Are You Making ART or CONTENT? (Artistic Integrity vs Commercialization) || SPEEDPAINT + COMMENTARY

There’s this weird double standard when it comes to the way folks treat art as a hobby. We never expect people who garden to eventually gain the same level of skill and knowledge as real farmers. We never expect people who fish to gain the same level of skill and knowledge as commercial fishermen. Meanwhile, art hobbyists are always expected to constantly practice and improve to the point where their work is indistinguishable from professional/industry artists just because they share their work on social media. The art community has a real “all or nothing” mentality towards art, and a lot of that mentality comes from folks who treat art like content. We’ve seen the negative effects it has. It’s why literal children get bullied off of the internet for committing the crime of sharing “bad art.”

Honestly whenever i start getting disinterested in a fanbase i feel like im forced to like it and draw stuff of it in order to keep my moots/audience

I would prefer to make art, than content. I like making things the way I want to and if someone happens to like it, than ok

I'm trying to relearn how to love the process of drawing after having a breakdown of stressing over what will get me the exposure i needed to escape the hellhole i still currently am in. I am not a fan of trend chasing and engagement whoring and wanted to try to just make art and hope that i could build a more organic audience. But i realised that was not going to solve my problems, so i took a hiatus de stress, work on my fundamentals, and try to find that spark i once had. That feeling of developing your skill only to find there is nothing that you can make to bring you happiness is a low point i do not wish on anyone.

Saying that Picasso would never make it in today's online art scene reminds me of hearing someone say that reclusive authors like J.D. Salinger and Thomas Pynchon would never make it in writing today, due to social media requiring authors to have a more public presence. That may have been a comment on those authors' personalities and not their style, but the point about how art can be stifled in our modern environment carries over

I did a video about this very idea, actually. I hate the way social media incentivizes trendy content instead of letting artists explore what they actually want. It's genuinely painful to have to cater to trends that'll die out in a couple of days, and when you do the trend anyway and it doesn't pop off- oof, that's the most painful feeling. I used to be that way in my earlier years posting on the internet; i would follow trends, make fanart of only the most popular fandoms, and it almost destroyed my love of creating. Eventually, after two years, I recovered and I now only draw for myself. Now I'm exploring what I love and am capable of and I'm so lucky to have a very small, but loyal group of ppl that support me. ^^

The best approach is to create something you love and eventually want to share with others. If someone joins in along the way, you'll find an audience that appreciates your art the way you intend to express it.

I never came here for the views and everything. I just like posting for some reason and it keeps me organize and strangely motivated.

I draw all personal images because I want to and each one is a learning experience. Commissions are the exceptions where I naturally put my A-game into it and hope it will draw more people to commission me.

That blurred line between art and content is precisely why I refuse to be a pro artist, since I feel like they experience that blurring of the line the most. I know I've said it before, but so many pro artists give off the vibe that they don't actually enjoy what they do, and have traded a genuine love of creating art in exchange for a paycheck. Art is my escape from my soul-sucking job, the last thing I'd want is for it to become the new one.

Watchinging celestia videos have been so therapeutic for me lately... for a year or so now, ive kinda realised i dont need to be on the internet much and especially share art anymore... i kind of lost motivation to post and share... and it sounds good, and it is, i probably needed to realise it and thats healthy and all... But i really want to keep posting still... celestias videos have been kind of making me feel that spark and joy to share in certain online communities again... :')

when it comes to personal art of my OCs and what-not, i draw whatever i want and i don't care if people like it or not! i make my own art for myself, but i also wanna share it with the world, so that's why i post it online. but even if it gets negative attention or even no attention at all, idc and i will continue making what i wanna make :D

This is the exact problem I’m facing rnn. I have to options battling rn 1: You make art for your audience and for the sole purpose of posting it. Pros: You can get more attention Cons: if u don’t know what your audience wants. Also they may eventually get bored of the subject you make. 2: You draw art for yourself and post stuff that you personally like. Idc if ppl will like it or not. Pros: this will attract those ppl who support the stuff that you’re passionate abt. Cons: those may just be a few ppl actually;-;

When I first made my story's world it was to deal with trauma, I wasn't sure I would ever show anyone. Now I'm working on making it into a comic. I still love my world and all the characters and craziness in there, but I'll never forget where it originally came from

It almost sounds like you are dealing with a new generation of art snobs.

Loving this Vocaloid CD cover project! Wonderful work, as always. I feel like I have the opposite problem—no matter how much I try, I can't get myself to chase trends and engagement, even though I know it would greatly benefit my growth online. Same thing goes for making merchandise—I have no clue what I'd even make because the market is already so oversaturated. Not to mention I have such a hard time following trends. It feels like by the time I understand or get into the hot new thing, the vast majority of people have moved on. Making things for evergreen fandoms seems kind of pointless, too, because there's already so much content for audiences to enjoy—how could I possibly stand out in such an enormous ocean? I've kind of accepted that I'll never break into this field the way I'd like to. Art is supposed to be fun, and stressing out over numbers is antithetical to that.

YIPPEE MY COMMENT IS IN THE VIDEO!!

SHE POSTED!!!

Thanks for the excellent video as always duchess

Bro, I screamed in shock when I saw myself