Splatoon Artists, how did you get good?

[Rainmixer]

I've wanted to draw art for splatoon, and in general, and I was wondering how y'all do it. How'd you start, how good were you? How did you improve?

 

[DzNutsKong]

I'm not a Splatoon artist, I mostly do pixel art for Pokemon, but in general there's a lot of professional-level books that you could buy for general art stuff. Take the steps to learning that an art book ask you to and don't be afraid to just start drawing. The only way you're going to get anywhere is by actually practicing, and the only way to practice art is by actually drawing. If you have any friends who are artists don't hesitate to ask them for feedback as well when you have a work in progress. An extra set of eyes can go a long way in finding problems.

 

[mossyquartz]

I've been drawing for about 10 years and only a few things have really helped me;

1. Practice. This is what everyone says but practice is what will help you improve

2. Look at artists you admire. Think about why you find their art appealing, what do they do differently from other? Think about the colors, anatomy, linework, etc

3. Look at YouTube tutorials. This has been the most helpful thing for me so far. YouTube has tons of tutorials for free. I definitely recommend looking into anatomy tutorials and color theory if you're wanting to draw characters. I first learned most of what I know through YouTubers! If you already know what style you'd like to draw in, try to find tutorials from artists with similar styles!

Hope this helps :) lmk if you have any more questions

 

[Sunflower._.]

A suggestion i can give is to start somewhere, sites like Pinterest is filed with references for things you would like to begin and later develop and improve, for me i started sketching and doing random drawings in Middle School as a hobby and doing that I later learned new things and noticed a pattern that I could take and know what to do while asking the people you know for constructive criticism/advice or references that you could use, all that achieved was by practicing frequently and having confidence in yourself to do something you enjoy

Practice makes perfect

 

[antyytna]

I'm not specifically an artist (as in, like, drawing; I am an artist as a writer), but I did dabble in it and have a lot of artist friends. It is genuinely just about trying. Get new perspectives, keep trying, you'll make progress. Do not worry about the speed of your progress, just keep going.

 

[strings]

I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember. New-ish to drawing squids though. Few things that have helped me:

- draw some art that’s just for yourself and you don’t post anywhere. good, low key practice. go forth and draw those silly sketches you don’t plan to finish.
- seconding YouTube tutorials. It’s important to keep in mind that they’re not the “end all be all” on how you “should” be doing things. That’s up to yourself to decide. Art is subjective after all. Take the art tips that help you, leave the art tips you don’t vibe with.
- most important, be patient with yourself. art progress doesn’t happen overnight

 

[1O7JR]

I'm going to respond with it being specifically relating to Splatoon, rather than my entire art history (just to keep things simple, since I know up-and-coming artists can get overwhelmed by information).

The main thing that helped me with my art was not being afraid of adding too much detail. When you analyze a reference, and draw what you see, well, you're already learning when you think that way. You can stylize it, you can make it funky, but learning all the parts first before bending them out of shape will give you a better foundation to work with.

Now you may ask, what on earth do you mean by this? See here:

<- This is the first item I ever made the attempt to really try to draw. I knew that this was going to be difficult to replicate, so I used a reference (not this one, but one I took for myself years ago). Looking at this image however, you can already see a lot of details you may have overlooked if you tried to draw it at a glance. Stitching on the helmet, the shapes of the molds, the depth of the goggles, the texture of the chin strap. As it was my first time drawing this I tried to fit every detail I could, while trying to keep the shapes of the objects the same. This is how you memorize what something looks like. Of course it may require some more practice, but that's how you improve.

Don't be afraid to mess it up, either- you didn't learn to read just by looking at the letters, right? You needed to know what they meant, as here you would want to know what part was what, in order to draw them. Breaking this gear down to parts in order to make it easier to draw is something you can do to help yourself, as you can with just about anything. Separated, there would be a hat, the goggles, the night-vision goggles above them, then the attachment for the goggles, and then the strap. This makes it easier to digest.



Along with doing things like that for gear and weapons, I drew a lot. Drawing for fun and trying new things here and there helps you gain knowledge as you go, without fully going into "omg I have to STUDY?!?" mode. I had fan characters I liked to draw, and then I had to learn to draw the outfits I wanted them to wear, which was fun. I had to learn to draw Bluefin Depot for a comic I was making, so I used a lot of reference images in order to draw the layout correctly. If you draw anything, using references (such as photos or screenshots) makes it so much easier. Breaking them down will make it all a breeze

That's the more general clump of information I can give when it comes to drawing Splatoon-related stuff. I ended up saying a lot but there's a lot of options for you when it comes to starting out. Remember to keep it fun for you so you stay invested. Never give up!!!

 

[neebles]

I wouldn't exactly say I'm a good artist lol but I do like illustrating. I think the #1 thing is just to practice. I think that's advice you'll hear from everyone, but here's the trick:

Have a goal in mind when you're practicing to get better.

Do you want to work on anatomy? Color theory? Composition? There's no wrong answer, but if you want to improve, it's good to go into things with the mindset of having something to work towards. Try drawing things with a specific skill you want to hone. Don't try it all at once, you'll get overwhelmed and struggle to keep up. If you're at the level where you aren't quite sure how to tackle those concepts, just focus on anatomy and how to structure bodies (or whatever else you might draw) and worry about the other stuff later.

That being said, just draw for fun, too. Balance it out. Stressing yourself out about gitting gud isn't healthy, either. There's no pressure to be at a certain level, art is a skill you build up over time and the satisfaction of seeing improvement after months or years is so fulfilling. Drawing silly little doodles for yourself is fun and healthy. Balance it out between focusing on improvement and just being a goofy little guy drawing silly things for fun, depending on your personal goals.

Be sure to use references, too. Depending on what kind of art you want to do, practicing some quick exercises referencing real models can be helpful for understanding the flow of how bodies position or move, and looking at aesthetically pleasing art to you can help you understand what you like and what you want your art to look like.

Overall, you should have goals in mind, but don't stress over them. It's okay to be messy, and it's okay to not be good or not be at the level you want. That's part of the fun if you keep the right mindset. Just keep drawing, and don't let skill level or your own perception of your art stop you. If you make something unique to you that you had fun doing, that's good art.