Just like that

Smug-blogging

other-side-of-the-universe:

I have a lot of problems with the art community on any given website. You’ve probably noticed this about me. Every once in a while, the problem builds up enough that I feel like discussing it with my followers. Well, here I am again.

I understand the envy of seeing artists that “aren’t good enough” enjoy a great deal of popularity. But it’s basically the artist version of slut-shaming. You know like how when you see a pretty (but not gorgeous or talented) celebrity that you think is only popular because of A or B (B likely being that she blew a lot of Hollywood executives)? Well, it’s in the same animal kingdom of saying that a particular artist is only popular because he/she draws “teh animes” or ladies with big boobs or gay boys.

A common tactic is to pick apart artistic technique, usually with redlining. And I will never argue that redlining does not have its place. For a lot of artists, it is a great tool to notice mistakes that were otherwise obscured. For other artists, it’s a great tool to tear people down, a lot of the time for superficial reasons.

What is Ana-Tomies is a new blog dedicated to what seems like finding young artists and making fun of how bad they are at drawing the human ribcage. And, yes, a lot of what is drawn is clearly anatomically incorrect, and sometimes it’s really funny, but most of the time the people running the blog are completely unaware of something called stylization. I have a question for these people — do you live in a world where there is only one way to draw the human form? If so, I’m sorry. That’s some really boring art.

Obviously, a lot of people hide behind “that’s my style.” There are some things that shouldn’t be done because they do look bad, and there are plenty of things that are done not out of stylization but lack of skill. However, most people who do that are 15 and otherwise uneducated in the field. Strangely enough, we shouldn’t expect the same level of talent and skill out of someone that young. I know this is a difficult concept to grasp for a good portion of artists online. But you need to get over it, fast. And just as there are people who hide behind the shield of “style,” there are people who hide behind “anatomy.”

Just because your drawing is anatomically correct, it does not mean that your art is any good. Period.

Some artists make variations of the standard skeleton knowingly. Some artists make variations of the standard skeleton unknowingly. Almost everyone who does this crap is completely unaware of the difference, and that speaks volumes of their own ignorance. Basically, you don’t know enough about art to be able to detect the difference, and that, to me, is funnier than oversized anime eyes can ever be.

So here is some advice from someone who attempts regularly to be humble, to be open-minded, to be accepting:

1. Get over yourself.
2. Stop picking on kids. Best case scenario, you are shaming someone into attempting to improve. Worst case scenario, you are convincing someone to give up art. WHO THE FUCK THINKS THAT ANYONE SHOULD “GIVE UP” ART. THAT’S HORRIBLE.
3. Stylized art is not the devil. Stylization is the altering of the natural human form to something that is clearly outside of the scope of reality. There is good and bad stylization. It does not make it a wrong path to take.
4. Think before you redline.
5. If you feel like the artist doesn’t want your critique, keep it to yourself.
6. Stop tearing people down.
7. Again, get over yourself.

I would love, love, love for the artistic community on tumblr to stop being so damn smug. Do you realize how smug you are? You alienate fellow artists with an attitude that I would liken to the mindsets of the very same teenagers you mock. It’s immature, it’s unappealing, it’s irresponsible, and it’s deeply indicative of how poorly you would do if you ever attempted to work in the professional world.

That being said, I love snark. Snark is beautiful. Snark is hilarious…when it’s done right. 95% of you are horrible at it and need to stop. Now.

(via rakenrollrobin)