#making art

[dannnnnnnnnnnnex]

i really dislike it when people don’t understand perfectionism.

like, it isn’t always “person who has tons of motivation and spends a ton of time making this thing *just* right”

wayyyyyy more often than not it’s:

”I know that if I try to make this thing, it won’t be perfect, so I simply won’t try.”

which definitely sounds bad, right? but when you realize that it doesn’t just apply to voluntarily making art, then you realize how perfectionism is not at all a good thing in any context. 

“i know that if I try to work on this assignment right now, it won’t be good enough, so i’ll wait until the last possible moment so that I have something forcing me to do it.”

”i know that I should start going to the gym, but I won’t see any improvement right away, so I just won’t.”

”i know that i should brush my teeth tonight, but that won’t be good enough to undo the fact that i haven’t brushed them 4 days in a row, so I just won’t.”

perfectionism isn’t the uncontrollable impulse to make things “just right”. (although it can occasionally manifest as this.)

perfectionism is the absolute, psychological inability to accept the concepts of “good enough” and “better than nothing”.

#perfectionism #perfection #art #writing #making #making art #creative #creative process #lifestyle #habits #good habits #living with mental illness #mental illness #mental disorder #adhd #psychology

[ssavaart]

Sometimes You Have to Make 100 BAD Drawings To Get 1 GOOD One

(Earlier this year, a publisher asked me if I'd be interested in writing a book on art. As we discussed it... they asked me to "give it a try" and this is one of two tests I did. I don't consider myself a writer, really, so this is just "in my own voice". I wound up turning down the offer... but would love to know your thoughts on this. Thanks)

Drawing something good. Something you like. It’s… elusive. Especially when you’re just starting out.

But, here’s the thing. You have good art in you. I promise. You just have to get to it and it’s stuck under a bunch of bad art. Really bad art.

When I was younger, I would draw every day. Filling up sketchbooks with doodles and sketches and I hated ALL of them.

Page 01: Crap

Page 02: Crap

Page 03: Crap

Page 04: Worse than Crap

Page 05: What even is that?

Page 06: Ugh

And it was just downhill from there…

But… somewhere around like page 100… I made something that… “wasn’t crap”. I actually didn’t hate it.

And that gave me courage to keep going. That one drawing made it all worth it. I was cured. I was now an expert. All of my art would be great from now on.

Oh… if only.

The next drawing was worse than any other drawing before it.

How??? I just made ART! like 5 minutes before that. I got all the bad drawings out! How did my art just go from Van Gogh to Van NO???

Honestly? I… got lucky. That one good drawing? Total fluke. Dumb luck. Sheer Happenstance.

Doing 100 drawings didn’t suddenly make me an expert. It couldn’t.

Have you ever heard of the saying “If a million monkeys type on a million typewriters for a million years, they’ll eventually write Shakespeare”?

I was those monkeys and that drawing was my Shakespeare.

I just pooped out enough bad art that eventually sheer luck was going to mean I may make something really good.

And I’m TOTALLY okay with that. I was 11. I’m not a prodigy. I don’t have any special gifts. But what I did have was… a taste for how making good art felt.

Seeing that one good drawing made me want more. Like my first time tasting chocolate ice cream. I was hooked.

So, I made 100 more bad drawings. Maybe more. And, guess what? ANOTHER great drawing emerged!

Another Shakespeare from this 11 year old monkey!!!! Huzzah!

From then on… I knew that all I had to do was keep banging away at that typewriter (I’m still on the million monkey thing… bear with me) and I would get rewarded with another masterpiece.

Week after week. Month after month. I would fill up my sketchbooks with the most horrific, amateurish, incomprehensible art… and, sure enough, 1 of every 100 drawings would not suck.

I would show it to my mom and she would say “Oh! That’s wonderful!” and when she tried to turn the pages to see more, I would quickly SNATCH it out of her hands and run back into the shadows like Gollum hiding his “Precious” from prying eyes.

I dare not let her see the monstrosities that came before the work of genius.

And… this went on. For years. Predictably. Rhythmically.

Until, one day… my 75th drawing was really good.

How? It was 25 drawings early! That’s not how it was supposed to work. That wasn’t the plan.

But there it was. A really amazing drawing of a spaceship I came up with out of my head. It had lasers and a cockpit and wings and…It was glorious. And it was totally unexpected.

Maybe NOW I was an expert and I no longer needed to make bad art? Would today be the day I would only make masterpieces?

