
In the meantime, don’t stress about the digital side of things. Building skills with pencil and pen will give you a solid foundation, and when you’re ready for digital art, the transition will be smoother.
Most importantly? Keep having fun with it. It’s all about growth, so just dive in, make mistakes, and watch yourself improve! ✏️
All the best lemme know if I missed anything hope this clears a little something!
Kieren Kardos
I am a Game Artist. I work with 3D Modeling, Texturing, Animation.
2
Answers
Winter Park, Florida
Updated
Kieren’s Answer
Hello,
Honing your traditional skills into a career can be quite challenging at times. Luckily if you have the passion and motivation, which it's seems like you do, then you are already on the right track!
If you're wanting to study anatomy I'd suggest trying to do live drawing. Go around to different places and use real people as reference. I like to use a 30-1-5-10 rule. Sketch someone or something for 30 seconds then switch to another prospect and draw for a minute, then 5 minutes, then 10 minutes. I do this to wake up my hands and start grasping what I want to draw.
If you cannot go out and draw there are plenty of ways to find reference online. My favorite website for speedy references is https://line-of-action.com/practice-tools . It can be very helpful for warming up and the settings can be customized to what you need.
When it comes to making a career out of this it can be challenging. Finding a style that fits yourself as well as gaining the tools can be hard. For myself, I went to school for the specific art field I wanted and it took me a while to find what I wanted to do. It is also completely normal to not know what you want yet. Practicing for now until you have an idea of what you start your career is the best you can do. Maybe start up some freelance practice selling your traditional work. There are many ways to show your work off to the public through social media, custom websites and most importantly through communication. Making connections with people is very important and will get you started with a good reputation. I hope this helps and if you have more questions, please ask.
Honing your traditional skills into a career can be quite challenging at times. Luckily if you have the passion and motivation, which it's seems like you do, then you are already on the right track!
If you're wanting to study anatomy I'd suggest trying to do live drawing. Go around to different places and use real people as reference. I like to use a 30-1-5-10 rule. Sketch someone or something for 30 seconds then switch to another prospect and draw for a minute, then 5 minutes, then 10 minutes. I do this to wake up my hands and start grasping what I want to draw.
If you cannot go out and draw there are plenty of ways to find reference online. My favorite website for speedy references is https://line-of-action.com/practice-tools . It can be very helpful for warming up and the settings can be customized to what you need.
When it comes to making a career out of this it can be challenging. Finding a style that fits yourself as well as gaining the tools can be hard. For myself, I went to school for the specific art field I wanted and it took me a while to find what I wanted to do. It is also completely normal to not know what you want yet. Practicing for now until you have an idea of what you start your career is the best you can do. Maybe start up some freelance practice selling your traditional work. There are many ways to show your work off to the public through social media, custom websites and most importantly through communication. Making connections with people is very important and will get you started with a good reputation. I hope this helps and if you have more questions, please ask.
Kim Matthews
Graphic Production Designer and Sculptor
51
Answers
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Updated
Kim’s Answer
I second Dr. H's answer and am happy to hear that you're interested in anatomy. I'd suggest starting with analog materials though--old-school pencil, paper, ink, torn paper, paints. Working with real materials will give engage your hands and brain in a way that a tablet or desktop won't, and they'll make your digital work stronger, faster. It's easy to get caught up in what a piece of software or hardware can do, which could steer your creative approaches to what's easy to master with those tools. And remember--you can always combine methods. Scan a drawing, a piece of crumpled paper, or other objects, and bring those into your software and see what happens.
Keep it up! It's great to see your questions here.
Keep it up! It's great to see your questions here.
Love this, Kim! Totally agree that starting with real materials gives a solid foundation—nothing beats that hands-on feel. And mixing traditional and digital? Such a cool way to keep things fresh. Definitely a great reminder to just experiment and have fun with it!
Dr H