This was the first digital painting I ever completed, made circa 2009 without a pen tablet, when I was taking classes in neuroscience. Not bad for a first try, but there's certainly lots of room for improvement.

I have been drawing ever since I was a kid. My artistic journey was stunted at certain times in my life, but it is closer to thriving now than ever before. I desperately want to show the rest of the world the vast domain of beauty, wonder, humour and horror that lives in my mind, and that means I have to become a great artist, no matter how many years or decades it may take for me to get there. I know I have a long way to go, but I am so excited for it. I have come a long way already, though. So I figured it was time to meditate upon my artistic strengths & weaknesses.

HOW HAS MY ARTWORK IMPROVED?

• I can select & mix colors better than ever; skin looks much more alive & believable.
• Shading & gradations are much smoother.
• Making use of backgrounds rather than just characters in white spaces— because of this, my composition has improved.
• I can use layers much more effectively than I used to. Also, now I can use the transformative tools the pros use.
• I paint at 600 DPI now instead of 300 or 72 (yuck).
• My artwork looks more realistic than ever before— no longer simply graphical black lines.
• My human anatomy in drawing has greatly improved, people look less cartoonish now.
• I finish images more often & more completely than I ever used to before.
• The subject matter is generally much more meaningful to me nowadays. I'm drawing less fanart and more OCs.
• I'm happier with the images I make now.

HOW CAN MY ARTWORK FURTHER IMPROVE?

• My images can be less static & more dynamic, showing/indicating movement.
• I can use more complicated compositions & backgrounds.
• I should continue working on drawing human anatomy in a variety of poses & from a variety of angles.
• My drawings of hair, especially moving hair, needs a lot of work.
• I want to use more varied skin colors, including unreal ones (like blue skin).
• Practice using more characters in one image & make their interaction believable.
• Facial expressions need work.
• Eyes are frequently too big on characters.
• Chiascuro— I can work more on values before adding color.
• Finishing what I start.
• Working at a quicker, more focused pace.
• Work on several sketch ideas at a time, put aside for later use— choose one to work on as needed.
• Could use more framing techniques such as borders.
• Taking the time to create a sketch first instead of making it up as I go along.
• Improve drawing of organic things (like trees) and inorganic things (like cars).
• Try sketching things from life more often.
• Try meditating upon the image I'm creating for a minute or two every time I sit down to create, before I begin.
• Start with subject matter that means something to me, to keep my interest throughout the artistic process from start to finish.