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My final thoughts about FurAffinity
11 years ago
I've been thinking seriously what to do with art gallery in FurAffinity with the help of my partner Breise.
After years of being in FurAffinity and improving my art dialy, I have realized about the grave situation that makes real artists to retire. Honestly, it is not a coincidence that the majority of 100% real artists have left FA already, or disappeared or even just erased their galleries. This is because FurAfinnity is full of “users” that are not artists in any way, obviously I will not say names.
Of course you are wondering about which “class” of user I am talking about.
I am talking about the users that abuse vectors, those that abuse that so famous Rule 34 to become popular quickly, those that copy cartoon-like styles and steal techniques that are false and hypocritical. Also those so called “art-slaves” enter this category, these persons literally sell themselves, to the point of being like prostitution. They make this just to be, again, popular, but it is evident that this type hide people without talent and social problems that do not and can not draw freely.
Only 1 of each 10000 users is a 100% artist.
Are you asking why?
Mainly because the artist is and must be free, if not his creativity is nothing more than a good that is sold for money, popularity or anything else. Simply put, I draw because I love it, I was born to be a real artist and I am one effortlessly because each day of my life IS mine and it is not tied to economic or popularity goals.
An artist is composed of various factors, that if even one fails he automatically stops being an artist.
These are creativity, ability and freedom.
A user without creativity is just an impulsive copycat that will steal any style that can vary from animation studios to artists that are available to the sight of his eyes, for example, doing Rule 34 of Disney characters. This person will copy characters and stories that are just in front of them. There are many examples about this and what is pitiful is that they are socially accepted and even praised, when these in reality these users lack of what is most basic, the sentiment of being an artist.
A user without ability is ,shamefully, a frustrated artist that never finds a way of expressing himself or lacks that “spark” that lets his style to be better, this keeps them plunked in low quality styles or leads them to copy styles that will never let them close the growth process and transform themselves in a true artist.
A user without freedom is what is commonly seen as a commissioner, a user that gives requests and/or trades impulsively because he need desperately others' help with everything else (acceptance, protection, easy money, you name it). In correct terms, he is dependent of people and have fear of solitude since when they are alone they meet their true selves. Then they realize how horrible their person (or persona),along their lives, is and is made just from lies and appearances. Art slaves also fall in this category and they are the users than offer themselves to the public to make anything they like, leaving their dignity in the process (and also throwing it in a thrash can). This type of people tends to have a socially friendly image but they are weak emotionally because they are not the owners of their own lives. They are universally accepted because they are always what others wish. For these people being an artist is impossible.
What is worse about all of this is that a culture where the user is supported, and not the artist, has been created. Real artist are unappreciated or left aside because they are more traditional and realist in their attitudes, like me. What am I trying to say with “realist”? I am telling that the true artist is not a gold coin that everyone likes and trades with, but rather his conduct is human in real life and do not manifests the hypocrisy commonly seen by those that need of others like a placebo against the fear of rejection.
I ask myself why people has neglected to support the real artist in behalf of people that lack one or more of an artist's “basic” characteristics.
It makes an impact on me and makes me sad to see popular users that draw really bad, do not have creativity and moreover are buffoons of everyone else. The proud image of the artist like the one of being able , metaphorically, to steal from gods the spark of creation and fine art has disappeared. I am trying to describe the image that shows art to people for the pleasure of everybody, but without losing even a pinch of dignity. I mean those people that are called masters of the arts, that individual that exerts his vocation as a life and not like a way to make money or fit on society, the true artist in soul and spirit.
For me, making art is my reason of awakening and being in life, it is the work made with my hands with the only goal of expressing what I feel and capture in my lines the powerful imagination I have cultivated since the first moment I had reasoning. I am, until now, one of the few artists that complies with the 3 basic requirements and the only one that can say, without doubt, that is a real artist without losing his dignity o making himself ridiculous because my voice says the truth, I am not manipulated by social dogmas or economical prejudices. I am one in a million.
