Seeking feedback is necessary for artistic growth, but it is also possibly the hardest thing to find reliably. Good teachers and excellent peers can lead you on the path to having a thorough understanding of your craft. Being a helpful teacher yourself is another acquired skill-set. How do you know when you have helpful advice, or just a personal preference? It’s worthwhile to make the effort to be a helpful peer to your fellow artists. You’ll make good connections, broaden your appreciation for different art and ideas, and strengthen your understanding of art concepts by verbalizing them to others. === HOW DO I GIVE A GOOD CRITIQUE? === A good critique tries to consider the artist and their goals. Give context for your opinions, and try to be objective about what is technical vs. your own personal tastes and biases. Ask artists what they want to improve on, and be curious about their interests. Try to frame things positively, and push people to have hope and want to work hard. “I like this pose, but the shoulder is looking dislocated. You might need to move it forward to make it feel more natural, like in this reference.” “There’s a ton of detail going on here, but it can be better to have a few places of lower detail to balance out the composition, here’s an example.” “What sort of art do you admire? I feel like you are aiming for this style, but knowing more about your goals might help us give advice.” === WHAT ARE EXAMPLES OF BAD CRITIQUES? === Bad advice does not consider the person receiving it. Critiques shouldn’t be designed to crush someone's spirit or make them feel hopeless. If something just isn’t your thing, it may be better to let people comment who are more experienced and interested in that area of art. Even if someone is picking up concepts slowly or getting frustrated, it’s not an open invitation to treat them poorly. “There is nothing I can say to you other than read lots of Loomis books.” “Stop drawing anime.” “Fan art is unoriginal.” “This style is a fad that will go away, you should just do something else.” “You just need to try harder.” “You’re too much of an amateur for me to even start critiquing” === HOW DO I GET USEFUL FEEDBACK ON MY WORK? === Help us cater to your artistic needs and goals. When posting work, consider including this information for context: - Tell us what your objectives where with the piece you want critiques. - Share anything you were struggling with while you were working on it. - Tell us what your goals are as an artist. Are you a hobbyist learning landscapes for fun? Putting together a portfolio to get into art school? A professional refining your skills in a certain area? - How long have you been practicing this form of art? - Who are some artists you admire who's style you strive to have in your own work? === HOW SHOULD I RESPOND TO CRITICISM? === There are a lot of ways you can respond. Generally, it is polite to show that you appreciate that someone took the time to give you feedback on your work. It’s important to keep in mind that critiques on your work aren’t personal attacks. Feedback is meant to help you see things from a different point of view. An artist might be trying to guide you away from mistakes they feel they made in the past. Arguing with the person critiquing you won’t be productive. It is their opinion based on their knowledge (or lack thereof). Think of them as simply opinions intended to help you out. You don’t have to accept every critique that comes your way, especially if the critique is subjective rather than objective. With time and experience you’ll have a better understanding of where you want to go with your work. Try to keep an open mind, but also have confidence to shed advice that doesn’t serve you. If someone is being hostile and rude or is actively trying to discourage you, report it. === KEEPING YOUR EGO IN BALANCE? === Egos come with being an artist. It is just a fact. If you didn't feel good about your work and didn't enjoy creating it, why would you do it? The sense of accomplishment is a great feeling, and you SHOULD feel good about the hard work you do. In communities, it’s easy for egos to get a little out of control. When a bunch of artists in a room, each with their own opinion of what is good art and what isn't is always bound to lead to a bit of head butting. This is a community that is meant to be friendly and helpful. Be proud of yourself, be proud of the work you do, but keep it in check. Be respectful to your fellow artists who are different from you. As much as possible, be open to criticism from people of various skill levels. Whether you choose to use them or not is up to you, but be open to the fact that they're going to happen. If you accept them with courtesy and grace, and maybe try to learn a bit from them and open your mind, you will help make this a strong community. If you choose to disregard everyone who gives you advice because you consider yourself better than everyone here, then this is not the community for you. Finally, people who post rude, off point or otherwise useless comments posed as criticism will be penalized by the mods. If you see posts such as this, use the "Report" feature to get the attention of the moderators. === WAIT, WHAT IF I THINK I SUCK? === Everyone has to start somewhere! Art takes hard work, and it doesn’t help to get down on yourself. Being humble is fine, but remember that having a little confidence is sometimes needed for motivation. Believe that you are worthy of kindness and that your art has value, even if it's just to you. Find enjoyment in learning and studying, it’ll guide you through the times when you are getting down on yourself. Just remember, begging (or demanding) praise, attention, or sympathy won’t generally go over well with your peers. Wanting to work hard is what gets you support. Embrace your work ethic and show effort whenever you can.

