Are You Making ART or CONTENT? (Artistic Integrity vs Commercialization) || SPEEDPAINT + COMMENTARY

[@divaprincess98]

There’s this weird double standard when it comes to the way folks treat art as a hobby. We never expect people who garden to eventually gain the same level of skill and knowledge as real farmers. We never expect people who fish to gain the same level of skill and knowledge as commercial fishermen. Meanwhile, art hobbyists are always expected to constantly practice and improve to the point where their work is indistinguishable from professional/industry artists just because they share their work on social media. The art community has a real “all or nothing” mentality towards art, and a lot of that mentality comes from folks who treat art like content. We’ve seen the negative effects it has. It’s why literal children get bullied off of the internet for committing the crime of sharing “bad art.”

[@thatstockin]

not just children, but even adults who don’t have the amount of “preferred skill” needed.

[@rpgcross]

Thanks to the growth in GenAI a ton of people are getting especially insufferable by only sharing or making "quality "art"" over some trash that a "failed artist" tried to make Ironically, this exact same mentality made me appreciate and want to share more of that not as good genuine art, since they at least cared

[@Allyfyn]

I've only ever seen people being suuuper careful of giving advice, and people not caring to improve.

[@Nayshabaa]

Honestly whenever i start getting disinterested in a fanbase i feel like im forced to like it and draw stuff of it in order to keep my moots/audience

[@Emmawow12]

Same anytime i draw flamingo youtuber fanart. 😔

[@MarioMusiczx4Lyfe]

That's bassiclly how I feel especially after I started falling out of the amazing digital circus and wanted to focus on my own series I kept drawing it even when I didn't want to in order to keep my followers/audience

[@funnycadedishserver]

maybe like if this is on tumblr or something make a sideblog for the other art you want to make besides that fanart and have the blog where ur fanart for that fandom is say “semi-active/inactive”? if it’s on a different social media then you could make another account for the art YOU WANT to make rather than what everyone else wants to see. or like making different accounts for different stuff you like to draw (ex. one of the accounts is furries and the other is fanart and the other is your silly doodles) that might help in this world of sucky algorithms so u can explore yourself without worrying too much of losing an audience by doing a different thing in the same name. or you can decide to post all kinds of art on the same account and not care about what everyone says lol but if you don’t want to do that this could probably help.

[@WishPaintStudios]

I would prefer to make art, than content. I like making things the way I want to and if someone happens to like it, than ok

[@arlequinelunaire418]

Saying that Picasso would never make it in today's online art scene reminds me of hearing someone say that reclusive authors like J.D. Salinger and Thomas Pynchon would never make it in writing today, due to social media requiring authors to have a more public presence. That may have been a comment on those authors' personalities and not their style, but the point about how art can be stifled in our modern environment carries over

[@warlocke4285]

I'm trying to relearn how to love the process of drawing after having a breakdown of stressing over what will get me the exposure i needed to escape the hellhole i still currently am in. I am not a fan of trend chasing and engagement whoring and wanted to try to just make art and hope that i could build a more organic audience. But i realised that was not going to solve my problems, so i took a hiatus de stress, work on my fundamentals, and try to find that spark i once had. That feeling of developing your skill only to find there is nothing that you can make to bring you happiness is a low point i do not wish on anyone.

[@hartovamaverick5008]

You... I could almost mistake this as a comment I would post. Anyway, I relate to you 150%. I've stayed away from posting as I refine my fundamentals as well. Don't lose hope. That spark is still there for you and I.

[@t.pakulski1774]

The best approach is to create something you love and eventually want to share with others. If someone joins in along the way, you'll find an audience that appreciates your art the way you intend to express it.

[@patientspooky]

I did a video about this very idea, actually. I hate the way social media incentivizes trendy content instead of letting artists explore what they actually want. It's genuinely painful to have to cater to trends that'll die out in a couple of days, and when you do the trend anyway and it doesn't pop off- oof, that's the most painful feeling. I used to be that way in my earlier years posting on the internet; i would follow trends, make fanart of only the most popular fandoms, and it almost destroyed my love of creating. Eventually, after two years, I recovered and I now only draw for myself. Now I'm exploring what I love and am capable of and I'm so lucky to have a very small, but loyal group of ppl that support me. ^^

[@WolfJarl]

I draw all personal images because I want to and each one is a learning experience. Commissions are the exceptions where I naturally put my A-game into it and hope it will draw more people to commission me.

[@cyclesproductions]

I never came here for the views and everything. I just like posting for some reason and it keeps me organize and strangely motivated.

[@marikothecheetah9342]

Same! Art is primarily for me. Posting it is just to see if someone will like it, or for critique. No pressure, no chasing algorithm, just chill.

