Let's Be Positive About Art (For Once)

[Aura]

I could talk all day about everything I hate about my art. My opinion of the things I draw is average at best, to so horrible I cannot bare to look at it. And I know I'm not the only one who feels this way. Everywhere I go I find people expressing how bad their art is, or how they wish they could draw/write/dance/sculpt/make music/anything else that counts as art as good as someone else.

Well you know what? Screw that. Instead of talking about why your art sucks, tell me what you like about your art? It doesn't have to be anything huge - it could be a really specific thing that you like, or a feeling, or a specific work, or maybe where you are creative or anything like that. As long as it's something you find positive about being creative, tell us about it.

As for me, there are two things I can think of that I like about my artworks:
1. Its genuinely fun: Honestly my life is a bit of a trainwreck of stress and self loathing these days. I'm having a lot of trouble finding enjoyment in pretty much anything, however drawing is always a positive feeling for me. No matter how terrible I'm feeling, its nice to know that I can just put pen to paper and have fun when I want to, no matter how bad the artwork ends up being.

2. I'm open to new methods of drawing: One thing I'm really proud of is my openness to trying out new ways of doing the same thing. I'm always trying to change up my style to make it more appealing to myself, rather that colouring everything the exact same way all the time. Frankly I just find the boring in general, but doing things this way means that, while I'm never going to really get amazing at any one way of doing things, it does mean that I can learn more and incorporate multiple different styles into my drawings.

So yeah, what do you like about being creative?

 

[Psycho Monkey]

I like being an awesomesauce writer because I've got a ton of fun ideas inside my head and writing allows me to give those ideas life. I also like how ideas continuously evolve and adapt over time. I could start writing with one plan in mind but as I continue, the original plan could get scrapped as I come up with newer and better ideas. This doesn't just happen over the course of a long running story but can also happen chapter to chapter or even paragraph to paragraph. It's also fun seeing how my characters grow from a simple outline of personality traits into their own people. Just like with story ideas my plans for them have to adjust to their growth. Much like in reality I find that plot and character are intertwined in that the story will change based on the actions the characters take but those actions are in response to what has already happened in the story. Likewise those actions won't just be one time deals but can have lasting consequences.

 

[Shiny Motley]

My favorite thing is looking back on what I did 10 years ago and seeing how much I've improved since then. Heck, even seeing the stuff from two years ago remind me that I've gotten loads better.

I also enjoy experimenting and stuffs, and taking influences from other people's works to see how I can improve mine. My spriting style has changed over the years, and I think that's generally for the better.

For writing, I find it's the easiest way for me to bring stories and characters to life, moreso than drawing references or even comics. This applies both for original stuff and fanfic and even RPing. Seeing the jumble of ideas in my head taking form as words is incredibly satisfying.

 

[Keleri]

I love writing and I can't stop, lol. It frustrates me often, and I have to allow myself to just suck and get the words on the page sometimes. But I can usually come back and edit and make it more functional. I've experienced failure, with my grad advisor telling me my thesis intro needed a lot of improvement or readers not getting what I'm trying to convey, but communication is always a challenge, and you should never stop trying for clarity. I've written things that I still find exciting and affecting despite the editing fatigue, and I hope others enjoy them too.