How to Become Truly Artsy Without Faking It

Want to become "artsy" without being called a wannabe or a poser? Follow these instructions and you will become a artsy person.

Steps

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   Find your niche: This doesn't mean "artsy is my niche". Artsy is defined as someone who has an artistic background in a certain field.There are many types of art, just the basics are included. Michelangelo's main field was sculptures, he loved making them, however he did have a secondary field of painting.

   • Some of the fields are: Drawing, Chalk Art, Painting, Photography, Image doctoring (Photoshop), Music, Storytelling and Poetry. These are comprised into three main groups of art: Visual Arts, Musical Arts, and Written Arts. Try many different styles before picking which one best suites you.
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   Study the basics: Most instructions are strictly related to your choice of field, or niche. However, there are a few things that you should do no matter what field you are in. First thing to do is Google the terms used in your requested field. Also Google for tutorials to help you learn strategies to improve your skills. Once you get a handle on your chosen field, you can go talk to established local artists in your field and related art stores to ask more info.

   • For Drawing: First step in learning to draw, after or before you Google the previous step, is getting the tools. To start out, I suggest going cheep. Go to the dollar store and grab a sketch pad if you can, some pencils. But any other seems to be fine... use your own thoughts). Also keep dates on pictures you draw if you want to monitor your progress. Keep searching those tutorials for new or better methods. When you gather enough money, you could also go into art lessons either at a college or other places. Try the art galleries to see if they have connections to schools and drop in classes or learning annexes.
   • For Painting: First, get the tools. I suggest, as before, to start cheep until you feel confident enough to invest in yourself. Go to dollar stores to buy canvases, cheep brushes and pencils. For a smock (the clothes painters wear to not get paint on other things) use old clothing that you can get paint on. Then get some thinner (water based is water and oil based is paint thinner) If you want to pace yourself a bit more, try paint-by-numbers. but when you are done, start by sketching out what you want to paint, then paint within the lines, keeping lighter to darker, as it's easier to keep the colour consistent. After you become confident, try talking to people in the field, upgrading paints and brushes, and maybe investing in an easel. You might also try painting on other things than just canvas, however remember that whatever you paint on has its own qualities (absorbing the paint or the ability to use different types of paint) Also remember to paint in your name somewhere, and play with making it in a darker hue of the colour you are painting over.
   • For Photography: This one, I will give you more details on how to work it out. Most digital cameras shoot in .jpg format. This format is universal however harder to manipulate. If you are just shooting a photo album, and until you can afford the more expensive camera, by all means, use a common digital camera. But to make large pictures without that fuzzy blocks effect, try a more expensive camera and shooting in .raw format. This format does not compress the picture like a .jpg, so you won't get those blockiness. The last thing I would like to suggest to you is a way to make your pictures more artsy... Use angle shots and get a wall or big painted board to post your pictures one beside and below the other making what we call a montage. If you have smaller pictures, you can blur your eyes and see the main colour that the picture is, and use it to make an even bigger picture or theme.
   • For Image Doctoring: To do this, you need an image doctoring program like Photoshop. Also you need good pictures, so try taking pictures yourself. Use .raw format for your pictures to amplify your powers in editing. Search the net for tutorials and build up abilities.
   • For Music: Buy yourself an instrument and a book to learn and start learning, or go to a music teacher if you need that. To learn beats, try tapping your hands and/or feet to the beat of music, making a constant tap-pause-tap-pause-pause.
   • For Story Telling: Imagine what you want to hear. Think of each character like a person in your life, and how they would react to a situation. Write a skeleton (a brief first, second,...,last)Then try try to try until you write something you like.
   • For Poetry: Most poetry follows a small story or point. Use a rhyming dictionary like the one found on www.rhymezone.com and use that to follow a rhyming patterns. These are words that rhyme and are represented by a letter. "aabb" would be words that finish the first two lines rhyme and the next two lines rhyme. The whole thing should be constant, so "aabb" could be repeated or continued "ccdd".