[@hello.clarameyn]

This is the exact problem I’m facing rnn. I have to options battling rn 1: You make art for your audience and for the sole purpose of posting it. Pros: You can get more attention Cons: if u don’t know what your audience wants. Also they may eventually get bored of the subject you make. 2: You draw art for yourself and post stuff that you personally like. Idc if ppl will like it or not. Pros: this will attract those ppl who support the stuff that you’re passionate abt. Cons: those may just be a few ppl actually;-;

[@not9745]

Option 2 will still take longer to find people interested in your art than option 1. I used to post original stuff, and for years I never reached my goals. However, I recently listened to my friend's advice to draw some famous fandom characters, and it sucks to say it, but my account is performing way better than I expected. Plus, I don't interact with fans much, so I'm not scared to lose them when I start going back to my roots after I've already built up my account's fundamentals.

[@hartovamaverick5008]

Hey Celestia. Just wanted to say thank you for the hard work you put into your videos. I and most likely many many artists watching your content resonate really well with your views about the art community and how thorough you are when giving examples from different sources and perspectives. Really love the stuff you put out and this one by far really hits me where it hurt (in a good way). For several years now, trying to fit into the industry standard, despite the praises I get for the quality I do, the moment money and obligation to make a living from my work was what I was always told, it became heavier on my mind that I lost sight on why I do what I do. At some point I even questioned my passion for doing it. But I remember many moments how happy I get when I'm working on a piece and feeling immense pride when I see progress and improvements to those pieces. I want to keep learning art and I want to love the process without the pressures of today's hustle culture and following the biggest trend to be able to express ourselves. Again thank you for doing what YOU do and sharing it with everyone. Keep up the great work!

[@CloyMush]

Watchinging celestia videos have been so therapeutic for me lately... for a year or so now, ive kinda realised i dont need to be on the internet much and especially share art anymore... i kind of lost motivation to post and share... and it sounds good, and it is, i probably needed to realise it and thats healthy and all... But i really want to keep posting still... celestias videos have been kind of making me feel that spark and joy to share in certain online communities again... :')

[@crazycookie4645]

That blurred line between art and content is precisely why I refuse to be a pro artist, since I feel like they experience that blurring of the line the most. I know I've said it before, but so many pro artists give off the vibe that they don't actually enjoy what they do, and have traded a genuine love of creating art in exchange for a paycheck. Art is my escape from my soul-sucking job, the last thing I'd want is for it to become the new one.

[@marikothecheetah9342]

"I know I've said it before, but so many pro artists give off the vibe that they don't actually enjoy what they do, and have traded a genuine love of creating art in exchange for a paycheck." - their choice, they need to deal with consequences.

[@CrazyGreenFluff]

when it comes to personal art of my OCs and what-not, i draw whatever i want and i don't care if people like it or not! i make my own art for myself, but i also wanna share it with the world, so that's why i post it online. but even if it gets negative attention or even no attention at all, idc and i will continue making what i wanna make :D

[@dragondoodles78]

When I first made my story's world it was to deal with trauma, I wasn't sure I would ever show anyone. Now I'm working on making it into a comic. I still love my world and all the characters and craziness in there, but I'll never forget where it originally came from

[@marikothecheetah9342]

I still write my story for myself. Jumping from prequel to sequel all the time :P Good luck with your comics, though, if it makes you happy - go for it!

[@emberberryart]

I've honestly just been burnt out trying to figure out algorithms and post suppression and just nasty, hateful comments from trolls and haters that I'm just.... exhausted. The constant push to "produce content" is going to hurt everyone and frankly, most of it isn't even memorable. I say this in the sense of like, take a trendy sound or video. How many will do it for easy views? But at the same time, how many would actually remember said trend/sound whatever it is, is going to be remembered say 6 months from now? I've watched so, so many people tell me that I must nonstop produce videos and art and everything in order to be "relevant" and to "achieve my audience." It's pure "quantity over quality" yet these same people this year are telling me "no, no, quality is everything bc that's what the audience wants!" It's so mind numbing how much whiplash these "experts" push. And I specifically mean the channels that only ever focus on "how to grow on..." sort of thing. Not ones that are trying to invoke an actual discussion of the subject matter. CinnamonToastKen made a good point that like the only people really "making it" right now are the ones who are actively trying to rage bait, be controversial, etc bc it garners the strong emotional reaction. You could say "Oh this [insert show] is so trash!" and you will gain views simply bc of that title alone bc you are going to bait the people who like the show into defending it. Or the opposite, you will gain views bc the person agrees with you and wants that validation. It's similar with Hollywood constantly blaming the audience for this movie or that show failing. It's never about the product itself. It's never about the quality or maybe their own bad marketing. It's always a "point the finger at someone else." They push these remakes and sequels they THINK is needed with overblown budgets and poor writing. It's all to push quantity bc "tiktok short attention span" as they claim, rather than making something actually good. This kind of mindset is fundamentally bad for society and every single person in it. It destroys creativity. I say to everyone, do what you want to do. Life is really hard as it is. Make the art YOU want to make. Life is also very short and I don't want any of you to spend it chasing algorithms and corpos that don't care about you or your work.