Should not be the example of being a good human being the appreciated one?
What is not funny is that complying with these 3 rules is really easy, but in spite of that there are people that don't even can comply with one.
Things like these are what make me to question my stay in FurAffinity. I Always have and have had the good will of publishing my art in the best quality I can make so that any person can have it and use it as they wish. I can brag that my creativity is unique and always original, I am undoubtedly free.
Logic tells me that if I do everything right I should have support, but things are really wrong in FA and other sites. It seems like if the real artist is the one who is rejected and marked as a rebel in front of a new culture characterized by recycling and being insensate.
Also I am aware of that because of the fact that the quality of my art is high but my popularity is low and it has stagnated.
My question can be put as what is there to be done.
At this rate FA seem something difficult to carry on. It has become something from that I do not receive minimal support and appreciation to worthy users. So, there are only 2 alternatives left for me: Continuing, situation where everything could continue stagnated and I would continue to be with egoist people. The other one is abandoning my FurAffinity page because the gallery is right now a load that does not satisfies me. I like the second alternative more situationally. Just by the simple reason that I kind of imagine the future of this site and I am afraid that this place is in the way of collapsing in a couple of years under the proliferation of mere artists and the extinction of real artist, among other variables.
Obviously I would continue to be be an artist, but only privately, no one else would see one of my new drawings in the near future. Since I am not tied economically and socially here, it is just as simple as opening my wings and fly until I disappear.
I only wanted to make clear the truths that are law.
It is still undefined if I stay or not here but I will not erase my galley, it will be just like it is now, but there won't be any new publications. I am not like those cowards that make social dramas, I am here for serious business, not for feelings that can lead to a destructive conduct.
I will only change my mind if the situation also changes.
I leave this to your criteria, but the decision is mine.
Here is a list of other reasons to leave FurAffinity:
1. Its interface is primitive, inefficient and uncomfortable.
2. The site is plagued with performance issues.
3.Constant downfalls and unavailability of the service
4.FurAfinitty will not endure 2 more years being like this, it will a critical failure on its servers because of its terrible programing made by imbeciles and incompetents.
5. Blatant and constant robberies caused by the sites administration. They make fake goals to buy hardware that is always never used, or it is used pretty badly. I mean, seriously, all of their renovation projects never see the light of day and this have been going for YEARS.
6. Excessive corruption in the ticket system and presence of bias in an amateur administration.
7. The site is unsafe, hackable, malleable and with a system that makes phishing easy, it is a risk for the online security of all users.
8. It does not respects international and US laws by promoting crimes with sexual and social-cultural themes.
9. It does not posses a good interface for mobile devices.
10. Rule 34
11. Rule 34 Avatars
12. A plethora of users is any kind of character derived from a TV show, video game, anime or anything else in the media with Rule 34 always applied to them. This “rule” makes the work of those people, artists and production staff from that media being insulted and puts that intellectual property in a purpose that was never meant for it.
After years of being in FurAffinity and improving my art dialy, I have realized about the grave situation that makes real artists to retire. Honestly, it is not a coincidence that the majority of 100% real artists have left FA already, or disappeared or even just erased their galleries. This is because FurAfinnity is full of “users” that are not artists in any way, obviously I will not say names.
Of course you are wondering about which “class” of user I am talking about.
I am talking about the users that abuse vectors, those that abuse that so famous Rule 34 to become popular quickly, those that copy cartoon-like styles and steal techniques that are false and hypocritical. Also those so called “art-slaves” enter this category, these persons literally sell themselves, to the point of being like prostitution. They make this just to be, again, popular, but it is evident that this type hide people without talent and social problems that do not and can not draw freely.
Only 1 of each 10000 users is a 100% artist.
Are you asking why?
Mainly because the artist is and must be free, if not his creativity is nothing more than a good that is sold for money, popularity or anything else. Simply put, I draw because I love it, I was born to be a real artist and I am one effortlessly because each day of my life IS mine and it is not tied to economic or popularity goals.
