Some tips for drawing!

Hey everyone! I'm back after a really hectic month of exams! But I've had some people ask me for a few quick tips on how to get better quality drawings. These are just some tips I discovered from my own experience, so let's get started!

1. Work on a clean surface, with clean materials and CLEAN HANDS.
This is very important. If your work surface, tools or even hands are dirty, your finished product will not be as good as it can be! This doesn't just go for traditional art, but digital as well. Making sure a tablet and pen are clean ensures a high quality finished product. You don't want to be losing control of the pen's pressure because of a dirty nib or tablet surface, so making sure your tools are clean is a must. It's pretty self-explanatory in traditional art (greasy hands + drawing paper = bad time), because you don't want anything on your page that isn't what you're using as a medium! This also prolongs the life of your tools! Yay!

ALWAYS:
-Wash your hands and wipe down your work station before beginning
-Wipe down any fingerprints or dust off digital media
-Make sure your tools are in tip-top shape; sharpen any pencils you want to use, and make sure the tips of pens/pencils/tablet pens are free of any residue or dust
-If you feel your hands getting sweaty or oily during the working process, wash your hands with soap and water, making sure they're completely DRY before resuming

2. Have good lighting!
You don't want to pick the wrong colour for traditional works or hurt your eyes from working in poor lighting conditions. Make sure your area is well lit; this way you can see what you're doing and you'll be less prone to making mistakes. Try to aim for a light that isn't blinding you, but isn't too dim.

3. Work on a solid, stable surface.
Working on a wonky or soft surface, like a bed or even a floor can cause damage to your artwork either by depositing gross things onto it (ex. dust from the floor), or not giving you the proper support to apply your media to the page, or tablet. This is also less of a strain on you physically, because you can work comfortably and won't strain yourself trying to find a position that works for you!

4. When you can, try to make a sketch of the work first, then ink and colour the copy, not the original.
When you are sketching something, making mistakes or changes is common. This however, can be left on the page (ex. erase marks), and won't look very good on a finished product. Making a copy of a traditional work, by tracing your own sketch on another sheet of paper, for example can let you have more freedom when doing sketches, because it won't matter how messy the sketch is! Also, if you make a mistake or decide to change your mind during the inking or colouring process, no worries! Your original can be replicated again, without you losing all your work over a mistake!

5. Make light marks, and build!
Start light and build until you get a darker shade. Colouring too hard or pressing too hard will make your page all dented and ruins the paper for future uses. Colouring gradually is good, because you can adjust and re-layer if you need. It's easier to go from light to dark, but not the same for the other way around!

6. Take little breaks.
It's great to be focused and get LOADS done at once, but sometimes it can be a little overwhelming and you can actually begin to slack as you move on (this happens so much to me ). Taking small breaks in between can help you refresh yourself when continuing your artwork, so you don't burn yourself out. Plus, youtube streaks are awesome.

7. Always have patience!
Don't worry and rage quit if something doesn't look right. Keep adjusting and working until you have the result you're happy with. Look up references, and even look at other peoples' artwork to see what they have done. Never give up! Take a break, work on something else (or my personal favorite, youtube until you drop), and maybe make some changes if you want. Art is fun, so it shouldn't excessively stress you out, right?

And there you have it! Some tips to help you as you work! Please let me know if this helped you out!