Hello!
I noticed that art that is quite decent has less visibility and engagement on social media.
That's not the case with what i consider it to be "bad" art or high level artworks.

Usually, low level art tends to attract people who see the artist is struggling so they come in with advices and supportive comments. Sometimes, that kind of art makes people engage because it does a good meme material.

High level art doesn't need any explanation - it's breathtaking, it was engineered over days or weeks of work and the artist has a lot of experience that contributes to their artworks being very eye catching and successful.

But medium level art? It seems that most people scrolling go thinking "Mhmm... yea, it's ok... not horrible but not good enough to stop and leave a comment and like". At least this is how it looks like when I am looking at subreddits that are destined to art (not referring to this one).

I would scroll, see a few top posts that gathered thousands of upvotes (which are well-deserved because their art is breathtaking). Upon scrolling more, I see worse art that gathered dozens or hundreds of upvotes and be like "Ok, that's nice, it's a supportive community, this artist will only get encouraged to learn and draw more". And then I see a really decent piece of art and... it's been up there for hours, barely a few upvotes... much less than what I'd call a lower tier level art I've seen before and ask myself "How? This is much better than the previous post that got hundreds?".

I also noticed that low quality art that is mixed with some NSFW elements tend to also rank better than decent SFW art, but that's a discussion for another time.

What do you think?

i honestly have no idea where i should ask this, but every time my art gets complimented, it means a lot to me and i want to convey that through more than a simple thank you! but i always just end up rotating the same "thank you" + "i'm so glad you think so / your words mean a lot / it means the world!" because although it is true, i also feel like using these words too often will diminish their effect. but i mean the sentiment wholeheartedly!

thus, what are some other ways to show you're genuinely appreciative of a compliment towards your art without it feeling like just a courtesy reply? many thanks in advance!

I feel like this question is weird, but here goes.

I've read plenty about theory, perspective, psychology, harmony, etc. To think about how different choices will affect or change an image, think about what you the focus to be, think about where you want contrast, and so on.

Here's the problem I have: trying to plan to that extent results in me doing nothing. Because now, I'm just worried abour if I'm making those decisions / choices.

When I create something, the whole process honestly just runs on instinct. For example:

"Why did you use blue instead of red?"

"Because I wanted blue instead of red."

That's it. This is genuinely the extent of any creative decision. It looked nice, I wanted to try it, I liked it, I kept it. The end. It doesn't even occur to me to think about anything else while I'm doing whatever I'm doing.

So, the question is how to think deeply while drawing, I guess. How do I fix that?

You ever sit down to make something and it takes a completely different turn than you expected? Like, you started with one idea, and somewhere along the way your brain decided to take the scenic route through Weirdsville. Sometimes those end up being my favorite pieces. Curious if anyone else has made something that genuinely surprised them.

I am used to doing more paintings digitally where it's easy to see the value of a given color as it is shown on the color selectors in various programs. I am getting into using more traditional media such as acrylics and alcohol markers.

Some values are easy to see such as a light pink compared to a navy blue. But in general, how do you know what color has a darker or lighter value? Does it become intuitive the more you use them?

I want to play around with color and value more so I am looking for input on how you approach color and value in your works.

I’m looking to buy Ohuhu markers, I don’t have any alcohol markers but I tried them out once and they were really fun. The two options I’m thinking of are the 48 set + 48 pastels, or the 120 set + 48 pastels.

I’m not sure if getting more markers is worth it, because I’m still starting out with this medium and maybe I won’t like it? But at the same time, if I get the 48 standard + 48 pastels and upgrade later, I’ll have a lot of duplicate markers. So, should I prioritize having less duplicates and just get the bigger set or should I save my money? Thank you!

Good morning, friends. I'm interested in drawing bodies and I'm looking for references. I usually use Line of Action and Pinterest as galleries, but both have a problem.

Line of Action is almost perfect, but it lacks variety after a while. I've been there long enough to know almost all the models on the site, lmao. It's excellent, but I need references for other body types.

And Pinterest... Well, it's a nightmare there unless you're looking for references of bodybuilders or muscular or thin people.

In particular, I would like to find references for more varied and conventional bodies, not so much the stylized exaggeration of more mainstream pages.

Does anyone know of any websites for this? Thanks in advance.

I don't really NEED this for any reason, but my friends and I were discussing taking some OCS and shaking them around like ragdolls, and I was wondering if anyone knows of any website that might already have puppet rigs for shaking around a 2d form that you can draw. Kind of like you do in Tomodachi Life.

