#artists apply

[inkskinned]

the thing about art is that it was always supposed to be about us, about the human-ness of us, the impossible and beautiful reality that we (for centuries) have stood still, transfixed by music. that we can close our eyes and cry about the same book passage; the events of which aren't real and never happened. theatre in shakespeare's time was as real as it is now; we all laugh at the same cue (pursued by bear), separated hundreds of years apart.

three years ago my housemates were jamming outdoors, just messing around with their instruments, mostly just making noise. our neighbors - shy, cautious, a little sheepish - sat down and started playing. i don't really know how it happened; i was somehow in charge of dancing, barefoot and laughing - but i looked up, and our yard was full of people. kids stacked on the shoulders of parents. old couples holding hands. someone had brought sidewalk chalk; our front walk became a riot of color. someone ran in with a flute and played the most astounding solo i've ever heard in my life, upright and wiggling, skipping as she did so. she only paused because the violin player was kicking his heels up and she was laughing too hard to continue.

two weeks ago my friend and i met in the basement of her apartment complex so she could work out a piece of choreography. we have a language barrier - i'm not as good at ASL as i'd like to be (i'm still learning!) so we communicate mostly through the notes app and this strange secret language of dancers - we have the same movement vocabulary. the two of us cracking jokes at each other, giggling. there were kids in the basement too, who had been playing soccer until we took up the far corner of the room. one by one they made their slow way over like feral cats - they laid down, belly-flat against the floor, just watching. my friend and i were not in tutus - we were in slouchy shirts and leggings and socks. nothing fancy. but when i asked the kids would you like to dance too? they were immediately on their feet and spinning. i love when people dance with abandon, the wild and leggy fervor of childhood. i think it is gorgeous.

their adults showed up eventually, and a few of them said hey, let's not bother the nice ladies. but they weren't bothering us, they were just having fun - so. a few of the adults started dancing awkwardly along, and then most of the adults. someone brought down a better sound system. someone opened a watermelon and started handing out slices. it was 8 PM on a tuesday and nothing about that day was particularly special; we might as well party.

one time i hosted a free "paint along party" and about 20 adults worked quietly while i taught them how to paint nessie. one time i taught community dance classes and so many people showed up we had to move the whole thing outside. we used chairs and coatracks to balance. one time i showed up to a random band playing in a random location, and the whole thing got packed so quickly we had to open every door and window in the place.

i don't think i can tell you how much people want to be making art and engaging with art. they want to, desperately. so many people would be stunning artists, but they are lied to and told from a very young age that art only matters if it is planned, purposeful, beautiful. that if you have an idea, you need to be able to express it perfectly. this is not true. you don't get only 1 chance to communicate. you can spend a lifetime trying to display exactly 1 thing you can never quite language. you can just express the "!!??!!!"-ing-ness of being alive; that is something none of us really have a full grasp on creating. and even when we can't make what we want - god, it feels fucking good to try. and even just enjoying other artists - art inherently rewards the act of participating.

i wasn't raised wealthy. whenever i make a post about art, someone inevitably says something along the lines of well some of us aren't that lucky. i am not lucky; i am dedicated. i have a chronic condition, my hands are constantly in pain. i am not neurotypical, nor was i raised safe. i worked 5-7 jobs while some of these memories happened. i chose art because it mattered to me more than anything on this fucking planet - i would work 80 hours a week just so i could afford to write in 3 of them.

and i am still telling you - if you are called to make art, you are called to the part of you that is human. you do not have to be good at it. you do not have to have enormous amounts of privilege. you can just... give yourself permission. you can just say i'm going to make something now and then - go out and make it. raquel it won't be good though that is okay, i don't make good things every time either. besides. who decides what good even is?

you weren't called to make something because you wanted it to be good, you were called to make something because it is a basic instinct. you were taught to judge its worth and over-value perfection. you are doing something impossible. a god's ability: from nothing springs creation.

a few months ago i found a piece of sidewalk chalk and started drawing. within an hour i had somehow collected a small classroom of young children. their adults often brought their own chalk. i looked up and about fifteen families had joined me from around the block. we drew scrangly unicorns and messed up flowers and one girl asked me to draw charizard. i am not good at drawing. i basically drew an orb with wings. you would have thought i drew her the mona lisa. she dragged her mother over and pointed and said look! look what she drew for me and, in the moment, i admit i flinched (sorry, i don't -). but the mother just grinned at me. he's beautiful. and then she sat down and started drawing.

someone took a picture of it. it was in the local newspaper. the summary underneath said joyful and spontaneous artwork from local artists springs up in public gallery. in the picture, a little girl covered in chalk dust has her head thrown back, delighted. laughing.

