Rant

10 min read

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DamaiMikaz's avatar
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I just pulled the internet cable out for a few days to withstand the urge to rant beyond any reason. 
And even now I'm seriously considering disabling comments for the things that I make. Because I'm so fed up with the continuous hate. And I'm so goddamn sick and tired of people that send me messages that I should just die, just because I happen to make a tutorial. (Yes, this message was literally send to me -- by PM ofcourse)

In the past weekend I hadn't so much to do. I wasn't that inspired to make art, so I decided to work on that tutorial that for which the idea had been floating inside my head for a while already. 
Like some of you know, I've been giving drawing workshops every now and then for the past 2 years. Nothing too serious. I don't even get paid for it (aside from an occasional artbook or fanart drawing). I was there because of passion. Because I liked to teach and interact with people. During those one-hour workshops, I've spoken to many people. Mostly kids, though. They were the target group of those workshops. Most of them had the same questions. But as our art-team (mangaschool) operates in the Netherlands only, I thought it would be kind to make a tutorial about those most-asked questions and put it online, so people outside the Netherlands could enjoy it as well.

When I threw the thing online, I had no idea about the impact of it all. Because, yes, even despite my marketing background I'm sometimes unaware of how fast things go.
The internet is a strange thing to me. And it might be my own lack of confidence, but it never ceases to surprise me how much response there is. Even on the journals or deviations that I don't deem 'special'.

This tutorial was the same thing.
Something that I just posted with the best intentions, like "Ahh... this might be helpful to people around here", and didn't think so much about, became my most viewed deviation overnight.
I didn't intend that. I didn't foresee it either.

The point is that with a lot of attention, there are always a bunch of haters. 
And it's that that I get sick and tired from nowadays. Because no matter what I make or write, people turn and twist my words around, in an attempt to find evil in it. To find a reason to be butt-hurt over something -- or rather; anything.
Come on, people! Where is your common sense? Since when did you forget how to read things in context? Seriously!

The tutorial would be manga bashing? Eh... I draw manga myself. Why the hell would I bash the style I draw in myself? That makes no freakin' sense!
Just because I pointed out some things that are 'wrong' in general, but are considered 'okay' in the manga style, doesn't mean I hate the style in general. It means that I want to make people aware of the mistakes of a certain style so they actually know why it sometimes looks weird. That it's not because they suck, but because the style they chose to adapt has it's flaws!
Yes, I used the word 'cheap' in regards to the way noses are drawn. But did it ever cross your mind that I meant 'cheap' in the literal sense of the word? Cheap as in; cutting production costs? Because that's what manga/anime does. It's mass production, so it needs to be cheap! 

As for the many people that tell me "you didn't cover everything". No, sure I didn't cover everything. Art students pay up to $20.000 per year for their art education. You must be an idiot to think that I cover all of those subjects for FREE, in a tutorial that took me one Saturday evening to make. Seriously, what did you expect? It's a tutorial supposed to fit in an one-hour workshop, mainly meant to point things out. To make people aware of those things, and maybe steer them in the right direction. It was never my intention to cover the full subjects.

To the art students that said "you didn't do it right". Again, you pay big bucks for your education. What the hell do your expect from a free tutorial from the internet? 
Yeah, good for you that you know better. Good for you that you can draw much better than me. As a matter of fact; I honestly wish you do, and I do this with the best intentions, since your future relies on those artistic skills. Mine doesn't. I just do this for fun. I'm a non-professional artist, and I wear that label with pride. As an art student, you might think that the whole world works like art school and that everybody should be able to put up with the harsh critique's and harsh practice schedules that are so normal around that kind of education. Well, let me tell you; it doesn't. Not everybody has the ambition of becoming a professional, and not everybody is in the position to dedicate their selves to a 60+ hours a week practice schedule. People have all kinds or reasons to do art, and some of them don't include earning money. Respect that, just like we respect you for your hard work and your awesome art.
I really do respect the people that dedicate their selves to do professional art. Because I could never do it myself, and I'm not afraid to admit so. But as much as I respect their choices in life, I wish you'd respect mine as well.