An artist is composed of various factors, that if even one fails he automatically stops being an artist.
These are creativity, ability and freedom.
A user without creativity is just an impulsive copycat that will steal any style that can vary from animation studios to artists that are available to the sight of his eyes, for example, doing Rule 34 of Disney characters. This person will copy characters and stories that are just in front of them. There are many examples about this and what is pitiful is that they are socially accepted and even praised, when these in reality these users lack of what is most basic, the sentiment of being an artist.
A user without ability is ,shamefully, a frustrated artist that never finds a way of expressing himself or lacks that “spark” that lets his style to be better, this keeps them plunked in low quality styles or leads them to copy styles that will never let them close the growth process and transform themselves in a true artist.
A user without freedom is what is commonly seen as a commissioner, a user that gives requests and/or trades impulsively because he need desperately others' help with everything else (acceptance, protection, easy money, you name it). In correct terms, he is dependent of people and have fear of solitude since when they are alone they meet their true selves. Then they realize how horrible their person (or persona),along their lives, is and is made just from lies and appearances. Art slaves also fall in this category and they are the users than offer themselves to the public to make anything they like, leaving their dignity in the process (and also throwing it in a thrash can). This type of people tends to have a socially friendly image but they are weak emotionally because they are not the owners of their own lives. They are universally accepted because they are always what others wish. For these people being an artist is impossible.
What is worse about all of this is that a culture where the user is supported, and not the artist, has been created. Real artist are unappreciated or left aside because they are more traditional and realist in their attitudes, like me. What am I trying to say with “realist”? I am telling that the true artist is not a gold coin that everyone likes and trades with, but rather his conduct is human in real life and do not manifests the hypocrisy commonly seen by those that need of others like a placebo against the fear of rejection.
I ask myself why people has neglected to support the real artist in behalf of people that lack one or more of an artist's “basic” characteristics.
It makes an impact on me and makes me sad to see popular users that draw really bad, do not have creativity and moreover are buffoons of everyone else. The proud image of the artist like the one of being able , metaphorically, to steal from gods the spark of creation and fine art has disappeared. I am trying to describe the image that shows art to people for the pleasure of everybody, but without losing even a pinch of dignity. I mean those people that are called masters of the arts, that individual that exerts his vocation as a life and not like a way to make money or fit on society, the true artist in soul and spirit.
For me, making art is my reason of awakening and being in life, it is the work made with my hands with the only goal of expressing what I feel and capture in my lines the powerful imagination I have cultivated since the first moment I had reasoning. I am, until now, one of the few artists that complies with the 3 basic requirements and the only one that can say, without doubt, that is a real artist without losing his dignity o making himself ridiculous because my voice says the truth, I am not manipulated by social dogmas or economical prejudices. I am one in a million.
Should not be the example of being a good human being the appreciated one?
What is not funny is that complying with these 3 rules is really easy, but in spite of that there are people that don't even can comply with one.
Things like these are what make me to question my stay in FurAffinity. I Always have and have had the good will of publishing my art in the best quality I can make so that any person can have it and use it as they wish. I can brag that my creativity is unique and always original, I am undoubtedly free.
Logic tells me that if I do everything right I should have support, but things are really wrong in FA and other sites. It seems like if the real artist is the one who is rejected and marked as a rebel in front of a new culture characterized by recycling and being insensate.
Also I am aware of that because of the fact that the quality of my art is high but my popularity is low and it has stagnated.
My question can be put as what is there to be done.
At this rate FA seem something difficult to carry on. It has become something from that I do not receive minimal support and appreciation to worthy users. So, there are only 2 alternatives left for me: Continuing, situation where everything could continue stagnated and I would continue to be with egoist people. The other one is abandoning my FurAffinity page because the gallery is right now a load that does not satisfies me. I like the second alternative more situationally. Just by the simple reason that I kind of imagine the future of this site and I am afraid that this place is in the way of collapsing in a couple of years under the proliferation of mere artists and the extinction of real artist, among other variables.
