#like when im trying to teach little kids how to add or subtract

[realian]

example image:

bonus points: tag your generation/time period

[sillyandquiteawkward]

askdfjdsl i always think about how everyone has stories about art teachers that destroyed kids for drawing anime art and like on one hand Fuck that teacher for trying to tamp down on a kids creativity!!! but on the other, theres a good reason lots of art teachers dont like when kids draw anime.

anime has merit as an art style, as being a Wide variety of art styles that range from bouncy boob bowling ball eyes to studio ghibli. and thats not the problem. a highschool art teacher is (usually) teaching basic art, thats whats being taught. basic art. your teacher should be teaching fundamentals of art, proportions, shading, coloring, techniques, the principles, the rules of art. you have to learn how to add and subtract before you get to multiplication, division, and eventually for some, string theory.

a beginning artist needs to learn how (in example of drawing people bc anime is usually about drawing people) to properly build the human figure. if you base your drawing knowledge on how yugioh is drawn, itll be extremely difficult to create your own style, or move past the style because how can you abstract such an already abstracted body?

im not saying people cant copy art styles, esp in the beginning. often time artists always begin by copying other artists, even tracing the art. because the beginning artist wants to achieve that level of art. drawing like your favorite artist is a Huge mood boost and creativity boost. it motivates the young artist to draw more and thats Fantastic! it really is. but one day, that beginning artist is going to hit a wall, a wall that is the border from who they are as an artist now, and on the other side is who they can become. and now they need tools to build a staircase or ladder or flying machine or little suction cups for their hands and feet so they can scale the wall.

so the artist has copied a style, but to move on, they need to learn the basics. they need a tool kit to develop their own style and get over that wall. maybe once they learn the basics they return to anime, and thats perfectly fine, because now they can draw anime Just That Much Better than before, they can know the reason why the artists they loved made the decisions they did about their art style, they can use their knowledge to deviate and build off into a even better style!

after all of this, however i find huge fault with the teachers reported to rip up drawings and in general discourage students from drawing or who fail to understand if a beginning artist has already begun to climb the wall. there are ways to correct and guide a beginning artist to learn the basics and relinquish a comfortable, cool, art style they love for the time being. and there are ways for an art teacher to shout motivation and tips to the artist scaling the wall instead of dragging them down and telling them to do it again. but a lot of art teachers are unable to correctly teach art and deal with students and their motivations. they see “anime” and think the Worst and well, now this student deserves to be punished for drawing badly. there are bad teachers who dont understand how people work, or dont care about the job, or art even! and its a depressing reality that so many beginning artists are turned away and discouraged from art by adults who should be letting creativity blossom. i just want to personally teach and encourage beginning artists to be the very best they can be, and to find that art and creative expression is just. so important.