#writeblr #warm up #this is longer than i wanted i really considered removing that part about myself and what i went thru #but i think it really fucking bothers me that EVERY time i talk about being an artist #ppl assume i just like. had the skill and ability to drop everything and pay for grad school. #like sir i grew up poor. my house wasn't a safe space. i gave up a FREE RIDE TO LAW SCHOOL. for THIS. bc i chose it. #was it fucking hard? was i choosing the hard thing?? yes. #but we need to stop seeing artists as lazy layabouts that can ''afford'' to just ''sit around and create'' #when MANY - if not MOST - of us are NOT like that. we have to work our fucking ASSES off. hard work. long and hard work #part of valuing artists is recognizing the amount we sacrifice to make our art. bc it doesn't just #like HAPPEN to us. also btw it rarely has anything to do with true talent. #speaking as someone with a chronic condition i hate when ppl are like u have it easy. like actively as i'm writing this my hands r #ACTIVELY hurting me. i haven't been posting bc my left hand was curled in a claw for the last week #this isn't fucking luck. after a certain point it's not even TALENT. it's dedication & sacrifice. #''u get to flounce around and do nothing with ur life'' is a narrative that is a direct result of capitalism #imagine if we said that about literally any other profession. #''oh so u give up 10 yrs of ur life to be a doctor? u sacrifice having a social life and u get SUPER in debt? #u need to work countless hours and it will often be thankless? well i wish i was that lucky'' #we should be applying that logic to landlords ONLY #''oh ur mom and dad gave u the money to buy a house? and all u did was paint it white and rent it? huh.''

[maedictus]

More House of Durin doddles!

#Just an excuse to draw Thorin again #Chuvash women wear beautiful pieces of jewelry around their faces #And I couldn't help but think it would be a cool concept to apply to Dwarrowdams #Can't say I nailed it this time tho #Also just realized I neglected Frerin #Too many tolkien characters I can't take it #the hobbit #tolkien #lotr #kili #fili #thorin oakenshield #dís #my art #art #artists on tumblr #artwork #illustration

[sangled]

No matter what it is... thank you!

#sang art #sangspeaks #mostly for twitter since the big artist/small artist stuff came from there #but it applies anywhere :)

[ionomycin]

The wizard and the dark knight

#artists on tumblr #dnd #hoo boy we're in it now #tweeber crashing and burning down #if it wasn't so vital for so many people's careers #and income #i'd say it's for the best #but unfortunately a lot of us are kinda fucked #prayer circle for twitter artists and creators #time to learn german real fast in case i gotta apply for non art jobs too #it is what it is #job market kinda unstable for a lot of fields right now #i wish many jobs upon those that want them #job ray go bzzzz

[humans-are-tasty]

my spread for @opdilfzine

#sir crocodile #dracule mihawk #donquixote doflamingo #jinbei #jinbe #jimbei #shichibukai #one piece #opdilfzine #finally can post this. i finished this last OCTOBER..? i think. thankfully it didnt age too horribly #my art #this was my first fanzine which i applied to last year may...? june? i didnt even know fanzines were a thing till this lol #i think i had like 400 followers on twitter at the time #i felt so intimidated by the other artists who i felt were “famous” with thousands of followers #lol

[domirine]

ever seen a man so beautiful you ram your bike into his flowers?

my full piece for the retrouvailles zine! i had a lot of fun painting it. hope you enjoy looking at the lil details, plants, and the only character who has his shit together (the dog)

#art #jjba #avpol #mohammed avdol #jean pierre polnareff #iggy #i suppose! he sure is here after all. #i sat on this for a long while and i'm very happy that the whole zine is out i had a nice time working with everyone there #also i like participating in zines. just saw another jojo one i would have loved to apply but you know how it is #the world shows you zine info only after the artists are announced lol looking forward to seeing it either way #ok enough babblin. stay cool

[euqinim0dart]

My piece "Pitter Patter" made it to finalist in the Communication arts illustration annual 65!!

#illustration #communication arts #HELL YEAH FINALLY IM A FINALIST #ONLY TOOK ME 5 YEARS OF APPLYING TO IT #artists on tumblr #art

[lucky-fy]

Please enjoy :)

Two more with spoilers below

#dungeon meshi #laios touden #falin touden #farcille #marcille donato #senshi #mithrun #chilchuck tims #lycion #kabumisu #laicion #spreading the laicion propaganda discretely... #don't mind me :) #kabru's username is a reference to another compilation by Fumifooms :) #edit: if you’re going to be a hater on any ship in the fandom; this post is not for you (certified: a multishipper) #this applies to everyone going “eww Marcille x Laios is heteronormative why would you ship it”. This is not for you (signed: a bi trans man #or anyone hating on the recent m/m popularity. Shipping is not a competition #you like a ship? Reblog art and share fanfics. Raise the voice and motivation of artists who do what you like. #don’t pull down others. Hate is a vicious self-aggravating cycle. Ship and let ship. Block what you don’t like #you know. Fandom etiquette. #I thought we were adults here. #fy posts

[mai-col]

(Hey hey, have I mentioned that I have a webcomic ? Yes ? Well, let me do it again anyways)

#drawing #comics #webcomic #magic #artists on tumblr #urban fantasy #(idk if that label applies but I don't have a better one so far) #(it's about magic and a big city though ?)

