#ArtistIssues
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Some Things I Believe About Stories
Stories should not be PRIMARILY created to entertain. They should be created to teach, or encourage, or inspire, USING entertaining qualities. The Romans used entertainment to distract the populace from corruption. J. R. R. Tolkien, on the other hand, described "escapism" as "a prisoner of war escaping from enemy camp to go back home." You're not running from reality to fantasy when a story does it's job. You're running from the dark, twisted side of the world to something that reminds you of the good, the true, the beautiful, the correct. You've been imprisoned by bad ideas and confusion and dark perspectives, and the story shows you how to escape and get back to true and beautiful reality. It's got a point, it's not just for diversion.
Stories should be made to serve others and leave the world better than they found it. Storytellers should not only tell a story to exorcize their personal demons or point to how clever and artistic they are. That can be a nice bonus. But the point should be to serve the audience. Think about it. When it's made, it's timeless; it will be read or watched or listened to by the next generation, or the next. What are the storytellers letting fall into the hands of the people who come after they're not around to explain or gain a profit?
The storyteller should be passionate about the story while they make it. This could look like a sense of duty, or fun, or just excitement. But those outward emotions usually signal an inward understanding of how important the story is, and therefore, a level of compassion and care for the eventual audience.
You can like a story or dislike a story. You can interpret a story or misinterpret a story. Those things are subjective. But whether or not a story is good is objective: it can be measured. Does the story say what it is trying to say in the clearest, most compelling way possible? If yes, it's a good story. If no, it might be great entertainment. It might be funny. It might be cool. It might be quotable or franchise-able or profitable or even memorable. But it's not a good story if it does not say something in the clearest, most compelling way possible.
A story's main point, or theme, is the most important thing about it. The characters, the set design, the pacing, the soundtrack, the language, the use of color or lighting or blocking etc.; all of those pieces work best when they are unified in the goal of communicating that main point or theme.
Death of the author = death of the story. It's point is to say something. If you claim the speaker's intent is meaningless, so are the words spoken. If you claim it can mean anything, your words are meaningless too. We all might as well tell no stories and blabber gibberish instead. It’s one thing to say you understand what the author intended, and you like to think of it in/wish it were another way. But it’s quite another to say that what the author intended is unknowable or doesn’t matter. You’re either calling the author a bad storyteller or, again, recommending we all speak gibberish.
Both form (the quality of the story and it's elements) and content (the main point or lessons) matter. Without one you have a lecture, not a story. Without the other you have entertainment, but no valuable, timeless, beautiful truth to make it a “story.”
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Grown up Lilo and Stitch are still the best dancers in the family!
I just really like drawing them playing with their size difference 🤩
-ArtistIssues
#Lilo & stitch#Art#ArtistIssues#stitch and ani#Grown up lilo#dancing#disney Art#fanart#lilo and stitch fanart#l&s fanart
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#starkid#black friday#gary goldstein#jon matteson#linda monroe#lauren lopez#james tolbert#wiggly#audits#relatable#artistissues
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I wanted to repost from Instagram... because I want to share my experience with this
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So I don’t feel like enough people in the art community get the importance of motivation, and how feeling not good enough.. really destroys your passion for what you are doing
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Maybe I’m wrong but in my experience this is how it does end up feeling.
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An issue I have the most is, the fact that when my hand is injured... I feel pretty useless
I start to panic and wonder “What happens if I can’t draw anymore? Or if I can’t draw as much as I want to?”
I worry that the projects I’m working on, won’t meet peoples expectations, so I trash them or over work them...
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It’s my biggest struggle and it’s NEVER an easy thing to overcome.
It can take a long time to recover, especially if things happen that impact your ability to create your art. -
But no matter what just remember to not give up!
Your creations are worth it!
You took something and made something else, something with life and value, and you shouldn’t ever give up because as long as you practice and strive to be better, you will be.
If making art is something to strive for in your life, and it’s something your passionate about, then you should do it. -
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Anyway that’s my vent, I wanted to share for those people who may feel the same way.
It’s difficult to put into words and I know the art isn’t great in this, but I just wanted to share my feelings on the matter.
