I don’t think that my art journey has been the most efficient one. But during the years, I’ve found some very useful sources that I’ve always wanted to share.
This is the best channel I have stumbled upon in YouTube, Love Life Drawing. They also have a website, where you can sign up for free and do exercises such as gesture drawing. The reason why I think this channel is top-quality is because they explain all the technicalities that you may be curious about when you first start drawing.
This is a list of videos that answer some common questions.
It is also important to find specific artists that inspire you, but there is no need to force it. In my case, the following are the artists that have really influenced the way I work with my pieces:
I purchased both their patreon and brushes. I still use his brushes to this day. He has a really minimal and easy brush set to work with.
Jordan Grimmer is a master at background and synthesis. He has real-time progress videos in his channel. He is really good at utilizing the lasso tool and color blocking.
Valorant game illustrator. They have excellent simple brushes.
… and the list goes on. Lately, I am really fond of J. M. W. Turner’s pieces. He is exceptionally good at capturing mood with color and creating atmospheric pieces with high-skilled and controversial (for his time) watercolor techniques. Here is an example painting:
Figure 1: The Lake of Zug by J. M. W. Turner.
… and here is my own art where the mood direction was inspired by it:
Figure 2: Watercolor replication trial in digital.
Speaking about traditional art, I also think that it is essential to draw on paper. The choice of medium can easily block you. And yes, “art block” is real but there will be a separate section on this matter later on.
I am going to wrap up here by saying that I am still navigating into finding my personal style and I am by no means a professional artist. This blog is a reflection of my opinions and experiences and the advice may or may not be helpful for the reader.
Roadmap
Below is a rough roadmap of the blog, possibly a subject to change.