Two kinds of sketchy

I went to talk to a man today and he told me some really good tips on how to improve and get better

look up artists and try out their styles and/or techniques

be adventurous w your work

go to art galleries, you’ll be inspired

look up videos on youtube 

sketch and doodle a whole bunch 

be patient 

find a happy medium of what you want and what someone else wants (if commissioning) 

do studies of things 

don’t try and be a perfectionist w your work 

draw a lot from life

take risks 

take the advice of others, but don’t let it offend you

don’t rush them to draw something. if you want something drawn fast, do it yourself.

don’t like their style? whatever, it’s your opinion. but don’t tell them its bad!

if you like something they drew, then TELL THEM! PRAISE THEIR WORK! artist need every bit of motivation.

constructive criticism is always good, but don’t flat out tell them they suck.

everyone has their own style. if they draw a certain character a bit different than you want it to look, then that’s ok. don’t like it, again, DRAW IT YOURSELF

if they are asking for payment for request or commissions, DON’T COMPLAIN!! artist need money just like everyone else, and art supplies are very expensive!

if they try a new art style DON’T TELL THEM THEY SHOULD JUST STICK WITH WHAT “THERE GOOD AT” that’s just plain rude. period.

don’t hate an artist just because they only draw one thing, or draw all kinds of things. unless your paying them real hard CASH to draw for you, then you don’t have a say on what they are doing. actually…

UNLESS YOU PAY THEM, YOU CANT TELL THEM WHAT TO DO AT ALL. PERIOD. END OF STORY.

TREAT THEM LIKE HUMANS. NOT MACHINES. they need to eat, sleep, and mess around just like everyone else. give them a break.

ART IS ART, WRITING, DRAWING, PAINTING, IT’S ALL ART! Don’t tell someone writing isn’t art, or singing, or painting, IT’S ALL A FORM OF ART!!

artist are consistently improving. just because they might not be all that great now, does not mean they wont improve! stick by them, encourage them, no matter what!

EVERYONE HAS THAT ONE WORK. every artist has that one piece of art that sucks, alright? EVERYONE. so, don’t judge an artist just by their one work of art that isn’t as good as the rest. we all mess up.

and lastly, JUST TREAT THEM LIKE HUMANS, OK???????

Okay it’s like 9am and I’m not really awake but I think there are a few different things going on.

For one thing, people don’t like to feel they’ve been made a fool of. Realism elicits that reaction sometimes because it’s seen as kind of a magic trick. “I thought it was a photo!” = “Haha you fooled me!”

Also, people don’t like to be reminded of their insecurities. If someone works hard, and you don’t, and they succeed, their success reminds you that you didn’t work as hard. “This isn’t real art because I don’t want to feel bad about myself.”

But there’s also gatekeeping going on in general? That’s a little more complicated, but I think that’s where you get teachers teling kids a bunch of bullshit. Gatekeeping is way more institutionalized because it preserves something bigger than just art.

Elitism in the art world is reinforced a bunch of ways—by museums, by textbooks, by art schools, by critics, by race, by gender. We go to the Louvre trusting that someone who knows better than us what art is supposed to be has picked out the best stuff. For all that art is supposed to challenge us, it must jump through a lot of hoops before it’s allowed to do that.

Lots of things can break down that elitism. An artist who is self-taught, street artists, women artists, art that isn’t in a museum, art intended for a lay audience, fanart, new art that hasn’t been vetted, art made by people who aren’t loyal to the art canon, art on the internet, art made with new technology—basically anything that makes art more accessible to the “wrong” people or allows the wrong people to define it.

Art challenges the established systems of power we have, and it just so happens that the established systems we have are very white, very imperialistic, and very patriarchal. And the terrible terrible irony is that this same system that art is meant to challenge is also what validates it and allows it to be seen. You can paint whatever you want, but only a gatekeeper can let it pass.

So when you encounter someone who says things like “What’s the point?“ or “I could have done that” or a teacher who says, “That’s not real art” or any kind of gatekeeping, what you’re actually encountering is that bigger system.

So if you challenge the definition of art, you’re threatening the people who have authority because of it: teachers, critics, curators, editors, producers, directors, even other artists. But you’re also threatening anyone who feels safe because that system is in place. You’re threatening a larger system: the patriarchy, imperialism, misogyny, racism, etc.

Art is important, yo.