[despoticmouse]

Has the spug tried to teach Spearmaster anything other than wawa?

The slup has taught SM how to harmlessly play! Something SM has never really done before.

#artists on tumblr #rain world #rain world downpour #rain world slugcat #slugcat #rain world slugpup #slugpup #rain world spearmaster #spearmaster #this also applies to a handful of other asks I got #like if SRS is regretting some of their choices with SM now that they see them struggling to interact with their own species ;)

[tekikato]

Outfit Swap (kinda)

#linked universe #lu time #lu twilight #lu wild #kato draws #kudos to all lu time artists #<- like how do you draw his armor??? #what is wild applying to his face? #probably chuchu jelly #hes trying to look like twilight #emphasis on trying #dont mind what's happening outside #sky and four are probably somewhere safe

[fruitycircus]

didn't realize ship was singular. uh, variety hour!

#additional note: ships w in-game dynamics that can be applied >>>>> #pyro n pauling dont apply but theyre silly and its great #fc art #artists on tumblr #team fortress 2 #medic tf2 #heavy tf2 #sniper tf2 #spy tf2 #pyro tf2 #miss pauling #red oktoberfest #bloody suit #missfire #cw gore

[ninamodaffari]

hey artists. do me a huge favor and take aspiring out of your bios, ok? if you're drawing, painting, whatever, you're an artist.

#Misc #Respect yourselves!!!! #This doesn't apply to ai artists btw #Y'all don't get this

[butchdykenormallen]

hello fanartist. in front of you is a character who is canonically fat, and mentioned to be fat in the media. you have 30 seconds to explain to me why you've drawn them skinny and box shaped without saying "its my style," "i don't know how to draw fat people," or "i didn't know they were fat" before i push you onto the landmine behind you. the timer starts now.

#SORRY DIALTOWN ARTISTS MAKR ME WANNA RIP MY HAIR OUT #okay you dont draw the fanonly character fat. thats fine i dont care #okay you dont draw the fandom-applied fat character who isnt fat in canon as skinny. thats also okay. #WHY WONT YOU DRAW THE FAT CHARACTER FT #WHY ARE THEY SOSKINY #ITS RIGHT NEXT TO THE SORITE!!!!! YOU CAN SEE IT!!!!! FOR FUVKS SAKE!!!! #THEY'RE LITERALLY CALLED FAT #THEY'RE LITERALLY FST!!!!!!! #FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. #YOU PEOPLE #sorry i heart dialtown but this fanart makes me wanna pull my eyeballs out and use them s martini olives. #loser_txt.png

[hey-hey-j]

I would like to formally redact all my previous John Dory art because this is the best I've ever drawn him /hj

also featuring a John Dory-Branch swap AU that came to me in a burst of inspiration yesterday morning

(★my Ko-fi)

#my art #trolls band together #dreamworks trolls #trolls john dory #trolls branch #trolls fanart #i've discovered that the trick to drawing trolls is to apply CU anatomy rules #*putting my three years of being a captain underpants fan artist to good use*

[uncanny-tranny]

Good news! You aren't required to make your hobbies and passions "marketable." In fact, your crafts, hobbies, and passions don't even need to be public if you so choose. You don't have to spend all of your energy becoming perfect if you aren't enjoying the process. You are not a product, you are a person, a creative, and your work also does not need to be a product.

#positivity #yet another post that's like... thinnly-veiled as being for myself #i find myself freezing with anxiety when i think about the things i used to do (writing especially) because... #...i had felt this force to make it ~content~ and ~marketable to an audience~ and it was so fucking daunting... #...it felt like being a gladiator in a coliseum #even now i fight the urge to equate being marketable to being acceptable and worthy of admiration and praise #i wish i hadn't burnt myself out of writing by doing this because i'm simultaneously grieving my writing and hating it #and it sucks the life out of what makes you feel like a person and it takes the art out of art #so be free! pist your art or don't! you are beholden to nobody!!! #(obviously this is not the case for professional artists who rely on their art to keep them alive) #(and i criticize heavily the idea that audiences are entitled to an artists labour) #(i understand that this isn't universal and if it doesn't apply to you then you don't have to take me seriously) #(if you are a professional artist or what have you i hope you are able to feed and house yourself off of that career!) #(i hope you are able to live a happy life and be able to keep loving what you're doing)