My best advice to improve your art
My art journey was not quick and easy. I thought of giving up many times.
(Actually, I did give up for a few years, but that’s a story for another day)
How could I not? I felt like my art was never good enough, I was never satisfied, whenever I finished a painting I would hate it immediately...
2008 x 2024. I used to hate my art - what did I do to improve?
How could I continue drawing if I always hated the result?
I see this happen to other artists all the time as well. But there’s a secret if you want to improve your art and start having fun with it.
The problem is that many artists, especially beginners, start a drawing session feeling very excited, only to end it with a negative feeling – either because it was too hard and frustrating or because they dislike the result.
And I did the same.
But now I realize: I was seeing it all backward. I shouldn't expect a masterpiece from a beginner – and neither should you.
When you end an experience with a negative feeling, it will become harder to do it again. Your brain doesn’t want to experience such pain again, after all. In our case, as artists, this can lead to art block and being paralyzed by the fear of creating something you hate.
So you must, at all costs, avoid ending a drawing session with a negative feeling about it.
And the way to do it is to let go.
Let go of your expectations, of your perfectionism, of everything that puts you down.
Of course, you still need to be critical of your artworks, or else you won’t be able to improve either.
So, you need to find a fine balance: don’t expect too much from what you make, but analyze it and see what needs to be improved.
To help you with this process, I’m sharing 3 steps you must take to improve and have fun with art.
(Get ready for some tough love!)
1. Study and practice
You might think this is obvious, but it’s not, really. There are two traps you must avoid here:
Studying many videos and resources but never practicing – the knowledge won’t stick, and you won’t know how to apply it.
Practicing mindlessly – it will be VERY hard to improve if you don’t know where you’re going. You need to stop, analyze what needs improvement, and then study and practice.
For those who don’t think they need to practice and study: thinking you'll do amazing art out of pure talent is arrogant and won't get you anywhere.
Don't let your ego get in the way of your progress.
2. Let go of your expectations
Now, practicing and studying is the easy part. You know what is hard? Letting go of expectations.
This is closely related to the previous one: you think you have talent and expect yourself to make a masterpiece.
That can only lead to disappointment.
Would you expect a toddler who just started learning to walk to win a sprint competition? That would be dumb, right? Imagine baby Usain Bolt running (lol). Highly unlikely.
Then why do you expect your own art to be at the level of your favorite artist when you’re just getting started?
And when I say just getting started, I’m not talking about time. It doesn’t matter if you started drawing ten weeks or ten years ago. What matters is your current level and whether your art is at a beginner level or not (this is subjective, but be reasonable with your judgment).
Don’t be too hard on yourself. Remember: a toddler can’t run a sprint.
3. Set small, achievable goals
Okay, you let go of expectations, now what? How do you actually improve?
Break down your artistic journey into manageable goals. Achieving these smaller milestones will keep you motivated and provide a sense of accomplishment.
This is getting long, so in the next issue, we’ll analyze exactly:
How to find out what needs to be improved
How to set those small goals
The worst mistake you can make when trying to set art goals
I’ll see you then! Same place, same time 😁
What did you think of this issue? Hit reply and let me know your thoughts! I answer to ALL my emails 💖🥰
Cheers!
Bruna
