Whats the point...?

[Reqium]

Hey guys... listen, first of all, i'm not trying to seek attention, i'm asking for opinions, any help. anything really.

Whats the point? you may be wondering what i mean, well, here goes.

I'm an artist. i've been drawing for 3, just going into 4 years, i've had no experience in lessons n all that, so basically picked up a pencil and started scribbling away.

This probably sounds like a rant but i have no clue how to cleary display whats going through my head.

well, for all i've tried to draw, my work seems shit. always has, as much as i try to improve and get better. people say my work is really good, but to me it feels like people say it in the way that you would tell a 4 year old that their scribble is good. and as much as i've tried to improve over the years, i can never get to the point where i think my work is good. or mediocre. or at least bearable.

I've been preparing a big project to do, maybe to redeem myself in my eyes. i worked for 6 - 8 hours a day for a whole week, (mind you i'm balancing final school year exams with part time work, so after drawing getting 3 - 5 hours sleep on average) and then my bag gets stolen along with my sketch pad in it. so thats a whole week of work down the drain. but oh well, started sketching it again, and lo an behold after a week of hard work, someone spills a mug of coffee over it and while trying to fix it consequently tears it asunder.

That was this morning. So, i've been... i don't know. (depressed? according to the doctors i'm more prone to depression than a normal person etc. etc. but i refuse to take anti depressants. call it pride, whatever you will, i don't really care) about it, i'm just wondering whats the fucking point anymore. i'm always going to hate my work, because i never seem good. i mean i'm even going to study Fine Arts, whats the point of that? no one cares about how difficult it is to sketch or paint in oils, acrylic, to sculpt. to use pastels and charcoal , no one gives a fuck, it's all photoshop and anime and the rest nowdays, no one cares about the art of sketching when you can just click the undo button and delete layers on photoshop without a second glance. (Yes, i've worked with photoshop, so please. don't give me a lecture on it.)

i don't know. as i've stated again and again, i don't know, i fucking hate my work. but i don't want to give up... i'm trying to reach an ever elusive state of 'good' and i don't even know where 'good' would be.

so in short... i refuse to give it up. but i can't bear to continue doing it...


I don't even know what i'm expecting in reply to this post, maybe i just typed it because i didn't know how to say it out loud, i don't know. but eh, any thoughts, anything you want to say really. anythings appreciated...

Though please, No trolling, flaming or the bitching about grammar. please.


Regards

Req

 

[Archemetis]

Do you enjoy drawing? (even if it get's destroyed?) because that's the reason i carry on doing it, admittedly i sometimes get payed for the things i draw and im aspiring to be a web-comic artist, so yeah, of course i'd enjoy it, but really, if you generally feel good about drawing, then it doesn't really matter how much you think it sucks, i think my stuff is complete arse half the time and it takes me forever to achieve anything actually like, it's common for that attitude to come across.

All i know is, if you try to make too much out of something you enjoy eventually you squeeze all the fun out of and it get's tedious, which is something i've been failing to overlook over my 7+ years of doing comics (15 years overall for just drawing in general).

I don't what else to add to that, but if i helped then that's enough.

 

[Mr Fatherland]

Maybe you should just draw in your room and when you've finished one, show it to your art teacher.

 

[Gooble]

This is just a low point dude, we all have moments where we think just what the fuck is the point any more. You'll bounce back, don't worry. I'm assuming you do have a love for art, so you've just got to try and remember why you love it so much.

One secondary idea, which is entirely up to you: do you want to post any of your work on here. You may actually be good, and I hope you are, but if you're not great than it might be worth just seeing it as a hobby more than a career.

 

[ChocoCake]

I'm sorry to hear that you are feeling this way. I am not going to try to trump your situation with one of my own, because I find that just makes things worse. I will just say this.

Life is best lived out to its fullest. If you find something, or someone, with which you find yourself most happy with, then that is where your time is to be spent. If you love the Fine Arts, such as sketching, painting, etc, then pursue that. But if all it brings you is sadness and an unfulfilled feeling that you cannot lift, then maybe it is time to find something else.

Good luck with all your life's endeavours mate!

 

[Taizan]

Photoshopping is good for certain things, but it is difficult to create something with real soul on a computer. Sure, it might be done, but it's mostly about technical wizardry, and no real feeling or passion.