Thank you for reading and may your artistic endeavors never end ❤️
(If you can relate, or even if you can’t, you can comment explaining and telling about your experiences with these matters, id love to hear about them)
#art#artist#artists on tumblr#artiststruggles#artstruggles#artistissues#arttips#artmeme#artwork#comic#motivation#motivational#artproblmems#artistproblems#myopinion
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Artist Issues
Trying to find a good quality photo of Hugh Jackman as Barnum in his ringmasters outfit that I can draw for the show in May (just in case I get to actually meet the guy and can give it to him) is harder than you think especially as I have a ton of pictures of him all of which are saying 'draw me'!! Lol But no it has to be a Barnum one. 😐
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Spent the day learning how NOT to paint this pig. 5 hours of work and a fresh coat of gesso later and it’s back to the #drawingboard. #artistproblems #artistlife #wompwomp #startinover #artistissues #acrylicpainting #studioday #frustration #argh #nyartist (at Bath, New York)
#startinover#artistlife#studioday#frustration#drawingboard#nyartist#argh#artistissues#wompwomp#artistproblems#acrylicpainting
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Post Nap Glow Caught up on sleep and feel awesome! Everything smells like #freshcutgrass and #freshrain · · · · · #satisfied #lovelyday #awesome #greatfriends #sundayfunday #rain #rested #pillowtime #naptime #artistissues #goodday #naptimeselfie #selfie #picoftheday #happy #busyday #zzzzz #relax #curls #bliss #girl #blessed #graphicdesigner #instagood #happiness #45yrsyoung #photooftheday #nomakeup (at Dover Township, York County, Pennsylvania)
#45yrsyoung#sundayfunday#graphicdesigner#lovelyday#happy#goodday#nomakeup#satisfied#pillowtime#rested#greatfriends#bliss#zzzzz#girl#artistissues#busyday#freshcutgrass#picoftheday#selfie#happiness#curls#rain#instagood#naptime#photooftheday#freshrain#relax#naptimeselfie#awesome#blessed
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Not gonna lie, I’ve been under attack from the enemy. From money concerns as a business owner, to having more patience with people in my life and my relationship. No matter. My God hits harder than any attack sent my way. Can’t stop his plan. 😌💯 PRESAVE “No Defeat” link in bio! ☝🏾 • • #godgotme #doubt #faith #keeppushing #iwontgiveup #mytime #histiming #artistissues #lambolada (at United States) https://www.instagram.com/p/CIBYCYaBLTd/?igshid=d4nffxs9m60x
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I’m faced with 2 nagging questions this morning. What do these pieces of white clothing want to become? Can I get good tie dye on the line today? #barefootkidart #clothesline #artistissues #hippie #hippylife (at Château De Ray)
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Y'all ever feel this way? Like I have so much in me I want to get it out!! . . . #art #artistsoninstagram #artistproblems #artiststruggles #artmemes #memes #artistissues #motivation #peace #happyplace #artist . . . @a.skinnerarts2018 (at Havre de Grace, Maryland) https://www.instagram.com/p/B_SyEQlHrpm/?igshid=1mv2uzz3mw69r
#art#artistsoninstagram#artistproblems#artiststruggles#artmemes#memes#artistissues#motivation#peace#happyplace#artist
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(I may have accidentally clicked the Unfollow button instead of the Ask button, my bad!! 😅 Still following ya!)
I'm here to deliver you a fun question amidst a world full of negativity, and that is;
If you ever had the opportunity to create your own story/animated film, what would you want it to be about? Who would be the characters and how would you want to write their stories? Would you bring in subtle tenets of your faith, or go all-out Lewis/Tolkien and dive into analogy/Christian values? Fantasy or Sci-fi? Romcom or thriller? Adventure or something cosy and intimate? Any worldbuilding?
Basically, if you could write your dream stories, what would they be about?
Sorry if you've got a similar question before, but I am really curious. Your posts talking about storytelling and faith always fascinate me, and I'd love to know how someone with such a love for Christ and stories would go about creating their own stories 💙
This is a wonderful question! I can't tell you how wonderful. Thank you! I'm so glad you follow me still!
I guess I'd always lean more toward allegory, and fantasy. I don't know how to make a story that isn't saying something very intentionally about God and people and their relationship to God.
It's funny, my taste in stories is more intimate. My favorite Disney movie is Lilo & Stitch, for example. But I have a hard time boiling it down when I make my own stories, because I like to trace every character's motivations back to their source--and when I do that, I wind up world building without meaning to, for way longer than I planned!
I make my stories based off of the Invisible Ink model by Brian McDonald, with a few tweaks to the outline so that it makes sense to me specifically.
So I always start with a thesis statement, the Point of the Story, the lesson I'm hoping it teaches. Then I break it down by listing "characters that need to learn it" and "characters that believe the opposite of it" and "characters that know it already." And then how they all interact, and where they'll be by the end of the story. Fun stuff like setting and fictional history and characterizations come while I'm filling all of that in, kind of naturally, which I wish I was better at giving in to.
Anyway! On to the fun part of your question;
I keep my stories really private because I have learned that if I "tell" the story, even just in a summary or a tumblr post or a text to a friend, I lose a lot of inspiration and a lot of...mental freedom to finish the story itself. It's like once I say it out loud, that version of the story is final in my subconscious, and I have less motivation to tweak it.
So I don't tell people about my ideas. Not unless we're officially or professionally collaborating.
But this question is so GOOD and I so APPRECIATE IT, that I'm going to get over that and tell you about one, for example, that I started doing but probably won't get to make.