Heya, my name's Zenith, nice to meet ya! I love the way this site looks already and I'm excited for what the future holds for it. Let's drop some of our art down in the replies and a little message introducing yourself if you want. Here are some of mine:

Retirement project - learn to sketch (not 'draw') people/groups in context. For self-training, I am thinking of giving away sketches of people at tourist sites or just doing holiday activities. I want to be able to produce a quick likeness of the person and a loose representation of the background. This last summer, I nearly picked up Urban Sketching but it hasn't taken off. The people element seems to be important to me (and opportunities for people are less weather dependent). I have no significant experience of drawing (but many years of photographic techniques on a casual basis, e.g. perspective is not an unfamiliar concept). There seem to be four possible courses to get me started: 1. Introduction to Figure Construction 2. Figure Drawing Fundamentals 3. The Anatomy Survival Guide 4. The Gesture Course I think I also came across some Cartooning material, but I think I'm looking for a more realistic result. But not the realism of formal portaiture - people should be able to recognise themselves or family/friends but not much more (might only have 5mins, maximum 20mins). There is no intention of pursuing this professionally, although I am hoping this will evolve into a long term activity (my new life in retirement). I suspect too much formality at the beginning might weaken my resolve, so some early results to smile at would be appropriate (after a few weeks). That's not to say I'm looking for a quick-fix, I'd be quite comfortable drawing 100 shaded oblate spheroids if that was called for. So, some advice on my first course would be very welcome, as would any suggestions that I should be looking elsewhere to get started (coming back here later). There are of course several books, but I probably need to see live demonstrations. Thanks for reading. James

I made an art-practice tracker instead of practicing art Hello! I recently got the Drawing Basics course, but before I really got down to it, I had a thought: what if I could track the time I spend on projects, skills, and mediums and see my journey develop over the years as I learn to draw? So naturally, instead of just drawing, I spent far too much time making an app that does exactly that. I tried several time-tracking apps, but none of them quite worked the way I wanted. I’m also tired of ads and subscriptions. Aren’t you? I work in tech, but I’m not a professional developer, so full disclosure: I relied heavily on AI for the technical heavy lifting while I agonized over creating a UI that I actually enjoy using. What is FromLvlZero? At its core, FromLvlZero is a fancy timer. Timers and stopwatches have always helped me focus and stay on track, so I wondered why I couldn’t apply that to learning art. Art is a skill, and developing it takes practice, patience, and dedication. A while ago, I worked on an art project that took several weeks and involved several different mediums. When I finished, I wished I could see exactly how much time the project had taken and how that time was divided among the mediums I used. That is what FromLvlZero does. It records your practice sessions and helps you see the time you have invested in projects, skills, and mediums. Over time, it creates a record of where you started, how you practiced, and how far you have come. The app is completely free, with no ads or subscriptions. Why I need testers I can use the app by myself as much as I want, but getting it onto the Google Play Store requires me to complete a closed test first. I need at least 12 people to remain opted into the test for 14 consecutive days. I contacted the wonderful Proko support team before posting, and they kindly gave me permission to share it here. I would love feedback from other artists, especially honest feedback about anything confusing, frustrating, broken, or missing. If you hate something, please tell me why! I have done nearly all the testing myself, so I am certain there are things I have overlooked. How to join the Android test The app is currently available only on Android. I would love to release it for iPhone eventually, but Apple’s developer costs make that difficult for me right now because, well, I'm broke. XD The test is distributed entirely through the official Google Play closed-testing system. There is no sideloading or unofficial download. 1. Join the tester Google Group https://groups.google.com/g/fromlvlzero-testers Anyone may request to join, but I currently need to approve each request. Other members will not be able to see your email address. 2. Opt into the Google Play test After joining the Group, open this link while signed into the same Google account: https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.fromlvlzero.app Select Become a tester. 3. Install FromLvlZero Once you have opted in, install it normally through Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fromlvlzero.app Create an account inside the app, and you are ready to start tracking your practice. If you run into any trouble, that is valuable feedback too. You can respond in the tester Group or email me at support@fromlvlzero.com. Thank you to everyone willing to help me get this strange little project across the finish line and happy drawing!

