HOW I LEARN ART MORE EFFECTIVELY | ART SKILL TREE

Summary

This video introduces an art study method using Milanote, a tool for organizing drawing sessions and developing a routine. It helps streamline the creative process, allowing artists to channel their chaos into organized projects. Milanote is praised for its versatility in bringing together various creative elements like notes, images, and tasks. The video also discusses the importance of observation and copying skills in art studies, and how using Milanote can enhance learning by tracking progress and providing templates for various creative projects.

Takeaways

• 🎨 The video introduces a new art study method using Milanote, a tool for organizing drawing sessions and developing a consistent routine.
• 📈 Milanote is described as a highly effective tool for boosting productivity and providing a structured workflow for art studies.
• 🔍 The tool allows users to bring together notes, images, videos, tasks, and more in one centralized space, acting as a virtual creative assistant.
• 💡 Milanote can be used to create dynamic mood boards that evolve with an artist's interests, categorizing inspirations by themes, styles, or moods.
• 👀 The video emphasizes the importance of observation and copying skills in art studies, suggesting that these skills can significantly improve an artist's work.
• 🌳 The 'art fundamentals skill tree' is introduced as a way to map out how to improve at art by learning new skills or improving existing ones.
• 📚 Milanote offers over 100 built-in templates for various creative projects, making it easier to start new artistic endeavors.
• 📈 The tool can also be used to track art progress, set up boards for different projects, and document skill development over time.
• 🔧 The video provides a detailed guide on studying art fundamentals like shapes, anatomy, and perspective, using Milanote to organize study materials and track progress.
• 🎓 The importance of deliberate practice with specific goals is highlighted, suggesting that focused study sessions can be more effective than longer, aimless ones.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the video?

The main purpose of the video is to introduce a highly effective art study method that uses Milanote, a tool for organizing drawing sessions and developing a consistent routine of art studies.

How does Milanote help in organizing art studies?

Milnote helps by allowing users to bring together notes, images, videos, tasks, and more in one centralized space, acting as a virtual creative assistant that never loses an idea or inspiration.

What are some features of Milanote mentioned in the video?

Some features of Milanote mentioned include the ability to drag and drop content, categorize inspirations, track art progress, use templates for various creative projects, and set up artistic challenges.

How does the video suggest using Milanote to study art fundamentals?

The video suggests using Milanote to create boards for different art fundamentals, such as shapes, anatomy, and perspective, and to store references and sketches for daily practice.

What is the 'art fundamentals skill tree' mentioned in the video?

The 'art fundamentals skill tree' is a concept that acts like a map, showing how to improve in art by learning new skills or improving existing ones, with points earned to upgrade specific skills.

How does the video recommend studying shapes for art?

The video recommends studying shapes by simplifying complex objects into basic geometric 3D shapes, such as spheres and cubes, and using these as a foundation for drawing.

What are the three types of practice suggested for studying anatomy in the video?

The three types of practice suggested for studying anatomy are gesture drawing, mannequin sketches, and studying specific anatomical structures.

Why is it important to study gesture drawing according to the video?

Studying gesture drawing is important because it helps overcome perfectionism and the fear of the blank page, and it helps in understanding the whole body figure and its movement.

How does the video suggest using mannequin sketches to study art?

The video suggests using mannequin sketches to master solid shapes that construct the human form, applying techniques learned from gestures to ensure figures don't look stiff.

What is the key takeaway from studying anatomy according to the video?

The key takeaway from studying anatomy is to simplify complex structures into basic shapes for easier memorization and understanding, focusing on the fundamentals rather than memorizing complicated names.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 'Milnote for Artistic Organization and Learning'

The speaker introduces a new art study method that has improved their productivity and workflow. They highlight the use of Milanote, a tool for organizing drawing sessions and creating a routine for art studies. Milanote is described as a versatile platform that consolidates notes, images, videos, tasks, and more into one space, acting as a virtual creative assistant. The speaker emphasizes the benefits of organization in the creative process, especially for self-taught artists, and how Milanote helps in streamlining ideas and projects. They also mention the ability to create dynamic mood boards, categorize inspirations, and track artistic progress over time. The speaker encourages viewers to sign up for Milanote to bring order to their artistic endeavors.

