ThatGirlNerd

To double up with that, I had a project going on at that time. A book that I was working on. At the time, I wasn't very good at writing, but still pretty decent. I eventually stopped writing that and decided to turn it into a manga instead. And I wanted to tell that story as much as I wanted to live (after my depressing phase of course). So that lead to my intense desire to become a manga artist, and now I draw and practice as much as I can manage. Actually I have my notebook open right now to a doodle I made to practice anatomy. It's sitting to my right, leaning on my bedframe. :3

Now, you might be wondering. THATGIRLNERD! What does this have to do with motivation? (Yes, I did make a reference to the King of Minecraft, Adam himself (Sky Does Minecraft). Back when he did mod reviews and didn't have facecam). Well, first I just wanted to tell my story, as i always do in things like these.

So, what I'm saying is, what exactly do you aim for in art? Is it far away? Is it close? Or perhaps you've already reached it? If you're having trouble in art, then make sure you have a goal, and you know what it is. Mine, for example, is to become a successful, famous, American mangaka. And if you don't think you're good enough, then I swear I will fucking get my ass over there and fucking punch you. You don't need to be good enough to have something in art. You need the passion, that burning desire in your heart. That's all you need to have something in art.

Now, onto my next topic. HATE!!

Ahem. *clears throat*. You're a faggot. Go drink bleach.

How do you feel? Mad? Sad? Depressed? (im really sorry if i actually genuinly hurt you just now. here, have a Pepsi) Or perhaps you simply don't give a flying fuck of what some dick on the internet is going to say to you.

Just to clarify, I didn't mean that seriously. It was all for the following and the topic of hate. You, dude reading this, you're awesome. Stay awesome. I don't have any right to judge you or call you names in any way if I don't even know who the fuck you are. 

When you get hate, how do you deal with it? Do you let it sink in, eat a little of you, then forget about it? Or do you just not care?

The best way to go about hate is to just not give a flying fuck of what some dick is gonna say to you over the internet, I repeat, the INTERNET. They have no right to... Okay, so I was watching so Markifart vlogs to listen to while I practice drawing, and one of them was about HAAATE. (right click and select new tab if you're going to continue reading).

So all I can say about hate is, JUST DON'T FUCKING CARE!!! I don't have personal experience with this, but I can imagine it realistically.

Anyway, moving on to topic number three! I guess this will just be some art tips I've got.

My biggest and best tip I can give (that isn't motivation related) is, study hand drawn animation. Even if you don't want to do anything like that in the future with art. The more you know how to draw the better, amirite?

Being the otaku I am, I watch enough anime to do this a lot. I recommend the ones where you can tell that somebody drew and scanned it. Like One Punch Man and Mob Psycho 100. 

I've seen enough to have a pretty good idea of how to draw the human (male) body. Referring to the doodle I mentioned before, the only other time I ever practiced drawing the human body was maybe a year ago. I hardly have any experience with drawing the arm muscles or shoulders blades or etc. 

I think I'll stop here. It's 3 am and I'm getting a little loopy again. Plus I wanna get back to drawing.

I hope this helped.

So, as an artist, I get the question, "How do you draw so good?" I respond with something like "I dunno" or "I just do." And, like many other artists, I get the comment, "Omg your art is amazing I wish I could do that."

And I hate it when I hear that.

Not the bit about amazing art. The wish. I hate hearing that wish.

Not because it means they want to be an artist, no. I hate it because it can mean that they don't they believe themselves capable of creating amazing work.

Now, I'm the type of person that believes everybody capable of creating amazing work, from drawing to computer designing. All you need to do is put your heart into it.

Now, let's get started with the tips.

1. Use references if you need to. References aren't your enemy, using them doesn't mean you can't draw on your own or anything, yadda yadda. It just means that you are still practicing. I use references for every single drawing, even if it's just a doodle. The only time I don't use references is when I'm drawing an original character.

Depending on yourself, references will help you out. Me personally, I can't draw without them.

2. Take your time. Nice and slow and steady. Rushing leads to mistakes. Mistakes you can't always fix. And when you can't fix a mistake, it's best to go slowly to make sure you don't do something you might regret. For Inktober 2016, I use a dip ink pen, with no white ink or anything to cover up my mistakes. And when I don't take my time or take caution (sometimes the ink needs time to dry), I screw up. And when I screw up, I get very upset. Normally I can cover it up or just roll with it, but one time I shaded in the wrong area and got seriously pissed at myself.

3. Always dedicate yourself to your work. Dedication and determination can get you really far. Me personally, when I don't dedicate myself, my work can turn out pretty trashy. Note: Sometimes you can tell how dedicated an artist was by comparing one work to the other. I've done this before.

