Could art teachers quit being jerks, please?
I am really, really irritated right now. Every time I think I've gotten used to this, I get upset again.
Here's the thing: art teachers have always, ALWAYS hated the shit that I draw. And when I was younger, that was understandable to an extent. Back then, I was aping manga art. I was just trying to exactly mimic what I saw in the books, without comprehending that those various styles took years to develop all that. My art was just symbols I had learned to copy. Granted, most comic artists will tell you that, to some degree, that they've copied other artists at times in their lives. It's normal and most move on and develop their own style. Despite that, I can imagine that artists who didn't dabble in the comic genre would be irritated by kids like me - they probably didn't grow up mimicking other art. So, you know what, pissy 8th grade art teacher? I forgive you for hating my art for that reason. You didn't know better.
But I am a god damned 25-year old woman now. I have been drawing all my life. I have carefully developed my style, I have studied for hundreds of hours how panelling and comic symbolism work (ON MY OWN, I'll add), I have studied anatomy, skeletal and muscular structure, expressions, backgrounds, architecture, and anything else that could improve the quality of my comic work. And so when I enter an art class, I am there to learn, and when the teacher is a jerk, it hinders my ability to do so.
I'm not asking for a teacher to sugarcoat whatever they say, but damn. In my life, I have had one art teacher that was supportive of my work. She gave me the confidence to keep improving my craft, all while giving me the help I needed by critiquing my work. ONE teacher. The rest have been absolute nightmares.
The teacher I had this semester was definitely a piece of work. As per usual, he hated the fact that my art is manga-inspired and hated even more the fact that I worked 100% digitally. All semester was spent with him calling my work "generic," pissing all over my art program of choice, and being a general unhelpful douche until I finally had a god damned mental breakdown. My final work is intended to be less manga-like (not for him), but I'm betting he'll still hate it and not even try to critique it, as usual.
My final work is what bothers me today, though. We had to present our comics to the class and lots of the work was amazing! ...but there were a few things that really struck me.
First, I was disappointed to see my "art rival" had completely ripped off the Pusheen the Cat comics. Worst part was that she was praised immediately by the teacher. He probably just isn't aware of the comics, but still, it hurt to see her being proud of something obviously copied, and being praised for it. Secondly, the comic I was the most impressed with was a young man who had used the assignment as part of his BFA exhibit. He had printed 50 copies and it looked like he had put a ton of work into it and was intending to make it an ongoing comic. I snagged a copy, but... when I read it on closer inspection, I saw that he had created stock faces for the main characters, and just copied and pasted them throughout the comic, and then drew new bodies underneath to suit the scene - including his main character. And he got tons of praise for this work.
I know I shouldn't get jealous. But...fuck. I don't know how to feel. My Zelda comic was created with the intention of showing my abilities, so that I could get appropriate feedback. That comic was full of action scenes and wilderness imagery, and I got nothing. Just the usual silence from peers and shit feedback from the teacher. My final comic was more of this: a more American-style comic with lots of backgrounds - including an entire city skyline! - and action right off the bat. And guess what? No feedback from my classmates, and the teacher was standoffish about it...but I bet he'll be a dick, AGAIN, during my critique next week.
I just don't know how to deal with this. I want feedback, guys. My paranoid brain is telling me that everyone hates my work and honestly I have no real evidence to shut that feeling up. Teachers, I don't need my ego broken (I have no confidence in my work, anyway), and fellow artists, I just want to know what needs to be fixed. I don't know what that's so much to ask.
Here's the thing: art teachers have always, ALWAYS hated the shit that I draw. And when I was younger, that was understandable to an extent. Back then, I was aping manga art. I was just trying to exactly mimic what I saw in the books, without comprehending that those various styles took years to develop all that. My art was just symbols I had learned to copy. Granted, most comic artists will tell you that, to some degree, that they've copied other artists at times in their lives. It's normal and most move on and develop their own style. Despite that, I can imagine that artists who didn't dabble in the comic genre would be irritated by kids like me - they probably didn't grow up mimicking other art. So, you know what, pissy 8th grade art teacher? I forgive you for hating my art for that reason. You didn't know better.
But I am a god damned 25-year old woman now. I have been drawing all my life. I have carefully developed my style, I have studied for hundreds of hours how panelling and comic symbolism work (ON MY OWN, I'll add), I have studied anatomy, skeletal and muscular structure, expressions, backgrounds, architecture, and anything else that could improve the quality of my comic work. And so when I enter an art class, I am there to learn, and when the teacher is a jerk, it hinders my ability to do so.
I'm not asking for a teacher to sugarcoat whatever they say, but damn. In my life, I have had one art teacher that was supportive of my work. She gave me the confidence to keep improving my craft, all while giving me the help I needed by critiquing my work. ONE teacher. The rest have been absolute nightmares.
The teacher I had this semester was definitely a piece of work. As per usual, he hated the fact that my art is manga-inspired and hated even more the fact that I worked 100% digitally. All semester was spent with him calling my work "generic," pissing all over my art program of choice, and being a general unhelpful douche until I finally had a god damned mental breakdown. My final work is intended to be less manga-like (not for him), but I'm betting he'll still hate it and not even try to critique it, as usual.
My final work is what bothers me today, though. We had to present our comics to the class and lots of the work was amazing! ...but there were a few things that really struck me.
First, I was disappointed to see my "art rival" had completely ripped off the Pusheen the Cat comics. Worst part was that she was praised immediately by the teacher. He probably just isn't aware of the comics, but still, it hurt to see her being proud of something obviously copied, and being praised for it. Secondly, the comic I was the most impressed with was a young man who had used the assignment as part of his BFA exhibit. He had printed 50 copies and it looked like he had put a ton of work into it and was intending to make it an ongoing comic. I snagged a copy, but... when I read it on closer inspection, I saw that he had created stock faces for the main characters, and just copied and pasted them throughout the comic, and then drew new bodies underneath to suit the scene - including his main character. And he got tons of praise for this work.
I know I shouldn't get jealous. But...fuck. I don't know how to feel. My Zelda comic was created with the intention of showing my abilities, so that I could get appropriate feedback. That comic was full of action scenes and wilderness imagery, and I got nothing. Just the usual silence from peers and shit feedback from the teacher. My final comic was more of this: a more American-style comic with lots of backgrounds - including an entire city skyline! - and action right off the bat. And guess what? No feedback from my classmates, and the teacher was standoffish about it...but I bet he'll be a dick, AGAIN, during my critique next week.
I just don't know how to deal with this. I want feedback, guys. My paranoid brain is telling me that everyone hates my work and honestly I have no real evidence to shut that feeling up. Teachers, I don't need my ego broken (I have no confidence in my work, anyway), and fellow artists, I just want to know what needs to be fixed. I don't know what that's so much to ask.