Art is Commitment (+ Faith's Further Adventures of Life in Comics)

lolpups:

I -had- to reshare this one. :D

In short, art is a commitment.

We all have to start somewhere and we get experience by constantly putting forth effort to improve.

“Breaking into something” isn’t a magical snap of the fingers. You need to prove (on your own) that you are capable of doing what you want to “break into”. Oftentimes, this means you will be doing a lot of work on your own — for free, maybe for low pay, just to get noticed. Just to build a reputation that you’re a reliable person. Eventually you’ll get onto people’s radars.

My official start in comics was in 1997. I drew a comic strip for my college paper called “CultureSHOCK!” for maybe a year and a half. I was paid $5 per printed strip. Considering each strip took about 4-6 hours to draw, I was getting paid about $1 an hour.

If you’re doing it for the money, well, yeah - that sucks. I’d have been better off drawing stick figures like the rest of the cartoonists doing it for easy money.

But I drew comics because I enjoyed it and wanted to elevate the quality of comics in the paper. I wanted to put forth my best efforts, and improve with each following strip. I had to start somewhere and what better place, than amongst my peers.

That comic opened a lot of doors for me: in ways I’m still quantifying to this day.

…And if you think about it, I’m still doing comics for free. ^^ I try to put my best foot forward every update. It’s my sincere hope that you enjoy what I do to, in turn, support me. That’s what keeps my comics running.

We’re all looking for that big “break” to push us into the spotlight. But before you can step up to the platform, you need to earn your spot there by working hard. You choose what to do with your “free time”. Spend it, no — invest it — doing the thing you love now. You’ll have many rewards you can harvest later.

♥

faitherinhicks:

Okay, so I’m getting a bunch of questions thrown my way in response to my last post, so here is one more attempt to be helpful to those who are interested in making a living in comics. I’m sure it will infuriate at least seven internet folk who will then write impassioned blog posts about how I’m…

Reblogging for both Lolpups and FaithErinHicks who are awesome.

Source: faitherinhicks

the terrible idea machine: The Art Institutes

nakioutsuno:

brodoof:

PLEASE STOP SCROLLING AND READ THIS IF YOU ARE EVEN THINKING ABOUT CONSIDERING THE ART INSTITUTES.

The Art Institute that I attend in Orange County has been featured on multiple news websites in regards to a recent event that has torn our…

And now to make the joke that, The Coney Island Art Institute is totally not for profit.

Source: brodoof

Robaato's Corner: Some people are flippin’ out at that post about getting your stuff...

robscorner:

Some people are flippin’ out at that post about getting your stuff together on artist-confessions.

“I can’t take the OP seriously because he’s anonymous or is cursing”? I don’t understand that logic. It’s really simple as quit looking at others’ works and whining and then sitting on butts…

artist-confessions: wanting to be professionals when they do nothing but mediocre doodles and then turn around and whine and cry about their lack of skill and praise are fucking pathetic.
Sorry but I can’t take you seriously if your gallery is full of the same shit over and over, floating in blank space. No visible attempts at any sort of challenge or movement outside of your comfort zone whatsoever. No visible attempts at complex poses, foreshortening, character interaction, varied expressions, no fucking backgrounds or any sort of semblance of a completed scene. No experimentation with stylization, color, technique.
Sorry but I can’t take you seriously if it’s fucking summer vacation and you can’t seem to produce more than one “decent” image a week. You’re capable of being more fucking productive than that.
There’s a reason other people are better than you, and it’s because they fucking worked for it. They didn’t sit around on tumblr all day bashing others with their friends, stalking someone’s deviantart pageviews and pulling their hair in frustration everytime has more favorites/watchers/fans/commissions than them. They don’t upload something and then sit in the corner and cry about giving up on art because they didn’t recieve enough praise to stroke their ego. Chances are they know that all of that garbage is a huge fucking pointless waste of time.
How often do you draw for 6 hours straight? I’m not talking about the “Oh man I’ve been drawing all day!! (but actually I take a break every five fucking minutes and go hop on tumblr/deviantart for half an hour)” crap. I’m talking about actually stepping away from all of your social media circlejerking bullshit and actually drawing for 6 hours straight and your arm/wrist/fingers hurt like hell and you forgot to eat dinner but you don’t give a shit because you can’t stop drawing.
How often do you actually move outside of your comfortzone and honestly try to get better at shit instead of spending all day hating yourself because your art fucking sucks. Guess what, you’re going to keep being a mediocre shit artist until you actually work on not being a mediocre shit artist.
I know I come off as a huge arrogant asshole right now, but I’m honestly hoping this will fucking help you. Quit whining and get your shit together.
-Anonymous good shit
the truth hurts
i saw someone reblog this and took offense to it being kind of a moral high ground dick move low blow sorta deal and while i can’t deny that it is an arrogant post, it DOES illustrate an enlightening point quite succinctly… mostly that artists in this brave new internetty frontier are totes bogged down by a lot of extraneous drama, self-imposed or no, that doesn’t necessarily have to be a problem in the first place
I know that when i was starting out, page views and favorites on dA used to matter a ton to me. getting a daily deviation was my life’s mission when i started posting art on dA… and hey, i have never regretted it. it carried me through the most rudimentary learning phases - it kept me drawing and staying the course when i would falter and concentrate on quantity over quality, or when i would branch out to have more COOL INTERNET POPULAR PEEPZ than real art comrades and real friends
BUT
i eventually realized what this artist-confession was getting at years after i started my art-career, and now sort of wish i had a harsh yet genuine push like this from someone to get my head out of the internet sand and just remind me that hard work begets reward, and not the other way around. i would have progressed much faster, and would probably be in a much better place career wise if i did
not sour graping though, i’m pretty happy with where i’m at and the peepz that i roll with
GOD DAVE STFU

