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*sigh*. so, pretty much since i joined HEE (a year and a bit ago now) ive been very interested in the gorgeous art here, and how its made! so i bought myself a couple programs, and tools, and started to learn. i admit my art was disgusting in the beginning, but i thought i would have been getting better by now. but judging on the interest my recent artwork has been getting, the prices people are paying for it, im not sure. am i really much better? Or maybe its just not a style people on here like. Or maybe it actually just sucks and im looking at it through rose tinted glasses... i was thinking about giving up, but i know that would ruin HEE for me, as art is my main source of income, as well as fun. so, i just want some advice. what am i doing wrong? you could say anything from critiquing my actual art, to pricing help, to style changes, *anything* would help. i just need clarification to see if its actually worth keeping going... here are some recents <3 |
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also, if your wondering, i use affinity photo and my laptops touchpad for my art, i dont have an art tablet with me at the moment (though i do own one, its just in england) |
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I am no artist, however I am a consumer of pretty arts. To me, your art is solid! There aren't any major errors in it, what's missing for me is body prep and style. If you look at tier 1 artists they body prep their horses so they look "smoother" and more perfect. Being able to paint manes and tails is also something I personally look for when looking for art. I'd say if you enjoy it, than it's worth doing regardless of what money it's bringing in for you. And if you decide to give it up, there are plenty of other ways to make money on the game :) |
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thank you! yes, i know about the body prep...i do try it quite a few time, but it just never looks "right" in my opinion, but i hope ill get better with practice. And in regards to the mane and tail issue, yeah its been ah huge problemo for me since i started. with my shake hands its near impossible for me to do it on a touchpad...but as soon as my tablet comes back, i plan on retrying it!
Pyramid Equestrian said:
I am no artist, however I am a consumer of pretty arts. To me, your art is solid! There aren't any major errors in it, what's missing for me is body prep and style. If you look at tier 1 artists they body prep their horses so they look "smoother" and more perfect. Being able to paint manes and tails is also something I personally look for when looking for art. I'd say if you enjoy it, than it's worth doing regardless of what money it's bringing in for you. And if you decide to give it up, there are plenty of other ways to make money on the game :)
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The tip I will add in to the above mentioned ones (body prep, etc.) would be to blur the more distant ranges of your backgrounds. It helps to provide depth, and make it a little less busy to look at. :) |
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Body prep is a big one Thistle, and while yours isnt bad by any means, it could definitely use improving and that small improvement could make a huge difference! Look around at other artists body prep styles and change them to make them your own, or adopt somebody elses. For example, when I was trying to change my body prep, I studied Jello's, Mandu's, and WildWillow's pieces ALOT! Then I would go back to my art and molded it to fit my art program and desired style. It is still changing and evolving. .. Hair is another thing that can be studied and evolved. And I used to set aside practice pieces or challenging stock that I knew were probably not going to be good anyways and experimented with them. .. Another aspect is fantasy and orignal ideas, and while you are by no means copying artists, I dont see much fantasy ideas going on. Currently, alot of what is hot on the art market is fantasy pieces. If your not comfortable with that, its not what makes or breaks an artist. I never did fantasy up until very recently. .. And something I am going to brag on you for is your very fine ability to fit the horse into the bg, making it look like the horse is really there! That takes talent and can be one of the most challenging and crucial aspects of manips. .. And to hopefully give you inspiration, my art went from this, to this. It takes time to develop! My first piece was made at least 3 RL years ago. And now I am a tier 1 artist! (not a good one, but thats besides the point XD) .. Hope that helped! |
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thank you, ill try that out <3
Versailles said:
The tip I will add in to the above mentioned ones (body prep, etc.) would be to blur the more distant ranges of your backgrounds. It helps to provide depth, and make it a little less busy to look at. :)
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thank you so much for all the tips <3 i do want to try fantasy peices in the future, but i feel like that needs to come after i work on my body prep, because i think if i did my more realism style of art with a fantasy peice, it would look odd in my opinion. but its definitely something i want to try out soon. thank you!
Tranquility said:
Body prep is a big one Thistle, and while yours isnt bad by any means, it could definitely use improving and that small improvement could make a huge difference! Look around at other artists body prep styles and change them to make them your own, or adopt somebody elses. For example, when I was trying to change my body prep, I studied Jello's, Mandu's, and WildWillow's pieces ALOT! Then I would go back to my art and molded it to fit my art program and desired style. It is still changing and evolving. .. Hair is another thing that can be studied and evolved. And I used to set aside practice pieces or challenging stock that I knew were probably not going to be good anyways and experimented with them. .. Another aspect is fantasy and orignal ideas, and while you are by no means copying artists, I dont see much fantasy ideas going on. Currently, alot of what is hot on the art market is fantasy pieces. If your not comfortable with that, its not what makes or breaks an artist. I never did fantasy up until very recently. .. And something I am going to brag on you for is your very fine ability to fit the horse into the bg, making it look like the horse is really there! That takes talent and can be one of the most challenging and crucial aspects of manips. .. And to hopefully give you inspiration, my art went from this, to this. It takes time to develop! My first piece was made at least 3 RL years ago. And now I am a tier 1 artist! (not a good one, but thats besides the point XD) .. Hope that helped!
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Hi Thistleberry! As others have pointed out, body prep is a big thing. Another thing I noticed right away is a lack of shadow on the ground. Think of where your light source is coming from, and where the shadow from your horse would be. This sounds like a super small detail but it can help a piece a lot! There are a lot of artists that do not redraw the entire mane and tail. Try to find your own mane & tail style that works for you! If you do want to take another jab at doing mane and tail, I have a tutorial where I detail how I do mine. I also use Affinity Photo and have really shaky hands. Try out the stablizer setting on the brushes to see if that helps you out! I use it when my hands are pretty bad. A huge thing I think you have going for you is setting the horse into the background. That's one thing that trips a lot of people up and you have it down! So congrats! :) Art is a process and that unfortunately comes with its ups and downs. I second Yellowtail on studying other artists and then looking at your own pieces. Being a self critic (while also being kind to yourself) can be difficult, but can really fuel progress. Don't be afraid to experiment! That is how I really developed my style. And since Yellowtail shared her first piece, here's mine! This coming summer will mark the beginning of my 5th year of doing art. |
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thank yiu willow, that really helped <3 its nice to see people saying good things about my horse and background blending, as thats something ive been woriking on very hard. thanks for all the advice and critique! |
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