Kalamos said:
Actually, I hope nobody looks up at me, and I'd be seriously embarassed if anybody did. 😉
...
I wouldn't call myself a virtual nobody: my mainstream site is going fairly well, if you consider I haven't added new stuff in ages.
People still refer to my academic works for pointers.
I can't complain about that.
It's this whole fetish thing that I can't still seem to understand.
I just hadn't expected the kind of anonymous traffic I get.
...
It's all about nurturing or crushing people's ego.
Mine is not *that* solid, and when somebody says "about time a good artist joined" it sounds, frankly speaking, spiteful.
Makes me think: what the heck, what does it take to please you guys?
You're only happy when you're paying for it!?
Why can't you spare some time and say thanks for the *free* stuff?
Bah, I can't get it.
I'm clearly living somewhere elseward of Neverland.
😀
I could say the same thing. I'm pretty popular in my own places and every new picture I come out with just brings new people to me.
I am not above saying however that I am still a virtual nobody, because that will be true until I seek more mainstream work. It will be true for you also and for everyone else here.
Either you're hungry or you're not for that sort of thing. Right now, I just have a semi-appetite for success. I don't mind being where I am. Its quite comfortable, and theres no pressure on me. It's of great comfort to know that, at any time, I can choose to be hungry and strive for more.
I don't know how you feel about it, but I would hope its of comfort to you too.
Final thought in this post:
Maybe you shouldn't be looking to please others. Please yourself first. Draw for the right reasons, and genuinely love what you are doing. If you're doing it solely for attention, stats, pageviews, number of replies, etc, people will pick up that scent and be turned off by you and your art.
I believe that if you genuinely love what you are doing and are looking for nothing more than happiness with your art, then the rest of what you get is a good and wonderful bonus, but not a sole means of need.