On another note, if anyone knows of any really silly gimmicky websites like that, let me know! My friend found one for deepfrying images in a vat of oil until they were crispy. (Like actually battered and fried, not the Internet "deepfried") I want more sillies like that

Hi everyone! I’m a high school student running an art club at my school, and I’m looking for ideas to make it more engaging and different from regular school art or crafts classes.
I want students to have fun, experiment with different art styles and materials, develop their own artistic tastes, and feel free to express themselves rather than just follow instructions and complete assignments.
The problem is that I’m not sure what activities would actually get teenagers interested and excited to come back each week. I don’t want the club to feel like another mandatory class where students are told what to draw.
For those of you who have run art clubs, taught art, or participated in one as a student:
What activities or projects made art club genuinely fun and engaging?
How can I encourage students to experiment and develop their own styles instead of just copying references?
Are there any unusual or creative approaches that worked particularly well with teenagers?
I’d really appreciate any ideas or personal experiences!

Im looking for some new acrylic markers, thinking between ohuhu and enmy, so far ive been using Arrtx but I need more colors and Want to test out a diff brand, which ones should I buy?

In the videos I've watched (mostly Reilly or Loomis based), the instructor divides up the face, chops off the sides, then draws two lines. On the right, a line from the bottom of the ear to the jaw. On the left, a beautiful perfect curve, the follows the curves made by the ocular cavity and cheek. It looks so easy and the ones I've watched just "do it". I get it right about 1 time in 10, and the other nine, drawing/erasing/redrawing until the paper is so torn up, I abandon ship.

Can you point me to something that helps?

I'm looking for ideas. I've gone to two:

1) Organizer hands out images from anime/animated shows and everyone draws from reference

2) Everyone in a room is just drawing what they're working on

I was wondering if there were any other types.

Are folks still making and trading ATCs? I use them to do a quick destress piece or basic tutorials. I have a little pile of them. If anyone is still making these, where do you trade them?

I plan on doing a large (5 by 5 foot) acrylic painting on canvas. I would like to glue some plastic pieces to the surface at the end. I don't want the canvas to sag, so I am thinking about adding another layer of canvas first. There doesn't seem to be much info on how to do this online. I was thinking of stretching and stapling as normal, then adding a glue, like acrylic gel, then adding the final layer of canvas on top and stretching/stapling that.

Anyone have any tips or advice?

I'm new to inking, and I think I've been pressing too hard :( my 005 Pigma Micron is a little bit pressed in, and drawing at certain angles makes it not come out clearly, is there some way for me to pull the tip up a teeny bit?

Anyone have so tips for me on cybersigilism drawing. I started drawing cybersigilism because it's literally the only thing i can draw but recently I feel like my swirls and patterns are becoming repetitive. I've tried looking on Pinterest for some ideas but I'm not that good yet what should I do and what can I look for to find more patterns for cybersigilism?

I feel silly for asking, but I'm a tattoo apprentice and my mentor wants me to learn from this book, but I'm not exactly sure how to apply the concepts into my art without exercises in the book.

I'm incredibly interested in improving my concept of light and shadow as it needs improvement.

I am working on a collage that is primarily paper (and one or two found plastic sheets) on canvas, and I was wondering what the best adhesive is that would secure (1) the paper items to the canvas without bleeding through the paper and (2) the plastic to the canvas, if that requires a different adhesive. Nothing being attached is heavy so I couldnt find an exact rec - forgive me if this has been asked before. Thanks!

Hey guys! I am in art class right now and we just started our live figure drawing. And I’m wondering if anyone here has any insight on my question:
How does that not hurt? And do you have any pain at night you know was from modeling?
Our model today picked difficult poses, hard on the feet, and hard on the hips. For sure it’s only 2 minutes, but even in the amount of time I feel that I should readjust because I am pulling something or stressing my hips out unnecessarily. Like how you stand leaning your hips when you should really have both feet planted for an equal pose.
I actually thought they were just going to sit

Do you think Mabef m-25 is a good choice for me? I havent bought an easel before, just been painting on my own at home without formal art training. Ive been trying different mediums like oil paint, oil pastels, and acrylics.

Sooo... I just googled easels and was torn between the M-10 and M-25, but I just went for the M-25. and now I'm wondering if I made the right choice. Haha 🤣

I have been doing gesture drawing for nearly 2 decades. For much of that time, I had burning pain in my shoulder as well as a skeletal issue impacting my shoulder rotation, so my gestures were pretty bad. After a lot of exercise, my shoulder has been much better the past few years. My gestures have improved, but I feel like I focus too much on contour and detail and end up not getting much drawn in time. They end up looking worse than artists who are much less experienced, since their gestures have a charm even if lacking in anatomy, proportion, and line quality.

What has been your approach?

I’ve been trying to do art for a few years, and I’ve been getting somewhat decent. However, I struggle to know what I want to draw. And I think that’s because I’m not really telling a story with my art.

A lot of what I currently do is character art which is cool and all, but it isn’t enough to really keep me motivated. Plus characters on their own look pretty boring imo as there isn’t really a deeper meaning.

There are days when I simply sit quietly and take my time drawing each artwork by hand.
I still hope that handmade art will always carry a value of its own, the ability to awaken something beautiful and emotional within us. Perhaps that belief is what keeps me drawing by hand, day after day.