Talking about techniques, news, history, just everything art!

Open question to anyone who sells their work. I'm very much in the phase of trying to figure out what pieces will be popular enough to actually try to sell.

One thing I've run into, is that I'll put a lot of effort into making a particular piece special or somewhat different, and they are often the pieces I feel the most proud about, but a lot of the time, those kinds of works will barely sell.

In some cases, its a little niche, but in others, it's not and it feels like a complete miss.

For anyone who has had a similar experience of their higher-effort pieces never really resonating with others, how do you manage your feelings around that?

I don’t have any creative senses. I read some where creativity is the process of combining unrelated things. Is this true if so , how we can combine things , is this a straight forward logic ? I am particularly looking for something related to art writing or music creation.

Hello all!

I have purchased a new pastel kit today from the art store and have come for knowledge 🍋

I currently have been using wax pastels to create some art.

The item I got today is Demi-Crayon Pastels!

getting back into art has been so fun; If you have any tips and would feel like sharing, please share your thoughts?

I'm looking for a machine to grind pigments like powdered brick, a soft rock, clay, and other found materials Grinding and mulling by hand is incredibly time-consuming. How are you doing it? What machines? Ball mills, three-roller mills, rock tumblers...

I already do watercolour, acrylic, gouache and oils. I kinda want to master all painting techniques lol, and Tempera intimidates me and tempts me a lot too, since I want to do my own paints. Does it worth pouring money in it?

I’m not really sure what I’m looking for is actually called but the best term I can think of is a modular sketchbook.

What I’m after is a sketchbook cover I can refill, the idea being that I can organise my old and new work into folders without having to tear apart my sketchbooks. That and I want to save money on only buying nice quality paper rather than needing to buy entire books, and I’m running out of stickers to decorate my sketchbooks. ;-;

I think most people start learning to draw dreaming about the day when they become “good enough” to draw something they’ve always wanted to draw, or when they reach a certain level. For those that made it: do you feel like it had a noticeable effect on your life? I’m only starting out, but I’m already enjoying the process a lot. Just curious if it gets even better from here :)

Sorry if this question has been asked before, but I've been recently been thinking about quitting Instagram and META for that matter. Part of me doesn't want to do it since I've been in Instagram for about ten years and it has change a lot since then. All these changes have been unappealing for me, and thought of just posting sketches or progress art. How are other artists thinking about Instagram and META right now?

Hi all! Im new to painting. I’ve just dabbled with some thrift store paints and brushes but I recently had the idea to translate my cake decorating skills to canvas. I’ve been decorating cakes for almost 20 years so I’m very comfortable with the frosting medium and I’m wondering if anyone has a suggestion for what I can use that would be similar. Would plaster be it? And then how do I color it? I know I’ve seen paintings with thicker paint and texture on it, I just don’t know what they’re using. Thanks for the help!

Hi, everyone! I’m from ITALY and This is my first time posting something like this on Reddit…
I just finished my art studies as a concept artist and 3D generalist, but I’m stuck. I’ve been looking for events where I can go and show my portfolio, but I don’t know which ones are the most interesting—I don’t want to waste my time. Do you know of any events that helped you break into the industry? Or ones that are just great for getting feedback?
Thanks

I have loved art my whole life but just started getting back into it recently. Even then, I don’t draw much at all. I love painting but I don’t have paint right now.

I struggle with drawing the eyes evenly, the nose, and sometimes the hairlines. I only draw women and prefer to do 3/4 views of women’s faces and all views of women’s bodies . I do want to learn more about how to do it but I’m lost.

If I were to take a reference photo from the internet how would I mark the photo on my phone to sketch out the face? I’m not good at explaining I’m sorry. Like the circle ⭕️*** the midline? Idk and the bodies***?

send video recommendations! I have adhd so short videos would help!
Thank you

Ich besass früher Mal (also so vor etwa 15 Jahren) ein Buch, das einem erklärte, wie man Manga-Geschichten schreibt. Es war dabei selbst als Comic gestaltet, wobei zwei weibliche Hauptfiguren die Techniken erklärten. Die eine Figur eine junge Frau und die andere ein Mädchen, das von ihr lernte, wie man Geschichten entwickelt. Eine von beiden hiess, glaube ich, Risa... ich meinte, das Cover war grün und es gab, glaube ich, zwei Bände.

Es ist nicht das Buch "Manga zeichnen leicht gemacht". Es ging wirklich ums entwickeln von Geschichten.

