What do you look for in art?

[abkvs]

Taoni

Abbacus

I'm super picky, mostly because my OCs are all male and most of them aren't white, so what I'm after is the polar opposite of the majority offering. I've had more than one artist get mad at me because I kept telling them "No, he's darker. He's not white. No, darker!" I mean s**t, I give them swatches and ample references and they still keep trying to deliver a white boy! gonk

Style-wise I'm not picky, I love semirealism, I love anime, I love so cute you'll puke chibis. I love everything. Really what I get picky about is skill level. No flimsy lines, no weird anatomy or backwards hands, no persistent italicized lean, no yellowed photographs of your sketchbook, all that stuff. There's gotta be quality. I've noticed though that virtually every shop I've ever looked at with HQ in the title is... Really, really not high quality at all...

I haven't gone actively looking for art on Gaia since the market collapse though. I hardly understand how to price my own s**t anymore, much less how to offer.

I haven't gone searching for art much myself either...the quality level definitely isn't where it should be. I honestly i think if you want good art you'd have to go to the art auctions, or find one of those CB artists that are hidden.

Yeah, and I definitely don't have the dough for auctions. emo I kinda wanna do one myself but I swear every time I auction the mp tanks hard again and the winning bid ends up as worthless change.

[Sahri]

I usually look for art that will bring out my avatar's traits and it doesn't even have to be high quality art all the time for me. Simplicity can work wonders too :3

[abkvs]

Queen Ichi

I like to sneak in the Art Shops and look at what other people are doing and seeing what I can take from them. There are a lot of people who are doing smart things that I wouldn't have thought of.

this is honestly 85% of the reason I have a tumblr. I follow so many art blogs, I love getting inspiration from my peers. * u*

[Yen Quest]

I look for non-cookie-cutters - Now now, I don't mean it in a "generic kawaii chibi desu" art style kind of way. What I mean is... ...Say, most of your artworks (the characters you drew) look like the same person, with different color palette or outfit instead. Now that really gets my goat. Seriously, the face style and expression is the same. The body pose is the same. The message of the art piece is the same. Things like that doesn't feel like it was personalized enough, so it ain't worth the gold for me. A character with sharp angular eyes doesn't feel the same when it get drawn with large round eyes, you know?

I'm pretty good with most art styles, level of skill, etc out there though. So long the art tells me a story (no matter how small), it's a good enough piece for me. The artist gets extra points for making the characters come to life (expressive poses for example).

[rococobro]

with freebies, i enjoy anything. it's just the thought that makes me happy.

with buying art, i like all styles. but i'm very picky--i look for unique styles and 'personality', if that makes sense. sweatdrop for me, it's not just about pieces w/good anatomy or nice coloring--but also something that stands out and/or portrays my OCs well. i love something quirky--that makes me smile when i look at it. that's the kind of art i like best. i've seen plenty of HQ shops that lack that special something.

but shoot i haven't bought art since .... idk when. i guess it's just cause i got tired of trying to keep up w/inflation and i'm all arted out.

[Taoni]

Queen Ichi

When I look for art I look at a particular style that is really attractive to me. The line art could be thicker or thinner or even nonexistent. It really is all about the overall presentation. You can't simply do a great job at line art and ignore color or anatomy. It has to work together.

Now, I don't bother buying art as I can make it myself (as I do realistic to chibis if I so wish) but I like to sneak in the Art Shops and look at what other people are doing and seeing what I can take from them. There are a lot of people who are doing smart things that I wouldn't have thought of.

omg lol that is so me. I'm always going into art streams so i can spy and steal ideas =P. I want to buy art, I really love other artists interpretations of my characters, but I usually end up drawing my own because i'm broke, and should stops giving freebies. emo

[Queen Ichi]

Abbacus

this is honestly 85% of the reason I have a tumblr. I follow so many art blogs, I love getting inspiration from my peers. * u*

I want to get a tumblr. Actually, I think Pinterst would work best for me but I'm afraid of getting so lost in it. A lot of times I look at work and get so depressed because it's SO ******** AMAZING and I question why am I not that good. I ran across Anna Dittmann not that long ago and I just died. Grabbed a glass of wine with my sketchbook and went to town cause she was sickeningly talented at 21.

[Taoni]

xSahri

I usually look for art that will bring out my avatar's traits and it doesn't even have to be high quality art all the time for me. Simplicity can work wonders too :3

art with no personality is definitely a no no.
expressions are hard to do though, so I tend to not be so hard on it.

[abkvs]

Queen Ichi

Abbacus

this is honestly 85% of the reason I have a tumblr. I follow so many art blogs, I love getting inspiration from my peers. * u*

I want to get a tumblr. Actually, I think Pinterst would work best for me but I'm afraid of getting so lost in it. A lot of times I look at work and get so depressed because it's SO ******** AMAZING and I question why am I not that good. I ran across Anna Dittmann not that long ago and I just died. Grabbed a glass of wine with my sketchbook and went to town cause she was sickeningly talented at 21.