As for painting/art in real life, there is much more passion, more soul that goes behind it. Think of all the greatest works in history, and there is usually some sort of story behind them and the people who painted them. Just look at all the artists who died poor, and then went on to become massively famous after their death.

So Reqium, that's why i think you should carry on with your sketches and your project. After all, if art was easy, then everyone would be able to do it, and that would just be boring now.

 

[J-Man]

Hmmm...

If you're unsure whether your work really is good, find someone you only know vaguely well, and ask for a completely honest critique of your work, emphasising the honest.

It's a shame about 2 weeks of work down the drain, but these things do happen. I once spent a month working on an essay, got it on my memory stick, which turned out to be broken. When I went back to my PC, the entire hard drive was corrupted. In the end I had to write an essay in the last 2 days before the deadline, and worked pretty much non-stop. So you're not the only person these things happen to.

Regarding the modernisation of art, it is an unfortunate thing. However, there is still a very large market and interest in sketches and such, my neighbour's son is opening an organisation dedicated to raising the value of such works over time and selling them to a mainstream consumer market for reasonable prices.

Perfectionism is a problem. I suffer from the opposite, thinking most first drafts of scripts and reviews are fine, and have to be snapped back to my sentences by an unbiased individual, who usually says "this is shit."

I don't really know what to say on the subject, so I'll skirt around it.

Finally, don't be afraid to take anti-depressants or any such stuff. Huge fields of technology, research and dedicated individuals work on this sort of stuff, and we wouldn't want it to go to waste. It's probably not pride that's the problem, but I don't know what else to say.

Perhaps you could post some of your art on the forums? That way you'd get feedback from the most unbiased and honest audience; the internet.

Anyway, try to avoid depression. I've been down that road once or twice, and its not fun. Good luck with your work, and take it easy.

please keep the forums free of personal issues. really, its just obnoxious.

Extremely rude. You are the obnoxious one.

 

[Drake the Dragonheart]

If you really love art, then stick with it. It sounds like you have just hit a rough patch, and I think you can pull through it. In the end, only you truly know what your best move is.

 

[Drake the Dragonheart]

that in of itself isn't that much of a bad thing, unless of course it also includes a plan to murder half the galaxy's population, but since the force doesn't exist, don't have to worry.

 

[StarkRavingSane]

according to the doctors i'm more prone to depression than a normal person

They tell that to everyone I know who's ever visited a doctor.

ANYWAY...

my bag gets stolen along with my sketch pad in it. so thats a whole week of work down the drain. but oh well, started sketching it again, and lo an behold after a week of hard work, someone spills a mug of coffee over it and while trying to fix it consequently tears it asunder.

would you believe me if I told you that it probably the best thing that could've happened to you?

Comparision: I've been in and out of drawing for... well, more time than I care to remember, and for quite a few years I've also been experimenting with computer graphics, 2D and 3D alike (sorry) and whenever I do something new it's complete and utter crap in my eyes. However I did do a project or two that I was kinda proud of but It has always been at my second or third try that I managed to produce something that did not repulse me. Usually it was in the lines of: I made something, it looked bad, I remove the blasphemy from this world and start over. Once I was almost done with something when my files (sorry) got corrupt, about 6-10h of eyestraining tablet tapping down the drain. I sat down and worked my pretty buttocks off for a few hours and made something much better (albeit still far from proffessional).

And lately I've lost a couple of months worth of work cause my hard drive blew up and I can't find my backups anywhere. OK, that's just me complaining now, back to you.

My point is: do what you love doing, don't get discuoraged if you fail or if the universe makes you fail, take a grip on yourself, if you suddenly get a feeling you want to draw now, just now, in this precise moment do it (if the situation allows for it). What's the point? The point is, regardless of whether you succeed or not, that you've tried, that you weren't afraid to sacrifice your time, energy and effort for something you weren't sure would result in anything. And you won't have to explain yourself to that 70 year old guy (i.e. you in the future) who'll complain about why he didn't do this or that back when he was young. And always know where your towel is.

 

[Legion]

I get the impression (of course I can easily be wrong as emotion is hard to detect in written form) that you are more frustrated that all your hard work has been for nothing, not so much because of the quality but because of the unfortunate circumstances that have occurred. Try and think about how much you enjoy drawing in general, ignoring what has happened, if you do enjoy it then perhaps try drawing in a secure area and avoid taking your work anywhere else if possible, just to be on the safe side.

