Hello all. Last time I started a topic on this board I went out of my way to state that I wasn’t here to complain. And again, I really don’t want to come off that way but maybe there is some desire to vent that is motivating me.
Setting aside the Rainbow Dash humanized image that started poorly (and maybe didn’t finish all that much better), I’m just looking at the totality of what I’ve done so far, keeping in mind that I’m new to being an artist, if you can even call me by that term at this stage. I am probably getting too hung up on upvotes and downvotes, but I want to at least feel like I’m improving at what I’m doing. And so far my numbers are trending in the wrong direction.
That is to say, the more effort I put into something, and the better that it looks to me, the less others seem to appreciate it. A Scootaloo doodle that took two hours did far better in the popularity contest than a Pinkie Pie that took me a day and a half. And I thought that the Pinkie drawing was a step forward in my improvement.
There just doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to what people like. This is why I’m an engineer, things are objective and measurable in that world. But when it comes to art (and not just pony art) it seems like a crapshoot. How is it that Jackson Pollack can randomly splatter paint on a canvas and have it sell for millions of dollars? At least what I’m making actually looks like something.
I don’t know if I’m looking for advice here, like I said I may just be venting more than anything else. It’s just so strange to me, maybe because I have such an analytical mindset.
I realize this isn’t the same for everyone, but what makes a work of art “good” in your mind? And should I even worry about it and just make stuff that makes me happy?
Any thoughts?
I know how you feel.
