What can i do to become an artist?

Hello Alexis,
the first thing you can do is to first figure out what exactly you love drawing. It may sound odd, but believe me, I would draw almost anything and was later confused at what I liked drawing. Once you figured it out, start by practicing the three simple shapes which are: CIRCLE, SQUARE, and TRIANGLE. After those, comes the forms, which are: SPHERE, CUBE, CYLINDER, PYRAMID and CONE. These simple shapes and forms are everywhere, in everything, because they are the building blocks of the subject, it does not matter if it's a bird, dog, car, or building. Having these in mind, you can draw anything. you can look into your school and see what art classes they offer, taking those can help. Also, look into your schools library and public library for books on how to draw, following the exercises in them help you better understand on how to approach a drawing. But most important, practice. With out it, you will never get any good, professional artists keep on practicing to keep their skill sharp and to keep getting better. There is an artist named Alphonso Dunn, he is on Youtube, check out his video called, 7 basic lines of drawing, he covers the shapes I mentioned, and 6 more important things that you can learn at art school, do check out his other videos, they are really helpful. So it is a win-win because you can get a head start. And last, don't get mad or sad because your drawings are not great like someone else. I guarantee, they're drawings did no look like as they are now, because we all have to work to get to the next level. Good luck Alexis, work hard, keep on researching and asking for advice, and go for those scholarships and grants for college.

Hi Alexis,
As others have stated, keep a sketch book with you and draw the world around you. You may be drawn to specific subject matter and find you are best at that. I love to draw trees and landscapes. I find portraits very challenging. You have the option to take classes or use books for self learning to improve your drawing skills. You can also try different mediums to draw with. Led pencil, colored pencil, charcoal, pastels, ink to name a few. Take whatever classes in school you can. Other organizations such as libraries, private classes, art studios are other venues, depending on your financial sitiuation. If you are going into college, you may want to start at a community college. This may save you $ and still provide good instruction and introduction to new materials and techniques. This will help you expand your awareness of possibilities as an artist and possible art careers. I started at a community college and had great teachers. I learned a lot and it helped me understand which type of career I might want to pursue, before going for a specific career. If you know specifically which mediums and type of art career you would like, then you could apply to a school that has a good reputation for the outcomes students have related to job skills, job placement opportunities for that career. I hope this helps in some way. THe more you draw, the better you will get. Don't compare yourself to others and how they draw. Everyone has their own voice and different people appreciate and like different styles and techniques. Good Luck!.

Hi Alexis,

It's great to hear that you love to draw and want to become an artist. The best piece of advice that I can give you is to practice. I know a lot of kids start out by copying art that they see or have access to. I used to copy poses and images that I liked in comic books. But it's better to learn the basics and foundations and draw from real life. Bring a sketch book with you wherever you go and sketch interesting things that you see.

School is definitely a great way to expand upon this as well and so here's a link to the US News and World Report list of top fine art universities (it's specifically for graduate programs but is applicable for undergraduate as well I think):

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-fine-arts-schools/fine-arts-rankings?int=aa0a09

I hope that this gives you a good place from which to start. Good luck with your path to becoming a professional artist!

Hi Alexis, I believe you should begin by taking any drawing classes you can get in,in school,your public library,community center,or google any art group in your area.I draw everyday,and I keep a sketchbook of all my work.There are groups on facebook that share there journaling notebooks all the time so you can share your work and get feedback.I also also used to draw from other artists to learn how to draw.This is a old way of learning and time honored.I now do my art fulltime doing science work,drawing bugs,fish,birds,and such for science projects of all kinds.This is a joy for me,I hope you persue your art fully and keep drawing!

Dear Alex,
Drawing has many form. I draw all day, but do not use pencil or brush. I use a computer. You see just like animals, there are many different types of artists. But we all have this in common. We love color and shapes and settings, backdrops, subjects and a theme. Draw what you love drawing. it can be a box, a mountain, a bird or a horse. A person, flowers or like me, furniture and beds, rooms and houses.We all have an artist's style, you will discover and develop yours when you draw you favorite subject. Let me know if this helped, O.K.?

Hi Alexis,
My first answer is practice. Practice, Practice, Practice. You're good at drawing, have you taken any classes to improve, self-taught, does it come naturally? You need to have a portfolio, a group of different kinds of pieces, that are your best to show off. Depending on where you go and the Art you want to do, who you may see will have different opinions on the work, I applied to one college, before that I went to MICA just to show my start of a portfolio, two different times-two different portfolios. Do you enjoy illustration drawing or something not as crisp and clean, like Fine Art? Most likely wherever you go will allow you to explore different classes for the first year before you choose your major. Sorry for all the questions and no real answers, but take time to narrow down to more questions, I knew i always wanted to work with color back when i was in middle school, I wanted to create my own fictional novel, creating the illustrations myself, characters and everything. I took classes to learn the traditional side of art and I fell in love, Portrait art became my favorite thing in the world, I still wanted to learn illustration but I was happy where i was because it meant a wider audience. Now where i am doesn't stop me from doing everything i can get my hands on. Keep exploring, practice, have variety of work. For school, while your looking think about where it is, how big it is, the focus of the school, for artist it's about connections, community as well as where you want the art you make will go.