Q:do you think a person can learn to be artistic? I wasn't nessecarily artistic as a child and I'm not an excellent artist even now as I've grown. But I love animation and it's my dream to be an animator but I don't know if its too late

Anonymous

I think you can do it if you’re passionate enough. A lot of people talk about “talent”, but I’ve seen multiple people late in life who start out with very little artistic skill, but end up able to make amazing art. My favorite example is Sam Carr. I think you should chase that dream if you really want it, anon.

Q:For drawing from life as opposed to life drawing, I get extremely frustrated that I can't draw further than an action line and 3 scribbles of someone who's walked past me. I feel like the magic of stopping time will come with years of practice but do you have any tips along the way? Twirlynoodle (I think that's where I heard this) has suggested looking and then closing your eyes to "photograph" the figure you're going to draw.

timeturnervulpes

Hi,

Yep, that’s what any good art school professor will tell you. Study the pose before putting the pen to paper too quickly. That way, when they move out of the pose you’re trying to draw, you’ll have that mental image of it to use. Another tip from Dave Pimentel is that after you’ve taken the “picture”, draw everything you can remember without looking up, until you need another mental photo. That’ll keep the gesture more fluid and natural.

And as always, practice can only make you better.