How To Improve Your Art

Improving art skills takes desire, motivation, and commitment.

Whether you want to sell your art online, at local craft fairs, make a career out of your art skills or learn a new hobby, it is possible to create beautiful art with practice.

Improving your art skills can be achieved by developing daily habits to dedicate time to practice different art techniques and strengthen old techniques.

Learning how to see the world as an artist will allow you to create realistic paintings and drawings.

Understanding how light reacts to objects, the elements of shading, depth, form, and composition will enhance your art skills.

Art is a form of communication and a way to express yourself, so have fun and don’t be afraid to break the rule.

Enhance Your Artistic Skills

Why is it essential to enhance art skills for emerging artists?

Enhancing art skills allows artists to express their thoughts more clearly. 

Like an author learns more words to enhance their vocabulary, an artist learns skills to improve their artwork.

By dedicating time to practice will allow you to:

• Sell more art online and locally
• Charge more for art
• Create different income streams

How To Improve Art Skills

The only way you can enhance your artistic skills is by practicing art techniques.

Practicing does not mean painting a piece.

Artists practice techniques so they can create art that is more accurate to what they envision.

Learning what to practice is as important as practicing.

Like I have mentioned earlier, painting a picture is not practicing a technique.

Practicing a skill like mixing the paint until the colors are accurate every time is how you will improve your art skills.

Practicing soft value changes daily until a two-dimensional object looks like it is popping the canvas is how to improve as an artist.

Musicians will work on their scales daily to keep sharpening their skills.

Singers will work on daily voice exercises to enhance their skills.

Artists should work on their artistic skills daily.

How To Improve Art Quickly

The quickest way to improve art is to focus on one or two techniques a week.

Dedicate time daily to practice the same technique over and over until it feels as if you have been doing it all your life.

You will have to be self-motivated to work on the same thing every day for a week or two.

Your drive should be enhancing your artistic skills.

Set small goals every week so you can assess your progress. 

Invest in some online art tutorials, books, or magazines that show you different artistic styles to practice them.

Popular Video Tutorials:

• Art Essentials: Learn Watercolor Painting Basics
• Acrylic Painting: Learn the Basics For Beginners
• Learn to Draw: Daily Practices to Improve Your Drawing Skills

Magazines:

• Complete Guide to Drawing Mega Collection
• Watercolor Mega Magazine Collection
• Pastel Journal 2019 Annual Digital Collection

Books:

• Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
• How to Draw What You See

Be Your Worst Critic

Your income is based on your artwork. When your artwork sparks an emotion, the viewer will make a purchase.

For you to improve your art, you will have to learn how to be your worst critic if you are interested in selling art.

Look at every piece of art you have finished and identify areas you would like to improve on like shading, light, proportions etc. 

Never settle. Don’t say, “Well, that is good enough.” Instead, make your weaknesses your strengths.

Identifying your weaknesses is the first step.

The second phase is to take action. Study and learn how to make your weaknesses your strengths.

Schedule time every day to work on areas that need improvement. Do not rush this step. It takes time and dedication for you to enhance your skills.

If it were easy, there would be no such thing as practice.

Have a diary of your work and your goals. 

Every week and every month, you should visit them and assess the outcome.

Have you accomplished your goals?

Do you feel that you made your weaknesses your strengths, or do you think you need more time working on them?

Looking at your art will provide you the answers you need.

When you are happy with the outcome, and your efforts are consistent, it is time to start working on your next weakness.

Stay Motivated

Everyone gets motivated in different ways. What motivates me might discourage you. There is no right or wrong way to keep yourself motivated. Your goal is to find ways to keep your fire burning strong. 

Artistic skills are significantly increased by motivation. 

How can motivation enhance your artistic skills?

• You will always want to practice techniques to better yourself.
• You will enjoy the progress that you have made and strive for more.
• You will feel a sense of pride when you step back and look at your finished creation.

There will be times that you might lose motivation and become frustrated or impatient.

You must be able to identify when this emotion is starting to brew and fix it immediately. There is no time to waste. 

Learn From Other Artists

When you find yourself in a situation that you cannot overcome, find someone who can help you. There is no time for personal pride. I see so many people who are not growing because they think learning from someone else is beneath them.

I believe that a strong person is a person who is willing to learn. 

It will take you less time to learn if you study with an expert. There will always be someone better than you. 

Why would you not want to learn from an expert? 

Be a sponge and absorb as much information that you can from them. The only reason that you might not be willing to learn from an expert is that you are not willing to learn. 

Final Thoughts On Enhancing Your Artistic Skills

Only you can be the one to say, “I can make this better. I will find a way to make this better. I will not stop until I have accomplished what I have set out to accomplish.”

Set goals, practice daily, learn from others, and assess your progress.

More Related Articles On Enhancing Your Artistic Skills

• How To Become A Successful Artist
• Drawing Tips For Realistic Drawings – The Elements Of Shading
• Art Challenge Ideas Spark Creativity
• Sketching Tips To Make You A Better Artist
• 5 Awesome Art Techniques Using Various Mediums
• Realistic Drawing Tips You Must Know
• How To Shade Drawings With Graphite
• Drawing With An Eraser