For those wondering, yes, new art is coming soon. I just wanted to devote a lot of time and effort to my next couple of drawings.
The problem inherent in talking to people about what you draw is that they always have their own ideas for what you should be drawing. Take last night, for instance, when I told one of my coworkers about the characters I created for "Forever 16". Suddenly, he starts going "Oh, you should have a character who's really good at building stuff, who could, like, build a rocket to the moon" and "You should have a girl who plays tennis and who's really stuck up and no boy wants to talk to her" and so on.
Why?
It's my comic. The characters I created for it evolved organically over the course of several years. Who are you to just start rattling off character archetypes and telling me to utilize them for no reason?
This isn't the first time this has happened, either. I got a lot of folks on DeviantArt bugging me to do stuff in my art that I really don't feel like doing. When I was on my underwatertoons account, one guy kept asking me to draw a scene with plesiosaurs. I thought he was asking for a commission, but apparently, he just thought my underwater drawings would look better if I put dinosaurs in the background.
Like...what?!
You know, it's bad enough when people try to tell me how I should be drawing, but at least it'd be a little better if their ideas were actually, y'know, good.
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Well, insulting as those people may sound, at least it's a far cry than just random strangers asking "can we be firends plz??" purely based on the artwork and not the artist themselves.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, don't break what isn't broken.
Well, all you can do is just politely nod, and say "I'll consider it". As annoying as that is, they don't mean any harm by giving you suggestions on what to draw, no matter how dumb it is.
ReplyDeleteHowever, never turn down advice on how to draw if it takes you on the road to improvement.
Oh, I know when to accept drawing advice - anything that'll help me with anatomy or inking or shading or any of the things I stumble with is more than welcome. But when folks try to tell me what characters I should draw, it makes me think "Well, why don't you draw it if you want to see it so bad?" Maybe it's just because I've become so attached to the characters I created myself; I don't like the idea of other people thinking they can create characters of a similar depth in the blink of an eye.
ReplyDeleteOf course you should accept SOME of the challenges people drop your way, however the biggest challenge is yourself - as you said, JB, you're spending more time on your pics, while most people would simply say "draw me something!" with no real 'advice'.
ReplyDeleteUnless it's a commission, sticking your fingers in your ears going La La La would be the best route to take in said situation.
There's nothing wrong with a challenge. However they should be within reason.
ReplyDeleteWhat you should do, is take suggestions. Some people try to disguise them as out-and-out requests, though.
I dunno... just a suggestion.
Well JB, keep in mind, one reason that they're listing ideas for you is that you're a good artist and the people suggesting the ideas aren't. They know that you're going to make the idea great, and the people suggesting it doesn't have the draftsmanship and patience to draw it. And I should know, becuase I'm one of them ("Wardrobe Malfunction").
ReplyDeleteSo, if you want my perspective, I'll agree with Alex Dudley and just say to them "I'll consider/think about it". It always works unless the person reminds you.
I think some people try to make suggestions, but come off as a little pushy. At times they may even feel like they are stepping on your toes or spitting in your face.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the "I'll think about it." is the best way to go. After all it's not like they've got a gun to your head. :)
I always hated it when people would contact me about using Monica for fetish art. What really got me was when I said no, they would get pissed.
Oh, we've all been there, man- you wouldn't believe how many people still tell me, "You should work for Disney," or "You oughta work in movies." One goal and problem at a time people, sheesh!
ReplyDeleteStill, what you're going through and planning with your works's great, Jesse- if you did anything surreal like that, it would probably eff up the down-to-earth style.