Common Beginner Art Mistakes | Old Sketchbook Tour

In this video, I'll be revisiting my sketchbook from High School and discussing where I made a several mistakes as a young artist. What do you think are common beginner mistakes in creating art and how do you think an artist can overcome them?

If you would like a tutorial or have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments! Like & subscribe for more tutorials, time lapse paintings, art tips, sketchbook tours & more!

Music:
Dewdrop Fantasy by Incompetech

[shumakerart]

Hey guys! So I noticed I got quite a few dislikes on this video, and I was wondering if there was a specific reason to why you guys might dislike this video? Everyone has different opinions and I'd love to hear why you might not agree or you don't like the video, I appreciate any input positive or negative! Also as a disclaimer, by "mistakes" I definitely do not mean that my art was bad in any way, I just wanted to point out some ways that I have improved since then (I am still learning!) I think a healthy dose of self criticism is important for growth. I don't ever want to discourage any young artists at any level. If I would have compared myself to some of my classmates who were beyond my level at the time I wouldn't be where I am today. I hope that you all continue to only compete against your past self and keep creating!

[metalmennonite]

A huge mistake I made when young was comparing my ability, tastes or particular "style" to other artists that were close friends. Trying to emulate their style because I liked it so much and envied their ability to create art that moved me like that. No matter how hard I tried it never worked and only served to further frustrate me and make me more self critical. It made creating art a laborious nerve wracking process. And it was all for no reason.... my friends always loved my style as much as I loved theirs. We all have our own gift to contribute to art.
Oh, and disregard the dislikes. Your channel is great and it there are just a lot of people out there that have nothing better to do than be keyboard critics.

[ajarofdeliciousjam]

My common mistake:
Trying to make a "perfect sketchbook" (like yours is)
Overcoming:
It DOESN'T HAVE TO BE PERFECT!!! It's a god damn SKETCHBOOK so you're allowed to do a lot of scribbles and crazy little pointless stuff in there not just drawings. Otherwise it isn't even worth of calling "a sketchbook"

[michaelnorton]

I am 59 years and I am just starting out.
Have to thank you for sharing.

[tomo]

my main mistakes in art seem to be my extreme perfectionsim. I don't seem to let myself make a bad drawing, I always need to make one that fits high quality standards in my class, and if I fail my confidence drops fast. Sadly I haven't found a method to get around it yet :\...

[CassandraHanley]

haha, yeah. I was also a shocker for thinking that I had to complete a drawing in a single session... what on earth gave me that idea? there was no deadline, so why was I in such a rush? changing over to colour pencil instead of graphite/charcoal taught me a whole lot about patience, and that a drawing need not be finished in a day!!

[strawberry]

The background looks like a room from a fairytale, it's so beautiful!

[heck]

not using quality materials is not a mistake, you can make good art with bad materials.

[mrtohonoart]

The two issues that I still have that are featured here are not finishing my art and trying to rush. They both kind of affect one another. I don't finish my drawings sometimes because I feel like I'm going to slow and then I try to rush other pieces because I feel like I'm under some sort of pressure that I shouldn't feel in the first place. Whenever I do take my time with certain pieces it almost feels therapeutic and relaxing and I wish I could remind myself of that same feeling every time. :/

[josephtermeer]

I can relate to rushing and not measuring my composition. Thank you for sharing. This is such a discipline process! I love it!

[jayalaniz]

Regardless of all the lil flaws in your work as you we're learning I find you're high school art to be very good lol it reminds me of my high school days, especially your Kurt. I dont use reference enough but I'm beginning to see the importance of it..
Good stuff, thanks for sharing.

[lulululu]

You have a new follower! :) Your art is absolutely stunning. You are became one of those artist who inspiring me on daily basis to creat, and try out different things and stay productive and positive. :) Thank you, and all the best! :)

[ronanthem]

Judging my art harshly has always been a problem for me and probably anyone reading this. I find it's best to finish, like you say and put it away if I'm not happy. I will revisit it in the future and it will be a whole 'new' piece to me. For me anyways, it's easier to see your work more objectively after some distance is placed between you and it. That's my 2 cents :) Thanks for sharing!

[iteration]

I just saw your video from a year ago and gave it a like even though I don't draw. I am learning 3d modeling and you gave great advice that still applies to other visual media. For example, as a beginner I really didn't think much about the importance of the reference image but I hear that a lot in the world of 3d too. You talked about contrast which in my world would involve blend modes such as 'multiply' for texturing. It was also inspiring to see how you developed your techniques to bring you where you are today (though you were always good :) It's definitely not easy to reveal our mistakes. But no matter what medium an artist works in, I think most good ones agree on how important emotional vulnerability is to creating something great. Thanks for sharing something so personal and helpful. I'm sure it's part of what has made you so good today.

[abigaylecorbett]

These are great tips!! I'm finally beginning to follow these personally, and while I still need to work of them, esp the 'don't abandon your art', following these tips will certainly help one improve!! I'm in the ninth grade and finally beginning to go 'hey, keep on working on this piece, just because the chin looks wrong doesn't mean it's awful' and some of my favorite pieces in my sketchbook had that moment in the process of it! a few other tips I'd personally give is shade your artwork, it gives a lot more depth to it (also highlights!! I used to hate doing highlights an my artwork suffered because of it) and make sure you're using color to shade (like using a darker more purpley hue to shade a red), rather then black (unless it's like so dark of a color already that none of your other colors would work, or it's greyscale. Also if you're cell shading it can work, but color, at least in my opinion, would probably look better). Using color to shade and highlight will give a lot more life to a piece!

[highstax_xylophones]

great tips. my most common mistake is looking at my phone all day instead of working on my own #%@

[blondelebanese]

This was a great learning tool, especially for young budding artists. I’ve been painting for more than 35 years and there are times when I look at paintings that I’ve been told were great, what I see are the mistakes I made. But...viewers don’t realize that there are mistakes unless they are glaring mistakes like proportion, or some of the others you mentioned. Artists need to make their mistakes so they learn from them. When I see a mistake it is usually a certain part did not turn out as I intended, often because I used the incorrect tool or medium. But I’d do it again and use the right medium or brush. Yes art is expensive but I’ve found ways, as you have, for finding bargains on quality materials. People should check to make sure paint is still usable & not dried up or clumpy. It’s no bargain if what you buy is crap. Lol

[mixedupmargie]

Thanks for showing this, love the first page and 2nd mermaid

[juliebarron]

Thank you for sharing. I enjoyed your work.

[swatireddy]

Your tips are really helpful.... Thanks a bunch😊.... Nd i love your art work so much.... Keep up🙌👏