OK /IC/ im 18 years old and have found myself with a lot of free-time and no real skills. I've wanted something to work on that's not just vidya and Ive been getting really into drawing..But would you guys say I'm a bit too old to start getting into art seriously and maybe looking into somehow making this a career as a sort of dream/goal? I've been drawing on and off since I was little but Ive never taken it too seriously until now. I'm not a total beginner I guess and I'm out of the symbol stage so any advice for me or something?
you can pursue it as a hobby, but it really depends on how good you are if you want to make it a career. post stuff online; a lot of people will berate you, but in the same crowd there will be people that will criticize and give advice
>>2527646
Well I can put allot of time into it anon like 4-6 hours a day.. also are there any artists that start near my age and get big? (my goal isn't to become big or anything but it would help my confidence a bit)
>I'm not a total beginner I guess and I'm out of the symbol stage
let's see it, then
>>2527659
again it's hugely dependent on whether you're good or not. i'm certain that a 5-year old has made it big, but that's only because he/she was good at it. if you have time to further improve then that's great, but if you put a lot of time into something that you don't have a talent for, then it's just wasted time.
>>2527667
How do you know if you have the talent for it?
I'm not really one to give advice on career prospects since I'm still a beginner, but I was in the same boat as you. 18, just finished highschool, and started to realize that I wanted to do something art related with my life since it was always a hobby of mine my entire life. So I changed my goals to try to become an animator, but the problem was that I knew shit-all about the art world. I didn't even know what symbol drawing was at that point.
So for 1 year (2014-2015) I enrolled in life drawing classes and learned a whole lot about values, contrast, postive/negative space, drawing through, line weight, anatomy, etc. It still wasn't enough to get me into the Sheridan Animation Program, but I went from kindergarten chicken scratch to "Wow, that's amazing, could you draw a portrait of me?" which was a pretty good motivator. So I continued to do some boring studies and grind my skills for the next year, which included doing 3d art. In 2015 I was accepted into the 3D Animation Program at Humber even after sending in a late application, which I guess is a good sign since they apparently get around 700 applicants a year for about 70 spots. I started getting commissions around November since I put my art out there, and made some connections with other artists (networking is probably the most important thing you can do for your professional career).
Considering I'm a lazy fuck that puts in half an hour some days, and 4 hours other days, I'd say things turned out okay. The gist of it is that 18 years old is definitely not too late, and in fact, is the perfect time to experiment with different things and see which one you like. I'm sure you can make it, provided you're willing to put in the time,
>>2527670
If you can work hard and have discipline, you have the talent to be in this industry. If you don't, then maybe this is a path you want to embark on. Drawing is a technical skill, it can be learned. It just takes time. There are people who have a better eye and understand the fundamentals easier and quicker, but in the end, understanding all your core fundamentals is a requirement, not anything special. Now, the difference between you and say another good artist will depend on what field you're going into. There's tons of art fields and they can be quite specific despite looking the same. So it's not something you should set your mind on yet, or if you already have, that's okay too. First you should work on your core fundamentals and draw a lot. Emphasis on a lot. If you find you really like to draw a specific thing, there's likely a job out there that requires that specific thing. Try a lot of different things to draw too, really go out of your comfort zone. Maybe you'll find that illustration just isn't for you because anatomy is a bummer and that you really like to cars. Then get into that. But, yeah, definitely not too old. The only issue with starting late may be your visual library. You might not have as indepth of a visual library as a younger artist who has loads of more time dissecting animals and buildings or what not. That will definitely be a struggle, but it's not too late to build your visual library. Just use whay you've got, you know, if you can't do something, then don't do it. I'm not talking about the core fundamentals here, by the way, like form, value, anatomy, etc. I'm talking about after that when you're deciding what you want to focus and specialize on. Now, if you want to be good, you do need to put in time. At least 4 hours every day including weekends. If you don't, it doesn't only hurt you, it also benefits whoever is putting in more hours than you.
dude, 18 is not late. If you want to pursue drawing, do it. Just be careful trying to make it as a "professional", many people are delusional about their own art and think they can make it.
>>2527638
>But would you guys say I'm a bit too old to start getting into art seriously
No, not really. But remember to sacrifice daily to the art gods or they will be extremely angry.
Any artist you look up to is a human being like you, it means that anything they have learned to do; you can learn to do yourself.
However, it also means you have to work as hard as them. If you have the dedication to sit and study, get critique and then draw 3-6 hours a day then you'll make it.
A lot of artists drew "their entire lives" but it doesn't mean shit if they never took drawing seriously. A lot of pros today started drawing "for real" at 18 or around early twenties, but you can do it at any age.
The question is, ten years from now, do you want to moan about how young you were at 18 and come back to ask if it's too late to draw at 28?
>>2527638
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3Al7QAS89s
>>2527791
Thanks for the clarification anon. I try to put in as much time as I can despite going finals atm. I am feeling frustrated with my work but I do my best to learn the fundamentals
I do notice that I love to draw people the most but I'm also interested in learning how to paint environments just because it seems so complicated in terms of perspective yet very interesting
Ideally I would love to be able to paint whatever comes into my mind and I don't mind having to use reference. I don't want to go for a realistic style but I would like to be unique if that makes sense
Not super interested in having a career in art but if I can do well as a freelance artist then I would of course be extremely happy
>>2528199
Well, if you have finals, you should really focus on that first. It might be more important, but it's all on you. I don't know if it is or not, but art can wait until after finals. It's not like a week difference will matter in the long scheme of things especially at your stage. Learning the core fundamentals will definitely help you in being able to draw whatever comes to mind. So does your visual library. With those, you can do quite fine without a reference brcause you've already studied it previously. If not, it's okay, everyone uses references. And yeah, unique is definitely okay. The core fundamentals can help you get there, but in the end, it's all up to what you want to do. If your style wants to completely ignore everything and you're satisfied. Go for it. If other people like it, no problem. Just realize every artists goes through that frustration and the good artists are the ones that pulled through.
Heads up, there's a huge distinction between art (as this board tends to refer to) and "Art" (more commonly called fine art).
Don't fall for the illustrators sham or digital meme. Grab a pencil and brush and go appreciate some Art. There is nothing of value on this board.
>>2528208
Nah I definitely want to have a good grasp of fundamentals so that no matter what style my mind leads me towards, a person can always look at it and see that what I draw is viable in the 3D realm
I'm the type of person that isn't happy until I reach as close to perfection as possible and it's always been a giant fault of mine
It leads me to frustration easily which is why I always quit any creative hobby I pick up. Now that I'm almost 23, I regret all that time wasted on being frustrated
Don't worry about my finals, I still study for them between each exam for 2 hours a day. The rest is spent on art
