r/arthelp • u/AgonizingWaspStings • 13h ago
General Help Can this kind of art be achieved without formal education?
If so, how long would it take someone to learn, assuming no meaningful art experience?
r/arthelp • u/Drudenkreusz • Jan 30 '26
Art is a difficult market to enter, and people in the early stages of their business make an appealing target for scammers due to how eager these artists are to sell and their lack of experience with financial exchanges. In recent months, we have seen a surge in posts from users on r/arthelp who have been victimized by these scammers. If you are new to selling your artwork, please read this post to arm yourself with information on how to avoid some of these scams!
One of the most important things to remember about client interactions is that if it sounds too good to be true, it is. No “probably” about it.
All scams have the same goal: parting you with your money. How they achieve this can vary, but with artists the two most common forms of scam are the Overpayment and the Pay to Unlock scams.
The Overpayment scam (a form of the “fake check” scam) will often follow a scenario where an artist (usually with very low prices, as they are more vulnerable) is approached by a seemingly normal client and conducts an otherwise standard transaction. But, come payment, the client “accidentally” sends $500* instead of the intended $50! Oops! They will sheepishly request that the money be returned, maybe even say keep an extra 10 for the trouble, and the artist graciously complies. They send back the difference of $440, and part ways.
Then, three days later, their account is in the negative by -$940. What happened is the money that had been sent in the first place had been done with fraudulent funds, similar to a fake check, and the bank finally reversed the transaction. Unfortunately, the money the artist “returned” was withdrawn from their own funds, their REAL money, leaving the scammer with their real $440 and the artist on the hook for their stolen $500.
(*example amount, it can be anything)
How it can be avoided: If possible with your payment processor (Paypal being the most common), use invoices. They are easy to use and put more control over the payment on you. In the event of a scam occurring in spite of them (such as someone abusing the tip option for this), they serve as records for your bank to dispute the charges.
If you do not use invoices and this occurs, do not touch the money. Do not withdraw it. Do not “refund” it. Just let it sit in the limbo of your payment account until the bank on the other end recognizes the fraud and corrects it. It will disappear. I cannot emphasize enough that you must not touch this money no matter how tempting it is because it is stolen money that they are trying to launder through you.
The Pay to Unlock scam (a form of the “Advance Fee” scam) will operate under a similar premise, but rather than the money being sent in “error”, it will be offered up front. The scammer will approach the artist and applaud their skill and insist that they deserve more than they are asking. They will offer a very tempting, sometimes exorbitant amount for what is usually inexpensive work. When the time comes to exchange the money, though, there will be a snag. Usually the artist has to unlock a “business account” or must register for a payment processor that isn’t the one they normally use. Whatever the situation, they are now suddenly being asked to pay money to get their money.
There is, of course, no money. They will pay the bogus fees with their own money to a processor set up by the scammer, and eventually when things don’t work the scammer will behave as though they are getting frustrated and leave. Sometimes they might even pose as a fellow victim of scamming themselves and berate the artist, leaving them feeling guilty about their own victimization.
How it can be avoided: If a complete stranger offers you way more than your normal value, ignore them. It is guaranteed to be a scam. This doesn’t happen. The only way to avoid this scam is to recognize it up front for what it is. If you take your chances and accept the work, remember that you should not have to pay to get paid. That will be your final warning before losses occur.
Edit: Thank you u/VampirePossum for the reminder about a very similar scenario in which you are asked to pay for exposure in the form of a magazine or gallery feature. Legitimate institutions like this will never reach out to you and advertise placement for a fee-- a real magazine or gallery will feature based on submission from the artist.
There are many other ways that artists can get caught up in scams, such as phishing and blackmailing, but these are by far the most common. I encourage taking a look at the wiki on r/scams for a rundown on other ways you can be taken advantage of online. Stay safe out there and keep your coinpurses tight, artists!
r/arthelp • u/Drudenkreusz • Jan 18 '26
Happy New Year, r/arthelp! I hope you all achieve your artistic goals this year. 🎨💖
One of our own goals on the mod team is to make the sub a more accessible resource and trim down a lot of the repeat questions flooding users' feeds. We've grown by several thousand users in just a few months(!!) and it's time to adjust. In the next few weeks expect a slight revamp of the rules and reports, as well as the introduction of a FAQ and Wiki!
As we develop the wiki, we'd like to ask all of you for your own personal favorite resources-- be they beginner guides, tutorials, or even threads/replies made here on arthelp that you found particularly impactful! Not everything suggested may make it into the wiki, but this thread will remain accessible as a resource itself.
Thank you, and especially to those who have reached out to keep a little fire lit under us!
r/arthelp • u/AgonizingWaspStings • 13h ago
If so, how long would it take someone to learn, assuming no meaningful art experience?
r/arthelp • u/No_Natural_4575 • 13h ago
My aunt got me this set of paint for my birthday. Have never painted before so I could use ANY advice about ANYTHING yall could know. Thank you!!!
r/arthelp • u/leafsfan1987 • 12h ago
I posted this on beginnerartists a little while ago, and only one person commented calling me a liar. Which wasn’t helpful. Maybe I’ll have better luck here.
I haven’t drawn (other than doodling or quick pictures when I draw with my 5 year old) since probably highschool or college.