Obviously I would continue to be be an artist, but only privately, no one else would see one of my new drawings in the near future. Since I am not tied economically and socially here, it is just as simple as opening my wings and fly until I disappear.
I only wanted to make clear the truths that are law.
It is still undefined if I stay or not here but I will not erase my galley, it will be just like it is now, but there won't be any new publications. I am not like those cowards that make social dramas, I am here for serious business, not for feelings that can lead to a destructive conduct.
I will only change my mind if the situation also changes.
I leave this to your criteria, but the decision is mine.
Here is a list of other reasons to leave FurAffinity:
1. Its interface is primitive, inefficient and uncomfortable.
2. The site is plagued with performance issues.
3.Constant downfalls and unavailability of the service
4.FurAfinitty will not endure 2 more years being like this, it will a critical failure on its servers because of its terrible programing made by imbeciles and incompetents.
5. Blatant and constant robberies caused by the sites administration. They make fake goals to buy hardware that is always never used, or it is used pretty badly. I mean, seriously, all of their renovation projects never see the light of day and this have been going for YEARS.
6. Excessive corruption in the ticket system and presence of bias in an amateur administration.
7. The site is unsafe, hackable, malleable and with a system that makes phishing easy, it is a risk for the online security of all users.
8. It does not respects international and US laws by promoting crimes with sexual and social-cultural themes.
9. It does not posses a good interface for mobile devices.
10. Rule 34
11. Rule 34 Avatars
12. A plethora of users is any kind of character derived from a TV show, video game, anime or anything else in the media with Rule 34 always applied to them. This “rule” makes the work of those people, artists and production staff from that media being insulted and puts that intellectual property in a purpose that was never meant for it.
I'll be looking for your art site, should you feel like sharing the link. Take care, dude!
I personally thank you for your opinion on this, It is not easy to put oneself in other's shoes, even for me with my mate.
For me, it's all about being able to enjoy the work you do. If you can enjoy the work you're doing, good.
"because my voice says the truth, I am not manipulated by social dogmas or economical prejudices. I am one in a million.."
What. Next you'll tell me there will be 72 virgins waiting for me in heaven if i agree and spread the glorious word.
this journal sounds similar to what started the Sunderedmoon drama back in '07 about "what an artist is".
Hell No, Nope, Non, Nein, Nata i'm out of here.
See ya and good luck with your endeavors.
The part you just quoted is not like you say it is for you. It is a way to say that I have the convition and assurance to say that, you can't assert something if you don't beleive in what you are saying, I never said that I was a mesaih and had to followed for you to make such an ironical comment like that, it was a metaphor.
Don't put others down just because they're more popular than you, it's not going to make you look any better. Sometimes the system needs to be ridden before you find your own path. Nobody's climbed a mountain without finding their legs. Even if you draw what you feel, it's not making you any different. Complaining about the system isn't going to push you up.
And you're preaching to the choir with the FA issues, man. You have a problem, don't make a big stink about it, we've heard it all before. By stating that you don't want to create drama and then have the audacity to post something like this makes you just as hypocritical as you are naive.
Now, about putting others down, it is not because of my situation in particular it is because of how I have seen this site moves under certain circumstances, the purpose of this journal is not to boost my image or make me more popular by making a drama. If I were doing this for the sole purpose of getting more viewers o favs or anything I would be a hypocrite since it is obtaining something without being an artist, even I have lost some followers since the post of this journal and I am ok with that. I am just giving my opinion without putting any grudge. I know that people in this site has got their place by one mean or another but it peeks my interest the cases I put on this journal. I had been in these site for some years and this is how my observation and conclusions have been. I really have no interest on going up in a system by putting this journal, it is a critique. Also I am trying to get rid of the system by making the project of making a site, rather than boosting my popularity with it I see it as an opportunity to experiment with new endeavors.
