I think one of the biggest lies about becoming an artist is that you have to have some kind of talent.
The truth is, talent doesn't matter. What matters is how well you're able to learn.
I worked for four years drawing every single day, and I still got rejected from art school. Not once, but twice because.
Why? Because I "wasn't talented enough."
Thankfully, all that changed when I finally learned not how to draw...but how to learn how to draw. I had extreme amounts of growth in just six months compared to the four years before.
I've been a professional illustrator since 2011. My first job was with Disney Interactive, followed by work with Gaia Online, Kiwico, and tons of talented children’s brands.
Now, over a decade into the biz, I’ve not only got a nice resume, but can proudly say I'm both a self-published and traditionally published author.
In fact, my book How to Draw Adorable has sold over 30,000 copies and won six major awards.
So trust me when I say, if I can do it, anyone can!
Today I'll walk you through, step by step, how to take talent of the equation and make an art career you're proud of.
Looking for more tips, tricks, and visual examples? Check out my full video on the topic here:
Pick Your Path
The very first thing I recommend—and what I changed—was to make sure you have a path in mind.
Wanting to ‘do art’ isn’t enough. You need a specific goal when you're learning.
Why? Because if you don’t have a purpose, you won’t retain what you’re learning!
Think of it like learning a new language. As a kid, grammar didn’t stick because I didn’t need it.
It’s like studying ‘for the test’. Information comes into your brain and then leaves because you can’t conceptualize how you’ll use it.
Art is the same. Going "I want to draw hands" isn't enough!
Instead, when you know “I’m learning to draw hands; so I can draw characters holding things; so I can draw sword fights; so I can animate for children’s shows with wand fights,” suddenly you have a much better motivation for learning!
Finding My Focus
For the first four years, I was just drawing every day without direction. I didn’t know what job or style I wanted, and I was all over the place.
That’s fine if you’re drawing for fun, but if you want growth, you need direction.
Personally, after self-reflection, I realized the thing I loved most was character drawing. I loved creating characters with distinct personalities.
So, I went to my art advisor with that information, and asked what my portfolio was missing.
Her answer (what should have been obvious): figure drawing!
If you’re doing anything with people, figure drawing is the hardest and most important skill. We’re so familiar with faces and bodies that even small mistakes are noticeable.
So I dedicated myself to it—taking every class I could find, going to night sessions, summer boot camps, and sketching people in real life.
The difference in six months was huge. With that one focus, I got into art school, improved my portfolio, and finally turned art into a career rather than just a dream.
Really, if you want to make art a career, you need to specialize.
It could be:
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Figure drawing
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Storyboarding
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Design
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Perspective
Pick the one most connected to your end goal.
If you’re interested in background art, perspective will be your best friend. Want to work in animation? Become the strongest storyboarder in the room.
You’ll pick up other skills along the way—but start by mastering the one that matters most.
Start Simple, Then Add Complexity
It’s better to take twice as long to learn something right, than rush and skip steps that hurt your art in the long run.
That’s why the best way to learn is from the bottom!
Start as simply as possible, and slowly add complexity.
For figure drawing, that meant starting with stick figures. Once I got better, I moved to boxes, th
en clothes, then anatomy.
In class, we’d do 15-second poses. With so little time, you focus on gesture, not anatomy. Then we’d move to 30 seconds, one minute, and so on.
There’s a reason “start simple” is the foundation of all my teaching. It’s how I structure my courses, workbooks, and even How to Draw Adorable.
It’s the best way to learn!
Speaking of learning…
Focus on Your Weakest Skill
One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was: pick the thing you suck the most at and focus on that.
It’s fun to work on what you’re good at, but growth comes from tackling what’s hard.
It’s okay if, while you’re studying shadow and light, your figures get worse for a bit. Eventually, everything catches up.
Think of it like peeling an onion—each skill reveals the next weakest area to improve.
Track Your Progress
Don’t throw away your drawings. Don’t scratch them out. Don’t delete them.
Why?
- It’s kinder to yourself.
- Sometimes they’re better than you thought.
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They show your growth over time.
Nothing is more satisfying than putting together an “artist before & after” with your own work.
Stay on Your Path
Most importantly, don’t compare your growth to someone else’s. They’re on their own path. You’re on yours.
Look at your own improvement, stay focused, and keep going!
If you try these tips, I’d love to see your work—tag me on Instagram so I can cheer you on! And if this was helpful, consider subscribing for more bite-sized art tutorials.
Keep Creating,
Carlianne 🎨
P.S If you find this helpful, I have an entire course dedicated to refining and loving your personal style! It's called How to Love Your Style (creative, I know) and shows step by step how I created the style that got me into art school, Disney, and beyond!