05:00

👀 'Developing Observation and Copying Skills in Art'

The speaker discusses the importance of observation and copying skills in art studies. Observation involves visualizing the shape and space around an object, while copying is about learning from various artworks by blending and dissecting techniques. The speaker shares their approach to learning art fundamentals, with a focus on character drawing influenced by anime and manga. They emphasize the importance of simplifying complex subjects into basic shapes, such as using geometric 3D shapes to understand and draw objects. The speaker provides a step-by-step guide on how to break down objects like a tomato, a plate, and a brush into simple shapes for easier replication. They also mention the use of personal boards in Milanote for tracking references and progress, and the significance of daily practice in improving art skills.

10:02

💪 'Mastering Anatomy Through Gesture and Structure Studies'

The speaker delves into the study of anatomy, a crucial fundamental for character drawing. They outline three types of practice: gesture drawing, mannequin sketches, and anatomical structure studies. Gesture drawing helps overcome perfectionism and the fear of the blank page by copying poses quickly. Mannequin sketches involve simplifying the human form using solid shapes, applying techniques from gesture studies to avoid stiffness. The speaker advises starting with basic shapes and gradually integrating anatomical structures. They also discuss the importance of studying specific body parts, using references to understand how they connect and influence each other. The speaker encourages viewers to focus on understanding the basics of anatomy rather than memorizing complex names, and to develop their own method of solving creative problems through experience.

15:03

🌟 'Finding Personal Artistic Growth with Milanote'

In the final paragraph, the speaker wraps up the video by reiterating the collaboration with Milanote and expressing hope that the content was helpful. They emphasize the importance of enjoying the artistic journey and making it worthwhile. The speaker encourages viewers to explore various art forms, learn from them, and eventually develop their unique methods for solving creative challenges. The message is one of continuous learning, experimentation, and personal growth in the artistic process.

Keywords

💡Milanote

Milanote is a digital tool mentioned in the script as a solution for organizing creative projects. It allows users to centralize notes, images, videos, tasks, and more in one space, acting as a virtual creative assistant. In the context of the video, Milanote is used to streamline the creative process, providing a structured workflow for art studies and enhancing productivity. The script highlights how Milanote can be used to create dynamic mood boards, track progress, and set up artistic challenges.

💡Creative Chaos

Creative chaos refers to the natural state of disorganization that often accompanies the artistic process. The script suggests that while there are advantages to this chaos, introducing some organization can be beneficial, especially for self-taught artists. Milanote is presented as a tool to channel this chaos into organized projects, helping artists to manage their ideas and inspirations more effectively.

💡Art Fundamentals

Art fundamentals are the basic principles and skills that form the foundation of artistic practice. In the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of studying these fundamentals, such as shapes, anatomy, perspective, and light, to improve drawing skills. The script outlines a method for studying these fundamentals using observation and copying skills, which are crucial for developing a solid artistic foundation.

💡Observation Skills

Observation skills are the ability to see and understand the details and structure of objects. In the context of the video, these skills are crucial for artists to visualize shapes and spaces around objects, which helps in creating more accurate and detailed drawings. The speaker discusses how training observation skills can lead to better understanding and representation of the subject matter in art.

💡Copying Skills

Copying skills involve the ability to replicate existing artworks to learn from them. The script describes copying as a main approach to learning art, where artists can study the techniques, influences, and styles of other artists by breaking down their works. This process helps in understanding how different elements come together to create a masterpiece and can be a stepping stone to developing one's own style.