Also the choir of FA issues was just put as an additional part that could be ESAILY omitted, since they were pretty obvious I even put sarcasm in the Rule 34 part of the list by mentioning it repeatedly because we all know how FurAffinity is. You were naïve by not seeing that I was joking about something that has been said and said for years. I mean, for what reason other than that would I put the bread and butter of this place?
And for the FA complaint stuff, if you're going to put sarcasm, it's gonna have to be a little more apparent. I'm not saying you did anything bad or something along those lines, I'm just saying it's not too apparent that you were joking around~
You have great art that is very well detailed, don't let trivial things like a site keep you from putting it up there.
I going to miss you, everyone who likes your artwork is going to miss you
I hope you what you're looking for, whatever it might be
Good luck man, you are the best, many of us will miss you.
It is similar in sense as what happened recently with youtube; people complained, threw fits, even made their own sites for videos but in the end everyone just went back to youtube because it was where the majority of viewers were. I appreciate your art, as well as many people's here but beauty is in the eye of the beholder and what one person sees or views as art is much different than what another views as art.
wish you luck, sorry to see you go mate
Lo bueno es que tendré una página web exclusiva para mi arte, con todas las caracteristicas tal, nada de red social, publicidad, ni vender o pagar por ver... solo el artista y el arte, asi todos podran ver lo que quieran de mi y disfrutar. Es el ideal que quiero seguir y estoy siguiendo, mi arte como mi vocacion real y es algo de toda mi vida.
¿Nos pasarás tu página ya que la tengas?
Also refer to how he responded to Bahamut- 255 if you want to clear your thoughts about comissions.
I respect people that can draw for commissions since they use their time to produce such guided work. But the way he worded it made it an insult to myself and by extension of my friends that are artist. Yes I feel offended because even with jobs in real life I have many artist friends that have to work that much harder in order to keep a roof over their heads and take care of their family.
...it's a lot more than I'd ever be able to do. Godspeed, Akayrom; you have my support~
You have the attitude of the comfortably ignorant, you are too satisfied with yourself and your work. Speaking objectively, and not as an artist who himself has much to learn: Your art has a different quality, but it isn't high quality. The characters have no anatomy, the poses are rigid, and lack flow, they don't feel natural. Ironically, the characters lack any sense of weight, despite their ridiculous proportions, the faces and are generic, in fact the characters themselves are generic.
Its interesting that you create your own imaginary standard, and place yourself on top. The real artist is humble, unsure, unsatisfied, in constant search of release. They will never be comfortable with their own work. They will see the problems, the things that need to be better, the shortcomings, the ways in which their images fall short of the vivid scenes in their mind.
The deep, deep irony here is that the same phenomenon that you claim to hate, the selling out for praise, the arrogance of popularity, is the same thing that reinforces the fatuous notion that you are special. People are sucking up to you because you draw porn. you draw an uncommon kind of porn, you have little competition in your genre, so the standards are low. So you think you're good, because people tell you you're good, because they want you to keep drawing fap material.
Go have a look at the works of Bob Eggleton, of James Gurney, of Ciruelo Cabral, of Todd Lockwood, Darrell Sweet, Brom, Giger...
My friend, you are far far from special.
Keep your self satisfied attitude, keep thinking you are special, you will flounder in sub-mediocrity, you will never get better.
Make no mistake, things you say here are insulting, and uninformed, one would be justified in being annoyed by them. Thing is, you have to take someone seriously to be angered by them, I cant see any reason to take you seriously.
Of course everything anyone says to you is going to reinforce your views, because that is how your mind works, it has immunized itself to criticism. The fact that nobody worth taking seriously will agree with your views, or even find any consistency or sense among them, is comforting. I guess I was a bit naive though, momentarily thinking that smacking you with the reality hammer might actually inspire some semblance of self reflection in you, but I know your type, you are utterly incapable of it.
