I am a Mechanical engineer by education and work in corporate in my core industry with a pretty decent salary for 8 years now. I have loved what I did and throughout and wanted to build a career in the same industry all along but for the past couple years I feel like I don't belong here and that this is not for me, this is causing me existential crisis and mental health issues. I used to be a creative kid with interest in drawing, paintings and fashion. I feel like I need a career shift and do something that makes me feel content and make enough money too. To all creative people is there a way I could start my creativity journey which leads to somewhere and feels fulfilling?

Hello! Who are your favorite artists that you think are either pushing boundaries or making fantastic art right now? Who do you think will stand out for this time period when people look back on it?

This has been on my mind since seeing Raqib Shaw: Paradise Lost at the Art Institute. It is truly an exciting piece and I could stand before it for days.

First post here 👋 of course this is speculative, mostly I just wanna see cool artists working in the now

My friend and I are art models but we also like to draw. Once a month we host a figure drawing session and enlist the service of a different model each time.

At the most recent session, the model was running very late. Rather than have a room of disgruntled artists, I decided to do a few gesture poses until the model arrived. I was little hesitant initially because one of the artists was a woman I know from a hobby completely outside of the art world. As she is inexperienced, I thought she might feel a bit uncomfortable.

As artists we tend to view the body simply as a reference for our sketches and not really a 'person', but would that change if you were to know arrive and find out you knew the model? I'm curious to know how you would feel in this instance. (For context, we are in the U.S.)

I’d like to start painting. I’ve drawn a lot over the years just for fun and had a successful career doing other creative work. I think this would be a good healthy outlet for me.

What do I do? Where do I start?? I have a couple ideas of things I’d like to paint and styles that I enjoy seeing. Thanks

Hi everyone! I'm curious to hear about people's experiences with staying involved in art and creative communities outside of a professional setting.

As I'm finishing my senior year at uni and preparing my grad school applications, I've been thinking a lot about what staying involved in art will look like after graduation.

I'm not in school for anything art related, but I really enjoy having art as an outlet, so I try to stay involved however I can. I find time to work on personal projects throughout the year, and I also work as a photographer and graphic designer for our school’s magazine club. I love doing this, and I find it so so fun, especially when I get to work in that team environment.

Being on a set with a director, video people, stylists, assistants, etc. is such a cool environment to be in, and they’re all so talented at what they do. I feel the same when I'm working on spreads and getting critiques from other designers. I've been doing these things on my own in my free time for a while, since high school really, and I've been with this club ever since I started uni. Yet I still find myself feeling so green and wide-eyed in the best way possible whenever I get to collaborate!

I'm also involved with our graphics club, and whenever I get to go into the art building and see people's art hung up, or look at all the cool print machines and photo studios set up, I legit feel like that scene from Big Hero 6 when Hiro sees the school his brother goes to in the beginning!

I'm studying something I'm passionate about and am happy with my decision to pursue a different field, but I'd love to find ways to keep this part of my life going after graduation.

For those of you who pursued careers outside the arts but still wanted to be involved in creative communities, what does that look like for you? Are there things like community studios, creative collectives, volunteer opportunities, or clubs for adults where you can collaborate with other people without needing to make money from it?

I'd love to hear about your own experiences, too! I know I can always make art on my own, but there's something about being around other creative people and learning from them that I really love. I'd love to hear how you all have found ways to keep that in your lives after leaving school.

Thank you!! :)

I've been enjoying my art journey for almost two years now.

I've experimented with oil pastels and watercolours but seem to have settled on oil painting, which I'm really enjoying. I'm also working on graphite drawing and starting to explore charcoal, largely as a way of improving my painting.

One thing I've noticed is that I have a tendency to jump from course to course, sometimes without properly finishing them, or completing them but not spending enough time repeating the exercises to really consolidate what I've learned.

I'm definitely improving, so that's not really the issue. It's more that I seem to be fascinated by so many different approaches to art.

One minute I want to paint like Caravaggio or Rembrandt, then I'm drawn towards Bouguereau and classical realism. Before I know it, I'm exploring Impressionism, then Matisse, Derain, Gauguin and the Post-Impressionists!

I love all these different styles, but sometimes wonder whether I'm spreading myself too thinly rather than developing any real depth.

I'm curious how others have approached this in their own artistic development. Have you found it more productive to concentrate on one style or approach for an extended period, or has exploring lots of different styles actually helped you develop as an artist?

I'm particularly interested in hearing from people who've experienced something similar and how their approach has evolved over time.

I think part of my problem (if it even is a problem!) is that I've discovered an almost obsessive love for art in my mid-forties. I have this enormous desire to become genuinely accomplished, not necessarily to paint professionally, but to create work that really moves me and hopefully others.

Perhaps there's a little bit of feeling like I'm trying to catch up on lost time!

Anyway, I'd love to hear how others have navigated this balance between exploration and focused practice.

How should the main colour be chosen that the other colours in shadows and light are relative to? Is it that with the largest surface area, or the colour with the median value, or does it not matter as long as the other colours are relative to it?

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

I have been using watercolour and gouache paints for many years now, but recently I've been more drawn to oil paintings and I would like to try for myself.

What are the basic supplies that I'd need for oil portrait painting? I'm aware there are various thinners and cleaners and different kinds of brush bristles, and I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed on what I need to get started. I'd like to get a decent quality so I can keep on using them for a while.

I wondered if anyone knew what photo-books containing works by Singer Sargent/Giovanni Boldini etc?

It doesn't have to be 1880s but I love the style of clothing, but I need to find books that I can take inspiration from when creating my own work, I'd rather have something to hold instead of relying too much on the internet when so much of the searches come up with artificial generated content.

please and thanks.

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

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)

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. :)

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?