💡Gesture Drawing

Gesture drawing is a quick sketching technique used to capture the essence and movement of a subject. In the video, it is presented as a practice method for beginners to learn anatomy and overcome the fear of the blank page. The speaker suggests that by copying various poses quickly, artists can develop their instincts and get used to analyzing the human body, which is essential for improving their art.

💡Mannequin Sketches

Mannequin sketches involve simplifying the human form into basic shapes to understand the structure and proportions. The script uses this term to describe a practice where artists draw the human body as if it were a mannequin, focusing on solid shapes and applying gesture techniques to avoid stiffness. This method helps in mastering the construction of the human form and is applicable to various subjects beyond humans.

💡Anatomical Structures

Anatomical structures refer to the specific parts and systems that make up the human body. The video emphasizes the importance of studying these structures to draw characters accurately. The speaker provides a method for simplifying complex anatomical details into basic forms, which aids in memorization and application. This understanding is crucial for artists aiming to create realistic or stylized characters.

💡Progress Board

A progress board, as mentioned in the script, is a tool used to track and document an artist's improvement over time. It serves as a visual timeline, showcasing the artist's growth in techniques, styles, and creative concepts. The speaker encourages artists to fill up their progress boards daily with sketches, emphasizing the importance of consistent practice for improvement.

💡Skill Tree

A skill tree, in the context of the video, is a metaphorical map that outlines a path for learning and improvement in art. It shows how artists can enhance their skills by learning new techniques or improving existing ones. The speaker introduces the concept of a skill tree as a way to visualize the learning process, where artists can gain points and 'level up' their abilities, keeping them motivated and on track towards their artistic goals.

Highlights

Introduction to a highly effective art study method that enhances productivity and provides a structured workflow.

Use of Milanote as a tool for organizing drawing sessions and developing a consistent routine of art studies.

Milanote's ability to centralize notes, images, videos, tasks, and more, acting as a virtual creative assistant.

The importance of organization in the creative process, especially for self-taught artists.

Milanote's feature to track art progress by setting up boards for projects and skill development.

Utilizing Milanote's templates for various creative projects to kickstart artistic endeavors.

Setting up artistic challenges with Milanote to stay accountable and motivated in art practice.

The concept of an art fundamentals skill tree for mapping out a path to improve art skills.

The significance of observation and copying skills in art study, with tips on how to develop them.

Studying shapes as a fundamental skill, breaking down complex objects into basic geometric forms.

Using mannequin sketches to practice drawing the human form by simplifying it into solid shapes.

The approach to studying anatomy by focusing on specific body parts and simplifying them using shapes.

Importance of understanding the basics of anatomy rather than memorizing complex names of body parts.

The value of studying different art styles and methods to develop a personal approach to solving creative problems.

Encouragement to enjoy the learning process and make it worthwhile, embracing experience over failure.