I call it "Come When You're Called" and it's a story about a sheep farm, from the perspective of the farm animals (but specifically the dogs.) The style is like if all of Ruyard Kipling's Serious Animals With Their Own Noble Cultures met Albert Payson Terhune's How Animals Thrive Serving Their Owners met Disney's Fun Anthropomorphic Animals.
The main character is a border collie named Sky Blue (she's liver-colored with blue eyes) who is learning the lifestyle of a good dog on her master's farm. She's very energetic. Thats the one word you could use to describe her. She never stops trying to play or have fun. She's proud of being the fastest dog on the property; the older border collie she's learning from, Sharps, isn't even as fast as she is. He's teaching her how to recognize the Master's commands and obey them immediately.
Sharps is excellent at what he does, but he's super irritable because all he cares about is the work. If he had a character arc, it would be to find his identity in how much his Master loves him instead of how well he can do his job. When he first meets Sky, he doesn't like her because there's a subtle fear that he's getting too old to do the work himself. He's very strict.
There's another older dog on the property. His name is Lockjaw but everybody calls him LJ, and he's the opposite of Sharps. He's even older, wiser, and downright jolly. He used to be the guard dog for the whole huge property, but he's been raising a young German Shepherd named Buckwild to take it over. Buckwild and LJ have southern accents and Buck is a very smart, good dog...as long as someone tells him what to do, and exactly how to do it: his default state is laziness. He becomes Sky's love interest.
Anyway, the music would be very highlands-folksy—think The Oh Hellos. Each animal species on the farm has its own "culture," but they all function like a kingdom serving their king, the human Master. When you're living by that code of obeying and fulfilling your purpose, the animals generally call it "Coming When You're Called." But if you are disobedient, lazy, or out for yourself, stealing food or killing the Master's chickens or whatever, you're twisted and looked at with scorn and apprehension by the good animals.
It would be super episodic. 🤷♀️ There's villain characters, like a pack of wolves that like to try picking off the sheep every once in a while. Theres also a tomcat who does not Come When He's Called, but just sort of does whatever he wants around the farm and causes mischief. Theres a tiny black kitten who Sky teaches what she's learning, about how to Come When You're Called, who wants to grow up and chase the lazy tomcat off and take his place. Stuff like that.
I have other ideas. One, in particular, I've mentioned before, got me involved with the studio I'm currently working in. It's an allegory to do with a siren, vampire, and werewolf in the early 2000s. But I'll keep that one to myself 🫢 for now! The story the studio and I are making right now is sci-fi fantasy adventure, about a family that needs to figure out their relationship to each other and the world they're finding themselves rulers of...but that's all I'll say about that until it's out there for people to watch!
Really I like creating all of it. I've got a sci-fi idea, three fantasy ones, and then an ongoing batch of monster stories, too! I guess I always tend to create as if my audience is...in that 12-20 range? But really, like Disney, I'd like it if my stuff could be enjoyable for all ages. We'll see! I think! I hope!
Thank you for this question!
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Experiment 401 - Chafe - Designed to cause chafing in military uniforms. 401 is small as a mite and spreads a powder which makes clothing that one has to wear very uncomfortable. He is programmed to only use his abilities on clothing items that the wearer is obligated to put on, and isn’t drawn to everyday, less necessary stuff like pajamas or T-shirts. He made Lilo’s hula outfit and Nani’s work shirts unusable until the Ohana figured out that warm water dissolved his effects. Chafe’s One True Place is at Mr. Wong’s Rental hut, where he periodically makes uniforms uncomfortable so that the cheap boss will buy his employees better outfits.
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TFW...
You’re drawing something and one random part of it comes out perfect while the rest is just “meh...” I just drew the most perfect sneakers I’ve ever drawn and their on an otherwise generic plain ash character with no personality and sketchy lines OTL
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Me asf... @yakuzatheloser this is very true #artist #artistissues
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Quick drawing today! Today was one of those days where I wasn’t happy with my time management. Agh that’s one of my biggest struggles, darn side affects of being an artist. But I drew this tonight (while watching Stargate SG-1 🤓) and finishing it really helped me feel like I accomplished something. It was small and manageable. Tomorrow I hope to breakdown some of my larger tasks so I can manage the day better. #itsablueegglife What strategies do you use to get things done? . . . #beatanxiety #anxietyawareness #anxietysucks #timemanagement #artistproblems #artistissues #addsucks #bitbybit #alittlebitatatime #cutecoupleart #couplecute #copicart #copicsketchmarkers #copicgreys #ipreview via @preview.app https://www.instagram.com/p/BvBVnv7nGhC/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1400fz8b7sljb
#itsablueegglife#beatanxiety#anxietyawareness#anxietysucks#timemanagement#artistproblems#artistissues#addsucks#bitbybit#alittlebitatatime#cutecoupleart#couplecute#copicart#copicsketchmarkers#copicgreys#ipreview
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This is a very #goodidea #fingerlessgloves #artistissues #winter #fingers #hands https://www.instagram.com/p/BsoOy9BB648/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=c9j6vi8srlxa
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