windows ink my nemesis
Hello friends!
I thought it'd be fun to create a thread so people can share stories of their artist pet peeves. What do you hate about the community? what do you hate about some people in the community? Is there something you absolutely hate but was never really able to say it out loud? Your chance is now!
Personally i really dislike it when people gatekeep stuff. Art is for everyone and should be for everyone. If you want to draw something then go for it unless it's outright hateful. You don't have to have amazing skills to do art. You don't have to be a certain way. You're an artist alright? alright.
2021 edit: Thank you all for being respectful of each other! Its great seeing the differentiation of opinions and have an open minded discussion about it. Thats what i wanted. So thank you!
Adding to Lilina's post, the daily content production that IG's algorithm loves so much is not only detrimental to the artists' well being, it also affects the quality of the produced artworks, since obviously it doesn't matter how much of a pro you are, the difference in quality between a drawing made in an hour and one made in 8 is considerable. This makes artists take as many shortcuts as they can, which isn't bad at all! but the excessive use of them out of necessity does reflect in decreased line quality, clearly unpolished sections, proportion mistakes that they don't have time to correct, and of course, overly simplified art styles. The latter isn't bad either, none of this is at all in a healthy environment, but we're talking about tricks used to thrive in an environment less than ill suited for artists, further proliferating lower quality artworks, or pushing artists towards their actual physical limits only to keep up the pace with the darned algorithm.
It really is insane, the situation with artists and (or perhaps versus?) social media. Doesn't help that people who are already struggling with nasty websites also have to deal with the pettiest attempts at deplatforming them. This is such a terrible time to be an artist.
Social media destroys artists ngl. Take IG for example. I'd say like 5 years back it was an amazing platform. You just did art, post and naturally grow, find connections, do trades. Chill, chat. Today? Yea. No. I stopped using Instagram completely a few years back. Best decision I made. It's just not worth it. And yes you post you lose followers , you don't post you lose followers. This is also very similar on twitter for me. I started to abandon most platforms were algorithms rule everything and if you don't bring content, people leave immediately. Or platforms where your efforts doesn't matter and just slowly kill you inside (sounds kinda over the top but that's how I felt tbh). Just do art because you like it and post if and when you want it. You're not your numbers or the amount of people who follow you. Not getting traction sucks if you want to get your work out there but it shouldn't be your focus. It won't make you happy in a long run. And it will probably also be visible in your art.
That doesn't mean I don't care if I get attention on my art, it's very cool and pushes my ego lmao. But it's not something I expect or aim for anymore as much as I used to.
Edit: ⬇️ yes that is true. I only got lucky on FA when it comes to selling/ comms and the sort. (which is also a huge site) But on other big mainstream platforms? eh. maybe twitter a little too but it´s not much. Honestly, if you don't get seen you don´t get seen. No matter if it´s on a small or a big platform. I agree that on smaller ones it´s definitely harder if not impossible to get clients / sell merch and the sort but if you have no reach it´s also not any easier on big ones. However, if you advertise good enough, it´s more likely to happen there.
On the topic of social media the fact that if you want to spin your art into a career ditching bigger social media's really isn't an option. As much as I love smaller platforms like Newgrounds, if I want to do something like let's say, sell merch or do freelance work for local companies mainstream social media is the only way you go really. Most art sites run into a problem where because everyone's an artist looking for work it's unfortunately harder to get work. Most clientele arent going to newgrounds for comms if they already use Twitter. But then bigger social medias do dumb shit like use shitty algorithms, be strict and not transparent about content rules, yadda yadda.
Tl:dr- the fact you need to use Twitter and other big platforms that abuse its userbase to thrive as a pro pisses me off
One pet peeve of mine is when people post a fully colored and shaded piece with tons of detail, a background and everything and proceed to call it a “sketch” or “doodle”. That’s… not the same thing.
I'm tired of seeing adult cartoons with the same old, thin lines, weird character designs, huge eyes with tiny pupils, etc. I'm sure there are adult cartoons with that style that are great, but its so oversaturated that I don't wanna even watch.
i'm so tired of seeing the csp frill brush. they look like poopoo it's always super obvious. draw your own frills, dammit!
^^ on the topic of adult cartoons i'm sick of everything looking like this i'm sure u know what i mean
i also hate how for adult cartoons EVERYTHING has to be either gross out or about sex. like can we just have a cartoon that looks good but also can tackle serious topics that maybe u couldn't do in a kids show... i want the whimsicality of a kids show with adult topics without being too gross or ugly
skz THAT'S EXACTLY IT, ITS ALWAYS THAT STYLE OF FACE IN EVERY ADULT CARTOON xD
I swear, they always look so smug too
Its a real shame that adult cartoons have that awkward style. In fact, it's kinda weird how kid cartoons seem to have more diverse and fun art styles. Like it'd be really cool to see an adult cartoon with a similar style to the Power Puff Girls for example.
Kind of venty and idk if anyone else can relate, but sometimes I don't like when my parents or anyone who talks about me mentions that I'm an artist first or when someone introduces me to someone and they say, "Oh, btw they're an artist."
Like ok, cool, but you know, I am more than just an artist, I'm a person that has other interests outside of art. Yes, I enjoy doing art most of the time, but that really shouldn't define me as a person. Makes me feel like the only interesting thing someone talks about me is that I'm good at art. Kinda stings too, makes me feel like my personality isn't as interesting as my art.
^ Much agree, it's compounded because I inevitably get roped into some art project I have no interest in, that I don't get paid for. It's really hard to politely decline when they are your boss and have the ability to directly impact your career with one casual comment to the wrong person...