If however, you do not enjoy it (but do it because you want to for other reasons) perhaps take a break and consider if you want to continue.

I would also like to see some of the work you have done. I am not a professional critic or anything, but I am interested to see what you have come up with nonetheless.

Hope it all works out.

 

[Baby Tea]

First, you're your own worst critic. If people are continuously saying that your work is good, chances are that it is. Learn to take the compliment (And this is coming from a guy who is the EXACT same way). And learn that the way your drawings and sketches and art looks is YOUR style. That is what makes your work yours. Trying to look like other artists and other's work isn't going to make you happy or feel fulfilled. You'll feel those feelings when you finally realize that your work is yours and yours alone, and no-one can do what you do in the way you do it and with the passion you do it with. It's more then the signature in the corner. YOU are more then the signature in the corner.

Second, people not caring isn't a reason to give up. You going to school isn't about other people. It's about YOU. The only reason that might be an issue is because of my first point, and your self critiques. Self worth comes from the self, not from the observations or apathy or attention of others.

Third, learn that people DO care. There are plenty of people with a respect for art and the skill it takes. My sister was an art major and would probably be right with you in saying how hard it can be and is. They are out there, and they are looking for like-minded people. Don't let the ignorance of the digital age push you into submission.

Finally, cynicism is an easy road. The morning news, the latest gossip, and the internet as a whole offer much food for the beast that is cynicism. It's harder to be positive and look ahead toward your goals or even set goals in the first place. But I can't think of a single person who ever gained or succeeded with a cynical worldview, and every successful person I know was someone with the one thing that makes wading through this shit-storm bearable: Hope. A hope you can do better. A hope you can succeed despite the obstacles in the way. A hope that exists only for the reason that you can dream of a better now, and therefore it must be possible.

Might sound a little cliche, but that's my thought.
I really do wish you the best.

 

[Fightgarr]

Hey guys... listen, first of all, i'm not trying to seek attention, i'm asking for opinions, any help. anything really.

Whats the point? you may be wondering what i mean, well, here goes.

I'm an artist. i've been drawing for 3, just going into 4 years, i've had no experience in lessons n all that, so basically picked up a pencil and started scribbling away.

This probably sounds like a rant but i have no clue how to cleary display whats going through my head.

well, for all i've tried to draw, my work seems shit. always has, as much as i try to improve and get better. people say my work is really good, but to me it feels like people say it in the way that you would tell a 4 year old that their scribble is good. and as much as i've tried to improve over the years, i can never get to the point where i think my work is good. or mediocre. or at least bearable.

I've been preparing a big project to do, maybe to redeem myself in my eyes. i worked for 6 - 8 hours a day for a whole week, (mind you i'm balancing final school year exams with part time work, so after drawing getting 3 - 5 hours sleep on average) and then my bag gets stolen along with my sketch pad in it. so thats a whole week of work down the drain. but oh well, started sketching it again, and lo an behold after a week of hard work, someone spills a mug of coffee over it and while trying to fix it consequently tears it asunder.

That was this morning. So, i've been... i don't know. (depressed? according to the doctors i'm more prone to depression than a normal person etc. etc. but i refuse to take anti depressants. call it pride, whatever you will, i don't really care) about it, i'm just wondering whats the fucking point anymore. i'm always going to hate my work, because i never seem good. i mean i'm even going to study Fine Arts, whats the point of that? no one cares about how difficult it is to sketch or paint in oils, acrylic, to sculpt. to use pastels and charcoal , no one gives a fuck, it's all photoshop and anime and the rest nowdays, no one cares about the art of sketching when you can just click the undo button and delete layers on photoshop without a second glance. (Yes, i've worked with photoshop, so please. don't give me a lecture on it.)

i don't know. as i've stated again and again, i don't know, i fucking hate my work. but i don't want to give up... i'm trying to reach an ever elusive state of 'good' and i don't even know where 'good' would be.

so in short... i refuse to give it up. but i can't bear to continue doing it...


I don't even know what i'm expecting in reply to this post, maybe i just typed it because i didn't know how to say it out loud, i don't know. but eh, any thoughts, anything you want to say really. anythings appreciated...

Though please, No trolling, flaming or the bitching about grammar. please.


