I’ve been reading some article on what is considered “good” when
it comes to student work and it inspired me to write my own. I’m a digital
illustrator that enjoys working in digital mediums such as Photoshop and
Painter 12. I loved it from the very beginning and I am still continuing to
develop my skills. I wanted to share my thoughts on creating art from the
beginning stages to the very end when you have to present. I hope you enjoy reading
this article.
Why Art
Before we begin, I wanted to start out with a question. Why
did you choose art? Was it because you thought it was going to be an easy and
fun subject where all you do is sketch some designs and play with color? The reality
is that the art industry (weather its illustration, graphic design, or
traditional painting) is a very cutthroat arena. You have to be very good at
your craft before the world can start taking you seriously. If your going to
choose art as a career move, make sure you’re hear is in it otherwise it’s
going to be a very painful career move. Don’t get me wrong, art is fun, however
there is a lot of work that goes into it. If you think about it, its one of the
most time consuming subjects when your comparing it to homework assignments or
presentations. The only thing I want to say is that if your truly interested in
becoming an artist, make sure your doing it for the right reasons.
The First Step
As an artist, you must except that no beginning artwork (no
matter how much time you strategies) will ever be perfect. You have to remember
that you’re always on a time crunch and you can’t waste too much time thinking
about how you’re going to start. Don’t worry about the idea that you’re
presenting, just show what you can do with it. You will never find the perfect subject,
idea, or thought so just pick one and run with it. If you wait too long to
choose a subject, you are going to panic and you will rush your art project. I
personally have not met a single person who believes in waiting to the last
minute because they know just as much as I do that their quality of work will
show. You don’t want to be “that” artist who presents below par artwork. Just
make sure you start as soon as you get a decent Idea (good composition) and use
all your time wisely.
Bad Art
Let’s discuss the reasons why an artwork isn’t as successful
as they think they should be. I’ve bullet some of the main reasons and I’ve
provided some ideas of what I’m talking about.
- Having cheesy artwork – beginning artist tend to have the impression that drawing or painting a rose, skulls, a woman with no pupils, or making things glittery will make them stand out as an artist. The truth of the matter is that it makes you look so immature because that idea has been overused so much. Try generating original work.
- Boring artwork – When I say boring, I think of paintings that reflect landscape such as hills of trees on a sunny day with a blue sky. It’s nice and all but it doesn’t grab the attention of the viewer at all. If anything it just makes them yawn and move on to the next artwork. You need to present some interesting point of view that also has a dynamic set of colors to really get that painting to stand out on its own.
- Very simple artwork – When I think of simple artwork, I mean “simple artwork.” It’s the type of artwork that a child could probably create in a few minutes, you just polished it a bit to make it look presentable. As an artist, you need to challenge your self to do things a bit more complicated in order to showcase your true talent. I guess what I’m trying to say is don’t use simplicity to get by on your art project. You will never get very far that way.
- Artwork composition is off – I personally believe this is the most important of them all. If you don’t have a solid artwork that can stand on its own, it’s practically impossible to make it any better. Have a solid pose or angle and make sure it’s one that draws the viewers eye into the picture and keeps it there as long as possible. Don’t get too caught up on this though, when you find a good idea, your inner voice will let you know.
Weak Art Presentations
The saying goes that you only get one shot to make a good
impression. Keep this in mind when your about to present your images to a
potential client. I’m not talking about your physical appearance per say. As
artist we do have some le-way as to how we physically present ourselves to a
client. What I’m referring to is what does your art portfolio say about you as
an artist. I know that some fellow artist just want to present everything they
have, whether it’s good or bad, just to show volume. However, this gives the
impression that you like to flaunt bad artwork. My best suggestion is to get
rid of your week art projects and keep all the strong ones. The goal is to
present your most successful artwork to the client in order to gain that
potential job contract. I understand that all artists have their flaws. Some
artists have issues drawing realistically in pencil and/or in painting. You
might want to consider taking on more classes to strengthen your weaknesses or
you can simply embrace your gesture drawings as if it was done intentionally. One
word of advice my professors gave me was that when you present your portfolio
to a client, make sure you put your best work at the beginning, in the middle,
and at the end. You want your work to come out strong when they first open your
portfolio and it should resonate with them at the end of the day.
Where’s Your Growth?
There are few artists that strive for perfection in all the
projects they do, but you have to be realistic and know that each artwork will
have their flaws. Those subtle mistakes are what make an art project unique.
What I’m trying to say is don’t keep restarting an art project just because you
don’t like the initial sketch or the beginning design. I know from experience
that if you choose to restart an art project midway through your deadline, your
final artwork will say, “semi-completed.” You don’t want to be the artist that displays
sub par work because it doesn’t showcase your best abilities as an artist. Get
an idea going and start developing it. That’s why artist use thumbnails, so they
can generate ideas quickly and come to a conclusion on the direction they want
to take.
Originality & Plagiarism – A Thin Line
Be very careful when you draw or paint an image that was
created by someone else. When people know for a fact that the artwork you are
presenting was copied from someone else but it was slightly altered, you will come
across as the artist who lack in originality. Even if they made significant
changes to the original, you still get the impression that it’s somewhat
superficial work. But when the resemblance is just too similar to the original or
it is the exact artwork; that is plagiarism.
Make no mistake about it, all artists, including my self, will use
references such as the Internet, books, and magazines to come up with themes.
The reason being is that you want to make sure your getting your proportions
and layout right. Sourcing and referencing your artwork is one thing but when
you can’t come up with original work it hurts your credibility as a
processional artist. You should be using these sources to springboard your
ideas and making them unique to you. All I can say is handle this touchy
subject with care for moral and financial reasons.
Presentation
I personally find this topic important because not a lot of
artists give it much though. How you present your artwork to the client speaks
volume as to the type of artist you represent. Your art will either say you’re
a committed and creative artist with a strong work ethic or that you could care
less about the assignment. When I talk about presentation, I’m referring to the
way you mount your work, how it’s been handled, how it’s been arranged, and how
the final package was assembled together. Examples of a bad presentation is
having smudged boarders, torn or ripped corners, or the whole image is wrinkled
due to moisture damage. When I see work like this, I can’t help but think of an
artist who is disorganized and lazy. I believe that there is only a small
handle of people in this world who can ignore the presentation part and still
capture your attention because their work is so good. For the rest of us
however, we need to make sure that our first impression count by showcasing our
work in the best possible manner.
Procrastination
When you get right down to it, the ultimate downfall most
artist are struggling with is procrastination. For all I know, you could have a
bright mind with a wonderful memory and cramming technique that works for you
when you study for a test or an exam. That way of thinking will not work for an
art projects. Art is something you need
to give time in order for you to develop a good concept. You will also need to
carve out a large chunk of time to actually executing the project.
Final Thoughts
I hope you enjoyed reading this article and that I was able
to help you in your art endeavors. If you would like to learn more, please visit one of my social media sites. Visit my Facebook page or my Google+ page to see more of my posts. Visit my Website to see some of my other works I've done in the past. Follow me on Twitter if you like some quick art tips. Thank you for reading and never stop developing your art skills.