[Erudis]

What exactly are you trying to do? Saying you want to be a visual artist is the same as saying you want to be an engineer, which doesn't explain a lot.

And do you want to do it as a hobby or are you trying to get professional?

[NeedsNewNameNow]

I don't find inspriation, inspiration finds me

[Lila]

Go to museums, browse art books/magazines etc. or simply go outside for a walk. That, or simply stare in front of you until shapes start to appear on the wall/floor and get to work; they will (eventually) make sense somehow. There is so much out there which can prove to be a great inspiration...just train your eye to see.

[killingbunnies]

What exactly are you trying to do? Saying you want to be a visual artist is the same as saying you want to be an engineer, which doesn't explain a lot.

And do you want to do it as a hobby or are you trying to get professional?

I don't know what I want to do with my art. Visual arts has always been one of my passions, but I could never do it proffessionally. I am looking to improve my skills, though, and get better at drawing specifically. I've been trying to change my style for awhile as well.

[koalaroo]

I don't know what I want to do with my art. Visual arts has always been one of my passions, but I could never do it proffessionally. I am looking to improve my skills, though, and get better at drawing specifically. I've been trying to change my style for awhile as well.

Don't try changing your innate style, but do experiment with what would be outside of the box -- for you.

[killingbunnies]

Don't try changing your innate style, but do experiment with what would be outside of the box -- for you.

I've been getting tired of my current style for awhile (I've exhausted nearly every anime style I could come up with..) so I've been trying to change it slightly so that it could have more of a 'Western' veneer. I really admire Western art and graphic design, as much as I like Eastern art. I'm stuck between the two and it may be the cause of my current problem.

[sidj0n]

1.View the work of others.
2.Stop for a week or so and try to do something entirely different from your field.
3.Try image streaming.

[killingbunnies]

1.View the work of others.
2.Stop for a week or so and try to do something entirely different from your field.
3.Try image streaming.

Image streaming?

[Erudis]

Visual arts has always been one of my passions, but I could never do it proffessionally. I am looking to improve my skills, though, and get better at drawing specifically.

Well, in that case:

1. Draw a lot and draw every day
The best way to get better is through practice. I cannot emphasize this one enough. Nobody becomes a good artist overnight.

2. Draw a lot a draw quickly
If you're studying, don't waste 2 hours on one drawing. Sketch just the essence of the scene or the pose in about 2 minutes and then move on.
This is a good site for studying poses: Posemaniacs.com
And if you want to focus on facial expressions, try this one: 5 Sec Faces' photosets on Flickr

3. References
You know the guy that says "I don't look at other artists' works because I don't want to be influenced"? He's an idiot. If you want to evolve as an artist, study other artists.
Here are some good web galleries:
ConceptArt.org Gallery
CG Choice Gallery: 2D, Illustrations and Concept Art
1x.com - Photos

4. Composition
Composition is what draws the attention of the viewer to the right spots of your image. Is what gives harmony to any visual work. You can learn a lot about composition by studying photography.
Here are some good tips about composition in photography: 10 Top Photography Composition Rules
And a great website for studying landscape composition: Landscape Composition Rules

Also, it's important to have a good sense of perspective and basic human anatomy, so you can avoid common mistakes like surreal shadows, oversized/undersized heads, that kind of stuff.

5. Light
It doesn't matter if you're working with colors, black and white, or even lines. You need to know how light works of you want to make a good drawing. Richard Yot has a great book on the subject, but the lighting tutorial on his website is more than enough for anyone that wants to learn the basics of light: LIGHT - a detailed tutorial by Richard Yot

And most importantly, have fun drawing!

[BUtheBabyUnicorn]

Well...
Inspiration, I've actually written a whole essay talking about why I think inspiration is a bunch of BS, but I won't get into that.
I suppose (although I don't like using the word "inspires") looking at other people's work, both visual and auditory (although I'm more of a visual artist) somewhat inspires me. I like looking at people's artwork and looking for flaws in it, so that I can learn what to NOT do in my art.
But I've found that just taking a break once in a while helps a lot. I took a break from drawing this week and decided to re-learn the piano. YAyyyyy... Of course, doing this in the middle of improving is pointless.
The most intimidating thing, for me, is a large blank page. I love smaller sketchbooks for this reason. I also like smaller notebooks. There's nothing more "inspiring" to me than a blank sheet of paper that I can scribble and doodle all over in wild abandon, and not feel bad about leaving it. Feeling tied down to any sort of "schedule" tends to diminish my creativity.
Schedules work for some people. I prefer to set longer goals, like "finish a 100 page 5.5"x8.25" sketchbook every month or so." I don't even care about filling all of the pages. If I mess up on a page, I just turn it over and go on to the next one.
So yup...