Transcripts

in this video I'll introduce you to a

highly effective art study method that I

recently came up with this approach has

significantly boosted my productivity

and provided a more structured workflow

plus it has the potential to enhance

your art studies as well allowing you to

maximize your learning

experience the tool that we're going to

use is called milanote now we're going

to be using this to organize our drawing

sessions and to develop a consistent

routine of art

studies all right if you're anything

like being you might find that your

creative process tends to lean towards

the messy and disorganized side as an

artist there are advantages in chaos but

sometimes you just wish that there was a

way to streamline and bring order to

creative Adventures well that's where

mil note comes into play being creative

often means leaving a trail of

unorganized ideas and projects it's part

of the artistic process but I realized

that a bit of organization can go a long

way especially when you're self-taught

and trying to be better this starts with

getting your schedules and routine in

order and mote will help you do

that milanote is my go-to solution for

channeling my creative chaos into

beautifully organized projects it's a

ver style tool that allows you to bring

together notes images videos tasks and

more all in one centralized space it's

like having a virtual creative assistant

that never loses a single idea or

inspiration the possibilities with mil

note are endless you can get started on

mil note for free and the best part is

there's no time limit so if you're

looking for a way to bring order to your

artistic chaos check out the link in my

description to sign up for mil note

today and be sure to let me know how

your creative Adventures go down in the

comments now let's Explore More of M

no's

features best thing about this is you

could basically drag anything that you

could see online to videos links and

especially images you can simply drag

them to your board and that's basically

it your inspiration board becomes a

dynamic mood board that evolves with

your artistic interests you can

categorize your Inspirations by themes

Styles or even moods over time this

collection becomes a living canvis of

your creative evolution where you can

witness how different influences shape

your

art the second thing I personally use

this for is having a dedicated board for

artists that I really admire I'll just

go in their social accounts and get some

of my favorite pieces from them and use

it as a reference to study by breaking

down their techniques influences and

even their artistic Journeys I would

analyze their early works and watch

their progress and fold gaining

invaluable insights for my own growth

which is legal I think it's legal right

anyway next feature that I really like

is you can track your

progress Mill notee is a great tool for

tracking your art progress you can set

up boards to document your various

projects and skill development you can

easily gauge how far you've come with in

your art Journey each board becomes a

visual timeline of your growth

showcasing your evolving techniques

Styles and Creative Concepts it's like

having a visual Diary of your creative

evolution at your

fingertips offering a sense of

accomplishment as you look back and

recognize Milestones that you've

achieved whether you're finding your

shading technique experimenting with new

fundamentals or honing your storytelling

skills mote becomes a testament to your

art commitment next one is templates

starting a new project is effortless

with M note with an impressive library

of over 100 built-in templates

designed for various creative projects

you can Dive Right In whether you're

dreaming of creating a manga an

animation or anything else mil note has

templates that provide the solid

foundation for your work these templates

are not just placeholders they're wellth

thought out Frameworks to Kickstart your

creative projects you can also set up

artistic challenges for yourself using

this app you can track your progress

whether it's a daily sketch challenge a

monthly theme or a personal art Marathon

this keeps you accountable and motivated

in doing art again again you can sign up

for free and try M note for yourself

link would be in the description now on

to the video all right so if you've

already seen my videos this might get

really repetitive but I think it's worth

going back into because this is really

important especially if you're a

beginner okay in learning and improving

art you have to know what to study and

how to study them if there was a

shortcut to enhance your art I'd say

this is it working smart can set you on

the right path to achieve the art that

you

want introducing the art fundamentals

skill tree if you don't play your games

that much skill tree is basically like a

map it shows how you can get better at

things by learning new skills or

improving the ones you already have as

you gain more experience or complete

tasks you gain points that you could use

