Learninginaction

Jack of Laziness

[learninginaction]

Have a Steve Harvey

[learninginaction]

Studies

[dearartdirector]

this might be overthinking but-- i can't seem to get my friends interested in what i'm creating and it feels difficult to ask strangers to be interested in my work when the people closest to me are not. i know not everyone will love what i love but should i consider that my work might be boring and try some new things even if it isn't exactly what i want? or is it more important to keep working towards what i love and want? thank you very much for your time

Friends and family are terrible judges of art. They just are. Maybe they love your art - maybe they insist that it’s the best they’ve ever seen, no really, you’re so talented, you should be, like, famous!! Or maybe they tell you that your drawings are a foolish waste of time and you should give up and pursue a “real job.” Either way, they’re not speaking as professional artists or art directors. They’re speaking from their own limited experiences and personal tastes. Don’t judge the value of your artwork based on how much (or how little!) enthusiasm they show.

There’s a difference between the art that clients want to hire and what your family and friends will personally respond to. If you want to be a professional artist - and I’m guessing that’s what you meant by “asking strangers to be interested” in your art - then clients’ opinions are the ones that matter - after all, they’re the ones writing the paychecks, not your friends.

For example, maybe you drew a super historically accurate illustration of a Viking burial plot, because that’s your jam, that’s what you love, that’s what gets you out of bed in the morning. And maybe your friends look at it, say “cool drawing bro” and then go back to scrolling on their phones. But if you sent that illustration to Smithsonian or National Geographic magazine, or a publisher of history textbooks or something - now they might be very, very interested. Do you see what I’m saying?

Whatever it is you love creating, there’s an audience - and probably potential clients - out there. Think about what you want to do, and throw yourself into becoming really, really good at that thing. It’s so much healthier than fixating on other people’s feelings, which you can’t control.

Next, if you haven’t already, make friends with other artists. That might be by signing up for art classes, or local meetups, taking an online course, or attending some conventions. Find your tribe. They’ll love hearing about your work, sharing critique and feedback, and collaborating on projects, and this will be invaluable for boosting your confidence and motivation.

I hope that helps, Anonymous.

-Agent Thumbnail

[dearartdirector]

Why there have not been any major, iconic breakthroughs by an artist like Picasso,Van Gogh, Leonardo Da Vinci,etc in this century? Are we moving more towards commercialising art to suit the people's need and forgetting our true uniqueness and essence?

Of course there are major iconic breakthroughs going on in our time! It just takes time, and a little distance, for them to be appreciated, written about, shown in museums, have scholarship built up around them. Do some homework into the periods of the artists you mention while they were alive: DaVinci was desired by the important courts of Italy more for his weapons ideas and mechanical toys than for his art. On his deathbed DaVinci lamented that he was a failure. Van Gogh was considered a failure by everyone except his brother & sister in law, who rescued his paintings from the garbage. She single-handedly made his art “famous” long after his death by clever marketing. Picasso was a master of personal branding and marketing long before any artist was thinking in those terms. He told everyone he was a genius long enough and lived in scandalous and narcissistic ways that the media loved reporting on. 

I’m not saying the art these artists made isn’t worthy of being considered groundbreaking. I AM saying it’s never just about the art. And it takes time and distance to see what’s going to be important. Further more, remember it’s the art critics and curators who decide what’s going to get written about and make it into museum collections. They don’t always know, by some divine intervention, who the most important artists are…they guess and bet and then tell us what we should think is important. There are plenty of groundbreaking artists that get left behind and forgotten by history. Even ones that were wildly successful in their times.

Also, it’s really only the last 2 centuries at most that artists have been able to make a living doing art for themselves. Every major piece of art in the Renaissance that we consider “masterpieces” were straight up commissions — either by the church or by the politically powerful. The artists weren’t making what they wanted, they were hired to do very specific things and I’m sure clients were just as involved — if not more so — than they are today.

—Agent Negative Space

[dearartdirector]

I'm currently in charge of hiring for my department at an animation studio and i REALLY WISH i had the time to respond to 500+ emails with advice on how people can improve their portfolios. it's frustrating because i see potential but either their website design is hard to navigate, they didn't provide a website at all in their email, or they dont have common things we look for like anatomy studies. it feels like a failure to put art school grads out there without these common sense resources.

WE FEEL YOU. All of us are in the same boat. Most folks who are ADs or in a similar hiring-artist position really DO want to help artists, but we would drown and never get our real job done if we answered one person at a time. That’s why this Tumblr exists, and all the resources at Drawn + Drafted and Make Your Art Work. Art schools really should be teaching this stuff, but Art Biz Education is spotty at best. So our merry band of Art Directors are doing the best we can to spread reliable info from the people actually hiring artists. Feel free to refer all these folks to our free downloadable onesheets on gumroad. There’s ones on how to set up a portfolio, how to self-promote on social media, how to read contracts. etc.

P.S. If you ever want to answer questions here at Dear AD drop us a note! We’d love to have more folks weighing in from the animation biz!

—Agent KillFee

[what-strange-lives-we-live]

If you’re not scared, you’re not taking a chance and if you’re not taking a chance then what the hell are you doing?

Ted Mosby, How I Met Your Mother (via what-strange-lives-we-live)

[learninginaction]

Finished with this beauty. I’ll be selling her so check the link below for my shop in etsy.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/587826603/a-charcoal-protrait?ref=hp_rf

[learninginaction]

Immm soooo sorry for not posting in forever. Ive been incredibly busy, but here is some character concept art for Witchsona week. Meet Edwyrd Alre Goren the great wizard. In his 20’s he reached this title and is still growing.

[learninginaction]

A 2 hour study of a sunset 

[learninginaction]

Kimi no na wa (my fav movie) fanart. College life part 22 .

[learninginaction]

Poster project (College life part 19) #sketchbooks #art🎨 #art #artists #illustration #artistscoutz #design #landscape #falcons #shading #traditonalart #digitalart #poster #graphicdesign #mounting #videos #realism

[learninginaction]

Rin from Shelter Fanart (College life part 18)

[learninginaction]

[learninginaction]

Project Yasuo

[learninginaction]

Promposal art

[learninginaction]

Figure drawing practice

[learninginaction]

Fun muscle drawing (College life part 17)