Unpopular art opinions 🖌️

related to the above the most upsetting thing about the prettyboy anime styles is that i Do like real anime styles from like, actual media from japan. i like cowboy bebop i like junji ito i like parasite i like the art in chainsaw man etc etc etc but. a lot of the hobbyists who do it somehow refuse to take anything more than the flaws of the style. anime can depict poc and older people and fat people and unconventional face shapes they just Refuse To Learn

^in fact, ALL styles can portray different ethnicities, and almost all can portray different face and body shapes. sorry, i've often seen “art style” as an excuse for artists [both hobbyist and professional] to simply not draw different body types. heck, there was a show who's whole main cast has the same skinny body type [personally, i thought it was detrimental to the show's design, that's another topic tho], and a lot of the fans say it's a stylistic choice, but a background character designer in the show literally proven otherwise, as they were able to show other body types just fine. let me tell you, stylistic choice is bluey, not this show.

also being "afraid" to draw different ethnicities… i do understand why though, if we're talking the dumpsterfire of that is twitter, but i think we've also come to a point where there are just so many amazing tutorials out there that are easy to follow, so whenever you'd want to draw characters in other ethnicities, you can always do a small study of them. and you don't have to post them to the internet. it's not much, you can start by simply designing a character in a different skin color too. okay, they may still have the "euro-centric" features i guess [what people say], but one ethnicity itself can have diverse face shapes, this will do for now :] you'll eventually get to all the other stuff y'know. honestly if you can draw humans, there's a good chance you would be able to catch up with these too, we're not too different from each other.

i couldn't draw 4c hair properly back then, though it didn't stop me from having an oc with it anyway [if you're wondering, she's doing well with her family today :D]. now, i don't want to force anyone to draw these, unless this is professional work, you're open to do what you do! :] draw your heart’s content. my opinion above was for those that worry they couldn't portray it properly? or say stylization was an excuse , since i saw many youtube comments that say this.

Bro what the hell went on in this comment section 😭 glad it’s over lmao 

Here’s my hot take. You aren’t a “bad artist” or an evil person if you only draw conventionally attractive characters. If you don’t like the fact that someone does, don’t consume their content! Find an artist that draws who you want them to draw and support them instead. I feel like people constantly forget that the “do not recommend channel” or block button exists. People will cry over anything at this point 🙄

Also HARD +1 to layer modes being the best. For shading I use multiply and for highlights I use a light mode or luminosity.

pb_x how dare you insinuate I’m unskilled 😠 I’m telling a trusted adult. Count your days, buddy. 

Kidding aside, I meant people who can draw other things but just choose to draw something more often than others. “Only” was being used in a hyperbolic way. I also do draw many other things, but I only post some of my art on here. I enjoy drawing still life sketches and portraits in addition to working in a more anime-esque style. I was also just agreeing about the usefulness of layer blending modes, and in no way did I mean that they should be used as a substitute 💔

insomnimac By definition, if you can only draw one thing, you’re an unskilled artist. I don’t think ‘bad’ artists exist, as art is subjective, but I do think there’s a clear distinction between skill. I see that you’re a good example of someone who only really draws one thing, based off your art.

Drawing conventionally attractive characters is fine, the issue is when the artist *can‘t* draw anything else, because they’ve only practiced how to draw one thing, and have closed themself off into a box. Layer modes are great, I agree, but I also agree with the other person saying they’re a crutch, especially if the artist can’t shade without them.

if i only ever draw OCs and designs i find attractive, who give a shit? i don't care if it "says something about my character" because what i think it says is that i know what i like to do in my free time and i don't let the wishes of others worry me. if someone only wants to do acrylic pour art, ocean paintings, quilts, clown portraits, sanrio fanart, or weird fetish porn and they don't want to do anything else, then I'm happy for them because it means they know what brings them joy.

finding out who you are and what makes you happy is very hard, and the art community constantly yelling down at hobbyist to "get better" with threats of stagnation only serves to sow discontent and unhappiness. 

i think a lot about the "boulevard of broken dreams" guy on 4chan "i like this song, i don't like other songs" yeah, weird as fuck, but this man knows himself better than i do and is ok with doing things other people would consider weird for the sole purpose that it makes him happy.

Stop making fun of beginner artists and give them advice. Like, I've literally been teaching one of my friends to draw from literally nothing, and I've been so proud of him. Advice helps artists grow, even ones who may be considered 'good'.

Also, this is based on an opinion I used to have, but expensive supplies does not equal good art. I've spent hundreds of dollars over the years on expensive art supplies, and procreate as well, only to realize I can render hella good in the files app on my iPhone. But, that's only after I learned to render.

^ god i love bringing up the expensive supplies doesn’t equal immediately good art thing. Recently watched a video about a guy who bought some cheap stuff on temu or something, but instead being like most youtuber laughing at its cheapess and stuffing it somewhere never using it again, he made some amazing shit with it and went over explaining in detail how you don’t need some expensive, limited time only, paints made from the blood of god himself to paint or draw anything. As long as you put your mind to it and practice, it’s possible. Cave man with poop to cave wall basically 

those youtube channels of people who do super detailed coloured pencil drawings of pikachu or whatever else is currently popular are just unimpressive to me 🥱 i'm talking about the ones that copy already existing pics, usually of celebrity photos or key artwork from movies and games. i recognise that even copying pics takes a lot of skill and effort and that i should be impressed by them, but seeing like 100 different channels all posting drawings of the same sonic the hedgehog render that was used on the movie poster is just off-putting. maybe it's just the youtube format that's so unappealing idk

^ I think it’s impressive, but it’s just not what I really find interesting if you know what I mean. There’s a ton of talent going into it, but I think I prefer more “creative” works of art? 

I also totally agree with the thing about how expensive art supplies / programs don’t guarantee success, and you can make amazing work without it. I mean, are we really going to forget that video of the guy painting Santa in MS Paint?? 

So much can be done with a simple Dixon Ticonderoga lol. Some of the best sketches I’ve seen have just used basic #2 pencils. 

idk if it's much of an opinion... but the thinking behind certain things just confuse me. If I say for example"I like shaded art" doesn't mean I like all art out there that has shading. Obviously some art is more my taste, while others aren't. And any artist has a different skill level and approach. If you can't shade well and lack basics all over and have no style I care about on top of that, then I likely don't find your art appealing. This is common sense tbh. Yet some folk be like "but I thought you like shaded art 😢" when they get denied or something.

You can have preferences within art styles. pretty much everyone has. Not having this basic level of understanding is.. wild.

fine. let me be controversial. COLOR THEORY IS USELESS!!! [or at least, most of the turtorials are] FIGHT ME-

v you’re wrong because you obviously need the paper/equivalent of it to draw 🙄/j

A pencil and a pen is enough to draw.

this seems to be a semi unpopular opinion on furry spaces. I've seen that repeatedly now and I disagree. whenever there is any kind of advice or critique post (you know, artist asks for help) the suggestions are always the same. "make the eyes bigger, the snout smaller". Which..  is just strange considering that's mostly not even what the artist wants, obviously the eyes are smaller and the snout longer. aka a more realistic approach of the animal. a furry can be more than generic furry style proportions... this reminds me of my own experiences when doing furry commissions. It's been a while, but I got asked to make the eyes bigger and the snout smaller several time before, which would make the character very chibi, young and isn't a style I go for. I find these proportions very overrated and ugly in most instances, which is why it kinda bothers me that this is somehow " beauty standard " and a common art advice. It's a style I used to have though. Because it's easy to draw.

Perfectly fine if that's what the artist is going for. But that's not really helpful art advice... that's just preference art style stuff