Drawing Tips

 1 - Shading/lighting

I often see many beginner artists use jet-black for shading or putting the shade where the light hits the object, let alone putting shade at all. And then, I end up seeing a lot of people using white for their lighting, which really scares me. (Next time I see someone do that, I will dropkick them into the sun.)

    So please, FOR THE LOVE OF FLAPJACK, PLEASE don't use black or white for shading or light! Use dark blue or purple, or even red for shading. And I find light yellow or a lighter color of the light source's color to work decently.

2 - References

Many people might think using references is stealing, but stealing someone's art and taking a quick look at something aren't the same. In fact, many professional artists use them, and likely still do today. I often use references when I'm drawing something new.

3 - Practice

I know this is the last thing anyone would want to hear, but it really helps. And I don't mean making full, colored, and shaded drawings. I mean you should bring a sketchbook with you and make a few sketches every day or so.

4 - Occasionally get out of your comfort zone

Get outside of your comfort zone! This may be hard, and the outcome might not be great, but it’s good to try. I tried drawing my dog as a lumberjack, and it didn’t go well whatsoever. But, it was fun to try, and you might have fun trying new things, too!

You don’t have to do this all the time; I simply recommend doing it to test your skills. I unlocked some ‘new ability’ to draw more complicated and detailed dragons; much more sophisticated than how I used to make them. I found this out by trying to test my skills; now I’ve got an art style that can basically be turned on and off when drawing dragons! Who knows what you’d be able to do by simply trying something new?