Art Challenge Week 4 to 6
Week 6 Art Week Update
- By Ai Night
Each week I have a lot of thoughts about the things I’ve been working on, however I feel that with the rise in short-form content, making a long monologue about my thoughts and feelings feels less attractive, therefore each week I would rather put down my thoughts here, and keep my videos short and concise.
I am heading into week 6 with much anticipation. When I first started out this challenge, I was not sure how long I would be able to keep up with it, or how far along it would come. Sure, I am holding a prize at the end of the day for those who participate, however this is a personal challenge to myself as well. I hope to keep myself as productive as I can be as I head into the monsoon season here in Asia.
I am prone to giving up halfway as I feel that with low engagement or even no engagement, comes the feeling of failure. However, that is not the case this time. By judging the winner based on how close they come to attaining 60 points, I already have a winner, so long as they remain contactable and participate even as infrequently as once or twice. This makes me feel motivated as I finally get a chance to give back to my community, without it being stressful on me as an artist and content creator.
Art for me is a long journey. It takes years and years of daily dedicated practice and repetition. To judge art harshly at an early age feels pointless, as people even in their 80s and 90s are still finding new ways to change and evolve their art practice. Why must I as an artist hold my art up against the gauge of another artist, when I and they are completely different people? I can never be them, therefore I don’t want to compare myself to them, as it will only make me depressed. Instead, I want to compare myself to who I was a day ago, a year ago and even ten years ago. I want to ask my own soul, am I happy? Do I want to try something different? Do I want to evolve, and if my heart replies, then I want to follow that vision, rather than the vision of someone else.
Now when it comes to the business of selling one’s art, that is very different and far removed from one's own art practice or artistic abilities. There is a market standard just like for any other artisanal product, and that is something comparable and it is important to educate myself about what works for me.
For example, if I want to make and sell bread, there is a certain level of hygiene, size, shape, and ingredients I should be aware of. Then adding a flair to it such as the design of the bread, the filling, and the flavor is what sets it apart. My approach to selling my art is like selling bread. I look at the art piece that I want to prepare for sale, and I compare it to similar pieces on the market. I adjust the size and the design based on the theme I desire to sell it under, and in the end, I also show it to those I trust to ask, would you buy this? If those close to me give a positive response, then that design goes into the pile of designs to list and print for sale.
This is why I do not sell all my art, and this is also why I do not create art to sell anymore. My approach to my artwork is to allow space for my heart and my mind to be honest and authentic. I do push myself to evaluate pieces after the fact to see if they are sellable however by eliminating the constant need to please an unknown public, I have finally managed to quell the silent dread that has been rising ever since I was taught that to make a living from my art I must sell it!
In this way I have finally been able to overcome a negative spiral cycle of worrying about why my art does not sell, and instead only think about art-to-sell after the fact. This keeps my heart light and positive when I approach my art, as I am not asking it to make me money, I am asking it to make me kind, make me wise, and make me love myself a little bit more, every day.
This is why through the art challenge, I work with different themes, different mediums, but I also do not force myself to adhere to any of them, and I am also not forcing anyone else. You get one point simply by completing any of the three criteria, and honestly if I were keeping track, I would only have 6 points by this week as I haven't been able to hit all three challenges myself!
There is a secret delight I find in failure. Sometimes it’s nice to not live up to expectations, and not have to deal with any consequences. At the end of the day, I managed to decorate my sketchbook cover, which I had been putting off for so long, as well as finished two full color pencil fanarts within the last two weeks, while I was sick! This was unheard of progress for a tiny procrastinating artist such as myself! I am already so delighted with my progress at this point and proud of myself, and that is how I am trying to move my life towards a path of quiet peace and momentum.
As for the lovely Weirdlings who have participated and are submitting art for the challenge, I think it is awesome that they are stepping out of their comfort zones and challenging themselves each week or each month. It is so encouraging and so far, all the art I have seen I have enjoyed very much.
As autumn matures, one of the things I love to see and look out for are the beautiful and frequent sightings and pictures of the moon, so inspired by the darker nights and the moody skies, this week is moon themed! I have a character already in mind that I want to work on this week, and I can’t wait to see what everyone else creates.
If you would like to see my works over the last two weeks, you can enjoy them here:
WEEK 4 Art Works:
WEEK 5 Art Works:
Come back next week for the next updates.
- By Ai Night
Each week I have a lot of thoughts about the things I’ve been working on, however I feel that with the rise in short-form content, making a long monologue about my thoughts and feelings feels less attractive, therefore each week I would rather put down my thoughts here, and keep my videos short and concise.
