Hello everyone!

For the longest time I have always wanted to draw, however never really had the time with nursing school. Now that I have finished and am anticipating to have some spare time on my hands I would like to actually start trying.

I would love some advice on where to start when it comes to drawing wolves, big felines (lions, panthers, etc), dragons, and people. I would be more than happy to be provided with some of 'the basics' advice as I am currently in 'beginner mode'.

I do have a very basic understanding of anatomy and sketching an outline using shapes but what I struggle with is utilizing those shapes in a form of a hard/final sketch. I also, think my struggle is partly due to the fact I haven't figured out my style or a style that works for me. I do have an interest in the Disney art style but am open to other ideas. I also would love to have advice on character designing.

Any and all advice is appreciated, thank you!

1. References are your friend. Don't be ashamed to use them

2. Repetition makes perfection. You won't get it right the first time

3. Don't stop halfway. Don't scrap a piece and say it's bad and do it over and over again. Try to finish pieces. You're only gonna burn yourself out if you pour time into art and have nothing to show for it

4. Get a feel for your style. You'll hear people say use guidelines, etc. It works for some, it doesn't for others and it didn't for me. Be brave and try things out. Go outside of your comfort zone and then focus on the things that you like (such as drawing eyes a certain way, etc)

5. Learn from other artists. Find your favorite artist and break their style down. Do they use certain shapes often? What could they improve? What do you like in their art and what don't you like

6. Do one thing at a time. Focus on wolves or felines and then branch off. It's better to be good at one thing and mediocre at others than to spread yourself thin. You'll see that there are similarities between species when you have a strong understanding of at least one

7. For character designs look at real life animals and other characters people have (often semi realism or realistic ones). Get a color pallet in mind and do a base color or gradient then go over with lighter or darker colors where you think looks nice

8. Have fun. It's not your job to draw, it's a hobby so put those emotions behind your pen

Honestly, some of the most important things I can say for getting started in art are:

Don't compare yourself to other artists! You're just starting out, be patient with yourself. Look at other people's art and get inspiration, but try not to be too hard on your artwork whenever possible.

Experiment whenever possible. Try new media [paint, pencil, pen, digital, etcetc] or new techniques, as much as you can! Whether you're getting weird and whacky with colours or trying different thicknesses in pens.
Experimentation is the most fun part of art if you ask me! So it's great to try what you can, even if it's just a different paper colour.

When looking at references, try to think of them in 3D forms rather than just the outline. This can come in super handy when it comes to shading and lighting.

Watch speed paints! This is an awesome way to see how other artists do things.

As for style, try not to worry *too* much about what art style you want. For some people, it comes super naturally and they know what they want straight away, for others they're not really sure. If you don't know what style you want straight away, don't worry about it!

Not everything about art is about hard studying, looking at references and getting the rules perfect. It's just as important to enjoy the process as it is to learn and improve.
Sometimes you might wanna ditch the references and just draw from imagination, and in my opinion there's nothing wrong with that.
There's no right or wrong way to draw.

Collect images you like the look of. Starting a bank of inspiration for whenever you're low on inspiration will always help later!

I hope this helps somewhat! :0
I'm always down to chat about art