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an answer to a question nobody asked
5 years ago
i've been uploading art online long enough to get a pretty good understanding of my drawing habits. and with this being my third year of artfight, i think it's about time i explain a thing, even if nobody's actually asked about it. the question?
"how come you barely post any art for most of the year, but then artfight comes around and you are drawing literally every single day?"
the answer? twofold.
firstly, i don't really enjoy drawing for myself. doodling is fun, but full pieces take a lot of work, and my skill level is such that everything i draw looks childish and disappointing compared to the image in my head. so when i draw my own ideas, they are either super quick doodles that get no attention cuz they are trash, or i put in a ton of effort and get a tiny amount of attention for a pic i still don't really care for myself. not worth it.
secondly, i have a high work ethic, so commissions stress me the fuck out. i always try to go beyond what is comfortable for me to give my paying customers EXACTLY what they want. and usually, what i'm being payed to draw isn't even something i'm really interested in drawing in the first place, so i rely entirely on guilt/commitment and the commissioner's own enthusiasm (which is sometimes lacking) to fuel the art.
so what does that mean for artfight? well, with artfight, i have all the freedom of drawing for myself, plus the positive motivators of a commission. i can draw what i want, how i want, PLUS there's a good chance i'll get art out of it myself, that i will actually LIKE looking at.
so why not just do more art trades?
honestly it's kind of hard to find partners for trades. most folks don't even say if they do trades or not, and most who do only open for mutuals. and even then, i've done many trades where i never got their half, or even a comment on what i did for them. i am in the furtrade group, but it's very small, and it doesn't have the convenient character pages like artfight does, so there's the anxiety inducing risk of asking someone to trade and then finding out you don't like any of their characters. artfight just has a GREAT system for trades. you can see all their characters, info about them as a person, their style, and most importantly, their track record for giving and getting art. and there's THOUSANDS of users, of all skill levels! it's so easy to find someone who has a character you want to draw, is around your skill level, and is likely to draw back. and everyone is there for the same thing! it's just really fuckin' great and i wish there were a way it could run all year.
so why don't i do the minigames?
cuz the discord is fucking terrifying. it's full of drugged-up minors and the few times i've tried to interact have just gone horribly. so no thanks.
tldr; i hate my art and i would draw a lot more if i could get payed for drawing stuff that actually interests me instead of just other people's ideas
"how come you barely post any art for most of the year, but then artfight comes around and you are drawing literally every single day?"
the answer? twofold.
firstly, i don't really enjoy drawing for myself. doodling is fun, but full pieces take a lot of work, and my skill level is such that everything i draw looks childish and disappointing compared to the image in my head. so when i draw my own ideas, they are either super quick doodles that get no attention cuz they are trash, or i put in a ton of effort and get a tiny amount of attention for a pic i still don't really care for myself. not worth it.
secondly, i have a high work ethic, so commissions stress me the fuck out. i always try to go beyond what is comfortable for me to give my paying customers EXACTLY what they want. and usually, what i'm being payed to draw isn't even something i'm really interested in drawing in the first place, so i rely entirely on guilt/commitment and the commissioner's own enthusiasm (which is sometimes lacking) to fuel the art.
so what does that mean for artfight? well, with artfight, i have all the freedom of drawing for myself, plus the positive motivators of a commission. i can draw what i want, how i want, PLUS there's a good chance i'll get art out of it myself, that i will actually LIKE looking at.
so why not just do more art trades?
honestly it's kind of hard to find partners for trades. most folks don't even say if they do trades or not, and most who do only open for mutuals. and even then, i've done many trades where i never got their half, or even a comment on what i did for them. i am in the furtrade group, but it's very small, and it doesn't have the convenient character pages like artfight does, so there's the anxiety inducing risk of asking someone to trade and then finding out you don't like any of their characters. artfight just has a GREAT system for trades. you can see all their characters, info about them as a person, their style, and most importantly, their track record for giving and getting art. and there's THOUSANDS of users, of all skill levels! it's so easy to find someone who has a character you want to draw, is around your skill level, and is likely to draw back. and everyone is there for the same thing! it's just really fuckin' great and i wish there were a way it could run all year.
so why don't i do the minigames?
cuz the discord is fucking terrifying. it's full of drugged-up minors and the few times i've tried to interact have just gone horribly. so no thanks.
tldr; i hate my art and i would draw a lot more if i could get payed for drawing stuff that actually interests me instead of just other people's ideas
I do hope you can get more trades as I enjoy most of the pieces you do and I sometimes hop in to look how you actually do It on streams, as I feel we have similar way of drawing, I just need to get my characters looking more "believable" (not to be confused with realistic) as it is a main part of the art around here.
I am sorry to hear that some people forfeit the art trades, this is real dick move but due to the fact no money changes hands its really hard to actually enforce it in any way when the person who didn't do anything can just say "wait" / "yeah I am working on it" / "stop scolding me" or even back out when asked about their part. You need to endure them, and hopefully you will push through! If you ever consider me to be at least somewhat similar to your level I'd gladly do a trade as you helped me a lot with tips, tricks and art streams I throughoutly enjoyed.
Do not hate your art, as it's part of yourself and follows you. Love it for the future, when you will look upon it, laugh about how it was and feel the pride that comes from improvement and hard work you put into it to make it real.
Take care.
and yeah, one of the great things about artfight is that the penalty for not returning fire is so fitting, yet so easily redeemable. it hurts your battle ratio, which tells people not to attack you cuz you might not attack back, but at the same time, you could just draw for someone else who doesn't draw for you to get it back up. so even if you don't get art from someone, that fact will encourage OTHERS to attack you.
you should pop into the stream chat sometime! i'm still hoping to answer some questions for you XD
And I am fine with all of your art types, so od we ever do a trade I, as less experienced person will take the initial art so that you can respond on a fitting level.
Yeah, artfight is damn good, I am forever in your debt for dragging me there. Sadly I can't do an art piece everyday yet and I wish I can catch up later.
If we ever trade I think I will do one as I did just a few moments ago, based on that you can judge how good I am as this one was a piece where I did put a lot more efforts than I feel I should for its price ^^
i'm so glad you're enjoying it!!! and no worries, i'm honestly surprised i've managed to keep going with art every day like i have. you have to have the energy, and a plan. (the first year i had neither, the second i had a plan but no energy, this is the first year i've had both) my husband tayoh, for example, has a real job and isn't as fast as me at art, so he's been striving for just one piece a week (and he's done it, i'm so proud!)
sounds good to me :D