One Cantankerous, Cranky, Bitter Young Man

artist-confessions: Art =/= Fun, apparently

respondr1:

artist-confessions:

I apologize in advance for any swearing, but really. I mean, really. This doesn’t just apply to visual art, but for dance, writing, music, and anything else that expresses creativity.

So here’s my confession: I strongly dislike how some people just suck the fun out of art because of certain…

Because most of the people who bitch about it view is as a lot more than a hobby; they are very passionate about it and want it to be done right. I always compare it to a handmade sweater. Grandma’s handmade sweaters are nice, but they’re not good. There are right ways and wrong ways to make a sweater even if knitting is just your passion/hobby.

However, the problem is that when you post it on deviantart or elsewhere, you’re asking for feedback. In particular, you’re asking from a community that has a lot of wannabe professionals in it. You’re no longer showing your home made clothes to your friends and family, you’re showing them to people who have studied your field and many of whom know what they’re talking about and are better artists than you (you being the person posting, general).

They can choose to take critique and advice however they take it, but that doesn’t make them a good artist. It can also be pretty damn insulting when someone wants feedback, then only wants positive feedback and turns on someone who’s taken time out of their day to help and write an in-depth critique. Particularly when this is steeped with “You just don’t understand ____ style,” or “Well it’s just a hobby,” or “I didn’t really want critique,” or worst “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Not to mention there may not be rules to art, but there are rules to representational art, and there are rules for what I would say is good art. Countless men (maybe some women, but realistically mostly men) have worked for centuries to determine what works and what doesn’t work. There have been countless books about it. To disregard all of that and say “there’s no right way to do art” is pretty arrogant.

Even if absolutely nothing else, you’re disregarding the professionals of the industry you claim to admire. All animators and comic artists I’ve ever seen have advised life drawing. You can always say “I understand that your advice is well founded, but I’m just doing this for fun so I won’t be following it,” but what I generally see is something more like “You just don’t understand ___ style” when the artist is the one disregarding the foundations of their style.

There is a right way and a wrong way to art if you want to do representational art (and probably even if you don’t). If you haven’t done the research, don’t be so self-assured.

This is the point I’ve been trying to make. Art isn’t about having fun: art is about being the best all the time, because if you don’t you’re going to get fucking eaten alive and forgotten. There is a right and a wrong way to do anything— and the distinction is not hard to make. These are immutable laws set in stone, and those that do not follow them are foolish!

I’m certain respondr1 agrees with me on this, because I’m right and he knows when a person is right when he sees it. If you disagree with me, you are wrong!