4. Make sure you have fun, and aren't in pain or boredom or lack the motivation to work. This can also lead to a trashy final product (this has happened to me many times).

5. Let people critic you. Critics are good, just not when they're constant (unless you like it that way). They can help point out any errors or things you can improve on.

6. Don't be negative. Be positive about your work. Negativity can lead to lack of motivation, which can lead to a trashy final product. Being negative can also affect the audience. Some may just assume that you really do suck and won't bother looking at your work, while some will look at your work, but won't like the fact that you're spreading negative vibes and might leave (I have experience with this, being the follower). 

7. Always accept compliments. Don't reflect them with "No, really. I'm not that good," or any shit like that. It's rude and an asshole move.

8. If you can't get in the 'Art Zone' then try listening to music. If you're drawing fanart then try listening to music from/inspired by that topic (ex. Drawing Genos from OPM? Listen to his theme). Also I say 'inspired by' because if you're part of the FNaF community then you know that there's a LOT of fan songs. Like... NateWantsToBattle has a whole 48 video long playlist of FNaF songs (they're really good!)!

9. Remember, art takes time. Lots of time. It took me 7 years total to get to the point I am at today, and only maybe 3 of those were actually dedicated to improving my skills. And if you don't believe me, I have a drawing from 2010 somewhere in my room... 

10. This tip is more specific and for beginners. If you have trouble drawing the lines straight away on a blank canvas, then draw a base. Me personally, I drew everything in circles and ovals and it helped me out to the point where I don't need to use it every single time anymore (yay me! ). Every speed painter I've seen on YouTube draws a base.

11. Make sure you have knowledge of who/what you're drawing. You can't draw a Genos if you don't know who/what he is (an S-Class Demon Cyborg aka Toaster Boyfriend of Egg from One Punch Man).

--started of update--

(more so optional, and from self experience alone) 12. Study hand-drawn animation (anime is your best option), and study other artists as well. I don't know how to word this correctly, so I'll just kinda say it. 

Let's start with my self experience. I watch anime, and have been binge watching One Punch Man for the past month (mostly just to get through the night. i dont sleep at night). I've noticed that One Punch Man (as well as Mob Psycho 100), out of all the anime I've watched, is the only anime that you can tell is hand drawn with pencil (in MP100's case, painted, or something like that). And that told me that anime is actually drawn traditionally, the lines at least (it's colored digitally, but that may differ. it's the same as scanning your traditional work). So, that also told me, that even someone as young and inexperienced as myself (im younger than you probs think haha lol) could learn how to create anime. It may take a while, maybe even years, but I can do. Which means anyone can do it. Including you, dear reader. Art is something that litterally anyone in the world can do, which is what makes it so awesome. So back to my point. So I began studying under (if you can call it that lol) my favorite artist(s), and began studying OPM's art style. This eventually led me into constantly drawing, as much as I willing could. This also expanded my deep passion for drawing, which lead me into drawing even more. 

Ok, so getting back to the actual tip. Looking at it in another way, my work is heavily referenced. Eventually, I'll be able to draw perfectly on my own, like Murata-san does. 

Ok this is getting confusing so I'll just summarize it here. Tip 12, study hand drawn animation, or in other words pay more attention to the details in anime. References are your friend, it's not a bad thing if you need to use them (constantly)... erm, I guess that's it. I can't really concentrate as much as I probably should because I'm listening to a YouTube video that isn't music.

--end of update--

The manga artist Yusuke Murata (redrawer of One Punch Man) can draw Saitama in 5 minutes, in pen, with no base or guide lines or anything (probs cuz he drew an entire manga with him in it. that counts as practice). Practice and dedication can get you places, from your desk at home to conventions to meet fans (plus a paying job, fulltime or not). My goal is to become that skilled, like Murata-san (did i do that right? i think i did), someday. A manga artist. Maybe even an inspiration to others (indirectly of course. This is one of those things that's beyond our control). Call me a wannabe if you want, I know I may sound like one right now, I don't give a flying fuck. Nothing is wrong with having inspirations who have once had the same goal as you. It's actually I lot more helpful and motivating. 

Murata-san being amazing (this will not open in a new tab, so right click and select 'Open In New Tab.')

Same as #1. I won't forget about this scene tho.

This journal was an excerpt from a project I had been working on for some time. I deleted it from this site for personal reasons, of which are the fact that I think my writing sucks.

I'm turning this project into a manga, for the same personal reasons.

I'm only leaving this so that I can keep the comments.

If you want to know more about my manga project, then shoot me a comment. I'd happy to answer any questions you have.