[@alishanightshade3270]

Sometimes I laugh at myself for being weird. I’m not following most of the trends and pop culture. My interest of art is drawing dark fantasy stuff which is not what the market want. They want anime, celebrities, cute daily comics. I was learning and trying out different styles and end up developing my own style. I have another account for my fan art and it’s being so good. It’s got 1K followers within a year vs my main account has 800 followers for 7 years. I use my fan art account for practice because it’s a more easy style. I can practice more poses and fashion faster. I guess art is my life. I draw everyday and I feel happy about it. Art is one of the few things I can keep on and have motivations

[@CreativaArtly]

Thanks for the excellent video as always duchess

[@3lue0ne]

I personally create art that I want, I honestly used to want to make art my job but later I came to the conclusion, if I make it my job, it may stop being something that I love doing in my free time. So I post relatively rarely and I don't care about the performance. All I care about is how much I like the concept and the subject matter, the time on making the piece and the final artwork

[@nagitosluckyboxers]

I have such an obssession with gakupo that I just watched the speedpaint in the bg rather than taking in what she said xD

[@Jman1995100]

I feel this can be applied to the discussion of Fan Art vs Original Art where more artists are less inclined to make original work because fan art gets more eyes on your work. And there's this stigma to a lot of us that posting on social is the only way to get work if we want to become professional. Great video

[@5TR3TCH3Z]

Loving this Vocaloid CD cover project! Wonderful work, as always. I feel like I have the opposite problem-no matter how much I try, I can't get myself to chase trends and engagement, even though I know it would greatly benefit my growth online. Same thing goes for making merchandise-I have no clue what I'd even make because the market is already so oversaturated. Not to mention I have such a hard time following trends. It feels like by the time I understand or get into the hot new thing, the vast majority of people have moved on. Making things for evergreen fandoms seems kind of pointless, too, because there's already so much content for audiences to enjoy-how could I possibly stand out in such an enormous ocean? I've kind of accepted that I'll never break into this field the way I'd like to. Art is supposed to be fun, and stressing out over numbers is antithetical to that.

[@AdorableFennec]

SHE POSTED!!!

[@mimszanadunstedt441]

There is a push n pull between recognizability, and expanding one's horizons, and just doing what one enjoys with art, and pandering.

[@Lowfire3]

Here's another thing that I think that the commercialization and over saturation of art on social media has done. It's changed how people consume art. Not sure if this was touched on, but how long do you think people on social people look at a piece of art before moving on? Maybe a few seconds? If it catches their attention for long enough, they might leave a like and perhaps even a comment, but I don't think people really look at a piece of art and truly appreciate it for what it is. Social media has shorten our attention spans so much that we don't even give a piece of artwork that someone might have spend hours on the attention that it really deserves. I personally have found that in myself, as I'm scrolling through tens of hundereds of art pieces on my feed, I probably barely look at the art for a few seconds before moving on to the next post. I'm trying to challenge myself to actually stop and appreciate someone's work more. I think we miss out on a lot if we don't do this.

[@CrescentiaFortuna]

If I may add something that may be motivating: I personally think it's a good idea to try find your audience based on what your original content is, and using fanart that is similar in theme to your original stuff to lure people in. Just going by trends can give you awesome boosts, and I'm not pretending to be blind to art accounts that pull incredible numbers by posting nothing but fanart of curently popular things, but personally I think this is not the only way one can make it. At the end of the day, I think we need to consider what success actually is to us. And I don't neccessarily think it needs to be a super high follower and like count on social media. I'm not a super big artist myself, but I am actually making a living by original content alone. While I do draw fanart, it's only of things I genuinely enjoy (unless it's a commission or something). So since my goal was to be able to live of my art, I think I can consider myself a success, despite not being one of the most popular artists out there. And if I can make a living by original art, others can too (if that is their goal). So never give up! The cookie cutter approach isn't the only way to get there :D

[@MarioMusiczx4Lyfe]

At this point celestia is like my therapist 😂❤

[@IceBeamTetsuno]

You spark so much hope for the art community to me with these thought provoking topics.

[@systematicpastels]

GET THAT BAG!!!! We may be ancient but we are many, I love all your references.

[@meronyach.]

As someone who only really posts Vtuber fanart these days, I'm definitely somewhere in the middle of "art vs content". I love having the freedom to draw however I want, but I also want to please my oshi and their audience, so I try to balance my wants vs what they'd like to see.

[@disspointmentXD]

YIPPEE MY COMMENT IS IN THE VIDEO!!

