Hello everybody!


How have you guys been? It feels like such a long time...!

I'm going to start what is most likely going to be a fairly long journal entry with a few news and an apology, completely related with what I will write about right afterwards.
First, I'm very good. Very, very good, much better than I was a few months ago. I apologize for giving so little signs of life on DA lately - I know I warned you guys and all, but I still feel a little guilty about being such a shadow person lately. The truth is, a lot has been going on since June, when I announced I would be a lot less present on DA. I've worked a lot, taken some time for myself to reflect where I wanted to go with my artwork... As some people mentionned from my latest works, my style has evolved and changed a bit, which is all for the best as far as I'm concerned. Taking some distance from DA has really helped me broaden my horizons, put things into perspective, and stand back a little. I feel more comfident, I've started some projects I would never have thought to be able to taken on...

Now, we're getting to the thick of the plot here (witness the dramatic effect! ).
Getting this little bit of fresh air has made me reconsider a lot of my priorities about my work - and I thought it might be interesting to share those little thoughts with you all.

I'll get the key point out right now: it's very, very important to broaden your interests outside of DA. Many people may not realise this: while DA is a great website to share your artwork and make friends and network, it's also a very, very special one with standards that don't actually exist in the "real world".
I've seen people discouraged or even depressed about their artwork, their future as an artist or even their own abilities because they compare themselves to a standard that... may not be a standard at all. I've seen people saying that they had no future as an artist at 17 (17, for God's sake!!) because they didn't draw as well as [insert other 17-year-old artist here], or others saying they had no talent whatsoever because their artwork is not technically as good as [insert artist with a highly complex style here]. Which is a nonsense.

DeviantART is particular in that the average member here is very young, and has a very special range of interests (no offense to anybody intended, let's be clear - but let's also be honest : how many of you are over 40 and joined to see some good landscape oil paintings?). Therefore it's true that there are a lot of very young, very good artists in here with excellent technical abilities, and yes, it's true that sometimes it's disheartening to see those people being so successful and amazing, you can feel like you don't hold the comparison.

But. BUT. Take a look outside DA, it's important. The art world is NOT made of 17-year-old geniuses painting amazing Photoshop video-game styled artwork with so many details that it blows my head. Yes, of course, they're part of the art world, but there are soooo many other artists profiles. Don't feel like you'll never be a good artist because you don't have that exact profile.
Don't let them have your brains. No wait, I didn't say that. xD

Because you haven't been painting since you were old enough to hold a pencil doesn't mean you don't have talent and won't improve. Because you're older than the average doesn't mean you're late or retarded. Because your artwork doesn't have a gazillion details doesn't mean it's not interesting. Because you don't have a mind-blowing and original style doesn't mean you're not creative.

There are other things that are important about art as well, and that may not look "cool" or "popular" on DA because that's not what is important in the eye on the main population of the site - but these things are important in the eye of many art appreciators and editors and people you may have to work with if you want to pursue a career.
Your art has, or can have, something special that others don't have. Maybe you're older than others - most likely, you have more experience at life than them, you're more mature and THAT shows. Maybe your artwork isn't technically as good - but maybe it also is more powerful, hold more emotion, get your meaning across better BECAUSE you keep things simple. Maybe you're not good at a particular style - but maybe that's because another would be best suited to what you want to carry (have you tried abstract? Well maybe you should).
It's all about what makes your work interesting. Not perfect, or not necessarily "fitting in the box". Interesting. Who cares if you started drawing "only" at twenty or thirty or even sixty - as long as your art is interesting.

I don't really know whether this made sense, but to conclude: don't, don't be discouraged because you feel you're not "good enough". Keep working, and look around. There's more to art than any of us would ever think. Look outside of DA, look at all those amazing artist who sucked big time at twenty, and are now acknowledged geniuses ( xD ). Put things back into perspective: because you're not as good as some other artists at one thing doesn't mean you're not better than them at others and that you can't improve (and this, whether you believe it or not). Breathe in. There are other judges, other standards to what is good and what is not, it's just up to you to open up.