Vlad and Kal...
Never been in here, just curious today.
This is just an opinion. Maybe a reality check, I don't know.
Look where you are. Inside a very unique, hidden away forum where 90+% of the people are afraid to even converse, let alone post pics and interactively share. The ability for those other brave ones to have a captive audience here and get some feedback would seem like heaven. You get to openly enjoy the topic here, post your ideas displayed at any level of talent, and likely be thanked [eventually]. Where could this happen outside the forum? Some of the artists you're talking about would not sit out on the hillside and draw the last remaining tree overlooking their grandma's grave and then take it to pass around the family reunion for compliments. In here, anything goes. And that's okay. Who are we to tell someone not to go through a sketch pad every day and post it. I didn't say it wasn't over the top, just well within their right.
Those who seem more popular may hold the key in the fact that they take alot of requests. Or maybe they just overhear someone talking and come back with an unsolicited pic for them. You guys don't really do that because it's more about the drawing than it is the rapid fire output. I appreciate everyone's effort, but I can see where it's just good for them to come back with a pic they know someone has been waiting to see.
I've played in a really good band for a long time, and nothing irritates me faster than seeing a lame band get booked a the same places we do. But here's the truth: Being good and being popular have nothing to do with ability. If they're entertained, you win. You can play the most difficult song in the world perfectly and they don't acknowledge you because it's not what they wanna hear. You can play some crappy bar tune they love and sing it way out of key and forget the words and they love you for playing what they like.
I don't post much here and never expect a compliment because I'm not really driven to sit and bang out tickle pics. If I were ever inclined to do one, I'd take my time like you guys do and I'd wanna be proud of it myself before throwing it out there. Honestly... I'm the judge of my work, not anyone else. If it gets to the point where I can say, "yeah... that's good", then nothing anyone else says detracts from that because I know I put everything into it. If I rushed something and threw it out and someone picked up on it's flaws, I'd feel like a total douchebag.
I knew in school that the title of "best guy in the class" was relative bullshit. I was conscientious and focused on my stuff and it's come out great. The rest of the idiots put their stuff up beside mine and it sucked. They'd try to sribble something out before class so they didn't get accused of not trying :weird: And I kept telling the senior prof "I don't wanna be good compared to all these guys that stink, I wanna be good compared to someone really good." Where's the glory in being the top of a pile of crap?
I think that's the way to look at it. I'm not calling anyone here crap. Alot of these artists are entertaining themselves and others, it keeps the forums juiced, people see a fantasy kinda played out on paper once in a while, and no harm done. Trust me, I know it's like being Clark Kent at the beginning of the Superman movie where he's the equipment manager and he wants to bust out and he tells his dad "If you'd just let me play, I could score a touchdown every time."
You guys know you have a deeper interest and skill level. How could you not? Like I posted in another thread, I instinctively wanna jump in with pointers when I see stuff, but why? Not everyone is really looking to sharpen their skills. And you can tell when someone takes some notes because all of a sudden, after 25 off pics, the next one shows up with foreshortening or the body is proportioned better, shading occurs. Bottom line is that nothing takes away from your skill regardless of what others do or don't do. Plus, I don't wanna be a dickhead about trying to show people up. If their open minded, I encourage them to really make a step forward. Look at alot of these stuff that comes through. You two are already in a different class because I know from your posts that you use reference material. YOU HAVE TO! But we get alot of people who assume they know what a foot looks like and just goes to town out of thin air. Everybody who's making money at this uses a reference. Hell, the guy before me at the airbrushing studio would take your pic back and put it in a projector and transfer it onto the shirt by TRACING IT. Big cheater, right? No, he came out and airbrushed a near perfect duplicate of what you brought him, the client was thrilled and was excited to pay and go show everyone. I'm going out on a limb assuming that was the point in the first place. If he just sits and draws what he thinks a '71 Nova kinda looks like, the nut that's in love with his car will notice EVERYTHING that's a micrometer off.
Damn this got long.
Lastly, forget the pro/amateur concept. It's not about being paid to do it, because the kid that wants $5 to shovel my walk in the winter isn't a professional shoveler because I paid him. I workd in a bank for a few years doing art on the side and getting paid, but I wasn't a pro artist. I think the line is drawn at what I've done. I make a living doing it and it's my income, not a hobby or an occasional $50 for pizza money. You can be skilled like a mad m-f'er, but until it pays your bills, I call it an interest. There are some wickedly talented dancers on tv right now that are getting whittled down to a single winner. They all have professional level skill, but the ones going home will be the most talented people unloading freight trucks that WalMart has ever seen.
