16 proven ways to get better as an artist

If you are like me, you've agonized over your work. You've sought others opinions to no avail (all they want to do is "be nice", which actually isn't very helpful), tried to take classes or learn from others but found them less than helpful, and beat yourself up endlessly.

You are not alone.

First, I will not tell you whether your work is "good" or "bad". That's subjective. However, you can always improve, and should strive to. As professional artists (and if you're getting paid, you ARE a pro), we have no certifications or training aside from art school to keep us growing. So self-motivation is key. And I'm assuming you have that if you're reading this post. The rest is just sweat. Trust me, if you try the exercises below, and really work at them, not just try them once or twice, you'll improve. Guaranteed.

Occasionally I still suffer from the "My work sucks" syndrome, but not as much as I used to. Because I've put in the work. You can too. Follow some (or all) of the suggestions below and watch your work improve dramatically. It's all about time and practice. The more you put into it, the more you'll get out of it. PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. Then, Practice some more. You wouldn't expect to just sit down at a piano one day and be able to play Chopin. It takes years of work. Be prepared for it.

However, doing the same thing over and over ("canned" caricatures) doesn't really seem to help improve peoples work. I know. I followed the same formula for ten years and didn't improve until I joined the ISCA in 2006. Einstein said that doing the same thing and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity. So MIX IT UP. Here's some of the things I've done over the years. Feel free to chime in and add your own ideas for what you've done to help you improve:

1. Draw every day. This is the number one rule. I follow it when I can but I have three small kids so it's difficult. Which is why my work isn't the best it could be. But YOU, you don't have my problem. SO DO IT.

the victim

sniper sketch from a few weeks ago

2. Get a sketchbook and start sketching wherever your go. Restaurants. Libraries. Airports. Bars. (This has the added advantage of giving you an opening with that cute girl or hot guy sitting across the bar). I call this "Sniper Sketching". You don't necessarily have to let the subject see you sketching them, but you can if you like the end result. Some artists I know give their final sketch to the "victim". Some artists get together and do this on a regular basis, even giving themselves challenges to draw a particular person or theme. You can even doodle on your iphone nowadays.

Emulating the style of Ben Burgraff

3. Study artists you like. Face book and Twitter make it easy to connect with other artists. I highly recommend enlarging a drawing you love by a master caricaturist and copying it freehand. Try to emulate the lines, the strokes, the color - whatever you feel you need to work on. Post it on the ISCA forum (more on this in another post) or Face Book and ask for feedback. This is the way artists in the past have learned to improve - by copying the masters. DO NOT, however, re post it and claim it as your own! That's plagiarism and could result in legal action. Instead, use it for exercises for yourself. Keep your old exercises- its great to look back over time and see how you've improved.

portrait of young Marilyn in charcoal

4. Try different materials. Materials are SO important. I used sharpies for years (still do sometimes at gigs) but they gave me a TERRIBLE line quality, Go to your local art store and grab a bunch of different pens. Some people swear by the Markette (Available online at www.cartoonpens.com), but there are many others that are excellent. I myself love a brush pen sold at Michael's. Its called LePlume, and its a bit stiffer than other pens of the same kind. But you can also experiment with color - try painting, pastels, charcoal, even sculpy. Pen and ink is one of my faves. The results may surprise you. Here's one I did this summer using charcoal (yes, I know it's a portrait. That's not the point.)

5. Start out your drawing with the intent of exaggerating as much as possible. STRETCH yourself! Trying to retain a likeness at the same time is the delicate balancing act that sets caricaturists apart from other artists, and it's what makes our art so difficult. But that's what we love about it! The challenge :)

6. Try a different view, such as 3/4 (this has helped me improve my work IMMENSELY) to break yourself out of a rut. Start drawing at a different place than you are used to (its fun to start with the feature you wish to exaggerate the most and then work from there.) Keep in mind the 100% rule - a face can be broken into 100 squares. If you use 90% for the nose, for example, that leaves 10% for the rest of the face and therefore the rest of the face must be smaller in proportion. Otherwise all you get is a "big" drawing.
TO illustrate how much this techniuque can help your work, I'm going to post something a little embarassing (because it's so bad)

before

after

Needless to say, I've been doing the 3/4 view ever since.



7. Set yourself specific goals. If you know you're not up to snuff on, say, hair, make it your mission to improve in that area. Find other artists who excel at your chosen improvement area and emulate them.


8. Take pictures of live work you do that you are happy with. Make sure you include the subject in the picture. Later go back and review the drawing. Try to look at how you could improve it. You might want to actually do a study or even a completed drawing.

I couldv'e made her uglier.

9. Talk to other artists. Find out what they do. Watch them work. A great place to do this is at the International Society of Caricature Artists' convention. Its coming up soon, early November, so check out their website now! http://www.caricature.org

10. Draw from memory. If you see a guy walking down the street who looks like Shaggy on crack, go home and try to draw him from memory. The best Spock I ever did was from memory - and it was for the first painting I ever sold :)

11. Set yourself interesting challenges. For instance, I set out to draw my husband in the cubist style. I was pretty happy with the result, and I might go back and do a painting of this:

12. Try using Underdrawing. THis doesnt always work well at live venues, but it's a good exercise for your sketchbook. it can really help you learn to S-T-R-E-T-C-H the face.

13. Go digital. There are SO many programs out there now, for Ipads I find ArtStudio to be the best. And of course you can get a wacom tablet or a Cintiq. Try looking on Craigslist, one good thing about a bad economy is people are looking to unload stuff for cheap for cash. We got a used Cintiq for $300! I myself haven't done much digital work lately, maybe it's time to go back to the old drawing tablet.

14. Purchase the book "expressions" by Mark Simon and use the more expressive faces to work on exaggeration.

15. Enter contests. Even if you don't enter, drawing as an excercise with a deadline is great practice. on Facebook there are several groups which have weekly contests, including this one where you can post from email, wittygraphy@groups.facebook.com  and caricaturama@groups.facebook.com

A Jodi Foster I did for an online challenge

16. Join a sketchgroup. Many of us stopped figure drawing in college. It doesn't have to be that way! Watching other people draw and being with likeminded artists is extremely helpful. Plus you're a lot more likely to get an honest critique than if you asked, say, your grandma.  Look on www.meetup.com in your area, or, for the brave, check out  dr sketchys anti-art school. http://www.drsketchy.com/branches This is a sketchgroup that is not for the faint of heart , with live models that come in costume. Some of the dr. sketchys I've gone to have feautred Superheroes, Vaudeville, Transvestites, and I've heard they even have had ZOMBIES. Very cool. Very cheap. In a town near you. Look them up!!!

There are probably hundreds of other ways to improve your art, but this is a start. I fyou have any other methods, please feel free to share!