I quickly turned the page and began to draw what would soon be my second greatest work of art and… NOPE.

Still crap.

Hm. But… something was different. It was still crap. But… it wasn’t as “crappy” as the other crap.

I grabbed my previous sketchbooks and looked at the bad drawings from previous years and… guess what? My older bad drawings were WORSE than my newer bad drawings!

Apparently, the more I drew… the better my BAD drawings got too.   

Okay. So. I drew 75 more “not as crappy” bad drawings and… predictably… I made another great drawing!

I was… IMPROVING.

This went on for years. I went to high school. Then art school. I hated MOST of my art… but as I practiced… the number of BAD art I had to make to get to the GOOD art got lower and lower. Soon it was 50 bad pieces for 1 good one. Then 25. Then 10.

It took decades when I noticed… I liked my art more often than not.

It was a complete surprise. I was in my 40’s when this happened. I was SO conditioned to just accept I was going to hate my art that I hadn’t noticed that I had made 5 paintings that didn’t suck. IN A ROW!!!

Unheard of!

But, there it was. 5 good paintings. One right after the other.

The 6th one was complete trash. Tossed it in the garbage.

But, the 7th one? I liked. And the 8th. And the 9th.

I’m now 54 and I know I still have SO much bad art in me. I can feel it. Always ready to pop up and ruin my day.

But, I “pooped out” so much bad art over the years that I’m not really worried about those pop up bad art surprises. I know it’s just temporary.

I like my art now. And that’s because I got MOST of the bad art out of me and into those old sketchbooks.

I know it may seem daunting doing 100 bad drawings just to get to 1 good one. But… if you love that feeling of making that one GOOD piece of art… you need to be patient and get the bad ones out. They’re blocking the good ones. Keeping them deep inside you.

So, crack open that sketchbook. Poop out those bad pieces of art and never look back.

You’ll thank me in like 40 years or so. I promise.

(Oh. And sorry for all the poop references. I’m still that 11 year old when it comes to humor)

Poop.

#making art #creativity #artists #creating #art advice

[michelledrawz]

Part 1 of 4 of my Silent Hill poster set! All traditionally painted with watercolor, ink, some color pencil here n there.

Silent Hill is still my most beloved horror series! When I was 8 or 9, my bff had the Silent Hill demo on a ~genuine PS1 demo disc~. I was so terrified by the game that I cowered in the other room while she played it 😭

You can get this print in my shop!

#artists on tumblr #Silent Hill #Silent hill 1 #horror games #survival horror #horror #mixed media #traditional artists #traditional art #drawing #making art

[maidarlingdesigns]

Little Friend Shaped Creature is getting festive! 🌟

Painting is one of the most magical steps of the process of making little sculptures. It's when the personality of each piece really comes through!

This particular color palette was designed to be soothing and festive at the same time. ✨

If you're curious about learning more about the process of making miniature sculptures, you can find over 100 making-of videos, including articles and tutorials on here!

#maidarlingdesigns #figurine #miniature #polymer clay #maidarling #kawaii #handmade #sculpture #cute animals #polymer clay animal #Art #Making art #how to make #How to make art #how to paint #Painting #miniature painting #How to sculpt #polymer clay animals #Animal art #art tutorial #tutorials #fantasy art #holiday decor #christmas decorations #friend shaped #Friend shaped creature #Super sculpey #Sculpey clay #Miniatures

[redgoldsparks]

I did a short interview for an alumni spotlight on the CCA website. You can click through but I'll also just copy my answers below the cut.

Maia Kobabe (e/em/eir) is a nonbinary/queer/trans author and illustrator, a voracious reader, a k-pop fan, and a daydreamer. You can learn an astonishing number of intimate details about em in Gender Queer: A Memoir and in eir other short comics, published by The New Yorker, The Nib, The Washington Post and in many print anthologies. Gender Queer won a Stonewall Honor and an Alex Award from the American Library Association in 2020. It was also the most challenged book in the United States in 2021 and 2022.

Maia shares more about eir life as a full-time artist and activist, fighting to protect diverse literature and the freedom to access information.

1. What is your current practice/business?

I am a full time cartoonist. My job consists of days working at home writing and drawing mixed with days speaking out against book banning and censorship, and in support of the freedom to read, the freedom to teach, and the freedom to access information. I spend a lot of time talking with other authors, teachers, and librarians about protecting diverse and queer books from the current wave of conservative attacks. The first piece I drew for the comics journalism site The Nib was about the rise of fascism in the United States; my later writing about queer, trans, and nonbinary identities has led me into consistently political territory.

