For years, I was told I was "so gifted" and "so talented." Most artist I know have heard the same throughout their lives. What we do as artists is magic, a gift from the universe, or we were lucky enough to have an innate ability dropped in our lap that non-artists lack. That the results of what we do as artists is not a result of anything we actively do or did, but just luck that the universe chose to give us... and I say, BULLSHIT.
Do you look at a plumber and say, "You are so gifted, I could never do what you do," or "I can't even tighten a faucet (for artists, it is always they can't draw a stick figure or a straight line). Do you look at an accountant and marvel at their use of numbers? Do you tell your nurse or doctor you wish you had been born with their abilities? No? You don't? Then stop doing it to artists. Artists have spent their lives working on skills that result in our art. Like any other profession, skill, or ability, we have worked, worked, and worked some more to get to the level you are seeing us today. No magic, no cosmic gifts, only hard work. Do you know why this is? Because if it was a gift, if it was an extraordinary power, if it was anything except hard work, then we would all draw the same way, and we would be brilliant at it from the time we are toddlers. And images like the following would not exist.
I have been looking at this image a lot lately. In this time of rampant A/I theft, the vilification of artists in general, and a disdain for the educated, there has been a massive wave of non-artists speaking from a place devoid of any knowledge or understanding regarding art and artists. And to be frank, I am more than over it. Art, just like any skill, is learned and improved over years of hard work and study. If I had some magical power, both images above would be the same - or better. There would not be a massive difference in skill level across the board in every aspect of these images. I would have worked on D&D since I was born and Magic the Gathering since 1992. But that never happened because I lacked the skills and knowledge to make art for those projects until decades later.
By ignoring that art, like every other skill humans can learn, is mastered over decades of our life's work, you insult all we have done for our craft. You ignore the sacrifices we make, the late nights, the lost weekends, and the parties and celebrations we didn't attend. We are all born artists. It is not our fault you chose other paths. I had multiple opportunities to learn several different instrucments in my life, but I decided to focus on my art. This doesn't mean that I now vilify musicians and claim their music comes from the ether - and not the years they spent learning their craft.
One last note, in the above image, it is important to know that much of the work that resulted in the second image took place in the six years before it. Over those twenty years, there was a lot of progress and backsliding, a lot of ups and downs. It was never a straight upward line of progress. But it does build upon itself, and while at the beginning it may seem overwhelming, it isn't, and never has been, impossible. It just takes time and effort. The only issue is that it takes each person a different amount of time and effort to get to where they want to go, and that - THAT is the most frustrating part of this. But the goal should never be mastery; it should always be that you are a little better than the day before, and that, more than anything, is an obtainable goal.
In the immortal words of Carlos Huante, who gave me my best review back in 2004, "DRAW MORE!"
That is all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog. See you back here on Friday! Until then...
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