I am heading into week 6 with much anticipation. When I first started out this challenge, I was not sure how long I would be able to keep up with it, or how far along it would come. Sure, I am holding a prize at the end of the day for those who participate, however this is a personal challenge to myself as well. I hope to keep myself as productive as I can be as I head into the monsoon season here in Asia.
I am prone to giving up halfway as I feel that with low engagement or even no engagement, comes the feeling of failure. However, that is not the case this time. By judging the winner based on how close they come to attaining 60 points, I already have a winner, so long as they remain contactable and participate even as infrequently as once or twice. This makes me feel motivated as I finally get a chance to give back to my community, without it being stressful on me as an artist and content creator.
Art for me is a long journey. It takes years and years of daily dedicated practice and repetition. To judge art harshly at an early age feels pointless, as people even in their 80s and 90s are still finding new ways to change and evolve their art practice. Why must I as an artist hold my art up against the gauge of another artist, when I and they are completely different people? I can never be them, therefore I don’t want to compare myself to them, as it will only make me depressed. Instead, I want to compare myself to who I was a day ago, a year ago and even ten years ago. I want to ask my own soul, am I happy? Do I want to try something different? Do I want to evolve, and if my heart replies, then I want to follow that vision, rather than the vision of someone else.
Now when it comes to the business of selling one’s art, that is very different and far removed from one's own art practice or artistic abilities. There is a market standard just like for any other artisanal product, and that is something comparable and it is important to educate myself about what works for me.
For example, if I want to make and sell bread, there is a certain level of hygiene, size, shape, and ingredients I should be aware of. Then adding a flair to it such as the design of the bread, the filling, and the flavor is what sets it apart. My approach to selling my art is like selling bread. I look at the art piece that I want to prepare for sale, and I compare it to similar pieces on the market. I adjust the size and the design based on the theme I desire to sell it under, and in the end, I also show it to those I trust to ask, would you buy this? If those close to me give a positive response, then that design goes into the pile of designs to list and print for sale.
This is why I do not sell all my art, and this is also why I do not create art to sell anymore. My approach to my artwork is to allow space for my heart and my mind to be honest and authentic. I do push myself to evaluate pieces after the fact to see if they are sellable however by eliminating the constant need to please an unknown public, I have finally managed to quell the silent dread that has been rising ever since I was taught that to make a living from my art I must sell it!
In this way I have finally been able to overcome a negative spiral cycle of worrying about why my art does not sell, and instead only think about art-to-sell after the fact. This keeps my heart light and positive when I approach my art, as I am not asking it to make me money, I am asking it to make me kind, make me wise, and make me love myself a little bit more, every day.
This is why through the art challenge, I work with different themes, different mediums, but I also do not force myself to adhere to any of them, and I am also not forcing anyone else. You get one point simply by completing any of the three criteria, and honestly if I were keeping track, I would only have 6 points by this week as I haven't been able to hit all three challenges myself!
There is a secret delight I find in failure. Sometimes it’s nice to not live up to expectations, and not have to deal with any consequences. At the end of the day, I managed to decorate my sketchbook cover, which I had been putting off for so long, as well as finished two full color pencil fanarts within the last two weeks, while I was sick! This was unheard of progress for a tiny procrastinating artist such as myself! I am already so delighted with my progress at this point and proud of myself, and that is how I am trying to move my life towards a path of quiet peace and momentum.
As for the lovely Weirdlings who have participated and are submitting art for the challenge, I think it is awesome that they are stepping out of their comfort zones and challenging themselves each week or each month. It is so encouraging and so far, all the art I have seen I have enjoyed very much.
As autumn matures, one of the things I love to see and look out for are the beautiful and frequent sightings and pictures of the moon, so inspired by the darker nights and the moody skies, this week is moon themed! I have a character already in mind that I want to work on this week, and I can’t wait to see what everyone else creates.
If you would like to see my works over the last two weeks, you can enjoy them here:
WEEK 4 Art Works:
WEEK 5 Art Works:
@aidadaism a fanart of Mae from Night in the woods #nitw #nightinthewoods #mae #aidadaism #colorpencils #pastels ♬ 知らない - 初音ミク
@aidadaism Whenever I think of Gregg I think of the old food donkey, of demon donuts and broken animatronics. good times~ #nitw #nitwfanart #autumnvibes #gregg #aidadaism ♬ Gregg's Woods (From "Night in the Woods") - Music Legends
Come back next week for the next updates.
Comments