#try different things

Sure! I also struggle with taking pictures of stuff, but I can give you two big suggestions (and I'll try to keep my explanation brief for now, but you are always welcome to come back and ask for clarification!). As always, these suggestions are not rules, so if it goes against what you know or have been taught or what works best for you, feel free to disregard it lol.

Lighting, and set-up (which I will roll camera angle into).

You don't need anything big and fancy to take nice pictures of what you make. You don't need a big DSLR camera or box lights or a crazy image processing program. You can take great pictures of your stuff right at home with things you already have. I know a lot of potters who take decent pictures of their work in a corner of their living room with a simple paper sweep (poster board), one directional light (one guy I know even uses just a lamp and points it towards his pots), and something to take pictures with whether that's your phone or a little point and shoot.

Lighting. A good rule of thumb is to not back-light your work as your primary light source*. Make sure your primary light source is in front and pointing at the thing you're trying to photograph. You can even kick it off to the side for a nice three-quarters effect! You CAN have some back-lighting as long as is is acting as your fill (secondary light source) OR if you're shooting outdoors. If you want to go for natural lighting, gray days are actually quite nice as they offer even lighting (though if you want that bright sun, go for it!). *That is not to say back-lit things are bad, just that they aren't necessarily going to show off your work unless it's designed to be that way.

Set-up. This can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be! Figure out how you want to shoot your work, and then figure out how to light the space. If you want something clean, create a light box. Use a box with a white/light gray sheet draped inside to make a contained space, or pick a corner of a room and either drape a sheet or use some poster board to make a little box you can easily put up and take down. If you want something that's more set up, I have actually used my work space as my backdrop. Show the tools you are using, maybe some material, and build a composition around your piece! That takes a little more effort but can be quite nice.

As for taking the actual picture, I have found that I personally like to have it slightly up at a shallow angle so it's not straight on or too high looking down on the piece. You can easily create an unflattering angle, but there are little nuances to taking pictures of those more extreme angles. It's just not what I'm interested in lol. Have your piece nice and centered at the angle you like, and make sure the camera is focusing on your work as much as possible and not the surrounding environment (I won't get into depth of field and all that, but that's worth keeping in mind). You can do that with some simple settings our technology has these days! (Also side note: if you are using your phone, clean the camera lens on your shirt first. It's crazy how easily that little thing can get dirty and give you smudgy looking photos lol)

I’ve been pondering over this question for a few days, sorry for the late response. I think that in the beginning it’s best to go with your instincts. If there are bits and pieces that are clear and powerful to you, start there--don’t worry about order or perfect prose, just try to capture that thought or feeling. Even if it’s just a few words, jot it down in that moment when it feels clear.

My process is a hot mess and a far cry from best practice. I am sure that professional authors & those who actually teach writing would have different opinions especially when it comes to efficiency, but my priority is always emotion and physical description. You have probably noticed I don’t do a lot of scenery or setting description, but when I do it’s incredibly detailed.... in those cases, it’s likely because the setting is what I “saw” first in my mind. Far more often it’s a specific line of dialogue or an exchange, a specific physical feeling, a specific emotion, or a combo of all of the above. I build a scene around that bright point. 

Is this efficient or even necessarily wise? Probably not, but I do think it’s a valuable exercise, and that it’s something every writer should let themselves do every once and a while. What is it about that movie playing in your head that keeps it in your head? What are you focused on in your imagination? I say start there. A coherent plot or clear setting may or may not follow, but the endeavor to communicate what’s in your imagination is what art’s all about, I think. If nothing else, this is a great way to warm up your brain in preparation for more structured writing.

You can pick any major title (like Naruto, Bleach, HQ!!, MHA etc) and the art always changes from what the first chapter looked like. You can wait all you want, the beginning of your story will always look different! Your taste changes, your visual library expands, your muscles get more used to drawing, you get more comfortable with your own style. Change is not bad!

Having a project keeps you motivated to keep drawing and forces you to draw things out of your comfort zone. The project will bring you growth (it shouldn’t be the opposite).

Hi Anon! There’s absolutely nothing wrong with where you’re at. You’re exactly where you need to be, and everyone starts somewhere.

Now, onto the question.

I know it’s the oldest answer in the book, but practice! Practice practice practice! All your idols have probably been drawing since they were babies, it takes time. The more you build your muscle memory, the easier it will come to consistently draw something you like! Which then in turn motivates you to draw more! (The other part of this is that you should never be afraid to reference other styles and forms that you like. It’s not *copying*, anything you make is inherently individual because YOU made it. So don’t be afraid to take inspiration from your idols!) I LOVE studying anatomy, viewing nude portraits, looking at tutorials! It’s all great!

Your brain literally is designed to see what you create as lesser, because it sees the contrast of what you visualized vs what you physically made. Nobody else sees what you visualized, so I guarantee the people viewing your art see it more accurately for how good it is!

It’s okay to feel discouraged, all of the artists you follow feel the same way looking at others works. That being said, try to focus that want on improvement, rather than turning it on yourself, because, well, you’re great.

I hope you doodle endlessly and that inspiration strikes hard and often!