The M.D.C. Handbook

the soapbox: mistakes young creators make

OH MY IT FEELS GOOD TO BE BACK

Let me just go off a bit, since getting a job and still going to school full time I have absolutely no time to be a social media guru like I used to. It's actually depressing. Don't grow up kids. 

Don't groW uP

HOWEVER I have some rants for you today packaged up nice and tight ya dig now sit back and listen up because vee bouta go off

Today's lesson is entitled; mistakes young creators make. That was a bit of click bait since I'm only talking about ONE mistake young creators make but WHateves. Also this is going to most definitely tangent into other mini rants so be prepared for that. Here's my main problem with young creators....

They don't understand criticism and straight up refuse to receive it. 

No, I'm not talking about the fragile 14 year old who just started drawing and cries when someone says anything negative about her terribly drawn anime oc's. We've all been there and to be honest, it's harmless. That girl will either get the fuck over it, or become an account somewhere in the Midwest. But what really just gets all up in my gears and grinds the shit out of them is when creators try to make excuses for why their work is so shitty. I mean, like really pull some mental gymnastics trying to prove that they're actually an amazing artist and you just don't understand. Give me a gosh darn mother of mary fucking break. 

Allow me to give you two examples, one with a young artist and one with a young graphic designer (like you'd see here at the MDC).

Innocent Critic #1: Hi gema, your drawing here is really cute! However, I feel like the eyes are too far apart and they don't read well. You might want to work on your anatomy more too because the pose seems sort of stiff. All you have to do is look at more real photographs and draw from those! There's actually a really great YouTuber who makes figure drawing lessons here's the link you should check her out: click. Anyway, great drawing and happy trails! 

Angered Artist: wellllll thanks for the crit but the eyes are just my style!! and yes i understand the pose isn't realistic but i'm trying to draw anime not real people. but thanks tho

Innocent Critic #2: nice cover design! I loveee the picture of the girl you used. But maybe you should place her a little lower so she doesn't overwhelm the title. The title is a little too small and hard to read, and just as a tip, using a bunch of different fonts in the title comes off as jarring and not nice to look at. This is just for a future reference, it's still a cool cover.

Distraught Designer: umm yeah well i had to put the girl there because [reasons] and the title wouldn't fit unless i made it all small because [more reasons] and obviously i was using different fonts to make certain words stand out because [reasons x9999] so ye

NOTHING PISSES ME OFF MORE THAN A CREATOR WHO HAS NOTHING TO SAY IN REPLY TO A CRITIQUE BUT    E X C U S E S     . 

Excuses, excuses, excuses. To me, this always comes off as really passive aggressive. It's like you don't agree with the critic but you just want to lay out the "reasons" why your work is what it is just to silence them and make you feel better about yourself. No hon, I'll tell you why your shit stinks; you're an AMATEUR and you're BAD but you're LEARNING. 

I feel like this sort of defensive approach to criticism stems from a complete lack of understanding of what criticism actually is. Critics help you to see the things you wouldn't otherwise notice about your work. It's like a friend checking your English essay for typos. In an ideal situation, the critic has more experience than you and will suggest advice to make your work better. They're not trying to tear you down, they're trying to lift you up. They're not saying your work is bad, but they know that you still need to improve and they want to see you succeed at that. We all need improvement. Even professionals still strive to better themselves and the quality of their work. 

Yes, sometimes critics DON'T have more experience than you, and you should take that criticism with a grain of salt. But, you should STILL TAKE IT. Who knows, maybe they still brought up a good point? And so what if they didn't? Move on with your life. Don't make an ass out of yourself. 

You see, making excuses about why your art sucks doesn't accomplish anything. You're not "proving" anything to the critic... they don't give a shit. I couldn't care less about how shitty anatomy is "your style". Really, you're trying to prove to yourself that you're not a bad artist. Which isn't a terrible idea.... just keep other people out of it. Instead, go home and make a list about why you're not a bad artist. But, you need to recognize that you're still learning. Make a list of goals for this year, or things you still need to improve on with your work. 

Learning to understand and take criticism is an important part of growing as an artist. Please, reconsider replying to your critique with all those excuses. Remember that we're not trying to attack you or your work. Recognize that these are thing you might need to work more on. Remember that critiques and critics can't hurt you. 

You don't have to adjust your art to their criticism. Literally no one is asking you to do that. But you should at least respect it enough to say "thanks" and move on with your life. 

*phew* Did I get through to anyone back there? Aaanyone? No? Ah, fuck it. 

This rant is one of the reasons I'm sort of trying to stay away from commenting on GS. I mean, honestly all people have are excuses anymore. Why should I take time out of my life to leave you a nice comment on your graphic when you're just going to be all passive aggressive about it? Plus, I really just have nothing to say about a lot of those graphics these days. My design aesthetics have really changed over the past year and "Wattpad" style design look like utter garbage on a stick to me. You know, the heavy PSD colorings, the overuse of topaz, the weird gradients, the overlapping texture salad, the weird but "hip" fonts, the celebrities. Fuck it all, man. I mean, I've always had a problem with this stuff and I've made that clear to a lot of people, but it's just getting so bad. I usually see a few graphics I genuinely like whenever I visit GS but holy shit I'm afraid to comment on theirs because lately a few designers have been policing people for "skipping" graphics. Basically, we're not allowed to skip over anybody is GS anymore when we're forming our replies? I mean, yeah I'm all about giving love to designers but for god's sake sometimes I just can't think of something to say. I mean if you don't have something nice to say, don't say it at all amirite?

But, don't worry ya'll. I'm cookin up something for this summer that's going to really shake up the MDC. Get hype.