I've been having a minor conflict of faith. It's a conflict that's always lingered in my mind, but Pinkie brought it up the other day and it's been weighing on me. It's become clear to me that it seems like art is no longer a contest of skill. It seems to have nothing to do with how well you draw or even if you're a genuine person or not. It's like, "What's your gimmick?" What's your thing? What's your quirk, manufactured or not? How are you eccentric, weird, different? And not in your art-- no, what kind of person are you? Not whether you're a good person or a bad person, even. How are you weirder than everyone else? What is the front you put on?
And I've realized, I don't think I have any of that. I don't have a "thing". I've spent a long time trying to be genuine, trying to be enthusiastic, dedicated, trying to pursue perfection to the best of my ability. But I'm sort of a boring person, at the same time. Maybe it's just high school, but it seems like the stranger you are, the cooler people think you are, the better people think your art is, even if it's not. People chase being outside of the norm because they know it will make them friends who think they are edgy and cool, when they're not.
I'm not saying people with quirks can't be or aren't good people. But people are so fake, they fake weirdness, they pick to emulate something that is weird or different or not normal to be cool, to be marginalized and popular at the same time. Is it for attention? Do they doubt their ability to be themselves? Do they realize what they're doing, and if they do, do they think it's okay? And why do people fall for it? Why does everybody love the 'crazy' person?
It's all rhetorical, but it's all bullshit, too. It's all bullshit.
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Don’t worry about that “thing”—just keep focusing on improving some technical stuff you’re worried about, and that “thing” will come naturally to you. That quirk, or gimmick, can’t be forced. It just comes to you naturally. You have a very distinct style, that’s something.
It’s true people get dazzled by other’s “strange” personalities, but if that’s what people are fixated one, it comes and goes. These people become a phase for the public. People don’t fall for it very long, and soon their “craziness” becomes an annoyance. Don’t worry about being strange, or ignore those people. You need your art to speak for you.
I find the “faking weirdness” equally annoying, but it’s not just weird that interests people. I love hearing some of my favourite artists speak, and their not even weird. They just read a lot, and are well-spoken.
Art will ALWAYS be a contest of skill in the end. And when I say “skill” I’m assuming that you’re also considering the conceptual aspect of art. As in you don’t mean “skill” as in pure technical ability. You mean “skill” as in, having good subject matter and exploring it properly (this includes also allowing art to be playful, like dada)
I’m not sure how to phrase all this and still sound coherent.
You are not a boring person at all! You have your quirks/weirdness. As mentioned, you have a distinct, and interesting style. I can’t quite put my hand on what it is exactly. I think it might have to do with how your shapes look half organic and half angular (when people draw the body, they usually create either curvy lines, or make a lot of straight lines—drawing the body kind of angular—I’ve been told I do this). And you draw facial features differently than most people too—I really love that! You are pretty quiet sometimes, but you have to remember, that becomes a quirk too, because then you’re all “MYSTERIOUS” haha.
I agree with Kate-- don't force it.
I spent years trying to make my stuff "original" enough; I was constantly frustrated and got practically nothing done. Just relax, let it come naturally, or else it will be glaringly obvious.
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