Frequently Asked Questions
CAN YOU TEACH ME HOW TO DRAW?
Sorry, I cannot. Personally, I find working on projects and learning on the job more fun than teaching.
Please visit my resource pages for books, online courses, and YouTube channels by artists who do enjoy teaching the craft if you’re interested in learning how to draw and becoming a professional artist yourself.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO ART?
Growing up, there really wasn’t much to do beyond watching t.v. and playing computer games. I wasn’t allowed to go outside after school hours because I had to take care of my younger brother while my parents were working.
Like all children, I drew a lot for fun and really fell in love with the process of making lines on the page, on the walls, and on the screen. I traced the drawings of fairies and pixies in my colouring books and of the sparkly Disney princess stickers I collected. I completely loved that I could make a replica of what already exists using my own two hands.
Then I started making my own original artwork and became completely obsessed with the process of creating art. It was too late to consider doing anything else with my time because making things brought me so much joy and every time I stop, even if it’s for a short while, I always feel empty inside.
When I can’t take the boredom anymore, I eventually return to the practice of drawing and making things with my hands because it’s so much fun.
HOW DID YOU DEVELOP YOUR ART STYLE?
I just copied artwork that I wanted to be able to make. A combination of literal one to one tracings and observational studies. If there was a certain type of skill I wanted to learn from an artist, I’d watch their drawing/painting process videos and just replicate the steps they took to make something that looks similar if not the exact same.
If no such video existed, I’d take my best guess as how to get the same look of the target artist’s work and through a lot trial and error, I would eventually arrive at a similar looking drawing/painting.
It was simply a lot of hours poured into constantly making drawings, paintings, and trying out every form and medium of art I could. Eventually my own style came through as a result of creating countless drawing and paintings over the years.
ARE YOU SELF TAUGHT?
In the beginning I was. I simply learned how to draw by making marks on the walls and on every notebook page like any other kid.
By the age of 12 though, thanks to youtube, I finally found teachers who made step-by-step tutorials to create the drawings they made. Since then, I have consumed countless art tutorials, taken numerous online art classes, and even took the formal education route and obtained a bachelor’s degree of fine arts (honours), majoring in animation.
While my time at an art focused university wasn’t ideal in terms of learning new technical skills, I met a lot of wonderful artists who became my friends and introduced me to new world views, hobbies, and art jobs I never existed before.
DO YOU USE REFERENCES OFTEN FOR YOUR DRAWINGS?
All the time. It’s almost impossible for me to draw something that doesn’t exist in the real world or hasn’t been visualized by someone else first.
References are what separate my “good” artwork from my “bad” artwork. They help polish up the perspective, anatomy, lighting, and composition of your pieces and you’d be a fool to not use them. They are just a tool after all.