Every time I sketch, I follow what others have already drawn. Will my painting skills not improve? I am drawing a dog now ~ I am a junior high school student, learning by myself.

Yes, it is good to copy some good works at the beginning of painting, but it is not good if you keep copying. It must be bad to always accept other people's things. To put it bluntly, eating what others have chewed. (Ha ha, I really can't figure out how to describe it. Teachers often say this at school. Please forgive me. If you keep copying like this, you won't understand why this "thing" (still life) is. So sketching is very important. It may not be good at first, but it will be good when sketching and copying are combined! Since it is self-taught, there is definitely no plaster geometry at home. Beginners had better start with plaster geometry, so that they can easily understand the structure of objects and then draw still lives. It is very convenient to sketch at home (fruits, bowls, cups and cloths are available at home). If you can draw a still life, try to draw a plaster head (it is difficult to copy a plaster head first). At this time, you can try to draw a sketch. Keep the dog you draw now, don't throw it away. Try to draw it the way I said. Draw a dog in a year. Compared with what you draw now, you will find that it has improved a lot!