When it comes to art, some people think that it is not so important to master technique, because art is a form of self-expression. While art is indeed about expressing one’s emotions and ideas, it is nevertheless important to get the fundamentals right.
Art is a broad subject which encompasses areas like drawing, painting, crafting, pottery, and print-making. All these involve techniques and methods to achieve the desired effect.
Every professional artist will recommend that new artists start by learning the basics. Line, form, value, perspective, proportion—these are the core principles that serve as building blocks for almost every drawing. Beginning artists will understand the fundamentals better as they practice and go through the experience.
The goal as an artist is to learn, improve and eventually develop his own unique style. When you first start, you will need to learn and pick up every single skill set. As you get better you’ll probably notice some of your skills are lagging behind others. This is why it is good to start on the right foot. Practise the techniques correctly and your effort will pay off in the long run. You want to be aware of your weaknesses so that you can work on them and become better. You need to know the rules in order to break them.
Whether you’re practicing form, perspective or painting, the biggest factor in learning the fundamentals is that you just keep practicing.
As you draw/paint consistently for several years, you will have:
- created countless lines/strokes
- mixed thousands of colours
- have a better understanding of how each medium works
- discover your favourite medium/colours
The mistakes you made, the work you created which didn’t turn out to be the way you wanted—they are an essential part of this journey. They help you find your artistic voice.
All these naturally constitute to your own artistic style over time. With every piece of art you make, your style develops and grows. And this is what makes you unique as an artist.
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