Hey, guys, I’m wondering about neurodivergent artists here in the Proko community. Do any of you guys deal with ADHD, autism, giftedness or other kinds of neuropsychological conditions? How does your way of being impact your art? And how do you use art as a way to cope with an atypical brain functioning?

If anyone has any information where to get a portfolio review. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

There are several online tools that are specifically designed to help art students with practice. I'll mention a few I know of and feel free to share others you know of, as I believe this could be helpful to someone. https://line-of-action.com/ A tool that provides a timer and reference images for timed drawing practice. It's a very comprehensive tool with a lot of options; you can select weather you want nude or clothed figure, male or female models along age groups of children, teen or adult models. You can not only set the timer but it also provides a "class mode" that allows you to start a combined practice session with a single click. And besides figure drawing it also provides reference images for other subjects - portraits, hand and feet and animals. https://www.sketchdaily.net/ Another timer and reference tool for timed practice. This one is also very comprehensive with options for nudity, gender, a "class mode" and weather you want stationary or action poses. Along with human figure it also provides other subjets including hands and feet, portraits, animals and even plants. The big standout here is that this tool allows you to upload your own photos if you want. Proko timer This website's timer tool is very basic and lacks all the extra options, but Proko stills beats every other alternative when it comes to sheer quantity of quality images. Just with the free sample packs you get 2500+ very high quality reference images. And if you are not satisfied with that and you have the money, you could buy more image packs from a very big library.

I got the idea while listening to "i see fire" ofc. And its just a sketch right now. Would love to get some feedback on the sketch. thx. Drawn on a A2.

I myself will never use Ai for my workflow. Ai is also extremely unethical violating consent and environmental damage. I reference myself in poses sometimes. If it is a fan art piece I'm doing I look at what different artists on instagram use- then I make my own compositions and posing based on that. Sometimes, I look at a toy review of a fan art character on YouTube for details I'm not sure about. I also use poseable models on Clip Studio Paint as a starting point for drawing something. Does entering (-ai) at the end of a search result work for anyone? What online source works best for ppl? Ai everywhere is disheartening when you want to improve/upgrade your skills.

Hi everyone, I’m curious how other artists manage to stay consistent with their drawing practice, especially when progress feels slow. I’ve noticed that some days my lines, proportions, and perspective feel much better, while on other days even simple exercises can feel difficult. It can sometimes be hard to tell whether I should keep practicing the same exercise or move on to something new. For those who have been learning drawing fundamentals for a while: * How do you structure your regular practice sessions? * Do you repeat the same exercises until they feel comfortable, or move on and revisit them later? * How do you know when you are ready to move from fundamentals into more complex drawings? * What has helped you stay motivated when improvement isn't immediately noticeable? I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences and what has worked best for you.