You think this is misinformation because it's not as good as the books you get in art school? Well, it's a tutorial meant to reflect my vision on the subject. Just like the many people that make tutorials about how they draw skin, fire or water. There's no absolute truth in how to do things. Because art isn't science. Yeah...there's some science in it. But for the most part, it's just a reflection of people's vision, no matter how you twist or turn it. If you think you can do better, there's nothing in the world stopping you from making a better tutorial. More tutorials will only be good for the community, because there would be more content to choose from.
If you don't like it, put it aside. This is DeviantArt; a community primarily based around hobbyist artists sharing content. This is not art school. You didn't have to pay top dollar for the content here. Nobody forces you to look at it. So either use it for your own good, or at least have the maturity to ignore it. 

If you want to critique me for what I'm doing, I'm totally fine with that. But balanced (proper) critique includes a suggestion for improvement. If it doesn't, it's just called bashing, no matter how many nice words you use to cover that up.
I know that in places like art school it's fairly normal that teachers put you and your work down. I know so, because I've studied multimedia for 4 years, and my teachers were the same. The "Either deal with our crap or you'll NEVER make it in the business" attitude, as I'd use to call it. But up until today, I believe to the ground of my heart that that kind of attitude is not the way to go. At least not unless you deliberately want to destroy people. When helping trainee's at my workplace a few years ago, someone once told me "be a leader, not a boss", meaning so much is that you rather join people and be an example, than just boss them around and only tell them what they do wrong. The key factor here is motivation. Because motivation is what keeps people going. And in that, respect is everything!!!

To the people that tell me "But you're well known, so you should be an example".
Bullshit! I'm by no means obliged to be an example for the community. It would be out of kindness and courtesy that I chose do so.
I wasn't provided the choice whether to be followed or not. I wasn't offered money to be a role model. So I don't have any obligation to be whatever the hell you want me to be.

To all the people telling me; "But you're popular, so you're supposed to receive hate". 
No, I am not!
Nobody is supposed to be getting death wishes. Nobody! Not ever!

It's already sad enough that the internet has evolved in such a way that it's considered normal to receive a lot of hate when people follow you. Because it's not, and it never should be! I've been told so many times that people just hate on me because they're jealous for whatever reason. Well, if jealousy makes you sprawl that kind of crap to someone else, then you have a serious character flaw!
It's like bashing an artist that just got a Daily Deviation, because you don't think his artwork is that good. It's pointless and it's stupid! It's not like the artist asked to be put up there. No, others made that decision for him! The same goes for watchers, faves and views on DeviantArt. You can't force people to watch (Yeah, maybe with a lot of money. But that's illegal according to DA's policy). Even though you might think the attention is undeserved, this person is apparently doing something right, hence the community likes it. 

So the next time you come across something that is 'undeservedly' liked a lot, think before you write. Don't resort to senseless hate towards the artist. Instead ask yourself "what did this artists do right?" or "what made this piece of art so accessible to people?". And if you're truly honest in that, the answer is often found in the fact that this person learned to interact with it's target group. Because that is what it takes to get out there. And no, you might not like the art. You might not belong to the target group, and you might not even "get" what is so cool about that type of art. But by observing such a thing objectively, you might actually be able to learn a thing or two about either marketing or human interaction. And you might actually be able to apply this yourself.

For those that want to reply; 
I don't feel the need to discuss the contents of the tutorial anymore. So don't go there. I won't reply and I will probably hide your comment.
This thing has gone long past this tutorial. It's about the underlying message. About that it shouldn't be normal for people to wish you death over the fact that you simply posted something. About that we should try to be open minded towards others. About that you should try to look for the good in people, instead of desperately trying to be butt-hurt over something that might not even be intended. About respecting each other and each other's choices in life. Seriously! How hard is it to at least try to be kind towards others?

For today, I'm done with this shit.
I probably won't be uploading for a while. Or at least, not until I feel like it again.
Any further pointless hateful comments will be blocked and reported to staff without further notice.
© 2014 - 2024 DamaiMikaz
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roxyandgigi's avatar
it's okay, i loved your tutorial so much! It help me improve my art style actually.