content/subject matter stagnation

[Anonymous No.4970760]

I've been noticing lately that most of my favorite artists are actually specialists and while they can probably draw almost anything, if you really look through their work it's very limited to only a few things over and over.

Maybe that's the only way to get great at something is to do the same thing over and over instead of spreading your effort out too much.

For a long time I was only drawing cars everyday and then I read this thing about how Hitler only drew buildings and dogs because he couldn't relate to people, and it made me think I should probably learn to draw people.

when you draw people, the most important thing is the face. So you find yourself drawing a bilion skulls and loomis heads.

isn't that much stuff. cute girls, guns, skulls, motorcycles, animal pattern clothes, surrealism, cyberpunk, angels and demons, a musical instrument hear and there, extreme perspective, human body with animal head, animal showing their teeth. There's more but it's finite.

So when I'm not sure what to draw that day I look at the list, pick a few, mix and match depending how I'm feeling.

I fear that my methodological borderline autistic approach to art can only lead to stagnation and might even be the opposite of creativity.

I guess I don't have a specific question but wanted to have a general discussion about artists having narrow subject matter. So many of them draw nothing but cute anime girls. Or a different robot everyday but always a robot.

what are ic's thoughts about this? How narrow or wife do you or should you cast your net?

[Anonymous No.4970765]

>>4970760
There’s artists right now that been grinding anatomy since their 20s and now nearing their 50s, you can never truly master the fundies, only get good at it to make people think you’re a “master” of one

[Anonymous No.4970767]

Narrow subject matter is a symptom of narrow life experiences.

[Anonymous No.4970768]

Picking a certain subject helps you build a fanbase, as well as get better by focusing on specific things
For example when i draw a character, i like to always put something over their eyes - because eyes are the windows of the soul, and covering them gives a person a mysterious/ominous appearance. I have never learned how to draw eyes, but i think that if i keep doing this stuff, maybe people will recognize me for this particular trait.

[Anonymous No.4970774]

I'm doing my best to draw as much as I can. I want to be Da Vinci or Kim Jung Gi.

>>4970765
I don't know if that's an efficient use of your time. You don't need to study anatomy full time for 60 years, there's plenty of time to do other stuff. All drawing helps your fundamentals anyways, if you do it properly

[Anonymous No.4970779]

>>4970760
Professional artists have been saying this over and over again. You DON'T have to learn EVERYTHING, although it's good to experience a bit of this and that, it's for your own benefit to find your niche and specialize, narrow down as you progress. As you mature, you will realize it's more important to find your own voice than constantly prove yourself to other people that you can draw a robot, that you can paint a landscape, draw a portrait realistically etc. The one that you love, drawing cars, will take a backseat if you keep doing so many other things, you could've spent those times mastering one specialized path that you love.

[Anonymous No.4970784]

>>4970767
Yeah, Bob Ross kept painting trees, he had such a narrow life experiences, I bet he only talks to trees and mountains, he definitely hates people, he's a sociopath.

Think before you post next time, if you're a /beg/ just don't join the discussion.

[Anonymous No.4971045]

>>4970779
Holy shit this is terrible advice

[Anonymous No.4972425]

>>4971045
Why

[Anonymous No.4972432]

>>4970774
>Da Vinci or Kim Jung Gi.
Not gonna happen, mind you KJG took 20 years before he can fully freehand anatomy off his noggin but some of his videos he occasionally jokes around making a couple mistake here and there as well even after 20 years of autistic drawing shit every day.

[Anonymous No.4972437]

>>4972432
>not gonna happen
Not with that attitude. Do you even realize how much of a loser you sound like, let alone how much of a loser you are? Retards always spewing nonsense to discourage others so they don’t best their mediocrity, but you can’t keep a fish from swimming, just like you can’t keep guys like me from winning.

[Anonymous No.4972443]

>>4972437
I respect your determination of becoming another artist of the upper echelon, but you need realize you gotta do some crazy gains and autistically draw 16 hours a day for a decade for any chance to catch up to anyone else pursuing what you want.
I seen hundreds of anons say the same shit and after a week they burnout and gave up and some cases stopped drawing for months.

[Anonymous No.4972461]

>>4972432
well if it takes 20 years so be it. what the fuck else are you gonna do for the next 20 years? ive been on ic since last april. i dont feel like drawing ever got in the way of something more important i should have been doing instead.

[Anonymous No.4972480]

>>4972443
Perhaps so but here’s where you got it wrong
>seen hundreds of anons say the same shit and after a week they burnout and gave up and some cases stopped drawing for months
Never happened to me. I never stop at whatever it is until I get what I want, no matter what it takes. Not fitness, not art. Sure there’s been times where I’ve had slow progress, but I really wanna be great, I wanna live up to my ideals and make the world notice me, praise me. See you at my award ceremony in 15 years

[Anonymous No.4972547]

>>4971045
It ain't, you simply can't relate because you're not at that level yet beggy.

[Anonymous No.4972589]

>>4970760
Specialize as much as you want - for MOST purposes an artist should try to be good at 1. People (including clothing) 2. Landscape 3. Architecture in that order. Wherever you end up working, even if it's your own personal work, you're likely to need to draw people in a place. The skill set from those topics will get you through just about anything else you want to draw, even if you have to use a lot of reference to get going. Architecture is basic 3 point perspective, mostly boxes, which will be applicable if you want to draw cars, tanks, mechs etc. Drawing people gets you any number of humanoid aliens, a grasp of how to represent organic form for all other kinds of aliens, an understanding of the skeleton that is applicable to most land mammals. Understanding landscape is applicable to any location, terrestrial or alien, the representation of large ships or other structures on the ground at a scale which involves atmospheric perstpective and so on. You can muddle your way through just about anything with this skill set and if you're like Kim Jung Gi and you find you're drawing cars and motorcycles all the time you can always specialize further.

[Anonymous No.4973896]

Presumably you have a reason or motive for drawing. What is it? Does it require knowing everything?