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Then, is there medium I should or should not use?
In the sophomore class I teach I ban using of certain mediums. I am teaching to help students become next generation of illustrators. I believe it is my job to have them exposed to the real artists medium, have them try out everything they can while they are in school so they can eventually pick a (or a few) medium and that they can explain why the medium work for them.
First of all, I ban them from using computer. Why? Because exposed to the computer too early in the stage will stop them from becoming a real artist.
It takes years to learn how to draw and paint. You can learn how to use basic Photoshop in a day if you already know how to draw, paint, mix colors and make good compositions. Computer won’t turn you into a good artist. It is important to ‘use your hands’ to learn before you move on to digital art.
I also ban them from using an easy medium that is substitute of real art medium.
Too many students love Microns too much. I have nothing against Micron itself for doing quick sketches, to carry around with you when you travel / commute. I use them too. I am against those who think Micron can be a real medium. It is not.
Micron is a fake sibling of Rapidograph, Rotring, and nib pens. Ballpoint pens are for writing, not for drawing. Markers are toy version of watercolors. Crayons are pastels for kindergarten kids. Colored pencils are not made to color surface bigger than 1square centimeters. These mediums make you lazy as an artist.
Rapidohgrap, nib pens, watercolors and other paint medium, pastel, etc are hard to use and take a long time to learn to be good at. But when you master them, it allows you to do 100X more than the cheap fake mediums do.
When you are in school, you can make mistakes. You learn by making mistakes and become a better artist. In the real world, you cannot make mistakes or you will loose a client forever.
I am not trying to be mean or hard on them. My job as a teacher is to let my students make mistakes and learn while they can.
If they learn the real medium and at the end come to a conclusion that a ballpoint pen is the only medium that works for them, then I would be happy for them, really. (And, I do love Hope Gangloff‘s work.)
https://yukoart.com/?p=569