[@justoneofthosedays]

i needed to hear this, thanks celestia

[@thepuzzlemaster64]

To me, my approach for making a living on art is to NOT sell art, but to instead sell the tools the artists are going to use. Sure, it's not an approach everyone will be able to take (being both a programmer and an artist isn't exactly common). Though, it's an approach that people should try to jump for is they have the skills to do it, as it provides a way better paycheck for way less work.

[@spoodigus]

Bro, I screamed in shock when I saw myself

[@digitalrabiezzz]

Needed to hear this

[@SalemSugarStarz]

Wow I’m so early, can’t wait to see the video :D

[@lisoak6504]

I feel pressure to make art a content,even if I am drawing what I want.

[@HenryBrown-ro7lk]

I'm personally. I always make my art/animation own tribute my content for entertainment hobby fun. Nothing there wrong with that. Idc people they're watching my video artwork tribute content or not. Reality and end of day. Everyone their have right different opinion . If I was not drawing as same idea post or drawing unnecessary incorrect. I just want do drawing whatever i feels like and I try my best I can.

[@LauraBow]

I dont need to make money off art so I gave up on social media and made my own website to post art on. I've drawn and developed my ocs and even started my dinky webcomic. The few times I do fan art is out of legit interest instead of chaising trends. That was almost a year ago and I dont regret it but its not recommended if you like attention or interaction.

[@SkipperWing]

The one thing this video forgets is a consistent problem the online community forgets a lot: "Art" isn't just "Illustration." And a lot of the disciplines that build off the foundations of illustration are way more resource intensive than a 1-5 hour illustration. When you're making a 2-3 min 2D animation, or sculpting/rigging/posing/texturing/lighting/compositing a 3D scene, that's just way more intensive than, again a 1-5 hour illustration. (and this is before factoring the necessity of sharing to social media because most offline platforms aren't build to share digital exclusive media, like 2D animation and 3D) This is also before factoring art where there is no way to make it that doesn't inherently have a cost that necessitates making it for a larger audience. Moving into live action, even if you somehow find a way to convince everyone on your film/short film to work for free/passion, its highly unlikely that your equipment, sets and costumes won't cost thousands of dollars, that very few will be willing to donate without any kind of return on investment. Not for anything with any level of deliberate quality or intention. Moving back to the online space, tablets (iPad), input-tablets (wacom), computers and software aren't free (unless you're working in a select few programs with reduced functionality at the highest levels to offset the cost). And for more expanded artistic mediums (re: animation, 3D, gameDev/interactive), that cost is so unavoidable, there needs to be a return on investment, regardless of how passionate you are for the project. Unless you're willing to dilute that cost over an extended period of time to the point where it's affordable without needing an investment return (akin to someone getting their degree in school one class per semester as they can afford it). Not only can personal art in those spaces never be 100% personal (and never can be), I think ignoring that "art" isn't just "illustration" means that those expanded mediums get lumped into the "commercial vs passion/personal" argument. It also devalues those expanded mediums further when people imply those costs (re: time, personnel, and greater hardware/software demand costs) should just be shouldered by the artist if they're passionate enough OR that something like a game or extended animation (or even mainstream, corporate big budget IPs) can't be made with passion because of how much money is involved and Return-on-investment required.

[@SaintofM]

It almost sounds like you are dealing with a new generation of art snobs.

[@alishanightshade3270]

I don't understand what the trend/audience like so I just draw whatever I want. My skills is not that good to draw people in and my style is not what the trend is.

[@NatalieSuttles-us6dk]

What apps can I go to as a new artist to get Critique, and share my art. Any suggestions

[@ArmaBiologica35]

Both

[@Rieisforrice]

I make art of my OCS or genshin and hsr based on what I wanna draw that day, same time I'm doing it that way too post daily on twitter.......

[@LadyBits2023]

just keep in mind that 99.9% of the people that are critiquing your work on social media are either children, Never ever produce any art of their own in any real way, And have never ever been paid for even a minute of their time by anyone to produce art for them... Producing computer drawings to post on social media to get likes and click does not mean that you're an artist Or you can critique anyone else

[@Mroew]

Off topic but gakupo🙀🙀🙀😼😼😼😼‼️‼️🔥🔥🫧

[@hollowedboi5937]

Getting a lot of videos from channels like this and people with like 10 subscribers saying this general aspect = we making content to consume or art? Probably cuz of AI and social media imploding, we’re all asking ourselves what our lives and work means if not for socials and companies?

[@TheCatFamilyIsHere]

could you try watching murder drones? also love watching your videos

[@dogkun20]

seriously, who dfk do this for fun? NOBODY its content all its content for likes and money all money, in my case I HATE HATE HATE FANARTS HATE BEGGING FOR LIKES BUT I ENTERED HERE LONG TIME AGO AND CANT GET OUT I HATE DRAWING NOW