#artist's life
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Oh lol.
How well do you see color?
I’m cry I scored 60, I feel blind
#maybe it's because I'm a digital artist#doing this on mobile was pain btw#artist's life#Hakanate once said
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My darling!
Me, starting to work on a new painting without having finished the old one.
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"Kiki, stop doing the shrimp, while drawing" challenge (impossible)
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Carpe Caput, not Kaput...
... or something.
The other evening, a new acquaintance was asking advice in a group about how to make a solid go of it in a creative field I'm only just starting to peer into, so I felt I had nothing to offer, but actually, in hindsight? I'm pretty sure a lot of the same advice applies to pretty much most creative fields (and possibly broader), so here goes:
Show up. I'm serious. Practise, try new methods, work hard at your craft. Put in the hours. Turn up to events, reliably. If you're booked for something, turn up on time. Check what the producer/ host means by "on time" - too early can be as stressful for them as too late. If you need to cancel, postpone, or let them know you're running late, do your best to tell them that well in advance of the event starting. They probably won't be able to take messages otherwise. This goes whether you're an open mic attendee or a headliner, and everything else in between. If you do this too much, don't expect people to ignore that, no matter how nice and/ or talented you might be.
Be helpful, polite, and/ or personable. If you struggle with what that looks like, for neurospicy or other social anxiety/ processing reasons, the best, very best thing you can do for a producer is ask what they need and pay attention to what they actually say, especially if you can give a short list of the kind of things you know you're good at doing. Including fetching refreshments for in-venue events. Hell, offering to keep them company while they do a boring-but-fiddly thing it would take too long to explain to other people is great. Do not be offended if they say no at first. They don't know you. You haven't turned up enough for them to form an impression of your utility. The same goes for compliments - work out what actually makes them feel pleased about themselves or their work, which means observing. Fending off meaningless/ unwanted compliments can get really tiring.
Thank people. It's amazing how far properly and sincerely thanking people goes. This applies so far across the board, and not just in the arts. Doesn't have to be elaborate or embarrassingly effusive, but genuine thanks are a wonderful gift.
Take criticism, but don't take shit. I have stolen this phrasing from an excellent producer I know. It's a really succinct way of putting something it took me a long while to learn. Take opportunities to learn from people who know better than you, but don't feel you're supposed to please everyone at every turn, whether they're the producer or you're the producer, especially if it means sacrificing too many bits of your own psyche, let alone any of your own soul. You can leave a situation without sacrificing everything. Which leads us to:
Not everyone is going to like you. They're just not. You're not going to be to everyone's taste. That's fine. I do not mean by this to aim to become some tedious edgelord. There are already far too many of those. I just mean: let go of the grief that comes with incompatibility. Use it to learn how to choose your targets better, but don't let it rule you. RSD is a bastard, but it generally doesn't have all the facts. Be prepared to let go with grace. Talking of which:
Don't be afraid to ask for feedback/ give it if asked. You never know. And see #4.
You are going to fuck up. Own it. Learn from it. Process and communicate the lessons. Don't let it stop you striving (but do let it stop you being a dick about it).
Don't burn your bridges. I can barely believe I'm typing this on the internets in the year 2024, but holy shit - making a life as a creator is hard enough without alienating people. And creators look out for each other so yes: people will talk if you start flinging insults and other harm around when someone doesn't give you what you want. Stop. Think. Outsource your common sense to a proper friend (i.e. one who will tell you that you're overreacting) if necessary. Do not publicly insult other producers and creatives in your field. If someone has done grievous hurt to you, of course talk to other people about it, but please, for the love of all that's holy, if you find all your friends giving up on you, one-by-one or in droves, you need to stop, breathe, find another way, work out how you can (re)construct rather than (self-)destruct in the wake of a disappointment. I do not mean to ignore or play down actual harm done to you. Emphatically not. Just consider whether e.g. not getting an opportunity you really, really wanted is actually a conspiracy, or maybe you didn't learn from some spectacular #7...
Acknowledge your privilege. Probably preaching to choir here on Tumblr, but if you find yourself envying people of less privilege than you, saying "Huh, I don't get booked because I'm not [insert marginalised demographic here]!" you definitely want to stop and consider your motives, and what your brain is actually telling you. Are you missing community? Are you missing cohesion? Are you missing feeling special? You're a fucking artist - you're already special, and there's a great deal of community to be found, even if you think your work/ style/ taste is too niche. Possibly especially if you think your work/ style/ taste is too niche. But if you find yourself putting effort into believing that there's truly a conspiracy to put [insert mainstream demographic(s) here] out of work or out of the limelight, I hate to tell you this, but you're not coming from a place of good faith at all. Work out what the actual problem is, and solve that. But not by joining the fascists. Please. Those people are not your friends.
Don't quit the dayjob. I learned this the hard way. Whatever your Next Great Move is, try it out first in bitesize increments. Unless you're independently wealthy, in which case fucking go for it. And maybe share some of the wealth while you're at it. 😉 Sometimes we don't have much of a choice and we have to make a go of the creative career because of diverse Difficult Times. If that happens, don't be afraid to ask for help. Seriously. Ask for help.
I'm manifestly not the world's most successful poet/ musician/ voice artist/ storyteller/ publisher/ event promoter, and I've definitely screwed up a bunch of times (although I sincerely hope I haven't done an #8 or #9!), but I think these are reasonably sensible things to take into account (and I need to work harder on many of them myself). The thing is: I've seen too many people founder on their own entitlement with too little to back it up. I've witnessed people succumb to the temptation to steal ideas, sometimes word-for-word, because certain measures of success seemed more important than creative integrity and pride in their own work. I've seen people burning their bridges and then complain very loudly about the smoke inhalation. I've seen people surrender to jealousy and untapped depths of bigotry because they felt lonely and out of place. And I've seen people act as though no-one else is real and this means that they can take whatever their ego demands they be fed.