You spent that long coming up with this? Its only the most generic and common collection of pseudo-intellectualism and insular cultish ideology I have seen. Your worldview has all the trademarks of a typical denialist position, complete with a label to demonize the "out group" which you have chosen to call "user". Shockingly you have slapped the label on me, as I don't subscribe to your worldview.
Its pretty interesting that you insult those who take commissions, while you yourself have taken them. I guess its okay when you do it because your reasons are more "pure" eh?
As a side note, I have never taken commissions, so you have again demonstrated that you make up things in your head since the drawings that I had made for others are gifts and nothing else, I received nothing for them and did them with good intentions. You have seen words that don’t exist, another portrayal that you don deserve any further conversation since you are making a tantrum right now and just deviating from everything
Your rambling is getting even more incoherent, I sense this has become too stressful for you. I'll stop goofing around here before you sprout a nosebleed or something.
BTW: Shockingly enough, I was actually watching you, it was you that stuffed this ignorant tripe into my inbox, you brought this on yourself.
What is sillier is that you just described why Kay is as an artist. I can assure you, as the ONLY ONE with permission to see how he works his art that the whole idea that drives him as an artist is a constant improvement of what he does. It is completely easy for you to make the conclusion that he does not tries different ways of being better, spending countless nights drawing in order to overcome those shortcomings you mention , fighting those frustrations of being against an artistic wall sometimes and even the fear of making a mistake as an artist.
The reason he is an artist is not to be famous by drawing porn so that guys like you can shout in orgasms over some idiotic orgy material of people that tell that love themselves in this site and is instead fucking anything that has a hole. He just does it because he found this site several years as a place to put any image he would wish, even the ones that covered desires that could be deep in the mind. If you just describe his art as fap material, you are the one who has problems because you only think that he only draws porn. But it is no like that, the reason you made that short minded assumption is because he HAS the control of ANY fucking drawing he wants to post. I can assure that this gallery is just the 10th of his whole personal gallery and a low part of it is that fap material you just bash. He just does not wishes to post anything he draws a line on because it is not within his quality standards (which are pretty tough because despite making digital drawings he does not use any correcting software), it is a practice drawing, it is personal or whatever, you don’t need any explanation about it since you have no intellect beyond seeing fap material in this site. You mention several artists, and that is okay, you give examples of quality material (although the point is not brute quality since an artist is not a printing machine) but instead of saying names uses yours, use your own work as evidence, not others. And to be frank, it is not half bad, and it even has similar thing to the mature drawings you just dissed about Kayrom.
Also take something in consideration…what the heck is a person that does not take his own work and motivation for life seriously? What is the meaning of doing something if you don’t have the passion to be better, try to achieve the best in what you are doing and say that you are doing are being the best working for that goal? That goal is HIS, which is why he has the right he is the best. The person that does not take even HIMSELF seriously is just a coward waiting for others to tell him what to do next.
I know he makes the proportions look that way on purpose, its a fetish. If he has fooled himself into thinking people find some deeper meaning in it, then that is a sad state of affairs.
Also, why am I talking to you? Did he pay you, or are you really just that deep in his anus? Hey maybe you're buds, but let the boy fend for himself.
In case you wondered I am his husband, but you would know if you really would've took a moment to observe things better rather than assuming everything in mere minutes. I see you think that all relationships that are visible in this site are just for fucking, we did not even met here so there is no way you can know enough about us to make those assertions you have made since the beginning. You started making your drama when you could've given a more refined response as everyone else that has not agreed with this journal and as a result we respond to you the same way you talk to us if you can't give arguments in a proper way.
My responses are clear and defined, certainly more so than the journal itself. You dont like my posts because they are blunt and practical, I dont put a nice little layer of fluff around my posts, so it might sting a bit when I call out the BS.
