Art- tips for young players

Firstly, Sam, I did not steal the bread. I don't like bread. I like easter eggs and shopping bags.

Moving on. I share a room with someone weird. I can't tell you who. She will get upset. One day I came home from school to find this:



That's right. A drawing of Jared Leto. And from this angle it doesn't look too bad. BUT IT IS! YOUR BRAIN IS TRICKING YOU!

Closer examination revealed that it was actually pretty bad, and because I'm pretty good at criticising artworks I thought this would be a good time to point out some things to keep in mind if you ever take up drawing with pastels.

1. Proportion is important.


Jared Leto should not look emaciated. His pretty face should be more rounded. Being a little more conscientious when shading could have saved him from the starving orphan look.

2. Take care with fine details.


Surprisingly, this mouth is the best mouth our amateur artist has ever drawn. It isn't bad. She likes pretty mouths; maybe that's why. The nose, however, is shocking.

3. Don't cheat. It looks ugly.


Just because your subject's hair gracefully falls over one eye does not mean you can slack off and do a dodgy job. People can still see that eye.

4. Pastels are smudgy. Be careful.


This is especially important if you enjoy drawing dark haired pretty boys with pale skin. I know for a fact that our friend spent an awfully long time trying to make the skin nice (she has skin tone issues normally), and then all her hard work was destroyed by accidentally smudging black hair onto the skin. It's a good idea to use something like blank paper to protect your picture from smudging while you work. It's also a good idea to be patient, and not rush to get it finished.

Overall, the picture isn't really good enough to submit as an art piece (poor Jared Leto!), but it's not bad considering it probably only took two hours to make max. And even though I didn't show this, word on the street is the awful artist is actually very pleased with the way his neck and shirt turned out.