None of these things work for long, and none of them seem to satisfy - there will always be something missing in the attention and stimulation these dark paths cast an artist's way. And I'd feel sorry for all of them, if the more extreme exemplars weren't causing awful damage as they go.
Anyway, if you've more to add, please do so - no matter how slowly, sometimes, I do love to learn!
#fay speaks#advice#being an artist is hard#performer's life#artist's life#creatives#how to get ahead#terrible latin puns#I'm very tired of cleaning up after horrible people#stop hurting other people in the name of ambition; including yourself
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Drawing the Sandalwood Girl
An experiment in drawing with my non-dominant hand
In the last few years, I've been having trouble gripping pens and pencils, because the top joints in my fingers are weak. I have Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder, and although physiotherapy has helped with a lot of the resulting joint problems, there's not much I can do to stabilise my fingers. I could wear finger splints, or use pencil grips, or both, but these are quite expensive options. I opt for pens and pencils with thick bodies, because I don't have to pinch them. After work one evening - I work from home because it’s best for me with my changeable health - I decided to sit down and try it.
I did write (type, rather!) a whole 1,500 word essay with my left hand in my first year of university, because I dislocated my right arm 24 hours before the deadline and didn’t know how to ask for help, so I knew it wouldn’t be as hard as that, but… still quite a daunting thought. Picking up the crayon to make the first mark on the page was scarier than I expected it to be; I was quite shocked by how nervous I was.
Knowing I wouldn’t be able to do GCSE-level artwork with my left hand, because I can barely hold a pen with my left, I decided to be kind to myself and do something very simple. I got an old favourite book from my childhood (“The Sandalwood Girl” from the “Puddle Lane” series by Sheila McCullagh, Ladybird edition) and used one of the illustrations as reference.
I have a box easel that gives me a tilted surface to work on when I don’t want to (or can’t) spend an evening hunched over the table, drawing, and I have a big crate of about 150 Crayola wax crayons, plus lots of watercolour paper, which creates the most beautiful relief texture. I set my lamp and my easel up on the floor, got a cushion to support me, and started drawing with my left hand. I found I had to hold the wax crayons so peculiarly (relative to my right-hand habit) and couldn’t put much pressure on the page, but going over my work again and again let me build up the colour with a lot more control than I have in my right hand.
This is what I came up with - about an hour of drawing, I think, although I didn’t time it - and I’m so pleased with it!
My left wrist hurt a bit, but I thoroughly enjoyed this drawing, and I’ll definitely be drawing more with my left hand in future. I’m determined to make more visual artwork, but it’s not always possible with my hypermobility - my right hand takes a beating when I use my walking stick - so maybe this will help me do more of what I love. I also really liked the challenge of drawing with my non-dominant hand.
If you're an artist looking for a new challenge, this is exactly the kind of thing I'd recommend. (With apologies to my dear ambidextrous friends, this may be less of a challenge for you than for others.) I'm really looking forward to trying again!
#writeblr#blog#writer's life#artist#my artwork#anti ai#the sandalwood girl#puddle lane#sheila mccullagh#fan art#art experiments#disabled artist#hypermobility#hypermobility spectrum disorder#artist's life#disabled author#disabled writer#wax crayons
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It's true, a reblog and a positive comment or hashtags can make the artist's day. I always smile when I see them. Thank you 🫶
sometimes putting out art is hard, but reblogs and tags REALLY REALLY make it worth it
#artist's life#artistslife#artist's appreciation#art support#artsupport#help the artist#support the artist
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More than 200,000 people are trapped in the northern Gaza Strip and are facing a real famine and mass extermination. Also, more than a million and a half people are facing the same famine in the southern Gaza Strip.Speak up for them, your voice can make a difference in this unjust world.
Also save my families within these families
Save my families who are suffering from famine here 👈👈
#free palestine#artists on tumblr#free gaza#gaza#save palestine#digital painting#digital art#free 🍉#joe biden#sports#lebanon#los angeles#life#landscape#love#lol#vetted#viva palestina#vote blue#vent#gaza strip#harris trump debate#trump 2024#miku hatsune#harris
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this moment from work has lasted in my head for months and i think its finally time to draw it out
#comic#diary comic#digitial illustration#clip studio paint#artists on tumblr#illustration#A Day In Da Life Of The Most Diligent Hourly Retail Worker
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limited perception.
find me on instagram!
#ohhh this one felt like coming home#pure experimentation no references speedrun#art and creativity and catharsis i missed you#anyway don't ask me what this one's about. let a slag live her life#art#illustration#my art#artists on tumblr#digital art#digital illustration#sketch#bethfuller#artwork
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i looove the miku trend. nomadic horselord hungarian miku be upon you
#hatsune miku#miku#miku fanart#digital art#artists on tumblr#historical costuming#medieval hungary#i cannot draw folk dress for the life of me but i can draw nomadic wear so yay
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looks exactly the same as when my wife brings me a little treat home from the store
#sketchbook#the real life of maya kittenpoots kern#comics#autobio#artists on tumblr#art#maya draws things#doodles
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Me: *practices sketching for a while*
Bones in my wrist:
#artist problems#artist's life#artist meme#shitpost#meme#crossposting from twitter#Hakanate once said
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