iunno if I mentioned it before but you can add me on Fire Emblem Heroes and Love Nikki if you want! also maybe comment your username(s) on this post if you do so I know who you are. my display name on both should be Dong
it is so important for artists who start out in fandom to broaden their artistic influences past fandom. you don’t have to go full art history or force yourself to like certain artists or movements just because they’re deemed important, but it’s so crucial simply not to get pigeonholed into the influence of one circle. that’s not to say fandom artwork is bad, but the relative insularity of these communities means you are only seeing one tiny side of what art has to offer. popular isn’t always better, and it’s easy for fandom artists to get stuck into stylistic feedback loops and for artists to copy stylistic quirks without understanding why they exist. you should never ever feel pressured to make x thing just because that’s what all the coolkids are doing.
go read some comics. look at picture books, movie posters, advertisements. go to a gallery. check out photography. see what the deal is with contemporary art. check out the art of a fandom you have never heard of. heck, watch some anime or something. art is everywhere. go outside and stare at a rock. you could probably make that artistic.
the one truth is that having a wide base of reference material, inspirations, and experiences gives you the luxury of choice – because ultimately there is no one right way to make art, and it’s up to you to draw your own conclusions about how you want to be an artist.
it would be REALLY NICE if I could look up asmr involving cutting up food items or whatever without being bombarded with like… borderline fetish material food eating videos
was looking through my photos – OKAY so actually I have a folder on my phone that’s filled solely with photos of my old embarrassing art so my head doesn’t get too big – and I found a homestuck/pony crossover art I did when I was like 14, so. make of that what you will
all in all: at least it wasn’t vriska. 8/10
some OTHER highlights from my flipnote era, circa about 2011-2014
1. LOCAL ALICORN OC FOUND DEAD IN MIAMI
2. a failed attempt at an edgy sparkledog
3. fionna from adventure time but she’s supposed to be a pony I think
was looking through my photos – OKAY so actually I have a folder on my phone that’s filled solely with photos of my old embarrassing art so my head doesn’t get too big – and I found a homestuck/pony crossover art I did when I was like 14, so. make of that what you will
I like how tumblr has a button on the ask editor that lets you draft them but if you actually press it it’ll just send the ask into the void, never to be found, never to be answered