10 things you should know about getting real answers about your art

1. Ask them these 10 questions.
   
   1. What do you think about the art?
   2. What do you like about the art?
   3. What don't you like about it?
   4. How does it make you feel?
   5. What memory or thought do you get when you see it?
   6. What was your first impression ? Make sure to see if you can capture them when they first look at it to see if their face answer matches their response. Some people lie to make you feel good or sound smart.
   7. Should we step back and then get real close to see if we can spot anything outside of the ordinary or to see if there's something we missed
   8. What is the story behind the art?
   9. Do you consider this art? - or - What do you consider art?
   10. What does this art tell you about the artist?
   
   
2. Read their facial and body impressions. Is what they are saying matching their body and face reactions?
   
3. Do they run off giggling? That may be good, or not...
   
4. If someone is whispering into someone else's ear they are not making fun of you, unless they are looking directly at you.
   
5. Ask on Monday about your art, then ask on Thursday at a different time to see if you get the same response.
   
6. If they say, "It's good" that means they don't really like it but don't know how to tell you or they are not in the mood to discuss it so don't take it personally.
   
7. If they say, "Holy damn" or a look of shock and awe overcomes them, that's good.
   
8. If they start saying things like they would do to it, then they wish they had done it and may be a bit jealous.
9. Do they look you in the eye when they are answering or focusing on the art? Sometimes in order to get in touch with the emotion felt by the art they look at the instead of reading your facial expression awaiting for a positive response. Sometimes they'll look you straight in the eyes. Both these responses are good. If their eyes start wandering around, say something to focus their attention back.
10. Do they go back and forth with answers? A lot of people don't have a fancy art background nor do they know the difference between a Rembrandt and a Picasso, or period art. Don't hesitate to ask a lot of questions or to answer a lot of questions regarding your art. By the way, send me some :).
    

10 things you should know about drawing.

1. Drawing isn't easy and most people think they suck at it. Mathematicians are some people that think they suck at drawing. Not all, but like 105% of the majority does. That's a joke. It's like 100% or something. Some artist come to the conclusion that they suck by showing it to someone and having their drawing critiqued or by critiquing it themselves. If someone tells you your drawing sucks, tell them they suck. Try approaching or gathering constructive criticism. Here's 10 questions you can ask about your art to get real answers for you and from them.
   
2. Never compare your art to someone else's. You each have individual styles. At least we hope you do.
3. Tracing is completely allowed to learn how to draw if your trying to learn a style.
4. Don't crap on yourself. I used to get upset with myself when my drawings, to me, looked like they were crappy. This led me to drawing over and over again trying to accomplish a 'good' drawing. Since I thought my drawings were bad I threw them away. If you warp your mind and think to yourself, "Someone else might love it," you may let go of that negative energy and you'd be amazed how many people will fall in love with it. Though you can use the negative energies to fuel your creative need to push yourself, by converting the energy to positive and accepting the flow of the line as it's drawn, it's easier to become accustomed to your line style and learning new ones in a positive manner may help push your drawing techniques further. Don't beat yourself up. Also, learn karate or judo since you may get beat up a lot.
   
5. Don't throw it away. Never. Just keep them until you are at least 37 years of age. Then re-think it then.
6. Try different pencils, ink mediums and sharpeners. Pencils can be forgiving, but sometimes they aren't. Sharpening pencils sometimes helps and you get different line and edge effects. But wait, are you using a #2 pencil for your drawings? Try using crayons, or pens, to fill in color or just to draw with. This helps your hand relax or find new angles. Then when you go back to the pencil you can use what you learned from the pens to condition your hand to draw in particular manners.
7. Get fixative to preserve your pencil drawings.
8. Date and sign your work. I don't care if you name it, but date it and sign it.
9. Speaking of signing things. Your signature is the closest authenticity to who you are. There are curves and lines in each signature that come naturally when it's time to leave their mark on the paper. It's the only real thing we carry on from when we are taught penmanship in elementary school. I bet it was difficult for most, but I remember sitting and struggling with it until I came up with something I liked. Then I found this stroke. It was almost like a loop. I rather enjoyed making that loop and since my hand had learned that stroke it became a part of my drawing in some instances. Sometimes I'd start my drawing with that first letter stroke of my name then swoosh it off and let it go. If you have a particular letter, or if you are fond of your signature, try using elements from them to make your art.
10. Doodles are awesome and are in my opinion, the freest, and funnest form of drawing.