The general outlines of the subjects are ok, but the line work is very rough and the shading looks almost random. The line work shoudl come with practice but the shading is something you will likely have to learn in a more formal setting.

Hey Wardy. I think your stuff has real potential. I’ve seen a lot of people who can’t draw and never will be able to, but you’re not one of them. Not if you really apply yourself. A couple suggestions. Take classes if you can, they can really help you improve quickly. Read books on drawing. Also tons of great info, and if you’re broke you can still find some books at the library. Also, the main thing that has helped me improve my skills has been finding artwork that really gives me a hard-on and trying my best to recreate it exactly. If you don’t get excited when something is really coming together, or if you’ve never looked at a drawing or painting and thought, “Holy shit that is the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen! I HAVE to draw that!” then put down your pencil and forget it. Passion is the single most important aspect of any kind of art. I like what you have so far, though. Keep drawing, keep studying, and work on your control and hand strength. Below are a few exercises that will help with both. Do them for a total of about five minutes every day, and you’ll find yourself improving quickly! Post more as you grow!

To answer your question- you have a long way to go. You are young though and have your whole life to refine your skills. There is lots of good advise in the previous comments so pay attention to it. I’m 32 and got my apprenticeship back in October. I had been working on my drawings and paintings and getting tattooed and getting advice from local artists since I was 20 years old. It takes time and dedication. Make absolutely sure that it is what you want to do with the rest of your life.

You can learn alot by tracing. Find photos of real skulls, roses, birds, etc… Trace them and then shade everything like you see in the photos. Learn how things are put together. Break things down into shapes and build off of the basic shapes into a finished drawing. A skull is basically a sphere rammed into a small cylinder with some holes in it. Take courses in drawing, painting, sculpture, and design.

Tattooing is always growing as an artform and clients are expecting more and more all the time. Don’t limit yourself to only tattoo related art. Tattoo artists these days are fine artists in their own right. Everyone at my shop has a degree in fine arts and the work shows. New artists these days have big shoes to fill. Are you up for the task?

I don’t mean to jack the OP’s thread lol… Here’s a couple sketches I did this year for the first time after 10 years. These are the first 2, hope to have more this year. As you can see, I have a lot of things I need to relearn. The bamboo and trees I copied from 3 different pictures and made it my own. The koi fish is just plain, you can find generic koi fish pictures and copy them. The scales are a bitch!! I gave up at the tail and just shaded it in a little lol.

Like I said, it’s going to take some time to get back on track, but these are good practice pieces for me. I’m still working on them little by little. 🙂

Davidjednat and Panthen have some awesome, awesome advice as well, Wardy. I started a little sculpting about a year ago and it kinda catapulted my drawing skills, so absorb, absorb, absorb. Everything you do, everything you see, if you try to look at it from an artist’s perspective, will only make you better. I agree wholeheartedly with Davidjednat’s statement that tattooing has achieved fine art status. I have seen tattoos that far and away absolutely destroy a lot of gallery work. Also, tattoo art is not limited to any one genre or style or concept or anything! I believe that it is the most versatile, most viable art form in existence. Sorry to get all long winded, but the possibilities and the talent and creative evolution that exists within this medium is, in my opinion, one of the most powerful influences in the art arena today. I could go on, but ’nuff said for one night. Later!

Your line work needs some work, as well as your shading, but it’s a good start.

I’m looking to become an tattoo artist as well and what has really helped me improve my art skills is solid research on drawing techniques and practice. There are plenty of youtube videos and websites that will teach you how drawing techniques. I also have a couple of college books on the subject that I’ll give you the names of if you want.

A helpful hint in learning proper shading techniques is to download images of what you want to draw, remove all the color, and increase the contrast. This will help you see how they’re shaded as well as how the shading helps the image look more 3D.

Something else I would recommend is drawing with ink instead of pencil. This takes A LOT of practice but it will help prepare you. Just like in a tattoo you can’t erase ink.

Best of luck.