Journals15
Newest
Website for comics
1 min read
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The right kind of art
2 min read
Some thoughts that I figured were worth saving...
Something interesting my Creative Writing prof said... We were discussing the "subjectivity" of writing; how it's bizarre that while there is no right or wrong, we still suggest ways to improve each other's stories. And he said this, "When it comes to the subjective, the majority is always right." We asked him to elaborate, "Well you can't have a definitive answer, and if you ask the opinion of an individual, you can get ANY answer. it may be a good answer and it may be a bad answer. But when you ask everyone who's a participant in a subjective field, you start to see trends. You start to see how most people think, and what the majority says, is the closest you're going to come to a right answer. You might not agree, but it's the closest you're gonna get."
--HarveyStewart
The trouble with that is: try visiting another culture, and you will find that the "right answers" are different. i.e. Part of the reason for why Americans are so confident that they know all the answers is because few of them travel much or know second languages...
So which "majority" are you going to pick? Are you going to pick the majority in your country? Are you going to pick the majority in your field, assuming that your work will be translated into other languages? Also, whose opinion actually matters to you? Maybe you don't care that you've made something that is considered "right" by your teacher's definition if the people you care about most (yourself, those close to you) don't appreciate it.
Finally, I'd just like to say that in its essence, art is conversation. An elaborate and byzantine form of conversation. When you talk to people, what are you going to say? Are you content be a perfect mirror (or alternately, an indecipherable black hole) to your listeners, or do you have something to contribute?
Something interesting my Creative Writing prof said... We were discussing the "subjectivity" of writing; how it's bizarre that while there is no right or wrong, we still suggest ways to improve each other's stories. And he said this, "When it comes to the subjective, the majority is always right." We asked him to elaborate, "Well you can't have a definitive answer, and if you ask the opinion of an individual, you can get ANY answer. it may be a good answer and it may be a bad answer. But when you ask everyone who's a participant in a subjective field, you start to see trends. You start to see how most people think, and what the majority says, is the closest you're going to come to a right answer. You might not agree, but it's the closest you're gonna get."
--HarveyStewart
The trouble with that is: try visiting another culture, and you will find that the "right answers" are different. i.e. Part of the reason for why Americans are so confident that they know all the answers is because few of them travel much or know second languages...
So which "majority" are you going to pick? Are you going to pick the majority in your country? Are you going to pick the majority in your field, assuming that your work will be translated into other languages? Also, whose opinion actually matters to you? Maybe you don't care that you've made something that is considered "right" by your teacher's definition if the people you care about most (yourself, those close to you) don't appreciate it.
Finally, I'd just like to say that in its essence, art is conversation. An elaborate and byzantine form of conversation. When you talk to people, what are you going to say? Are you content be a perfect mirror (or alternately, an indecipherable black hole) to your listeners, or do you have something to contribute?
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A dilemma
1 min read
My best art comes when I am light on my feet. Comics, painting, music, film - they all seem to go best when I "dance" through them, keeping just ahead of my worries and doubts, not taking things too seriously.
But how can one be light on one's feet when working on a large project? As soon as I slow down, the magic stops. I begin over-analyzing things, my head becomes filled with my own work and I turn inward, feeding off of myself. I start taking it too seriously, become scared of screwing it up, and in the process stifle the work-in-progress. From there, it isn't long until the project becomes associated with weariness.
Do other people have something like this?
But how can one be light on one's feet when working on a large project? As soon as I slow down, the magic stops. I begin over-analyzing things, my head becomes filled with my own work and I turn inward, feeding off of myself. I start taking it too seriously, become scared of screwing it up, and in the process stifle the work-in-progress. From there, it isn't long until the project becomes associated with weariness.
Do other people have something like this?
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Submitting some old stuff
1 min read
I'm in the process of uploading some of my really old art, with the oldest being from 1999. This one's probably the most important: niffiwan.deviantart.com/art/An…
I'm also uploading it to Newgrounds at the same time: esn.newgrounds.com/art/
The style of drawing that I was taught earlier in school was realistic sketches. Not drawing out 3D shapes & forms like animators do, but just the actual lines you see in front of you. It's a completely different technique. This method seems to be losing popularity now, at least in the West.
Around 2001-2, I attempted to make the switch from "drawing from life" to "drawing-from-imagination". It was really difficult. I was very incompetent at it for a number of years, getting better only gradually.
I'm also uploading it to Newgrounds at the same time: esn.newgrounds.com/art/
The style of drawing that I was taught earlier in school was realistic sketches. Not drawing out 3D shapes & forms like animators do, but just the actual lines you see in front of you. It's a completely different technique. This method seems to be losing popularity now, at least in the West.
Around 2001-2, I attempted to make the switch from "drawing from life" to "drawing-from-imagination". It was really difficult. I was very incompetent at it for a number of years, getting better only gradually.
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New comic + Newgrounds Art Portal
1 min read
I've just finished a new comic. I'm not very productive, am I? Well, I'm working on other things...
In other news, Newgrounds has a new Art Portal, and I've submitted my work there as well (including a few things that I haven't uploaded here yet):
esn.newgrounds.com/art/
They have a scouting system there - if an established artist likes your work, they can "scout" you, and your artworks then become public in the art portal. And you can then scout other people.
This creates long chains of artists. Trouble is, if someone higher up on the chain gets unscouted (because the staff decide that they don't like his art), all of his scouts get unscouted as well, all the way down the chain. This has happened to me twice already.
So now I'm waiting to be scouted again, but I figure it'll be a long wait. There's a limit of 2 scouts/day now & there are a lot of people in the same situation.
In other news, Newgrounds has a new Art Portal, and I've submitted my work there as well (including a few things that I haven't uploaded here yet):
esn.newgrounds.com/art/
They have a scouting system there - if an established artist likes your work, they can "scout" you, and your artworks then become public in the art portal. And you can then scout other people.
This creates long chains of artists. Trouble is, if someone higher up on the chain gets unscouted (because the staff decide that they don't like his art), all of his scouts get unscouted as well, all the way down the chain. This has happened to me twice already.
So now I'm waiting to be scouted again, but I figure it'll be a long wait. There's a limit of 2 scouts/day now & there are a lot of people in the same situation.
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