2. Why did you choose CCA?

I chose CCA because I was looking for a MFA Comics program, of which there are very few, and I wanted to stay in the Bay Area. Because I'm a local, I was able to meet the majority of the MFA Comics faculty before I applied and felt immediately welcomed into their community. The fact that a majority of my professors for the first year of the program were queer was a huge draw as well.

3. If you could share one piece of advice with current or future students, what would it be?

Every single person has a story only they could tell. No matter what media you are working in, do your best to tell the story which is uniquely yours. If you aren't ready to tell it yet, just keep making art until the time to share that story arrives. No time spent creating is ever wasted.

4. What's your secret to staying inspired and creative?

I realized fairly early in life that my very favorite way to spend the day was drawing while listening to music, a podcast, or an audiobook. I like making things! I would rather be making things than doing almost anything else. I created a life in which I can spend a lot of time creating things and even if I don't particularly know what I am making, I am happy.

5. What do you have coming up?

My second book, Breathe: Journeys to Healthy Binding, written with Dr Sarah Pietzmeier, is coming out in May 2024 from Dutton. It's a nonfiction comic about chest binding as an aspect of trans healthcare. I'm currently drawing my third book, Saachi's Stories, written with Lucky Srikumar; it's due out from Scholastic Graphix in 2026. I am also working on adapting Gender Queer: A Memoir into an audiobook.

#maia kobabe #gender queer a memoir #interview #comics #making art

[maddieinmanart]

My favorite clown boy…. What a loser

#bee and puppcat lazy in space #crispin wizard #bee and puppycat #lazy in space #making art

[craycraybluejay]

AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED on writing erotic povs of 'problematic content.'

I'm sorry, but if you write exclusively as a soulless narrator with politically correct and culturally moral opinions, your writing is boring. Give your narrator some spice! Yes, you can write murder erotically. Yes, you can write a cute wholesome scene like its the most disgusting thing in the universe from the narrator's perspective. You can write a mean narrator that pokes fun at the reader. You can write a weirdly maternal narrator that holds your readers hand and is meant to come off as mildly patronizing. You can write a sarcastic narrator, or an extremely blunt narrator. You can even write a narrator that is some insane political extremist. It's fiction. Creative writing. So be creative.

Write characters who's thought processes and actions are awful and make them look appealing. Write scenes that are relatively normal and make them look scary or strange. Please just write with some shred of creativity.

I need to go to the fucking library and read some good classics before I go fucking crazy. Y'all do not know how to just let go and enjoy the artistic process and it Shows. Everything is a reflection of you as a person. You always feel watched and judged. In the age of the internet, I guess it's understandable. (D'ya see what I did there, sympathetic to a problematic character-- in this case, the audience that wants to kill art for its wild spirit?)

Anyway here's a writing prompt:

Write a narrator that isn't Your Social Face. Bonus points if the narrator is telling the story very differently from how the characters or scenery do. Put your whole pussy into it bro.

And remember. The narrator is a character, too. And that character does not have to be You.

#narration #writing prompt #anti anti #anti purity culture #anti puritan #freedom of expression #art #social commentary #im sorry but so much stuff is becoming soulless now it scares me #morality police #start thinking creatively -quoting dhmis #disregard 'green is not a creative colour' this is the thing i am against #rant #scathing criticism #literature #making art #waxing poetic #toward the end there #writing tips #do whatever you want #forever #be creative #virtue signaling #american culture #internet culture #shaking you #please for the love of god stop being scared of art embrace the chaos adore the craft

[datamodel-of-disaster]

You gotta share what you make.

Don't wait until your work meets some mythical standard of quality.

You only have now.

You only have the body you have now, the brain you have now, the hands you have now, the skills you have now. The future where your work is better, where it is "good enough"? IT DOES NOT EXIST. It is not a real thing, it is a hypothesis. Statistical hopefulness.

The only thing that's certain is now.

So share what you make. Don't wait until you magically improve. Don't wait until you no longer think it's bad. Share it now.

Never put your ability to share, love, engage, create, etc... on hold while waiting for a better self to manifest. The you of the moment is the only you that's real, and they are always good enough.