I do a great deal of fetish stuff, because I like fetish stuff. I do a lot of R34 because I find certain characters to be sexy and I want to see them in a sexualised context. Shocking isnt it? Drawing thew things I want to draw, not caring about whatever bullshit philosophies and categories people want to lump art into. Less than a tenth of what I have drawn is on the web, but I dont expect people to judge my art based on what I haven't posted, because I haven't posted it... you know, logic and all that jazz.
Thanks for your feedback (if it can be called that).
By the way, it does not matter if he should be the one talking to you, he would tell the same thing that I am saying....because of that it is useless for two people to say the same thing twice to you.
As I said before, I am not threatened by what this person, or those that subscribe to his view, think of me. I dont respect him, therefor his opinions hold no weight to me. I analyze the failings of logic, and reflection, I compare them to things I have seen elsewhere. I find it interesting that the same logical failings that allow people to think they are god's chosen, or are psychics, or can dowse for gold, can show up in so many places, and in so many forms.
I engage with him and you to encourage you to give me more insight, a better view of where your logic went wrong, not because I was even close to personally affected by anything you two said. So no, you do not anger me, you are a case study to me, a curiosity, dont give yourself so much credit.
You don't get to say something derogatory and demeaning, and then say "oh, you shouldn't take it personally." How else is someone supposed to take Akayrom's journal?
I will add my point of view to this, though (even though I'm uncertain if anyone actually gives a shit).
First and foremost I am an artist. I have drawn since I was a baby, because my mother was an artist. Although yes, being an "artist" and being "artistically inclined" are two different things. There are people who can draw to an extent and who understand some of the basics of drawing. They can even make some really amazing art, but they don't know anything else. (This is referring to strictly visual art not writing/poetry/music)
What is an artist? A true artist (100% as you put it)? A person who has a mastery of technique, different mediums, and different styles. They understand color theory, they know how to manipulate their materials. They have deep concepts and a great amount of meaning behind their work. This describes studio "fine art". Although many would consider the standard famous artists as true artists, I don't see many of them as such. Yes, they were good at what they did and that's great, people liked it. But take Dali for example, he was crazy to begin with, but he BECAME that because he realized it would get popular and he would be famous. Dali was an amazing artist, he understood oil paints, he knew how to create hyper realism. Does that make him any less of an artist? By your terms that does, and I agree to an extent. But he knew how to create masterpieces, many true artists will sell their work for various reason, but it's when the sales of your work drives what you do... that's when you start drifting away from what the true artist in you is.
It's true. I do commissions, I create honestly what I consider amateur artistic work (on this website). I'm not trying to be vain or conceited by any means. It's just what I view as true art... and what critically acclaimed art school or business would accept me if all I had was images like you see floating around my page. That's not artistic talent. Yes, that art I post shows that I understand anatomy, and that I can render images. I understand how to use the basic materials. It's not studio art, it's basic art. That being said, yes, I am a true artist and I can create studio pieces. I understand how to manipulate many materials and I understand colors. I can paint, I can use pastels I create art with substantial meaning... real portfolio artwork. But I also enjoy doing the work I show here. It's simpler and easier to do... all I need is paper and pens. And I enjoy bringing someone's character to life in my own style.
(Even so there are some people who really do create amazing portfolio style artwork that they post here, regardless of being furry or not).
I do sell my talents, I do not prefer to do "adult" artwork because I know, even though that will make me popular here, that's not the image I want for myself. It makes me uncomfortable at times to draw such things.
I will continue to do what I enjoy doing regardless if it makes me popular or not. I know there are people who will buy and who appreciate me for who I am and what I do, and I will continue to perfect my "amateur" style... because I do not have the time, money, work space, or commission demand of my fine art. (There are some examples of my AP studio portfolio "serious" work in my scraps). I don't know if I made any sense here, but that's just what I think.
