08-03-2020, 06:54 PM
Thank you xelfereht, I appreciate your kind words and fantastic critique. I completely agree with everything you said. It's also amazing how much you've grown and developed over the years into having a clear artistic identity and strong body of work. Keep it up!
What you said, not having a clear direction or over-arching consistency is almost exactly what riot concept artist Scott Flanders told me a couple years ago too.
Making a mock portfolio is a great idea. I don't know if this is just me not understanding the issue enough or just pure naivete but I'd be most satisfied having a portfolio filled with everything/anything but with strong fundamentals at its core. I.e. Characters, vehicles, environments, creatures, objects, concept sketches, detailed illustrations of all genres. I just don't enjoy sticking to one thing, I love jumping around too much, even at the cost of generic mediocrity.
This chaotic variety probably hinders me as an artist, a professional, and having an audience. However, the joy of doing what random things that inspires me outweighs that, at least for now. Maybe once I'm temporarily satisfied with where my fundamentals are at, I can sit down to finish something without being distracted by the need to improve, and a clearer and consistent voice will emerge.
Perhaps, what it may boil down to is that my ultimate goal isn't to be a professional artist or even a well-liked artist. It's just to improve in my craft as much as possible in the direction I'm most naturally drawn to, even if no one ever sees my art ever again.
I would love to hear your thoughts or anyone's thoughts on these excuses. I honestly love being wrong in my beliefs and confronting hard truths, so please don't hold back.
Thank you again for the comment, giving me this opportunity of some deeper self-reflection. I'm open to chat with you anytime my dude.
What you said, not having a clear direction or over-arching consistency is almost exactly what riot concept artist Scott Flanders told me a couple years ago too.
Making a mock portfolio is a great idea. I don't know if this is just me not understanding the issue enough or just pure naivete but I'd be most satisfied having a portfolio filled with everything/anything but with strong fundamentals at its core. I.e. Characters, vehicles, environments, creatures, objects, concept sketches, detailed illustrations of all genres. I just don't enjoy sticking to one thing, I love jumping around too much, even at the cost of generic mediocrity.
This chaotic variety probably hinders me as an artist, a professional, and having an audience. However, the joy of doing what random things that inspires me outweighs that, at least for now. Maybe once I'm temporarily satisfied with where my fundamentals are at, I can sit down to finish something without being distracted by the need to improve, and a clearer and consistent voice will emerge.
Perhaps, what it may boil down to is that my ultimate goal isn't to be a professional artist or even a well-liked artist. It's just to improve in my craft as much as possible in the direction I'm most naturally drawn to, even if no one ever sees my art ever again.
I would love to hear your thoughts or anyone's thoughts on these excuses. I honestly love being wrong in my beliefs and confronting hard truths, so please don't hold back.
Thank you again for the comment, giving me this opportunity of some deeper self-reflection. I'm open to chat with you anytime my dude.