#ive never really done any podcast art and its STRESSFUL

[imlisteningg]

Gloria MidnightBurger, the only professional in the joint

do we reckon she still wears the uniform at this point or has she given up?

[asexualzoro]

like, i get it. sometimes you make something and it doesn’t turn out how you envisioned. sometimes you finish and all you can see in your work is how your technical skill isn't where you wish it was. sometimes you look too long at once piece and get sick of it. sometimes you’re simply having an off day! it happens, and when it happens, oftentimes you feel like you need to acknowledge it.

maybe you want to complain. maybe you want someone to reassure you that it’s not as bad as you feel like it is. maybe you’re hoping if you say your work is bad first then it’ll hurt less if someone agrees with you. i get it, i really do. the reasons are valid, and you’re allowed to feel that way about your work. but, and i cannot stress this enough: don’t say it on the piece!!

for one, it isn’t going to actually make you feel better. i’m sure you’ve seen talk online about how regular self-deprecation only creates a habit and makes your self esteem worse. captioning your art with how much you hate it absolutely falls under this umbrella, and you’re not doing yourself or your work any favors by finalizing your piece by wrapping it up with self-hatred.

secondly, if you’re captioning your work with stuff like “the pacing is shit in this chapter” or “i hated the way i drew the hands here,” i guarantee you that you’ve drawn attention to your insecurity in every single person who didn’t notice the issue you’ve pointed out.

esp like… i’m not an artist. i don't have a strong technical eye for art. so every single art piece i’ve ever seen in my life captioned “i hate [this detail]” has done nothing but shine a stage light on something i didn’t notice about the piece. but even writing, where i'm significantly more confident in my technical ability? ive definitely read many a piece where i hadnt noticed a problem until the author pointed it out! captions like this can, at their worst, makes me second-guess my good opinion of the piece i’m looking at.

third, posts with captions like this just… feel bad to interact with. if someone tags their piece talking about how much they hate it, i tend to feel bad even liking it, because i don’t want it to show up in their notifications. i don’t want to reblog a post where an artist or author says how much they hate themself or their work because that sentiment isn't something i feel comfortable interacting with or boosting. ive passed over interacting with a lot of really nice art and writing in my life because of this.

fourth, and this is the harshest point on here: a few years back, i saw one of the writers of night vale talk about opening submissions for bands to play a song on the podcast. they got hundreds of submissions, and one of the ways they saved time and narrowed them down was by deleting every single submission that included anything along the lines of “this isn’t good, but—“ without listening to it. bc you know what? if a creator tells me their piece isn’t worth my time, 9 times out of 10, i’ll fuckin believe them. i do not waste a second interacting with any piece if its creator tells me not to.

you don’t have to caption all your work saying it’s the best thing in the world. you don’t have to be proud of it. you don’t even have to like it. but if you want to say “this sucks” then i implore you, and i don’t care if this sounds harsh, to keep your mouth shut. having no caption is better than having one full of self-flagellation.

and it’s not like you can never vent, but there are better places to do it than the caption. talk to a friend, make a separate post, or even just rephrasing your complaints will help! instead of “the dialogue turned out awful,” you can say “this dialogue was difficult to write, but i tried my best.” something like “my dialogue needs work, but this was good practice” is also better! refocusing on the fact you you’re trying your best and constantly improving is far better than pushing yourself down.

and, at risk of sounding like an ass: if you really, truly, absolutely cannot post your work without saying how much you hate it, then why are you even posting it?

have some confidence in yourself. fake it, if you have to. saying something entirely unrelated or saying nothing at all is better than shitting on yourself, both for your own self image and for the people who want to interact with your work

actually since my tags on that last post reminded me--my number one piece of advice for creatives is do not be self-depricating on your work. the absolute worst thing you can do for yourself when posting your art/writing/etc is to caption it with anything along the lines of "i hate how this turned out" or "this piece sucks."

[letpapersleep]

do all the stevie uni asks

oh my God.Steven - Would you concider yourself a good friend? How has your way of treating friends and other people changed over time? i think id consider myself a good friend most of the time!! i twy my best, yeah ive changed & my friends have changed but i think its for the netter?Garnet - What do you look for in a partner? Are you in a relationship right now? What is really important to you in a relationship? i look for uhhh friendliness and that we both seem into each other? im not in 1 rn and i dont actually want to be that bad, trust and not smotheryness! just a good sweet time!!Pearl - Name five things you love about yourself and your personality and five things you hate hmmm ok wuv:1. i can do art kinda good2. my hairs finally grown out more3. i enjoy complimenting ppl4. i like my aesthetic taste (duh)5. ig im funny?ok callout tyme, hate:1. im suck at communication sometimes2. if im alone im just soo lazy all day3. im so dam oblivious4. irl im kind of bitchy sometimes &its nyo fun5. oh You KnowoAmethyst - How is the relationship of you and your body? Do you have self-esteem issues? How do you cope with that?;3cBismuth - What are your morals? What do you concider right or wrong? What is something you could never do because it would hurt your moral views? uhhh my morals are pretty normal? i think being hateful to someone who hasnt done anything to deserve it is shitty, but so is supporting someone bad. i would never kill someone ?? theres a lot against my morals like most really bad things r Connie - What are/were you like as a student? In which subjects do/did you have difficulties? Which do/did you love? that one shitty teachers pet kid except rlly tired & quiet, uhhh Math Hard, i love most subjects ever now and then , art class is Rlly good :)Peridot - What fandoms are you into? Do you own any merchandise? Do you draw fanart sometimes or do you even write fanfiction? im into a bunch of podcasts and eddsworld fandoms! i do a bunch of fanart! Lapis - How do you feel about your past and your past-self? Do you easily let go of bad memories or is moving on hard for you? uhh at my past self its like thw opposite of that youre doing amazing sweetie vinemoving on is usually fineJasper - Are you hard on yourself? Do you push yourself to get better and better? How much do you care about your health? i dont think im 2 hard on myself usually, i am a perfectionish thoooi Hate being sick so if i feel sick ill b nice to myself so i can feel better!Ruby - What do you usually get angry about? How do you express anger? uhh im usually angery about vewy petty things irl, i express anger by looking grumpy and beinf harsher when i talk, idk i try not 2 be angery oftenSapphire - Do you tend to overthink and overanalyze things and see problems everywhere? How do you cope with stress? i try not to! i cope with stress with calm fun distractión media & avoiding the stressRose - Name your favorite animals and plants. Do you have any pets or plants?CATS!!! snakes and butterflies. i like almost all plants except posion ivy is my biggest mortal enemy. I DO i have a cat named nova shes black and the love of my life. also a white cat named birthday hes the family catGreg - What music do you like? Any favorite genre, bands or singers? Name your current favorite songohhhh i like upbeat 80-90s music the most currently!!! my fave artist is absofacto please listen to his music is so Goodcurrent fave song is lifted up by passion pit god what a banger