ScrotumZone: artist-confessions: People that act as if they’re serious artists  

I wanted to repost this with Dave’s reply because it speaks volumes.   My own 2 cents to go with this:

The words “arrogant” and “ego” are thrown around a lot by rookie artists…at least those who are looking for a professional field.   There’s no way around this:

CONFIDENCE = QUALITY

Period.   When I started college many, many moons ago, I had a roomie that was was quite headstrong with his work.   And at that time, I thought he was the cockiest SOB on the planet.  But I’ll tell you one thing, he backed up his words with damn good work.   So as I’ve gotten older and been through jobs and around more professionals,  it’s become more and more clear that attitude is what sells you.  

And sure, there’s artists out there who still maintain a meek, quiet presence on and offline because their work is just so fantastic that it sells itself.   But I, personally, have run into more artists who are not only good, but also KNOW they’re good.   And that knowledge of self is what will propel you forward.   I’m not talking about thinking that you’re this flawless, wacom-wielding God of illustration, but that you are relied upon by professionals to do what you’re really fucking good at doing.

Yes, there are some pros I’ve come across that are quite cocky.  But deservedly so.   If they didn’t have the chops to back it up, they’d just be talking to an empty room after awhile.

So don’t be put off by another artist’s confidence.  Try to understand why.   Look at their work.  Figure out why they’re re-hired and relied upon.   And then  work your ass off because there is absolutely NO REASON you cannot do the same.

(via danhoward)

And now Psudo’s own two cents:

Confidence and good work go hand in hand together because people who tend to make appealing work get good morale boosting comments. You get the good comments, you get the confidence to do more, and then you get more good comments. And with confidence, your own work improves as you begin to fight yourself less and tackle the art more.

Kinda like dating. It’s tricky to get the engine started. Lots of young artists do try to do something out of their comfort zone, but often times they’re marked down for their flaws or their missteps. And then they see they haven’t gotten the “internet attention” that a similar amount of work doing homestuck fanart would net them. They’re no long reinforced positively for their original creations, and they stagnate.

This is my only defense for the “whiny kids” of the internet art scene. I think the onus is on their peers, to encourage each and every one of them to do something challenging. Admire their bravery, and help fix their flaws. You want to tell a kid to stop bitching and get out of their depression? Then you’ve got to work with them, help them break that first toughest hurdle to getting those positive comments which in turn generate confidence.

(via danhoward)

Source: artist-confessions

artist-confessions: Being a artist isn't wrong.

artist-confessions:

It is not wrong to do commissions.

It is not wrong to be popular.

Is it not wrong to promote your art.

I see this so many times. People feeling guilty because they wish to make profit off something they are good at,but there is people who tell them it’s wrong and they should just be free or a…

Activate the Mechanism!: SOPA IS BACK: Lamar Smith trying to quietly revive SOPA and cram it down the world's throats

oldmanyellsatcloud:

abaldwin360:

It’s not just ACTA that is being snuck back into law through undemocratic means. Lamar Smith, the powerful committee chairman and corporatist archvillain who tried to ram through SOPA last year is now bent on reviving his slain monster and unleash it upon the earth.

The new bill, the…


Looks like its not just Canada whose getting the rope-a-dope, but now the United States is getting finangled with once again.

Source: abaldwin360

Phrax and Phrox: minuiko: Logically Illogical: Improving Your Artistic Skills: Lesson...

minuiko:

Logically Illogical: Improving Your Artistic Skills: Lesson Learned from Pokemon

e1n:

The recent ask about improving got me thinking, so I thought I’d share this with you guys.

Now, I’m gonna start with a very cliche thing, but improvement does take a long, long time. I was…

It’s a bit like Skyrim in my opinion. By doing different things you gain different sets of skills and they accumulate to your total level. Doing the same thing gets harder to improve as you need other skills to evenly level. So basically once you get decent at colors and inks you’ll be at a better place to learn black smithing and stealth.

(via phrux)

Source: e1n

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