4 answers
Damarion
Student
1
Question
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What are some steps to better your art work?
I'm a student looking to major in graphic design, but also I'm looking to better my skills in art. ways of improving my skills within challenging myself. #graphic-design #art
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4 answers
Ellen Rosenthal
Retired Art Teacher
239
Answers
Woodbridge, Virginia
Updated
Ellen’s Answer
Hi Damarion
Good question! It shows that you are serious about your art, and that you want to improve. No matter how "good" you get at something in art, you can always improve. It's what keeps an art career challenging and exciting. You've already gotten some excellent responses. Here is my response, based on my experience as an art teacher. It is more "conceptual" in nature than giving you specific steps, but I think it might help.
You don't say if you are still in high school or college. You talk about improving your skills, so I assume you already have some of the art and design basics? I also assume you have spoken with your art teachers about your design work, and you have also connected with some of your fellow art students for feedback? Getting feedback from your teachers and fellow students is always a good start; often they will point out aspects of your art you are unaware of---positive and negative aspects. But at a certain point, even as a young artist or designer, you need to take a look at your art and ask yourself: "What am I trying to accomplish with my artwork (or assignment or design job)?" "What elements in my artwork are working towards that goal?" and "What elements in my artwork detract from achieving that goal?" And finally "What do I need to do in order to improve; what skills do I need to work on, and where can I get this needed training or experience?"
The first question is really the most important, as it sets up why you are creating the art, who you are creating it for, and what you want others to get out of it. Being clear about this answer will actually help others who are trying to help you. If your answer to the first question was "I want to depict trees as they exist in the real world in my paintings", then you need to be aware of how well you are doing at creating realism in your depiction of trees, and you need to be aware of what you need to do to improve. Finding out "what you need to do to improve" comes down to your own thinking and from asking others for feedback. This is sort of a simple scenario, but I think you could apply it to graphic design.
Be honest about your artwork and where you need to improve. Be open and listen with humility to others who make suggestions for improvement. Continue to grow as an artist and designer.
Best wishes. I hope this helps.
Good question! It shows that you are serious about your art, and that you want to improve. No matter how "good" you get at something in art, you can always improve. It's what keeps an art career challenging and exciting. You've already gotten some excellent responses. Here is my response, based on my experience as an art teacher. It is more "conceptual" in nature than giving you specific steps, but I think it might help.
You don't say if you are still in high school or college. You talk about improving your skills, so I assume you already have some of the art and design basics? I also assume you have spoken with your art teachers about your design work, and you have also connected with some of your fellow art students for feedback? Getting feedback from your teachers and fellow students is always a good start; often they will point out aspects of your art you are unaware of---positive and negative aspects. But at a certain point, even as a young artist or designer, you need to take a look at your art and ask yourself: "What am I trying to accomplish with my artwork (or assignment or design job)?" "What elements in my artwork are working towards that goal?" and "What elements in my artwork detract from achieving that goal?" And finally "What do I need to do in order to improve; what skills do I need to work on, and where can I get this needed training or experience?"
The first question is really the most important, as it sets up why you are creating the art, who you are creating it for, and what you want others to get out of it. Being clear about this answer will actually help others who are trying to help you. If your answer to the first question was "I want to depict trees as they exist in the real world in my paintings", then you need to be aware of how well you are doing at creating realism in your depiction of trees, and you need to be aware of what you need to do to improve. Finding out "what you need to do to improve" comes down to your own thinking and from asking others for feedback. This is sort of a simple scenario, but I think you could apply it to graphic design.
Be honest about your artwork and where you need to improve. Be open and listen with humility to others who make suggestions for improvement. Continue to grow as an artist and designer.
Best wishes. I hope this helps.
Mauro Blardony
Recruiter
61
Answers
San Francisco, California
Updated
Mauro’s Answer
I'm no graphic designer, but I have reviewed tons of portfolios from the design field. If anything a lot of designers are always shock to see what kind of design some clients are looking for.
I would try putting graphicdesign on twitter, linkedin, facebook to find a group to connect with. Your looking for the feedback.
I would try putting graphicdesign on twitter, linkedin, facebook to find a group to connect with. Your looking for the feedback.
Simeon Snow
Risk Assurance
1792
Answers
Houston, Texas
Updated
Simeon’s Answer
There are a lot of courses that you can take online that could help you learn graphic design skills. Skillshare has a lot of online classes that you could take for yourself at your own pace. Google also has a UX Design course that they're starting now on grow.google .com. You might also might want to try reaching out to businesses to see if they want free work done for them. Sometimes, having a timeline and some accountability to that goal is a great way to push yourself to upgrade your art skills.
Kelly Wight
Director of Corporate Sustainability
5
Answers
Andover, Massachusetts
Updated
Kelly’s Answer
Hi Damarion,
It's great that you're asking this question! There are a number of ways to sharpen your design skills, the most obvious being coursework. Like Simeon said, take a look online - there are tons of resources, both paid and free. In addition to this, having teachers/designers review your work is always helpful, because sometimes you can't see what you're doing well/poorly or what needs to be fixed. See if an art teacher at your school will take a look, or search your local area for programs that do free portfolio review days (colleges, design companies, nonprofit programs, etc.). I also would say inspiration is your best friend. Look online, in museums, or just in the real world (signs, advertisements, nature) and see if you can draw/paint or mimic a style or color palette. Do some art history research - see what the various styles and periods of art are all about and see if any resonate with you and your own style (this is a good free resource to start: https://smarthistory.org/). Learn about color theory and the color wheel, which should give you a better eye for selecting the colors you add to your artwork (I personally love https://color.adobe.com/create/color-wheel because you can find premade palettes and try out your own). Above all, practice!! Practice drawing, painting, playing around with design software and with all of this together, over time your skills should develop and refine. Good luck!
It's great that you're asking this question! There are a number of ways to sharpen your design skills, the most obvious being coursework. Like Simeon said, take a look online - there are tons of resources, both paid and free. In addition to this, having teachers/designers review your work is always helpful, because sometimes you can't see what you're doing well/poorly or what needs to be fixed. See if an art teacher at your school will take a look, or search your local area for programs that do free portfolio review days (colleges, design companies, nonprofit programs, etc.). I also would say inspiration is your best friend. Look online, in museums, or just in the real world (signs, advertisements, nature) and see if you can draw/paint or mimic a style or color palette. Do some art history research - see what the various styles and periods of art are all about and see if any resonate with you and your own style (this is a good free resource to start: https://smarthistory.org/). Learn about color theory and the color wheel, which should give you a better eye for selecting the colors you add to your artwork (I personally love https://color.adobe.com/create/color-wheel because you can find premade palettes and try out your own). Above all, practice!! Practice drawing, painting, playing around with design software and with all of this together, over time your skills should develop and refine. Good luck!