We've all heard it before. "Practice makes perfect." It can get tired, but it is true. What we might not know is how to practice.

I was recently in a discussion with my friend who happened to be a professional in the animation industry. I told him most of my comments came along the lines of "Wow, how does your art get so great?" I usually come back with the reply of, "I go to an art school, it would be a shame if I wasted my money," but my friend disagreed with me. He told me the reason why anyone ever gets good is through practice.

Now, there is practice, and there is practice. Contrary to popular belief, drawing the same old thing over and over again is not practicing. It's the equivalent to wasting lead, time, and effort. It's fine and dandy to fine-tune a single way to draw a certain person or animal, but the real practice is about drawing (or writing) the stuff you cannot do. If you can't draw and/or write about a guy, then draw more guys; write more from a guy's perspective. If you can't draw toes, start observing your own and draw them.

The trick is to always challenge yourself. Never be afraid to fail. That is when you start to grow as an artist or a writer. I know it feels very safe and comforting to know you can draw the human figure over and over again... standing... with a sword. But mix it up a little! Maybe have your figures crouching, holding a spear, running, anything! Do you normally draw straight hair because it's easier? Try drawing hair in the wind or even wavy hair! You can graduate to curly hair, honest! Take a few steps out of your box, be brave, my artistic one! It only takes one small step at a time until you aren't afraid anymore to walk.

Personally, I couldn't draw guys for the life of me and as an only girl-child with a single mother, I had little interaction with males. So what did I do? Start a web comic starring a guy. This way, I had to constantly draw him as well as think about what guys said as opposed to how girls said certain words and phrases. I was afraid to my bones and forced myself to watch how men moved as opposed to women, how they spoke, and tried to examine their thinking processes. My project forced me to make a real effort and study the world around me.

Challenge yourself. Trust me, you'll grow.