I find your point of view really interesting. About what is to see art based in the technique and the wish of working on it. In which your biggest strength in your artistic activities is the study of a technique in particular and, parting from that, developing and achieving an adequate procedure to obtain a tangible technical result. Your desire, quoting you words, is “the mastery of technique” along with the usage of various tools. I take seriously your point of view and I find it worthy in the field of technique development.
Still it differs a lot from my conception of art since my point of start is not the mastery of techniques nor the extensive use of tools. My stating point is found in what I call “the artist’s soul” which is characterized by passion, and not the desire of realizing and conceiving art creatively. Told more appropriately, in the ambit of the mental state, it is the use of the right hemisphere of the brain, proper of the creativity, passion and artistic impulse.
Passion, in contrast with desire, is spontaneous, it is felt through emotions and previous feelings that trigger creativity. All creative idea has its start in eagerness, then the creative act follows and is finally followed by desire, which is the impulse of bringing passion to reality. Desire by itself is more mechanical and it is the impulse of doing a work.
The left hemisphere, that has logic by its side, develops the procedures and fulfills what have you said in your opinion: the structure and technique, which is then translated in motor coordination and the realization of tasks. Technique in its sense and the desire of working makes motor procedures.
Because of this our postures are opposites even in the cerebral aspect. Being my strength the creative processes, passion and momentum. Being art more of a feeling rather than a type of work. And your strength is in the side of procedures and the logical compliance of physical tasks that does no carry passion but rather a high degree of concentration.
This doesn’t mean that I can't work with the left hemisphere since my technique is consolidated and I make thorough precision work with a technique based in a digital pen, coordinating it with my digitizer (a really basic and bad Genius Mousepen that is like 6 years old) and mastering workloads and procedures in Photoshop. This is technique, which different from what style is which in my case is the extensive use of line-art.
I can conclude saying that we agree in various points but in a sense we are different since for you passion is not that central in the artist but technique and the study of art is. Meanwhile for me every aspect is equally important and integral for the artist, being the passion and soul of the artist the driving force.
Although previously I had only discussed the physical representation of art, I agree that being an artist and just being artistically inclined are different. You can draw all day, but if you don't have the passion, how much of a true artist are you?
I feel as though personally I am both adequately inclined to both the left and right brain. I mean, I'm in college for mechanical engineering. I love technical things, but then there's the problem that I have personally run into time and time again. Just a serious feeling of confusion, because I know I am an artist.. I know art is what I want to do. (I still want to incorporate engineering aspects into design and application for fabrication of costumes)
I do not have the mental concentration or organization to continue with engineering in such a higher level education. And it has been getting very depressing to me. Art is such an important thing in my life, and I realize that now that I've been so busy with technical classes I haven't been able to spend much time doing what I love.
I've personally come to the conclusion that although I carry strong aspects between both the left and right brain, I am truly an artist at heart.
I can feel what I do, but I also have the artistic technical skill to utilize many different mediums. I can respect all kinds of art. But as you say... whether just because they can draw makes them a "true" artist is another question.
Bringing back my previous example of Dali (not that I know what he was thinking), just the image he presented of himself was so fake and forced that although he had technical talent he did not seem to really feel his art.
Maybe Dali isn't the best example.. he was crazy in what others would view as the standard artist. (it reminds me of Austin TX honestly)
I suppose to relate it to the original argument we could discuss the level of pornography present on this website. It is popular, and people will do it because it is demanded and they know they can make money off of it. I've often felt when I've openly decided to allow some pornography into my artistic collection that I have been basically selling myself. I don't know what makes sexual themes different then general commissions... I could only guess it's because of my own personal values. (I really enjoy drawing for people and bringing their characters to life... It does make me uncomfortable to draw two animals partaking in sexual acts)
I agree with many of your points, and I understand that passion you are talking about. I even disagree to an extent with my opinion about studio art. One doesn't have to create absolute masterpieces to be a true artist, to have that love and passion...
<:-{~<
Pero lo bueno de mi postulado es que, estés o no de acuerdo, es cierto.
What's your point?