12 Ways to Get Better at Art Quickly
Hello and welcome to another Sketchbook Saturday. These sketchbook Saturdays I share a watercolor speedpaint from my sketchbook while talking about various artist topics, and today I’ll be sharing 12 ways you can get better at art quickly while painting a narwhal (video is above or click HERE).
Don’t hate me for saying this.. But the only way you can get better quickly is by practicing. There is no other way you can improve your art. If you don’t practice, you won’t improve.
With that said, I’ll share ways you can practice art and some actual things you can do right now to start to improve.
1 USE A SKETCHBOOK
First, If you don’t have a sketchbook, get one right now. Pause this video and order one online. Having a sketchbook will help you improve your art because you can take it with you anywhere to sketch in and write down ideas for your art. And I don’t know about you but filling up a sketchbook really motivates me to paint more. I’m actually looking forward to the day I fill up this sketchbook (one I’m using in the video).
2 PRACTICE EVERY DAY
To get better at art quickly you need to practice every day. Every day. Okay, if you miss a day, that’s fine. But if you want to improve your art quickly you should practice every day even if it’s for 10 minutes. If you have trouble finding the time to make art, watch Sketchbook Saturday 3 (click HERE) when I shared 8 tips on how to make time for art. And this brings me to the next point…
3 DO AN ART CHALLENGE
Last spring I did a 100 day painting challenge where for 100 days straight I painted a watercolor painting. I did this challenge so I can quickly learn watercolors and improve. And it was life changing, seriously. If I didn’t do that challenge, my watercolor skills would not be as good.
That 100 day challenge was hard, some days I just didn’t want to paint but I did anyways. And there’s a quote I shared in the last Sketchbook Saturday from Picasso ~ “Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.”
4 SAY NO TO YOUR COMFORT ZONE
In order to improve your art quickly, you need to leave your comfort zone. When you push yourself to try something you’re uncomfortable with or go the extra mile with your art that’s when growth starts happening. Outside your comfort zone is where you’ll improve and grow.
I don’t know about you, but I love my comfort zone. And I have trouble leaving it, but when I do I’m always glad I did.
Here are a few quotes on comfort zones that inspire me:
“Great things never come from comfort zones.”
“Outside your comfort zone is where the magic happens.”
5 PLAN AND SET GOALS
Planning and setting goals will help you improve your art quicker. Here’s another quote I like and it’s from Benjamin Franklin ~ “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”
You can set a goal on how much you want to improve by a certain date. It’s important to be specific with your goal and make it challenging enough, but not too challenging to where it’s unlikely you’ll accomplish it.
It’s also good to plan out your practice time and write it in your calendar or planner. Some examples could be every morning before work from 7 to 7:30. Or at night from 9 to 10. Or during lunch break. Or even in 10 minute segments in the day in your sketchbook.
6 TRY A NEW MEDIUM
One of the ways I improved quickly with my art was by trying a new medium which was watercolor at the time. I was stubborn with oils and didn’t want to paint with anything else but once I gave myself permission to try watercolors, that’s when I saw a huge improvement with my art. Oils and watercolor are so different and each requires different skills to work with.
Trying a new medium will not only help you improve, but could also re-engage your interest with art and make you feel more excited to practice.
7 CLEAN ART WORKSPACE
Another way to help yourself improve quickly is by having a dedicated creating space that is also clean. I don’t know about you, but when my workspace is a mess (which is most of the time) I am not only distracted by the mess, but it hinders my creativity. When my space is clean and tidy, I feel happier, am inspired by my workspace, and find that the art I create is better.
8 REPETITION
The eighth way is repetition. If there is something specific you want to improve with your art (like blending, or painting oh i don’t know shells) then do it repeatedly, over and over and you’ll find that each time you are faster and better. This may be tedious, but it will help you improve quickly.
9 WELCOME FAILURES
When you’re an artist, failing is better for you than succeeding. When I say failing I mean messing up your art. We need to welcome failures and know that failing is good. When we mess up and fail, we learn from them. If we never fail, how can we ever learn? So, don’t be negative with yourself, when you mess up, ask yourself what you’ve learned and how you can be better next time.
10 PRACTICE WHAT YOU’RE NOT GOOD AT
The tenth way to get better at art is to practice what you’re not good at. If you only practice what you are good at, then what’s the point in that, right? Try to focus on your weaknesses and what you are afraid to paint or draw, often what we are afraid to paint is where we need to improve the most.
I also want to say that it is good to practice what you’re good at so that you can improve what you’re good at even more and master your skills, but if you want to improve quickly then you should practice what you’re not good at since this is where your improvement will be noticed more.
11 HAVE PATIENCE
To become better at art, we also need to become better at being patient. We need to allow ourselves time to improve. I think it’s good to give ourselves at least 30 days to expect to see improvement in our art. And years and years to reach mastery.
It’s said that to master a skill, we need to practice and do that skill for 10,000 hours which is 20 hours of work a week for 10 years. Or 10 hours of work a week for 20 years. Which is crazy, but really shows that we need to be patient with ourselves as we practice.
12 DO TUTORIALS
And the final way to improve our art is by doing tutorials. These tutorials can be here on YouTube, online painting workshops, or in-person workshops.
You can make a tutorial goal for yourself, like to complete one tutorial a week on YouTube, Patreon, or on an artists course website. Below I’ve linked playlists to watercolor and oil tutorials below for you if you’d like to check them out.
Watercolor Tutorials ► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2gk4npK-s0&list=PLbpzd3P9XKZA56iQlzsANFDQ9CdcvgFdf
Oil Painting Tutorials ► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-RQjUPgJN4&list=PLbpzd3P9XKZD4L-VHZT-ywOq5hXd2AWUG
🌟 BONUS TIP 🌟
I have a bonus tip for you that might actually be the most important when it comes to improving your art. And it’s this: Ask yourself and write down WHY you want to improve your art.
The reasons behind what we do and why we do what we do, is what drives us to keep going when things get challenging and difficult. Remembering our why will keep us going when we feel like giving up. After this video, click HERE to watch a video about the power of WHY by Simon Sinek. He also has a book called Start with Why.
One final thought I want to share with you is that everyone started out as a beginner. One year ago from this recording, I had no idea how to paint with watercolors. Like no idea. But I took a leap away from oils and practiced watercolors consistently. And here I am today. I’m still not 100% comfortable with watercolors or a master at them, but I am a lot better than a year ago because I practiced.
🌟 How to Get Better at Art Quickly Checklist 🌟
Use a Sketchbook
Create Every Day
Do an Art Challenge
Say No to Your Comfort Zone
Plan and Set Goals
Try a New Medium
Clean Work Space
Repetition
Welcome Failures
Practice What You’re Not Good At
Be Patient
Do Tutorials
Let us know in the comments if you have any tips on improving art and if you are trying to get better at art. I hope it helped you!
♡♡♡ WATERCOLOR CHALLENGES♡♡♡
10 Day Watercolor Woodland Animal Challenge ► https://allisonlyonart.live/watercoloranimalchallengeyt
10 Day Watercolor Bird Challenge ► https://allisonlyonart.live/watercolorbirdchallengeyt
10 Day Watercolor Butterfly Challenge ► https://allisonlyonart.live/watercolorbutterflychallengeyt
Free Beginner Watercolor Class ► https://allisonlyonart.live/freewatercolorclass
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