an artist's job is to make art

I don't care if it's weird art, shitty art, art that I personally hate. An artist needs to make art that's right for them, despite the noise. Make art time personal time and keep working, no matter what.



This is not an anti-critique piece. Critique is good. Useful input is useful. It's up to the artist to decide what is and what isn't.

It's about blocking out the kind of distraction and negativity that derails the artistic process. What artists need to worry about most is making their art and to not get involved in all the BS. Absorb all the valid feedback and let the rest just bounce off.


Happy Christmas.



Edit: Thank you for the DD! I'm glad so many people found it to be cheering to them.

After getting some feedback, I'd like to elaborate a little bit on some of the thoughts I've had in response.

The first is that these people are not necessarily 'bad guys'. They represent forces that often cause an artist to become upset, reactive, wasteful of energy. (I picked the ones I see people becoming the most upset about on DeviantART and on the internet in general. I personally have no problem with people who copy my work, but some people do). The artist is the filter and it is the artist who decides how these people hurt or help their ability to make art. There will always be trolls, haters, critics, copiers, feedback both good and bad, and the artist must always express themselves in spite of this, to take in what is useful to them, let the rest go, and not get caught up in their own negativity. This ideal artist is not at war with a hostile environment but at peace with reality.

Secondly, I've made it into a print (as per requested) but am also allowing the full DL of the original drawing for anyone who wants to print it out and just hang it up in their work space as a little reminder.