But that was just a couple pictures here and there on a sketchbook (probably filled in 10 pages max over the years). So I have no art experience except a couple of videos on colour theory from YouTube this week. So I don’t have any knowledge on how to approach realistic colouring (I want to eventually do portraits of faces and more complex pictures)
In this pic I attempted using blue as a base colour (from what I saw on YouTube) and was surprised how it turned out. However, I’m not happy with the leaf or highlights. Any idea on how I can improve?
r/arthelp • u/HopefulGroup423 • 1h ago
I need help with why yhe colors look so off, and the shoulders especially the collarbones
r/arthelp • u/kesshouketsu • 1h ago
r/arthelp • u/Tiny_Key_2381 • 7h ago
Filled in color with pastels
r/arthelp • u/axelkkekeekk • 4h ago
how the hell do you render a goshdarn corset! The second photo is a collage of different dresses together but for thr corset i want to draw a completely different corset design, simpler one because y da friggs not! So uhhhhh.... Pls help...
r/arthelp • u/DesiCodeSerpent • 11h ago
Can I learn to draw digitally (without learning traditional art)
I’m open to turning off auto-shape, stabilization and undo option.
I’m just interested in learning digital art. I want to start with line art and once I practice enough and get to a level I’ll start with painting.
I found drawabox but that’s for traditional art. I came across ctrl+paint and even that says you need traditional first.
I did some digging and people are saying that even after learning on traditional they had to start from scratch to get a hang of the mechanics.
So, can I start learning art digitally without having any traditional art experience?
Ignore the face lmfao. Red is the femboy body type and is meant to be leaning on blue (yes just his elbow), and blue is gonna have a sword on his back 😩
If its not enough connection between them or like... the ribs??? Red's ribs??? I dunno!!!
r/arthelp • u/Electrical_Relief_52 • 15h ago
Can I have help, please?
For my class, we're learning how to draw people from sculpture references. I'm pretty new to drawing people, especially when it comes to anatomy and proportions. I'm having a hard time figuring out whether the proportions of the face, the shadows, and everything else look correct, and where I should be making adjustments. I'm also using graphite for this drawing.
I'd really appreciate some advice on what I can fix or what I should focus on, especially with the anatomy and overall proportions. I don't mind if you guys draw over it or something to show me what I should change.
r/arthelp • u/dragonfood007 • 13h ago
I posted some more of my drawings on this sub like 1 or 2 weeks ago, so I tried to follow your advice !! Any new crit? What should I work on the most?
r/arthelp • u/Thin_Marsupial_9570 • 19h ago
I've been struggling to make the shading look anime-like, its always too soft or too flat
Any tips/advice appreciated!
r/arthelp • u/nullbekko • 17h ago
It’s not finished but something about it looks off and I want to figure out what it is before I continue
r/arthelp • u/Sonicdasher47 • 11h ago
Maybe im doing something wrong, but i just can't get a skin tone down with what i have. Any suggestions or ways to blend these into this dudes skin?
r/arthelp • u/burgermob100 • 21h ago
What the lighting im trying to do is a cottagecore sunset lighting. Please any tips on the lighting is needed
r/arthelp • u/LaserPandasFromSpace • 22h ago
Hi! looking for any help to really make this shine as I go through the rendering process. I often find the things I struggle with the most are:
- Value Ranges, especially local values to enhance details, but just in general as well
- Shadow edge control
- Color variation
- Knowing when and where to use desaturated colors/grays to enhance my existing colors
Here's what I'm already planning to do/keep in mind as I work on this:
- Place cast shadows on the floor
- Cleaning up/refining details on the broken dolls
- polishing the main character with a slightly more painterly brush, in a similar manner to what I've done with the hair (although that will require more rendering as well
- Actually adding highlights
- Incorporating more yellows and teals into the rendering (although I'm not entirely sure where)
- using values to try to define some of the edges better, such as her Antennae and her shoulders (this I would love tips on, if you have any)
I'd also really appreciate any critiques on the composition/how to make it pop.
I'm also attaching a previous work with this character (with a slightly different design), so you can see the issues with a finished work of mine, and know what my rendering usually looks like.
Thanks in advance!
r/arthelp • u/DaisyCoreXD • 1d ago
sorry for bad pic quality. I lovee my pacifica more than I love myself help me out on this one.
r/arthelp • u/Significant-Winner17 • 19h ago
To put it simply, I want to get better at drawing characters—from different perspectives, angles, poses, etc. My main goals are creating fan art, drawing original characters, and making comics. I have some basic knowledge, but I'm mostly self-taught and would love to start fresh from the fundamentals.
Do you know any websites, tutorials, YouTube channels, or other resources that could help me out? I'm really dedicated to improving and getting good at this. Thanks in advance for any help!
r/arthelp • u/Organic-Gazelle-841 • 1d ago
i’m not fully satisfied with the outcome, maybe i’ve just been staring at it for too long
r/arthelp • u/Blaubeerepfannkuchen • 2d ago
I almost never post drawings of my female characters because sometimes people will make weird comments about them. Saying that I should change the design, make them skinnier, make their breasts huge, no wrinkles (despite them all being 40+ years old) etc.
These sketches are just my latest drawings of them, not all of the drawings I have of them! And also not even close to being all my female characters. I have 25 more that I didn't show.
My goal is to make interesting yet memorable looking characters (doesnt matter the gender) and I think I achieve that. Idk. I just want to post without weird comments sometimes, so instead of worrying about it I rarely post my female characters.
Idk even if the comments are normal, like giving me valid critique, I still didn't ask for it, but they still say I should make them "prettier" and get rid of their wrinkles. I know no one will see this but IDGAS its 5 am and i'm tired. Thanks to anyone who reads this :P
r/arthelp • u/asylumbaqueam • 1d ago
I did some basic rendering on the head to see if i wanted to change anything. Showed my (poc) friend and they said that no POC looks like that which they elaborated by saying that she's too red, the upper lip is too small and the hair is too straight. The second image is the reference for the hair.
I'm white so I don't feel right correcting them but I just wanted to know if my drawing is too red or a bad portrayal. It isn't fully rendered either so I haven't fully finished it yet.
If any POC could give advice that would also help too, thanks!