I have my own website with a web page detailing commission info, yet I don't have clients. A few times, ppl would try to hire me through private messages off Instagram or Tumblr. I display my portfolio with my horror, fantasy, superhero, or sci-fi art (which is usually closer to darker imagery) yet the projects I'm offered for me to copy an image of a family relative or pet. They don't even want me to do anything fun with subject matter as a caricature or a surreal setting- even it's a safe for work thing. I end up turning projects down because they aren't challenging enough for me. Clients get annoyed when I send them a link to my commission info on my website. It's like they don't want to read it. I want to try to have a dialog with ppl specifically for the project, but it's difficult to do when I'm online on private messages on social media. There isn't the opportunity to do a video call to communicate. The emails I get on my website are not clients but ppl wanting me to pay for SEO services. I'm trying to grow and get my art style and subject matter interests known. It's hard to brand online. I haven't had luck finding work on [For Hire] posts on Reddit. It's hard for hiring posts on Reddit too as my art never fits with art specifically what they want — I offer my services anyway even if it isn't the anime/ manga or furry I personally do. I see artists under charging on Reddit like $30. I thought artists shouldn't under sell themselves. I use Instagram,Tumblr, Newgrounds, Reddit, BlueSky,Cara, and Facebook to show off my art. My website is www.alanfunkart.com What is a good way to get commission work online that I'm not doing? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I'm working on a project that involves drawing a bunch of mechanical parts - hinges, sliding tracks, rollers, that kind of thing. Specifically, I'm trying to sketch a wardrobe sliding system and it's kicking my butt. The perspective and proportions are tricky. The tracks and rollers have to look realistic, but I keep messing up the alignment. I've been using reference photos from Anwer Hardware's product catalog - they have really detailed shots of sliding systems, which helps - but translating that into a clean sketch is harder than I thought. Anyone have tips for drawing mechanical objects? Specifically: How do you handle perspective on long, narrow objects like tracks? Any tricks for drawing consistent curves/arcs on hardware parts? What's your approach to shading metal surfaces? I'm using graphite and pen mostly. Not looking for hyper-realism, just something that reads clearly. Appreciate any advice.

So I think I’m pretty close to creating amazing art and putting it on different social media platforms. My goal with my art is to do it as traditional as possible with goal of artist made by humans for humans. my questions are how do I sell myself to do that ? how do I record my self drawing/painting? hoe do I edit the video for YouTube and other platforms?

Gear acquisition syndrome. Ugh. Haha. I'm such a good little consumer sometimes it's nauseating... So I picked up a box of Mitsubishi Hi-Uni 10b pencils. Why? Well. Why not? I wanted to try them. Plus, I love me a good dark dark pencil, and this one is supposed to be one of the darkest regular graphite pencils out there. No surprise, they've been on my list for a while. It does not disappoint! First impression: they glide. My hand skates across the paper, and the marks are just so beautiful. O. M. G. And I can get near charcoal levels of black out of these. Hello lovely! They are SUPER dark, and rich, and buttery, and awesome, and I think I'm in love. Haha. Maybe they have a little less control than the Blackwing Matte (my other bougie favorite), but they definitely go a shade or two darker, which I like a lot. Of course they shine, as all graphite does, but it's soo nice to draw with. Compared to the Blackwings, the Mitsubishis feel very similar. The graphite is so smooth in both of them it's ridiculous, like drawing with chocolate, but the Hi-Uni might have the edge between the two just because I can push the tone even more. That and the actual lead inside the cedar barrel is huge (thicc), so they go a long way. I find most of the time with these more expensive graphite pencils they just feel nicer to work with than anything else. Even more so than the Conte 1710b or the Wolff's Carbon 6b (my other favorites). I don't like how those pencils "collect" the grain of the paper on anything other than smooth newsprint (honestly still the GOAT as far as drawing surface goes when combined with those charcoal pencils), which makes it tough when I'm using anything besides the big pad. I just always wish I could get a similar value range out of a single graphite pencil like I can with a single charcoal pencil. Because I'm lazy. The Hi-Uni 10b gets so close. Closer than anything else I've tried. So I might have a new favorite, people... Watch out! Definitely a keeper. Try if you have the proper dexterity for the softness. You won't be disappointed.