Ahaha yeah I know that feeling. I haven't had it in a while though. Thanks to tumblr & twitter I've gotten to know a lot of the artists I admire, and seeing their wips and reading about their struggles helps me remember that they were once where I am. So as long as we keep practicing...! * u*

[Queen Ichi]

Taoni

omg lol that is so me. I'm always going into art streams so i can spy and steal ideas =P. I want to buy art, I really love other artists interpretations of my characters, but I usually end up drawing my own because i'm broke, and should stops giving freebies. emo

Well. That's how you are supposed to work as an artist. You steal. Imitate. And finally incorporate whatever you saw into your work. It's impossible to make something completely original. When I was 14 I used to copy illustrations right out of manga books because it was so pretty. It doesn't make you an horrible person. It helps you hone your skills because you are practicing on how to do those fingers or those folds in that cloth. I ******** hate wrinkles and folds in clothing. Only way outside of taking reference for those is seeing what others do.

Abbacus

I love seeing others WIP. I follow a few artists on instagram and I lush over their progress work. * v*

*CHEERS FELLOW ARTIST* The struggle is real.

[prince eesu]

First and foremost I gauge how well the artist has a grasp
on illustration. How well are they with composition? Expression?
Handling with customers/clients?
Next would be the style and how unique it is. Or not! I have certain
favorite styles and if they're executed really well then I get on that.
One of the most important things is if the artist is able to execute my
characters or will be comfortable with them. It's more important
to me if the artist will enjoy/have fun with drawing my commission.

[abkvs]

Queen Ichi

Taoni

omg lol that is so me. I'm always going into art streams so i can spy and steal ideas =P. I want to buy art, I really love other artists interpretations of my characters, but I usually end up drawing my own because i'm broke, and should stops giving freebies. emo

Well. That's how you are supposed to work as an artist. You steal. Imitate. And finally incorporate whatever you saw into your work. It's impossible to make something completely original. When I was 14 I used to copy illustrations right out of manga books because it was so pretty. It doesn't make you an horrible person. It helps you hone your skills because you are practicing on how to do those fingers or those folds in that cloth. I ******** hate wrinkles and folds in clothing. Only way outside of taking reference for those is seeing what others do.

Abbacus

I love seeing others WIP. I follow a few artists on instagram and I lush over their progress work. * v*

*CHEERS FELLOW ARTIST* The struggle is real.

oh hell yeah man! wips and process gifs, i love them so much. show me your ways, everyone * O*
i wanna make process gifs & speedpaint vids of my own but i always forget...

[Taoni]

Queen Ichi

wahhhhh but wrinkles, folds, ruffles is clothing are like my most favorite things to do surprised Probably for the same reason i prefer doing females. I enjoy drawing curves and the movement. redface
What I can't draw is hands, and no matter how many freaking times I practice, they just don't do what i want them to classified_fu

[Taoni]

Abbacus

Taoni

Abbacus

I'm super picky, mostly because my OCs are all male and most of them aren't white, so what I'm after is the polar opposite of the majority offering. I've had more than one artist get mad at me because I kept telling them "No, he's darker. He's not white. No, darker!" I mean s**t, I give them swatches and ample references and they still keep trying to deliver a white boy! gonk

Style-wise I'm not picky, I love semirealism, I love anime, I love so cute you'll puke chibis. I love everything. Really what I get picky about is skill level. No flimsy lines, no weird anatomy or backwards hands, no persistent italicized lean, no yellowed photographs of your sketchbook, all that stuff. There's gotta be quality. I've noticed though that virtually every shop I've ever looked at with HQ in the title is... Really, really not high quality at all...

I haven't gone actively looking for art on Gaia since the market collapse though. I hardly understand how to price my own s**t anymore, much less how to offer.

I haven't gone searching for art much myself either...the quality level definitely isn't where it should be. I honestly i think if you want good art you'd have to go to the art auctions, or find one of those CB artists that are hidden.

Yeah, and I definitely don't have the dough for auctions. emo I kinda wanna do one myself but I swear every time I auction the mp tanks hard again and the winning bid ends up as worthless change.

I can't do auctions, the winner always ends up being some cluttered person I am not comfortable drawing gonk
Where the people get all this gold for auctions idk. I want whatever they're having. D8

[Ryvaku]

My signature says it all.
Though I would like any art that includes a lot of details off from the avatar and not skipping on them and no poses that avoid details such as back shots. Though I love when personality is put into the picture of the character.

So I'm picky, but I give everyone a try. I normally like testing detail heavy avis first on them. xD