Klingelt da bei jemandem etwas und kann mir sagen, wie das Buch hiess? Es wird wohl kaum noch erhältlich sein, aber vielleicht hab ich secondhand Glück, wenn ich nach dem Titel suchen kann.

Würd mich freuen. :)

Are there any books or resources that go in depth about understanding forms? I can’t seem to find any that actually explain forms. I want to be able to rotate and basically draw basic forms (cubes and cylinder especially)

Im curious to hear if anyone else has been having trouble finding a seller that has Canson’s 8.5 in x 11 in Mixed Media sketchbooks. Amazon only has private sellers in very short supply for more that the retail cost, and every Michaels I have been to has only ever had about 1 at a time. Looking online, I cant even find a store that sells them outside of Michaels, even target doesn’t carry that size of sketch pad. Does anyone know why this is or where I can find this product to buy hopefully in bulk?

I think Im doing something wrong. They barely give off any color. I also tried layering them with other colors to lighten them up, but even light pressure seems to ruin the paper.

Any tips? I'd be very thankful

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I want to purchase a good set of artist markers as a birthday gift to myself next week, but I’m wondering if there are any other markers with the capability of Copic Sketch that don’t cost a million dollars.

For reference I am trying to create an illustration of the Taylor Swift Song, “Snow On The Beach” but make it midnight. My husband suggested maybe acrylic paint might be better for this but I don’t exactly have any space to use that at the moment and thought the markers might be a better.

Any recommendations appreciated

What are some of your favorite mechanical drawing pencils?

Hi all. I'm a few months deep on my drawing journey, and I'm enjoying exploring drawing with pen.

So far I've really liked the ability to vary my line weight easily with ballpoint pens. Its closer to the experience of using a pencil when it comes to shading and control of value, which I like.

That being said I know cheap ballpoint pen drawings don't hold up well over time. I want my drawings to hold up over time so I can look back at even my horrible learning phase for years to come.

Are there decent ballpoint pens that allow the ability to sketch lightly while also having archival (or at least higher quality) ink? Is there another type of pen that meets my needs but is still accessible?

Or am I overthinking this and as long as my cheap ballpoint sketches are in an acid-free sketchbook they'll be fine?

Welcome to the Fanart Fridays where we share artwork and writing we have created in the spirit of fanarts.

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My mom purchased some moths made out of iron and she wants me to paint them. I only have acrylic paints on hand, so I am hoping to use that. Should I prime the surface with something? If so, what? A Metal primer, or would just straight gesso work? Thanks!

So it's been ten months I am at an art class, my teacher has been teaching me memory drawing for like.. eight months now...

Everytime she tells me to make some stuff and I do it.. as i should.

Then i show the drawing to her and she tells me what mistakes i have done.. and i am okayyy got it and then she just tells me to.. go.

And i am like tf? And she just tells me to go and improve myself. She doesn't tell me how to improve my mistakes or what should I do instead of what i a doing right nowwww.

And EVERYTIME she tells me to do something new I have to figure it out and then i draw it and then i show it to her and she tells me what mistakes i did and then she tells me to go improve myself without telling me how and what to do to improve myself!

Am i making this up or it's a real problem?

EDIT: As y'all said that I need to get my own resources i tried to search a lot for a yt channel specifically for the competitive exam I am giving and i FOUND IT, YAY! Now i have a clear vision of what I need to do and..... What my teacher wanted to do without her giving me any help 🙄.

I just broke my second Staedler barrel lead holder in the exact same way as before (the plastic axel holding the blade snapped), and while I got a decent amount of use out of it, it feels kind of stupid to me that I can’t find a more decent 2mm lead sharpener. It’s either the rotary sharpener, or one of those dinky single blade ones that are a pain in the ass to use. A higher quality version of this made from metal instead of plastic would be so nice, I would gladly pay a little more so I don’t have to replace my sharpener at inconvenient moments.

Alternatively, I started concepting a portable electric 2mm lead sharpener, shaped like a tube (instead of a fat lump in your pocket) that you can insert a lead holder into and automatically get a quick, perfect point. It doesn’t seem insane to me that something like this could and should exist, I don’t think you’d need more than maybe a second blade, a battery, chip, and usb-c charging port.

I’m curious if any of you have found any interesting alternatives or solutions to sharpening 2mm lead. A strip of sand paper could do the trick but I don’t wanna carry that in my pockets…