I'm genuinely curious about what hooked people to my "Homesick" piece I did - based on the response on Twitter.

I would've asked this directly on that platform, but something tells me the answers won't feel genuine... the responses were often aimed at the composition and colors, which are completely valid. And some people just pointed and said 'ooo haha look at him pee'... as one would expect. But it made me think, did people stop by just because of that? Did I get the 'right' attention to begin with? For the first time, I got a stomach drop from the possibility of feeling misunderstood.

I understand the imagery probably overshadowed the subtext, and the message is somewhat cryptic. I still feel like it's reasonable for me to ask this.

But enough about me, I just wanna hear if anyone had similar experiences, and how you dealt with it. The part about feeling misunderstood or getting attention for the wrong reasons bla bla... I feel like this is not so uncommon due to the fact that most of us here are horndogs (not in a derogatory way), and it probably happens more often than we think - that someone posts an image with one intention, and people consume it with another.

Man, too much thinking. I'll stop it here.

Last week I've been shown such a cool animation at school I feel almost obliged to mention it somewhere. So I thought it might also be nice to add two more good ones I've seen a while ago. So grab a seat, put on your headphones and enjoy. They're all 5-12 minutes.

1. Astigmatismo
Here's the behind-the-scenes for the curious ones: Link. Unfortunately, the guy never made anything like it afterward. It's truly one of a kind.

2. Nighthawk
Made in a very similar way as Astigmatismo (stop-motion on multiplane glass). Very grotesque, a bit funky, and the atmosphere is noteworthy.

3. Manivald
Watch that one if you want to giggle a bit.

I was curious for a very long time. Is it bad if the picture serves only a purpose of aesthetics and appeal? Of course there is meaning in prettiness itself but think about pieces, in which satisfying colors and shapes are so strong and fit together, that they overpower the 'meaning'. Because for some time I've been ingrained this narrative in my head that if it doesn't contain any message it's shallow and feeds itself into the ... 'bad art'.

From my experience whenever I do something that I want to look cool it's like *BAM* here it is (whoa flashy colors and spiky shapes)... but whenever I try to incorporate some sort of meaning or feeling it becomes challenging and only then it seems deserving and excusable to consider it as an art piece. Every time I open up an unfinished piece of mine that just pulls me in visually I think to myself: "it would be a great shame if this ends up only as an eye stimulation - a waste of a good composition or pose". I feel a very very big guilt if I can't add even the slightest context to an image I'm about to present.

Almost as if I value something less and consider it trash because it's easier to make. And I feel guilty when I look at something and appreciate its beauty if that is the only thing I can appreciate about it. Some things I do truly come from the depths of something, but others felt like I just wanted to draw something and had them finished. I don't know how it appears from your end since I'm starting to realize how limiting it is to perceive things only from a personal perspective, and people see meaning in things I didn't...

What's your take on drawing things that exist for the sole purpose of being pretty to look at? Should people proudly present them? Should it be put in scraps or remain unpublished since it doesn't do anyone any good? How do you justify uploading a piece that looks pretty?

Either way, have a good one.

EDIT: Rewritten some parts. I should've prepared better beforehand.