Regards

Req

I'd love to see your drawings. One of the things I find is that people who actually can draw like to be really self-deprecating. I know, I'm also an artist. Honestly, you want to be a better artist? Go to school for it. I've been doing my art school thing for 5 years, I've got 3 more ahead of me, and that's if I don't do a master's degree. You will be amazed what even one year of training will do to your stuff.
You sound frustrated with yourself and that's something I can relate to. Sometimes art is frustrating man, its a fucked up world out there and art is a struggle. Is art what you want to do? Is drawing what you love? Then fucking pursue it. I'm doing that, even though I know I'll be piss poor most of my life without much hope of steady income. If its just a hobby, keep it that way, don't let it take over your life.

This is my advice to you for what your next move should be:
- Keep a sketch pad with you at all times. Riding the bus? Sketch.
- Stop second-guessing yourself because it won't get you anywhere.
- Post some of your drawings on "The Artist in Thee" thread so you can get some actual feedback.
- Keep doing your thing.
- Trust peoples compliments.
- If you love art enough to take classes? Find an art school, take some classes. There are places where you can do free life drawing, it will help so much you'll be amazed.

I get really upset seeing people piss all over themselves because they lost a fucking sketchbook. I ended pouring Gatorade all over mine, you know what I did? I kept drawing. In fact, I incorporated the stains into most of my drawing for that entire book. You're getting yourself nowhere getting depressed about it.

 

[xitel]

There are some people that enjoy drawing for the sake of the process itself, and those that enjoy the finished product. You sound like the kind of person that appreciates the finished project more, in which case you may not want to be a full-time artist. Do art on the side, or on commission, and find a career you enjoy more for a day job. One of the reasons I refuse to go into the IT field is because I love computers, and I don't want to make what used to be my hobby feel like work. There's nothing wrong with not doing what you love for a living, but still doing it.

As for your comments that there's no market for "actual" art anymore, that's not entirely true. Living near a large city, I hear about art expos and museum exhibits all the time, and they usually end up being quite popular. It's just the same problem all careers have "Location, Location, Location". And there's nothing saying you can't do paintings and hand drawings on the side and do some other sort of art as a day job. Art is an integral part of society, and it's not going to go anywhere for the next couple of lifetimes.

As for your feelings that your work isn't good enough, that's the way almost everyone feels about their own creations. Look at the Mona Lisa. Da Vinci worked on that painting for years, and the version in the Louvre still wasn't finished at the time of his death. That's why you have to trust the comments of other people, more objective observers.

 

[Erana]

The only bad art is the art made with no soul.

Basically, if you create something, you are a better artist than the people who scribble in a mechanical manner. Art is about expressing people, things, etc.
Sounds like you're a little young, but you should think about learning more on the topic of conceptual art. Once it clicks in your head, you'll be miles ahead of faux artists.

 

[AntiAntagonist]

I'll relay something my 3D animation professor told me: 'The difference between getting a job and not getting one is being able to draw competently.'

While the exact nature of your current work (ie: the choice of medium and steps to attain competency) isn't necessarily directly applicable to the market the practice, understanding and persistence is.

When looking for a job (or going after a professional commission) you can mention this story of your personal project jovially, about how stumbling blocks kept appearing and you still accomplished your goals. The understanding of earlier mediums also gives insight into how each can be applied and the intricacies of each.

 

[DangerChimp]

Cowboy the f*** up. No matter what you do in life, there'll always be setbacks. You have two choices, usually (or three, if doing nothing is a choice): either push on and perservere, or give up, pack it in and move on.

 

[super_smash_jesus]

Okay, now the wisdom I shall now pass to you is very good, so use it. This will clear up your issues in one swift kick to your inspiration:

start drawing nude models.

This is a win win. You will enjoy your work more, because face it, nude people cheer up everyone. And if you do enough of it, which who wouldn't want to, you may reach that elusive point of good you have been reaching for. Who knows, maybe you have a nack for drawing boobs, you never know. Go now my son, the way of your future is now paved in golden bricks.

 

[Reqium]

I just wanted to say, a huge thank you, to every one who posted here, i really appreaciated it, thank you, each of you, who helped me through this rough patch, i've been an animation artist for the past 3 years, but as some of you suggested, i shall begin to draw nude models and branch out to realism, Thank you once again to everyone who helped me, i'm in your debt.

 

[wordsmith]

What you must remember is in general:
Photoshop- taking what is already available and bending it in ways that you cannot in real life
Hand-drawing- creating what is not already available, but is very hard to bend/reshape afterwards.
It's two different subjects, so saying "it's all photoshop" is rubbish