How much has your art improved this year?

[Kura]

My art has improved by I think about a 'not at all' amount.

[Jewe11s]

Aw man. You've posted so much work this year! And that's definitely something to be proud of. Consistency isn't necessarily a bad thing. You've got a good rhythm going. Keep it up!

[joannekwan]

God I was horrible at drawing these two earlier this year.

This was done in March, compare it to this page done a couple months ago.

[Jewe11s]

Gwaah! Haha I love these two no matter how you draw them! I really must say I'm fascinated by how you draw those horns consistently at different angles! I have a character who shows up far far far into my comic with horns as well but I can never get them just right. Do you use a reference of some kind? A model?

[joannekwan]

I've actually been trying to find a free 3d program to model a set of horns, but no success yet. For the most part I just eyeball it and tweak the size/shape with the transform tool until it looks right. Even so, a few weeks after I publish it I will go back and tweak them sometimes. I have done a more complicated horn shape before for another character, and for that I sculpted a model from my kneaded eraser as a quick reference. xP

[Jewe11s]

Haha! I know the struggle. I've seen a bunch of 3d sculpt programs floating around the internet but none of them take less than a few years of practice to figure out and most cost an arm and a leg. (Unless you only need to use them for a 30 day trial.) I have a kneaded eraser right here on my desk though! I'll have to try that!

[somvi]

Here's my art in a snazzy template:

Slow start to 2015, only sketching for all of January then it was mostly large paintings for the first half for art shows and commissions. Second half was much more productive and I'm much happier with the art made during this period. Made a sort of breakthrough with ink in September that I was experimenting with throughout inktober.

Where's the comicsu?
Well, I just got into sequentials fairly recently and if all goes well, I'll actually have something released early next year. The pieces from June, January and September are examples of styles I'll be using in comics - let's hope it translates well. I also have an old story I'd like to adapt for a comic but I've a lot to learn before I make any real progress on that. In the meantime, I'll be looking for more collabs and pitches to keep me busy.

So it looks like 2016 will be year of the comic and I'm feeling pretty excited about art again!

[getsuart]

@Jewe11s Thank you Still some things to do but hey, we always have something to work on!
@aspiderjonny Not really in backgrounds ; when I got some kind of close action, I just don't show background (also, the actions was always taking in forests or desert palces without anything xD...). Bbbuuut, I got a lot of other places for action, such as... boats, soon :3

[miesmud]

I only make fanart and it's still all the same-face-same-angle-same-composition kinda stuff, not really something to be proud of tbh... Wouldn't say I have improved. Only did a few photostudies and materialstudies, and created nicer brushes in PaintToolSai but that's about it...
I hope 2016 will be a year full of art-studies for me, it's not good to be stuck at this level of art! And I really shouldn't make so much fanart!

I wonder where my September art went to though? I couldn't find anything art-worthy

My comic got uglier... But I think I got better at making jokes. They're explained in less panels and the panneling is better.
But still, 2015 was a VERY weak year for me...

[GaleG]

I can't find my first actual drawings, from 2008 or so... hands were feet and feet were hands, I'm not even kidding...
:

[PocketFloral]

I don't have have enough stuff for the whole year but there's still been some major change the last 6 months. My lineart is way cleaner Howie definitely looks more..attractive? or at least like I actually know how to draw him, and I'd say readability is better too so yay!

[Jewe11s]

@somvi I really love your ink portraits. You have an amazing understanding of values that I really am envious of The colour pallets you chose for your paintings are also beautiful! It's a great feeling to get to a point where you are satisfied with the work you are making! It will be really great to see your painterly ink style in comics soon!

@miesmud I don't think there's a problem with fan art. If something inspires you to paint,draw, or create in any way, embrace it! While yes, doing art studies are important, you don't have to stop doing fan art all together if you don't want to. (I found that pulling myself entirely away from fan art and 'just for fun' pieces made making any art into 'homework' for me. I lost the joy in it.) I really enjoy your comic style. It's got a good balance of simplicity and clarity. I hope 2016 helps you achieve your goals!

@GaleG Pwahaha! I love looking back at really old art and giggling at how bad I used to be at drawing hands, feet, and all that. You seem to really be exploring values and tackling the dreaded background! Keep it up, it's looking really cool!

@PocketFloral I love your style! It looks so classic and yet rather unique and clearly identifiable as yours I definitely like the black background of your pages but the middle one with the panel breaching out of it's 'frame' is eye catching as well! Isn't it weird how a character can 'reveal him/herself' to you as you get the hang of drawing them? They come to live in a whole new way!

[maryvinnickaya]

Wow
You're awesome!
I love your work!

[Cielle]

I've improved a lot this year! It's amazing what drawing (almost) everyday will do for one's technical skills.
this was in January 2015:

and here's the same character in September 2015:

here's page 1 of my webcomic Reus (also done in January of 2015):

and here's the most recent page:

some other art for comparison:
october 2009:

November 2014

November 2015:

I think most of the improvements I've seen are more in how I draw than how I draw it. I've gotten much faster and better at coloring, and my hand is steadier which just makes everything better. I still have a long way to go before I am where I want to be, but I always remind myself of that silly quote "A year from now, you'll wish you'd started today." or something along those lines XD

[Tanisha]

Well from the start of the year, I already knew I wanted to color eyes differently and draw more backgrounds/nature works. It went pretty well for me I think and I can finally say I'm getting closer to becoming happy with my style. I've gotten less lazy with making my comic and have made an effot with gettng new materials an practicing more ways to panel and pace the oages and I'm pretty happy ith the outcome. It's been a good year for both illustrations and comic work for me! ^^b ~

[jacintawibowo]

Thank you! What a delightful compliment <3

[Jewe11s]

@Cielle Haha! Aww I love that 'glomp'! So cute! I really like that you are experimenting with different lighting effects. You seem to be getting more confident in your lines too!
I love that quote.

@Tanisha Agh! Your style is so gosh-darn adorable! I'm really happy that you are happy with what you've achieved this year. Keep it up!

[purrlpankras]

Some pages from Two Faced I thought my art really improved

[Jewe11s]

I love the dark themes I'm getting from your 2015 summary. They're really creepy XD Your line-free comic is looking really interesting! You've placed the blur at just the right points to really give those first pages a good sense of movement!

[Jewe11s]

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all make steps towards achieving your comic-making goals in 2016!