#encouragement #making art #you are enough #your work is always good enough to show #disaster thoughts

[laurakwatson]

WRITING & DRAWING & LABOUR

from my zine “Some Non-Comprehensive Thoughts on Writing & Drawing & Today,” made during the France-New Brunswick Comic Artist Residency, with support from ArtsLinkNB, the AAAPNB, and the French Embassy in Canada.

#writing #writers on tumblr #drawing #Illustration #art #artists on tumblr #comics #diary comic #art school #labour #labor #making art #zine #zines #new brunswick

[bonelessvampire]

When instead of doing design work you’d get paid for you just make a poster for your favorite band

Am I insane? Ha ha ha … yes.

#mcrmy #mcr memes #mcr tour #mcr return #my chemical romance #my chemical reunion #mcr #mcfuckingr #im mcfucking losing it #haha #funny #jokes #but nobody’s laughing #memes #poster #poster design #bands #graphics #graphic design #making art #art #artist #art school #gerard way #frank iero #jarrod alexander #mikey way #ray toro #illustration #handmade

[novelconcepts]

The question is never “is it good?” anymore. It’s good. I know how to do what I do well. I know I wouldn’t share it if I wasn’t proud. I’m good at what I do. It is good.

The question is never “is it good?” anymore. It’s “will anyone care?” It’s “will anyone like it?” That’s the black we step into, blindfolded and hoping like hell. That’s the endless adventure we’re on. It’s good. I’ve shared it. Will it matter?

#making art #it’s fun and it’s terrifying and it never stops being both #it sounds like egoism but it isn’t. Pride in the things you make is good. it’s powerful. #it sounds like ego but it’s actually just joy. I’ve been at this long enough to be good. #to trust my work to stand for itself #that’s the definition of joy #but finding out if it’ll mean anything to anyone else? that’s the uncertainty #the void I jump into each and every time #no parachute. no lantern. just the leap #it’s the most reckless I ever am: sharing what I make

[diamoric-comix]

Stop telling people that art isn't a serious field. Stop telling them to stifle their creativity. Singing, dancing, acting, telling stories, making art... It comes to us as naturally as breathing. You can see the smallest child enjoying music. These things don't need to be taught. It's something we've always needed to do and see other people do. We talk about emotional intelligence, criticise each other for prejudice and our inability to accept those who are different than us. But our primary forms of expression are repressed from youth for the silliest reasons. How are we ever supposed to understand our feelings if we don't learn to express them? How are we ever going to understand each other, bond with each other? We are drawn together by our similarities, and making art is deeply and intrinsically human... It's our power and we should be able to use it. So this comic is for all the children who were told not to create and build and sing and dance and perform. Don't let anyone stop you. ❤

#making art #creative #comic #poetry #capitalism #art #comics #diamoric

[bigbigtruck]

next time i feel like ass that it took me 6 years to come up with another story I'm as passionate about as I was about TJ & Amal, I need to remember tonight, when I found out Peter Gabriel put out a brand new original single for the first time in

21 years

and I'm hype, not ragging him about taking forever

#tj and amal #shot and chaser #making art #the process #peter gabriel #it's called panopticom and it sounds like it's from 1982 it came out last night aaaa #fr though i beat the shit out of myself for not having another long form original story immediately waiting in the wings #every other comic artist i know did #what was wrong with me why don't my brain and heart work right #i just have to accept sometimes it takes a while #we can't all be king gizzard or prolific webcomic artists

[honeycombhank]

Sorry if there is any foul language in the background, my love was playing Rune Scape when I took this video and some others.

Apple Pie and Tip Toe Tulip today in the rat robe while I painted.

1/6/24

#honeycombhank #my pets #rats of tumblr #my rats #dumbo rats #cute rats #ratblr #winter #rat robe #painter #painting #making art #artist #apple pie #TipToe Tulip #original art #original video

[desertskiespodcast]

Your art may not change the world, but making it will always change your world

#creating #making art #podcast #desert skies

[sailorsally]

i keep seeing 21draw ads on insta and this dude is saying we won't believe how his new hobby (drawing) got him a raise at work and I wanna reach into the screen and shake him violently because what happened to having hobbies just because you enjoy them? What happened to having hobbies for hobbies sake? What happened to not monetizing every aspect of our lives?????

#I AM SO TIRED OF THIS CAPITALISTIC MINDSET #I WANNA ENJOY SHIT THE WAY I DID WHEN I WAS A KID #WITHOUT THE MARKET TM BEING IN THE BACK OF MY HEAD EVERY SECOND OF IT #art #drawing #making art #capitalism