It came from the deep...

[beau]

Hey DeeapSeaMonster, thanks for commenting on my thread! I want to ask, what's your goal as an artist? Both short term and long term- how much do you want to improve, what careers you might be thinking about in this, and who your favorite artists are? That last one might seem pointless, but I ask because it can be important in developing skill, to measure yourself against people you admire.

Hi there, thanks for your response. My goal is to hopefully produce some comics and maybe even eventually in the distant future, get a graphic novel published. That said, I don't think I particularly want to take on drawing as a career, it's more a side thing I'd like to do, or at least just a hobby anyway. I guess I want to improve my capabilities for comic stories and illustrations I'd like to produce.

In regards to your last question, I'd say some of my more prominent influences/favourite artists include Jim Woodring, Tove Jansson and Shigeru Mizuki. I've included some images below by each of these artists to show the sort of thing I'm aiming to eventually produce.
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Jim Woodring
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Tove Jansson 
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Shigeru Mizuki

Hopefully this will give you an idea of what I'm trying to accomplish as an artist. Thanks again for your reply.

Graphic novels take a lot of time, especially if you'd like to include so much detail. if art is more of a side thing, you could still do it, it's just going to take a lot longer. There's nothing wrong with that, or keeping it as a hobby, but you most likely will reach a point where you stop improving without giving it your 100% commitment.  Not to deincentivize  you, you can certainly get better without making this your life.

If I could recommend something, I think the best thing for what you want to do is get fast enough to where making comics or very detailed illustrations doesn't take you a lot of time, and the best way to get faster is to study, and draw a lot. The more time you put in now, the less time you spend making beautiful art later.

I can see that your influences reflect heavily on your work, though I can tell you like to show form and roundness in your drawings. I'd like to recommend that you study form, and how light wraps around objects. Studying simple 3D forms (like if you set up an apple and a lamp on your desk and draw that, simple things can help a ton) will make you better at making your forms feel round and real.