This blog is not good.
Anonymous asked:
wi-fu answered:
This is…a very wide topic to discuss!
I feel like it’s really easy to forget that having ‘appealing’ art and being a very skilled artist are two different things. Why did that sketch by that popular artist get thousand of notes but my full illustration with background only got 5 notes? That’s very discouraging. Does that mean my drawing was worse? Not really, at least not in terms of execution.
It’s a little harsh to put it this way, but think of it as if we were on Tinder. It only takes two second to swipe left if your artwork doesn’t catch the viewer’s attention.
There’s a huge difference between being skilled and knowing how to present your art, and blaming others for not getting notes is a detrimental way of thinking that will only slow you down!
This is not just some anti-negativity bullshit. It’s practical. It’s not the average viewer’s fault if he ignored or “just liked” your piece without reblogging. Blaming external causes for your own lack of popularity just makes it so you keep doing what you do blindly, holding yourself back from improving.
I recommend checking this post by tamberella out for a much better understanding (and more insightful tips) on the topic of appealing art.
It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t strive for popularity (after all, especially if art’s gonna be your job, it’s important to understand what works and what doesn’t, in a field in which communication is key), but make sure you do it with understanding instead of blaming others or guilt tripping them into reblogging your art. (I made a comic about this a while ago)
Back to your question…there’s not a specific way to become popular. I can only offer a few tips on attitude / blog management / drawing:
On a final note, I would like to clarify that at the end of the day you’re free to draw whatever you want, these are just tips for a better understanding of how visual impact affects the amount of visibility you get. As long as you’re having fun, keep drawing whatever it is that you’re drawing!
I hope this was somewhat helpful. Take care!
This is just a personal checklist for myself that I will be adding and changing feel free to ignore~ (or use if you wanna I guess)
Body Parts I Want To Improve At:
Anatomy and Poses:
Loomis Figure Drawing For All It’s Worth [Book]
Life Drawing In My City [Look Into]
BACKGROUNDS!!!!
From Life [You have a window now, use it!]
Thumbnails and Composition
Perspective!!
Drills [video]
Norling Perspective Made Easy [Book]
Robbie Lee Perspective Made Easy [Find Whole Book Later]
*sees smooth digital art* what a kickass style i want my art to be like that
*sees effortless watercolor art* what a kickass style i want my art to be like that
*sees sketchy, angular art* what a kickass style i want my art to be like that
*sees bubbly, stylized art* what a kickass style i want my art to be like that
*sees blocky, bright art* what a kickass style i want my art to be like that
*sees realistic, detailed art* what a kickass st
a thing i only recently realized i knew abt character design that isnt just common sense apparently:
do not start ur character design by doing a full, refined turnaround/model sheet.
like. everyone in my childrens book il class is fuckin doing this even though most of them are illustration majors and its a huge mistake (our prof literally warned them against this, and YET)
any time you design a character, start by not caring. by just doing what feels right. dont settle on the first thing; play around. and then draw your character a shitload of times before u start a ref sheet
dont finish anything, just. do super fast sketches of them over and over and over. fill up a page or two. as you draw them theyll evolve. that will happen whether your sketch it out at the beginning or jump right into a final draft, and lemme tell u, u do NOT want ur character evolving and changing AFTER ur final draft. u want to get that out of the way early so u can get a decently consistent finished product
then when you go to do your model sheet you will already be able to keep your character on model without it bc youve drawn them a shitload of times. then it wont be “struggling to draw the character the same every time” itll just be “this is what the character looks like and i could draw them with my eyes closed bc of muscle memory”
dont just jump in and be like “shit i gotta have this full complex polished thing right out of the gate!” like. in the beginning, Do Not Work Hard. play. play a lot. and THEN do a refined drawing. your refined drawing will look way better, too, bc by then youll be completely comfortable with your design
its just a super bad idea to present a character as “heres a ref sheet” as soon as you have a concept. your concept will evolve and u have to let it, or else ur designs will look rushed/bad and your drawing will looks stiff and uncomfortable bc u can only draw ur character at a ¾ths view in a particular pose bc youve drawn them twice in ur entire life
ALSO! Based on my experience– if you only have one or two drawings of them so far, you don’t know your character yet. You think that since you have things written out, you know everything they can or would do. But just like how your perception of someone changes when you meet them in real life after letter or internet correspondence, you’ll see the character as a slightly different person once you “spend time” with them. Once you have a face for them, and you see what kind of expressions fit on it, the kind of person they are will change and deepen.
Draw fast and try any dumb ideas you think of. Y’gotta let these little jerks breathe and run around in your sketchbook and tell you about what they are. You mostly tell THEM, but they will talk back.
ok I just wanna make some things clear
having a lot of followers =/= a lot of notes on your art
having a lot of notes on your art =/= good art
not having very many notes on your art =/= bad art
I feel kinda shitty that I have to say this (don’t wanna seems like I’m bragging/ungrateful) but the amount of followers you have doesn’t necessarily mean you’re gonna get notes. I currently have a little over 18k followers, and wow, that’s a lot. But the thing is, the average amount of notes on my art is about the same as when I had 7k, 5k, or even 2k followers.
the biggest factors I’ve noticed is fandom size and timing. The size of a fandom really affects how much your art is going to be seen. This really should be a no-brainer, but if more people like something and are searching for content of that thing, then they’re more likely to find your art.
Another thing is timing. Time Zones exist. Just because it’s the time of the day that you’re active on tumblr doesn’t mean the same for everyone else.
Please,please don’t feel bad if your art doesn’t get as many notes as you hoped. It happens to everyone, even me.