The mentality behind art is something that interests me- the reasons for drawing a picture, reason for starting to draw how they do, and the meaning a picture has to the artist in the end, so I ask this-

How long have you been drawing, and what made you start?

What inspires you to keep going?

And what kind of thoughts do you have in the process.

I know this is a little cryptic, but I'm basically wanting to know the what and whys of art for people. 

I've been drawing since I was 8, and for me, it was always an escape. And escape to my mind, my world, and to pull what was jumbling up in my head out cause I had WAY too many creative thoughts. It's something that came out like water on a water fall. It has since stowed down with distractions of life and the internet, but it by no means has welled up.

My inspiration to keep drawing is a little selfish, but getting out those ideas in my head actually makes my head feel less strained. I get headaches if I don't release what I call 'Creative tension'. Doing art, writing, or comics for me is a way of releasing all that built up creativity fighting to get it's way out :) I... do like comments, but if I only get a few, then I'm fine. It's not the world to me.

My thoughts bounce about alot in my thought process. I have flashes of layouts in my head as I'm concepting a layout. Sometimes I don't grab my perfect layout for a good hour or two as I try to grab the inspiration as it flashes by. Even when I think I have the best layout, sometimes I discard it cause it wasn't really as good as I hoped it was. Life drawing has helped me alot to capture these thoughts. The rest I let my hands decide on. IT's pretty zen really.

What's everyone else's thoughts / practice? You don't need to talk about all aspects if you can't put words to it. Putting words to art is actually really difficult :/

I have been making art since I could remember. Even before I started to go to kindergarden, I would write up stories and draw pictures to go with these stories; my parents and siblings taught me to write at an early age. As to why I start, I guess you could say it was a way into a world that I had created that belonged to no one else. It was a world that was unique and a playland for the creative.

My inspiration comes with wanting to get these ideas onto paper. For me, to take an image from my head and put it to paper or to life, is a great realization for me. I may not get a lot of comments, but its the fact that I accomplish the fact that I was able to take the ideas from my mind and place them on paper is a high achievement to me. It's a strong inspiration for me to keep on doing it.

When I do art, I tend not to think and let instintics take over if that makes sense. If I try to think too much on a piece, it tends to either get scrap or worse, get me into an art block. When I started to concentrate on my thoughts too much, the thought of 'What is everyone else going to think about this?' would often pop in my head and would make me stress out verses being a release of stress. So I let myself go when I make art.

I know what you mean- all my older art art is mostly from my story 'Dragon Twins'... infact, all of it was original art. I maybe did one or two fanarts... nowdays I have alot more fanart, but all fandoms I get into and stick with, I end up going into OC art with it cause I end up writing a story in the world and creating OCs for it, and I end up liking the OC so much that I stop drawing the fandom and move onto my OCs XD My current favourite fandom is Phoenix Wright, but I've made three OCs for my fanfic I'm writing... IT's actually more fun to draw how they react to stuff than writing about the fandom it's self XD I made a teaser comic of it if you're curious

Do you listen to music while you draw? Perhaps you need something to distract you from drawing so that it's not such a task for you?

I've been drawing since I was 16 so... I've been drawing for 13 years now.

What made me start was my fanatism for anime and manga, before all that I proclaimed myself negated to all of what was art. So once I begin to copy art and I saw I didn't do it as badly as I first thought I keep practicing and practicing, till I pretty much could copy exactly anything that I saw, and began to draw my own concepts and artwork, and since I had advanced all that I thought it was a shame to stop drawing and just keep going and going.

So I think what makes me keep drawing is the idea of improve my aesthetic skills. And being able to use colors and shades according to the feelings of the pieces are a challenge I keep in mind while I draw. So, it's a lot of work  and it's fun to do.

Yeah- copying has alot more merit than people give it credit for. I'm against certain degrees of copying, but I can't deny that drawing from a photograph teaches me ALOT about realistic form. I also like doing it cause the results are always that much nicer. I don't like it when other art forms are copied usually, but to me, it's not so much of an issue if the artist admits that it's a copy and that they're just going off it to learn. 

There... is the creative commons law to be concerned with. It's a difficult law, cause really, as long as we don't make money off it and credit the original properly, I can't see the problem, but I guess it's as bad as reposting someone's art :/

Anyways, back to the subject, I'm glad it has helped you in art :) I hear you- getting better at art has always been an enjoyment factor for me too even though it's only a hobby for me. If I were to do glamour poses only and not improve, I think I'd lose interest and become dis spirited about art. I blame artist depression on not improving fast enough. Art is like martial arts though. It takes practice and dedication to get there, and a clear mind to keep it.  

good post!!! +1)))

How long have you been drawing, and what made you start?

I've been drawing ever since I was a little kid. I did not get into technique until middle school, around the sixth grade. I learned a little technique from

"How to draw Comics the Marvel Way."  When I turned 14 i started to learn more technique. I've been learning lots ever since. It's all mileage and technique.  I stil try to learn stuff today.

What inspires you to keep going?

trying to make up new techniques every once in awhile keeps me going.

And what kind of thoughts do you have in the process.

 i wonder if i will ever finish. and i usually do.

I think I've always been drawing. I can't find a memory of an age where I wasn't holding something - a pen, a pencil, a crayon - and trying to make it do what I had in my head. Did a mix of stories rolling around in my mind, fan art (although I didn't know the term then - it was just "I'm drawing The Black Stallion, I'm drawing Narnia, I'm drawing Bilbo"), "contests" with my sisters to design a dress for a princess at the ball or invent a season-themed faerie-character, and trying to copy illustrations from my favorite books. Some of it was a need to have an outlet - show people what's happening in there, introduce 'em to this new character I was making. Some of it, when I'm honest with myself, was just wanting to keep up with my big sister who was miles ahead of me in skill at the time just by virtue of having been on this planet longer. :)

Several things. I like to think of art, not as a trip where there is a specific destination but a journey. One that doesn't end. And part of that is that your art style and skill level will change over time. It might get better, it might get worse, or you might just have more styles under your belt. You're never going to be your "best" because you can always do better, and seeing how your art has changed is one of the most interesting things about art.

The other reason I do it is to express an idea. I draw some things sometimes because it has meaning to me, and I like to share it. (It's unfortunately also the reason I don't keep a lot of scraps or random things.)

On Feb 20, 2016, Firiel said:

I think I've always been drawing. I can't find a memory of an age where I wasn't holding something - a pen, a pencil, a crayon - and trying to make it do what I had in my head. Did a mix of stories rolling around in my mind, fan art (although I didn't know the term then - it was just "I'm drawing The Black Stallion, I'm drawing Narnia, I'm drawing Bilbo"), "contests" with my sisters to design a dress for a princess at the ball or invent a season-themed faerie-character, and trying to copy illustrations from my favorite books. Some of it was a need to have an outlet - show people what's happening in there, introduce 'em to this new character I was making. Some of it, when I'm honest with myself, was just wanting to keep up with my big sister who was miles ahead of me in skill at the time just by virtue of having been on this planet longer.

Oh man- that's the way to do it though, right? Find a thing you love to draw and draw it? Copying existing art without shame to see how it works. Don't ever lose that spark, hon. Many get caught up in popularity, and lose that diversity spark. It's something to cherish :)