[ SECRET POST #2916 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2916 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 050 secrets from Secret Submission Post #417.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 (second time) - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ], [ 1 - posted twice ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I'm... sort of not sure why there's such a divide between 'good' art and engaging/tells a story art in this thread. If it's pretty to look at OR if it engages the viewer, then it's going to get noticed. Fanart in my fandoms runs the gamut from highly detailed realism sketches to cute chibis, and I'm not sure why liking one precludes you from liking the other.

As others have said, OP, it's hard to comment on your secret without actually seeing your work, but the only thing I can take from how you've worded it is that perhaps you're a little hung up on the technical aspects of your work and may be missing some passion or energy. It might also be a good idea to just draw something for fun, and not necessarily for recognition, if you think you might be over-analyzing things too much.

[(Anonymous)]

Yes, it's that the OP seems hung up on how good they are.

All the artists I've met who were exceptional technically actually only saw their own mistakes and what they could improve on next time.

[(Anonymous)]

It definitely feels like a "well I have all these ingredients, why isn't anyone buying the cake I'm baking with them?" mentality. Knowing how to blend them and make something whole from those sum parts -- however good those individual parts might be -- is important too.

I also can't help but feel OP's hung up on getting attention, and going into any creative endeavor with that as your main/only goal is only ever asking for disappointment.

[(Anonymous)]

Yes, they're setting themselves up for disappointment.

There's nothing with wanting comments and attention. But if it's starting to make the OP jealous of others then it's destructive, unless they instead turn it into a power for good by making it drive them to achieve even more.

The way the OP uses the word "recognition" in the secret is unfortunate. It implies they think they deserve a lot more attention than they currently have. Fandom is incredibly random. It's not known for doling out praise to each according to their just deserts.

[(Anonymous)]

ayrt

Fandom is incredibly random.

This. And there's no way to predict or control it, especially not with what you consider "quality". It's why the complex, plotty, well-crafted fic you slave over gets a handful of reviews, and that one terrible PWP you wrote when you were drunk gets hundreds.

[beverlykatz]

Fandom is definitely random as fuck. My most popular works aren't the ones I expected people to notice. You can game the system to an extent - at least with fanworks based on a serialized work, where you can post things around the release of the next episode/book/movie - but a large part of it is just a damn mystery. I used to be really bothered by it, especially because it always seems like the things I dash out really fast get the most attention and the things I care about don't matter to others, but you just have to work past that. Don't focus on renown. Make things you like, and even if you don't get a lot of recognition, you'll still feel good about yourself.

[solarbird]

jfc this. Fandom is Random. I posted a pic of sheet music from a piece of mine (Kitsune at War, at replicators now, this is a 35-second preview) which my partner had transposed down two octaves so my cellist could read it in bass clef. But she forgot to change the label from "flute" to "cello," and I thought it was funny so posted a picture. If the data I have on follower counts is even close to correct, it's been seen by almost 100,000 people now.

I mean damn.

[(Anonymous)]

Well, how is the OP supposed to indicate that they feel they're not crap? Artistic Merit-with-a-capital-M may be largely subjective, but the basics? Not so much. I've seen portraiture with shockingly misshapen or disproportionate facial features, limbs, etc; line art with so much superfluous scrabbling, you get the impression the artist worked their way through an entire set of pencils; and so on.

The way I read it, the OP is saying that at least they're not guilty of really egregious artistic mistakes.

[(Anonymous)]

nayrt

I find it hard to believe that if OP's as good -- or at least as not bad -- as they imagine, they get no response to their work at all. If they're drawing popular things, there are many who'll like or reblog anything featuring their favourites, but will go positively nuts of anything that's even halfway decently drawn. If OP's tried that tactic and it's still not working, then I'm afraid they might need to re-evaluate their own opinion of their skills.

[solarbird]

idk, before I figured out music was actually my art, I spent a lot of time doing very technically correct comic-style illustration that mostly left people cold. As in, I got an art degree (and graduated with honours), so it's not just my opinion that I had technical skill. But it didn't resonate with many people.

People liked (and would buy/run) my outer-space art and my glass sculpture, though. But not much of my "people" stuff. Maybe OP needs to change their focus. Hopefully not their entire art, tho'. That was kind of wrenching. Worth it, but wrenching.

[(Anonymous)]

I can totally understand that. I've had similar issues with my writing, where it's damn near flawless on a technical level but falling short on that nebulous soul/passion/engagement aspect. I can definitely see that being a possibility if OP was doing original work exclusively.

Drawing popular stuff for a fandom has that resonating-with-people thing built in, though. Sheer numbers alone will net you at least some response, arguably irrespective of objective quality. Hell, there are people who'll reblog stick figures of their favourite character or ship let alone any artwork that has the technical skill OP says they possess, so if OP really is trying to appeal to the masses and still not getting anywhere then there's obviously a disconnect somewhere.

I guess I just don't see "this work just doesn't connect with people" being as much of a problem in the ravenous environment of fandom where even semi-decent artists are worshipped and adored if they draw juggernaut things.

[(Anonymous)]

This. I would hardly call myself an amazing artist by any stretch of the word, but I still get regular likes and reblogs on my art when I draw popular characters.

[raspberryrain]

Oh, yeah. I mean, it's nice to meet an artist who isn't hung up on their faults, but we usually are very aware of what we've missed.

That said, maybe they are aware of their faults. I could see posting something like this, where I talk about what I'm good at to make a point, rather than waste part of the limited space in the secret talking myself down.

In fact, I have lately been trying not to talk my art down because I did it so much.

[(Anonymous)]

As an artist who talks their own work into the dirt, I can empathize. It's incredibly hard to find that balance wherein you can take pride in producing something and yet still acknowledge its flaws, or that you have skills you still need to master.

I don't get that tone from OP's secret, however. I get "I'm doing all these things right, why aren't I getting the credit/recognition I think I deserve/that other people are getting for it?" which is another mindset altogether.