Rookie Mistakes

NUMBER ONE: Ambition

Seriously, what’s with all of you ambitious people? It’s like your purpose in life is to succeed… optimists…

So they're not dancing on an elephant-shaped table, and they're
playing a clarinet, not a flute, but this will suffice. 

But actually, it is ambition that can be the dagger (WOOOO METAPHORS ARE MY THING). When you look up a picture of how somebody drew a monkey playing the flute, dancing on a table that is shaped like an elephant, PLEASE DO NOT TRY IT. Seriously, you’re going to end up with your stupid amoeba, and come on, how many of those do you really want in your portfolio?

Here, draw something like this to start you off. 

You need to start simple. I suggest you just draw simple things around your room so you can practice your techniques. They’re not pieces to sell; they’re to practice! Start drawing from a picture because drawing from life involves a lot of skills and practice.

I was just kidding about ambition being a bad thing…well not really, but just if you’re going to be ambitious, know what’s possible and what’s now (JUST FOR RIGHT NOW!) I just don’t want you to get discouraged because even though I don’t who you are, I still love you. <3

NUMBER TWO: Drawing to Draw

Who draws to draw… let’s be a little more realistic now, shall we? If you’re here so you can draw, great, but don’t start drawing to draw, PLEASE.

I think I need to clarify what I’m saying because sometimes my thoughts like the one above, aren’t exactly concrete yet.

What I mean is, if you’re sitting in your room stressed out of your mind because you have an AP US History research paper due tomorrow along with two AP Calc and AP Physics tests and a bunch of other things, you don’t have to be like “oh wait, I need to practice my drawing because I am a rookie, and practice makes perfect.” This is actually such a common thing where people will draw something because they think they have to. Honestly, you don’t have to have this mentality where you draw to practice now, and once you become good at it, you can then learn how to enjoy it.

Allow me to inspire you:
Claude Monet's The Saint-Lazare Train Station

If you don’t feel like drawing, DON’T. Because nothing tires or bores someone more than doing something they don’t want to do. I only draw when I’ m inspired, for example. I’ll come home with nothing to do, watch some TV, then go on Facebook (which is actually the most boring thing ever), and I’ll just be so bored. Then, I’ll start searching different art works…young artists, famous artists, etc. Or, I’ll go around my house and see an object and automatically ‘arrange it’ in my head (remember “arranging it”?—one of the steps on how to draw in my blog titled “A BUNCH OF STEPS TO BE AMAZING.” Suddenly, I am inspired, and I draw (or paint, but we’re not there yet.)

MORE INSPIRATION:
Salvador Dali's Soft Watch at Moment of First Explosion
(NOTE: He was a surrealist painter, so he messed with the
laws of nature)

So to refine my previous ambiguous and just plain confusing statement: don’t draw to draw, draw to enjoy. (THIS BLOG MAKES ME SO PROFOUND—I LOVE IT.)

Even undiscovered artists can inspire.
And even objects as simple as an apple can be beautiful.
NOTE: See how this artist took advantage of his space.
Lack of graphite can enhance, too.

NUMBER THREE: The Proper Way

So you want to draw a pair of sunglasses. Okay, go find a table near a window, or where you can access bright light. Get your set of art supplies:

1. pencils
2. eraser
3. ruler

4. horsehair dusting brush(TRUST me, it’s useful. I have one. It’s meant to swipe away eraser shavings without smudging your artwork)

5. a razor knife (to sharpen my pencils because I’m too cool for a mechanical sharpener)  Learn the technique here!

6. blending tools

7. easel maybe?

8. Rag (which is where you put all of your pencils, erasers, brush, blending tools, etc., and what you clean your dirty eraser and blending tools with)

So that’s about right… right?

..............WRONG! WRONGWRONGWRONGWRONG

If you think you need to go around and set all of this up every time you want to work on your drawing, THINK AGAIN. Seriously, every art class will tell you, that before you start to draw, your station needs to be ready with all of these tools. I’ll admit it. I own all of these things, and they all come in handy. When I used to go to art lessons, I did the whole shebang.

BUT, what I failed to realize was that when I stopped my lessons, and I would get inspired to draw something, my lazy butt didn’t want to go searching for all of these things. It really put me off. So, I developed a new method… just go get a pencil, eraser and a piece of paper.

It's like I've been saying: you don't need to draw the Mona Lisa.
An inspirational yet undiscovered artist--notice the style? It's the same guy who drew that apple.
Okay, well at least notice the signature on the bottom right!!

If you’re not the lazy type, please do go and set all of this up because it does make your life a lot easier. And you feel like such a pro when you sharpen your pencil with that knife even though there’s a mechanical sharpener three feet away. And if you are planning on a masterpiece (which is probably not what a rookie should be thinking—and if you are, review “NUMBER ONE” again), then you probably should at least get your set of art pencils at the very least.

YAYYYY THESE ARE MY TOP THREE ROOKIE MISTAKES… created from personal experience… and if you are someone who never ever did any of these things…props to you… don’t brag about it. Now go draw that flute-playing monkey.