to upgrade whatever type of skill that

you want which helps you to get better

and keeps you motivated to reach your

goals as you can see it's not an actual

tree that's just how skill trees look

like but anyway you get the point also

use M node to create this board you can

check out this study board if you want

link would be in the description so that

you could also follow along with this

study or you could create your own

personal boards where you keep track of

your references and progress using the

app is really easy that you could figure

it out for

yourself here we have some art

fundamental sections that you can study

we have shapes Anatomy perspective and

light there's more fundamentals in that

which will probably cover more in the

future for now we're going to be

focusing on what they think is the most

essential fundamental skill that we

should learn first and consistently

study for me I'm mostly a character guy

so the fundamentals that we would be

learning is mostly centered around

drawing characters that is heavily

influenced by anime and manga now I did

point out in the thumbnail that we're

going to be learning how to draw

everything don't worry I think this is a

good enough start there are two skills

that is really important to keep in mind

when studying observation and copying

skills let's start with observation when

I say observation I'm referring to how

much can you see not in a literal sense

of vision no I'm talking about the

information and structure that you're

able to visualize when you look at an

object when you train your observation

skills you would be able to visualize

shape and space around your object it's

kind kind of like sculpting using our

mind by the way we're not going to

resort to schizophrenia to draw instead

we're going to be developing our

instincts to notice details and overall

structures it's basically a combination

of knowledge and a trained eye seeing

both how the object works and how it

looks next skill would be copying

copying is my main approach to learning

most of my drawings are blend at various

artworks that inspires me you can start

copying really simple references like

anime or anything that's not complicated

just to get a feel of for copying and

observing but if you want to get more

challenge you can learn straight from

real life but I recommend doing this

when you have a decent art fundamental

Knowledge Learning how to copy

effectively is quite straightforward you

just need to observe carefully and

practice

regularly this skill is important for

various kinds of art studies you can

learn and figure out a lot just by

copying stuff like works from various

artists observing and dissecting how

they craft their masterpieces and get

ideas in how to construct Yours by

copying many different examples you can

eventually learn to create things from

your imagination the time it takes to

get really good at this can vary a lot

it might take as long as 50 years or

much faster it really depends on how

dedicated you are and your

standards now let's Explore More of the

boards that I made so like I mentioned

before in studying you have to know what

to study and how to study so what do you

have to study well first up is shapes

here I link a playlist for each video

that explains basic fundamentals that

you could check

[Music]

out next is I made a reference board on

how other artists construct shapes which

could give you ideas and how you could

draw them it also links some Pinterest

boards where you can find more

references that you could add to your

own

board see shapes is the very structure

that you would see in everything if you

try hard enough you can simplify complex

things which I've gone over a million

times already and I do apologize to you

guys if I'm starting to sound like a

broken record but I can't really help it

drawing R shapes is just a cheat code

that allows you to break down everything

to its simplest form using geometric 3D

shapes like the spear cylinder

especially the cube you can also use

other shapes as

well all right let's take a look at this

image we have all kinds of things here

for beginners you might think that these

are really complicated subjects that

seems difficult to replicate and you're

right but we're still going to try

starting with a tomato it looks very

complex but if understand how the

structure of 3D shapes doesn't have to

be complicated you have to learn to

simplify what you see by using shapes so

in my mind it's just circle which then I

would imagine it as a sphere by adding

some curves we have something close to a

tomato R and repeat for the other stuff

that's basically how you learn and

improve let's continue for the plate it

kind of looks like a circle that is

laying down and being pulled by

perspective add some dimensions and

there you have it a plate we're going to

be doing this for the same objects like

the piure what does doesn't really look

like a circle you could still see some

roundness as it features we could use

other shapes that's kind of close to it

like

[Music]