I've been trying to get better at drawing environments lately, and one thing I'm struggling with is making landscapes feel less generic. I can copy a photo reasonably well, but when I try to invent a landscape myself, everything starts looking like the same hills, rocks and random shapes. I'm starting to think I need to pay more attention to how real terrain is actually formed. I've been looking at geological maps and landscape references recently, and it's pretty interesting how much information you can get from the shape of the terrain alone. It also made me think about how useful geological mapping could be for environment artists who want their scenes to feel more believable. Do any of you use geological maps, satellite images or other real world terrain references when designing environments? If so, how do you turn that information into something useful for a drawing without just copying the reference?

I've been doing more figure and character studies lately, and I've started paying way more attention to clothing than I used to. I used to treat clothes almost like something to get through after figuring out the pose and anatomy. Now I'm realizing that the shape of a dress, the way fabric folds, and where the material hangs can completely change how a figure reads. I've also been looking at real fashion references for this, especially luxury formals dresses for women. I came across some work from Sablev Vogue, and the embroidered details and layered fabrics gave me a few ideas for studying folds and silhouette. For those of you who use fashion references, do you usually study the clothing separately first, or do you try to understand the figure and fabric together? I'm curious what approach has helped you most when drawing more complicated outfits.

(Not sure where else to post this.) I should probably preface this by saying I'm a beginner. I tried Drawabox back in 2019/2020, but I dropped out around perspective (https://drawabox.com/lesson/1/7), when I tried and failed to apply the 50% rule for the first time. I'd consider jumping back into it from the start if not for this intense mental and physical freeze I'm experiencing. Whenever I try to put anything down on paper, even something as simple as a line, I'm just too frozen to actually follow through. Trying to push through makes it worse, obviously, but trying to wait the issue out doesn't make it better. It's like I'm just stuck with this problem. And before anyone says anything, I've tried therapy multiple times. My therapists haven't been able to help - in fact, my last one made things worse - and I can't afford to go back. What do I even do about this issue?

Hey everyone, I've been collecting reference images lately for environment sketches, and one thing I noticed is how much real world research goes into making industrial scenes look convincing. I started looking at quarries, drilling sites, and large scale mining projects just for reference, and it kinda changed the way I think about environmental storytelling. Even small details like terrain, machinery placement, and access roads make a scene feel much more believable. While digging around for references, I ended up on Weco.sa because they work with Saudi mining licensing consulting, and I found myself spending more time looking at project photos than I expected. Do you ever use references from industries that have nothing to do with art, just because they add more realism to your work? I've found it's a pretty fun way to discover ideas I would've never searched for directly.

Hello everyone today i wannna ask about that when kearning anatomy is that once we went through a course or we practiced once and got decent and we copied an artist and got decent is it that now it's done we are good we are the master of anatomy drawing now we do no need to practice more it that the end of it like i am really confused about like i went through a course and practiced got decent then it's done i never will practice again my mind is thinking like that lot like you never ever stuuggle later in time when tou went through a course and got better and made a wonderful anatomy drawing then it is ujjjjjuuuuu you did great now you will never stuggle in your anamtomy drawing practice for one year get decent then the struggle is finish then you don't have to practice ever in your life beacuse you will not struggle ever because you practiced once please help me with this thinking and mindset as this mindset causes me a lot of stress and hevainessssss and then i lose my focus and it feeels like shit it sucks.

I started with dotting because it really helps me calm down and relax. It’s so fascinating sometimes random creatures just pop up while I dot, which gives me so many new ideas. I love creating totally new creatures that don’t even exist! I have a pretty shaky hand and I never went to art school, so I’m really happy to have found this website! I’m hoping to learn a lot here.