-artist tips are not word of god: they might help but if you prefer drawing differently, keep doing what you want.

-black/white are not necessarily bad: they’re more difficult to work with and in certain circumstances might look better with a pale unsaturated color, but a lot of artists treat them as if they’re toxic . You want to use that black? Do it! Think a nice bright white would look good there? Use it!

-saturated/bright colors aren’t necessarily bad, either: I prefer using bright blues over dull blues, and I make it work. That’s all you have to do. Again, a lot of artists treat them as if they’re toxic. Don’t be afraid to push the corners of the box.

-you know what? just use whatever colors you want: if you can make it work or like those colors, use them all you want!

-draw what you want: if you like drawing cartoony stuff, do it! a lot of art schools apparently force people into drawing realistically (which is not a bad thing, realistic drawings help with perspective/anatomy/posing a lot). don’t think you’re stuck to a certain style.

-adopting from other people’s styles isn’t bad: my art style is a bit of a mix of a couple different things (definitely anime-influenced but I’ve taken concepts from several different artists) because i learned from looking at pictures online. If someone specifically asks not to use their work as a reference, don’t, but most artists I’ve met are perfectly okay with people referencing their art style to try something new.

-don’t force art: if you don’t enjoy it, it shows. your drawing skills aren’t going to disappear if you take a day off. not everyone can draw every day/week/even month. just give it time.

-avoid overexaggerating your dislike of your art, even in your head: Look at it from a relatively neutral standpoint. What would you say if your friend made this? We see the flaws in our own works, and that’s good, but for some people, constant self-hate doesn’t motivate. maybe think like “hmm, this could use work” rather than “this sucks”. This can be difficult, but take small steps.

-all art is good art: because all art has effort. if you tried, it’s good art. maybe not great or perfect, but you tried and i appreciate that.

tl;dr love what you do and do what you love. it shows.

some things i’m pretty sure most artists can agree on

-most creators love fanart. we don’t care if it’s not the best we love you and your art anyways and might be crying on the other side of the screen because you took the time to make us something and we really fucking appreciate that

-reblogs > likes: I love it when someone likes my stuff but that one reblog could be the difference between a much-needed commission and not making the bills that month. (i’m not in this position but plenty of people are)