Practice makes perfect
Simply put, if you don’t make art, you won’t ever get better at it. Let’s imagine that you enjoy drawing at age 12, and then stop for a while. You pick up drawing again at age 20. Can you compare your skills to those of others your age? Not even close! You’re still drawing at the same level as a 12-year-old! That’s why you should constantly practice your skills and even do the same exercises (http://www.drawinghowtodraw.com/drawing-lessons/improve-drawing/drawing-exercises.html) over and over again. You might be surprised by just how much even a year of regular practice can sharpen and improve your skills.
Learn everything
One of the quickest ways to improve your art is to seek education. If you take a photography course (http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/courses/photography/), for example, you will learn so much more than if you were to simply walk around trying to take pictures of what you saw in front of you. The good thing about taking a course is that it allows you to learn in a concentrated space of time, getting knowledge in a practical sense as well as learning theory.
The more you know about your chosen art form, the better you will get at creating it. Whether it is figuring out a new technique or just respecting the history of art, you can improve immensely in a short timeframe.
Master studies
Master studies are a type of practice where you copy something that has been done by a far better artist than you. You may have done this as a child if you tried to copy your favourite cartoon, and you may even do it already as part of your practice. If so, great! Turn it up a notch to really get better.
Choose the best artist in your field, in your opinion. Preferably it should be someone who works in a similar style to yours, so that you can get better at doing what you do. Now take what you feel is their best piece of art (or two, or three). Try to copy it exactly – and I mean exactly. Get everything in the right place. You might even be able to find out the exact techniques they used if you search around online.
A master study is a chance to follow in the footsteps of someone who is a lot better at art than you are, and learn how they do it. It’s not something to be shared or claimed as your own work, but it’s excellent practice and will improve your skills immediately every time you try it.
Make time for art
The final thing you can do is to make sure that you are practicing your art every day, or at the very least every week. The way you do this is by the “trigger, practice, reward” model. When you get your trigger (which could be your morning coffee or Sunday lunch) you go and spend a set amount of time on practice. Then you reward yourself with something you like (a snack, for example). This helps you build good habits.
The harder you work at your art, the faster your skills will improve. The truly great artists are those who are dedicated to their craft!
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