Draw everyday if you want to improve, drawing only once a month. Won’t get you anywhere, you need lots of constant practice.

Btw: I am exhibiting at Phoenix Comicon this weekend so no tips until the 27, you will see tons of new art and maybe a few recorded “how to draw manga” panels though!

When using foreshortening draw the object normally and put a box around it with lines separating the parts. Then draw the box foreshortened and add in the figure using the same proportions from the first box.

Always block out the image you are drawing, draw in the basic shapes before adding details. Once you have the overall proportions correct it will be easier to add realistic details and understand what you are actually drawing. It is also useful to use references to help with the basic structure.

Market yourself on Deviantart and in person like crazy. In the current artist market you have to be more than just an amazing artist to succeed, you must also be persistent and constantly doing new work.

Try to sketch lightly and in multiple strokes, rather than pushing hard and focussing on one line. Pick your wrist off the table and if you have a hard time pushing lightly, use a mechanical pencil and push the lead out super far, it forces you to draw lightly.

Annacrafty asked: “I have the hardest time deciding what my art is worth. I’m thinking about trying to do commissions, but like how much? But you think 10$ per hour? What if I’m a slow artist? Does that change things??”

————————-
Your art is worth whatever your time is worth basically. When you first start out try $10 an hour and even if you are slow don’t feel bad about charging more, regardless of skill, just only change time your actually working on it, not down time. I charge $50 per full character because it takes me about 5 hours start to finish, so calculate it out based on how fast or slow you are. As you get more commissions and grow as an artist time becomes more expensive so feel free to raise your prices to suite what you feel is fair. Don’t undercharge because you think it will sell better, do a better job on the few commissions you do get your customers will really appreciate it. In addition you might want to try be able to things faster because the same money will make you more, so If you get paid $20 because you think it will take 2 hours and only take one you get paid $20 for that hour rather than $10. I forced myself one convention and now I can finish a full body full color in under an hour, so don’t be afraid to charge good money for your hard work!

Try to add something extra to your originals that make them special, like adding glitter or metallic watercolors. You can use perfect pearls (Micah powder) to add shimmer or embossing power on a detail. Crackle paste or metallic acrylic paint can also add an extra. This makes people really appreciate holding the original and makes the whole thing a bit more magical

If you accept commissions always charge high for them, even If people complain. At least $10 an hour is a good starting point, I’ve seen new artists charge $1 to sell more, but they don’t realize people loose respect for them as an artist if they do that. If you under value your own work so will others.