this and then for the brush we can

simply break it down to simple parts and

simplify using multiple shapes like a

thin Cube for the brush and then some

other shapes for the

handle next we have a literal Cube

that's just

it and last see the table which is a

rect angle or a cube also the cloth is

kind of random it doesn't really rely on

any shapes I usually just copy the

overall silhouette and that's basically

how I study the neat thing about this is

you can use this method with everything

like drawing anatomy and other stuff

that's why I always share this idea of

studying it's my shortcut to learning

how to draw everything breaking it down

to its simplest form solves most of your

problems like proportions and overall

structure we'll cover other basic

fundamentals later studying structure

will do for

now

after doing some studies you can store

your sketches on a progress board that

you should try to fill up every day you

can put how much sketches You' like as

long as you do one every day because

that's how you

improve next fundamental you can study

is anatomy this is the fundamental you

need to learn if you want to draw

characters there's three types of

practice that I keep in mind when I

practice this fundamental we have

gesture mannequin sketches and

anatomical

structures just your drawing is pretty

easy you can do this in a paper or

digital you can even do it on a rock if

you want to but anyway this is really

good for beginners that wants to learn

Anatomy because it solves so many

problems at once the whole point of

gesture drawing is secul your

perfectionism and the fear of Blank Page

by copying a bunch of poses as much as

you can in a short period of time again

doesn't have to be perfect you could do

it Loosely as long as you get the whole

body figure for me a figure is composed

of a head torso hips arms and legs the

more you study anatomy the better your

gestures would be because you would

eventually add some anatomical structure

to the basic figure that you're working

on this really helped me learn how to

draw full body characters the key here

is PE when I started I usually do one to

two minutes you could go faster if you

wanted to develop your instincts and get

used to analyzing the human body quickly

me I've been drawing gestures for a long

time I've developed a different way of

doing gestures now it takes me a lot

longer than 2 minutes because I keep

integrating proper anatomical structure

to every pose that I draw my biggest

mistake was working on a single pose for

too long because I was so hyperfocused

on facial stroke

and I usually start from the head down

if you're a beginner I recommend drawing

the whole pose first as quickly as you

can as you can experience and gain

knowledge about Anatomy you can decide

how much time and details you want to

put in a single post and even develop

your own style of doing gestures I know

there's no rules in doing art but if you

want to achieve something specific you

got to learn and practice specific

stuff next up is mannequin sketches this

mostly applies to human bodies but it's

also applicable to everything like

animals objects and nature since it's is

basically drawing shapes to simplify

your object now this face is all about

mastering those solid shapes to

construct the human form much like a

mannequin but it's not just about those

blocky shapes we're also applying the

techniques that we've learned from doing

gestures this blend ensures that our

mannequin don't end up looking stiff as

warts but if you're just starting out

it's perfectly fine to make your figure

stiff as long as you get something close

to a human body now in drawing with

mannequin this is where your shape

knowledge and spatial visualization

skills really come into play it's like

sculpting with lines but on

now knowing this won't make you

instantly better but it does help you

get started to improve this you need to

constantly practice drawing shapes every

day to gain Mastery over it and that's

not much of a surprise isn't it however

here's what I'm always saying don't just

aimlessly draw instead draw with the

purpose in mind set specific goals like

improving your Gras of proportions or

capturing different angles this way the

drawing sessions become not only

practice but deliberate path to

progress also longer time practice isn't

always better you can do so much in just

an hour or less of studying compared to

8 hours with no goals it's a simple

concept as long as you have the right

practice you're going to do just fine I

think

hopefully next is actual Anatomy studies

for this we're going to focus on a

specific body part one at a

time so I made a specific board for this

where you can study the human body from

head to toe I fill them with a bunch of

references that you can copy and help

you out with your studies

the key to learning Anatomy is basically

the same thing with the previous method

you simplify them using shapes so that

you could easily remember them not as

complex muscles but simple forms for

example to learn how to draw faces you

got to start with a skull since it's the

basis for the facial structure having a

bone structure knowledge can help you

make your drawings more realistic for me

I don't really go in depth with studying

skulls I do them occasionally just to

get a feel on how they should look like

but it depends on your preference if you

like more realistic art I highly

recommend studying how bone structure

influence the outside of the human body

my art is kind of stylized so I don't

strictly follow the normal human face

structure but then again I already know

the rules enough to know how to break

them properly and my art still contains

fundamental structure one way or another

so don't sleep on fundamentals other tip

for studying body parts is you don't

have to remember all the fancy names for

their body parts it's helpful to know

some of them but what really matters is

getting familiar with where they go how

they connect and how they influence one

another and also what they look like so

focus on understanding the basics rather

than memorizing complicated names get a

feel for how the body is put together

and eventually your drawings will look

better and feel more

lifelike you might notice that some

references have different methods in

style but you would eventually gain the

overall idea since they all have the

same result there are countless ways

that you could draw but there's only a

few that could help you achieve what you

want

it's all about trying and figuring out

for yourself there are endless of art

out there that you could learn and take

ideas from but eventually you'll develop

your own method of solving creative

problems to see what works and what

doesn't there's no failure only

experience make sure to enjoy it as you

go and make it worthwhile and that's it

thanks again to mil note for this

collaboration and yeah I hope you find

this helpful and I'll see you next time

peace