Artistic Improvement.

[KakashiTheSharingan]

I believe I said this already but I need know and have a better understanding on improving my skills and talent as a artist. I have some questions to ask and I would like advice as well.
Can you be a better artist by drawing cartoons all your life?
What do I have to study and learn inorder to improve like you guys?
Is it all about materials to make great quality of art?
Does being a great artist means I have to go to school and learn instead of learning on my own?
Do I have to learn from realistic and then move on to comics?

[Psy]

There have been many people who drew all their lives and went on to be successful some going to school some not.
One example for school: Seth McFarlane drew as a child and knew he wanted to be an animator and make cartoons. He studied and worked for years tho before getting his own show off the ground but has since thrived. I believe he had his own style going in but cant say he didnt learn realism but im sure he learned anatomy at the very least. he is 38yrs old.

One example for not going to school: Jhonen Vasquez allso drew as a child and grew up to be a success. He is the creator of JTHM (johnny the homicidal maniac) and the nickelodeon cartoon Invader Zim. The road for Jhonen was probably just as hard but he had to create allot of contacts and develop relationships with people who had professional training or knew how to get his work on the desk of some one who could help him. He worked doing i forget while he created his comic JTHM and even during its intial release/publishing. He couldnt totally focus on his comic career because it didnt take off over night even when he did finally get it out there. He did finally build a fan base and later quit his day job to do his comics as a living then he got his show which only lasted a few seasons and then went back to his comic. He is about 37yrs old i think. allso i believe he had no professional training and his style is purely stylized.

So both were motivated twards comics or cartooning as children but seth does take the prize in success.

You can publish a comic without an art degree or anything but going into the animation world to have them make the comic you made into an anime the most you could possibly hope for is having some creative input on what they do with the anime but not supreme authority. Allso some publishers are known for taking the rights to your work so they could put a stop to or sell the rights of an anime themselves.

You can get a degree in animation and still make a comic on the side then later pitch the idea to some networks as a possible anime but when you do that you have to make sure you retain rights to the charecters/show or you could be just selling your idea away and never get a say so in what happens after that.

[ClockHand]

Can you be a better artist by drawing cartoons all your life?

Depending on what means "better artist". There are some incredible artists that only draw cartoons, but when you start its never recommended to do that.

What do I have to study and learn inorder to improve like you guys?

Anatomy, Perspective, Lines Weight, Shading, etc. There are many things you need to learn, and not only drawing but in colors.

Is it all about materials to make great quality of art?

No necessarily, they can "improve" certain things, but the overall work depend on skills.

Does being a great artist means I have to go to school and learn instead of learning on my own?

Complex question, first you need to define art and artist. But in a matter of skills, no, some great artist never went to art schools, but again, you first need to know what is art and what means being an artist.

Do I have to learn from realistic and then move on to comics?

Yeah.

[GunZet]

I believe I said this already but I need know and have a better understanding on improving my skills and talent as a artist. I have some questions to ask and I would like advice as well.
Can you be a better artist by drawing cartoons all your life?
What do I have to study and learn inorder to improve like you guys?
Is it all about materials to make great quality of art?
Does being a great artist means I have to go to school and learn instead of learning on my own?
Do I have to learn from realistic and then move on to comics?

My answer this is both yes, and no. Being a better artist simply implies your own goals, what is it you want to live up to? What do you want to do with your skills, have you solidified a style for yourself yet? See, your style will become your trademark, that's what people will recognize you by, and a good artist needs a look for themselves, just like a band needs a sound. So yes, if you draw cartoons all your life, and master that, you can become a great artist in that field.

I'd say the best way to improve besides practicing your ass off, is to realize you need to sit down, and take your time. And furthermore, you need someone you can look up to and say 'hey, I want to get to that level one day.' What I mean by that is you need an artist that influences you, an idol so to speak. That will make your goal much more visual.

Okay, now onto your smaller questions.
No, you don't need a bunch of fancy materials to get better, or create masterpieces. Sure the tools that an artist uses matters, but a pencil isn't going to get up and draw on its own.

No you don't have to go to school to become a great artist. But it helps if you want to become a well-rounded one, as you'll be forced to learn about, and create different work in different mediums you'd never bother with yourself.

A lot of artist will shove the whole 'draw from life' thing down your throat. And they're right. You can't draw what you don't know how to draw right in the first place, you can only get it vaguely similar from what you know. So yes I'd suggest realism once in a while. If it's the human figure you want to learn more about, I'd suggest taking figure drawing classes if you're at that point. And if it's design and other stuff, try taking an industrial design course.

Errrr, yep that's all I got. Hope I wasn't too confusing lol.

tl;dr
Solidify and master your own style, use another artist/influence as a landmark for yourself, learn all you can about art, whether it be in your field or not related, practice practice, and perfect. Profit???

Here's some awesome stuff from my biggest influence.
http://autodestructdigital.blogspot....cdc0fe3772a2ea

[Hamachi]

Well, there are largely 2 main areas you improve in.

Firstly, there's the kinetic part, which is training your body to do what you want it to do. You actually have a very huge area for development here, which is what Asian brush painters and calligraphers work on, for example.

Secondly, there's the mental part. I won't even begin to talk about what this involves, except to emphasize this: lots of beginners downplay what understanding a picture really means. Don't make that mistake. There are lots of subjects your mind needs to analyze and then apply creatively.

[Inksprout]

I agree a lot with what Gunz says regarding art school. The main benefit from it is that you will be pushed into new areas and motivated to try new styles and different techniques. Art is not like other subjects where you have to remember certain facts and need a teacher to explain it. So no you don't have to go to school for it but you do need to keep in mind all of the different aspects you need to learn and be able to motivate yourself into trying things you aren't comfortable with. For me that has always been the hardest part of this 'self teaching' business. I had a lecturer at my university last year for my digital paint class. When he was out of school and working some job he didn't like he decided he wanted to learn to draw so he made up his own art course with various resources and a timeline of about 6 months and taught himself to draw. He then began working in the game industry for a few different companies. Today he works independantly as a free lance artist and loves his work. He even has enough money that he is getting a new house built with his faince. A professional attitude is really helpful and even if you don't go to a school or classes for art getting resources such as books and dvds really helps.

[CypressDahlia]

This may sound off-topic, but I notice that you ask a lot of theoretical questions, yet you don't share your art with us. What's up with that? You can ask all the questions you want, but until you become active in our CC or a similar place elsewhere, and start getting pointers on your artwork, none of this advice will matter.

[tagYURIT]

yeah. Its best if you will show us some of your work. .so we can help you depending on your skill level. . .I think most artists here can easily understand you better by doing that because your work will definitely reflect who your are. (at some point) . o.O

[KakashiTheSharingan]

Sorry. I'll post some soon! Also, thanks for the advice. I really looking forward to working harder and post up more of my works! Even if its just doodles!

[Scarletlight]

My opinions on the subject would beeee:

You can improve through just drawing cartoons, but it will take you 10 times as long as those who studied the basics first.

You don't need to go to school, self teachers become phenomenal artists. DaVinci unraveled the mystery of human anatomy by himself, studying corspses and drawing the muscles. Don't expect you to find corpses, but just shows, not everyone is taught by someone else.

The most important thing to do to improve... alot of people will bang on about anatomy to answer this, and yeah anatomy is important. But in my opinion the most important thing one should do to improve is to study the masters. Don't just draw the figure, but look at how DaVinci and Angelo drew the figure, what can you learn? look at how painters of the renosance period painted their scenery, learn from the illustrations of the golden age. Study the most important manga-ka and if not, study from the ones you enjoy most. The masters left a legaccy behind. Use it.